I have used this quote quite a bit in the past, but have rested it for the last few years.  However this design and layout is new, I wanted something fresh and colourful.

Envelope is below the cut.

I added a burgundy swipe of ink down the left size of the envelope to add some framing.  The top and bottom flower were punched from the same paper used on the card.  The middle one is from a pack of flowers I have and I swiped the edges with ink.  The white pearl didn’t work on the white flower, so I added a wine coloured gem instead.

Overall I am very happy with the card and I’m glad to have taken this stamp out of retirement.  The quote is very elegant and one of my favourites.

The seven elements of design are:

1. Point
2. Line
3. Form / Shape / Space
4. Movement
5. Colour
6. Pattern
7. Texture

For more detail read on

1.  Point

One point is the focus of the page.  If there are two points, the brain will automatically make a ‘line’ and join them.  If there are three points, it will be ‘seen’ as a triangle and so on.

One often used rule in design is the Rule of Thirds.  Visualise your surface (card, page, canvas) as being divided into a grid of 3 x 3 squares or rectangles.  Important elements of the compesition should be placed where the lines intersect, or along the lines themselves.  This will produce a nice visual balance.  However once you know how to use this rule, it is easy to play around with it a break it for different effects.

2.  Line

Lines direct the eyes, divide areas, and can create textures and patterns through combining visually.  Horizontal lines are restful and relaxing.  Vertical lines reflect stature and greatness.  Diagonal lines suggest movement and direction.  Curved lines can suggest anything from relatation to confusion, depending on how shallow or deep they are.

3.  Form / Shape / Space

This can be either a two or three dimensional space.  Regular shapes such as squares, rectangles and circles are Geometric forms.  More irregular formes are considered Organic.  There is also asbstract form.  Form can also be positive or negative, such as when the reverse of an image or letter is used.

Space can create depth and dimension, and add contrast and interest to artwork.  Put warm colours in front of dark colours because cool colours automatically recede visually.

4.  Movement

Moving pieces on artwork create added interest, known as kinetics.  This might be in the form of pull outs, rotating objects, pop-up images, images or text under a flap etc.  These are all ways to add dimension and incorporate movement.

5. Colour

Colour represents emotion, and allows objects to stand out from the background they have been placed on.  Choice of colour can greatly influence the character of a work.  Complimentary colours create a sense of action and excitement, and they intensify each other when placed side by side.  Colour schemes that combine families of colours are visually pleasing and easy to work with.

Colours can cause an image to come forward or recede visually, and also have certain psychological connotations.  Blue is associated with tranquility and calm, green is tied to nature, red could be danger or passion (or both!), and yellow suggests prosperity.  These associations are not mandatory but can add extra depth to your work.  Black and white can be used as a contrast to almost every colour scheme.

6.  Pattern

Patter is a repeating unit of shape or form.  They can range from soft and subtle to bold and bright.  Patterns can add interest and depth to a project- anything from being an accent to being the feature of the work.  It is also possible to create patterns with a mixture of media such as paints, stamps, chalks, inks and pens.

7.  Texture

Texture is the quality of an object which is sensed through touch.  It could be a surface that a view can feel, or it might be something that can produce a sensation that can be imagined.  Texture elements can include, but are not limited to, wool, fibres, wood, fibbons, textured paper, hardware, and found objects.

And that is the end of the article.  Again, there was lovely samples of cards as visual references of the different techniques.  Very useful information, and I wanted to put it here so that it was handy in case I can’t find the relevant magazine in a hurry when needed.

The five principles of Design:

1. Balance
2. Proportion
3. Rhythm
4. Emphasis / Dominance
5. Unity

For more detail, read on.

1.  Balance

This is visual equilibrium.  It can be achieved in one of two ways, symmetrical of asymmetrical balance.

Symmetrical balance is when the weight of a composition is evenly distributed around a central vertical or horizontal axis.  Both sides of the axis are assumed to be identical under normal circumstances.  It is also possible to have symmetry around a central point, known as radial symmetry.  Symmetrical balance is known as formal symmetry.

Asymmetrical balance is when the weight of a composition is not distributed evenly around a central axis.  Different sized objects are arranged so that their respective visual weights balance one another.  There may be one dominate item offset by many smaller items.  This is known as informal symmetry.

