BLUE BUTTERFLY BEST WISHES

BLUE BUTTERFLY BEST WISHES

This is another 5 minute marvel, suited to many occasions.

Take a piece of patterned paper from the Ultimate Crafts Australiana range, stick it on top of one of Regal's singlefold dark blue cards (PL24), add a Sparklelight butterfly (stick it in the middle of the body so you can lift the wings) and finish with some rhinestones in opposite corners and a "Best Wishes" sticker.

How easy is that?!

A BON VOYAGE OR BIRTHDAY CARD

ADVENTURE CARD

This great card for the young at heart could be used for birthdays or bon voyage and for either male or female receiptients.

Marilyn has used paper from the Graphic 45 Worlds Fair Collection to fussy cut the features. The patterned background is from Kaiser.

Accents are provided by a row of gold rhinestones under the "Adventure" and in the top corner.

The card base is a singlefold ivory textured card (PL4) from Regal Craft Cards.

All in all a quick but effective card for many occasions!

MODIFIED KITE FOLD - TEABAG FOLDED CARD FOR ALL OCCASIONS

TEABAG FOLDED CARD

This is a quick card, but quite showy.  Start with a Regal square card and layer a patterned and then a plain square on top.

The motif is made by folding some doublesided paper squares into a "kite" shape and then folding the edges back (a bit like a shirt collar).
Make eight the same size and then arrange them side by side into a medallion.  (Its actually easiest if you do opposites first and then fill in the gaps).  I just used a piece of double sided tape to keep each of them in place.

If you'd like to add a focal point in the middle (or your middle is a bit dodgy) add a large topped split pin....and that's it!!

If you like the idea of teabag folding you'll find lots of different patterns on line, or come and see me in the shop for a quick demo.

IRIS FOLDED INDIAN WINDOW CARD

INDIAN WINDOW CARD

Regal's "Indian Window" card is one of their more unusual three panel cards.  The window in the middle panel is great for iris folding.

The popularity of iris folding comes and goes, but it never vails to make an impact.

I've just used a square template for the bottom of the shape (there are lots of free ones available on-line) and then "freestyled" the top.  I've chosen 80g (i.e. thin and cheap!) paper for all the colours except the gold in the centre and roof which stands out and tends to "lift" the other papers.

I've just added an adhesive jewel (Kaiser) to the "eye".  Now that I look at it in the picture, it's not exactly in the middle, is it? Oh well..........

There is plenty of room to add a greeting - at the bottom or diagonally on either side at the top or over the actual folding!
If you varied the colours it could suit almost any occasion - add a bit of lace and lots of white for a wedding card, make it in pastels for a baby or in personal favourites for either men or women.  As mentioned you can always add a bit of lace or ribbon or patterned paper or metal or embossed card or whatever you like really!  If you haven't tried Iris Folding, think about giving it a go.  Its easy and fun.

1920s LADY CARD

3D LADIES - BLUE LADY

Marilyn has added a dramatic swoosh of fabric to the front of this card, in a colour which compliments the blues of the 3D twenties girl.  The fabric is secured under a piece of white card, which is, in turn, mounted on a matching blue backing.

The base card is a white smooth single fold with an embossed border of buttons from Regal Craft Cards.  The 3D picture is from a Sparklelight sheet called "Ladies" (Code:  SLDC48883).

ORIENTAL-STYLE COLLAGE CARD

ORIGAMI COLLAGE CARD

A little oriental collage on a Royale (gold-foiled) card from Regal Craft Cards.  The Royale cards are a little larger than standard so there is more room for decoration.

The origami bird is just folded from a square of white copy paper stamped with a bamboo stamp and silver ink, and mounted on gold and red die-cut circles.

The noshi is made from lightweight red and white papers glued back to back, with gold shimmer strip in the middle and a pieces of white ribbon and gold braid around the bottom(apologies in advance to those who know how to make these properly....I just winged it ).

The square at the top is a piece of washi mounted on gold, and the card is finished with a Sparklelight sticker (also available from Regal).

CAPTAIN'S HAT CARD

CAPTAIN'S HAT CARD

This is a clever card from one of our demos last year.

Maz has hand drawn a captains hat and then fussy cut out three different layers and assembled them to fit the template.

She has used a patterned paper suggestive of the sea, and added an appropriately wavy top. An anchor charm completes the marine theme.

The base card is from Regal Craft cards, who manufacture a variety of square cards in a choice of colours and textures.

VINTAGE LADY CARD WITH SCROLLED FRAME

VICTORIAN LADY

This is the same die set I used for the Art Deco Lady cards a couple of weeks back.
Its called "Scrolled Tomentosa" and comes from Couture Creations.

