Dude birthday card

As a follow up to the last post, I had kind 'thanks but no thanks' reply from Kaisercraft - perhaps i will try again next year. It will be interesting to watch this years designers, and perhaps learn from them.

Over the last couple of days I have had a real brain block each time I have sat at my desk. I have lots of ideas, that all seem to be merging into one at the moment and when I sit down I have no idea where to start, and has resulted in an incredibly messy room.

This morning I pulled myself together, cleared up, turned on the Imagine and was determined to make a card with the cartridge I have treated myself to - JT.

Here is the result;

Cricut Imagine Cartridge - JT

Cricut Wild Card Cartridge (to cut card blank)

Printable Acetate

Kaisercraft clear stamps - music, grid & birthday wishes

Ranger Alcohol Inks - slate, sail boat blue, terracotta & silver mixative

Distress Ink - black soot & faded jeans

I was really pleased with outcome. The shield in the background is comprised of 4 layers, but layered with double sided flat tape, just to take the flatness from the image. The shield was printed and cut on printable acetate, adding a shiny element to the card, along with the silver mixative in the background.

Makes a good card for an 11 year old boy, who I had in mind for this.

There is also a link to this card on the Make It Monday challenge blog.

Kaisercraft Entries

I have been busy preparing my entries to apply for the Kaisercraft designer team. What with Easter and the boys being on school holidays, it has been a while since my last post. Not that I havn't been crafting however, as you will see...

100% Pure layout

Kaisercraft Birdsong collection - morning flight

Green Bazzill card stock (sorry no name)

Kaisercraft Secret Bird Society collection - undercover

Kaisercraft hideaway collection - refuge (borders)

Karen Fosters scrappers floss, tawny

Kaisercraft Lace pack, natural

Epoxy buttons

Distress Ink, brushed corduroy

ATG gun adhesive

Cricut Elegant Edges Cartridge

Epiphany craft punch and epoxy buttons

1. Using an electric die cutting machine (Cricut) and the Elegant Edges cartridge, select the book feature and make a cut with the Secret Bird Society, undercover paper, at 9.8". Make a second cut with Bazzill bard stock in green, using the blackout book feature at 10.1".  Glue together with  their edges flush to the left, and use a whole punch device to create the look of a spiral note book.
2. Use scrappers floss to inter-twine through the punched holes the place onto the 12x12 Kaisercraft Birdsong collection, morning flight backing sheet. Again ensure the straight edges are flush together on left hand side. Ink all edges with brushed corduroy ink.
3. From the hideaway collection, choose the refuge borders and cut a section of three borders deep and 5.25" long. Cut along the printed scallop of this section to create 2 pieces. Glue the larger piece, scallops pointing down, 2.5" up and 1" from the left on the script paper. The 2nd scalloped border place at right angles to the left, running up alongside the double border.
4. Using an electronic die cutter, cut the title tag at 1.5" and attach as a ribbon slider, using a length of kaisercraft lace, just above the scalloped border and attach to the reverse of the page.
5. Place the photo so that it is bordered by the already positioned layers and from the remaining borders of the hideaway collection, carefully cut out a flourish and position to the right of the photo, slightly overlapping it.
6. Take 3 epoxy buttons and the Epiphany crafts punch select paper to reflect the photo (in this case the dandelions) and adhere the discs of paper to the buttons. Place on the layout in a line to the right of the photos.

Together Layout

Kaisercraft Up, Up and Away collection - moon ride, bumpercar & ferris wheel

Kaisercraft natural lace pack

Adhesive gems

Promarker - ice grey

ATG gun adhesive

Cricut Graphically Speaking cartridge

1. Cut a 4" strip from the moonride paper (balloons), and two 0.5" strips from the stripe side. Adhere each 0.5" strip to the 4" balloon paper to create a border.
2. Create a second layered border with two 0.5" strips of the brown ferris wheel paper.
3. Adhere centrally (running east to west) to the green side of the bumpercar paper.
4. Cut a length of the wider Kaisercraft natural lace and position below the layers already in place, and secure at the reverse of the layout.
5. Mat and layer a photograph (landscape orientation) onto the brown side of the ferris wheel paper. Adhere to the layout centrally, on the right hand side.
6. Use the electronic die cutting machine cut a title from the ferris wheel paper, at 1" high, adhere to the lower half of the balloon layer on the layout, justified to the left. Using a promarker pen in a grey, highlight the lettering to create shading.
7. using a mixture of pale green and yellow gems, adorn one of the balloons.

