Tag: diy

Make This: Striped Screen Printed Clipboards

Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

Sometimes things just needs a little sprucing up. This time of year, when many of us try to focus on spring cleaning and organizing, I find that I need a bit of motivation. Here’s a speedy screen printing method to jazz up old clipboards, but could also be used on other flat office supplies, such as binders, folders, box lids, etc.

You will need:

clipboards
screen printing frame
screen printing ink
spatula or plastic spoon
squeegee
packaging or blue tape
a friend to hold down your screen / or a hinge clamp board

Gather your materials. I had a few old clipboards lying around my studio that definitely needed a facelift, but you can always purchase plain ones at Staples or Target. The screen printing frame that I am using is from Blick. It’s pretty amazing what you can do without fancy screen printing equipment. With screen printing, you are masking, or blocking, parts of the open screen to create a stencil. Whatever is “open” will print, whatever is “blocked” – in our case with tape – won’t print. I find that you can create fun geometric designs by simply using tape. If you’re looking for something more complex, try cutting a stencil out of contact paper. Same idea.

When you screen print, the screen needs to be directly flush and in contact with whatever you are printing on, with the frame facing upwards. Place your clipboard underneath your screen, as you’ll be printing, to get a sense of size. Your screen should be larger than your clipboard, and needs at least a 2” border buffer, as printing too closely to the edge of the screen is tricky and just doesn’t print well.

Flip your screen over. You’ll now block parts of the screen using tape. Begin with the sides and bottom of the screen so that you get closer to the actual size of the clipboard. Then have fun with creating open stripes or geometric patterns with your tape. Just keep in mind that you’ll eventually have to flip your screen over again, so remember that your print will come out in reverse of what you are taping.

Before printing, flip your screen over to get a better sense as to what will print. I’m going to print off the edges of my clipboard, which is why the open area is larger than my clipboard, but feel free to keep the printing contained within the printing surface. It’s definitely less messy that way.

To print, you’ll need the frame to be held in place, either by a handy friend or in my case, a hinge-clamp board. Gather your ink + squeegee.

Position the clipboard directly under the screen where you want to print. Using a spatula or spoon, spread ink to the top of your screen in a line.

Before printing, you need to “flood” your screen. Using your squeegee, which should be a little wider than your design, in your dominant hand and holding the frame up in your other hand, pull the ink towards you at a 45 degree angle. This is filling the open screen with ink prior to printing. (Since I was taking a picture, I just rested my frame on my tape roll.)

Once the screen is full of ink, place the screen down directly on the clipboard. With the screen firmly in place, pull the squeegee down again at a 45 degree angle. Don’t be afraid of really applying some pressure here. In fact, you may want to do 2 or 3 pulls, as wood will absorb some of the ink.

Gently pull up the frame and you should have a new, fancy updated clipboard. If you are printing on various size clipboards, as I did, be sure to print in order from large to small. And with printing, the time is in the setup not the printing, so why not line up a pile of flat items to print on while you’re at it!

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. Products are created to inspire memories at home and around the table. A donation is made with every purchase to help feed hungry Americans.

www.BonnieKayeStudio.com

April 9, 2015
Naturally Dyed Egg Tutorial

Tutorial and Photos by Christie Sommers of West Oak Design

Here’s a fun little tutorial that you should be able to do for under $5… unless you use what you already have! Just about any vegetable, fruit or herb that will stain your clothes, will stain an egg. For this tutorial I used red cabbage and blueberries for the blue, and turmeric powder for the yellow. My original intention was to make a nice set of color gradient ombre dyed eggs but it didn’t exactly work out that way. I was able to somewhat achieve that effect with the blue ones, but the turmeric eggs seemed to stay about the same shade. If you’re looking for perfect, evenly dyed eggs, this may not be for you. I personally love the earthy mottled effect you get from using natural dyes.Here are a few suggestions you can try:

RED/PINK: beets,hibiscus tea, frozen or canned cherries, pomegranate, paprika
YELLOW/GOLD: yellow onion skins, chamomile, turmeric, chili powder
BLUE/PURPLE: red cabbage, blueberries (fresh, canned, or frozen), grape juice
GREEN: spinach, dill

*NOTE last year I used curry powder for the turmeric…. my eggs tasted like curry. If you’re into that.. go for it!

