Tania's clock step card

Tania has made this step card using Regal's pre-made card  base. By using browns and blacks this has given the card a masculine feel but if you used pastels for example, it would be a totally different look. The black triangle on the left has been embossed with a pattern that goes well with the background paper which is from the Ultimate Crafts Evening Cocktail 6 x 6 pad. She has used a nesting die to create the circles for both the back panel and the forward decoration. Not sure where the clock face image came from but maybe a stamp or from the Kaiser antiques sticker sheet.
 What can you do when you run out of room to fit the greeting? Now was the Best wishes deliberately stuck on that way or not? Either way it looks good and gives a quirky twist to the card! It's finished off with four sticker dots and borders for a very pleasing effect!

FATHER'S DAY TOOL BOX CARD

Following along from last week's Father's Day card is another example from Sharon.  She has used the same little die cut tools (Two different sets of dies are available in the Regal Craft Cards catalogue) mounted on strips of acetate to make this fun box card which would do equally well for Father's Day or a birthday. 

There are lots of templates on-line for box cards and you can change the size to fit whatever you would like to have popping out of them, and that is limited only by your imagination!

Sharon has covered the box with sticky-backed silver checkerplate paper, leaving gaps and adding split pins to give the impression of drawers.

The greeting sticker at the back is also available from Regal.

FATHER'S DAY CARD

FATHER'S DAY CARD

With Father's Day just around the corner, why not make a card for the occasion, or help your children/grandchildren make one for a special man in their life.  Sharon's card would fit the bill.

She covered a plain Regal singlefold card with decorateive papers.  The piece with the torn edge could be replaced with sandpaper or cork if you want to add more texture.

The die-cut tools are attached with little split pins.  Paper Roses tool dies and the split pins can both be ordered from Regal Craft Cards.  Just add some sticker letters to spell "DAD" and your done!

ELEPHANT COLLAGE CARD

ELEPHANT CARD

Marilyn has made a quick but effective card featuring an image cut from a piece of paper from the "Threatened" series by Fabscraps.

You don't need a lot of supplies to make this card, just a selection of co ordinated papers, some adhesive pearls, double-sided tape and some scissors.

We sometimes get a big fixated on die-cutting, special inks and suchlike, and its a good reminder that design is the major factor in any card!  Why not sit around and play with some scrap paper, and come up with some new ideas.

Oh, and of course, I should have mentioned that underneath the layers is a Regal Craft base card!

VINTAGE POSTCARD PYRAMAGE

PYRAMAGE USING VINTAGE POSTCARDS

Regal craft cards have lots of vintage postcards, and photoslot card bases too, so this takes a lot of the work out of making these cards.  Both examples use sets of nesting dies. 

Choose the focus of your cutting - in this example the baby's face, and the man and two children, and make sure that the smallest die (placed cutting side down) frames this area nicely.  Position the rest of the dies evenly around the smallest.  You can use as many dies as you like (and will fit) but three is about right for this size of postcard.

Use removable tape (or magnet) to keep the dies in place and run though your cutting machine with whatever stack you usually use for die-cutting.  Carefully remove the pieces.

Replace the pieces, using double sided foam tape or silicone glue to add increasing or decreasing height. The baby shows the pieces stacked up so that the face is the highest point, so the first (larges) die-cut went in with one piece of foam tape, the next was stuck in using two, and the third using three.  The man and children, was stacked the opposite way so that the design was inverted with the people in the centre at the lowest point, and the border dies getting progressively highter, so that you end up looking into the picture. 

Its hard to see the three dimensional characteristics of these cards from the picture, but have a play, you'll be pleased with the results, which are always quite effective (with not nearly as much work involves as there appears to be!)

COLLAGE CARD WITH ELEPHANTS

ELEPHANT COLLAGE CARD

Marilyn has chosen a "natural" theme for this collage card, featuring a picture cut from Fab Scraps paper, matted on red and then black card

She has selected brown and white buttons, woven cord, decorative ribbon,paper leaves and a real skeleton leaf, and then assembled them on a Regal Craft card base.

This card would be suitable for all sorts of occasions - everything from birthday to fathers day to bon voyage!

You may not have the specific materials used for this example (although most of them are available from Regal Craft Cards), but the general idea can be used more widely.  Find a picture you like from scrapbooking paper, or a sticker, a stamp, a diecut or whatever, and then rummage through your craft supplies and assemble a pile of products that suit the theme.  After that its just a matter of playing with all the elements until they come together on a way that makes you smile!

AUSTRALIANA DIES

SIMPLE CARDS WITH AUSTRALIAN DIES

Two very simple cards feature this week.  The first, with the die positioned on the inner panelbehind the oval cut-out has been made with the Ultimate Crafts "Small Grass Tree Tag" set which includes not only the grass but two oval nesting dies as well.