Beach Cricket Layout

Kaisercraft Seaside Collection - coastline, umbrella & rock pools

Bazzill cardstoack dark blue (sorry no name)

Co-ordinating twill ribbon & brad (from stash)

Swiss dots embossing folder

Graphically Speaking Cartridge (electronic die cutting machine)

ATG Gun adhesive

Ranger Glossy accents

Distress Ink - brushed corduroy

1. Cut the umbrella paper to a size of 7x12", tear along the top 12" edge and ink with brushed corduroy ink. Along the lower 12" edge manipulate the paper in a rolling motion to eventually end up with a rolled up edge revealing the red reverse to the paper. Secure the rolled edge with adhesive so that the complete layer is roughly 6.5" wide.
2. From the coastline borders paper, select the blue flowery border, cut from the page, and stick to the layout background (blue bazzill cardstock) 3.5" from the top.
3. Layer the torn edge of the umbrella paper from step 1, onto the blue border. Cut the red text border from the coastline paper and position below the red rolled section of the umbrellas paper.
4. From the coastline borders again, cut a section from the yellow and white flowery border to a size 1.25"x7", and emboss with the swiss dots embossing folder. Adhere to the umbrellas paper (justified right) about 0.5" up from the red roll.
5. Mat and layer  6x4" and a 2x3.5" photos onto dark blue bazzill cardstock. Position into place the larger photo above the yellow flowered strip and the smaller photo appropriately above.
6. Tie a knot onto one end of a 8.5" length of twill ribbon, and with the know to the left, position along the bottom of the larger photo.
7. Select 3 surf boards from the coastline borders paper, and cover completely with glossy accents. When dried completely cut out and position on the lower left hand side of the large photo, and secure in place with 3D foam pads.
8. Using the electronic die cutter cut a wave motive (from dark blue bazzill card), a tag and a journalling card (from the rockpools paper), and position in place.

Crafter at Work Door Hanger

Kaisercraft Secret Bird Society Collection - mystery & shh

Kaisercraft Lace Pack - natural

Kaisercraft Beyond the Page door hanger

Karen Foster scrappers floss - tawny

Flowers & Button from stash

Brown acrylic paint

Martha Stewart Scalloped punch

1. Cover the kaisercraft door hanger with paper from the Secret Bird Society collection, mystery paper. Ensure to position so the pattern suits the shape, and adhere using glue of choice.
2. Cut a section from the shh paper 3.5x2.5" and mat onto a piece of mystery paper (dark side) cut to 3.5 x 4". use the Martha Stewart border punch top and bottom to create the scalloped border.
3. Using a die cutting machine (and software to customise the wording) cut the lettering to fit the shh layer. Cut the lettering from the dark side of the mystery paper. Position on the layer and stick. use a gem to highlight the larger letter 'C'.
4. Position the whole layered title into a place that suits the pattern of the paper you have covered the door hanger with. Hand tie a bow with the kaisercraft lace and position on the lower left corner of the title layer.
5. Wind scrappers floss around the top half of the hanging section, when you get to the end use the loose ends to secure in place the flowers and button.
6. Finish off my painting the raw edges of the hanger with brown acrylic paint.

Craft Room Door Plaque

Kaisercraft Beyond the Page Panorarma frame

Kaisercraft Secret Bird Society Collection - Disguise, shh,

Kaisercraft Lace Pack - natural

Kaisercraft clear stamps - bubblewrap, grid, Le Chateau (bird cage)

Kaisercraft acrylic paint - eggshell

Bazzill basic cardstock - cantaloupe

Distress Ink - walnut stain & bundled sage

Heritage, Cindy Loo & Opposites Attract Cartridges (cricut)

Gems & brad from stash

Promarker - dusky pink

1. Cover the outside of the frame with shh paper (feathered pattern) and the inside aperture with the reverse. before sticking ink the edges with walnut stain ink.
2. Randomly stamp the inside aperture with the grid and bubble wrap clear stamps using bundled sage ink. Stamp the bird cage from the Le Chateau stamp collection using blotted walnut stain ink, on the right hand side of the aperture panel.
3. Using software from the electronic die cutter, manipulate the lettering to fit the required size and cut using the green disguise paper. Stick flat to the aperture and highlight certain letters with small pale green gems.
4. Using the heritage cartridge cut three trees and there shadows mounts. Cut one tree at 3" using shh green and disguise green (layer & shadow respectively). Then two more trees at 2" using shh patterned paper and disguise green (layer and shadow respectively). Assemble all trees and ink lightly with walnut stain.
5. Again using heritage cartridge cut a swallow at 2" from bazzill cantaloupe, and its shadow from disguise green. Run through an embossing machine and ink edges lightly after assembly. Cut 5 further swallows ranging in size from 0.6 - 1", colour using promarker dusky pink, to match the rest of the palette.
6. Take a 11" length of kaisercraft lace and position along the bottom length of the frame, tying a know onto the left end, and securing a loop on the right end with a brad. Secure the lace onto frame with double sided tape.
7. Position the the birds and trees on to the top of the frame.
8. Adhere the two parts of the frame together using a strong superglue, and to finish, paint all raw edges with kaisercraft acrylic paint in eggshell.

