Printable Crafts and Paintable Crafts

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Scraps refer to small images that were engraved or lithographically printed and often embossed. They date from the late 1700’s to the 1930’s.  They were used on cards, in albums, on fancy boxes and on screens. They were also referred to as chromos and reliefs.

Small black engraved images had long been printed for publication and a variety of other uses. In 1789, black and white lithography was invented. At first the images were reproduced on clumsy lithographic stones. This was followed by the development of steel litho-plates which made large scale printing possible.

An early form of crafting with scraps was the application of these small prints to furniture and boxes for what was called The Art of Japanning. These objects were then lacquered to achieve an oriental gloss effect.

In the early 1800’s stationers and book-sellers sold black and white lithographs as juvenile scrap sheets –also called comic cuts. These black and white scraps were often skillfully coloured by hand and depicted themes like agricultural scenes and trades.

Colour lithography (chromolithography) was developed in 1837. A picture was separated into its constituent colours. A plate was prepared for each colour and high quality prints could have as many as 26 colour separations

Relief embossing – which produced a 3D effect– was then introduced as a next step. The first presses which worked with counter-balanced swinging weights were later replaced with steam-driven presses.

Before embossing, the artwork was coated with a film of gelatine and gum. Then a die was stamped into the reversed side of the colour-printed sheet, which slightly stretched paper. The gum and gelatine prevented the stretched paper from cracking and also provided a highly glazed sheen. The early chromos were so deeply embossed that they resembled carvings. Some pictures were embossed on a stiff textile called cambric.

A further process used a cutting die to separate the surplus areas around the shape of the image. The die-cut pictures were held together on a sheet with connecting paper ‘ladders.’ Manual labourers had to ensure that all excess paper was neatly removed for a picture with a clean outline.

Later, a frosting of Mica was additionally sprinkled on to the scrap on selected gummed areas for a glitter effect.
                                                                                                             

Most expensive was the process of finishing the reliefs with gold leaf. This was done between the embossing and cutting processes. A sheet of gold leaf was placed on the surface of the scrap sheet and then heated with a brass die. The lacquer on the scraps were melted and fused the gold leaf onto the relief.

Innovative developments within the printing industry enabled the price of scraps and reliefs to be lowered. The sizes that could be efficiently produced grew from the early small scraps to large beautifully printed reliefs.

This article was researched from the interesting book: “The History of Printed Scraps” by Allistair Allen

Anni Arts has professionally designed and illustrated printable crafts, templates and graphics specially created for crafters by designer Anneke Lipsanen http://www.anniarts.com/
You may use this artcle as long as the above paragraph with link back to Anni Arts is used.

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Vintage Valentine Printables

The images of vintage Valentines, so popular today, are closely associated with the development of scraps, scrapbooking, card making and decoupage.
Read the rest of this entry »

Hello printable crafters!
I hope you are all busy crafting over summer. I have been on holiday myself, but put together this idea video with photographs of items crafted with  printables on the “Best of Anni Arts” Printable Crafts CD.

There are lots of printable crafts ideas regardless of what printables you use.
Enjoy and share!

 Shorter versions are coming and more idea snippets too.
Regards and happy crafting

Anni

ANNI ARTS

CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

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Part 3 in the series of things to do with printable crafts

Favors for Special Occasions

A Favor is a small token of appreciation. A guest can give a favor to a hostess for having been invited for dinner. Or the hostess
can give guests a small favor, usually by putting it at each place setting. The most famous favors are of course those given to wedding guests
by the bridal couple.  And then there are the “loot bags” of children’s parties.

Printable crafts were made for the creation of pretty favor containers. Such packaging enhance the contents of the favor.
They can be customized with carefully chosen graphics and personalized for each recipient. And packaging that you print yourself cost a fraction of store-bought ones. I am astounded by speciality packaging in the stores that almost cost as much as the gift!

Many packaging templates are very quick to assemble and I would recommend them for favors. More expensive gifts can have special packaging that take more of your time.

