Butterfly Jewels!

When it came to making an anniversary card for my OH's Mum and Stepdad. I rummaged through my stash for this Hunkydory Butterfly Jewels collection. I have a tendency, when I buy topper, paper and cardstock kits like this, to sort through it and put toppers, matching papers, base cards and envelopes together into individual plastic wallets which I keep in a (rather large) plastic box (well - it's more like a crate). That way, I can just rummage either when I need a card, or when I have time on my hands for general card making - and half the hassle of decision making is already done.

So, my rummaging found the makings of two cards - 'With Love' for the anniversary card - and a bonus 'Happy Birthday' one thrown in for good measure. The a6 card bases are made from an a4 sheet of silk art card, and the toppers are mounted onto co-ordinating paper. I used the triple scallop edgeability with an insert to edge the silver mirror card for the 'Happy Birthday' card, and used the 'waste' of that with another insert for the 'With Love' card.

I forgot to take a photo of the anniversary card before I sent it, but this is the Happy Birthday one!!

A little organza ribbon through the tag, and a delicate application of glaze to make the larger jewels stand out, and they're finished.

Two similar - yet different - cards!! (Although you obviously can only see one of them!!)

Cxx

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge 56 - Recycled!

This week's challenge is hosted by Lin. You will need to use something that is recycled, for example a pringles container into a pen pot, the inside of a parcel tape roll to make a jewellery box. Alternatively just something on the project that is recycled, ie corrugated cardboard for background, bits of sweet box ribbon, shiny foil etc.

We're sponsored again by the lovely Joanna Sheen who is offering a £10 voucher for her online shop which is crammed full of goodies with new stock arriving all the time! Thanks once again Joanna!

So, onto my project!! A while back I decided to organise my craft area. It's a small space and I do like to have all my essentials to hand, so it was getting a little chaotic. I originally bought a couple of the little collapsing RUBs one of which now holds my ink pads (not my distress inks you understand - they are many fold and have a much larger A4 box in which to sit(!!)), and the other holds my glue, glaze, glitter glue, and a variety of sticky tapes.

The rest of of the stuff - rulers, scissors, pokey tool, pencils, bone folder, craft knife etc etc etc were all dumped into a cylindrical box, which had originally contained a lovely set of smellies (a present for my birthday). Great in principal, except that it's a rather large and deep box - so I kept losing the smaller items inside it!!

 

So when this challenge came up, I decided it was time to do something with it to make it really useful. The other recycled items I used were: the carboard tube from the inside of a roll of wrapping paper, the insides of 3 sticky tape reels, and the lid from an aerosol can.

Now, I did kind of like the floral design of the box, but it's not really what I wanted for this item, so I used a gold spray paint (a can that someone kindly gave me a long time ago - but I've never really had a use for) to change the colour.

I have several pairs of scissors (all colour coded - grey for sticky stuff, green for paper, pink for ribbon, and my little decoupage scissors - sad I know, but my Mum always said never to cut sticky stuff with paper scissors, and never to cut paper with fabric scissors!!) and I wanted to be able to get to them easily, so I cut the cardboard tube into four equal lengths, and sprayed them gold. These would serve as individual holders for each pair. 

I attached a circle of thick card (made from several layers of thinner card) to one of the tape reels, then used the other two to provide the structure of a cylinder that would fit into the larger box. I made sure that all the tools it would hold would stand proud at the top and not disappear inside. This too was sprayed gold!!

My original idea was to also spray paint the clear plastic top from an aerosol can, and use this to hold the very little things - like the needles I always have around to unblock glue and glaze bottles!! I found, however, that the plastic wouldn't take the spray paint!! But a solution was to hand - the spray paint that I was using had a gold plastic top - so I used that instead!! Problem solved.

The final part of construcation was to stick all of these elements inside the main box with strong tape, leaving an area where I could put my many rulers!!