 Happy Birthday Card

Kaisercraft Secret Bird Society Collection - shh, mystery & conceal

Kaisercraft Le Chateau - birdcage & mini birthday greetings

Kaisercraft Lace Pack - natural

Distress Ink - walnut stain & bundled sage

Ranger glossy accents

Ranger distress stickles - old paper & peeled paint

Karen Foster Scrappers floss - tawny

Flowers & button from Stash

Flourish embossing folder (cuttlebug)

1. Cut a 5.5" square from the feathered shh paper, and emboss with the flourish embossing folder. Lightly ink the edges, and highlighting some of the embossing with the walnut stain ink.
2. Cut a  plain blue strip and also the blue spot border, both at 1x5.5"from the conceal elements page. Position and stick together about 0.25" from the bottom of the embossed paper from step 1.
3. Take a 6.5" length of wide lace and layer on top of the borders, allowing about 0.5" of the blue spot paper to show below it. Secure in place on the reverse of the embossed shh paper. This whole section can now be stuck to the front of a white 5.75" square card.
4. Cut a 2.25 x 5" rectangle from the plain conceal paper, shape one of the short sides with a martha stewart punch (this will be the bottom of the panel). Round the 2 top corners with a paper rounder punch. Mat this panel on to a piece of the dark mystery paper, again round the top corners to match. Cut a strip 0.5 x 2.5" again from dark mystery paper, and layer at the bottom of the panel just above the punched border.
5. Lightly stamp with the bubblewrap and bundled sage the background of this panel, and then overstamp the birdcage using walnut stain distress ink. When the ink is dry over the whole birdcage with glossy accents and leave to dry well (preferably overnight).
6. When the birdcage is dry position and stick the panel to the right hand side of the card, centrally.
7. From the conceal paper, cut out one of the butterfly elements, one bird, and two of the leaf sprigs, and highlight with distress stickles. Assemble a co-ordinating layered flower with floss and button. Stamp happy birthday onto one of the Circe elements of the conceal paper and cut out, and decorate with a small piece of lace.
8. Arrange all these smaller elements on to the front of the card.

Ribbon Box

Kaisercraft Beyond the Page Three Drawer Storage Unit

Kaisercraft Timeless Collection - dress form

Kaisercraft Bird Song collection - robins egg

Kaisercraft acrylic paint - eggshell

Buttons & lace from stash

mini Tim Holtz embellishment drawer knobs

1. Before assembling the unit, make paper templates of the drawer fronts, side panels, back panel, and fluted top panel.
2. Assemble the unit and secure with superglue gel. Including the drawers. I find the supergel gel works best as it does not soak into the MDF or the cardboard of the drawers directly on contact.
3. Allow to dry, and in the meantime cut the panels from your desired paper. Here the sides and top of the unit are covered with the timeless collection paper, dress form. I intended this to store my delicate ribbons and lace so seemed appropriate. The drawer fronts are covered with paper from the bird song collection, robins nest. I tried to keep the continuity of the pattern as it was on the 12x12" sheet. It seemed a shame to disband it completely.
4. The fluted top panel is also covered with robins egg, and is decorated with buttons from my stash and a piece of while lace.
5. All raw MDF edges are painted with kaisercraft acrylic paint in eggshell.
6. To finish I attached some tiny little handles I had in my stash from Tim Holtz.

Robot Card

Kaisercraft Rough and Tough Collection - wild, awesome, action & dirty

Various peel offs from stash

Robotz cartridge (cricut)

 

I couldn't resist making this card. I make these robots with my Son's, particularly the youngest, all the time. The whole card (including the card base) was made using the kaisercraft papers - i think they make a perfect boys card.

 

Mothers Day Card

I am particularly proud of this card, as it is one of those that actually turned out the way I imagined it. How many times do we all sit down with an idea in our head, and find that what we actually create is completely different??

Hopefully this card demonstrates that Tim Holtz distress inks can actually create a soft and pretty feminine card, and not just the strong 'grunge' style that is synonymous with his name.

