Wednesday, April 20, 2016

The Doodle Card

Wow, it's been a while since I did a card tutorial here, hasn't it?  (We're not counting that guest post I did, since it wasn't for my own blog.)  I whipped up one of these cards Sunday before last when I needed to make a birthday card for someone in a short amount of time, and I didn't want to go to the trouble of thinking up a fancy card.
I like this card because it is so easy, and can take five minutes to complete, depending on how detailed you get!

Supplees
Three blank cards (this is the paper I use)
Three card panels the same size as the cards
Black sharpie pen
Glue




Directions
Doodle on card panel.  Glue to card.*

*The reason I say to do this on a separate piece of paper instead of right onto the card is simply that the sharpie bleeds through the paper.  If you have thicker paper (the weight of mine is 110), you certainly don't need a separate card panel to doodle on.

Sometimes a blank surface can be daunting, but just go ahead and make a mark!  The point is to doodle.
Since it can be intimidating to start on a blank surface, I'm all prepared with tips and ideas to get you started!  If you can't think of what to doodle, here are some ideas.

Circles
I like to draw circles inside circles, but you could also just draw empty circles.  You could try going from small to big, or completely random!
I also like to draw stripes inside my circles' circles..
Dots
I did dots in a swirly design, which I think looks nice.  You could also do lines with dots, or just random dots.  I think it looks good to have them in some sort of pattern.
Squares
For the original card (pictured up yonder^), I loosely drew rows of squares of varying sizes, like in the picture below.  I like to do a biggish area full of squares.
Triangles
This is something I did on only one of the cards, and don't like the look of as much as squares.  It is still nice though, and maybe your style involves more triangular things, and that is okay!
Lines
Lines!  Possibly the easiest pattern to do, and so pretty if you do it right!  HA.  What does "right" even mean?  Maggie knows not.  You can also criss-cross them and make a checkered pattern or plaid.

Sentiment
This is of course optional.  Not every card needs words, but if you need/want words, go for it!  Since these cards are a little wonky, I recommend writing it in wonky handwriting!
And there are some ideas for you to implement on your own cards!  There are so many more possibilities than what I listed.  Go where your mind takes you!  Or, as I put it in the first picture, let out the creative kid inside you!  I'm all about being a kid.
I gave you ideas for what to doodle, and now I'll give you tips as to how to doodle too.

Balance your lights and darks.
If your pattern at one end of the card is light, try to maintain that light throughout.  If you start out dark, keep it dark. In the first card (pictured below), I had more darks on the bottom half of the card, so I added in stripes to a row of squares at the top to even it out a little bit.
Repeat patterns.
For instance, take my squares.  I had squares in the top of the design and then again down at the bottom in the first card, and throughout on the last.  For the second card, I drew triangles on the bottom and top, as well as down the left and right edges.
Try not to get too busy.
It's my humble opinion that I got a little too busy on the second card.  You may think differently on what's busy and what's pleasing to the eye.  Of the three, I think the first is my favorite because I like the swirly-ness, and the last is almost too open for me.
Play around.
This is about doodling, right?  Play with patterns.  Trace your hand (now that's a good idea!)  Draw circles or lines over and over again, if that's all you can think of. Just don't overthink it.
Lately I've started calling people Honey Bun, in addition to Honey, Hun, Darlin', and the like.  So that's the explanation for the "What's up, Honey-bun?" card.  :)
I love that these can be all occasion cards, and could totally be for a girl or a boy, depending on the patterns you employ!
There SO many possibilities with this card.  It'd be fun to play around with a bunch and see how many different designs you can come up with.
Will you give it a try?  What is your favorite pattern to doodle?  Do you even like doodling?  I think it's great fun.

26 comments:

  1. Oh yes, doodling - it is something I enjoy. :) I mostly doodle on envelopes, but I might try a card now! Thanks for your suggestions and tips; I'm eager to try them out. Do you doodle on envelopes?

    Okay, this is a random question, but what's the story behind your blog name? Because every time I visit your blog the song 'Butterfly Kisses' starts playing in my head, so I was just wondering if your blog name was inspired by that song!

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    1. Yes, you SHOULD try a card! It's fun! I mean, cards are kind my thang, so I'm biased...but still! I'm eager to see what you come up with! If you do it, please let me see it!

      Ah yes, the story behind the name...I've been asked this before. Welp, when was deciding on a name, Butterfly Kisses was one on the list, and I thought it was really random, but my sister really liked it, and I guess her influence made it grow on me, so that's what I ended up choosing. Looking back though, I regret picking it, as it doesn't really fit me. It more fits my sister, who liked it. So that's the "story." Not much of a story. :P I hope to get another blog at some point, which will have another name, that fits me better.

      Thanks for commenting Jessica! I appreciate you coming back so often! :)

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    2. WHOA, I forgot to answer your question! YES, I do doodle on envelopes! Almost every envelope I send out has some thing on it other than the address and return address and stamp.

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  2. DOODLING YES. OH YES. i usually don't doodle as much on cards, but during biology when i really couldn't care less about the life cycle of salamanders, some of my best artwork comes to play XD but yeah, i love just doodling around when i'm bored and creating like word art and borders and stuff like that. it's something i really enjoy too <3 i should try it on a card...i'd just be too scared if it got wrong. BUT OH WELL everyone learns. :)

    YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD ARTIST those look really good!