The second is also from the Australiana range and shows an example of how the Old Farm Card tag set can be used.  In this instance the set includes the wagon, a separate wheel, and two nesting tag dies.

At the time of writing, both die sets were available from Regal Craft Cards, which is where both the base cards were purchased.

TWO MEN ON A FENCE

MULTI-USE TWO MEN ON A FENCE CARD

This is sort of a five and a bit minute "wonder" - it certainly won't take too long to make.

All you need is a base card from Regal Craft Cards and the Paper Roses die (which can also be ordered from them), a little white ink and some paper.

I put down the lightest green paper first and then lay the straight edges of darker green at an angle each side just slightly over the top, and trimmed to the edge of the card.  That way you don't have to measure or cut neatly!  I fussy cut a hill from dark navy cardstock, and die cut the men, stuck them in place and then sponged in some white clouds.  Technically "sponged", I actually used my index finger which I find worked just fine!

That's it.  You could easily add a greeting if you wanted, either on the bottom edge or in the sky space, and you could send the card for just about any occasion - everything from birthdays to greetings from Tasmania, to Fathers' Day.  Add a heart in the middle (the gender of the folks on the fence is not clear) for Valentine's or engagement, or stick down a couple of bunnies in the paddock and a tiny egg or two for Easter.  There's lots you could do with this basic design.

ANOTHER CARD FEATURING A POSTCARD - SUITABLE FOR FATHER'S DAY

CHEERFUL SAILOR CARD

This cheerful card was made by Marilyn using a postcard available from Regal Craft, placed on a white single fold card, decorated with patterned paper.

She has trimmed the picture, and matted it on a dark blue border, and added a similarly matted sticker (once again from Regal).

Marilyn has embellished the card with an anchor charn "tied" with twine to the greeting, and added a couple of split pins to finish.

Father's Day might be on Sunday, but you'll still have time to finish this card if you start right now!  Otherwise its a good one to have in the cupboard as its suitable for both sexes and all sorts of occasions!

VELLUM PEEK-A-BOO CARD

VELLUM PEEK-A-BOO CARD

INSIDE THE CARD

We're having a bit of a "masculine" card-fest at the moment, and here's another.

A piece of decorative paper is stuck to the front of a singlefold white Regal Craft card, and a sticker is placed on top (I've used a
Sparklelight sticker from Regal SLS2009).

Cut vellum large enough to wrap around the card (i.e. the same height as the unfolded card, and every so slightly wider) and fold it in half.

Slip it over the card and mark (in soft pencil) the corders of the sticker, then remove, and either use a punch upside down or tape on a square die to cut out a window in the vellum.  (You can also use a craft knife).  Put a small piece of double sided tape just over the fold on the back of the white card, and carefully place the vellum over the top.  (You might want to do a test run first to make sure the window is in the right place).

Double sided tape can be seen through the vellum so you can either put it on carefully and leave it "as is" or add a border sticker or strip of paper over the top.  (If it really worries you, you can always sew the two layers together - three or 5 holes and some decorative thread are probably best as vellum tends to perforate with sewing machined lines)

Add a charm and greeting on the outside, and a different sticker and a paper border (matching the front of the card) to the inside and you're done.

In reality the patterned paper can be seen more clearly under the vellum on the front of the card, and the contrast between the shine of the sticker and the matte finish of the overlay is quite pronounced

3D PICTURE USING POSTCARDS

CARD FRONT

INSIDE THE CARD

Here's another card suitable for anyone really but probably timely with Fathers day just around the corner.  (You have no idea how long that paragraph took to complete as in the US, the apostrophe goes between the r and s, whereas in the UK it goes after the s, and in Tasmania I'm just confused.
I wimped out and didn't add one at all so put it where you want!)

Anyway, back to the card - Regal has a spectacular range of vintage postcards.  I've used one as the base and cut and shaped (just using my fingers and the palm of my hand) elements from another couple to stick on top with foam tape.

The 3d effect is much more pronounced in reality that it appears on screen - the bottle is nicely rounded, and the flag does look a bit fluttery.  This post is turning into a bit of a repository of random information, but just in case you are thinking "but the flag should be blue"............The red ensign was in use from 1901 to 1954 and was the civil flag i.e.blue was for government and red was used if you wanted to fly an Australian flag in your backyard.  Needless to say everyone got very confused and the red flag is now only used at sea.

Getting back to the card (again) I've made a simple pop up machanism for inside, and used a Regal photo slot card as an easy way to mount the postcard on the front.

CARDS FEAT. BBQ AND PICNIC TABLE DIES

Well, here's something a little bit different...............Its a bit on the cold side to be contemplating barbies and sun umbrellas, but it doesn't stop me dreaming...............

