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Nature's Blessings Fine Art Stamps Rubber Stamps Menu Skip to content Home Contact Us “Lenticular” Papercraft for a Moving Image Effect Jan 2 I call this project “lenticular” papercraft because it takes advantage of different viewing angles to display different, related images to the viewer. The effect it produces is like that of lenticular printing, popular in the mid-20th century, where an image printed on plastic appears to move or change when the card is tilted back and forth. For this card, I chose two sets of related images, but you could choose any two images that you wanted to relate thematically. The pairs I chose were Exercising Woman 3 and Exercising Woman 4 for the first set, and Exercising Woman 5 and Exercising Woman 6 for the second set. You will first need to create a base, or scaffold for your card. Take a sheet of paper or thin card stock, and score it with parallel lines every 1/4 inch. If the paper is thin card stock, you might want to score the other side as well so that the paper bends easily at each scored line. Next, accordion fold the paper along the scored lines. If you plan ahead, you can trim your card to size before you fold, but if not, relax the folds, and trim before the next step. Next, stamp your images, and trim them to be the same height as your accordion-folded card. Trim the images in 1/4 strips, top to bottom. Try to keep the strips in order at this point because it will make the next step easier. Now, with both images trimmed, interleave the images so that a strip from one image is adjacent to a strip from the second image. Keeping all of the strips in order, lay all of them out in this way. Now take the accordion-folded scaffold, and coat it well with spray adhesive. Taking one strip at a time, lay them sequentially on the scaffold so that all of the strips from one image are on one side of the folds, and the all of the strips from the other image are on the other side of the folds. You should now have something that looks like this: When you hold the card at one angle, only one of the image will be visible: And when you tilt the card in the opposite direction, the other image will be visible. If your images are very similar, like the ones I used, you can create an effect of movement by tilting the card back and forth. If you use very different images, the effect will that of one image turning into the other. You can use either effect to your advantage when creating a “story” for your card. The scaffold can now be mounted on another piece of card stock, which can be used to display your greeting, or anything else you choose. Share this: Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google Email Print This entry was posted on January 2, 2016, in Tips and Techniques . Leave a comment Happy New Year Crazy Collage Dec 26 Paper collage is a great way to use up odds and ends from your other stamping projects, but not to underestimate it, a collage can be a wonderful project in and of itself. It is a great way to explore new ideas, compositions and color schemes. Sometimes you have a big idea for what you want to create at the start, and other times, the art work emerges as you go. For this collage, I didn’t plan much ahead besides picking the rubber stamps I wanted to use, and having some idea that I wanted it to be festive and colorful. I had a piece of confetti paper in my stash that I wanted to be the background. Then I chose three stamps, Cow Jumped Over the Moon , Howling Dog , and Cat and the Fiddle , and stamped them on primary colored papers. Then I drew various sizes of circles around the stamped images with a stencil and cut them out, along with some small circles as well. For the rest of the card I played with the composition, trying out different papers, colors and shapes until I found one I liked. Then I added the greeting and nursery rhyme poem in black pen, and added silver highlights. The new year is a fun time to have a paper collage party, and is a good activity for family and friends of all ages. Have everyone bring some paper scraps, stamps, odds and ends and then put them in a big communal pile for everyone to draw from for their projects. Make as few or as many collages as you like, and share them with each other, or send them out as greetings in the new year. Share this: Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google Email Print This entry was posted on December 26, 2015, in Quick Cards , Tips and Techniques . Leave a comment Easy Rainbow Backgrounds with Pigment Ink Dec 19 It is easy to make this fun card by using several brightly colored pigment inks. Using a sponge dauber, dab the applicator on the pad using the color you want and streak it along the page. Do this several times using different colors, cleaning the dauber between each color and blending the colors together as you go. Then, sprinkle on hologram embossing powder and heat with your heat gun to add a bit of shimmer. To embellish the card, stamp and cut out Sledding , shape the paper a bit in the palm of your hand so it has a bit of dimension (see this post for more about the 3D paper craft technique), and attach to the card using foam dots so it is raised off the surface a bit. Finish with the greeting of your choice, written in a fun, decorative script: Share this: Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google Email Print This entry was posted on December 19, 2015, in Quick Cards , Tips and Techniques . Leave a comment Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Dec 12 As the weather turns cooler our thoughts turn to the first snowfall, snow sports like skiing, sledding and skating, and of course lots of snow for the holidays! Send out your own wishes for lovely winter landscapes with this card, made from Pine Tree , and Girl Catching Snowflakes . The tree is stamped in opaque white pigment ink on dark card stock, and the girl is stamped on white card stock in a shade that matches the dark card stock beneath, giving the whole scene that monochromatic feel of a good snowstorm. Add your own greeting with an opaque gel pen in white. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Share this: Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google Email Print This entry was posted on December 12, 2015, in Quick Cards . Leave a comment Stamp on Metallic Paper to Add Shimmer to Your Holidays Dec 5 When making Christmas Cards, I like to have a simple, elegant design that is fun, but basically foolproof so I can make lots of them and not have to fuss too much. Metallic cards and envelopes make that easy. They add a soft shimmer so even a single basic image gleams with elegance. Here are a couple of examples. In the first card, I stamped Pine Tree with embossing ink onto silver card stock. Then I embossed the image, sprinkling dark green and white embossing powders over the image to make the tree look like it has newly fallen snow on the branches. Lastly I dabbed on a few dots of glue, and added metallic foil stars to twinkle on the tree. And that’s it! I attached it to dark green card stock to frame the image and pick up the color of the embossed tree. The next card is extremely simple. Stamp Stockings Hung with Care in red pigment ink on silver card stock. Attach the silver card to red card stock to frame and pick up the color of the image. Lastly, if you can find them, metallic envelopes are a lovely final touch. Embellish them with smaller images stamped on the front and back. Here I’ve used Christmas Stocking next to the recipient’s address: And on the back I’ve stamped Santa by Fireplace on the flap. If you can’t find metallic envelopes, I’d suggest picking one in a shade that matches or complements your card. Then you could stamp Santa by Fireplace on a round foil sticker, and seal the envelope with it. Share this: Facebook Pinterest Twitter Google Email Print This entry was posted on December 5, 2015, in Quick Cards , Tips and Techniques . Leave a comment These backlit Santa Claus stamps make great candle holders! Nov 28 Santa Comin’ Down the Chimney and Santa ‘n’ Reindeer by Nature’s Blessings Fine Art S...