For the blue eggs I used:

– 1/2 dozen hard boiled white eggs (to hard boil: cover eggs completely in cool water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and let sit covered for 7 minutes, then place in cold water to stop cooking process, drain and set aside in the fridge until your dye is ready)

– 1/2 head of red cabbage cut into 1″ chunks

*I had some blueberries in the freezer from last summer that were looking freezer burnt so I tossed them in too.

– a large stock pot

-mesh sieve or cheesecloth

-4 cups water (distilled is recommended but I used tap water because that’s what I had and it worked out for me)

*a lot of the resources I checked recommend using vinegar but when I used it last year, all of my eggshells became soft and weird… so I left it out this time and the shells stayed in tact.Start by adding the water & cabbage (& blueberries if you have ’em) into your pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for at least 30-45 minutes. You will notice the liquid becoming opaque and the cabbage will start to look drained of its color.

At this point you can strain the solids by pouring through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer.You can reduce the liquid at this point making it more concentrated, OR proceed to the next step.

Place the dye liquid into the fridge and let it cool.For an ombre effect:

Place all eggs into the cooled dye liquid and place back in the fridge

Every 15-30 minutes, remove one egg from the liquid.Otherwise, add all eggs to the dye liquid and let sit refrigerated until they reach the desired depth of color.

*This method can be used for any of the vegetables, fruits, or herbs listed. If you would like to try this with the turmeric powder, Use 3 tablespoons turmeric to 2 cups of water and boil until the turmeric dissolves (this is the ratio that worked for me).

Your naturally dyed eggs will have an soft matte color. You can brush a light coat of vegetable oil on them for a nice shine that will really make the color pop.Hope you give this easy & inexpensive technique a try!————————————————————————————————————————————————

Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio.www.westoakdesign.com

April 3, 2015
MAKE THIS: Printed Pinwheels for Spring!
Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved pinwheels. This printed version of pinwheels is a perfect way to lift your spirits after months and months of winter. Make as festive decor for your next party or create with your kiddo on a rainy day.

You will need:
- square cardstock, ideally different colors on each side
- scissors or x-acto
- ink for printing, either water-based block printing or stamp pads
- ink tray + brayer if using block printing ink
- circular tools for printing – pencil eraser, wine cork, empty cardboard tape ring
- dowel rods
- small tacks/pins
- scrap piece of cardboard
Gather your materials. Try to work with colored cardstock. You can test out other papers to see if they hold up to lots of blowing and twirling. If you have colored ink pads (I didn’t…) then I would use those before turning towards block printing ink, as the prints will take less time to dry.

If you can find paper that is different colors on each side, it will add to the colorful pop of the pinwheels. If not, no biggie. Just work with whatcha got.

Before you begin printing, go ahead and draw two lines of the backside of your printing side. Use a ruler and a pen to line up opposite corners and draw a line, making a big X across the paper.

Now for printing fun! Roll out some ink in a tray. Dip your pencil eraser in the ink and go to town. Pencil erasers make the perfect tiny dot.

Feel free to just use a pencil eraser for all your printing, or grab some other circular items to print with. Here, I’m using a wine cork for a larger circle blob.

I also had an empty tape roll on hand. I recommended scouting out other circular items in your recycling bin, like a toilet paper roll or yogurt container.

After the prints have thoroughly dried, grab your scissors and begin to cut on the lines that you drew at the beginning. Cut on each line until you get about an inch away from the center point – then stop!

Now for the only tricky part … pinning them all together. First, unless these are going to be purely decorative and you don’t want them to spin, you’re going to want to cut out a few dime-sized circles out of cardboard. This will help the pinwheels spin. Set the cardboard circles aside.

Begin by folding down every other corner of the pinwheel and hold in one hand. Grab the pin with your other hand and push through the center, making sure you are going through all 4 corners that you are holding down. Grab one of your cardboard circles and press it in between the paper pinwheel and the wooden dowel rod. I find that a couple long presses in the dowel does the trick for me, but then again, I don’t have a 4-year-old that’s going to run around with it. So if you do, you might want to add a dab of glue before jamming into the dowel.

Lastly, if you really want some good spin action, you’ll need to play around with moving the paper around so that it it doesn’t hit the dowel rod when you try to spin it.

So there you have it – springtime pinwheels + insta mood lifter!

