DIY Scrapbook Paper Envelopes

February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 ElaineDIY & Crafts

This is a quick and easy tutorial that will teach you how to make DIY envelopes out of scrapbook paper! InCoWriMo is almost over, and this is a fun way to add some color and pattern to your last few letters.

For those unfamiliar with the event, InCoWriMo (International Correspondence Writing Month) is an annual creative challenge. According to the official website:

“InCoWriMo challenges you to hand-write and mail/deliver one letter, card, note or postcard every day during the month of February.”

It’s definitely a chance for pen and paper lovers to put their favorite tools to use! I’ve participated in InCoWriMo’s daily letter challenge in the past, and I enjoyed connecting with friends the old-fashioned way.

Even though I’ve only been able to send a few letters this year, I still wanted to make them a bit more fun :)

For this project, you will need some sheets of scrapbook paper! If you’re like me, you already have a stash of these pretty patterned papers. If not, you can always find some at Michaels or your local craft store. I’ve consistently found great deals on scrapbook paper at Tuesday Morning as well.

In addition to paper, you’ll also need the following supplies:

Paper trimmer (or plain scissors will do)
Ruler
Pencil for marking measurements
Glue pen or glue stick
Pens and markers for writing addresses
Stamps
Greeting card

I made this simple stamped greeting using a 4″ x 5.5″ blank card, but this trick should work for any card dimension.

First, measure the diagonal of the card. My 4″ x 5.5″ card measures 6.75″ from corner to corner.

Round this up to the nearest whole number– in my case, 7″– and then add 1 inch.

Now we have a measurement of 8″.

Measure and lightly mark an 8″ x 8″ square on your sheet of scrapbook paper.

Using a paper trimmer (or scissors), cut out your 8″ x 8″ square.

You should have plenty of space around your card!

Next, rotate the square so it’s oriented like a diamond. Fold the two corners in until the points touch.

Flatten the paper into sharp creases.

Fold the bottom corner up until the point is almost aligned with what will become the top of your envelope.

Using a glue pen (I’m using a Kuretake glue pen) or glue stick, attach the bottom fold to the first two folds. Be careful not to glue the entire envelope shut!

Fold the pointy corner towards the inside of the envelope and secure it with some more glue.

Once the glue is dry, slide your card into the envelope. It should fit snugly!

Since these are DIY envelopes, there’s no sticky strip to lick. You can use some washi tape to seal the envelope, or glue the edges shut for added security.

Affix a matching stamp. I’m a big fan of the USPS Botanical Art Stamps (I even stood in line for them on the first day they were released).

Since scrapbook paper is usually patterned, you may have trouble writing the address lines clearly and legibly. Blank labels or address stickers can help!

You could also write the address on a small piece of blank paper and glue it to the front of the envelope.

Dress up your envelope with additional touches! You can add stickers, tapes, or use a corner punch to create rounded flaps.

Warning: making these is so simple and fun, you might get carried away and make a bunch!

Happy InCoWriMo!

Using Masking Fluid with Watercolors

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015 ElaineCalligraphy

Owl Ink | Using Masking Fluid with Watercolors

Every few months, my friend Claire and I get together to create art! We are still pretty new to watercolors, and try to improve via tutorials on Youtube and Pinterest. Recently, she picked up a bottle of masking fluid at our local art store. I had never used it before, so I was fascinated when she showed me how it works!

In this post, I’ll share my first art piece made with masking fluid. I’ve concluded that it’s pretty magical, and I will definitely buy a bottle for myself.

Masking fluid, sometimes called “liquid frisquet” or “drawing gum”, is a thick, opaque liquid that dries into a gummy, removable film (the closest thing I can compare it to is watered-down glue or mod podge). It is water-repellent, acting as a mask to preserve white space on your paper or canvas.

Because it’s quick-drying and very sticky when dry, I’ve heard that you should only use it with a paintbrush that you don’t care too much about.

We decided to do hand-lettered quotes on top of a colorful, floral background. I chose this quote by Monet: “I must have flowers, always and always”. After lightly sketching out the quotes in pencil, we went over them with masking fluid. I learned that dipping frequently is the key to getting consistent coverage.

Once the masking fluid is dry, it becomes a bluish-gray color and is very water-repellent. You can see here that the watercolor ink just beads on top of it!

Here, I am adding more flowers to the piece.

It’s important to make sure each of the lettered words is surrounded by color, so that the white text will be visible. I had to go over the piece multiple times to make sure the colors were dark enough to contrast the white letters.

