More quilling on a marbled background

Several people have asked me to produce a tutorial about the cards I made recently where quilling was set against a marbled paper effect background. So, today, I set myself the task of creating another card design and writing a post about how I made it.

Well, there isn't really a great deal to explain about this particular background technique. I did not create the marbled paper myself: instead, I downloaded it free as a digital image from the excellent Photoshop Roadmap site, via this link. There is a range of different marble-effect patterns on offer, all completely copyright-free and therefore authorised for use in any application.

Having downloaded the digital image for the marbled paper used on this design, I printed it directly on to my card inside an oval-shaped frame at 80% opacity. To do this, I used Apple Mac's Pages software, but I could equally well have done it using Photoshop Elements. However, for anyone who does not feel not confident about working with digital images in this way, a similar effect could easily be achieved by printing out the image on a sheet of paper and cutting the desired frame shape using a craft knife and a stencil. This could then be glued in position on the card.

For my own digitally-created card background, I added a narrow border around the oval in deep magenta, before placing a matching 'Happy Birthday' text box beside the oval shape. However, I could just as easily have drawn a border around a cut-out shape by hand, and used a peel-off for my greeting.

I like to study the shapes and colours inside this kind of marbled paper image before deciding on a style of quilling that will complement it. In this instance, I decided that bright yellow would look striking against the bold swirly pattern of charcoal grey, so I made some simple flowers using pairs of conjoined strips in two shades of yellow (one bright, one pale), joining them together with some stems and leaves made in vibrant lime green. I like the way these colours tone with the deep grey background and magenta border/lettering.

Why not take a look at the marbled paper patterns for yourself, and wait for inspiration to strike?