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Hello it's been a while since I was here blogging, but I'm thrilled to be back with some exciting news! I was over the moon to be asked recently if I would like to create some samples for the brand new collection from Angela Poole! I said YES of course! I am so thrilled to be working with such a lovely lady and company who design the most fun and exciting dies, I've loved all the releases, but tis time I get to work with them officially! I was sent the brand new Slot & Spin frame dies, card packs, stamps & stencils to play with and I'm excited to share my ideas with you, starting with this one:
Birthday Gate Fold Aperture
Card
Step By Step:
Cut Enchanted Mist blue card:
1 piece at 6” x 6”
2 pieces at 6” x 4 3/8”
Score the 2 pieces at 4” to
leave a joining tab on each. Mark each side at 4” and cut at an
angle to the score line on each piece to create left and right
sloped side pieces.
Die cut largest frame
aperture from centre of 6” x 6” piece and smaller apertures (3rd
size down) from the 2 side panels.
Using blue ink stamp corner
motif in 4 corners of main panel and 2 opposite corners of side
panels. Attach side panels to main panel gluing tabs to back.
Using white card, die cut 2
doilies to fit the side apertures, Stamp both sides with circular
sentiments, birthday and cake images using black & pink inks.
Using white, pink & blue
card, die cut doily frames to interlock and fit into the large
aperture in main panel. Assemble frames into the apertures.
Decorate corner flourishes
and centre heart with adhesive gems to finish.
Hello, I've recently been testing out some new alcohol markers from Trimcraft brand 'Nova' and this is my first card created with them. The Nova designer markers were perfect not just to colour my stamped images but also to create the 'stained glass' effect on this card design.
I stamped the Christmas Bear image using a stazon ink onto acetate, then coloured the back using Nova Designer pens, these alcohol pens were easy to use and blend and I loved the textured effect I was able to achieve on the acetate.
The finished design was trimmed down and I added adhesive pearls to frame it before mounting behind a circular aperture i cut into the front of a 6x6 square white card base. I decorated the inside with a snowflake pattern paper from the Paper Addicts Cosy Christmas 12x12 paper pad.
I cut a matching card front from white card, die cutting a slightly larger circle into the front before stamping a present and mittens in black memento ink. the nova markers were easy to use to colour the stamped images, vibrant and juicy pens, I used the small nib side for colouring, blending and adding texture effects.
Pom pom trim is one of my fav embellishments, so i adhered some behind the aperture to frame the centre before adding the stamped panel to the card front. Some simple stamped sentiments in black ink to finish the design for Cozy Winter Wishes. This card was a fun make, let me know what you think and I'll be back to share another card tomorrow, Angela x
Hello, today I'm sharing these fun Stag place cards, this design would also work well as a Christmas Card as it is an easel style and can be folded down for posting out.
Find my Video Step by Step Tutorial here:
Step by Step:
Select the stag deer and bow shapes from the First Edition Modern & Decorative Digital Cutting Dies USB's. I'm using my Scan n Cut so I've inserted them into Canvas online the free software for the Scan n Cut Machines. I've resized the stag to approx: 102 x 167mm as shown below
To create a mat layer for the shapes, Click the edit button and choose an outside offset of 2mm for both the stag and bow as shown below
To make it easier to see I have coloured the layers, so you can see here the main shape on top of the mat layer. Cut the main shapes from pattern paper and the mat layer from a brown card.
Cut matching brown card approx 28cm long x 7cm wide and score at 7cm & 14cm , fold to create an easel card shape. Add pattern paper mat layers 6.5cm x 6.5cm for front square panel and 6.5cm x 13.5 for inside base panel. (see video for how to)
create easel 'stopper' using wooden letter tag tiles or adhesive letters or even handwritten tags to personalise the place card or add a Christmas greeting if you are making these as Christmas cards.
List of Products used can be found over at my Trimcraft Design Team Gallery link here:
Thank you for popping by, comments always welcome, Angela x
The First Edition ‘All That Glistens’ papers are so beautiful, I love the gold, glitters, creams and warm black tones, wonderful patterns and a vintage feel throughout.
I also have the First Edition Build a Unicorn die set that has been waiting patiently for just the right project, so I teamed the papers with the dies to create this magical Christmas Unicorn.
Cut glittered snowflake paper 15.5cm square and mat onto slightly larger music pattern paper, inking all cut edges with gold ink first. Attach panel to front of a 17cm square white base card.
