Focal Point

Card Making Basics Tip #3

A card is more visually pleasing if there is a specific focal point.

The concept of having a focal point can relate to color, placement, size, and shape of the elements that you use in a card. For example, for Independence Day I made a card (I admit that it isn't my best card, but it is a good illustration of this point) using muted colors. I wanted it to be simple so I chose to place a big blue star in the center of the card; after I assembled everything, the card was totally boring. It just didn't look good.

I put the card aside for a day and when I came back to it, I realized that it lacked a focal point. The size of the star wasn't enough to make the card look "finished." When I added white lettering and brads, the card looked a lot better:

4th of July

Over the past year, I have thought a lot about how important it is to develop and nurture close relationships. One of the things that I have done to show family and friends that I care is to make them cards for holidays and birthdays. With Independence Day and the beginning of the Olympics this month, I have been feeling particularly patriotic so here are some red, white and blue cards:

I used the Paper Studio embossing folder for the background blue and to create texture on the red star. A medium sized star punch created the perfect sized stars for this card, which are attached to the paper with foam adhesive squares. Also, do you see how the picture I took is distorted? I learned that when you hold a lower quality camera really close to something, it does that.

This card seems pretty self explanatory. I did want to point out that "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is not a stamp. With a limited scrapbooking fund, I often use my own computer to design and print messages and pictures rather than running to the store to buy stamps or stickers.