Card Recipe

White smooth coated card stock 

White floss card

Cream card stock, 8x8"

Bazzill basics card stock, olive green & a lighter spring green (sorry no names)

Basic Grey paper, Wisteria Collection, muted flower paper, 8x4"

Butterfly and dragonfly stamp by Judikins

Various floral stamps to create background

Tiny dragonfly & flower stamps by Hero Arts

2 eyelets, and 2 'bug' charms

Fabulous Finds Cricut Cartridge

Ranger alcohol inks (sandal, currant, salmon)

Tim Holtz Distress Inks ( bundled sage, crushed olive, broken china, victorian velvet, pumice stone )

1. Fold the 8x8" cream card to make the 8x4" card base Cut one side of the card to create 2 4x4" squares, on which to mount the two feature panels.
2. Cover the base of the card with the Basic grey patterned paper.
3. Cut 2 4x4" squares from the white smooth card and apply the distress inks to resemble a soft landscape (to both panels). As a base I used pumice stone all over, and the victorian velvet to a centre section. The top half of the panel I worked in the blue broken china, and on the bottom half worked in the bundled sage, ensuring that some of the pink victorian velvet could still be seen. I finished off running the pumice stone (a really useful colour) all round the edges of the card.
4. Using the same inks and the various floral stamps I created the meadow effect stamped background. To keep the muted feel, I inked the stamp and lightly blotted it once on scrap paper, before stamping onto the panels.
5. Using the large butterfly and dragonfly stamps and the crushed olive distress ink, stamp the images onto a sheet of gloss card that had previously been coloured using alcohol inks. When fully dried, the images were cut out and mounted on the panels, and the wings shaped slighted (with fingers) to create the 3D effect.
6. Mat and layer each panel onto the light green bazzil basics card, then again onto the olive (darker) green bazzill.
7. Return back to the base card and position it in fron of you (folded) as a landscape card (longest length east to west). Working on each 4x4" panel separatly and starting with the left panel, lightly drawer a pencil line diagonally from the top right corner to the bottom left. Repeat with the right panel, this time drawing from the top left corner down to the bottom right.
8. Take a scoring tool and score along the line and fold crisply with a bone folder.
9. With the card laying flat and folded in front of you take one stamped panel, turn once to the left (from the original position) and adhere to the botton triangle scored on the left hand side of the card.
10. Repeat with the other stamped panel, turning it once to the right, and adhere to the bottom triangle of the scored panel on the right hand side of the card.
11. When you open the easel elements of the card, the images should be in the right orientation.
12. Using the fabulous finds cartridge cut the bookplate16 and insert from bazzill basics olive card & smooth coated card respectively, at 1.25". Create a stamped meadow effect to suit size, using the method from before. Use archival black ink to stamp the sentiment. Stick the elements together and add eyelets.
13. Using sticky foam pags stick to the base of the card (on top of the basic grey accent paper)
14. Take 2 co-ordinating charms and place with 3D foam in a position that will hold the easels of the card.

I have provided a link to this card on the Make it Monday blog challenge.

Elegant Edges meets Cindy Loo !

This is a quick card I made this morning, I'm feeling much braver with the Imagine, and starting to think that this machine will actually stay with me !! (still have my fingers crossed)

I cut the frame and its corresponding blackout image with Elegant Edges, using 2 contrasting papers from Nursery Tails, both at 5.5". Between these 2 layers I sandwiched the Doily5 from Cindy Loo cartridge, cut at 5" and printed with the same paler Nursery Tails paper as before.  Before attaching them all together I very very lightly highlighted the doily with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet distress ink, just to highlight the swirls ever so slightly to make them po against the background.
The greeting tags were cut from the new Cuttlebug Plus, embossed tags die, and again I just softened the edges with the victorian velvet ink. The three flowers were cut with the mothers Day Bouquet Cartridge, in the flat co-ordinating colours from Nursery Tails.

I think what I have concluded from this and by last post, is that I really must get myself a couple of patterned Imagine cartridges, otherwise all my cards will have a very familiar recurring theme. That has made me giggle !!

Imagine a Pretty Skunk Card

It's been a funny old week, i got my third replacement Imagine last Friday, and I have to admit to being quite frightened to use it, even though it has behaved perfectly since coming out of the box and receiving its updates - once bitten twice shy and all that....But last night I bit the bullet, and had a good play and put it through its paces. I had forgotten how pretty the colours are on the Nursery Tales cartridge, and this pretty skunk just caught my eye yesterday.