Cut a cream text pattern paper 13.5cm square and mat onto slightly larger music pattern paper, inking all edges of both pieces as before.
Apply a gold glittered photo corner to 3 corners only, omitting bottom right corner, affix panel centrally onto card front using d/s tape.
Die cut Unicorn pieces as follows: horn from gold glitter card and back onto music note paper and cut out, adhere to centre top on card front using 3D foam pads to give height. Cut 2 large ears from music pattern paper and 2 inner ears from gold dotty paper, ink edges and layer up using 3D foam pads. Add to card, slightly angled and one either side of the unicorn horn.
Create 2 layered snowflake flowers using 2 different size snowflakes from gold and white glitter cards and vellum. Create a centre flower by die-cutting the large flower first from gold & white striped paper, and 1 from vellum and inking edges with gold ink, then layer a snowflake on top cut from the gold foil spotted paper. Layer all snowflake flowers and attach across unicorn using 3D foam pads. Top each flower with an adhesive gem or pearl.
Die cut the Angel Wing die 3 times from gold glitter card and glue one as a forelock just under flowers. Position the other too as a flowing mane at right hand side. Only add glue to the top, so the bottom edges are free and can be shaped as desired.
Die Cut Unicorn lashes from black glitter card and glue in place on card front. Adhere 2 small glitter enamel dots as nostrils lower down the card.
To finish, add the sentiment across top left corner, glue on 2 glitter wooden stars and thread 2 gold jingle bells onto gold thread and attach so they dangle In the mane section.
As soon as I saw the fun loving flamingos on the First Edition Let’s Celebrate papers I just knew they should be on a carousel!
I cut the carousel entirely by hand with my trusty scissors, constructing it from white card and decorated it using the lovely papers and my favourite Pom-Pom trim. I spotted some gold and white striped paper straws and had to buy them to use in this project.
This project hopefully shows my sense of joy and fun at creating with just a pair of scissors, no dies or cutting machines.
Products Used:
First Edition Lets Celebrate 12 x 12 paper pad
Lace, pom Pom Trims and mini ribbon bows from across the Trimcraft brands
Hello, yes it's me!, back to blogland after a summer break, I thought I'd start with some catch up posts and first off I'm sharing this Tutorial I created for Trimcraft.
I was thrilled when they asked if I'd like to create a project for their website and immediately wanted to work with the gorgeous First Edition Botanical Beauty papers, I decided a shadow box card design would also be a great way to show off the papers and also some of the First Edition die sets, and this cute Dovecraft Toucan die which I cut from glitter card for extra sparkle.
Hello, Recently I've been working with some absolutely gorgeous papers called Botanical Beauty. They are by First Edition and as always their papers are just gorgeous, not only in design but in the lovely selection of finishes and effects you always get in each pad. The Botanical Beauty papers are absolutely stunning and I just knew I wanted to make a bird cage with them, afterwards I decided it just ‘needed something’ and so I made a stand to match! (please scroll down for video)
How To:
I cut the bird cage itself on one of my cutting machines, but you could cut similar using die cut panels and join theme or use a sharp craft knife and ruler to cut basic grid bars if you prefer.
I’ve applied a citrus green metallic gilding polish to the cage bars and the matching stand, hopefully giving a hint of Verdigris. I used a gold metallic gilding polish for the top and bottom sections of the cage.
The 12x12 Botanical Beauty pad has birds and flowers In the right size for this make, so I fussy cut out 1 larger Toucan for the top of the cage and 2 smaller toucans on branches to go inside the cage.
The toucans inside have been mounted onto acetate, I created a box section rather than 2 strips as this gave more stability and still allows them to move about if touched.
The blooms have also been fussy cut from the pattern papers and I’ve used foliage dies from 2 different sets to arrange amongst the blooms, I used FE textured cardstock in 2 shades of green for the leafy foliage.
The stand I decided to make to go with the cage is basically 2 small shallow box pieces with a scored and folded section for the stem. I added a top to the stand by layering up 3 or 4 squares of card sandwiched between pattern paper and applied the green gilding polish around the edges to fill in any gaps in the layers. I have added cardboard inside the base and top to weight it down so the cage sits securely on top.
