{ICAD} Tips for Creating Cards

So I have had a lot of questions about how I create my cards and can I please do a process video. Process videos are very hard for me because I literally will work on 3-6 cards at once, and I may only have 10 minutes here and there throughout a day to work on them. It would be a video pieced together over many, many days, and it would probably be impossible to create. I am so sorry. But with that said, let me see if I can give you a few tips.

First, I keep a whole box of cards in my storage bin. In the back are blank cards, and in the front are cards I have put a bit of paint on. What kind of paint? What do I do? Well, if I have paint leftover (acrylic paints, distress paints, liquid inks), I will scrape it onto a card. Sometimes I will use a stencil and stencil the leftover paint or ink onto a card. I do the same thing with leftover modeling paste. Anything leftover goes onto cards. Here you can see my bin. Sorry for the poor color. It's in a corner, and it was a dark and rainy day when I took the photo.

And below you can see a pile of messy cards. As I said, I keep these in the bin above, and I pull ones I like for the day to finish off.

Now how do I turn those into something? Layers and lots of them! As you can see from the pile above, I have started with leftover stenciled paint and ink, scraped paint from a hotel key, drips, and leftover torn paper. Here is what some of the above cards turned into.

#3 above turned into this one you saw last weekend. I took the card above and first stenciled on it in another blue color. Then I added some white paint and scribbled the paint onto the card. See those white lines above the word 'pencil'? I did that on several spots on the card. Then I added torn map paper, more stencils, stenciled flowers on book paper cut out, and then painted dots. I used a small dowel for the dark blue dots. Just dip the dowel in paint and stamp onto the card. Doodles were last prior to adding the quote. 

#4 turned into a card you saw this past weekend also. I did not do a lot more to this one. Again I added the white paint scribbles, another stencil (an alpha stencil), stamped some text with black ink, and that's about it. I did add doodles around the sentiment too which was stamped onto tissue paper.

And #6 was also from this past weekend. I really did not like this one. Wow, it was a hot mess. See it above? To start, I used a stencil and added white paint over the top of the entire card. I then punched several circles out of map paper and added them to the card. This helped cover up a lot of the mess. I then added stenciled green circles, stamped some black circles, and tried to cover up even more of that hot mess. Choosing a longer scripture helped with that also. At the end, I added black paint splatters. Is it my favorite card? No but I like it now.

You will see what I do with #2 and #5 this coming weekend. I will try to post the before and after so you can have a reference of my starting point.

So, basically it's all about layers. Keep adding until you like it. Cover up the things you don't like with book paper, map paper, etc. Here is a step-by-step if you want to try out what I do (mostly):

• Using acrylic paint and a hotel key card, smear on a few of your favorite colors across the card.
• Completely cover the card in paint, if desired. I do not always completely cover the card. 
• With a palette knife, add streaks of white paint. Even scribble in the paint with the knife. 
• With a stencil, add more paint. Repeat with another color of paint and another stencil if desired.
• Create flowers, butterflies, or whatever on book paper with paint. Cut out and add them to your card. Add splatters and or rings with white paint (using a lid) or another contrast color. 
• Doodle around the flower or butterfly that you put on your card. 
• Add touches of paint where you see it needs it or even another stencil. This is where you play and finish. What looks good to your eye?
• Add stamping if desired. This can be text, doodles, whatever.
• Add paint splatters for more fun.
• Add your quote and sew around the edges.

I hope this gives you a bit of an idea of what I do. Also these cards are great for trying new techniques. Watch some YouTube videos, and try something new. Watch people creating canvases, art journal pages, anything, and try it out on these cards. You will be surprised what you learn, how much fun you have, and then you will have a great stack of cards to work with.

Hope that helps. Next post I will share my storage boxes with you. Thanks for stopping by, and let me know if you have questions in the comments section. Blessings,

Questions Answered

I know not everyone reads the comment section, and I thought this was a great one from Tish so I am posting here so everyone can see my response. Thanks Tish for the great questions.

"Tish Schneider has left a new comment on your post "{ICAD} Tips for Creating Cards"

Thank you for sharing those tips. I love the idea of using "leftover" paint, etc. on the cards from projects to prepare the cards for future use. I do have a couple of questions? What kind of cards work best and should they get a coat of gesso first? I've got a bunch of blank (unlined) index cards, but they don't seem to be holding up to paint, etc. very well. They warp and separate. I'm thinking a coat of gesso first would help? I love your tabbed cards and would love to find some of those, but I'm trying to use what I already have first and have a ton of these untabbed ones. Thank you!"

First, the cards I use are the Smead Card Guide, 1/3 Cut Tab, 5x3, Manila, 100 per box, Item No. 55030. Amazon has them available from various sellers, and you can find them other places by doing a Google search. They also come in a 4x6 size which could be really nice too! I do not always gesso them first. If I have leftover gesso, then I smear it on a card too but it's not necessary to gesso these first. I find they work great either way and no warping. They are extremely sturdy. Love them! As far as using blank index cards, have you thought of gluing a couple together first? That would make them a bit more sturdy. Or you could even sew a second one to the back of a finished card. That might "iron it out" a bit once the original card is dry. Also on those, I would definitely use gesso first. It would keep the paint and things from soaking in so much. They will still warp but it will help. I hope these tips give you some ideas. Thanks again for asking!