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. Products are created to inspire memories at home and around the table. A donation is made with every purchase to help feed hungry Americans.

www.BonnieKayeStudio.com
March 26, 2015
Christie’s Mini Weaving Tutorial (on a “junkmail” credit card loom)

Tutorial and Photos by Christie Sommers

You will need:

*An old card of the un-needed variety… pre-approved credit cards, price club cards, your old West Coast Video card… Just make sure it’s nice and firm, no flimsy paper ones.

*A variety of string/yarn/twine. In this tutorial I am using a thin cotton cord for my warp (I’ll explain soon). For my weft I am using waxed cotton cord in black, thin gauge yarn in green, and more of the white cotton cord I used for the warp.

*scissors

*quilting needle (not shown)

*ruler

*pencil

*toothpick, wooden skewer, or short section of brass tubing

Chances are, the card you are using is 2″ x 3.5″. Turn your card sideways so that the 2″ side is at the top and the bottom. Start by marking every 1/4″ across the top and bottom (see pic). After all of your marks are made, come back with your scissors and make a small cut in each pencil marking. Cut about 1/4″ into the card each time trying to be consistent.

You will now begin to lay down your weft. The weft is the base that you will be weaving in and out of. I started in the top left corner bringing the thin cotton cord through the first cut from back to front. Bring the string down to the first cut in the bottom left corner, wrapping around the back and coming back up through the 2nd cut on the bottom left corner (see pics).

Continue this motion wrapping back and forth until you get to the end. You will have a tail hanging from your starting and end points. Make sure these tails are at least twice as long as your needle.

Now you are ready to start weaving!

I threaded my quilting needle with the black cord and wove under one, over one from left to right. When you come back for your return pass make sure you do the opposite of what you did on the previous pass. If you went under the warp on the last pass, go over the next time. It sounds more confusing than it really is… see pic.

Continue for as long as you’d like before changing colors.

To change colors/yarn simply trim your previous weft (black cord) leaving a tail that is at least twice as long as your needle. Begin weaving the next color through starting on the opposite side of the previous weft’s “tail”.

Continue weaving and changing color/yarn as desired until you simply cannot fit any more rows. You can use your needle to push each row up to the top so they fit snugly together.

You’re probably wondering what to do with all of those little tails hanging out of the sides of your weaving. Some people leave them as a deliberate design choice. For this weaving, I am tucking these little tails in for a nice finished edge.

To tuck: starting at the top left, thread the first tail onto your needle. Tie the tail to the first string of warp and slide the needle down through the loops of the weft carefully trimming the tail and letting it slide back slightly into the loops so that it is hidden.

Once all of your tails are tucked in, you can stop here or add fringe if you like.

For the fringe: Because this is such a small weaving, I am going with a very simple fringe. Cut seven 4″ pieces of the green yarn.

Thread the first one onto your needle and run the needle through the bottom left warp loop.

Line up the ends of the 4″ piece of yarn and tie it into a knot, sliding the knot snugly up against the bottom of the weaving before tightening.

Repeat across the remaining white warp loops with the remaining 4″ yarn pieces.

Do a final trim across the bottom of your fringe.

Finish your weaving by lining up a 8″ piece of black string with your toothpick/skewer/tubing and thread it through the top warp loops. Tie a knot in your black string & you can easily hang it on a nail. Heck, you can even use a longer string and make it into a necklace… go nuts.

You’re finished!

Once you get the hang of the simple act of weaving one over, one under…. take to the internet or your local library and research some new techniques!

*Disclaimer: I am not a trained weaver. I am self taught. Most people start with the fringe first and work their way up. Starting at the top works for me… so that is how this tutorial goes;)

Enjoy!

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Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio.www.westoakdesign.com

March 20, 2015
Christie’s Paint Chip Wall Art DIY

Photos and Tutorial by Christie Sommers

You will need:

*paint samples from your local hardware/paint store
*a circle punch (found in the scrap booking section of your nearest craft store). I used a 5/8” punch.
*a glue stick (I prefer Elmer’s Craft Bond)
*a sheet of card stock (this is what you will glue your circles to)
*ruler
*pencil
*a picture frame if you would like to display your finished project

Start off by punching out your circles. For my 4-1/2” x 7” collage I used 161 circles. Arrange your circles by color in 3 piles: lightest colors, mid range, and darkest.

Take your piece of card stock. You are going to draft out a grid so you can line up your circles nice and straight. Because my circles are 5/8”, I went up one side of the card stock marking every 5/8″. Repeat on the other side of the card stock and you now have the start & finish point of each line.

