Celebrate Christmas in July and make these crafty cards with your kids
Friday, 22 June 2012 08:44Christmas in July is a good time to bring out the craft box and do some fun projects with your children. Make Christmas cards for friends and family and keep kids occupied at the same time. They could also be used as birthday cards by simply changing the colour pallette. If this rain continues there will be no choice but to stay inside for the school holidays so follow our craft guide below which was put together with the help of Dremel.
Materials:
Dremel Versatip with hot blower head and hot cutting knife
Dremel Gluegun 930 with clear glue sticks and silver glitter glue sticks 7mm
Card blanks and envelopes
Decorative printed and glitter paper
Spray paints including metallic spray paints
Low-tack spray adhesive
Embossing pen
Embossing powders
Ribbon in various widths
Star sequins and gems
Sheets of Mylar
Step One
First, draw some star templates. Lay the sheets of Mylar over the templates and trace round them using a permanent marker pen. Ensure that you leave enough space around the motif so that the Mylar will make a mask that covers the card face completely. Working on something like a toughened glass kitchen worktop saver, cut carefully along the lines drawn using the Versatip fitted with the hot cutting knife. This is probably best done by an adult. Remove the template from the middle of the shape to create a stencil.
Step Two
Choose the appropriate sized star stencil for your card blank and spray one side of the Mylar with a light misting of spray adhesive. Invert the stencil and position it towards the top of a card blank, pressing it down gently so that the low-tack adhesive will secure the stencil to the card while you spray. Working in a well-ventilated area, apply the spray paint following the manufacturers guidelines. Allow the sprayed motif time to dry. But if you have younger children get them to paint the card or colour-in their own designs.
Step Three
Working on a sheet of scrap paper, place a smaller star stencil over the sprayed motif and use the embossing pen to draw around and fill in the shape to apply a layer of embossing fluid. Remove the stencil and sprinkle embossing powder onto the motif. Lift and gently tap to remove excess powder, using a paintbrush to remove any remaining specks before returning the powder to its container. Use the Versatip with hot blower head to melt and fuse the powder, remembering to adjust the Versatip to a cool setting. Help your children do this so they learn to use more complicated tools.
Step Four
Cut decorative paper to cover the lower half of the card face and glue it in place. Embellish the card with ribbons as seen. Finish by using the Dremel Gluegun 930 to glue a star sequin and gem in the centre of the star motif.
