Filed under: Easy, Project
Want more room for artwork, and less text? Today I’m going to show you how to cut down one of the texts from the kit and make your own background pattern for an English language wedding certificate.
Materials
Acid-free paper (here’s what to look for)
Archival pigment pen (I like size 01) or regular ballpoint pen
Xacto knife
Steel ruler (good to cut against, but any straight edge will work)
Self-healing mat (to cut on – you can also use cardboard)
Archival ink stamp pad
Archival tape
Rubber stamp(s)
Thin black frame or thick black frame or silver frame (for standard sizes)
Cutting things down to size
You’ve printed your favorite text from the kit onto some nice paper. Now we’re going to cut it down and use only the English side to make a slimmer sheet.
Take your ruler, align it just at the edge of the Hebrew text, and make a straight cut with your Xacto knife. You should be taking off about 3.5 inches.
Once you’ve cut off this left piece, you’ll notice you have more negative space to the right of the English text than you have on the left. So trim about 1 inch off the right of the sheet to even things out. You’ll want to eyeball it, rather than measure. Just make sure you’re cutting at a right angle, to keep the sheet square.
You can personalize the top of your ketubah text any way you’d like. We’ve covered this before, and the same rules apply here; you just have less horizontal space this time. I decided to draw in some extra signature lines, as well–see the picture at the end of the post to see what that looks like. Customize this sheet and make it your own!
Drawing lines
When you have your ketubah text ready, lay out the larger sheet of paper you want to use for the overall piece. This can be a standard size, like 11×14 or 16×20 (which will make framing less expensive), or it can be a totally custom size to fit in the perfect spot in your home. I used a 14×17 sheet.
Align the text sheet within the larger sheet to figure out where you want it to live. Draw 2 vertical lines on either side, and then add a few more lines–they can be spaced symmetrically or asymmetrically. I chose to position the text off-center and draw some asymmetrical lines at random intervals, for a more modern look.
You can experiment with how dark to make the lines you draw in. I made one version with faint lines that I achieved with a light touch, and another with darker lines that I drew in with more pressure. You can also go back and forth with your pen, creating some texture. Try experimenting with different pens and inks to see what appeals to you.
Rubber stamping
Now that you have the lines drawn, take your rubber stamp or stamps (I used a 3/4″ circle stamp and a pencil eraser for a smaller circle stamp) and stamp along the lines you drew. I used a black ink pad, but you can use any color you like. Most craft / art / scrapbook supply stores have archival ink stamp pads and lots of stamps to choose from.
You can experiment with the pressure you apply to the stamp. Some stamps, like the circles I’m using for this example, look nice when you have areas that don’t fully print. Less pressure and inking will result in that kind of look. The more ink and pressure you apply, the more coverage you get. It’s good to test the inking and pressure on a scrap sheet of paper to get the hang of what you like. Stamp with confidence! The more indecisive you are, the more shifty you tend to be, and then you’ll get smears.
If you want some more stamping tips, check out Lena Corwin’s excellent book, Printing by Hand or Lotta Jansdotter’s Lotta Prints. Both are great primers that go into much more detail than I can here.
Adhering the text sheet to the pattern
Now that you have both sheets ready to go, it’s time to adhere the ketubah text to the pattern you made. You can use an archival double-sided tape (as pictured), or a tape gun for this. I like these dry methods better than using a glue stick or liquid glue because they’re less messy. Also, since we’re gluing quite a large area, the wet adhesives can make the paper crinkly if you’re not an expert with glue.
If you do want to use a wet adhesive, just make sure it’s archival, like PVA, and spread it thin! If you’re using a really thin sheet of paper for the ketubah text, you may also find an acid-free glue stick successful. But thicker papers will need either glue or one of the dry adhesives.
Be careful when you place your sticky ketubah text onto the background, because repositioning can be tricky and you don’t want to ruin the pieces you just worked so hard to prepare! Make sure your hands are clean and smooth out from the center of the paper when you have it where you want it.
You’re done!
You just made your own pattern, and your very own rubber stamp ketubah from scratch.
Enjoy!