Once your lines are drawn, start at the bottom of your card stock and glue a random mix of your darkest circles across the first line.

The next row will be placed between your pencil lines. Place the first circle of row 2 between the first two circles in row 1 (see pic). Every other row is staggered giving you a fish scale pattern.

Continue gluing rows, going from dark to light, until you reach the end of your desired finished project.

If you want straight edges, you will need to do some trimming. I trimmed off the two sides and top of mine. The bottom of my collage will give you an idea of what it will look like if you decide not to trim the edges.

Let the glue dry for at least 10-15 minutes before trimming.

To trim, I used a straight edge ruler, an X-acto knife and my cutting mat. If you don’t have a cutting mat/x-acto… you can take a ruler and line it up along the edge you want to trim, draw a pencil line marking where you will cut, and simply trim with scissors along your pencil line.

Frame & enjoy!

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Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio.www.westoakdesign.com

March 12, 2015
Christie’s Hand Stitched Bowl Tutorial

Photos + Tutorial by Christie Sommers

You will need:
-cotton clothesline
-quilting needle (you can use a regular sewing needle with a thimble but a larger quilting needle is best for passing through the thick clothesline)
-embroidery thread, yarn, or string in color of your choice
-scissors

Thread the needle with colored string of choice and tie a knot at the end.

Use as much thread as you can manage. No more than 3′ should suffice. You can tie more thread on when you run out.

Start by coiling the clothesline between two fingers as shown.

Insert the needle into the center of the coil passing through the layers of rope and exit as shown.

We will be using a blanket stitch for this project. Wrap your working thread behind the needle from right to left.

Bring the thread back over the needle from left to right and pull the needle through.

Repeat going around in a circle, entering in the center, until you reach the first stitch.

If you want a bowl with a wide flat base, you can continue the flat blanket stitch going around a few more times until the base is as wide as you like.

At this point you will be rounding up to give your bowl a curved shape.

To achieve this, you will be inserting the needle straight through the clothesline from front to back rather than from the center out. See pic.

Continue with the blanket stitch inserting the needle through the clothesline from front to back until your bowl is as large as you like.

You will most likely run out of stitching thread as you are working. To add more, tie a new 3′ length of thread to the tail of the previous working thread. Place the ends together as shown and tie in a knot.

For the next few stitches, Insert the needle Between the coils instead of through the rope until your knot is hidden.

Once you pass the knot, continue stitching through the rope until you reach the desired bowl size.

Tie off your working thread and then snip the clothesline, You’re done!

As you can see from the next photo, the placement of your stitches will determine the design of your bowl. For the black bowl, I spaced my stitches out and staggered with each layer, essentially placing new stitches between the stitches on the previous level. For the red bowl, each new stitch was placed right next to the previous level’s stitch. Play around with stitch placement to see what you can come up with.

Enjoy!

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Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio.www.westoakdesign.com

February 26, 2015
Bonnie’s Inspirational Wall Hanging
Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

Sometimes everyone needs a little pick-me-up, especially in the studio or office, where it’s easy to get overwhelmed with projects and deadlines. These simple inspirational wall hangings combine the magic of masking fluid and watercolor to create your own, personalized message that will keep your chin up and head high.

You will need:
- white or cream cardstock or smooth watercolor paper
- pencil
- art masking fluid
- old, thin brush (one that you don’t mind tossing in the trash after use)
- watercolor
- watercolor brushes
- container of water
- wooden dowel (optional)
- heavy duty tape or hot glue gun (optional)
- rope or twine (optional)
As you gather your materials, make sure you have thick, smooth paper to work with; any paper that is “soft” or textured will not work well with the masking fluid. Also, note that the last three materials are optional and needed only if you want to hang your message as pictured. Otherwise, you could simply cut your wall hanging to size for a frame or pin directly onto your wall.

If you want to hang using a dowel rod, you’ll first want to cut your paper so that the width of the paper is about 2” shorter than your dowel rod. Next, go ahead and fold down the top edge of the wall hanging (approx, 2”). This will serve as your loop for inserting your dowel rod. Wait to tape down the flap until the very end.

Flip your wall hanging over, so that you are now working on the front side of the paper. Decide your message, font, and layout, and lightly sketch out the words on your paper using a pencil.

