Paper Tole

As you may know, paper tole, or 3D decoupage, uses multiple layers of a single image to create a 3D presentation. To do so, selected portions are elevated in a series of layers to create depth and dimension from a flat picture. This age-old art used to be a painstaking task involving intricate cutting skills and a very sharp pair of detail scissors and/or a craft knife. Fortunately, now there are pre-cut kits available to make gorgeous cards and to highlight scrapbooking pages. Layers are built up using small, thin foam squares with double-sided adhesive, or silicone glue. If you haven't tried this form of card making, it really is fun and relatively easy to do. I must warn you - it can be very addictive! I buy supplies from a company called Ecstacy Crafts which is located in Shannonville, Ontario (just east of Belleville). Many of the supplies available through their online shopping are imported from Europe. Recently, I taught a class making the cards pictured below. These are step cards; one in the side step style and the other in the centre step style. Both cards were constructed from one 3D decoupage kit. I have, of course, added many details to create the finished cards. They were great fun to design and just as much fun to make.

Until next time,

Wonderful Words

I have fallen in love with my new Wonderful Words die collection from Papertrey Ink. For those of you who are not familiar with this incredible set, it includes 4 dies which cut the words "you", "happy", "lucky", and "forever". The dies produce words that are so clear and intricately cut that they serve as wonderful focal points for cards. I have also found that they can easily be layered by gluing multiple pieces together to create impressive 3D embellishments. Check out these Valentine's Day cards that I made using two of the word dies:

The first of these two cards I made for the "Less is More" challenge. This week, the challenge is to use a simple sketch in designing your card. You can check out the challenge by visiting http://simplylessismoore.blogspot.com/ Until next time,