A handmade greeting card made by tearing paper.
Can you make a good-looking greeting card by tearing paper? I gave it a try since I'm a creatively challenged novice card maker. Did the torn design turn out well? I'll leave that judgement to you.
Supplies and Stuff
These are the items I used to make this greeting card:
Paper cutter and score tool
Heavy cardstock paper
Decorative pattern paper
Scissors
Double-sided foam tape
Clear stamp sentiment "Happy Birthday"
Acrylic stamp block
Black archival stamp ink
Permanent marker
Alcohol ink markers
Card Base
I had a sheet of letter sized heavy white cardstock paper I cut down to 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" and scored at 4-1/4". I had enough to make two card bases.
The "Design"
Believe it or not, I didn't get inspiration for this design by tearing up a poor handmade greeting card! Although I'll admit I made a half dozen poor handmade greeting cards before this one.
While searching online for inspiration, I noticed some handmade cards consisted of a torn element to the design. I thought I'd try tearing a piece of decorative paper to see how it'd look on a card front.
I selected a sheet from the Paper Studio's "Eat Cake" paper pack, a pack I often use when I make birthday themed greeting cards.
I tried to imagine how it'd look before actually tearing the paper. I placed it over the card front and decided to cut the decorative sheet down to 4" wide.
The next step was as easy as it sounds. I tore the sheet. I tried to keep the tear as straight as possible, but it wasn't possible with my hands. Personally, I liked the white, rough edge created from the tear.
Assembling the Card Front Design
I opted to use foam tape to adhere the torn piece to the card front. I believed the foam tape would add some depth and dimension to the finished design.
I stamped a "Happy Birthday" sentiment along the bottom center of the card.
The Inside
Since my stamp supplies were out anyway, I decided to stamp an image inside the card base. I pulled out my old Art Impressions "Doggy Kisses" stamp set. One of the dogs reminded me of my friend's new puppy.
The stamp I wanted to use had a long bandage wrapped body. I didn't want to use the bandage wrap part of the stamp. I started by dabbing ink on the butt part of the image. I then stamped it inside the card base.
I dabbed ink on the head of the image and then stamped it next to the butt, but with a gap in between the two parts.
I used a permanent marker to complete the image without a bandage wrap. The permanent ink color matched the stamp ink color closely, but I went ahead and outlined the entire image anyway.
I colored the image with alcohol ink markers. I believe the finished colored image resembles my friend's puppy.
I left the remainder of the inside plain to make room for a personal message to my friend celebrating her birthday this month.
My Thoughts
I thought I'd try creating a torn greeting card design since I'm a creatively challenged novice card maker.
I wanted to create something simple and yet decent looking for my friend's birthday. This was actually my last attempt at creating a handmade card for her. The first half dozen attempts using more advanced techniques didn't look presentable to me.
I hoped this simple design looks good, but I'll leave the judgement to you and my friend who received it. If I know her, she'd at least be happy to see her dog in a cartoon form inside the card base.
What's Next?
Apparently, I need to practice making a variety of handmade greeting cards. Hopefully my skills will improve with practice.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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