2.  Proportion

This relates to the relative size and scale of various elements in a design.  It is the relationship in scale between a whole object and one of its parts, or one element and another.  Large pieces appear to visually come to the front, while smaller items seem to recede into the background.

3.  Rhythm

The repetition or alternation of elements, often with defined intervals between them.  This can create a sense of movement, and establish pattern and texture.  There are many types of rhythm.

Regular rhythm is when the intervals between the elements and the actual elements are similar in size or length

Flowing rhythm gives a sense of movement, drawing the eyes from one element to the next.

4.  Emphasis / Dominance

This refers to the main point of focus, that draws the attention of the viewer most strongly.  There is usually a primary point of focus, and often a secondary and even tertiary emphasis in other parts of the composition.

Emphasis can be achieved in an number of ways.  Repetition calls attention to the repeated elements through force of numbers.  A contrast of colour, texture of shape will emphasise a specific point.  So too will contract of size or scale.  Placement in a strategic position will also call attention to a specific element.

5.  Unity

Unity is the underlying principle that summarises all the elements and principles of design, tying them all together.  It gives a sense of wholeness, or by contrast a sense of variety if elements are broken apart.

In the next post I will look at the Elements of Design, which was a companion piece to this article.  The sample artwork for each of the principles was excellent but I am not going to reproduce it here for copyright reasons.

Steampunk airship

It took around 2 hours to make, including the interior (torn white linen paper, edged in raisin, shadow block in 2nd impression tea dye, ‘Happy Birthday’ in raisin, pocket watch stamped randomly around the edges.  Given I am still learning how to use my embossing machine as well as experimenting with the steampunk style, I am very happy with the results.

If you want to find out how I did it, and see the envelope, read on . . .

The card:

The airship image is from a sheet of steampunk clip art images.  I stained it with antique linen distress ink, then fussy cut it out.  It has been layered on a piece of glossy card stock that I have treated in what I call my batik style.  This is when I stamp something on gloss card in white (alabaster) chalk ink).  When it is dry, I then rub chalk ink in another colour over the top.  In this case it was my honeycomb stamp and I rubbed bisque chalk over the top, and then edged the card in Adirondack raisin ink.

This was mounted on a scrap of marbled burgundy paper, which was layered on a piece of Core’dinations Tim Holtz Ranger card stock (they have a different coloured core to the outside) which has been embossed with my steampunk cogs embossing folder, sanded to reveal the core, and then stained in parts with tea dye distress ink.  This was layered on to a piece of paper covered in vintage clocks and pocket watches, which was also edged in raisin ink.

The base card has had the cogs from the Artful Muse embossing folder set embossed in two diagonally opposite corners.  This was then rubbed with tea dye ink using Stamp in Style’s Stylish Sponging Blocks (I can’t live without these things, I have about a dozen for different ink pads).  I stamped Italian poetry in the bottom right corner, ‘Creare’ (latin for ‘to create’) in the top left both in tea dye, and ‘imagine’ in the lower centre in raisin.  The edges of the whole card were sponged with tea dye using the sponging block.

The envelope

Tattered flowers (as seen in the last post) dye cut on ledger paper and vintage ruler paper and with a champagne coloured gem stuck in the centre.  Artful Muse cogs embossed in each of the lower corners and sponged with tea dye.  Pocket watch stamped in raisin down the left hand side.  Edges of the card swiped with the stylish sponging block in tea dye.

Very happy with both parts of the card / envelope set.  Hopefully it would not take so long to reproduce something similar, part of the time was thinking how to create what I pictured in my mind and then working out how to make it.  And of course it was all to go with the present I got, the Girl Genius Omnibus Vol 1.

Comments /feedback / suggestions?  Do the colours work?  What could I do differently?  What images does the theme steampunk suggest to you?

I had been thinking about it for a while, and weighing up options.  When they initially came out a few years ago, it was mostly cutesy scrapbooking images and I wasn’t interested.  But as available options have changed I have seen more and more things I like.  That includes pretty much the whole Tim Holtz die and embossing range, plus some of the nested shapes.  I haven’t got many dies yet, but I do have a few of Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder range.  Plus the tattered flowers dies which is apparently the best selling Sizzix die ever (and of course another Tim Holtz product).

