Card Layout & Design

The little canvas you have for creating your mini masterpiece is...well.....little. At times I know I can come up against creative brick walls in keeping my cards interesting and try to stay clear of creating the same type of design or layout. I often have those days where I enter the craft room, ready to make a huge range of cards, only to experiment, make and then.....toss away in the bin, unhappy with some of my mini creations!

As a creative person I look alot to shapes, textures and colour and daily I'm inspired by my surroundings and many types of artwork people all over the web are creating. I don't necessarily gain inspiration from other card makers but from a whole host artists and often jot down or photograph those snippets of curiosity and save them for another card making day!

A nifty way of keeping your cards up to date, fresh and of course buy-able is to pre plan the layout. Its a method I employ and sometimes I like just sitting in front of the TV on the sofa with my trusty sketchbook and markers and hours later I have numerous card layouts ready for creation. Using this method I find, allows you to get stuck into card making without delay and saves on your precious materials too!

Here you can see a peek of my layout ideas and how I've transformed a simple 2D drawing into a mini 3D wonder! I've added more embellishments to the card as I worked my way through it, but essentially using this technique allows you to get the basics right first time. There's nothing stopping you adding to the card once you've put the basic layout together...and the "bla, bla, bla, bla" section of the card? Well that's usually where I place or stamp a sentiment such as 'Happy Birthday'. Be sure to include space for the sentiment if you're hoping to add one. 

Setting time aside to pre plan your layouts wont eat too much into your crafting time, but it certainly will make you a tad more productive in the long run!