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Magic Color Pencil Borders
By Lianne Vigil
Feb 22, 2005, 16:30
Here’s a fun variation on the Magic Colored Pencil Technique. It makes a great edge on any card where you would like a little color but don’t want the grungy look of inking, and you want a little more defined and bold look than chalking gives. I will show you how easy it is to make a basic blended border and a two-color border. You can see examples of this in my card below on the outside border and the border around the flower inset.
Supplies:
Basic Cardstock in 2 different colors
Colored Pencils (better quality pencils will give you better results. I used Prismacolor for this project)
Odorless Mineral Spirits or Odorless Paint thinner (available at your local craft or hobby store—I found mine in the local Michael’s in the artist’s section)
Paper Blending Stumps (also called Tortillons). These look somewhat like a stylus, but they are made of tightly rolled paper. These will also be found in the art section of your local store.
| Card Before Blending |
Card After Blending |
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BASIC BORDER
| Basic Border Step One: Draw a fairly thick, dark line around the outside of your card. It doesn’t matter if it is perfect, because we will be blending this later. Next, draw a lighter line just on the inside of the first line. It will look a little rough and not very pretty to you at all! |
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| Basic Border Before Blending |
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| Basic Border Step 2: Here’s where the “magic” part comes in for this border, and it is actually quite fun to watch it happen! Take your blending stump and dip it in the spirits. Place it on the edge of your pencil lines and start blending! I like to work in a circular motion from the outside of the edge towards the middle. On corners, I like to blend a little more to soften the sharp edges. Don’t worry if you get a couple of drops of mineral spirits on the card—it will be invisible when it dries. When you are satisfied with the look, step back and admire it! That’s all there is to this! |
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| Basic Border After Blending |
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TWO COLOR BORDER
| Two Color Border Step One: Draw a line around the edge as before. This time, I usually just draw one line instead of two; especially if it is a smaller piece you are working on. On the inside of the line, draw short strokes of pencil at a 90-degree angle to the first, sticking up like blades of grass. You can use the second color for this only, or add strokes of the first color too. If you want to get really crazy, you can even add a third color! Be sure to vary the length of your strokes as you work. |
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| Two Color Border Before Blending |
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| Two Color Border Step 2:Follow the blending technique as listed above. Keep blending until you are happy with your results. Enjoy your new creation! |
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| Two Color Border After Blending |
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Now since I know you are all so clever, you will think of many wonderful variations on this simple technique. I would love to see your work in the gallery, and you can always email me a note about something you’re especially proud of—I’d love to hear from you!
"Credits: Flower stamp by Stampin' Up and sentiment by Purple Onion Designs. Paper from Club Scrap."
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