Double-slider card (New Home)

Hi everyone,

since making the Flowers Double-slider card shown on my previous post, I have made a few more Double-slider cards. This New Home card was made for a good friend who has recently moved into a new property. When she received it, she said that it was adorable and she absolutely loved it.

Double-slider New Home card - closed



Double-slider New Home card - open



Construction of the card has been improved with each card made to give it a neater appearance. It takes quite a bit of time to make one of these cards but I think you will agree that the results are worth it. I hope you like this card. It is one of my favourites.

If enough interest is shown, I shall attempt to put a tutorial on my blog.

Thanks for taking the time to view my blog.

Happy Crafting.



Time Flies By

Hi Crafters, I've not been making cards all that long but from talking to and seeing other peoples work, it seems to me that not many crafters make cards for men. They seem to concentrate on the more feminine type of cards. If you buy a man card from the shops, they all seem to be themed on either golf, football or cars so I thought I would have a go at making something a but different. I love die cutting so it also gave me an excuse for getting out my Grand Calibur. The resulting card is shown below.

Happy Birthday - Cogs Card

It was a bit time consuming making all the cogs and letters, mainly due to having to paint them all black and then wax them. I also made the clock pointers from scratch and was pleased with how they turned out. If I didn't know otherwise, I would think they were real clock pointers.

Happy Crafting

Double-slider card (Flowers)

Hi everyone,

after doing some shopping with my wife on Saturday afternoon, I remembered that there was a Card-making Demonstration at my local Range store between 10am - 4pm.

It was about 3:20pm by the time we got there. I noticed that Gill O'Donnell (docrafts demonstrator) had made some double-slider cards which fascinated me. I asked her if she could show me how to make one but she didn't have time to complete a full card. Gill kindly had enough time though to tell me the measurements and show me how the mechanics of the card worked.


Double-slider card - closed

This is the first time I have made this type of card. I rushed it a bit, as I was trying to get it done while I could still remember how it was made. It's not perfect but I am still pleased with the results and it worked a treat.





Double-slider card - open



I altered the original measurements I had been given, so that I could use a 4" x 4" card. Once you understand how the mechanics of the card work, it is quite easy to alter the measuements to suit your own needs. Using a card blank for the back of the card instead of just a piece of card means that the card could stand up by itself.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my Blog.

Happy Crafting

Happy New Website card

Hi Fellow Crafter's,

I have recently set up a new Blog for a friend of mine who is fairly new to card-making. Her favourite colour is pink so I used that as the basic colour theme. The Header for the website was designed using bits and pieces that are normally used for making cards. I have tried to keep it pink and girlie for her so hopefully I have achieved that.

Diane was a bit disappointed at being told that I was keeping the original Header myself, so I thought I would make her a 'Happy New Website' card based on her website Header as compensation.

Happy New Website card

Card Materials:
  8" x 8" 300gsm White Card Blank - Papermania (The Range)
  11cm Doily - Free with Crafts Beautiful magazine
  Pink Bouquet - Craft Accessories (The Range)
  Crochet Flower - Craft Shop (The Range)
  Small Butterfly - Marrianne die from LR0261 set (The Craftery)
  Large Butterfly - Cheery Lynn Designs die from DL112 set (Harrogate Show)
  Label - X-Cut die and printed myself (The Range)
  Ribbon - Dovecraft (HobbyCraft)
  Upper Paper - from my stash
  Lower Paper - First Edition Paper, Spring Feast.
  Buttons and other bits - from my stash

Diane's Blog can be viewed at http://dianescardcreations.blogspot.co.uk

At the moment Diane is very busy so doesn't have the time to add to its content. I'm sure it will be worthwhile paying it a visit in the future though.

I hope you like the card I have made for her.

Thank You for reading my Blog

Bargain 6" x 6" Paperstacks

Hi Crafters.

I thought the local crafters near me might be interested in some paperpacks that I bought during the week. They were purchased from the Works shop in Stockton-on-Tees. The shop has a small crafting section with some reasonably priced items. 

The 6" x 6" paperpacks I bought contain approx 32 sheets in 12 different designs. They also have some 12" x 12" paperpacks which were £1.99p I think.

Happy Crafting

Spellbinders 3D M-Bossabilities Folder

Hi fellow crafters, while at The Great Northern Extravaganza at Harrogate in March, I purchased one of the new Spellbinders 3D M-Bossabilities Creative Cogs Embossing Folders.

I love anything to do with cogs, as anyone who knows me and has seen some of my man cards will tell you. I had seen some of the Spellbinders 3D embossing folders being used on Create and Craft and the results achieved looked really good. 



3D Embossed example.



Having found some 240gsm Black Card I embossed it with my Spellbinders Grand Calibur using the Pink Embossing Plate (without the Tan Mat) and the Rasperry Plate. Just to try it out, I only used the top part of the embossing folder. Embossing was straight forward without any problems. Just so you can see the detail better though, I have brightened the picture up a bit.

 

After embossing, I then applied some Gold Wax Gilt to it using my finger. Only apply a small amount at a time. You can always add more later, if needed. The Wax I used was bought many years ago so it really does go a long way.

