Origami Cranes

Here is a fun idea for a birthday card.
It is almost therapeutic folding these cranes.
I use 3 inch squares to attain this size crane.
The card is a standard size 5 1/2" X 4 1/4


I fold these when I am sitting watching TV
and now have quite an assortment I can draw on
 to whip up a nice Birthday card on a moments notice.


Folding instructions are here:

http://monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/

Creating a Specific Size Circle

For the last Challenge on OSA,  I needed a circle  3 ¾ “ to mat a 3 ½ “ Washi paper which  I   had cut with the largest of  the small Circle Nestabilities set ( I don't have the large circles, yet )  so I  thought of going on Google for a circle template.  My problem was it needed to be black.

I decided to make my own circle template in my Kaleidoscope program,
Dazzling Reflections.

 

I then opened it in word and re-sized it to 3 ¾” and printed it out.  I wasted less printer ink because the  washi paper layer covered the center that was white.  I cut it out with scissors and found,  I  did have to take a   black re-inker  and a brush and paint the outside of the circle to match the black card stock.    Feel free to use the template I created.

Using Parts of a Stamp

Sometimes if you look at your stamps in a different way you can use

part of them  for a project to alter the style or form, and create a whole
new look.
Most experienced stampers know how to isolate the part of a stamp they want to feature by creating a mask.  This can be a positive or a negative mask.
For my  aqua Oriental screen  I created a faux lacquered look with a Holly Berry House
House- medallion stamp, by making a negative of the arch and stamping inside it with Versamark ink.
I laid my paper on top of the stamp and pressed it all over with my fingers, making sure it didn't shift position,  then  embossed it with fine black powder.  I used a similar method of stamping as seen for stamping the background in this video.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/6010775/how_to_learn_rubber_stamping_techniques_masking/

I then ran it through a mini-crimper.  The result was quite a realistic impression of an oriental screen.  For the front image I used a Marieandme  bamboo- pine- plum- stamp and stamped  only the bamboo in  versamark ink and then stacked it where the top of the bamboo began and stamped again (just the cane) then embossed it in  fine black embossing powder.

http://mariandme.com/Catalog/AsianDesigns/AsianFlora3.html

scroll down to bottom

 Here is the finished screen plus one I made with Best Creations Inc oriental print paper.

The single crane is from a Hero Arts  stamp of multiple cranes.  I inked up one on the end

and stamped it individually.