Matting and Layering Technique for the 24th

Hi  to all our fellow Crafter's, Ange here on the SBC blog today.  I would like to share with you today the technique of Matting and Layering a card and briefly go through how I have colored my image with Copic Markers. I will start off firstly, with the technique of matting and layering your cards. This will help to give your cards a dimensional look rather than looking flat, I look forward to you sharing with us what you have created.

Tip: When choosing your paper you are going to use on your card try using only 2 colors patterned or plain and have one cardstock color you matt your papers with. This way it will co ordinate with your card into your card colors.

Today's Tutorial
For today's tutorial I am making a 7"x 5" Card, firstly I have cut the sizes to fit my card. It is best to go down in 1/4" increments so the pieces fit your card nicely. There is no wrong way to layer your card so cut out your pieces of paper first and stick them to your backing Cardstock color.

1. I have chosen to have 3 layers of paper which I have glued to the purple base cardstock.
2. My main 2 colors I've used are purple and green.
3. One of my pieces of paper I have used a Martha Stewart Edge Punch to add further dimension.
4. My image I'm using today is from Sherri Ann Baldy and it is a digi stamp which I have colored with Copic Markers.
5. With the piece of paper I have punched 2 sides with my Martha Stewart Doily punch I have also layered some lace and ribbon onto that piece of paper.
6. In this instance I have started with one piece of flat lace, then glue a purple ribbon on top of the white lace and then in the finished card photograph you will see I have added some purple rhinestones as my top layer.

Pictured are the paper and cardstock layers used on my card today.

These are some of the embellishments I have decided to use for today's tutorial, I have also used some Prima flowers which are fabulous to give the layered effect. On completing the card I decided to leave the large flower off this particular card.

This is the finished card and I have layered it as follows:

1. First layer was the large flowered paper which I cut to fit my 7" x 5" card front.
2. Second layer I cut so as I could place it on a angle as you can see in the photograph and glued it in place.
3. Third layer was the piece of paper I used the doily punch on and have placed it towards the bottom of the card.
4. Then I glued the ribbon and lace layers on top of the third layer of paper.
5. Then I positioned the colored image which I also matted to the cardstock, as my top layer.
6. All that is left to do now is to add your embellishments, as you can see I just love my embellishments. You can add as little or as much as you like, that is purely your taste and you will find you will get to feel when you have enough on your card.

Image colored with Copic Markers

When I started coloring with my Copic Markers no one could help me in suggesting what colors to use and I know this can be very daunting when you first start to color. With all of my projects I list what colors I have used to help beginners with a color scheme, this is purely a guide to help you get started. 

Tip: When you have a big space of white around the image, you may like to carefully cut out the image once you have colored it and glue it to your card or with a very faint color from your Copic markers put little dots around the image but be careful only use the tip of your marker very lightly, always use the lightest color e.g V000 around the image if you aren't going to cut it out, then you can use a darker very lightly just here and there e.g. V01 or V02. Experiment on a scrap piece of paper but be very lightly handed so you can just see the point of the marker.

If you visit my blog there is a full detailed list of what color copics I have used on this particular image and a list of products I have used also. Please leave any comments on my blog if I can help you further.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope I've inspired you to try this technique.

Ange - Ange's Treasures