Falling for a new card design

As regular visitors to my blog know, I subscribe to Making Cards magazine and try to use the free papers which come with each issue. My most recent copy arrived on Thursday, but I was about to set off  to Leeds to see Black Sabbath (experience of a lifetime!) so didn’t get to play until Friday evening when I got home.

The papers in the February 2017 issues are lovely. There is a set called Together – pretty, soft slightly impressionistic images of couples and family – and a set called Twit Twoo – owls, obviously, but nice and arty with spatter effect softening the edges.

My mum is a huge fan of owls. Her birthday isn’t until March, but I couldn’t resist using the Twit Twoo pictures and papers to make her a card. 

There are 6 gorgeous owl toppers and after an hour of staring and placing different papers by them I had married it down to 3 favourites. The toppers are too big to use 3 on one card front, or so I thought…

Turning to the trusty Pinterest I remembered waterfall cards, a perfect way of making a big thing out of several toppers!

This was the first waterfall card I’ve ever made and I am really pleased with how it has turned out. DL cards are my go-to for an elegant, grown up shape – I like the size and I find it easier to limit the embellishments, keep it simple, when it’s so narrow.

What I used:

• DL card blank
• Making Cards magazine papers – Twit Twoo collection from February 2017 issue
• Kraft card
• Orange cardstock
• Best wishes sentiment (mine was from a bag I found in Poundland, made orange with Tim Holtz Distress Crayon)
• Liquid pearls in a bronze shade
• Orange paper flower

How to:

1. Cut the toppers you want to use to a uniform size (mine are 75mmx90mm). 
2. Cut mats for the toppers out of Kraft card, also to a uniform size (mine are 80mmx95mm).
3. Mat and layer orange card, then kraft card, then a piece of the small feathers on black chevron paper from the Twit Twoo collection to fit the front of your card blank and attach this to your card.
4. Cut a strip of Kraft card to 15x95mm (my orange layer was 95mm across) and layer this onto a piece of orange card 17x95mm.
5. Create your waterfall element. I used these instructions and changed the sizes to suit my card.
6. Attach the strip you made in step 4 to your card. You need to leave space for the waterfall mechanism to move under this, so only attach the edges – I used super sticky red tape, but next time ii think I might use brads or eyelets, something which can’t get weaker with age
7. Insert your waterfall mechanism. I found that mine slid to the side so I pulled the waterfall as far as I wanted it to open and put in a second, narrower strip of kraft card layered on orange card (10x95mm and 12x95mm this time) under the top fold for support
8. Punch a hole in the middle of the pull piece of the waterfall element and fasten an orange paper flower through it for interest (if you fully extend the mechanism it’s easiest)
9. Add a sentiment to the middle of the lower guiding strip and put a liquid pearl at each side, et voila, a simple but pretty card to show off your favourite toppers

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A far from white wedding – a pink wedding!

My sister in law is getting married sometime in February. I have made them a card from my mum, then my mother in law (the bride’s mother) asked if I would make her one, plus I obviously have one to make from His Lordship and me. In addition, it is going to be the bride’s 40th, so I’ve also got three big birthday cards to make. By 20th January!

Although I really enjoy making cards and find it so relaxing, I’ve never had so many to make for such momentous occasions for the same person before. It’s really making me think and pushing me out of my comfort zone. I realise I tend to use similar colours and styles, changing toppers and dies rather than lay out, but this won’t work in this case.

The first card I made was an all white very elegant one. The second is probably as far away as possible whilst still appropriate (I hope) for a wedding. The couple haven’t chosen their colours, so I went with the fact that the bride is a very girlie girl; she loves her pinks and purples and bling. 

So, a shaker card with pinks and lilacs and shiny bits it had to be. 

A long while back I bought the Kanban All Occasions collection, thinking (rightly) that it would be handy to have some options for quick but attractive cards for those less common occasions – my lovely family never seem to give much warning if they want anything other than birthday cards. I chose a topper from this, partly for speed but mainly because it’s pink and features cake, two of the bride’s favourite things! 

I didn’t want a simple topper layered up, not this time. I decided to make it into a shaker element to add interest and really make a feature of it.

The background paper is from the Kanban kit, too. I love the little champagne flutes on the brown and decided to play with this for the embellishments on my card.

I was lucky enough to be treated last birthday by His Lordship (a techhead, compared to me, the technophobe) to a Scan’N’Cut. I have to admit, it doesn’t get the use it should, and one of my many intentions for this year is to use it more. Poor cat, he hates it, bats it when he builds up the courage till His Lordship turns it on and the cat scarpers not to be seen for an hour or so.