Now, here comes the fun part! After the watercolor florals were completely dry, we began peeling off the masking fluid. This is strangely satisfying, and I’d liken it to scratching a lottery ticket or peeling plastic film off new electronic gadgets. It helps to use an eraser to lift up the corner, and then just use your finger to rub the rest away.

The gum rubs off like eraser shavings, and you can simply brush them off your paper. It leaves behind crisp white areas, untouched by your watercolors.

Owl Ink | Using Masking Fluid with Watercolors

Here is the finished piece! I am very happy with how it turned out, and will probably frame it up in my room :)

Materials Used:

Pebeo Liquid Drawing Gum (available at University Art in San Jose, or various online stores)
Loew Cornell 36 Color Watercolor Palette
Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper – 140 lb
Assorted paintbrushes

I Must Have Flowers, Always and Always | Owl Ink

DIY Watercolor Lettering Business Cards

November 16, 2015 ElaineCalligraphy

The other day, I decided I wanted to make myself some business cards! Not so much out of necessity, as most of my calligraphy projects are done for friends and family who already have my contact information, but because I simply wanted a few to pass out to acquaintances and new friends.

Since I wouldn’t be giving them out left and right, I didn’t really have a need to get 100+ professionally printed ones. I decided to make my own!

(Apologies for the poor lighting. Daylight savings has really thrown a wrench in my after-work blogging routine…)

I started out by painting a light wash of my favorite site colors — sage green, gray, and light beige — on cold press watercolor paper.

The trick here is to not think too much about how it looks. The more abstract and messy, the better the final effect will be! Just be sure not to over-saturate the paper with water, because then it will buckle and your cards may not lie flat.

Using my handy paper cutter, plus an old business card as a guide, I measured and cut the paper into 12 cards.

As you can see, each card is different! Because I don’t need very many of them, I can afford to make each one unique. :)

I used my favorite lowercase alphabet stamp set to stamp “calligraphy” on the front of the card. To make this easier, I used washi tape to turn the individual letter stamps into a word stamp.

I love the vintage look of hand-stamped words. Luckily for me, “calligraphy” was just the right length for the cards!

Next, I needed to add “Owl Ink” lettering. I did this by dipping a small paintbrush into black fountain pen ink.

The black ink looks very rich and dark once dry, which I absolutely love. In some cards, you could even see a slight purple-blue sheen where the ink had pooled!

Afterwards, I just wrote my name and contact information on the back with an 0.8 mm Pigma Micron pen.

I’m really happy with the way they turned out! If you like the organic, imperfect look of handmade things, then this is a great way to produce a small batch of eye-catching business cards without going through a professional printer. If I ever meet you in person, I would be thrilled to give you one!

DIY Camera-Themed Party Favors

August 31, 2015 ElaineDIY & Crafts

This past weekend was my friend’s bridal shower! As a first-time bridesmaid, I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out really well and our bride was overjoyed!

She loves photography, so her entire bridal shower was photography-themed. We had a scrapbook, a “caption this” game, a giant polaroid frame photobooth, and camera puns galore (one of my favorites: a “Say Cheese Platter” of various cheeses, nuts, and crackers)

I made the guest favors for the event, and I wanted to share this fun DIY idea: Photo-balms! (get it? like photobomb?!)

Materials needed:

Kraft paper favor bags (I got them at Michael’s)
Camera stamp (mine is from The Plaid Barn)
Alphabet stamp set (mine is from Oh Hello Friend)
Stamp pad (I’ve had this one since I was a kid)
Washi Tape (mine is from Daiso)
Lip Balms

A really easy way to turn alphabet stamps into word stamps is to just tape the letters together! Here I have two: one says “phot” and the other says “balm”. I only have one alphabet set, so I had to do the second O in “photo” separately.

Stamp the words, then the camera!

Stuff your lip balm into the bag at a diagonal so it fits snugly. Then, fold the top part of the favor bag over and secure with washi tape.

All done! :)

Watercolor Bouquet

July 24, 2015 ElaineDIY & Crafts

Recently, I’ve been getting into watercolor painting! I was given a palette as a birthday gift in high school, along with some brushes. While I played around with it occasionally in college, I didn’t have as much time as I hoped to work on new paintings.

This past weekend, one of my friends and I decided to dust off our paints, watch some YouTube tutorials, and try to pick up new watercolor techniques.

The video we watched ended up being WAY too advanced for us… our “roses” look nothing like the instructor’s, but we still had fun trying to paint something that looked like a rose! At some point we gave up on following the video and just went off on our own, adding bits of purple and orange here and there.

I took some progress photos while we were painting, and thought I’d share!

Materials used:

Loew Cornell 36 Color Watercolor Palette
Robert Simmons No. 5 Brush
Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor Paper – 140 lb