 

3D Embossed/Waxed and Trimmed example.



I haven't made a card using this folder yet but after seeing the results of the test example I thought you would like to see it. Have a good look at the finished example and see how many levels you can see. I counted at least 5 levels.

They are not the cheapest of embossing folders but after using it and seeing the results for myself, I think it was money well spent. I would certainly recommend them to anyone interested in them and will be adding some more to my collection when I am able to.

A few people have asked me what make of wax I have used, so I have included a picture of it below.

Gold Wax Gilt

Thanks for taking the time to read my Blog.

Happy Crafting. John



Get Well Card

Hi all, not had a very good day today. My wife was taken into hospital and I've been running around like a headless chicken. I did manage to grab 5 mins though and knock her a Get Well card up.




Tulip Get Well card



The cardstock is a small Papermania 4"x4" white card with a strip of Docrafts Backing Paper glued in place. Topper Elements are from the Docrafts Tulip range, purchased from Collectables. Normally £2.00 per pack they have been reduced to .50p a pack or 3 for 2 while stocks last.





Bargain Elements



They have also got some Hot Diggity Dog and Me to You Element packs as well for the same price. The border detail is just drawn on with a glitter pen.

Blog Heading Update

Hi Everyone, just updated my Blog Header. I got stuck in yesterday evening and finished it off but didn't have time to install it. Anyway I think it's looks good and I've had some favourable comments about it from friends.



New Blog Header

Once I had the background worked out, I laid out all the bits and pieces I wanted to incorporate. It was then a matter of moving them about until it looked right to me. It does look a bit busy, as mentioned by a couple of people but they spent quite a few minutes looking at it and that is what I was aiming to achieve. Something that grabs your attention and is a bit different to other peoples headings. Anyway I hope you like the new heading. It would be interesting to know your thoughts on it.

Blog Heading

The Heading of my blog looks a bit plain so I though I would have a go at designing a new one to replace it. Easier said than done though.

I want something a bit out of the ordinary with my own stamp on it that reflects the type of crafter I am. I'm a bit of a magpie and when I make a card I always seem to make extra bits in case I need them to make another card. It soon became apparent after looking through my magpie stash of papers, embellishments and other bits and pieces that I had the makings of a Blog Header.

Rolling up my sleeves, I set to work and soon had a rough design more or less worked out in my head. Before turning in for the night, I had the basic background completed (shown below)  and the heading printed. Punching the border on the ivory cardstock took a few attempts to get it just right. I then blended around the edges with a Tim Holtz Distress Ink - scattered straw.



The middle cardstock was purchased from Touch Of Craft at The Great Northern Papercrafts Extravaganza at Harrogate. It is really nice and I was going to get some more but after looking on their website and it doesn't seem to be available. The die-cut corner embellishment and ribbon have not been permanently attached at the moment. It's getting quite late so I'm off to bed before I fall asleep. Hopefully I'll finish my Blog Header over the next few days when time permits and get it installed.

Anniversary Card

It's our 38th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow so rather than buy a card I decided to make a special card for my wife. I based the card on the 3D frame card that I have developed because they are so versatile and look so good. They take a bit of making but I think the results makes them worth while.



Anniversary Card - 2013


For those interested the construction details follow:

I have the template as a MS Publisher document stored on my computer. I print it out onto the back of the cardstock I am going to use. For this particular card I used some textured cardstock. For thicker cardstock I tend to use my old Epson DX3800 printer. It seems to handle the thicker cardstock better than the more modern Epson Stylus SX435W that I also have. If enough people are interested, I will try and put a tutorial onto my blog of how to construct the basic card.

Once printed, I cut it out, apply double sided tape or glue to the appropriate areas and fold it into a frame. I then cut a piece of backing card (approx 240gsm) to 11cm x 11cm and glue a suitable patterned backing paper to it. When this backing is glued into place, it helps stiffen the frame quite a bit.

At this point I then blended some Tim Holts Distress Ink - worn lipstick very lightly onto the frame using an applicator for more control. Heart with Birds is a Marianne die LR0186, corners and flowers are Lea'bilities dies Art. nr. 45.8558 and the small butterfly is from the Marianne die set LR0261. Since the photo was taken I have also added Inkssentials Glossy Accents to the Flower and Butterfly detail to give them better definition.

Needless to say, my wife loved the card and hopefully you also like it.

My First Card

I have always been interested in making things since childhood.

In September 2012 after attending a local craft group at Norton, my interest in card making was aroused. I now attend the club regularly and my enthusiasm for card making  has grown. I have now learned new skills from club members, reading magazines and looking on the internet.

This is the first card that I started to make at my local crafting club. I later finished it at home.

The Christmas Tree is hand stitched onto a piece of white card. I then blended the edges of the card with red ink. The snowflakes were stamped with a clear embossing pad and embossed with silver and gold powder. I think I may have gone over the top with the amount of snowflakes.

After adding a backing paper to my blank card I added my Christmas Tree, a bow and 4 gems.

Not the most complicated card but not bad for a first attempt at cardmaking.