If you saw my post last Monday, you will know I have been busy making two Anniversary Cards for my parents. The first card which I showed you then, which I will be giving them from us and the second one for my Dad to give Mum and this is the card I will be sharing with you today, using the Barbara Anderson artwork.
The Focal Image
As mentioned this card is being made using Barbara Anderson‘s artwork in a pad from Joanna Sheen. Once I had chosen which design I wanted to work with, the first task was to cut all the elements out from the sheet. I decided to do this as a two-step process. For the intricate flowers, I used the ScanNCut. As the pages of the pad are quite a low GSM, I used the low-tack mat. One of the best updates the ScanNCut received was to scan the whole image onto the screen, not just the outline. This update meant that I could transfer the design to the new updated Canvas Workspace Website and tinker with any edges that were not perfectly aligned. There were only two small areas that needed a little bit of a touch up because the ScanNCut does a fantastic job itself. I could have cut all the elements using the ScanNCut, but sometimes I like to keep any simple shapes like the rectangular ones to do by hand with a knife and ruler. Cutting some by hand allows me to keep my skills fresh as well as feeling I have still handcrafted the card. Here are the elements cut and ready to go:
Choosing a Backing Paper
If I have a complaint, which I don’t like to do! It is that the pad contains the elements but not backing papers to work with them. This is not a massive problem for me because I have an extensive collection of craft disks so I’m sure I can find something to work alongside the project. But, when I use collections from Hunkydory, for instance, it is a given that their Craft Stacks will include all the elements needed that are designed to work together. Similarly, Creative Crafting World Collections also provide all the parts required too. Update, after having a good look around for some suitable background paper I decided it would look better without any!Beginning the Card
Using the focal image as a guide, I decided that a 7″ square card would be the best size. I wanted the design to have a black border to help it pop. So I used my Cutterpillar Pro to cut a piece of Lynda Chapman’s Black Card to 17 cm squared which just fits on the front of the card blank. I then cut a piece of White Cardstock to 16.5 cm to layer with this. Before mounting the layers of the card, I fastened the border design to the white cardstock because I find it easier to do this and trim off any excess before it is attached to another layer. As the design is printed on a low GSM, I used Tattered Lace Parchment Vellum Glue to stick it down but then switched to Collall All Purpose Glue to attach the card front to the two matting layers. Here is what the card looked like at this point:
Creating the Design
I decided to add a black mat layer to the featured image as well, I again fastened this with the Vellum Glue and then stuck the mat onto the card front with more Collall. For me, that is the most nerve-wracking part of the project, getting it straight, because a jaunty angle wouldn’t be right for this card. Once it was in place it was time to work on the decoupage layers. To do this I used my Tonic Flower Forming Tools to give the flowers some shape and then fasten them with Collall Coll Kit 3D Decoupage Glue. Here is how the card looked at this stage:
Finishing Touches to the Barbara Anderson Card
Once I had let the decoupage glue dry, I used a Ranger Stickles in Crystal and went over accentuating parts of the flowers so that they catch in the light. I hope the artist wouldn’t mind an addition like the glitter, but then why would they bring their artwork to the craft world if they didn’t want crafters to be creative! To attach the sentiment I used sticky foam pads, whereas the 3D Decoupage gel was better for the flowers because I wanted them to have shape, I prefer to use foam pads on sentiments and things that I want to lay flat but raised. The very last thing was actually to acknowledge the occasion. So I cut Our Anniversary out of Gold Mirror Card on the ScanNCut, and this time, just because I can, I used Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue to stick it down, I chose this glue because of its slim nozzle but them the tip was a bit blocked! No problems, I opened the bottle and used the other end of the cocktail stick that I had used with the Coll Kit and applied it that way instead. Here is the completed card:
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the completed card. I don’t know about any other crafters but when it is family occasions I like to make new projects from scratch quite close to the event. I will pick a card out from my stockpile and customise it for distant relatives and friends, but for some reason, I never do this for those closest to me.