ICAD 2019 - Week 2

We have entered week 2 of the Index Card A Day (ICAD) challenge for 2019. I needed to scratch my head to come up with new and inventive ways of doing this, as it still felt as if I was only just starting to find my feet in this endeavour. It is, and was, a most enjoyable challenge, as it allowed me to play with a whole host of mediums that I had not used in a while. This blog is therefore once again jam-packed with varied crafting ideas and tips. The inspiration for this week was collage, found or painted paper, old books or magazines.

All of the projects are done on these index cards, which have one side lined and the opposite side blank.

DAY 8
The theme for Day 8 was Goggles. In line with the inspiration, I decided to use a very old music book which I treasure in my paper stock.

I coat an index card with Dala Acrylic Gel Medium.

I then layer pieces of the music book paper on the card before coating it with more of the Dala Acrylic Gel Medium.

I wait for it to dry and then I trim the edges.

I use Bianjo acrylic paint in copper to paint a thin transluscent sheen over the card.

I have discovered these cute books filled with diecut press-outs, called the Signature Collection from Art by Marlene. I will be using two of these books extensively in my future index cards projects.

I use an Artline marker to draw a border around the card.

I then use 3D tape and squares to fix the diecuts to the card. Note the glasses and words that tie in with the theme for the day.

The completed card for Day 8.

DAY 9
The theme for Day 9 was Macaron. I started by using Dala Student Acrylic Paint in Raw Sienna to coat an index card.

Once the paint was dry, I covered it with Dala Acrylic Gel Medium.

In line with the inspiration of using found papers, I used a paper doilie to decoupage onto the card. I coated the card with the gel medium.

Once dry, I trimmed the edges of the card.

I then smeared the whole card with Crystal Craft Ink in gold to give it an aged appearance.

I then used my Mont Marte Adult Colouring Duo Markers to create the idea of macarons.

I added some shadow to make it slightly more believable.

Then I found the word 'Feast' on a diecut and I attached it to the card with 3D squares.

The completed index card for Day 9.

DAY 10
For Day 10, the theme was Sapphire. I went to my stash of offcuts and discards to 'find paper' inspiration to use.

I again used Dala Acrylic Gel Medium to decoupage some scraps of craft paper to an index card.

I coated the cards with the gel medium and left it to dry. I deliberately opted for the blue flower in the foreground to tie in with the sapphire colour theme for the day.

Once dry, I cropped the edges.

Then I smeared the card with Crystal Craft Ink in black.

I covered the card with a sheen of blue glitter, using Mont Marte Glitter Paint.

I went back to the Signature Collection book by Art by Marlene for diecuts. I chose a face with sapphire coloured eyes.

I fixed the diecut to the card with double-sided tape.

I then used VersaMagic ink and an acrylic stamp to decorate the card.

I stamped the card with the image.

I then used a Faber-Castell pen to write the words 'Gypsey @ heart' on the card.

The completed index card for Day 10.

DAY 11
The theme for Day 11 was palm. I used Dala Student Acrylic Paint in Raw Sienna to paint the edges of an index card.

I then 'found' a piece of corrugated cardboard slightly smaller than the index card.

I taped this to the card with double-sided tape.

This time there were no edges to trim.

I used Tim Holtz' Distress Ink in Espresso to ink the edges of the index card.

I also smeared the top of the corragated cardboard.

I then used Tombow glue to glue two wooden diecuts to the card, in line with the theme for the day.

I went back to my discarded papers to find a piece of paper to cut a speech bubble from.

I inked the edges of the speech bubble.

Then I used a Staedtler fineliner to write the words 'slow down to a brisk crawl' in the speech bubble.

I used double-sided tape to fix the speech bubble to the card.

The completed index card for Day 11.

DAY 12
For Day 12, the theme was Tapestry. I found a piece of tissue paper, not much bigger than an index card.

I decoupaged the tissue paper to the index card with Dala Acrylic Gel Medium.

Once dry, I cropped the edges of the card.

I then found this kitchen utensil and inked it up with VersaMagic ink in Midnight Black.

I stamped one side of the card.

Then I misted the 'stamp' with water.

I stamped an opposite corner on the card.

This gave me a much more smeared stamp, which made for a nice contrast.

I used an Artline marker to mark a design in the squares.

I then used a punch and hammer to punch holes in the card.

I used a needle and twine to make a 'tapestry' heart in the punched holes.

I taped the ends of the twine to the card at the back.

I then found an old German craft magazine which had some tapestry pictures in it, called Kreatives.

This was the page I intended to use.

I cut out one of the photos on the page.

I glued the photo to the index card with double-sided tape.

Then I drew a stitched border around the card with an Artline marker.

I found some diecut journaling to add to the card.

I used 3D squares to attach the words to the card.

The completed index card for Day 12.

DAY 13
Balcony was the theme for Day 13. This time I used a palette knife to roughly plaster some gold Zelcryl Acrylic paint by Zellen onto the index card.

I squiggled some scgraffito lines into the wet paint.

Once dry, I used an Artline marker to draw the rails of a 'balcony' on the card.

I found diecuts from the Art by Marlene book in the Signature Collection to use.

I attached the diecut to the card with double-sided tape.

I then redrew the railings of the balcony over the figure.

I used Liquid Drops 3D Pearls to create a shiny 3D rail.

I cut a speech bubble from discarded offcuts.

I inked the speech bubble with Crystal Craft Ink.

I then used a Faber-Castell Pitt pen to write the words 'Wherefore art thou Romeo?' in the speech bubble.

I coated the speech bubble with Mont Marte Glitter paint.

I attached the speech bubble to the card with double-sided tape.

A close-up of the attached speech bubble pointing to the crying figure.

The completed index card for Day 13.

DAY 14
The theme for Day 14, was thread. I used Dala Texture Paste to cover an index card with.

Once dry, I painted it with Zelcryl Acrylic paint by Zellen, in gold.

Once dry, I used an Artline marker to write the words 'Search for the ... of truth' on the card.

I cut the shape of a spindle of yarn.

I wound some twine around the shape.

I used double-sided tape to secure the yarn in place, as well as to secure the embellishment to the card.

I used Tombow glue to glue a loop of yarn to the card. My words now read 'Search for the thread of thruth.'

I used an Artline marker to draw a stitched line around the borders of the card.

The completed card for Day 14.

The completed set of cards for the week.

You can watch a compilation video of the above steps on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/75xpHhWvgQs

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
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