Use the art of 3D decoupage to decorate greetings and gift tags
Craft Essentials, Hunkydory Crafts The Little Book of the Orient, Dies: Sweet Dixie Rectangle Frames, circle, Ink pad: blue, pink, Sentiment stamps
3D decoupage is one of the oldest papercraft techniques around, but it is still as popular today as it has ever been. It is the art of creating an image by building up layers and raising parts of it using foam pads. This allows you to create depth and dimension, which add interest to your makes.
You can buy kits where the images are pre-cut or decoupage pads, where you can choose which parts to trim out yourself. The Little Book of the Orient by Hunkydory Crafts is a beautiful example of the latter. With it, you can create whatever your imagination allows. There are 144 pages, including six of each design, so you can easily layer them up and create depth.
The bright images feature traditional Japanese motifs, such as parasols, geisha, fans and flowers. Printed on high-quality 150gsm paper, these designs are specifically created for decoupage. Always use sharp scissors for precision – you may find a smaller pair easier to use than larger ones when cutting out detailed pictures.
• Form a 15cm square blank. Cover in blue card and die cut a circle from the centre. Stick a sheet of lilac card behind the aperture using 3D pads.
• Pick a floral paper and cut out six large blooms. Trim second and third layers from additional sheets of paper, each time cutting out a slightly smaller section of the same flower. Stick the layers on top of the original image using 3D pads.
• Cut out several layers of butterflies and add to the flowers. Stick down the bodies only and bend the wings slightly to add dimension. Trim some leaves and fix in place.
• Arrange the pieces across the blank as shown. Stamp a sentiment onto white card, treat the edges with pink ink and add a butterfly to the corner. Attach to the top of the greeting. Cut some pink patterned strips and attach to the bottom. Embellish the card with silver gems.
• Trim two tag shapes from co-ordinating card and layer together. Cut a portion of the parasol paper to fit the tag, carefully snipping around the edge of the motifs. Stick in place as shown. Cut out the image twice more.
• Cut out just the larger parasols from one paper and stick on top of the first image using 3D pads. Trim around the flowers and butterflies from both papers and layer onto the tag. Make sure to only stick down the body of the butterflies, then bend the wings with your fingers.
• Embellish with pink gems, then punch a hole in the top of the tag and thread with sparkly ribbon.
• Cut around parasols from patterned paper and glue to the tag, trimming any excess
• Snip the largest parasols from a second sheet of paper and stick to the image using foam pads
• Cut out several layers of butterflies, curl the wings with your fingers and fix to the tag
• Take four pages of your chosen image and trim 1cm all the way around the edge of one, 2cm off the next and 3cm off the third. Leave the remaining one as it is.
• Layer the pieces centrally onto each other using 3D pads, decreasing in size as you go. Make sure that the images line up perfectly.
• Die cut the largest rectangle frame from purple card and fix the layered panel in the centre. Create a 13cm x 18cm white blank and adhere a slightly smaller rectangle of blue onto it.
• Attach the frame to the centre of the blank. Add ribbon down the lefthand side and top with a bow. Stamp a sentiment onto card, edge with blue ink and stick in the bow's centre. Finish by embellishing the layered image with gold gems.
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