• A cone printed out as a complete template on paper or cardstock can be filled with candy, chocolates, almonds or wrapped sweets.  The items can first be wrapped in a tissue paper cone before inserting that into the printed cone. Either put the cone on a plate at each place setting,
or attach a handle and hang it from a chair. Cones are also great on Xmas trees and easter branches.

• A small shopping-type bag is another perfect container, as it can be filled with anything from chocolates to a charm bracelet.
Either seal it with a sticker, or add handles of ribbon or a paper strip. Add a tag with a message.

• Pillow packets are easy to construct and snap into a puff pillow that can contain a hankie, candy, votive candles, soap and so on.

• A little box is trickier to construct, but iturns even a single chocolate truffle nestled in tissue paper into a glamorous presentation.

 • Then there are flat envelope-sized packets that can be filled with cocoa, coffee, small sweets, seeds, bath salts or a single flattish cookie.
(Put anything that can make grease spots in food safe plastic packets first. Smaller envelope packets can contain a teabag or coffee pod.

Use versatile printable crafts next time you need a nifty container for a favor or small gift.

Happy printable crafting

CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

The examples are from the Anni Arts pre-designed wedding templates. More colors are available, as well as a collection of versatile printable templates to use with your own paper or the Anni Arts pattern pages for craft templates. Use them for any occasion. So subscribe for Anni Arts newsletter and freebies.

Part three in the series on the wonders and possibilities of printable crafts.

LITTLE GIFTS AND TOKENS OF APPRECIATION

We all sometimes need a “little something” gift.  A small token of acknowledgement, congratulations, or thank you. Or to wish someone luck or hope, or to get well. Or as a birthday gift to e.g. a co-worker. Someone you may not know very well, but would still like to acknowledge her or his special day.   

Printable crafts are one way to make a modest item special by personalizing it, or to create a new item entirely – especially for the recipient.

I am assuming that besides your computer and suitable software, you also have basics like scissors, a craft knife, a steel-edged ruler or guillotine, glue and suitable paper or cardstock to print on.

• An easy, favorite and all-occasion winner is to print a pretty wrapping with personalized text for a bar of chocolate. Two of the most widely available and suitable sizes are 1.55 oz Hershey bars and 100g European chocolate slabs.

There are ready-to-print wrappers available online if you want have a quick and ready solution, or you can use a printable motif and put it in a repeat pattern in a graphics program. A printable vignette picture can also be glued to  colored card or paper in a matching color.

Then you could still add a matching printable tag and a printable border design as ribbon around the middle of the bar. A wrapped choc is one of the most versatile quick gifts – and the chocolate bar itself can be an ordinary, budget bar or a luxurious one. The Green and Blacks Organic 100g bar of dark chocolate and a Lindt 100g bar are examples of the latter.

Tip: Unless you buy special made-for-wrapping bars, make your personalized wrapping over the original wrapping so that the recipient
can check ingredients in case of allergies.

• A bottle of wine can be personalized with a custom printable label too. Cut your label slightly bigger than the one on the bottle, but leave the small back label visible. You can also soak the label off first (which would remove the back label too) or scratch it off gently with a craft knife.

The same goes for a cool-drink bottle, beer bottle or a health drink – even a bottle of water.

• Items like luggage tags and small sewing kits or shower cap packets are practical little gifts for someone going on a journey.
The luggage tag can be laminated in plastic if you have inserted or typed the recipients address already.

• A pretty printable box or packet will elevate a small, gift into something special. Like a golf ball in a custom box, bath salts or potpourri in a pretty packet and candy in a cone.

• Or what about something drinkable like a few special teabags or coffee pods in little printable envelopes, or cocoa in a little bag.

 • Lollipops can have little personalized covers and these can be inserted into a bunch of flowers, or can be tied together with a ribbon like a bunch of flowers.
 
• Candles are another versatile and inexpensive gift. Add a printable wrapper around two candles or around a pillar candle and add a coordinating tag. A votive candle in a glass container can also be dressed up this way.

