Projects designed by Michael Strong.
Onion skin card
Materials:
onion skins - dry, brown, outermost layer of one large yellow onion
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" white glossy card stock
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" white matte finish or linen-textured card stock
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" brown card stock
recycled corrugated cardboard cut from any flattened product carton
rubber stamps
black, dye-based stamp pad
Berol Prismacolor pencils
3M Super77 spray glue
white glue
glue stick or double-sided tape
double-sided foam mounting tape - optional
paintbrush
paper cutter
scissors
Steps:
1. Using a paper cutter, cut the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of glossy white card stock in half to yield two 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" pieces. Set aside one piece for another card. Fold the other piece in half to make a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" card. This serves as the card body.
2. From the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of matte/linen finish white card stock, cut a 5" x 3-1/2" piece. Use double-sided tape or a glue stick to affix this piece to the center of the card body. Set aside.
3. Using a paper cutter, cut a 4-1/2" x 3-1/4" piece from the recycled corrugated cardboard.
Note: if the cardboard has printing or graphics on one side, it will not show in the finished card because the printed side will be glued down.
4. Spray the non-printed side of the cardboard piece with spray glue.
5. Press pieces of dry onion skin onto the sprayed cardboard until the whole surface is covered. Overlap the skins, if necessary, to cover the surface completely (figure A).
6. With scissors, trim the onion skins from the edges of the card.
7. Turn the onion skin-covered cardboard piece face down on the table and press firmly to set the skins.
8. With a paintbrush, dab the onion skins with a thin, even layer of white glue. Set aside to dry.
9. Using a rubber stamp of choice, ink the stamp with a dye-based, black ink pad and stamp the image onto the brown card stock.
10. Accent the image with a Berol Prismacolor pencil.
11. Cut the image out, leaving a 1/8- to 1/16-inch border around the image.
12. Affix the onion skin cardboard piece to the card body using double-sided tape or a glue stick.
13. Affix the stamped cutout image to the onion card with double-sided tape or double-sided foam mounting tape.
Gilded leaves card
Materials:
dry leaves
8-1/2" x 11" sheet of black matte finish card stock
8-1/2" x 11" sheet of white matte finish card stock
8-1/2" x 11" sheet of Augusta green matte finish card stock - Neenah Classic Linen
leaf design rubber stamp of choice
dye ink slate-colored stamp pad - Adirondack
embossing ink - Hero Arts
gold embossing powder - Stampendous
paintbrush
heat gun
hot glue gun
needle-nose pliers
Steps:
1. Using a paper cutter, cut the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of black card stock into two pieces to yield a 5-1/2" x 11" piece and a 3" x 11" piece. Set aside the 3" x 11" piece for another project. Fold the other piece in half to make a 5-1/2-inch square card.
2. From the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of white card stock, cut a five-inch square piece. Use double-sided tape or a glue stick to affix the white card piece to the center of the black card body.
3. From the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of green card stock, cut a 3-1/2-inch square piece.
4. Using the slate-colored stamp pad, ink the leaf stamp and stamp the image randomly several times onto the 3-1/2-inch square piece. Note: Stamp off the edges sometimes to vary the look of the image and to give the piece more interest.
5. Glue or tape the green card to the center of the white card.
6. From the leftover black card stock, cut a 2-3/8-inch square piece. Glue or tape it diagonally to the green card so that it looks like a diamond in the center. Set aside.
7. Remove the dauber top from the bottle of embossing ink using the pliers. Pour a small amount of the ink into a small cup. Replace the dauber.
8. Using the craft brush, paint a dry leaf with some of the embossing ink. Leave some areas unpainted on the leaf.
9. Dip the painted leaf into a container of gold embossing powder or pour some gold embossing powder over the leaf to coat the painted sections.
10. Holding the leaf by the stem with the pliers, heat the leaf with the heat gun to process the embossing powder (figure B). Note: Heat just until the powder turns shiny. Overheating will cause the ink to bubble and the embossed areas will flake off.
11. Repeat the embossing process with one or more new leafs, depending on how many you want to use on the card.
12. Using the hot glue gun, glue the embossed leaves to the center of the card.
Indian pot card
Materials:
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" black card stock
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" tan-colored writing paper - Fox River
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" rust-colored card stock - Fox River
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" tan-colored card stock - Fox River
sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" charcoal-colored card stock - Neenah brand Classic Laid
Indian pot rubber stamp - discontinued, use any desired stamp
Indian border motif rubber stamp - discontinued, use any desired stamp
black pigment ink pad
embossing powder - Stampendous
Berol Prismacolor pencils
heat gun
glue stick
double-sided tape
foam mounting tape
paper cutter
scissors
Steps:
1. Using a paper cutter, cut the 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of black card stock to yield an 8-1/2" x 6-1/4" piece and an 8-1/2" x 4-3/4" piece. Set aside the 8-1/2" x 4-3/4" piece.
