Lawrence Art Supplies Guide to Card Making
Card making is a wonderful excuse to get creative, practice your skills and show your loved ones what a terrific artist you are (or in my case, the artist I wish I could be). Since Christmas is just around the corner, this is the perfect time to create something unique and personal; something completely original from what you might find out on the high street. Here are some of our top tips!
Relief Printing
Relief Printing consists of cutting or etching into a surface, applying ink using a roller and then pressing onto the desired paper. This is a great way of replicating your design onto a series of cards.
Below is an example of a Christmas card design by our very own Georgia Flowers, made using lino cutting materials.
Georgia's piece "A Partridge in a pear tree"
http://www.foxgloveillustration.co.uk/
Georgia used a variety of materials to create her card. She started using Frisk tracing paper and Faber Castell 9000 pencils to create the initial design. The transparency of the paper will help with the transfer of images.
Next, she used Lino blocks as her cutting surface, making sure to flip her image over so it didn't get printed backwards. For the printing process itself, she used a Pfeil tool 12/1, ideal for fine detail, and a Japanese woodcut set for carving. She then rolled out some Lawrence GB Water Washable Relief Ink onto a glass inking slab using a Durathene roller to spread the ink out evenly and rolled onto the lino.
She then placed the lino onto a piece of greyboard and laid a blank card on top of it. Packs of our natural brown cards and envelope are fantastic in giving cards that authentic, homemade feel about them.
Left: Pack of White Cards and Envelopes Right: Natural Brown Cards & Envelopes
Finally she burnished it by putting through her Tofko Studio Press.
You don't need a press to follow these steps. You can achieve the same effect by using a baren , however it would be best to use thinner paper for this technique as the thicker the paper, the more human strength is required!
Gelli Printing
An alternative to traditional relief printing is Gelli printing. This is becoming an increasingly popular technique for mono printing and ideal for those that do not have a press. They’re fun and easy to use and can be used with acrylics or oil paint. We stock them in a range of sizes, and even in kits, making them fantastic presents as well as nifty tools for card making. Take a look at some Gelli creations from the gelli arts website: www.gelliarts.com/
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="881,880,879,878"]
Decoration
If you don't fancy printing (or even if you do) there are tons of fun ways to jazz up your cards. From glitter to gel pens, our shop stocks tons of crafty materials. Enjoy getting crafty this Christmas!
[gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="895,896,897,898"]
Georgia's piece "A Partridge in a pear tree"
http://www.foxgloveillustration.co.uk/
Georgia used a variety of materials to create her card. She started using Frisk tracing paper and Faber Castell 9000 pencils to create the initial design. The transparency of the paper will help with the transfer of images.
Next, she used Lino blocks as her cutting surface, making sure to flip her image over so it didn't get printed backwards. For the printing process itself, she used a Pfeil tool 12/1, ideal for fine detail, and a Japanese woodcut set for carving. She then rolled out some Lawrence GB Water Washable Relief Ink onto a glass inking slab using a Durathene roller to spread the ink out evenly and rolled onto the lino.
She then placed the lino onto a piece of greyboard and laid a blank card on top of it. Packs of our natural brown cards and envelope are fantastic in giving cards that authentic, homemade feel about them.
Left: Pack of White Cards and Envelopes Right: Natural Brown Cards & Envelopes
Finally she burnished it by putting through her Tofko Studio Press.
You don't need a press to follow these steps. You can achieve the same effect by using a baren , however it would be best to use thinner paper for this technique as the thicker the paper, the more human strength is required!
Gelli Printing
An alternative to traditional relief printing is Gelli printing. This is becoming an increasingly popular technique for mono printing and ideal for those that do not have a press. They’re fun and easy to use and can be used with acrylics or oil paint. We stock them in a range of sizes, and even in kits, making them fantastic presents as well as nifty tools for card making. Take a look at some Gelli creations from the gelli arts website: www.gelliarts.com/
[gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="881,880,879,878"]
Decoration
If you don't fancy printing (or even if you do) there are tons of fun ways to jazz up your cards. From glitter to gel pens, our shop stocks tons of crafty materials. Enjoy getting crafty this Christmas!
[gallery columns="2" size="large" ids="895,896,897,898"]