• Two background shapes cut from Elegant Edges cricut cartridge (butrfly2 oblongs cut at 5.5 and 5.8 inches) and printed from Nursery Tales Imagine cartridge (2 comlimentary colours)
• The front panel is embossed with part of the snowflakes swirl border cuttlebug folder.
• 2 panels attached with 3D foam to enhance butterfly aperture
• 2 more panels cut with the same shape and colours but resized to 2.3 and 2.5 inches for the topper
• Image of the skunk was taken from its layered image on Nursey Tales Imagine cartridge and then printed and cut on printable acetate at 3 inches (with the real size outcome at just over 2 inches)
• The skunk was adhered to the layered tags with glossy accents and a bow added to finish.

I am really pleased with this next card. I hadn't set out to make it, but the postman had just delivered  the new fancy cut and emboss cuttlebug tags, and I had to try thrm!! I picked up the nearest spare scrap of card (all of our desks are littered with such pieces aren't they) to see how it works, as you do, it had only been in the house for 5 minutes !! I was pleased with the outcome, especially after highlighting it with some bundled sage Tim Holtz ink (because that was also just next to me). Having gotten that out of my system I left it on the desk again, and went off to be constructive and be a mummy.

Later in the day, when the 2 boys were happy and amusing themselves, I set about making the first card (the blue card at the beginning), I had been planning it my head all afternoon. The skunk I cut, turned out a bit smaller than I had wanted so I put that aside into the growing pile of cricut cuts that are lovely, but not right for a card or the bin. But it fell on the tag and I thought mmmm... The rest as you can, see sort of happened, with other small scraps that were laying around from having made my storage drawers last week.

So here is the recipe;

• Elegant Edges cricut Cartridge (can you tell its my favourite) Swirl1, book creative feature, using Basic Grey dotted paper cut at 5.3", with a second layer cut at 5.5" with a green paper from Basic Grey Capella collection. Attach to base card.
• Cut a border from Elegant Edges, swirl1, border creative feature, using green basic grey paper, cut at size 1", ink edges with Tim Holtz bundled sage.
• Create an accent piece of paper (this case Basic Grey Capella floral paper) at 4" by 1" and tear top edge. Ink around edges again with bundles sage ink.
• Find a 6" length of co-ordinating ribbon (here DCWV adhesive ribbon). Stick to the dotted paper about 2" up and about 3/4 onto the paper, tucking the remaining to the back of the paper (on left side) to hide loose ends.
• Arrange border and accent paper to suit then place main topper tag with 3D foam
• Embellish with co-ordinating gems to finish.

Fingers crossed that this is the Imagine machine that I can keep, third time lucky.

Easter Cards

 The last 2 days i have been making these Easter Cards for Stephens school to sell at their bring and buy sale at the weekend. I made 18 in total all the same, except half were pink and half were blue.

Below is a photo of all the things i used, and the little 'army' of made up rabbits and their eggs that fascinated the boys when they saw them. The little 'rabbits' are actually birds cut from 3 Birds on Parade cricut cartridge.

Crafty Desk Storage

I cannot take full credit for this project, I saw the idea in one of my magazines and something about it appealed, and it seems an ideal opportunity to use a collection of Basic Grey papers, and enjoy them everyday, by having them on my desk. it makes ideal storage for all the die cut shapes and alphabets that just seem to collect in little piles on your work space !!

 Here is the kit as it stands. the unit itself is made from sturdy MDF, and the 9 drawers are made from heavy weight pre-scored mountboard.

 All internal surfaces and base I painted fully, and the external surfaces i only painted the edges, because they were to be covered in paper.The acrylic paint dried very quickly and provided good coverage with just one coat.  The paint used is an Adirondack acrylic paint dabber, colour mushroom, and has a self loading sponge dabber built into the lid for easily application.       

The drawers were painted both sides, and the front side was covered in paper. Before assembly both sides of the drawers were covered in a coat of Mod Podge, and easily spreadable PVA glue, thats seals the paper and paint to the surface and acts as a varnish, giving a lovely smooth even finish to the item.

The drawers we assembled using a quick drying strong super glue. To finish, the MDF unit was assembled. Because the pre drilled slots provide a tight fit, no glue was required. By assembling the unit as a whole it provided its own rigidity. After assembly the outside edges were covered in paper, and the whole unit painted with a layer of Mod Podge again to seal and provide a hard wearing matt varnished surface. 

The finishing touches were added to drawers by punching a hole on the front side and attaching some cute little Tim Holtz handle embellishments, that co-ordinate perfectly with the Basic Grey, Capella paper collection used throughout.