I found some Papermania Creative Tones Border Strips in Ivory and Black in my stash, and cut them using Spellbinders Edgeabilities (had to get them in there somewhere!!). I then took a couple of wide strips of double sided adhesive and got very messy with gold gilding flakes (I thought it was only glitter that I managed to get absolutely everywhere). I then cut smaller strips from this to edge the top and bottom, and the remainder was used around the middle.

I have to say that I am very pleased with the result. My craft area is reasonably organised, and I can find the things I need when I want them (except when I've already taken them out, put them down, and they have disappeared under the mountain of paper and ribbon that has accumulated - oh well)!!

So, why not have a go at making something yourself!! Pop over to the Crafty Cardmakers Blog to check out what the other Design Team members have been up to!! And remember, it doesn't have to be something large - just as long as it includes something recycled!! Go on - have a go!! And if you are interested in becoming part of the Design Team, then this is your opportunity. Several members of the team are poorly, and one has stepped down - so we are looking for new members. Just add DT to your entry!!

Off now to do busy things!!!

Cxxx

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #55 - Brown, Cream & Pink

This week's challenge is hosted by Vix, and is to make an item (card/tag/altered thingy) using ONLY the colours Brown/Cream/Pink. You can use other colours for faces but otherwise just brown, cream and pink.

We are sponsored today by ONE STOP CARD CRAFTS who are offering a £10 voucher for their store as a prize. Here's what they have to say:

"At One Stop Card Crafts we have a big range of ever changing discount making and card making craft supplies.

We are always adding to our range of craft supplies which are ideal for making handmade greeting cards, do-it-yourself invitations scrapbook pages, altered items and much more.

Our card making craft supplies include free UK postage, our popular discount scheme and quick service means our customers keep coming back for more.

Our prices are very competitive and this makes us an ideal place to buy your card making supplies online. Some of our new products include Petaloo flower layers, Ranger Glitter Glue and Martha Stewart Punches. We also host a regular challenge at http://onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com/"

Well, I loved this challenge!!! Having a 40th Birthday card to make for a friend, I decided to combine the two!! The resulting card is a bit of an homage to the wonderful Sue Wilson, as it is totally awash with nesties and edgeabilities!! It may be a bit over the top for some - but I love it!!!

I started by covering a base 8" card with plain cream card from my stash as I didn't have any cream blanks. I then used my edgeabilities to create Sue's "petticoat" effect - a combination of the Ric Rac, Triple Scallop and Bracket sets. Apart from the cream card, all the other pieces were from my off-cut and scrap boxes, but are mostly Bazzil card.

Not content with these fancy edges, I used one of the inserts on the pink grand scalloped square, whilst my Tim Holtz ruler had it's first outing for piercing the brown grand scalloped square. The scalloped circle was another grand nestie, embossed with my favourite  -That Special Touch Polka Dot mask. Lacy circles of pink and brown finished the layering.

 

 

I intended to cut the numbers on my Craft Robo, but the computer said "no" (couldn't find the driver!!), so for the '0' I used long scalloped oval dies, with the '4' cut with a craft knife to the same size. These were then glazed. The letters were from my usual XCut Roma DieLicious alphabet die, glazed and mounted onto the "waste" from the middle of the '0'.

 

 

For the flowers, I used various nesties to cut a variety of sizes of circles. The larger ones were cut into a spiral using a pair of decorative edge scissors, but I had to make do with straight edge ones for the smaller circles. These were then rolled and glued with silicone.

The wide band of brown velvet ribbon came from the box my favoruite perfume came in, while the organza is from my usual Celebrations stash. Overall, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Pop over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog to see how the other DT members interpreted this challenge. They are all lovely - and should inspire you to come up with your own creations.

Cxxx

The Ace of Spades!!

Have had quite a few days of total lack of motivation and inspiration - been feeling very tired and under the weather!! I attempted this 8" square boxed card a couple of weeks ago, but really didn't like how it was going - so I abandoned it for a while. I think now that I had approached it in the wrong way. Usually, I start with the image or other focal point for the card, then choose my colours and cardstock to match - and then decide on the layout. For some reason, I had this image of a layout in my head and started from that - without really looking at the focus - and it all went wrong.