Next, grab your old brush. Working quickly, apply the masking fluid over your penciled-in letters. The masking fluid is basically liquid rubber. It will be blocking, or masking, the watercolor. It does dry fairly quickly, so you’ll want to work quickly and then immediately clean your brush after using the masking fluid, otherwise, you might have to throw away your brush.

Let the masking fluid letters dry thoroughly. It should dry darker, and you can test if it’s dry just by gently touching it.

Once the masking fluid has dried, you can add watercolor to your wall hanging. In order for the letters to show up, you’ll need to apply watercolor on top of and around all the letters.

Now for the hardest part … waiting! The watercolor and paper must dry completely before peeling off the masking fluid. Trust me, I have learned this lesson the hard way. If it’s not dry, the paper will start to pull off with the masking fluid. When you think it’s dry, you can begin to rub/pull the masking fluid off gently. When all the dried letters are removed, you can erase any pencil lines showing.

Lastly, flip the hanging over and tape down the flap. Insert the dowel rod. Cut your rope or twine to desired length and tie to the ends of the rod.

Hang in a visible area, get back to work, and stay inspired.

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. Products are created to inspire memories at home and around the table. A donation is made with every purchase to help feed hungry Americans.

www.BonnieKayeStudio.com
February 20, 2015
Christie’s Herbal Conditioning Rinse Tutorial

Tutorial + Photos by Christie Sommers of West Oak Design

Here is a miracle rinse to tame the driest of winter hair. Don’t be afraid of the vinegar… I promise you won’t smell it in your hair after your shower. The acidity of apple cider vinegar smooths the hair cuticle and leaves the frizziest hair looking shiny and healthy and feeling incredibly soft. Try this herbal rinse as a treat for yourself.. or your valentine.

You will need:

-3 cups of filtered water (separated)
-1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
-A few sprigs of rosemary (dry or fresh)
-2 teaspoons of lavender..use more or less to your liking.
You can add just about any herbs you like according to your scent preferences. I added chamomile. This recipe is very flexible
-5-10 drops of essential oil of your choice (I used rosemary & lavender)

*Boil 2 cups of filtered water

*Remove from heat and add your herbs. I use rosemary for its clarifying properties, lavender for its relaxing scent, and chamomile which adds subtle golden highlights. Note: try hibiscus for red highlights

*Let steep for at least 45 minutes. The longer the better. Sometimes I’ll let it sit covered all day.
*Allow herbal tea to cool completely.
*Pour tea through a fine mesh sieve to remove herbs. A tea ball infuser works well too.

*Add 5-10 drops of essential oil to…
* 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar

*Add 1 cup filtered water to the filtered “tea”, then add the vinegar/oil mixture

*Recipe yields 3 cups.
*I fill a spray bottle for the shower and pour the remainder into a mason jar for later.
*I wash my hair every other day and use this rinse every time.

After 2 or 3 uses you should begin to see a huge improvement in the softness and shine of your hair.

Enjoy!

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Christie Sommers is the designer and maker behind West Oak Design. She handcrafts small batch and one of a kind goods for home, women, and kids in her Wyndmoor, Pa studio.www.westoakdesign.com

February 12, 2015
Bonnie’s Insta-Notebook Tutorial
Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

If you’re like me, you can never have too many notebooks. Small notebooks are especially helpful for on-the-go notetaking or making quick grocery lists. Here’s a quick Japanese-stab binding technique that will get you jotting inside in lickety split.

You will need:
- decorative cover paper (I’m using my screen-printed wrapping sheets, available for sale at Art Star)
- filler paper for the inside (I’m using kraft paper sheets, but simple copy paper is fine, just nothing too thick)
- bonefolder (optional)
- needle
- thread, ideally for bookbinding
- awl, a tool used for piercing holes (could probably also use an ice pick or ceramic needle tool)
- piece of cardboard
- scissors
- pen or pencil to mark holes
Once you’ve gathered your materials, you’ll need to cut your papers to the size that you want the notebook. I cut mine to 6×9”, with the filler paper cut ⅛ shorter on both sides so that they don’t poke outside of the cover once folded. If you cut your paper to 6×9”, you’ll end up with a 6×4.5” notebook.

Fold both your cover and filler sheets of paper in half. Use a bonefolder if you have one to firmly crease the fold. You can also just use the back of your fingernail or another smooth, blunt tool. Next, you’ll mark three dots for your holes along the spine/folded edge of the book. Mark the holes in a line at least a ½ an inch from the spine and tops and bottoms of the book.

