Want a beautiful, thrifty and easy card making idea? Here are a few simple techniques you can use to turn foil cards with a matte background into fabulous works of art.
These cards are so easy to make and they don't take long either!
I found these simple beauties for $1 with 20 cards in it - a dollar! My sisters were throwing me a baby shower so couldn't pass them up. They even had the little feet!! Ah, but I digress.
I had the perfect plan for them.
Step 1: I started by "grunging" the edges, giving them a modern, worn look. All you need is to scrape your card against your ink pad for this technique.
For a swiped look, drag the edges of your card across the ink pad. For the spotted/denim/vintage type look, simply press your card into the ink pad without swiping it.
I like to use 2 different colors to give it depth. Although a monochromatic color scheme can look fabulous too!
(Tip: always start with your lightest colored ink)
Step 2: You can see that the words don't quite pop. So I grabbed my sponge, patted it in the ink, and pressed using a swirling motion just around the words.
Step 3: Cool as that was, I wasn't done. I wanted to have more of a watercolor look to it. So I lightly sprayed the sponge (that still had ink in it by the way)...
...and made short swiping strokes across the center foil words.
Continue to swipe across the rest of the card until the color runs out. Repeat as often as you like - but remember, not too much water or your card will warp!
And this is what you get - unique, artistic cards that only took a minute to make!
And of course, I couldn't leave it alone! After making a few of one color, I had to make a few in another color! After all, there were 20 in the box.
If you try out this little card making idea, come back and tell us about it. We'd love to see what you did!
Remember to play with it. Have fun! That's part of the joy of making cards. :)
Enjoy!
