Texture – Add it Today!!

Texture is a way for you to add all kinds of visual interest to your cards and creations. You can add texture in all kinds of ways, through stickers, layers of paper, felt or fabric, embossing, paper crimping or crumpling, chipboard shapes and even by using 3-D molding paste.

One of the easiest ways to make any item have more visual appeal and prominance is to pop it off your page. The easiest thing to do to create this effect is to use a 3 dimensional adhesive like foam dots. Simply apply the dots to the back of your image and stick them to your page. The little owl below has been raised off the card face by using foam dots.

Another simple and fast way to add texture is to use embossing. That could include heat embossed images or dry embossing techniques. There are a lot of companies making embossing plates that you can fit in your die cutting tools for making quick work of creating an embossed surface. The card below displays a panel of dry embossing, highlighted by inking the raised portions of the embossing texture the embossing stands out more prominantly.

Chipboard shapes are a quick and easy way to add dimension to your creations. Raw or decorated, these images add that pop to your cards and pages. In the example below, the chipboard cat shape has been applied right over top of the row of felt images.

Felt and fabrics are a fantastic way to add texture too! Imagine the feel of burlap or cotton or stick with a growing trend in the industry and use felt. The image above uses an adhesived backed felt repeating image as a backdrop. Quick and easy and super textured!

Why not add some more dimension by crimping or crumpling things? This too is a quick way to create an eye popping effect. The little leaf below has been die cut from a piece of cardstock, doodled on and then sent through a paper crimper. Layered on the adhesive felt swirls and popped up using foam ahesive, it adds the feeling of a swirling leaf!

Don’t forget about adding other dimensional items, like ribbons and brads. These simple items add a lot of texture and can be very colourful and eye catching too!

Inking is a great way to add the illusion of dimension. Simply ink the edges of your card, image or the edges of your page to add the look for a more dimensional feel.

So why try some of these today on your cards, projects and page creations!

~ Ally ~