2. Fold the 8-1/2" x 6-1/4" piece to make a card measuring 4-1/4" x 6-1/4". This pieces becomes the card body.
3. Cut and fold the tan-colored paper the same as the card body. This becomes the inner card. Set aside.
4. With a paper cutter, trim off 1/8 inch from the front opening edge of the card body so that a little of the inside of the card shows.
5. Using the black pigment pad, ink the Indian motif border stamp. Stamp it lengthwise along the opening edge of the card body. Stamp it two or more times to make a border that goes from the top of the card to the bottom. Pour black embossing powder over the stamped image. Shake off the excess powder and heat with the heat gun to process.
6. From the remaining tan-colored paper, cut a 2-3/4" x 5-1/2" piece. Tape or glue this piece to the card body 1/2 inch from the left side of the card and centered top to bottom.
7. From the rust-colored card stock, cut a 2-5/8" x 5-3/8" piece. Tape or glue this piece to the tan-colored paper piece on the card. Center the rust-colored card so that 1/8 inch of the tan-colored paper shows as a border around the rust- colored card stock piece.
8. Using the black pigment pad, ink the pot stamp. Stamp it onto the charcoal- colored card stock. Pour black embossing powder over the inked area and shake off the excess powder. Heat the image to process the embossing powder. When finished, cut out the embossed pot and set it aside.
9. To make the plant material, cut a 4-1/2-inch square piece from the sand-colored card stock.
10. Using three colored pencils in shades of red (a dark, a medium and a light shade) begin coloring the sand-colored card piece. Start in the upper right corner the darkest shade and fill in about a 2" x 1/2" section of the card. Next use the medium shade and do the same directly below the dark shade. Repeat with the lightest shade below the medium shade. This will give a graded color block approximately two inches wide by 1-1/2 inches tall covering the upper right hand corner of the piece. On the reverse side, repeat the process on the upper left-hand corner so that the graded color block matches the other side.
11. Lay the paper on the paper cutter. Line up the paper with the colored pencil section in the upper right corner next to the blade of the paper cutter. Slice very thin slivers of the colored card stock so that each piece will have the shades of red at the top and the plain paper at the bottom. Continue to slice very thin slivers of paper until all the colored pencil section has been cut away (figure C).
12. To make a bundle of plant material, lay a piece of double-sided tape lengthwise on the edge of a table or countertop. Let a little of the tape hang over so that you will be able to lift it off easily. Lay several pieces of the plant material in an arrangement onto the tape. The red colored parts should be at the top with the plain bottom parts stuck to the tape. When satisfied with the arrangement, lay another piece of double-sided tape over the plant material directly on top of the tape on the table. This will capture the arrangement between the two pieces of tape.
13. Lift off the bundle of material and transfer it to the card with the tops of the plant material brushing the top of the rust-colored section. Use foam mounting tape to affix the Indian pot to the bottom of the rust-colored section covering the tape, holding the plant material together.
14. Put a little glue with a glue stick along the spine of the tan-colored inner card and slip it into the card body.
Sawdust card
Materials:
sawdust
8-1/2" x 11" sheet of card stock - wood-grain look
8-1/2-inch sheet of card stock - brown
recycled corrugated cardboard - cut from any flattened product carton
rubber stamp - "Hammer Guy" from Michael Strong Rubber Stamps
rubber stamp - "Hammer Baby" from Michael Strong Rubber Stamps
dye-based ink pad - Adirondack brand in mushroom or similar
glue stick
double-sided tape
foam mounting tape
3M Super 77 spray glue
paper cutter
Steps:
1. Using the paper cutter, cut the 8-1/2" x 11" brown card stock in half to yield two 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" pieces. Set one piece aside. Fold the other piece in half to make a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" card. This is your card body.
2. From the wood grain card stock, cut a 5" x 3-3/4" piece.
3. Randomly stamp the "Hammer Guy" and "Hammer Baby" stamps around the perimeter of the wood grain card using the mushroom-colored stamp pad.
4. Tape or glue the stamped wood grain piece to the center of the card body.
5. From the leftover brown card stock, cut a 3-3/4" x 2-1/2" piece and tape or glue it to the center of the wood grain piece.
6. From the corrugated cardboard, cut a 3-1/2" x 2-1/4" piece.
7. Spray one side with 3M Super77 spray glue.
8. Press the glued side into sawdust. Shake off the excess. Turn the card face down on the table and press firmly to embed the sawdust.
9. Tape or glue the sawdust piece to the center of the card body.
10. Stamp the "Hammer Baby" stamp with the mushroom-colored ink onto a piece of the leftover wood grain card stock.
11. Cut the baby out and mount the cutout piece to the sawdust section with foam mounting tape.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