Using your awl, you’ll next pierce the holes, prior to sewing. This is going to make sewing a lot easier. I like to use a piece of cardboard or old magazine underneath the book while making the holes. You can also use a small hole punch. Next, measure your thread at least 3 to 4 times the length of your spine and cut. Thread the needle, but do not make any knots.

This Japanese stab-binding stitch might look complicated at first, but trust me, it’s quite easy! You really flow through the stitches starting at the top of the book and working your way down.
1. Start sewing from the backside of the book, in the top hole.
2. Leave about a 2” tail of thread and hold it with your thumb. You’ll be able to let go after the next stitch or two. (The only knot you make for this book is done at the very end.)
3. Thread over and around the top of the book and back through the top hole from the back.
4. Thread over and around the side of the book and back through the top hole from the back of the book.
5. Thread down to the second hole. The needle will now be on the backside of the book.
6. Thread over and around the side of the book, going through the second hole again from the front. Your needle will then still be on the backside of the book.
7. From the back, you’ll thread through the third hole at the bottom. You’ll now be back on the frontside of the book.

8. Thread over and around the bottom edge of the book, going back through the bottom hole from the backside.

9. Thread over and around the side edge of the book, going back through the bottom hole from the backside.

10. Thread back up to the middle hole. Your needle and thread will now be on the backside of the book.

11. Flip your book over. It should look like this.

12. Lastly, remove the needle and tie the two loose ends together. Cut threads, leaving about an ½” tail. Voila!

Once you’ve tied your knot, you may want to crease or score the inside pages at the binding so that the book opens more fully. Up to you. Also, variations include making your holes larger and sewing with a thicker thread-like material, such as cord (pictured with the pink notebook), ribbon or yarn.

You now have a notebook that you can take and use anywhere.

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. www.BonnieKayeStudio.com
February 5, 2015
Bonnie’s Pop Up Valentine Tutorial
Photos + Tutorial by Bonnie Kaye Whitfield

With Valentine’s Day just a couple weeks away, you might be itching to design some handmade cards for your special valentine(s). This tutorial will show you how to create a pop-up text card with your favorite little word or message.

You will need:
- paper – both a variety of solid and patterned papers, cardstock is ideal
- envelopes – if you plan on mailing your cards
- self-healing mat or an old magazine
- ruler
- pencil
- eraser
- x-acto knife
- glue stick (not pictured)
First, take a solid-colored piece of paper and cut + fold to a card size so that it fits in your envelope. If you are not mailing it or don’t have an envelop, then simply fold your paper and you can cut the card down to size later.

With your card open, measure 2” from the fold on each side of the fold crease and on each end of the card, and mark with your pencil.

You will connect your two marks on each side of the fold crease. Feel free to make this line very light, as you will later erase it. This will serve as the guideline for the top and bottom of your text. You can also make the measurements closer or further away from the fold depending on how tall you want your letters, but make sure that the fold crease is always in the center of your two pencil guidelines.

Next, begin to draw your text in block letter form, making sure that there is space between all letters and the edges of the card. Draw your letters so that they touch both the top and bottom pencil line, with the center of the letter falling on the fold crease. If you are using any rounded letters, make sure that they still have a solid connection to the top and bottom pencil guideline (see my “O”).

Once you have drawn out your text, grab your self-healing mat and x-acto blade and begin to carefully cut on all the text lines except the bottom and top lines. You are not cutting out the letters, just the edges. If you letter has an enclosed space (like my “O”) then the center will cut out entirely.

After cutting, you will refold your card. One letter at time, you will slowly “pop-out” the letters by reversing the center fold crease and gently folding along the top and bottom line of each letter.

Lastly, when you have finished adjusting all your letters, feel free to erase any pencil lines still showing. Take a patterned piece of paper or a contrasting solid paper and play around with folding it and adding it to the backside. At this point you can adjust the overall size of your card if you like, allowing more or less of the second paper to show. Feel free to glue the two pieces together – just make sure that you don’t glue down any of your letters.

Now you can go wow your sweetheart with your new pop-up skills! Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.

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Bonnie Kaye Whitfield designs and screen prints home textiles + paper goods under the name, Bonnie Kaye Studio. www.BonnieKayeStudio.com
January 22, 2015