Have you noticed how great it looks when someone weaves a string around letters in her name in her forum signature? I think it really helps to hold the image together visually and keeps letters from hanging in space. Take a look at Tammy’s forum siggy here. She has the light string weaving in and out of the letters of her name – perfect for this month.

Weaving is easy to do, but making it look realistic can be a bit tricky with shadowing. Never fear! Chelle has a great video tutorial here on her YouTube channel that will walk you through the steps to create the most realistic look possible. It’s only a few minutes long, easy to watch on your next coffee break.

Our Creative Team has been making pages and using Chelle’s weaving techniques to give you some inspiration. First, Tammy made a page using Ho, Ho, Ho, Naughty or Nice, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and I think you will recognize some of the same items in her siggy above. Look how well she wrapped the string around the frame on her page.

Next, Christine has made a gorgeous page with Chelle’s Oh Snap kit. Notice how well the string is woven around the film strip and ribbons on the left of the page. But, look closely at the upper right corner, and you will notice she used the same technique on the string for the date tag.

Kayla used Norlandia and a bonus paper freebie with elements from Snowlandia, too, to make her page, and of course she also used Chelle’s Shadow Styles, Me and My Shadow. She explained in detail exactly how she made the weaving work, “I wove the string around the paper strips and under the photo op tag using a layer mask. I simplified the string and layer mask after I had the parts of the string removed and everything where I wanted it. Then I added a shadow to the string. Next, I went back in on a layer above the string and added the little shadows that would be above the parts of the string where it went under the middle paper and photo op tag with a soft brush to make it look more realistic.”

Finally, Karen made a page with the same kits as Kayla, and she wove her string around the title letters on her page. It turned out perfectly, don’t you think?

I hope you are inspired to weave some digital string! If not, maybe trying to untangle your Christmas lights this week will motivate you to get back to the digital weaving. It’s much simpler!