Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Folding, Tearing, and Cutting Paper
Paper is an extraordinary material. Its weight, texture, and sheer versatility stimulate our senses as we fold, tear, cut, color, and layer it to produce marvelous, one-of-a-kind works of art.
Paper torn with a ragged edge is an embellishment of choice for many paper crafters. Tear paper against the grain for a soft, jagged edge; or tear with the grain for a sharp, clean edge.
SHAPED PANEL CARD
Stamped and delicately colored images are Magenta signature styles. This unique envelope-style card relies on gently shaded color, simple cutting, and easy folding. The soft, complementary palette is enhanced with fine detail. Look closely at the green leaves above the butterfly. The color is darker at one edge and slips into a soft green with white highlights at the opposite edge. Such detal is elegantly effective.
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The card is easy to create and makes a delightful impression. Two simple horizontal folds divide the card in thirds. The bottom panel folds up, and the top one folds down, attaching to the bottom panel with raffia strands wrapped around a brad. A layer of decorative paper and one of printed vellum are attached to the bottom panel. The type panel, embellished with tiny gold Peel Off's, is adhered to the printed vellum, and a brad is attached to the center point of the panel to accept the raffia strands. We stamped the message with tiny cling alphabet stamps. (Adhere the cling stamps, one at a time, to a small acrylic block for easy stamping. You can see the placement of the letters more easily with the acrylic block than with a wooden block.) An imaginative element here is a stamped, colored, silhouetted, gently shaped butterfly hovering over its twin, attached to the panel at its midpoint, with wings curled to add shadow and dimension.
Use your imagination, select your palette, and add your own embellishments. Would you prefer the printed vellum over the moss green panel? Would you rather slip the papers inside the card to be revealed when the card is opened? Such details make the project distinctly individual.
MATERIALS
Rubber stamps: Panel, Butterfly, tiny cling alphabet Colorbox Fluid Chalk inkpad: warm green Cardstock: moss green Paper: tan Vellum: Moss Green Foliage Raffia: 9-inch strip Bead: small Brad: small Bone folder Peel Off's: gold Scissors Prismacolor pencils: various Ruler Foam tape
CREATING THE PROJECT • Shaped Panel Card
1 Cut three pieces of moss green cardstock: one to create a card 4 ¼ by 9 inches, one to a 4 ¼-inch square, and one to a 4 ¼ by ¾-inch panel. Using warm green Fluid Chalk ink, stamp the solo butterfly on the square, and the message with cling alphabet stamps on the small panel; rub the edges of the type panel with the ink pad; set aside. With the card face up on your work surface, stamp the shaped panel at the bottom edge.
2 Rotate the card 180 degrees so that the decorative shaped panel is facing away from you at the top edge of the card. Score a fold line with a bone folder leaving a 1/8-inch space below the stamped image.
3 Trim the curved edge of the shaped panel with scissors, leaving a border around the stamped image about 1/8-inch wide, to match the border created by the fold line. Add color to the stamped panel with colored pencils, as shown. Color and silhouette the single butterfly, and set aside. You will be attaching it over the butterfly in the panel later.
4 Thread a few strands of raffia through a bead, and attach to the card through a small punched hole. Fold the card in thirds. Layer the type panel onto a mat of printed vellum and decorative paper cut to size, and attach it to the card, finishing with small gold Peel Off's. Add a brad just above the type panel. Shape the solo butterfly wings by quickly rotating the scissors handle under each wing before attaching the butterfly to the card, with a piece of foam tape beneath each wing.
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
Using a similar palette and coloring techniques we crafted several variations with added dimension. Each of these variations uses a torn or cut layered panel to highlight the focal point. We have added subtle dimension by gently rubbing an ink pad around the edges of the torn panels on the two larger cards. The two small rectangular cards use a similar folding technique to the main project, but are turned 90 degrees on their sides so that they open horizontally. The message and a small photo or object can be tucked inside the card.
FRAME-IN-A-FRAME CARDS
Look what you can do when you look outside the stamp. One stamp can produce many unusual effects. The rubber stamp used for this project produces multiple borders and frames plus a central image, all of which can be stamped several times in a variety of colors and then cut apart and reassembled with a mixed palette. The pieces can be re-assembled whole, with color variations, or you might choose to substitute a section of the stamped image with one from a different stamp. Or try inserting a favorite photograph to be framed at the center. The results are imaginative and fun. And you can get much more mileage from one stamp if you learn to see its individual parts.
Think of the projects you could create if you wanted a suite of cards, perhaps for a special formal dinner party, with an invitation, reply card, table place card, and table decoration. You could vary the colors of the individual items within your chosen palette. A creative friend even coordinated the colors of table place cards with the preordered menu selection at a celebratory luncheon so the waiter would know at a glance which entrée belonged to whom.
You can stamp, silhouette, and interweave images from several stamps onto one card or project. Take the time to play with the materials. It is worth it.
MATERIALS
Rubber stamp: frame panel Colorbox Pigment inkpads: harbor, cerulean, roussillon Cardstock: terra cotta, apple blossom, festive blue, pumpkin Maruyama paper: classic ivory Marvy markers: For the blue hues: light blue, Prussian blue, pale blue For the orange hues: ochre, cherry, persimmon Clear embossing powder Heat tool Glossy Accents Lacquer Plastic palette dish Watercolor brush Ruler Mat knife Scissors Cutting mat
CREATING THE PROJECT • Frame-In-A-Frame Cards
1 Stamp the frame panel image on a variety of cardstocks in pigment inks appropriate to each colored cardstock. Cover with clear embossing powder and gently tap off the excess powder, returning it to the container for future use. Set the embossing powder with a heat tool. Trim the cards on the outside edge of the image.
2 Brush some of each blue water-based Marvy marker into wells of the plastic palette; brush one of the orange hues into another. With a watercolor brush, or a special water-filled cartridge brush/pen, paint the outermost border of the embossed image, as shown.
3 Cut apart the large stamped panel to separate the borders and frames. We used a mat knife and ruler, on a cutting board to obtain a clean cut.
4 Cut out the center circles of the stamped images with a mat knife, and then silhouette the flower shapes with scissors. Eventually these flower shapes will be arranged in the center panel of the card. Re-assemble the various frames, borders, and flower shapes as you wish. Try layering a decorated frame over a simple one-color image to add dimension.
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
Stamp and emboss several extra images and have fun cutting, mixing, and matching the pieces later. The possibilities are many. Be imaginative. Create cards, framed photos, album covers, and so on.
DIE-CUT WINDOW ALBUM
There is a sense of magic in transforming a simple sheet of paper into a full-blown artwork. Disarmingly feminine, this album cover is full of light and repose — a perfect setting for featured photographs of a delightful little girl. The intriguing, criss-crossed pink-ribbon binding is capped with a soft bow intertwined with Maruyama fibers and glass beads accenting the ribbon streamers. One silhouetted flower cut from the pink-patterned paper, curled to add dimension, accents the corner of the die-cut window covered in the peach-patterned paper. The flower embellishment is lifted from the page surface with a small piece of mounting tape beneath it. The techniques involved are detailed but not difficult. A charming gift for Mother's Day, a birthday, Christmas, or any day you want to lift someone's spirits or remind them of moments you love.
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One of our favorite techniques when hand-binding books or albums with ribbon is to anchor the end of the spine opposite the one you are starting with. Slip a ribbon through the holes of the covers and interior pages and tie them together. Then begin the binding at the opposite end of the spine, working up to the anchored edge. Remove the ribbon once you have established the binding. We leave the first "anchoring" ribbon on its spool so the ribbon can be used again later (see the photo).
Before starting, take the time to think who and what the album is for, and choose your colors and patterns accordingly. When you change the paper palette and pattern, you change the look of the album. Experiment and have fun.
MATERIALS
Album from Magenta Papers from Magenta: Peach Retro Floral, Pink Retro Floral Pink ribbon Maruyama threads Glass beads Peel Off's: copper Glue stick Mat knife Ruler Scissors Embroidery needle Cutting mat
CREATING THE PROJECT • Die-cut Window Album
1 Center the 8 by 8-inch cardboard album front cover face down on a 12 by 12-inch sheet of decorative paper. We used a pretty paper with a dark peach outline flower pattern on a light peach background. Trim the four corners of the paper in a slight arc to prevent bulky corners from forming when you fold the edges of the paper around the cardboard frame.
2 Cut an X diagonally on the back side of the paper from inside corner to inside corner of the window. Fold each triangle of the X back over the straight edge of the window frame. Cover the back cover of the album with the same paper used on the front, carefully folding in the edges and corners. Line the front and back album covers with a coordinating color paper (we used the same pattern paper in pink).
3 Glue a coordinating sheet of paper inside the front window so that you see the paper through the window. Anchor the top of the spine with extra ribbon. Thread an embroidery needle with a length of ribbon five to six times the height of the spine. Start the binding at the bottom edge of the spine, adjusting the edges of the covers and inside pages to keep them aligned. Stitch the length of the spine in one direction first.
4 Leave extra ribbon at the top of the spine before stitching in the opposite direction to create the distinctive crisscross binding. Embellish the ribbon bow at the spine top with several strands of Maruyama fibers. Tie a glass bead to each ribbon end. Frame the window with narrow copper Peel Off's. For a final decorative flourish, glue to the lower right corner of the die-cut window a shaped single flower cut from the pink patterned paper, and add a tiny copper Peel Off's dot in the center.