Anyway, the instructions that came with it are not great, so after an initial attempt I decided to check out some online tutorials to make sure I was doing it properly.  And this week I have started to play around with it a bit.  This card is my second attempt (the first was given to a friend for his birthday a few weeks ago).

This card has die cut flowers frorm the tattered flowers set.  There are actually 4 different shapes but I only layered 3 of them.  I was also able to use papers from mat stacks that I kind of like but have found hard to use in designs.  But I think they work on this design.  One is a street map (of London), one is a page of vintage measuring tapes but the colour is darker and more yellow than I like to use, and the final paper was a ledger with lines.  There are champagne gems in the centre of the top one on the stack, and the smaller ones on each side.

The flowers have been layered on brown cardstock that has been embossed with clock faces from the Tim Holtz steampunk set.  I swiped ink over to make it stand out a bit more, but the raised surface is really cool.  The edges are distressed with my paper distresser, and then it is mounted on cream cardstock.

Yes, it has flowers, but it is an attempt to use colours and papers (and embossing!) that is more masculine.  I don’t have any other dies yet!  I also wanted to work on some steampunk designs and although this isn’t really that it is kind of a first step.

I’ll play around with the dies and embossing some more over the next few weeks.  I also want to get some Nestabilities labels, although not quite sure which shape yet, which was one of the motivating factors for the whole purchase.  I quite like the Grand labels too – several articles used them as a base card that was shaped which was pretty cool.

The tag has been punched with a new doily border punch I got, I really like it. I had to swipe it with ink to make it stand out better but overall I’m really happy with the results.  The flowers are punched and so is the centre of each.  The colour palette is quite soft but I think it works.

Once again I challenged myself to use the free papers and card toppers that come with magazines – there are an awful lot of snow scenes tho, which I usually try to avoid!  I did make an exception this year to use some of my free stash.  It isn’t my usual style but I enjoyed the challenge, and my colleages liked the cards I gave them.

Popcorn and friend

All the cards have the images adhered with mounting tape to give them dimension, and as I said it is not my usual style.  It was fun for a change, and pretty quick to make them all.

Popcorn christmas

Frosty

And these are more like my usual style, but I was trying to go for a bright yet shabby look.  Again the papers were from a free set, but I used my own tree stamp.

Because YY is a bit of a shopaholic, and loves her shoes and handbags, I wanted a card that reflects that.  The stickers and the floral paper are both from free gifts that I got with crafting magazines, as I am trying to challenge myself to use these and try different things.  I was really happy with the colours and the overall results, and so was YY – she said I know her so well.

And finally there was the last Plenary by Jane Porter.

This was fun, and at times quite moving.  Jane read excerpts of the rejection letters she got for 14 books over a 17 year period.  During this time there were 4 comments that stood out that encouraged her to keep going.

- one said she had a good plot

- one said it was competently written

- one said it was a good premise

- one said she had a ‘crisp and enjoyable writing style’

Despite all the rejections, Jane perservered, because she believed that she was meant to write.  Eventually her 15th book was accepted for publication.  Jane now has more than 30 books published since the late 90s – from her website it looks like 22 category romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon, and subsequently another 10 single title books she has classified under ‘classic romance modern lit’. Flirting with Forty was even made into a movie.

As the closing session of the conference, it was a in inspirational way to finish.  It was positive and encouraging, and for those who have had rejections before, it was a sign that it is not final, if you persevere.  And Jane left us with the following thoughts:

• we don’t write for those who criticise us
• we don’t write for the glory
• we write because we are driven to
• we write for those who want the story

That brought the formal proceedings to a close.  After that there was a confirmation that the 2012 conference will be held on the Gold Coast, and the organising team was announce (I of course didn’t know any of them).  The 2013 conference will be held in Fremantle, and the 2014 conference will be held in Sydney.

I had a great time, I took copious notes.  I met lots of people and learned about the mailing lists (which I have joined, but goodness they are high volume, even in digest mode).  My computer problems and subsequent lack of time mean that some of the sessions were quite delayed in getting up here, but at least they are all done now.  I hope that my friends who read this have got something out of it, and I’m sure that I will find it a useful reference for myself too.

Now I have about 8 months til the Gold Coast conference is on!  Anyone interested in that?