All about cardmaking

It's no secret that gifts with their own hands are special, more time is spent on them, which means that the result will certainly delight the recipient. After all, modern greeting cards can seem boring, not related to the necessary holiday, and also not correspond to the gift. There is a cardmaking technique to solve this problem. In this article, we will consider what it is, note the history of its origin and features, indicate all the techniques and styles of execution and consider a master class.

Cardmaking is a hand-made trend that is aimed at making cards with your own hands using various available and simple materials. The popularization of this direction occurred due to the fact that postcards are unusual, unique and always special, as they are made specifically for a specific person and occasion.

Like any technique, cardmaking has its own styles, which we will discuss below. Styles will primarily depend on the purpose of the congratulation.

• Vintage... The style is characterized by decorative elements that are deliberately aged, or really old materials were used. Vintage is something that takes us back in time, evokes a sense of nostalgia. You can also use old photographs, magazines, stamps.

• Grunge... A feature of this style is muted dark colors such as black, gray, brown, dark green. There are no special restrictions on the direction - the edges can be frayed, torn or wrinkled. Many needlewomen use this style to create themed postcards.

• Classic style. It is also called American.The style is primarily characterized by the integrity and harmony of the picture as a whole. All elements (and there can be an unlimited number of them) must be correctly combined, complementary and not interfere with each other. In this direction, everyone will be able to reveal their potential, since they will not be limited by anything except their imagination.

• European... The style of conservatism, rigor, restraint. In this direction, use the minimum amount of everything. There should be no more than 3 colors on the card, decorative elements should not be too voluminous and catchy, and there should not be too many of them. The shape of the postcard is rectangular, the elements must be placed compactly and neatly in relation to each other. The concept of materials, elements and the chosen font for congratulations should be combined and sustained in one direction. This style is dominated by simplicity and clarity of lines.

• Mixed... The direction is inherent in a combination of two other styles, you can take one style as a basis and add elements of the other to it. The main thing is to choose the right direction, harmoniously combine the two styles, and the most important thing for a mixed style is not to overdo it with the elements.

• Mini postcard style... Mini postcards are suitable for a small message or to add, for example, to a bouquet. They are small in size, so they are distinguished by the simplicity of decorative elements.

Many wonder where this technique came from. Therefore, it is necessary to turn a little to the history of the emergence of cardmaking. The first mentions of this trend appeared in Ancient China, where it is still customary to exchange small gifts made with your own hands for the New Year according to the Eastern calendar. This is their feature, even if the gift is small, it will still be. Therefore, the popularity of such postcards at one time went off scale. Since any available means were used to create.

In European lands, they began to engage in the creation of postcards only by the middle of the 15th century, but thanks to the romantic natures of secular ladies of that time, the direction gained unprecedented popularity among female representatives who wrote small messages to their soul mates. By the quality of the postcards, it was possible to directly understand what class this or that girl was from, since there was no wide variety of paper or decorative elements, everything that could be used was used.

With the emergence and formation of technical progress, the passion for cardmaking began to fade away, since the world did not stand still, and progress reached the post office, presenting printed postcards to the world, and in the 20th century, printed postcards with images and even ready-made congratulations appeared. Therefore, up to the XXI century and even now, printed cards are replacing hand-made ones, since there is no need to waste your time on them. But there are those for whom not only the result is important, but also the process of creating a gift.

Cardmaking is a kind of combined areas of different techniques. Many people mistakenly think that scrapbooking is cardmaking, but it is not. Consider the most popular techniques for making cards in the style of cardmaking.

• Embroidery... The technique is popular and well-known, but not many people know that embroidery can be used as a decorative element in decorating postcards. The resulting embroidered pattern can be used as the main accent of the canvas, or create a whole composition against the background of the pattern. For work, a dense canvas is selected so that it perfectly keeps its shape, and also does not crumble. For volumetric embroidery, tapes are used and embroidered with them.The resulting embroidery will immediately sparkle with other colors, and the volume will attract more attention. Bead embroidery is a very painstaking work, but it's worth it, the embroidery will shimmer beautifully in the sun, and the postcard can be stored for a long time without losing its colors.

• Iris Folding, the name comes from the English language and literally means a rainbow folding of colors. The basis of this technique is paper, or rather, cutting out pictures along the contour and superimposing flat parts on top of each other to create volume and texture.

