Valentine's Day Cards: A lesson in composition

/ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃən/ Show Spelledcom·po·si·tion [kom-puh-zish-uhn] –noun

Fine Arts . the organization or grouping of the different parts of a work of art so as to achieve a unified whole.

It's about a month away from the holiday so I figure it's time to talk about the big V day.  I wish I had a better tutorial for this, however, when I made these last year I wasn't doing a blog or tracking how iImade things. I'm just glad I was proud enough of my little cards to take some pictures! I still wanted to write about it though, so I hope this at least inspires you to get creative with your cards. 

If you've never done collage work, it can be very mentally cleansing.  At least I think it is. I get in a zone of meandering through magazines with new eyes, clipping out the random snippets of wonder I come across in pages full of generally negative projections. This is the main part of my love for collage, transformation from something ugly (like ads that promote a poor perception of beauty) to something positive and uplifting. 

**IDEA ALERT! Collage can be really fun with friends! Have a get together, invite everyone to bring a stack of magazines and some scissors, provide some snacks, throw on some background music and make a social night of it. Super fun times. ALSO you can use this same idea for some really cute and unique invitations, though I'd keep it to a small party since collaging a lot of cards could get overwhelming... END ALERT**

Things You'll Need:

1. Cardstock
2. Something for the "backdrop"
3. Some magazines to cut into
4. Mod Podge (or your favorite adhesive for collage/scrapbooking)
5. Accents

1* Last year, I came across a pack pre-cut heart shaped cards at Michael's and made them my canvas. I had so much fun with it because it was a mix of the traditional "building" of a valentine but used less doilies. Not that I don't love a good doily project but sometimes you just have to bust out of the norm, you know? 

2* I had origami paper left over from one of those 365 day calenders. You were supposed to do a project everyday, but I didn't like every project so I had a lot of cool paper to use for whatever else I wanted. You, of course, can use scrapbooking paper, wrapping paper, fabric, felt, big photo, etc. for a good backdrop to the scraps you add. 

A larger magazine photo can make for a good backdrop.

3* Grab the magazines and look for whatever inspires you, cut it out to use. Just because it's V-day doesn't mean you have to get mushy. You can give a card to family, your kids, your neighbor, your friends....and with collage you can make it personal ( the recipients favorite color, theme, etc.).

A friend of mine bought this one for her son, a big John Lennon fan.

4* Before going nuts with the glue, arrange your selected cut outs into the desired affect. You don't have to cover the entire heart in words or images, though that could look really awesome too. Composition can play a significant role.  The easiest way to think of composition, for me, is in terms of music. Think of an orchestra, several completely different instruments (elements) playing one song (the piece). Or maybe a dance with several dancers doing different things at once to one song and yet it all flows together in one poetic, united, display of movement. 

Apply that concept to collage. You can have sequins, glitter, fabric, ribbon, bits and bobs of whatever come together to make a whole card and send one message. Alternate sizes (large fonts with small dots of glitter), use different shades or patterns of the same color, incorporate different shapes...but make sure you orient it all to the message you want to project. You want the balance of all of these elements to accent the main image or word you want to have as the focus.

The words "Open Your Heart" lead into the key to opening it.

5* This was pretty much covered in #4 use whatever will stick to the card :) Also, don't feel like you have to use magazines to say every word, if you have a stamp or a label maker that you can use to printout the word a different way then it can be a nice addition to the composition.

This card incorporates stamping and rhinestones as well.

What are you planning to do for Valentine's Day?

How to Throw a Party: Part Two-Invitations

Do you really need an invitation for your party? Of course you do! Its the mood-setter, so to speak. It tells the guests what to expect, what to bring... its the teaser. Feel the pressure? Well, lucky for you, you're probably inviting friends and family that don't mind too much if your teaser isn't engraved on card stock. There, feel better now?

If that's the case, and I really hope it is because no one needs that kind of anxiety ever, then your next step is basically deciding paper or digital. Neither is "better," but one might suite you or your party better. That just depends and I'm going to let you make that choice.

Digital
Some definite pros about going digital is that, for starters, its "green" because you don't use any paper products. Its all pixels, baby. Another plus is that its usually everyone's favorite word: Free. Also, if you're comfortable with it, it can be as easy as fill in the blank. If you're not the kind to want to spend a lot of time on invitations, or if you're just plain pressed for time in general, digitally inviting people to a function can be really helpful. There are a myriad of choices to go with and it comes back to preference, however, I really think you should consider the whole ambiance thing we talked about. It might be faster/easier to just write an email and send it out, but don't forget you're setting the tone for your party too. Even a basic email (or facebook event) can have a color scheme or a picture. But to be honest, if you're really that computer shy that you would avoid using something like Evite.com or someecards.com then you might want to think about doing a paper invitation instead.

Paper
Paper invitations can be as easy as buying the Winnie the Pooh cards at Vons for your kids Pooh Bear themed party. But you can also have some fun and make a memory by going DIY. Your budget doesn't have to suffer, but unless you plan to hand out every single invite you should at least expect to pay for postage. If you don't want to buy your invites at Vons OR like to support small business endeavors, then another option is to hop on your maps.google.com or yellowpages.com and look up a stationary store. If you want that crafty look but don't feel crafty enough to do it yourself (or, again, like supporting small business), there are plenty of shops on Etsy.com that will help you design a beautiful, fun, unique invitation all your own.

If you're in the mood for some crafty adventures, then prepare to DIY! When it comes to doing it yourself, you have a wide range on the budget. You can even keep them costless if you have enough materials around!

The main key is: Think outside the box.  Have a bunch of old magazines you don't look at anymore? Try cutting out colors, pictures and words that fit your theme and create unique, individual invites. You can combine this with other media (like fabric, buttons, ribbon, sketches, crayon, pen, photos, etc.) to get different looks. All you need is some paper, card stock or even card board to paste everything to and some Mod Podge. The possibilities are endless.  If you're doing a kids birthday party or other celebration, try including them in the process by drawing or painting pictures with them to be used on the invitation. They will love it and the recipients will get that warm feeling inside just looking at that totally cute art piece by your little artist. (If you have a lot of invitations to make then you might want to take one big piece of paper, have the kiddos go hog wild on it and then cut it up into smaller mini art works to glue onto the invitations. Remember, its not about child labor, its about having fun!)

Thinking outside the box is key to finding and integrating less expensive supplies too. If you do have to buy something, try looking around your local dollar store first. They carry some craft supplies and what they carry changes, so you never know what you may come across that could fit the bill. But don't just look in the craft section, look around and think of how you can use other items to make it work. Doing a Valentines Day theme? Try using that pack of doilies and offset them on colored paper. Want a light and airy spring time look? Try using coffee filters to make flowers or butterflies (use water colors to paint them). Feeling stuck? Browse some websites for inspiration and then make up your own thing. You can do it :) And you should totally share your idea with others.