• Add a printable topper to a packet of home baked cookies. Add a custom label or a tag.

Tip: Wrap any food that can spill or stain in food-safe plastic or cellophane first.

• Nice artisan soap is another item that can be wrapped and beautifully presented with the help of printable crafts. Wrap the soap in plain or printed paper. Then add border design around the bar and add a tag or label.

• Any bath product – like bath oil, bubble bath or bath salts – can be personalized with a printable label. Tie a matching tag around the neck of the bottle with a pretty ribbon.

Again, I would leave back labels intact so that the recipient can read the ingredients in case if an allergy.

Tip: Why not make up coordinated combinations of many of the above for unique personalized gifts?

Luck ready-to-order journal and printable bookmark

Coordinate printable craft motifs and colors and put the items in a basket, pretty bag or gallon can for a pamper hamper.

• Printable crafts can also be combined with store bought items to round out a single item.

You can combine drinking chocolate in a printable packet with marsh-mallows in a bought mug.
The above-mentioned teabags or coffee pods can be combined with a mug too.

A small toy can be combined with a bouquet of customized lollipops for a sick child,  and a book can be combined with a printed bookmark and wrapped chocolate.

These budget-friendly ideas can be used to solve those “little gift” dilemmas for any occasion.

Happy printable crafting

Luck Gifts printable crafts and coordinating ready-to order items or to personalize online . All by Anni Arts

Part 2  in the series on the wonders of printable crafts.

STATIONERY

Isn’t receiving real snail mail an unexpected pleasure now that we are so used to quick stay-in-touch emails?  With  printable crafts you can easily create one-of-a-kind stationery that will leave a lasting impression with the recipient.

 All you really need for printable crafts (besides your computer) are scissors, a craft knife, a steel-edged ruler or guillotine, glue and suitable paper or cardstock to print on. 
Printable stationery can be customized on your computer to include names and text of your choice.  This further enhances and personalizes the item.

Here are suggestions for how you can make stationery that is a pleasure to receive:

• Craft a card.

Make use of printable cards offered online.  They are a good investment, as they can be printed out repeatedly and they cost the same or less than a card bought in a store.
You can build up an occasion library to be used again and again. The quality of modern desktop printing is fabulous and can be further improved by using photo or speciality papers. 
Printing, cutting and folding a printable card is super easy and much quicker than walking or driving to a store – and ecologically much sounder.
 
Alternatively, you can use colored cardstock as a card base. Then embellish it with printable pictures for a quick and pretty card.
Also use those bits of ribbon off cuts and odd buttons.

To make it more special, you can make a dimensional cover by raising some of the pictures – using the little sticky foam squares made for 3D cards. Print a few copies of the main graphic. Cut out along the outlines. Paste all the pics in layers with the sticky squares, or paste just selected parts in layers.

Use inserts that are a bit smaller than the card for inside messages. This can be loose, lightly glued on the spine, or tied in with a ribbon which looks very pretty.
The insert can be in a color that coordinates with the printable on the front cover. It can also have a miniature of the cover pic, as well as a printed message or poem.
(I suggest you always sign your name in ink though. Having all the text in a typographical font would be too impersonal.)

Another alternative is to lay out the card as a quaterfold card. This makes the inside of the card part of the sheet the card is constructed from. It also allows a greeting card to be constructed from regular paper only, because the double fold makes it sturdy. 
The page (A4 or letter size) must be divided into 4 equal areas. Keep important info away from the edges and floating within each quadrant.
This is because the slightest shift when printing can throw designs with frames and straight lines off-center easily. It is not really noticeable if a free-floating design is a smidgen out of line.

• It is easy to make a postcard in the same manner, but you might want to enclose it in an envelope to protect your creation.

• Use printable frame designs to make cards personalized with photos.  The photo must be in a layer under the frame in your graphics program (e.g. Photoshop). And the inside of the frame must be transparent for the photo to show. You can also cut and paste a printable frame on the actual photo and paste both on the cover.