I've used a couple of bases from Regal Craft Cards as well as a couple of Paper Roses dies (purchased from Regal as well) to make some very straightforward cards.  Basically I've just cut out the shapes in a few colours and re assembled the pieces, added a greeting stamp and, in the case of the BBQ a triangular background, and that's it.

These dies are different to most of the other ones that are out there, and they can be used for a number of different occasions, plus they're great for the "blokey" cards that a lot of crafters seem to find difficult.  What I really love though, is that the shapes can be used in so many other ways.  Look at the umbrella for instance, turn it upside down and cut it in woodgrain as a fruit bowl, add some chain border stickers for a hanging basket, turn it on the side for fairy or butterfly wings, or add a head and legs for a tortoise etc etc etc.  I've lots of other ideas for all the other bits in both die sets, but would ruin your fun if I listed them all......what do you see when you look at the parts separately?

SUMMER CARDS 

BIRTHDAY/FATHER'S DAY CARD

BIRTHDAY CARD 

We are always being asked for card ideas that are suitable for men's birthdays and so Tania has used her dies and some papers from one of Kaiser's little pads to make this example.

There's no reason not to add a little bit of bling, though, and some well-placed green rhinestones add life and lift the neutral brown tones of the papers.

If you are already thinking about Father's Day cards, it would be a simple matter to replace the birthday greeting with a "Happy Father's Day" and keep the rest of the design.

PAPER PIECED STAMPED CARD

I'm doing a stamping demo for Regal on March 20th, so I probably should leave this card until then but I couldn't wait to play with my lovely set of Darkroom Door stamps.

I've kept the colours very simple, but stamped the hammer and saw with black ink onto both grey and yellow paper, the tape measure just onto yellow, and the other things just onto grey.  I'v then cut out the handles of the saw and hammer from the yellow and stuck them onto the grey, before fussy cutting around the whole lot.  I've added a little bit of detail with a silver pen, and assembled the lot on embossed card stuck to a black Regal base.

I didn't have a suitable stamp at hand, so I added a peel off sticker as a greeting - I'm fairly sure the stamp would have looked a lot better in this context.

KAISER PAD CARD FOR DAD

A QUICK CARD FOR DAD

Just a quick little card using "leftovers" from the 6.5" KAIser pad from the "On the Farm" collection.  As these pads come with greetings, labels, shapes and suchlike, could make a similar layout from most of them.

I've used a Regal base card, but cut the front panel a little shorter to reveal the second paper inside the card, and mounted the label, greeting and arrow on red to separate them from the background (they matched in a bit too well before).  A couple of starry split pins, a bit of brown ink around the edges and a piece of twine later it's done.

The position of the arrow draws attention to the greeting (the horses on the label are "looking at it" too), which is positioned about a third of the way down and about two thirds of the way across the front of the card for added impact.

Its not quite a 5 minute card but close!

A NEW WAY TO USE A SWING CARD

THE OPEN CARD

THE CLOSED CARD

I saw a card in a magazine recently which wasn't really like this example at all, but it did set me thinking about how cards could be folded in different ways.

This is one of Regal's swing cards (XSWI1) with an additional fold in the centre of the two larger panels.  That way, the panel no longer swings but sits out on show when the card is opened (as in the example on the left) or closed (see above).  So the the card remains closed, tuck the panels either side underneath the "Happy Birthday" panel.

I've used papers out of the paper pad from the "Old Mac" collection, but you could re-make this card in all sorts of ways - e.g. with flowers on the centre panel and patterned paper behind.

A QUICK BIRTHDAY OR FATHER'S DAY CARD

"MALE" ALL-OCCASION CARD

This is another card that Marilyn made featuring papers from the Graphic 45 "World's Fair" collection.  It would make a great Father's Day or Birthday card and is quick and easy to put together.

Using the colours featured in the patterned papers as a guide, Marilyn has double matted orange and blue plain papers as a background, and added a border made from orange linen ribbon, trimmed to a double point at the end.

The words (also cut from the paper) have been mounted using foam tape to add dimension.

PARCHMENT SAILING SHIP CARD

PARCHMENT SAILING BOAT

Kaiser products feature in this card which would be OK for a birthday, father's day or bon voyage.

The caption is from one of the papers in their Sailaway range, and both dies are also made by them.

The slightly "tricky" feature is the ship which has been cut out of parchment paper and then embossed by hand with an embossing tool on a soft mat.  I've then used a pin to add tiny holes around the outside of the main parts.

As parchment/vellum is translucent I've cut foam tape to shape and size to fit under a couple of the sails so that although it can be seen, hopefully it just looks like part of the design.

I made this card for a recent demo, but if I were doing it for an actual card. I'd probably cut a second ship from faux wood paper for the hull and masts and just use the embossed vellum for the sails.

The base card is a large textured square white card from Regal Craft Cards(XSQPL1), and I've added just a little decoration to the inner panel, as you can see from the picture.