Artline Monday - World Friendship Day

Did you know today is World Friendship Day?  It is the perfect time to reach out to your friends and let them know just how much you appreciate them!  Of course you can do this by text, email or message but how much nicer would it be to send them a card or letter and surprise them through the post?

I recently brought some lovely linen card so I thought I would use it to make my own greeting cards for my friends and show you a few different designs you could have a go at yourself.

Rustic edges

The card I used is A5 size so I folded it in half (top to bottom) and then tore it along the crease using my ruler.  Then I folded my two separate pieces in half again (side to side this time) to give me the basic shape of my cards. 

I attended a workshop a while ago with an amazing man who makes his own bespoke cards and he said that he prefers a rustic edge on his pieces so I thought I would try to do the same with mine.  I placed my ruler against the edge of my card leaving a small slither uncovered and tore it off along the ruler.  I repeated this process along both sides of the cards and used the raw edge from when I ripped the A5 card into two as the top.  I left the bottom edge as it was so the cards would have a stable base to stand on.  If you don't like the rough edges then use scissors to cut your card down to size instead.

Okay so now we have the basic card shapes let me show you my designs!

Hand lettering with my Artline Supreme brush markers

If you are confident with you lettering skills or just want to have a go then why not write a message on the front of your card?  If you are worried about making a mistake have a few practice goes so on some scrap paper before you move onto the card.  I love my new Artline Supreme brush markers so I selected my two favourite colours and wrote "hello there!" on mine.  Take your time writing each letter and remember to put more pressure on your downward strokes to make those lines thicker.  

Hello there!

My second card is a little easier than the first one.  I went through my sticker collection and found this fun ice lolly one which says "You are FAB" on it.  I used a pastel pink calligraphy pen to write "I think" above the sticker but if you don't like using calligraphy ones then you could use a regular nibbed pen like Artline Supreme markers as they are a nice thickness and come in a lot of bold colours.

If you can't find a sticker you want to use then you could look for a journalling card with a meaningful message on it to glue to the front of the card instead.

Adding the finishing touches

To make the lolly stand out and to add a little more colour to the card I used a yellow calligraphy pen draw a few lines around the sticker which I think is the illustrative equivalent of shouting TA-DA!

I think you are fab!

My last card is for people who love to doodle or have some cute image stamps they can use.  Mine says "We go together like.... coffee and donuts" and has a sweet little illustration of a tasty donut and travel cup of coffee.

Colouring in with my fineliners

I coloured in the images with some Artline 200 fineliners which are really vibrant against the white background and perfect for adding small details like the sprinkles I drew on top of the donut.

We go together like....

Once you have made your card or cards you just need to write something inside to tell your friend/s how awesome they are and why you are happy they are in your life!

My cards

I think World Friendship Day was invented by Hallmark as way of selling more cards but it is a really nice idea!  So if you make your own you are still sharing the love and it feels a lot more personal than a store brought card too. 

Who will you be sending a card too?

I would love to receive some happy mail in the post so I hope these cards bring a smile to my friends faces when they arrive!

Happy World Friendship Day!

Have a wonderful World Friendship Day!

Kids crafts with Artline - Fathers Day card

As it is Fathers Day this weekend I thought for today's post I would show you a quick and simple way for your children to make a Fathers Day card!

Supplies

All you will need is a piece of card, some washi or masking tape and a few Artline poster markers in different colours.

The first step is to fold your sheet of card in half so it looks like a greetings card and then use pieces of tape to mark out the word Dad on the front of it (or Father or Daddy, just make the letters smaller for longer words).  I used two different thicknesses of tape to make it look a little more interesting but you can use just the one if you like.  It doesn't matter if the tape is patterned or plain as we will be removing it once the card is finished. 

Use tape to spell out the work Dad

Once you are happy with how the word looks it is time to start painting.  Use the poster markers to colour over the front of the card.  Do one colour at a time and then let the paint dry between each new colour.  These poster markers dry quite quickly on cardboard so you only need to wait a couple of minutes   

Colouring in with the poster marker

You need to colour in the whole front section of the card including over the top of the washi or masking tape until you are left with something like this.

Completely covered

You can skip this step if you like but I added some polka dots over the top of the paint with my white poster marker and then left it to dry for a couple more minutes.

Adding polka dots

The last step is to very carefully remove the tape from the front of the card.  If any of the paint still seems wet when you try this put it to one side and leave it a little while longer before you try again.  

Remove the tape

And here is our finished card!  If you pair it with a big bar of dad's favourite chocolate then you will be on to a winner this Sunday!

The finished card

My favourite thing about this technique is that it is almost mess free, there's no painting hands or feet to make prints of them and there's no brushes to wash up afterwards.  Just put down a sheet or two of newspaper to protect your tabletop and you are good to go!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Fathers Day!

Artline Monday - Making Valentines Day cards

Yes!  We made it through January!  February always feels like a much nicer month as it is so short and we have Valentines Day slap bang in the middle of it!  It is a month for love and showing people you care so for today's post I am sharing some ideas about how to make your own Valentines card for that special someone.

Card making supplies

I brought a really pretty book of patterned card recently and a set of chalkboard sticker labels so I thought I would use these to make my cards along with a selection of Artline pens. 

Folding the cards

I removed pieces of card from the book and folded them in half to give me nice size greeting cards to work with.  I added a chalkboard sticker to the front of one of the cards and wrote on it with my chalk marker.

Artline chalk marker & chalkboard sticker

Using a chalk marker on a chalkboard sticker is a great idea if you are worried about making a mistake.  The chalk markers are more vibrant than using regular chalk and provide a better coverage too.  If you do make a mistake or just don't like how your message turns out the marker is easily removed with a slightly damp cloth.  Once it is dry you can try again until you are happy with it!

Artline calligraphy pen

For my next card I wrote a message on a journalling card using one of my Artline calligraphy pens.  Then I glued the journalling card onto the front of my Valentines Day card and added a couple of heart stickers to it as well.

Making one last card

I used another calligraphy pen for my last card and some milk and cookies stickers I have had in my craft supplies for a while now.  Because the stickers weren't very big I cut down the card to make it a bit smaller and then wrote "We go together like...." across the top.  

Here are how my cards turned out, I think they look quite sweet!  

Finished cards

Will you be sending or hoping to receive any Valentines cards this year?