So, I went back to the image - in this case the playing cards. This is a commissioned 21st birthday card - I can't lay claim to the clever idea of using the cards to represent the 21 - it's what I was asked to do!! But it's one to remember for future reference.

I orgininally toyed with the idea of using real playing cards, but I realised that a) I would need more than one pack, and b) they wouldn't be the size I wanted. So I found these royalty free images on the internet, printed them onto photo paper, mounted them onto card, cut them out and rounded the corners!!! The poker chips were cut using the smallest circle nestie. I couldn't get them to cut exactly, but actually ended up quite liking the white edge. The letters for the name on the card were cut using X Cut Roma DieLicious Alphabet die, and mounted onto the poker chips.

The card I used for the base card and the box is a large sheet of Xmas Red Pearl from The Range. It usually scores and folds well, but today it decided to crack along the spine of the card - the box was fine - it was just the card. I got round this by using a piece of black mirror card from my stash as a wrap. And as I am still playing around with my new Grand Calibur and dies, I cut the edge of the wrap with the ric rac edgeability.

The "waste" was used as the ric rac edge on the box top. I cut a square using my grand nesties from white pearl card I had in my stash, and used one of the inserts from the ric rac edgeabilities to cut the diamond pattern on each side. A piece of the black mirror was stuck behind to add more definition. The black border was cut using a grand scalloped square and a grand labels 1, while the red is a lacey square embossed with That Special Touch Polka Dot mask. (In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a bit of a die cutting fiend!!). A little piece of red satin ribbon, and a few black gems from my stash finished this off for both the card and the box front.

 

For the inside of the base of the box, I used more grand nesties to cut the black frames which were mounted onto a piece of the red, which I embossed using That Special Touch Polka Dots mask, turned diagonally onto the square - as it wasn't big enough to emboss the whole square. Three of the card backs finished this off. The inside of the lid was similarly decorated partly with a "waste" frame, and also with a lacey square, but this time I used the poker chips as decoration.

In the end I was really pleased with the result. And looking at it again, I realise there was another problem with my original design - I had tried to include some yellowy gold to pick out the colour from the King of Diamonds card - and it so didn't need it!!

Anyway - onto other things - busy, busy, busy - I've finally started work on Christmas cards - and have a few fairs and things coming up so need to get more stock sorted.
Cxx

Quick Makes!!

A couple of quick makes - apologies for the bad photography - both cards have the exactly the same card for matting and layering even though it doesn't look like it!!

 

I've had these Flowersoft toppers for eons!!! They've just sat in my stash because, although I love the images, I don't own any Flowersoft so was unsure what to do with them. However, I decided to just have a go and do a couple of quick and simple makes.

I've used a Craft Tonic Small Tall card - don't think you can get them anymore, but I have a bit of a stash of them (surprise, surprise!!) and they are just the right size for these toppers. The dark rose pink and green cards are both from my stash - could be Bazzil or from a DCWV pad - not entirely sure - but anyway, I rounded the edge with a corner punch. I made a bit of an error with the green card on the right - I meant to do the decorative insert (edgabilities!!) down the side, but managed to turn the card on its side and it ended up on the bottom!! This meant I had to cut the topper down to fit.

The beautiful daisy ribbon is from my local craft shop. For the card on the right, I cut it down the middle, and attached it to the underneath of the topper. For the card on the left, I used a line of pearls down the centre of the ribbon.

I used Papermania glitter glue on all the flowery areas of both toppers, and glazed the glass of the lamp, and the roof of the bird house. And the greetings are from (I think) a Forever Friends greeting pack.

Nothing too fancy - but pretty effective nonetheless!!

Cxx

Bats about you!!

