From tissue paper to cardboard

I love working with paper as it is such a versatile material. Paper exists in a variety of textures and thickness, giving you the opportunity to create small, precise and flexible objects as well as larger and stronger ones, such as boxes and even furniture.
Thin paper
You can create lovely flowers with tissue paper and crepe. The thinness and flexibility of those papers enables you to work on the shape by creasing for example. And it is perfect to render the texture of flower petals.

Cardboard
If you want to create a more resistant or larger object I'd suggest using cardboard. You can find cardboard in a great range of thickness, from thin if you need to fold or work the shape, to thick if you need to make stronger objects such as frames, boxes and even pieces of furniture.

Yes this cupboard is made of cardboard. I realised this piece two years ago during a workshop given by Valérie Chauvenne at Le Show du Carton. In a next postI will explain how I realised it showing pictures of every stages.

The next post will be dedicated to customisation. I'll explain how to give a new look to objects with paper using techniques such as scrapbooking and stamps.

Creation: triggers and process

I've been crafting with paper, scissors and glue for as long as I can remember.  Maybe I should find another word for crafting as it does not really express what it means to me. For me crafting is a real moment of fun in which I can fully express myself, let myself go... well, be me.
I really enjoy to create with paper,especially making cards.  
But what triggers the making of a card ? It varies from the followings: the birthday of someone I care is coming on, another creation has inspired me, ideas running in my head or simply the need to create.
My crafting process is pretty much the same everytime: it begins with one of the triggers mentioned above, then I come up with a design, I gather the needed material, I create, I finish up with adding The  final touch (doodles doodles...) and it's done.  I love each part of the process with probably a preference for the design part. To come up with a design I usually think of the purpose of the creation and the person it is meant for.  When making a card for example, I first think about the type of card: is it for a birthday, a wedding, a celebration, a new-born baby... (quite logical indeed). Then I think about the person who it is meant for: what does he/she like (hobby, passion, favourite colour...) and I make sure my card will reflect this. This can be done using special patterned papers, stamps... And believe me it works; the comments from the one who got the card are the greatest reward ever.

A few examples below:
 - a card for someone passionate about music and birds

- birthday cards for someone who loves flowers

- a congratulation card to motivate someone excell (star) in the new job

Feel free to leave of comment and / or ask questions.

Patterned papers

I   L O V E  patterned papers. 

They exist in a huge variety of designs, colours and materials.

And they are so easy to find. 

- Many craft magazines (1) offer them in their latest issue. 

- You can buy them from craftshops (2) or via one of the oh so many webshops.

Patterned papers are very easy to use and enable you to make a nice card in a very short amount of time, even if you run out of ideas. You just need to put 2 patterned papers together and add some extra features (embellishments, text, buttons, flowers, doodles...) and that's it!

Like the 2 birthday cards below. Both cards were made in 5 minutes!

For the first card I used 2 patterned papers as background. I added a paper butterfly and a Happy Birthday tag (offered in one of the Papercrafter issues). To finish off I added some doodles with a coloured marker.

 For the second card I added an extra piece of patterned paper on the top edge.

 (1) Craft magazines with lots of ideas on cardmaking and other crafts : Papercrafter, Papercraft essentials, Craft Stamper, Crafts Beautiful, Quick Cards, Simply cards and papercraft.
(2) Craft shops in Edinburgh: Stamper Grove, Hobby Craft.