Die cutting and embossing have made quite complicated cards easy to achieve in very little time.

Having decided on a neutral colour scheme I just cut the frame out in three colours (I can use the other bits to make additional frames), and reassembled it with a Victorian woman image from scrapbooking paper inside the frame.

The base card is a small ivory textured square from Regal Craft Cards, and the backing paper is embossed in a folder.  A bit of brown ink around the edges, three flowers with tiny pearls in the middle on the bottom left, and three little pearls in a row on the top right and the card is finished.

Victoriana/Vintage is not as popular a style as it once was, but it is sure to be around in one form or other for a good while yet.

RETRO STEPPER CARD

RETRO FASHION COLLAGE STEPPER CARD

Trudy Meijer has used one of Regal's stepper cards as a base for this fashion-themed work of art.  Its the sort of card which you can display all year round.

Trudy makes fabulous collage cards and this example is no exception.

Layered papers, fussy-cut images, lace, feathers, tassels and more feature on this card.  Its important to note how Trudy has retained a consistent colour scheme and theme so that the card works very well as a whole.

EGYPTIAN PYRAMID CARD

EGYPTIAN CARD - FRONT

I made this card a while ago for a demo, so it includes a few tips techniques that you can use more widely in your other cardmaking.
- You can shape your 3Ds by gently rubbing the middle of the reverse side in the palm of your hand until the edges start to curl a little. This adds dimension but also hides any foam tape/silicone glue that is underneath.
-Use the colours in the card topper as a guide for what colours to use elsewhere in your card.
The colours do not have to be the most obvious ones.  In this case I've used the gold, green and red from the band on the hat and frame around the central motifs.
-Decoration doesn't always have to be stacked on top.  It can also go underneath - in this case I've punched four windows and lined up the paper underneath (It also means you don't have to measure the paper accurately, and you can chop out the mistakes made in other projects and still use your paper.
-Do remember that a single fold card has a front, a middle and a back, and all of these surfaces can be decorated.  In this case I've used colours from the front of the card, edging from the 3D sheet (available from Regal Craft Cards) and a few cut into a gold insert to convey the idea of a pyramid.(Actually this time of year, its looking a bit like a Christmas tree......but as I said, this was a card made to illustrate a few different techniques that you can use for all sorts of things, not necessarily to make "as is", although, really it does look a bit like a pyramid in reality!)

EGYPTIAN CARD - INSIDE

NEW DIES

I walked in the door at work this morning to find a big box of new dies, so I thought I'd do a quick post to let you know that the Padova collection from Ultimate crafts (nature themed), Floral layers, and the Intricutz "Perfectly Petite" little doiley dies are in, so you have today and tomorrow (Wednesday) if you want some NOW....otherwise Regal Craft re opens on Monday 4th January so we might see you then!

STEPPER CARD IN KRAFT AND WHITE

Kaiser made the paper, Regal made the base card, but Janet added the creativity to make this elegant floral stepper card.

Using the paper as as guide, she has centred pre-made paper flowers onto the bottom border.  The cut-out doiley doubles as a background for the large white flower.  The greeting also comes from the paper collection.  The only addition is some narrow cotton lace.

Lace can be a bit tricky to attach but Janet has neatly finished her embellishment by securing the ends underneath the paper topping the card.

I really love the  simple colour combination of natural and white - the contrast serves both well.

POSTSCRIPT...Janet says, that nice as the card is, it wasn't her who made it....Tania says it wasn't her.....its a mystery.......if anyone wants to "own" the card, let me know and I'll do an update...
PPS..The mystery has been solved.  Trudy Meijer just popped in to let me know that she was the craftsperson in question........sorry Trudy, and thanks for your lovely card!!

LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS CARD

CHRISTMAS STAR.

Clearly, if you are still making Christmas cards you don't want to be spending hours on the activity this time of year!!

This isn't quite a five minute card, but it is a good one to do on "a production line" i.e. make 8 or 9 at a go, and you'll have them done in no time.

The base is a small square textured singlefold card from Regal Craft Cards.  Choose quality cardstock, it makes all the difference to the final result!  The cards come with envelopes so you don't need to hunt around for those.

The card is topped with a square of gloss silver (it actually looks bluish) card and then with some patterned vellum.  Use doublesided tape to fix the vellum under where the star will go, that way you don't have to use extra time to attach it with split pins, spray glue or hidden edges.

