Memories!!

This week my nieces and I are on school holidays. My sister isn't - so I offered to have them with me today!! There was an ulterior motive. After my Dad passed away at the beginning of February, we have all collected a few(!!) item that we wanted to keep to remember him by. I offered to help the girls create memory boxes to put them in. So - that's what we spent today doing!!

We started the morning with these basic boxes, and our first job was a trip to the shop to buy tester pots of paint with which to cover them!!

This was by far the messiest part - hence the painting aprons - although one of the paint lids did managed to fall onto the carpet!! 

We used Ruby and Hazel letter masks - this concept confused them a bit to start with, so I had to demonstrate on mine before they decided quite how they wanted to do it!! They have both put Bob on theirs - this is what they always called him. It's a long story - but has everything to do with Bob the Builder!!

They then rummaged through my vast collection of dies to see what they might like to use - along with choosing the colours of card they wanted to use!

They brought their shared Cuttlebug with them - and I have one too - so they they settled down to cut out their shapes. 

They also had a look through all the photos we could find, and chose which ones they wanted to use for their boxes. Dad was a great AFC Bournemouth fan - so both used a photo of him in his football shirt, along with the logo.

This is Emma's finished box:

And this is Lauren's:

We had a fantastic day getting messy - and a lovely time spent chatting and laughing - and watching Despicable Me 2!! 

Dad would be very proud of them both - I know I am!!

Cxxx

Butterfly Mirror Frame

Morning - not long now until the launch of the fabulous Crafter's Companion Times Gone By CD and stamps. There are loads of shows on the way on Create and Craft with this Pick of the Week. Here's the list so you can plan your viewing!!

Today I have an altered mirror frame to share with you - one of those cheap ones from Ikea!

I started by printing one of the design papers onto Sheena stamping card, and then cut it down to size so it would fit inside the frame. I also cut an aperture so it would sit around the mirror in the middle. 

Although I didn't intend to paint the frame, I sanded it lightly and put a coat of gesso on to provide a surface for working onto.

I wanted the edge of the frame to stay black, so stuck masking tape all the way round to protect it from the glue and paper that I wanted on the top.

I printed 3 papers onto Satin Finish paper, and then tore them into pieces. 

Using Mod Podge, I started with the plain reddish paper on the edge (this one was created using the colouriser on the CD) , then I used the yellow, then the patterned one.

I didn't go too far in, as this would be covered with the card frame I cut earlier. 

Once dry, I sanded around the edges to remove the excess paper that was hanging over. I also inked them with Black Soot DI. I did forget to take a photo of the next stage which was to use some of the small stamps from the 'Shall We Dance' and 'Time Flies' sets to stamp around the edges. I used Black Soot - and removed some of the ink onto copy paper before stamping it on. 

The frame was distressed around the edges - using my Tim Holtz distresser - and inked with Aged Mahogony DI. 

The flowers are also printed from the CD - and inked with Aged Mahogony. The leaves are cut with Die'sire Leaf 1 and 2 dies.  

The images used are from one of the Card Companions - and I used some large, dark red pearls to finish it off.

Before I sign off, I just wanted to welcome my new followers on Bloglovin, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you so much for choosing to join me in my crafty dabblings - and I hope that you will find a little inspiration. If you don't yet follow me and would like to, the buttons for Bloglovin, Pinterest and e-mail are on the bar at the side. And my FB page is Papercraft By Carole.

And don't forget to tune in to Create and Craft at 12pm to see the launch of this fabulous range!!
Cxxx

Rather Large Triple Easel Card!!

For today's sneak peek of the new Times Gone By, I have a rather large triple easel card for you.

The width of the card is the length of a sheet of A3 card  - which seemed a great idea while I was making it - but caused a little consternation when it came to sending off my samples!!

These are the measurements that I used to create the base - using A3 Centura Pearl Snow White Hint of Gold. The images are all on one Topper Companion sheet, and I used the design and co-ordinating papers for matting and layering. 

The bows and sentiment are also from the CD, as is the little hanging embellishment - which I covered in Glossy Accents.  The stoppers are cut using Die'sire Essentials Circles and Scalloped Circles - the larger Centura Pearl ones being embossed with Embossalicious A4 Floral Trellis. 

I inked the edges of all the pieces with a combination of Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose DI's. A few buttons and pearls, and a length of wire edged ribbon completed the card!!

I will be back tomorrow with another sample to share with you. 

Cxxx

Times Gone By ....

.... and it really has!! Don't know if I'm coming or going! Am a bit behind with starting to share my samples for the gorgeous new Times Gone By CD - but better late than never I suppose!

I have decided to start with one of my favourites - and one that is sooo simple to do!! Am hoping the 'Boss' likes it too!!

I bought the bottle from The Range - it was just screaming out to be used for this great vintage collection!! I wrapped a piece of hessian around the bottle, using red liner tape to secure it.

Using Neenah Desert Storm, I printed the Label, the strip of tickets from the Embellishment section, and one of the co-ordinating papers. The little tags are from one of the Card Companions - and I made the larger one with the a piece of the co-ordinating paper. All of these were edged with Vintage Photo DI.

I then got to use my Sentimentals Alphabet stamps for the first time - stamped of course with the Vintage Photo DI.

Really looking forward to the launch of this CD - have a couple more samples to share over the next couple of days!!

Back soon!

Cxxx

Big Score - Magic Pocket Card

Here's the Magic Pocket Card that Fiona showed earlier today. It's made from the Elegance Card - which I have to admit is my favourite card pack!! 

I added in some Mink Centura Pearl - from the Pastels selection for matting and layering, and cut the hearts with Die'sire Essentials Hearts.

I embossed some of the heart with Embossalicious A4 Dottie folder - and others with the 8x8 Regency folder.

I really need to invest in a circle punch - or a few of different sizes - as I really struggled to cut the half circles on the pockets!!

And finally, I decided to use the little cards to write a message - the I and U are cut with Die'sire 3" Alphabet dies.

This really is so easy to make - and I think I will be using this design for some of my gifts for friends this year!!

Cxxx

Crafter's Companion Big Score

The lovely Fiona is on Create and Craft today with the Big Score - if you've missed the 8am show - she's back on at 1pm.

This is one of the projects I made for the show using the instructions from the Big Score CD. It's called the 'Magnificent Mailing Box' - and is sooooo easy to make!

I decide to use the Opulence A3 card, cut down to 8 1/4" wide as per the instructions. For the decoration on the top, I did a bit of faux iris folding. I used a square template, and instead of folding paper, I used strips of the card, edged with Faded Jeans DI.

I used Die'sire Essentials Circles and Flowers for All Occasions for decoration, along with some ribbons and pearls!!

Make sure you tune in for the shows today!!

Cxxx 

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #135 - Spring

Afternoon - and it's time for another challenge from Crafty Cardmakers & More. This fortnight Marlene has chosen the theme 'Spring', so your project could include new life (baby - animal or human), Spring flowers, soft Spring colours etc.

For me personally, I love having a bunch of daffodils in the house when Spring arrives. They are so bright and cheery, and say that warmer weather is on its way!! So, I chose to use a digi called 'Narcissus' from Just Inklined.

I printed the image onto Neenah Solar White card, and coloured it with my Spectrum Noir pens: LY1, 2, 3; GB3. 4. 5; DG 2, 3, 4, CG4; IG1, 2, 4, Blender.

I used green and yellow card for the matting and layering. The large yellow layer is embossed with Do Crafts A4 Butterfly Pattern embossing folder. The edges of all the yellow layers are inked with Scattered Straw DI, and for the green I have used Mowed Lawn.

The paper blooms are from Dovecraft, and the sentiment is from Crafter's Companion Sentimentals Nature stamp set. The centres of the flowers have a little glitter glue added.

I would like to enter this into:
Robyn's Fetish - Add a Bow
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - No DP

See you later!!
Cxxx

Happy Anniversary!!

The middle of March is when things start to ramp up for me crafting wise. Family and friends birthdays and anniversaries start to come thick and fast. Today's card is a wedding anniversary card for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law.  I hope they had a fabulous day!!

The topper came from the Kanban 'Love and Marriage' Kit - this particular one is called 'Anniversary Wishes. The heart paper is also from Kanban, and I teamed it up with matt pink card and pearl cream card.

A little ribbon, some paper flowers and pearls finished it off.

Back soon,

Cxxx

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick post today. I am sharing with you the card I made for my Mum for Mother's Day. 

I used one of the decoupage images from the Camden Town Female CD - I just changed the sentiment to read 'Happy Mother's Day'. It was mounted onto some Papermill Teal card. I used more of the card to matt and layer the background papers, and finished it off with ribbon and pearls.

Like I said - a quick one today!!

I would like to enter this into:
My Time to Craft - For a Special Lady

Cxxx

Getting organised!

Morning!! I am in the process of re-organising my craft desk. It's a work in progress - very slow progress!! But I'm determined to get it done - even if it means working on it around other things. 

If you're anything like me, when I'm crafting I like certain things to be close at hand so I don't need to go looking!! But I also am not keen on a huge mess - so like it all to be fairly organised. And while I already have some great little baskets on my desk, the stuff in them needs a bit of sorting.

So, I've gathered together all sorts of bits that hopefully with be transformed over time into lovely storage. I'm not going for anything complicated - just straightforward, usable - but looking good! 

I decided to start with something to keep my wire cutters and pliers in. I don't use them a huge amount, but I do like to have them to hand just in case. 

I started with a crisp tube, and cut it down to the height needed. I didn't worry too much about how even it was as this would be covered up later.

I then sanded it and painted it with Gesso. I also did the inside to give it a 'tooth' for sticking things to.

Two pieces of green card were stuck around the top of the container - one inside and one outside. This will give a neat edge to the top. 

And because there was a gap between the two pieces of card right at the top, I filled it with PVA glue.

I wrapped more of the card around the bottom, and a piece of paper (Do Crafts Butterfly Collection download) around the middle - finishing off with a piece of ribbon. 

Like I said - nothing fancy - but it looks good amongst the other things on my desk - and does the job!! 

Take care!!

Cxxx