How To Create Dove Tails

In my post on Thursday, A Burst of Creativity: Sunburst Card, I shared the video Clearly the Best: A Burst of Creativity (S02E01). In the video Monica and Christine show how to create dove tail ends. I thought the technique might have been covered too quickly, so I tried to describe it by saying "Create the dove tails by cutting into the center of the strip of paper then cut from the corner to the end of the cut you just made. The shorter the cut the shorter the tails; a longer cut would create longer tails. I will try to post some photos in the next few days to describe this better."

I decided an image or two might be helpful.



The black dashed lines indicate where you cut.

Cut in the middle of the short end. How deep you make this cut will determine the shape and length of the tails. Then cut from the corner to the end of the first cut and repeat for the other corner. Repeat this for the other end of the strip of paper.

I created two examples so you can see that a deeper first cut will create thinner and longer tails while a shorter first cut will create thicker and shorter tails. I suspect most people will want shorter first cuts, but I am sure there are many great examples of dove tails with a longer first cut.

Then, after creating the images above, I got a little crazy and decided to try recording, editing and uploading my first YouTube video.



I am sorry it is a little blurry. I know I need to practice more, but for my first attempt I am mostly pleased. I think I did a fairly good job keeping what I was doing on screen and did not speak too fast (which is something I do when I am nervous). I hope the video does a good job explaining how to create dove tails in this way.

Come back on Friday, October 18 for the Festive Friday Blog Hop. I have dove tails on the project I will be sharing.

I hope these images give you a better idea how to create dove tails. I would love to know if this image and video "tutorial" helps you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.