The star is also from Regal and is made of thick shiny card.  It has been embossed with a folder - chose an all-over pattern that doesn't have a "right way up" so you don't have to spend ages positioning it in the folder.  If you use one of the larger folders you can do a couple at a time.

Pop a star split-pin in the middle of the star (make a little hole with a needle or piercer first) and attach it to the vellum and gloss card before sticking the whole lot onto the base.  You can add a little double sided tape to the star first to hold it in place, if you like (it's probably a good idea) but you don't need much as the split pin will do the hard work.

If you have an extra couple of minutes add an insert with a stamped greeting to the middle.  If not, just write your message inside and off you go!!

This will be the last Wednesday posting for the time being, but the regular Friday posts and updates will continue and if there is anything special to share or I find a little extra time(!) there will be a few random "extras" as well.

HOW TO MAKE AN EASY EMBOSSED BORDER

3d ROSE WITH EMBOSSED BORDER

If you want to add a little bit of decoration to your base card but want to keep the main motif (in this case a 3D Sparklelight rose), then how about using your scoreboard and embossing tool to add some borders?

I've just used the envelope insert to achieve a 45degree angle and drawn down each line on the board - equal numbers of lines in each corner.  There are endless variations of how this can be done of course - its up to you.  You can use any colour as a base card, but for maximum impact you really can't go past smooth white!

If you don't have a scoreboard you can achieve similar results using an embossing tool in the channel of your slide cutter or even with a tool and ruler on top of a soft mat (you can get mats made specifically for embossing, but a firm mouse mat would do).  The latter won't be quite as effective as the cutter channel, which in turn won't be quite as good as the scoreboard, but its worth giving both a go with some scrap card to see if you like the results.

MERRY CHRISTMAS CARDS - 3 VARIATIONS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS  CARDS

When Roma brought these cards in to show us, I really hoped that she would say "yes" when we asked if we could put them on the blog.  As you can see, it was.

I was keen to share these cards, not just because they're lovely (which they are) but to illustrate how one basic design and a single die can be used to achieve three very different effects.  The cards on either side feature different colour schemes, ribbons etc and the one in the middle not only has some very shiny red holographic paper as the backing for the ornament, but some cute little 3D critters in the background!

The "Merry Christmas" die from Craft Concepts is ideal for these larger cards and can even be used separately as a hanging ornament. These examples are A5 size, which makes the images large and clear (and quite tactile) and just right to make a big impact!

Now, here's a nice surprise, Roma just popped by, with another card, so I can revise the post's title to "4 Variations".  The new card (which so new the glue is still wet!) features an embossed white circle, a snazzy glitter card background and a silk flower.  Thankyou Roma!!!!

ART DECO LADY PYRAMEX CARDS

CARDS FEATURING ART DECO LADIES

Couture Creations have been releasing some really lovely dies lately.

I have my share of image-specific dies (including just about all the recently released Australiana ones), but I find that the ones I go back to time after time are the nesting dies, frames, backgrounds and borders!

As you can see from the examples, this doesn't have to be as boring as it may sound.  As soon as I saw these dies I thought they would be the perfect accompaniment for these Art Deco ladies (both available on the same Sparklelight Pyramex sheet from Regal Craft Cards).

I've made both designs up on some shimmer card 10 x 15 cm (4 x 6 inches) so that all I have to do to finish is add a bit of bling and pop them into a Regal photoslot card.

CHIRSTMAS CALENDAR CARD

CHRISTMAS CALENDAR CARD

Here's a good idea for a card and gift in one, and best of all, given the time of year, it won't take you forever to make.

Regal sell the pre-made stepper base cards and the little calendars.  All you need to do is add the decoration.

Sharon has added some cheerful Christmas papers, stickers and rhinestones, and a cute owl button to her example.

SUPER BROTHER CARD

SUPER BROTHER CARD

When most of the attention is on a new baby, its important to let the other children in the family know that they're not forgotten.

A new great-nephew inspired this card, which wasn't quick to make, but certainly isn't difficult.

The base is a single fold white card from Regal Craft Cards and the background is Kaiser paper.
The little boy is a LalaLand stamp that has been stamped onto lots of different coloured papers, then cut out and re-assembled on a stamped base (i.e. paper pieced).  The very fine detail (the star on his constume, belt buckle and detail on boots) has been added with silver pen, and a little bit of colour to the face (lips and cheek) added with red pencil.  Finally just a little white dot using a gel pen has been put in the eyes to add a little "life."  Finishing details come from a bit silver star (from Regal) and some stickers - star borders and "Brother" (a gold sticker coloured over with a black marker pen).