• If you need to share a fair amount of news, make printable notelets. You can fit two notelets on an A4 or letter-sized page in landscape format.
Border designs look pretty at the top and/or bottom.  A vignette can be placed in the center top.
Your address can be added as a long row below the pic, or to the left or right at the top.
 

• Embellish a printable or plain white envelope with the same or matching graphics.
Put the address in a frame graphic and use a picture as a seal on the back envelope.
 
 • Consider making a modest little card-and-gift creation.
The gift can be a printable bookmark, a tea bag or coffee pod in a mini envelope, a packet of cocoa or a flat scent sachet.
The beverages imply that you share a cuppa with the recipient, while the bookmark and scent sachet will remind your friend of you when she opens that drawer or a book with the bookmark.
A gift card from a store can also be included and is a nice way to avoid making and sending a parcel.

• Round out your printable stationery range by using a personalized postage stamp. These are available from zazzle.com. Many countries have stamps that can be customized too.
Use your theme illustration or photo on the stamp to coordinate with your printable creation.

• If you are not a crafter, it is still possible to personalize existing card or postcard designs this way. Or upload your own designs to zazzle.com

Happy printable crafting

CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Printable Crafts on the Photo from the Dragonflies and Lilies Summer Crafts range by Anni Arts

An extended range of the Dragonflies and Lilies Summer Crafts is also on the Bumper “Best Of” CD below

Hello fellow creatives and printable crafts lovers!

In this blog I want to share my passion for printable and paintable crafts with you and pass on tips and ideas for inspiring printables.

I just love designing them, because I can create the same products that I have always loved to design: stationery, cards, packaging, labels and books. Pretty things. The only difference is that I mostly design craft products these days and do less corporate work. But the design process is essentially the same.

Holidays and occasions provide high points to the year and are nice events to look forward to. The retail shops would like you to spend a lot of money on each special day as it rolls along, but printable crafts are a much better option.You can enjoy and get into the spirit of each event for very little effort or cost.

Printable crafts have come a long way since the first heady days of desktop printing in full color. The average inkjet printer now prints with the quality that only the commercial printer down the road could once aspire to.

And that is what makes contemporary printable crafts so great as a creative hobby.
The printing results are so good that your printables look like the products in the stores.
Plus you can decorate and personalize to your heart’s content!
You can create special stationery, favors, packaging, gifts and scrapbooking for each favorite holiday at budget-beating prices. In fact, printable crafting is the hobby of choice for frugal crafters. Easy, quick, cheap and fabulous! How many crafts have such credentials?

The availability of speciality papers, cardstock, label paper, as well as printable fabric and iron-off paper make for printable heaven! The possibilities for creations are endless.

Consider these creations if you are new to printable crafts:

 • Special stationery

• Little gifts and tokens of appreciation

• Chocolate and candywrappers

• Candle and soapwrappers

• Favors for special occasions

• Distinguished wedding stationery and favors

• Packaging

• Giftwrap, tags and printed ribbon strips

• Kids birthday party printables

• Other party and anniversary printables

• Printables for entertaining, wine labels and decorations

• Labels for bath products

• Food labels for gourmet goodies

• School and classroom essentials

• Business identity

• Office stationery

• Home decor

• Decoupage

• Calendars

• Coloring pages

• Seasonal specialities for Halloween, Christmas and more

• Decorations and ornaments

• Scrapbooking elements and backgrounds

• Romantic products

• Iron-off printables on products

• Printed fabric sheets

• Paperdolls

Delft Bird Greeting Card Printable Crafts

Inspired to start on a printable crafts project? I will be writing about such creative projects in up-coming posts.

Do have a look at the Anni Arts printables.

CREATE SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

Anni

www.anniarts.com
Printable Crafts on the Photo from the Blue Delft Bird range by Anni Arts
An extended range of the Delft Bird is also on the Bumper “Best Of” CD

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