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    1. This seem to b the normality - not to doodle as much on cads, but to love doodling in general anyway! Don't be scared to get it wrong! Hey, if you think it looks bad, at least you were being creative, and I seriously doubt it could be that bad. I've seen some of your art, Autumn. :)

      Thank you and thank you for commenting!

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    2. I love to doodle myself and always find a blank card daunting at the beginning. I know everyone is different, but can I share my tip? I always start now by stamping one motive on my card. It can be a sentiment or a motive. The last one was a very ornate hummingbird. I find it very helpful as I then have a starting point and as soon as I start to doodle, everything is fine. I find just that an ornate stamp works the best with an open structure- not too bold and it will blend in easily with your doodling. A curvy sentiment would also be a good starting point. And if you are in a hurry, the size of the stamp can be a time saver... Very often I repeat the stamped picture on the envelope.. I hope you don't mind me sharing this under your post?
      Greetings from Scotland,
      Nessie

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    3. I would have included a photo but don't know how that works in a comment box. Lol.
      Nessie

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  3. No, I don't at all mind you commenting your tip! In fact, I should have asked in the post if anyone had their own tips to share, but oh well. Thank you for sharing yours! That is very helpful, and I might need to try that! When I doodle, if I don't know what to do, I just don't think about it much and put my pen to the paper! I also like to repeat something in the pattern onto the envelope. In fact, for the envelope that went with the original card in this post, I decorated the envelope flap, and really liked the look of it, but I didn't take a picture of that specific envelope, and didn't think about adding it in this post.

    I would love to see a picture of your creation! If you like, you can email me at maggiescardco@gmail.com. Thank you for your comment(s) Nessie! :)

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    1. Helo Maggie,
      I sent you a picture of my card. Hope it worked?
      Love from Nessie

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    2. Yep, it worked! Thanks so much, and I'm just about to email you back!

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  4. These are all so awesome, I can't believe that they can be done in five minutes! I'm not even joking, you have such a natural talent.

    I think I'll probably Olay around at some point and do these, because they look like fun, whilst also being a great and cheap way to give cards to loved ones. Honestly though if I did some of these I think I'd just make up the most mundane reasons to give a card because I bet I'd enjoy doing it so much.

    Also hey, I'm a new reader, and I sure will be sticking around for a while!

    Amy;
    Little Moon Elephant

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    1. Yep! To tell you the truth, I have yet to actually complete one in five minutes, BUT, I think it could be done. (Otherwise, I wouldn't have said that.) Thank you for the compliment! God get's all the glory. :)

      Ooh, do that, and show me pictures if you do! They are fun. I made four more of them after I published this post! And oh, I totally agree. I seriously love giving cards to people. Or, more like I enjoy writing letters to people and sending them, but you know, they're basically the same thing.

      Thanks so much for reading, Amy, and I hope you'll immensely enjoy your stay!

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  5. GAAAAH I LOVE THIS IDEA. <3 I also lovelovelove doodling and probably do it too much on surfaces that don't particularly cater to doodles...(oops XD) BUT YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD DOODLER. SERIOUSLY. These cards are epic and anything created with Sharpies usually are amazing I mean come on...♥

    Fabulous tutorial!!
    abbiee

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    1. YAYAYAY! It makes me so happy that you love it! Heh, I'm pretty sure EVERYONE likes doodling. HAHA, when you said you doodle on things that don't cater to doodling, I immediately thought of a refrigerator. Like, I can just see you sitting there in your living room with a sharpie drawing all over a mini fridge. This brain sometimes... Yesss, sharpies are the beeest. Thank you for your lovely comment Abbiee!

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  6. LOVE this doodle card, Maggie! I used to do this all the time on cards and you've inspired me to pull out some card stock and doodle away this evening. :) I like to add pops of color to mine sometimes, so I doodle everything in black and then maybe fill in the words or some bits and pieces with red. It really pops! Have a great day! :)

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    1. Ooh, I hope you do! It's such fun, isn't it? If I didn't get bored so easily, I would keep on doing these because they're just so easy and fun! But I can't keep doing the same thing over and over, or else I might go crazy! Adding pops of color is a good idea! I thought of it, but I really like just the black, so I didn't try it. Have a great day back, Jennie!

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  7. Very fun Maggie! I'm not a big doodler but I have recently gotten into Zentagle. Are you familiar with it? The product looks very similar to these cards.

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    1. Yes, I've seen Zentagle around at Michael's, and I think Wal-Mart too! It looks like fun, but I haven't been interested enough to purchase anything or really even look into it. I agree though, the patterns I've seen on the front of the book do look similar to my own doodles, although they look a bit more complicated too. Thanks for commenting, Lydia!

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  8. I really admire this level of creativity...a skill that I definitely do not have :)

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    1. Thank you! Even if you maybe don't have my level of creativity, I still believe you could create something beautiful. Thanks for commenting!

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  9. So pretty! I wanna try this sometime!

    http://thecountrygurl.blogspot.com

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    1. Oh, please do Kiley, and show me pictures! I'd love to see!

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  10. I don't mind doodling when I bored at work or a meeting or something. But yeah, no artistic talent what so ever, so even with step by step I'd still find a way to screw it up lol

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    1. Aw, how can you screw up doodling? Just because it may not look super cool or artistic, or even put-on-a-card-worthy, it's doodling! Doodling is for fun!

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  11. These look so cool!! I have about 0 artistic talent but maybe I'll give this a try :)

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    1. Thanks, Arushee! Please give them a try, and I'd love to see what you come up with!

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