The Scan’N’Cut was put to quick but good use for this card. I found a Clip Art picture of champagne flutes I wanted to use, then His Lordship helped me use Scan’N’Cut Canvas to turn it into a cutting file and used magic to put it on the USB stick so I could resize and cut as I wanted.

To make all the elements coordinate properly, and for a wedding-y luxurious feek, I used a pink pearlescent card foir matting and layering and the same card for thgthge champagne flutes. I don’t know which card it was, it was in my inherited stash. And for a finishing pink and bling touch I added three pink pearls.

So there it is. A very quick make, actually, but I quite like it. It’s fun and modern whilst still being very obviously a wedding card. I hope, anyway!

An almost white wedding

My sister in law is getting married! They’ve been engaged for almost 7 years so it is a very exciting time for the family. I needed to make a card from His Lordship and me (she’s his sister) and my mum asked me to make one from her, too.

When I’ve made wedding cards in the past, I have tried to acknowledge the couple’s colour theme, but although they have said ‘in February’ which is when both sets of parents are in Australia to visit them, the couple haven’t set a date let alone thought of colours. So, I have had to be a bit more inventive. The cards will be travelling to Australia with the parents, and need to get to Hull before they leave, so time is a little short.

Inspired by the wonderful creations of PaperPuff, Before-i-was-interrupted, I thought I would try a simple white on white design.

Unfortunately, the pearlescent card I have is not as white as would be ideal and not strong enough to create a card blank from, but overall I am pleased with how this came out.

You need:

• DL card blank in white
• White pearlescent card
• Tattered Lace ‘Congratulations’ die
• Sue Wilson ‘The Happy Couple’ die
• Adhesive

How to:

1. Die cut the congratulations and the bride and groom from white pearlescent card.
2. Cut a 600×1050 mm rectangle from white pearlescent card, then two further increasing the size by 100mm across and up each time.
3. Cut one final rectangle 850x1800mm, again from white pearlescent card.
4. Adhere the bride and groom centrally on the smallest rectangle, then mat and layer the 3 rectangles from largest on the bottom to smallest on the top, leaving a 50mm border all around.
5. Take the final rectangle and attach the topper you made with a 50mm border above and to each side. Then fasten the Congratulations sentiment in the centre of the gap below your topper.
6. Stick the large rectangle centrally on the card blank, et voilà, an almost white wedding card.

My stamping magic tool

I bought myself an early Christmas present, it was meant to help me with my last minute festive cards but I ran out of time, so a January goal was to use it.

This present was the Rare Earth Load and Fold. I bought mine from Create and Craft, but last time I checked they didn’t have any in stock. I got a rectangular one and a square one in the same pack for £19.99.

The Load and Fold is a really simple but clever tool designed to help you stamp perfectly

1. Place your stamp on the inside of the L&F, the side with lines to assist you in getting the placement right. 
2. Apply ink to your stamp
3. Place the paper/card you’re stamping on into the other side of the L&F. There’s a little lip to help keep it in place, but feel free to use low tack tape to keep it steady if you want (I do if it’s a fiddly little bit I’m using).
4. Close the L&F 
5. Gently apply pressure over your stamp
6. Open your L&F. If you have missed a bit of the image, here’s where the magic comes in – simply shut the tool again and apply pressure to the area you’d missed, the paper and stamp will be iin the exact same place so you won’t end up with a shadow or other smudged look

Et voila. My stamping magic tool explained. I’ve fallen in love with iit, makes stamping absolutely foolproof, and His Lordship can use it too! I’ve prepared a pile of images ready to colour.

Crafty’s adventures in colourland

My crafty new year’s resolutions are many, but include making better use of my collection of stamps. I realise I am months late, but I was inspired by the bloggers showing their 30 days of colouring back in November 2016. Even after work, I have time to colour a little image. 

His Lordship bought me a gorgeous art set, which includes a lovely range of coloured pencils. This adds to my fairly small collection of Spectrum Noir pens and a set of their pencils. I tend to avoid colouring, so often don’t have the necessary shades and then I get frustrated when I can’t make my project look right.

One of my Christmas presents to myself was the Rare Earth Load and Fold, a nifty little gadget to help with precise positioning of stamps and to help get a nice, crisp image (including filling in any spots you missed). I have spent a happy hour prepping lots of images to colour, and have so far managed one image a day.

They may not be technically brilliant, or even good, but I am pleased with my efforts so far, and the biggest thing is that I am really enjoying the process and finding it very relaxing.