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
Two of the window albums shown here have die-cut windows like the main album cover. The third project has an openable window created from the center-mounted paper frame. The two die-cut album covers here have two layers; the first wraps around the board, and the second is cut a bit smaller and layered over the first paper, creating contrasting mats. A narrow silver Peel Off's border embellishes one, while the other offers a self-adhesive metallic embellishment in its center panel. Photo albums do not always have to frame photographs on the cover. Sometimes simple artwork is just what is needed.
PIECED-QUILT STAR BOX
A stunning palette offering a parade of luxurious colors adds excitement to decorative boxes with intriguing pinched star tops. The distinctive boxes are lovely gifts themselves or, of course, can carry a special gift to a lucky recipient. Although there are many choices to make while creating this project, the project is not difficult. The colors are harmonious, the patterns similar, and the strips of a balanced proportion. So although the pattern is not necessarily proscribed, there is a strong sense of balance. You may think that you need top-notch mathematical skills to create the pieced-quilt pattern for these paperstrip boxes, but you really do not. The strips range in widths from 1/8 to 1 inch, and you place them randomly, adjusting the pattern as you wish. The cardstock (all colors) is enhanced with Cat's Eye inkpads to add depth and interest to the color base. The subtle variation in the size of the stamped images adds interesting texture and focus. The stamped images bleeding off the edges of the strips create the illusion of a meadow of wildflowers.
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We have used a box designed and sold by Magenta, but you can decorate any kind of box, card, or album using this pieced-quilt technique. A template for this box.
TIP: When making a box with the template, be sure to use sturdy cardboard to withstand the pinching and folding star top.
MATERIALS
Magenta Star Box (or cardboard, and template)
CREATING THE PROJECT • Pieced-Quilt Star Box
1 Select a palette with available cardstock, Cat's Eye inkpads, and colored pencils.
2 Cut the cardstock into strips of varying widths — 1/8, ¼, 3/8, ½, ¾ and 1 inch. We cut on the long side of the cardstock, and will trim any excess length from the mat later.
3 Add appropriate color to the strips with Cat's Eye pigment inkpads. Tap the color onto the paper strips, (direct-to-paper) while the strips are on scrap paper so you can bleed the ink right off the edges of the strips.
4 Stamp each cut-and-colored cardstock strip with one of the stamps while the strip rests on a fresh piece of scrap paper, so the stamped image can bleed off the edges of the colored strips.
5 Finish the coloring technique with Prismacolor colored pencil — mostly highlighting parts of the images with white pencil. This simple detail finishes the color and adds sophistication and elegance. We use Prismacolor pencils because the color is bright, and the color is smooth and even.
6 Cut four panels of white cardstock about ¼-inch smaller all around than the sides of the selected box. The pieced-quilt is constructed on these panels to be matted and mounted on the box sides. Remove the protective backing from one side of a double sided adhesive sheet and affix it to a white cardstock panel. Remove the top protective backing of the adhesive sheet. Lay the strips in a pleasing manner onto each adhesive panel.
7 Turn over the completed pieced panel and trim the strips flush with the edges of the cardstock. Cut on a cutting board freehand if it is easy for you, or with a mat knife against a ruler.
8 Cut four chamois cardstock mats approximately 1/8 inch larger all around than the pieced panels. Layer each pieced panel onto the mats. Mount the four matted pieced panels onto the box sides. You can work with a Magenta Star Box or make your own box with the template. If you work with the template you can change the size of the box as you wish.
9 Assemble the box by folding on all scored lines and gluing the tabs together. Create the star-fold top and bottom by folding the straight lines in both directions first, to loosen them up. Push in to the center on the straight line in the middle of each semicircle, and gently pinch each of the four points to form the top.
VARIATIONS ON THE THEME
Using the same techniques, we have created a scrapbook page and two cards. Save all the extra strips from the main project for future projects. Keep palettes or color families together. Think about making lots of extra strips to keep on hand. You can always add to the collection, but it is good to have a base ready and simply add a few extra pieces when you need them.
PIECED-PAPER FRAME
Bargello is a type of seventeenth-century Florentine Needlepoint of stepped stitches in a repeating pattern with subtle color changes. Often the patterns are zigzags or "flames" of color reaching across the project. Paper crafters have adapted the pattern and variations for their own scrapbook pages, cards, gift tags, frames, and framed artwork.
Rather than a strict adaptation, this colorful pieced-paper frame is a variation on the Bargello idea. It has five column widths, five individual-piece heights, five color inks, and four colored papers. The individual pieces are arranged in columns, varying the height and color of each piece to create a fabulous kaleidoscopic effect.
The palette is exuberant, the shapes are small squares and several-sized rectangles, and the adapted mosaic effect is casually sophisticated. The frame itself is layered for added dimension. The black-and-white photograph of the child in thoughtful repose contrasts beautifully with the busy, heightened color of the frame.
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Excerpted from "Magenta Style Paper Magic"
by .
Copyright © 2007 Arena Books Associates, LLC.
Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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