CHRISTMAS BOOK CARD

Regal already have pre-made book-shaped cards so if you want to do something a little different for Christmas this year you can buy a pack and get straight to the fun bit of decorating it!

I've taken the photo at a funny angle so rest-assured it doesn't really do justice to Sharon's pretty card,  (It really does look like a book when closed!)

Sharon has used patterned papers, a die-cut robin and a border sticker to decorate the front of the card, and simply drawn pages using a pencil and ruler to suggest pages on the inside.

Its as nice quick card to make but very effective!!

SIMPLE SYMPATHY CARD

SIMPLE SYMPATHY CARD

Sympathy cards are often made at a difficult time and a simple approach can be useful.

In this case, I've dabbed some distress inks onto an acrylic stamping block, lightly spritzed it with water, then put the card face down on the block and gently run over the surface so the colours transfer to the card and merge together.  (Any water-based ink will do, just make sure you use colours that aren't on opposite sides of the colour wheel unless you want a grey/brown effect).

You can either wait until the ink has dried or use a craft heat gun to speed up the process.

Choose a narrow high stamp and stamp it with black ink in the corner.

Write the message at the bottom, then hand-draw a frame.  If you mess up a corner (as I did) just make it into a feature!!

I think sometimes we are so focussed on getting the right stamp or die that we forget that we can always just write the greeting ourselves!  I also know that just about everyone (myself included)  had issues about their handwriting, but bear in mind that it is one way to ensure that you have made a truly unique and personal card.

QUICK CARDS FOR CHRISTMAS

TWO QUICK CHRISTMAS CARDS

This is about the time of year, that a little alarm bell starts ringing in the back of the brain if you have decided to send handmade Christmas Cards this year but haven't actually managed to make a start yet.

Here are a couple of speedy solutions, so you can grab some materials, and be feeling smug by the weekend!  Both cards have used bases from Regal Craft Cards.

The first adds green and gold matting (with a hand-drawn border), and two cut out trees (also available from Regal.  The simplest things can sometimes set a card apart from the ordinary, and in this case its simply the removal of one of the top corners.

The second card can be purchased with the three trees and slotted border already cut out, so all that needs to be done is to add decorative papers behind the apertures and its done!!

These are almost "5 minute wonders" but I'd say 10 - 15 minutes tops - less if you are well organised and set up a little "production line."

STEPPER BABY CARD

STEPPER BABY CARD

Another really cute card from Trudy this week.

Regal make these stepper cards, which come with envelopes, so all that you need to do is add the decoration.

In this case, Trudy has covered the front with patterned paper, stamped and coloured images on the sides, and added a sparklelight 3D picture (also available from Regal) as a feature in the middle.

Baby cards are often kept for a long time, so its worth making that little bit of extra effort

CHEERFUL OWL CHRISTMAS CARD

CHEERY OWL CARD

Tania has made a simple but effective Christmas card using a plain singlefold white card from Regal Craft Cards as her base.

She has added red card, then embossed green, more red and then smooth white, to frame the Christmas wish (a peel off sticker).

The card is further embellished with punched snowflakes (actually a sunburst punch) and die a diecut scalloped corner.  The glitter card is fairly thick, so do use caution and avoid small punches if you want to punch shapes from it.  Die-cutting should pose no problems.

Lastly but perhaps most importantly, Tania has finished her card by adding a cute Christmas owl button.

SIDE STEPPER BEACH THEMED CARD

"AT THE BEACH" STEPPER CARD

We have another of Trudy Meijer's cute cards from a demo she did for Regal Craft Cards a while ago.

This is a true collage card, incorporating everything from pebbles and shells to nets.

The base card is ST1 - Regal's side-stepper card, which is already cut and creased so that you can go quickly to the "fun" bit of decorating without all the measuring, scoring and cutting.

Trudy has applied glue to the front and covered it in real sand for her background.  She's added some stamped features and a LaLaLand stamp, coloured with Kaiser fusion pens and fussy cut.  On the back panel, is some patterned vellum, (made by embossing) attached with white split pins, with layers of paper underneath to be the sea.

Doesn't it look cute?

CHRISTMAS CARD FEATURING AUSTRALIANA PAPERS

Australian Parrots Christmas Card

How simple is this card thanks to the lovely paper from Ultimate Crafts, and a Regal square card base  Just mat the paper on a bit of red, add a Sparklelight sticker (available from Regal Craft Cards), and a feather (in this case from my backyard) and you're done!

At this time of year you don't necessarily want to be spending hours on your cards, especially if you're sending them overseas, and there are a lot of pretty papers around that can be used in a similar way.

Inside View