STONES of PHILLY

Any form of art activity provides relaxation and reduces stress levels. If you are an aesthete or love arts and crafts, then creating something with your own hands must give you immense pleasure. You can now indulge in arts and crafts and easily learn card making online by enrolling in any class of your choice. The tutorials may vary from 3D pop-up cards to easter cards. To know more about cardmaking tutorials, the material you will need and the skills you will learn in the course of time, read the following.

Basics of card making

To make a basic card, you will need a sturdy base of 8″x8″, preferably in white. You will also require two-coloured card panels of the same size as the base. Other materials you will need are a card topper, wet glue, foam tape and scissors. As a beginner, you will learn about working with different card bases with varying weights and sizes. Also, you will know about layering and matting to create coloured borders on the card. While making your first card, you will understand how to work with different kinds of adhesives like hot glue, wet glue and double-sided tapes. 

Stamping techniques

After learning the basics of card making, you may proceed with stamping techniques. The materials you may require for stamping include scissors, adhesive, scoreboard, paper trimmer, ruler, pencil, alcohol markers, printer paper scrap, white and coloured card stock, stamping platform, small sentiment stamp and acrylic block.

Stamping techniques help you learn about different types of inks and stamp materials, caring for stamps and using stamping platforms and acrylic blocks. You also learn about masking to make layered designs and the use of scoreboard and paper trimmers to make a card blank. In addition, you develop a better knowledge of colour palettes to create beautiful effects. 

Embossing, die-cutting and ink blending

As you progress with your card making online class, you will learn about die-cutting and embossing. The most important materials you require are a white card base measuring 6″x6″, coloured cardstock, low-tack tape, wet glue, foam tape, die cutting machine, pokey tool, die set, ink blending brushes, and distress oxide ink. 

Die-cutting lessons will help you use the manual die-cutting machine to make a basic cut out, construct a plated sandwich, and practice to get cleaner cuts and intricate detailing. You will also learn to make die-cutting easier, spot ghosting, and use waste most efficiently. Embossing will get you to set the sandwich up for embossing and learn the working mechanisms of embossing folders. Ink blending will help you add dimension with ink and blend surfaces. You will also learn about blending brushes and handling them better.  

Heat embossing

As you proceed with online cardmaking tutorials, you gain ideas on using different types of materials and develop various skills. Hence, you learn techniques to give a professional look to your card. With heat embossing, you develop advanced skills and give cards a unique look.

The materials you need for heat embossing are an eraser, stamp, clear sticky ink, heat tool, embossing powder, anti-static bag, acrylic block, vellum, patterned paper, square card base, nesting dies, wet glue, and sequins, among others. By learning the heat embossing technique, you can add dimension and texture to the card creating the desired effects. 

Getting enrolled in card making lessons will provide you step by step guidance about card making techniques. It will also help you get a wide range of ideas for making unique cards on any occasion.