• Pop-up or pop up Is one of the most time consuming postcard creation techniques. These are three-dimensional pictures that appear when you open a postcard or message.

• Scrapbooking Is one of the most popular techniques. All the materials at hand are used here to create a unique collage.

• Decoupage... To create postcards using this technique, napkins or decoupage cards are most often used. Decoupage uses vintage styles, that is, the paper and decorative elements are specially aged, and the effect of cracking canvases is achieved.

• Quilling - a unique direction that can be combined with other techniques, as well as independently used, creating whole pictures. For this technique, they sell special paper that makes the job easier.

• Ornare - not a very popular direction for creating postcards. The main feature of the technique is to create images using thick paper and a needle. The applied template pattern is pierced with a needle, a pattern is created.

• Origami Is another interesting technique in which you can make a postcard. The figured image will be a unique and original congratulation. For men, you can fold a tie, shirt or suitcase, and for a girl - a beautiful dress, bouquet. Also, animals beautifully made in this technique are suitable for everyone.

• Pergamano - the basis of this technique is that a special high-density tracing paper is used, openwork decorative elements are cut out of it. Also, tracing paper is pressed and perforated.

Many people think that it is very difficult for beginners to master making cards in the style of cardmaking. But this is not the case. In order to correctly complete any master class, it is necessary to prepare all the necessary working tools.

To work in any style, you need the following.

• Paper or cardboard, colored paper, wrapping paper can be used as it is bright and patterned. You can buy special paper for scrapbooking, it comes in sets, there are special ones with aged paper.
• Scotch tape, glue, double-sided tape.
• Scissors (simple and with a grooved edge), you may also need a simple and curly hole punch.
• Decor elements... There are no special restrictions here, you can choose everything that will appeal to the eye: a button, a piece of ribbon, a bead, a sequin, lace, fabric, natural materials (leaves, branches, cones), magazine clippings, stamps, both purchased and homemade, shells from eggs, coffee, cereals, spices (which do not cause an allergic reaction in the form of sneezing). In short, you can use any available means.

The main element for creating a quilling card for Teacher's Day will be special paper, namely narrow strips of paper for quilling. The color scheme will be individual, but the colors must be chosen so that they look harmonious with the main paper. In order to complete the postcard, we need the following.

• A4 sheet of paper, the color depends on the idea. A creamy or sandy shade is best.
• Quilling paper should be taken in bright shades for flowers (yellow, red, pink, orange) and green for creating leaves and stems. Width 3-5 mm.
• Quilling hook.
• PVA glue and stationery scissors.
• Mock up text with congratulations or beautifully printed text.

The work progress is as follows.

1. We fold a sheet of paper, which is the basis of the future postcard, in half. Inside we draw a special island for congratulations. On the title side we draw the position of where the flower or bouquet will be, the congratulatory inscription "Happy Teacher's Day" and a small note from whom.
2. Before you start building a flower arrangement, you need to decide how many buds it will consist of.
3. Departing 3-5 cm from the edge of the sheet, put a small horizontal line. This will be the beginning of the growth of the stems. Then, tightly to each other with a thin line, draw the arrangement of the stems horizontally upward. Having drawn the lines, we take green sheets of paper and fold them in half, without squeezing, on the contrary, fold them so that a space is formed between the two sides. We make such folded double stems from 6-10 pieces. The quantity depends on the splendor of the bouquet.
4. Then carefully apply PVA glue to the stems with a thin layer on the edge. And we glue it with an edge to the base of the postcard. We wait a few minutes and take on the next stem. It is worth remembering that there should be space between the two sides of the quilling paper.
5. The buds are made as simple as possible. Basically, you need to create a difference in size between the buds, so some of the strips are cut in half. We take the hook and insert the end of the paper into it, start winding. If you don't have a hook, you can use a pen or pencil. The winding should resemble a kind of snail shell. Depending on the idea, you can make the bud a little dense and, conversely, free. Carefully removing the winding from the hook, coat it with glue on one side and, slightly loosening the winding, lower the paper onto the base. It turned out the first bud. The rest of the flowers are executed exactly the same way.
6. The stems can be wrapped with satin ribbon, completing the bouquet.
7. In the designated place where the location of the inscription was marked, write a message.

For how quickly and simply you can make a beautiful mini postcard in the scrapbooking style for any holiday or event, see the next master class.