Filed under: Easy, Project
Last time, we personalized a ketubah from the kit with contemporary lettering. Today, I’m going to show you the simplest way to take that sheet of paper and make it into a gorgeous piece to hang in your home.
All we’re going to do is find a nice sheet of decorative paper and adhere the personalized text we made last time to it with photo corners. That’s it. Really.
Materials
Personalized ketubah text
Paper Source decorative paper (or any sheet of pretty paper from anywhere)
Xacto knife
Steel ruler (good to cut against, but any straight edge will work)
Self-healing mat (to cut on – you can also use cardboard)
Photo corners
Thin black frame or thick black frame or silver frame
Finding the Right Paper
Pretty paper makes everything better. And easy. Find a nice pattern that you like and your work is half done. You can probably find some at a local art or craft store if you want to see it in person before you buy it. There’s pretty paper everywhere!
If you’re far away from art stores, you can also buy online. My favorite place to find beautiful paper is Paper Source.
One word of caution, though: not all of their papers are acid-free. I chatted with someone in the Portland shop who said that the PS Designs are acid-free, but that the other collections are spotty. You might want to look only at stuff they have labeled explicitly as acid-free to be sure you’re using something that will last a lifetime.
That having been said, there may be some papers that they don’t classify outright as acid-free that will stand the test of time just fine. Some of my favorite papers are the Lokta papers from Nepal and they are handmade and sustainable, yet they don’t guarantee that they’re acid-free.
If you’re willing to take a gamble, you can try testing a paper you like for acid by using an acid-testing pen on a small piece of it to see how it holds up.
The worst-case scenario is that you’ll need to rework your ketubah in the future if there’s an aging issue with the paper. It’s an individual choice whether or not to risk it.
For the purposes of this demonstration, I paid no mind to which papers were guaranteed to be acid-free. I was just looking for patterns that were eye-catching to show you what you can do.
Thinking about Size
Once you’ve found a paper you like, you should think about where you’re going to hang your ketubah and what size would be best there. Since you’re making your own piece, you can customize it for the perfect spot in your home.
Ready-made frames like the ones I recommended above in the materials list keep costs down and are available in some nice sizes. My favorite size is 16″ x 20″ because it’s big enough to have a presence without being overwhelming. There are other common sizes that are smaller, like 11″ x 14″. You might want to find the frame first so that you can measure and cut your paper to fit exactly.
Besides the frames I recommended above, Ikea has some inexpensive frames you might consider. Just be aware that their matte and glass is not necessarily intended for longevity, so you might want to swap those out – a good local framer can help you with that.
Cutting your Paper Down to Size
Once you’ve measured the dimensions you’d like for your finished piece, you can cut your decorative paper down with a steel ruler and xacto knife. I like to use a self-healing mat for cutting, but you can do it on any surface that you’re willing to sacrifice to knife marks. Make pencil marks on the back of the paper and cut carefully!
Placing Your Ketubah Text
Once you have your paper cut down, you can take your ketubah text and just move it around on the decorative paper until you find a position you like.
If you want your piece to be vertically oriented, you can try the text sheet in the middle, for a clean, symmetrical look. Keep in mind that you want the sheet to have a bit more space below than above to look truly centered. If you just measure exactly the same length above and below, it will look optically low on the page. The sides can be measured exactly, but the top and bottom should be eyed. Trust your instincts over a ruler with vertical centering.
For a more modern look, you might try a horizontal orientation, positioning the page off to the side. That asymmetrical placement will make the page look a bit unexpected and contemporary. You can either position it to the side and keep it visually centered from top to bottom, or go all the way and position it higher or lower than its visual center vertically.
Just have fun moving the sheet around on the decorative background and see what looks appealing to you.
Once you’ve found an orientation and position that you like, it’s time to put it in place. Peel off your first photo corner. Then, while holding the text sheet down with one hand, carefully slip the photo corner over one corner and press it down onto the decorative paper.
The second photo corner should be placed on the diagonal corner, to secure the overall position of the sheet. Keep working carefully, corner by corner. These guys are really sticky, so be sure you have things where you want them before you press a photo corner down.
With all your corners in place, you’re done! Now you can just slip your piece into the frame you already chose, and you’re set to go.
