This page covers many useful ideas for making your SoulCollage® cards and organizing the process.
Organization
Once you start making SoulCollage® cards, it doesn’t take long before you realize you’re going to need some form of organization! This could be as simple as stuffing all of your torn-out images into a plain manila folder, or as complex as sorting them all into a rolling cart, or purchasing a scrapbook carrying case to hold everything.
Give yourself some time before you decide on your SoulCollage® organization system. Some organization tools are more expensive than others and you don’t want to invest money in something that you will outgrow or not use.
There is an “inner voice” inside of me who specializes in organization! So I use a 10 drawer rolling cart and keep all my images and supplies in it. I separate my SoulCollage® images by: 
- large backgrounds/objects
- small backgrounds/objects
- images of people and children
- images of animals
- images that I cut out but want to share with others
- miscellaneous images
- cards I’m currently working on
You could also use an accordian-style folder that has dividers in it to separate your images. Organizers that are meant for scrapbooking also come in handy. Some of them are on wheels as well, and are great if you’re hauling your supplies with you to a SoulCollage® class or group meeting.
But if you’re not really into organizing, then just pile everything into one big box. You need to do whatever feels right to you!
Different Tools
You can use a hard brayer to smooth out your cards/images after the gluing is complete. The harder the brayer the better, as this will exert more pressure and flatten the images more. If you use the brayer for other art projects, you will want to clean it carefully with warm soapy water after each session because the adhesive sticks to it and you don’t want it interfering with your other art work. You can buy hard brayers at art supply and craft stores. Or you could use a rolling pin instead. Just be sure to clean it before making cookies next time! A mat knife will be useful for marking the corners of your images when you’re laying them under the frame to see how everything fits. I usually make 2 tiny slits in each corner under the frame. Then all I have to do is hold it up to the light to see exactly where to lay it down on the 5″ x 8″ mat board.
Card Making
- Use an old magazine to lay under your mat board while gluing. You can turn the page over every time you’re ready for a new clean space for gluing.
- Round the corners of your cards (or some of your cards) with a corner rounder for a unique look.
- Use the colored side of the mat board as the base for your card, and allow a border of the color to show as a frame.
- Take a metallic gold (or other color) marker and make a border around the edge of your card.
- Cut out some of your images right to their edge. A friend of mine calls this “blessing the image.” Use small detail scissors for this effect.
- Use torn handmade papers as a background instead of magazine pictures.
- Be sure you have a good variety of backgrounds already torn out. An image’s meaning will change as it is placed against different backgrounds. When you get the “right” combination (for you), you will “know” it.
- Cover the entire image with glue, not just the edges.
- Laminate your cards or cover with acrylic varnish to preserve them and to prevent edges from curling up. Try not to do this too soon, however, as you might want to add something to a card later on. If you use the acrylic varnish, be sure to use a very light coat and allow a LOT of time (at least 5 days) for each piece to dry.
- Use stickers to identify the suits on the backs of your cards instead of covering each fully.
A Helpful 6 Minute Video
Take a few minutes to watch this video with Facilitator/Trainer Mariabruna Sirabella who talks about choosing and using backgrounds for your cards.
A SoulCollage® Learning Moment: Different Backgrounds from SoulCollage® on Vimeo.
Further Resources
15 Hints for Card Making by Seena Frost
Want an even bigger selection of ideas for making wonder-full SoulCollage® Cards? Take a look at this e-book from the KaleidoSoul Shop:
