Elizabeth Craft Designs - Iris Shutter

Before the end of the year, I am trying to share all my personal makes for family and friends. I will be sharing in groups so some days there will be a lot of pictures as I really got myself behind. I mostly use Hunkydory toppers - but for these three I used Elizabeth Craft Designs Iris Shutter Die set, and Iris Shutter Add-ons set. I also used patterned paper from Craft Creations 12x12 pads from The Range.

To see how to assemble to mechanism, click here, then click on the photo to take you to a video demo. 

For this one, I used Creative Expressions Peony Floral Panels with Paper from the Happy Colours pad.

This one uses Creative Expressions Daisy Floral Panels, with papers from Fresh Florals.

This one uses Jeanine's Art Happy Birds Circle of Flowers with papers from Floral Vintage.

Thank you for popping by. 

Please feel free to follow me here on my blog, on Twitter, FaceBook,  Instagram or Pinterest.

Happy crafting, 

Cxxxx

Create Art - Inspire - Art Journal Page

A break from the Christmas makes!! Today's share is an A5 art journal page created on Daler Rowney Mixed Media Paper. Click on the pictures to see the YouTube video of my process.

The pocket and tags are Elizabeth Craft Designs 744: Planner Essentials 26 - Planner Pocket 4 - Tag and Toppers, while the words are from both that set and from their Art Journal 1782 Butterfly Pocket Insert set. 

Full List of Products Used:

Elizabeth Craft Designs 744: Planner Essentials 26 - Planner Pocket 4 - Tag and Toppers;

Elizabeth Craft Designs -  Art Journal 1782 Butterfly Pocket Insert set;

Elizabeth Craft Designs - Planner Essentials - Reinforcements 2

Daler Rowney Mixed Media Paper;

Distress Inks/Oxides/Oxide Sprays - Evergreen Bough, Picked Raspberry, Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade;

Distress Spray Stain - Picket Fence;

Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Watercolour Ink - Flamingo Pink, Golden Sunrise, Ray of Sunshine, Holly Green;

Julie Hickey Designs Clear Stamps - Garden Blooms, Floral Buttons;

AALL & Create Clear Stamps - #362 Splodge, #351 Alphabet Splatter;

AALL & Create Stencil - #125 Lotza Semicirclz

Elizabeth Craft Designs Art Journal S040 Pattern Stencil Pack

Spectrum Noir Finesse Waterproof Ink - Pebble

Thanks for popping by. If you feel inspired, I would love if you would follow me on any of the social media platforms - I am there under Papercraft By Carole and/or @pcbcarole.

Happy crafting,

Cxxxx

Elizabeth Craft Designs - Garden Bouquet

I love flowers and am lucky to own an array of older Elizabeth Craft Designs flower dies.  Yes, they are not the latest dies, but in this day and age where our budgets are squeezed, look at what you already have in your stash. If you have been crafting for a while, chances are that you have something you can use. This card uses 3 different dies from their Garden Notes collection: 1190 Bouquet Stems and Branches; 1638 Crocus; 1590 Grecian Windflower.

These dies are created to allow for good representations of the real flowers. However, don't be put off by that. Use your dies how you want to, as I have in this card. You wouldn't recognise that these "should be" crocuses and windflowers.

I have also used patterned paper for the flowers rather than colouring them, but you could equally create an inky background and cut them or cut them from white and colour them. So many possibilities. I love the Bouquet Stems and Branches. Elizabeth Craft Designs made several of these type of dies. 

Click on the image to see the video demo, and please feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Happy crafting, 

Cxxxx

Eizabeth Craft Designs - 1478 Garden Scene

Today's share contains a couple of cards using Elizabeth Craft Designs - 1478 Garden Scene die. This is very much like a "Create a Card" type die. These are great for creating quick cards, as the work is pretty much done for you.

I chose to use two different techniques. The first one is an inked background using Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxides and Sprays. The sentiment is from Julie Hickey Designs - Everyday Sentiments.  I love the Tim Holtz Distress Range - particularly the Oxides and the Oxide sprays. 

The second one is the quickest way to use this type of die, where patterned papers make the background. Again, the sentiment is from Julie Hickey Designs - Everyday Sentiments. 

Click on the images to see the video demos, and please feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Happy crafting, 

Cxxxx

Elizabeth Craft Designs - Garden Party

Well, it's been almost 6 months since I last blogged and shared anything crafty on social media. And that is for a whole host of reasons.

Up until the end of June, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to create a lot of video content with a whole range of products and techniques. I have shared some of this previously, but still have a massive amount to share. My intention is to begin to blog the rest of this from now onwards. 

Once this came to an end, I kind of breathed a sigh of relief at having time to step back a bit. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the 9 months I had, but it was good to take a step back. I have also not really been crafting since then - apart from friends and family and am now starting on my Christmas cards. I have spent the past four and a half months focussing on other things I enjoy - predominantly my garden, but also cooking, preserving and baking.

I am now at a point where I feel that I want to start playing again. I spent some time sorting through my craft stash and re-discovered a whole load of things I forgot I had, and it's time to start using it! Having been on Design Teams and been a demonstrator, your stash builds without you really being aware of how much you have. Once I have shared all the things already created and filmed, I am thinking of potentially having a go creating some content independently. Not sure how - or if - this will happen, but it's bubbling around in my head.

Anyway, my intention is to share the 60+ projects and videos that I haven't yet shared, grouping them together where I have created different projects with the same item.

So, am starting with some Elizabeth Craft Designs. These are created using a set of stamps called Garden Party. 

Both were stamped with Versafine Clair - Nocturne and embossed with clear embossing powder. 

For this one, I used Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour Ink to colour the image.

And for this one, I used Faber Castell Goldfaber Aqua pencils. 

The patterned papers and card are from my stash - as are any dies used to cut the layers.

Click on the images to see the video demos, and please feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Thanks for popping by. Happy crafting,

Cxxxx

Pizza Time!!

I do love a piece of pizza - especially when it's homemade! This little pizza box wouldn't fit much pizza in - but is perfect for a small card or gift.

For the box itself, I used Elizabeth Craft Designs - Pizza Box die. To decorate, I used Creative Expressions - Craft Dies by Jamie Rodgers - Tea Bag Folding Collection - Octagons. The fold I have used is from Hand Crafted Greetings, and is called Octagon. Click on either of the pictures to take you to the video demonstration. 

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For lots more video demonstrations, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxx

Easter Rocker Card

Today's Easter share combines the Easter Basket and the Bunny dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs. It's really simple to make. Cut two circles, score one in half, and the other sits on the front. The whole thing then rocks.

I cut all the pieces from white card, and inked them up. Click on the picture to see the whole video demonstration. The sentiment is from Karen Burniston's Easter Charms.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For lots of video demonstrations, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxx

Easter Bunnies!

Today's share is another Easter card - this time, using Elizabeth Craft Designs Bunny die. I cut it three times, and combined it with the sentiment from Karen Burniston's Easter Charms. Click on the picture to watch the video demonstration. 

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For lots of video demonstrations, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxx

Easter Basket

 We are fast approaching Easter, and I have a few projects to share with you. The first is this twisted Easel card in lovely pastel colours, using Elizabeth Craft Designs Easter Basket. Click on the picture for the link to the video demo.

I also used a sentiment from Karen Burniston's Easter Charms set.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For lots of video demonstrations, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxx

Umbrella Iris Shutter

A while back, I blogged a planner/journal page that I created using Elizabeth Craft Designs: Art Journal - Iris Shutter die set. That post has a detailed step-by-step of how to assemble the mechanism, so I will not go over that again here. Click here to have a look at that post. You can also watch the video link from that post - or the one for this post (click on the main photo) For this card, I haven't used the overlay part, and therefore did not use the extensions for the arrow on piece B.

For decoration, this time I have used Sizzix Thinlets - Flowers in Umbrella set. The little bird and some of the foliage were used as the image inside the iris shutter, with the rest providing embellishment for the card.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Butterfly Pocket Card

Today I have another way to use the Butterfly Pocket Insert from Elizabeth Craft Designs: Art Journal collection. It makes a lovely little card - or, like I have done, a card on a card. The reason I did this was because I felt it was just a bit too small. So, I made an A6 card base from purple card, and mat and layered with green card and patterned paper.

I cut out the pocket insert from plain purple card, and stuck the pocket part together. I used the same green and patterned paper layers inside of the pocket card. To keep this all closed, I attached ribbon to the back of the pocket insert, before attaching it to another piece of green card. This was then stuck to the base card. The ribbon then ties around the front. 

 

The tag die from the set was cut from green card, also using the additional cut-in pattern die. This was backed with purple card, and then another tag cut from the patterned paper. To get the letters I wanted, I had to cut a combination of the dies from the set - but it's worth it.

For the butterfly, you need to cut this twice, as the die only cuts half. Cut one from the front of the paper, and one from the back. I did the same in the purple card as a backing. I used a small strip of card down the middle to cover the join.

If you want to see a video demonstration, then please click on the first photo.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Butterfly Pocket Journal Page

Today's share is using the Elizabeth Craft Designs: Art Journal - Butterfly Pocket Insert. It is designed to fit in the original (A6 ish) ECD Traveller's Notebook (TN), but the height is about the same as the XL square - and so fits in there, and therefore with the faux leather cover that I made before.

This is a HUGE die set. You get the die to cut the pocket insert, which has a lovely Mandala style cut out design. There is a separate die to cut out that same design on other parts of the pocket - or on the fab size tag die that comes with the set. There are also three side-on butterflies - but you can cut them twice and create a full front-facing butterfly. There are also a range of words in a really funky font - with extra individual letters for any that are not covered in the words!! 

So, the "worker" die cuts out a piece that is divided into three. Two parts fold and stick together to from a pocket - which the tag fits into. The other part creates the other half of your page-  so it opens like a card (I will have a blog for one that I made soon) - which then fits over the elastic in your TN.

I used an A4 piece of mixed media paper, and inked it with Prize Ribbon, Scattered Straw and Bundled Sage Distress Oxides. I also sprayed the paper with the same colours. I spritzed my mat with water, and mopped this up on the BACK of the card - as both sides will be visible (see the part where the word "creative" is).  

Using the same colours, I inked through several stencils from the Elizabeth Craft Designs: Art Journal - Pattern Stencil Pack. This is a lovely set of little stencils - perfect if you take crafting supplies with you when you travel.

I picked out some yellow, green and blue card from my scraps box to complement the colours, using this for the die, the letters and some of the butterflies. 

  

And it now sits inside my TN.

  

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Humming Bees and Flowers

I have a little project using some fab dies from the Jeanine's Art: Humming Bees collection. The main die is the Flower Edge. But I realised that the larger bee from the Flower Corner die fitted exactly over the the one on the edge die. And if you flipped the edge die over, the smaller one fitted too.

That led to me cutting the edge twice out of Kraft card. The one on the left is the "correct" way round. The one on the left is flipped over. Have a look at the video (click on the photo) to see exactly how that works.

The base is Kraft card, and I have used white card and a light coloured, patterned paper for the mats and layers. The bees are cut in both Kraft and patterned paper, and the flower (Elizabeth Craft Designs: Susan's Garden - Coneflower) in all three. The smaller bee does not fit onto the bee when the edge die is round the right way (ie the one on the left hand side) - which is why I have put the flower there. The rest fit perfectly.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting,

Cxxx

Pizza time!!

I've had a play with Elizabeth Craft Designs Pizza Box die set. The more I get to play with ECD dies, the more I am impressed with just how many extras you get, over and above the "worker" die. So, along with the main die that cuts and scores the pizza box, you get a flower pattern die (which I have cut out from pink to use on the purple box in the photos), a large scalloped square die, a stitched square that nests inside. Then four nesting circles - scalloped, plain and stitched. All of the nesting dies are used on the green box. Click on the photo below to see the demo for the green box and card.

 

The main die cuts and scores all of the necessary tabs - all you need to do is crease and burnish them all prior to sticking.

 

I found that sticking it in the order shown in the pictures worked best for me.

 

 

And this is the resulting box. The piece with the finger notch is the lid. The little bit that sticks out is the bottom.

This is cut with the floral mat die that comes with the set. I have added some punched circles into the centres.

I added this to the top of the box with the large scalloped square from the set. The butterflies are from another set of dies.

If you want a matching card to go inside, the dimensions you need is 4 1/8" square (so a piece 8 1/4" x 4 1/8"  scored in half). And you can decorate it to match the box!

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx

Iris Shutter: Journal Page

Hello! Today I am sharing a journal page using the fabulous Elizabeth Craft Designs: Planner Essentials - Iris Shutter die. It is designed to fit on a page of the ECD SideKick planner, which is 7 1/4" x 5 1/4". Their other planner is 9" x 6 1/4" (I think it's also called A5 Slim). There are a whole host of dies for these planners, helping not just to create fun pages, but also to actually cut out the pages with different edges. 

I have neither planner - so have created one that will fit the larger pages - with a back and front from greyboard (which I will decorate at some point), and "bound" with book binding rings. My base page was cut using the die that came with the Retro Number Trio set. I cut it with two sheets of single sided paper (put them back to back through the cutter) and stuck them together. Click on either photo below to see the video demo.

  

The idea of an iris shutter is a bit like a camera shutter. It has a "lever" that you can move to open and close the shutter, revealing a hidden message or image. I have gone with a beach/nautical theme for my journal page. 

Making the mechanism

The shutter mechanism dies are labelled A, B and C. There are also some banana shaped pieces, and some arrow extenders. You need one of A, two of B, one of C, and 6 bananas (you need to cut the die twice). You need to have a strong card (I would say minimum 240gsm) for part B and the bananas. These are also the parts that will be visible at the end, so choose your coloured cardstock, or ink them before assembling.

I will attempt to do step by step with photos - but do check out the video to see how it comes together. 

Start by hooking the ends of the bananas through the slits in piece A. Keep the little "sun"s on the bananas facing up. Hold in place with paper clips.

  

Stick the two B pieces together back to back. If you are using the overlay that comes with the die set, then you will need to extend the "lever" using the extra arrows. Use two from the set. You can infill the little chevrons with bits cut from other iris shutter projects.

 

Place glue dots (I used 0.5mm) directly on top of the "sun"s on each of the bananas, before placing part B on top. You do not want glue anywhere else - so glue dots are perfect. They also have a quicker grab than wet glue! Make sure that you stick part B in the large space between the spokes of A. This is where the arrow will go up and down, and it needs to be just fractionally past the bottom spoke, as in the first photo. Put more glue dots onto the spokes, place part C on top of B and then fold over the spokes. Do not squash the mechanism down - just fold over and stick - you want to be able to move the lever easily. Check the mechanism opens and closes. You can tuck in the little bits at the back - but don't secure them as they need to move.

  

  

It is important to make sure that your image is the right size - use one of the circles left from cutting out the mechanism to check. It is also a good idea to work out where this needs to go, and place it on your project before securing the mechanism down, as it is very tricky to put in afterwards.

There are two other parts to this die set. One you will need, the other you may not. There is another, unlabelled, circle. This is the cover - this you need. And the other is the overlay -  sometimes, if you are making a card, then this is not needed.

To attach the mechanism to the overlay, firstly you need to close the iris. Attach glue dots in between the spokes and line up the aperture in the overlay, over the closed iris. You also need to check that the lever is positioned in the little cut out.

 

Attach 3D foam to the back of the overlay. It needs to be deep enough to allow the mechanism to work. Open the iris, and position over your image. Check the mechanism still opens and closes.

   

For my journal page

I added mats and layers underneath the overlay, and made my cover into a life ring to go with the beach theme. I used elements from Amy Design: Underwater World - Sea Life for the shells and bubble.

Another fab set of dies from the ECD Planner Essential Range, is the Reinforcements 2 set. I used the fold back ticket and fish to reinforce the page holes, and also used the fish as the image in my iris shutter.  

The sentiment was created on the computer and cut using the cover die. I used the "waste" circles from cutting out the cover pieces, to add some layers. 

And I didn't forget the other side of the page. The camera reinforcers were used for the photo mats as well as on the page holes. I just need to decide which pics to put in there.

Hopefully, that all makes sense. I have a couple of other projects made with this Iris Shutter - so watch this space.

Thanks for popping by, and I hope I have given you a little inspiration. Feel free to follow me here on my blog, or on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. For all the videos, pop over to the Hixxy Studio YouTube channel to subscribe. And FB lives are streamed on both the YouTube channel and the Hixxy Crafts FB page. The main items I use can be found on the Hixxy Crafts website - have a look under the Hixxy Studio tab.

Happy crafting!!

Cxxxx