I can now reveal this card - my anniversary card to my lovely husband. Now, I am batty about him, but that isn't why I used this theme. Nor is it because it's almost Halloween. No, the real reason is that my husband is really into bats. He's a Bat Warden for Natural England, and trains other people to become Bat Wardens too. He is often referred to as Batman - and has a selection of tshirts and sweatshirts with a certain superhero's logo!!

To make the background, I used watercolour card and blended Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink from the top downwards, making it darker at the top than at the bottom. To further darken the top, I used Black Soot. To give the impression of stars in the sky, I sprinkled drops of water over the card, and blotted with kitchen paper. The moon is a circle of white watercolour card, edged with Chipped Sapphire and then stuck on (a technique I picked up from the lovely Sheena Douglass).

Now I recently treated myself to a Grand Calibur and some Edgeabilites, and of course am rather enjoying playing around with them. So I just had to cut the edges of this card using the Classic Bracket edge and the heart decoration.  

The sentiment was embossed using a Country Companion Universal Embossing Folder onto light blue card, and inked with Chipped Sapphire, finished off with hearts from the border waste. The bats themselves are from an old stamp set I've had a few years, stamped in Black Soot, blended with water, glazed and then cut out and stuck on.

All of this was mounted firstly onto light blue card, with navy ribbon from my stash, and then onto a dark blue base card. I was really pleased with the results - and so was he.

Cxx

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #54 - Cute with a Dark Twist!!

For this week's challenge, we're sponsored again by the lovely Joanna Sheen who is offering a £10 voucher for her online shop which is crammed full of goodies with new stock arriving all the time! Thanks once again Joanna!

 

Well, I found this a real challenge on so many levels. To start with, I don't really do cute. Secondly, as I don't really do cute, I also don't really have any cute stamp images. And thirdly, as I don't really do cute or have any cute stamp images, I don't really colour in!!

I felt the Halloween theme would be the way to add the dark twist - but then I've never made a Halloween card before either!! So I spent a lot of time wondering just how I was going to approach this. But, whilst doing a little craft retail therapy, I came across this lovely little Cute Pumpkin digi stamp from Pink Gem Designs. This finally inspired me to put together this card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Paper Crafting Journey - Challenge 21 - Colour Challenge

Crafts and Me - Challenge 56 - Orange
One Stop Crafts - Halloween
The ABC Challenge - "B is for Boo"
Craft Your Days Away - Halloween Colours

I printed the image onto watercolour card, and then, since I don't own any other colouring medium, I proceeded to use my watercolours to colour the image in. I'm quite pleased with the results.

Once I'd painted him, I cut him out using a nestie, and inked the edge with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. I wanted to add some glaze, but was worried it would cause the paint to bleed, so I gave it a waft of Spray and Shine, before glazing the hands, feet, cheeks, nose, eyes and pumpkin lid. I mounted this onto a circle of black mirror card from my stash.

The orange mirror card is also from my stash, and was cut using a nestie, and then embossed with That Special Touch Swirl Mask. I mounted this onto white card to give it an edge, then onto a piece of pale orange card to match the card blank. The decorative edges on the pale orange were cut using my new Edgabilities (this one is from the Triple Scallop set), whilst the black mirror card was edged with the Ric Rac design.

The card was finished off with black organza ribbon and bow - salvaged from a box of chocolates - and a few black gems!!

I have to admit that this finished card is not how I had first envisaged it. The two little images below (Halloween Jodie and Halloween Josh) are also from Pink Gem Designs, and I was originally planning on using all three on my card. But when I came to assemble the card it just seemed too much. But, as I don't often do colouring in, and I was quite pleased with the results, I am going to show you them anyway!!  Overall, I'm really pleased I had a go at this - it's out of my comfort zone, but sometimes we need a push to try something different!!

 

Don't forget to check out all the other Designer's work on the Crafty Cardmaker's Blog - and why not have a go yourself!! You never know, you may just surprise yourself with what you can come up with!!

Till next time,

Cxx