Here's a video to show the cage and stand in more detail
Products Used:
First Edition 12x12 Botanical Beauty Paper Pad – FEPAD185
First Edition 12x12 Textured Cardstock Pad – FEPAD062
First Edition Tropical Die Set – FEDIE235
First Edition Foliage Die Set – FEDIE0197
Acetate, Gold Tassel
Gold Gilding Polish, Green Gilding Polish
Adhesives: d/s Tape, Clear drying glue, 3D foam pads
Hello, I recently experimented with a glazed tile effect for a magazine commission and thought I would re-visit the technique with the new Dovecraft Bee Happy stamp set. The clear stamps are a great addition to your craft stash and very versatile, easy to create lots of different scenes or use them alone. Teaming the stamps with other elements in the collection makes it easy to create a coordinated look.
How To:
I started by stamping a scene using the individual stamps in the set using black ink. I worked to a rough idea of the size I wanted to end up with, so my stamped area was about 100mm wide x 90mm and I bore in mind the hexagon shape I wanted to achieve at the end. So I stamped the flowers along the bottom and the leaves to ‘frame’ either side of the top. I left enough room to stamp the large bumble bee in the centre (alternatively, you may prefer to stamp the bee first and then build the scene around it).
I used shimmery watercolour paints to colour the scene, these do not need to be precise. I used a wash of blues and greens for the background, so that all the area was coloured and left it to dry.
When dry I die cut the scene into a rectangle and then patted it all over with an embossing inkpad, sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heat set. I repeated this process 3 times, allowing the embossing to cool before patting over again with the embossing inkpad. Just build it up as many layers as you wish.
When tile scene is completed, mat onto a slightly larger hexagon of cream card, if it stands to bend, then just add a little heat from the heat tool from back and it should flatten out again.
Cut a 135mm square of cream card and add 2 different pattern papers from the Bee Happy Pad. I used a yellow paper for the left and green for the right. Add 2 strips of the honeycomb pattern washi tape across the join.
Wrap ‘Bee happy’cotton ribbon across the lower part of the panel before adhering it to the front of a 6x6 Kraft card base using 3D foam pads to raise it a little.
To finish, thread a little golden metal bumble bee charm onto thin cream twine or thread and attach to ribbon at right hand side. Top with a gold button threaded with matching twine or thread.
Hello, I'm back!! I had a little break from blogging recently but I'm back to share my projects with you on a regular basis. As it's Valentines Day it's appropriate to start with this 3D standing Valentine I made for the Trimcraft Design Team. I thought the fab papers in the First Editition Wanderlust paper pad would be ideal for a Valentine’s project, especially the pretty heart pattern and lovely pinky –red tones. For fun I made a 3D standing ‘&’ and decorated it using 2 of the new First Edition die sets. I have to say the Alphabet Tiles are going to get lots of use, they are easy to use and add a nice effect for sentiments.
How to:
I used my Cricut Explore to cut the 3D ‘&’ shape using the double sided pinky-red design paper from the 12x12 Wanderlust pad. The 2 inserts on the loops of the letter show the other side of the paper.
I inked the edges using a red ink to define them and also it ‘colours in’ any white cut paper edges that may show.
The front layer is cut from the heart patterned paper and I have inked in both red and black inks to define this piece. I’ve also edged it in Crystal glitter glue for a sparkly effect.
The top layer of the letter tiles is cut from a pale wood pattern paper which is from another First Edition paper pad (Sweet Nothings I think) and the letter dies then cut into each square tile. The backing are cut from black paper in the Wanderlust Pad which is the back of the Heart double sided paper.
Cupid has been cut twice and layered up, once from the foil pattern paper and once from black paper, this adds strength and also by offsetting the black slightly it gives a slight shadow effect.
I used different papers in the pad to layer up the small envelopes, lips, etc and chose a large flower from the bold floral paper to feature in the heart shaped balloon.
To finish, I cut the swirly ‘Love’ sentiment from black card and layered it twice to give it strength. I used crystal glitter glue to cover the whole word before attaching to the bottom of the ‘&’ shape when it was dry.
Products Used:
First Edition Wanderlust 12x12 Paper Pad – FEPAD164
First Edition Wanderlust 6x6 Paper Pad – FEPAD166
First Edition Alphabet Tiles Die Set – FEDIE238
First Edition Love Themed Die Set – FEDIE239
Dovecraft A4 Black Card –
Dovecraft Glitter Glue – Crystal
Dovecraft Adhesive heart Pearl – Pink
Cricut Explore
Red Ink, Black Ink
Adhesives: D/S Tape, Clear Drying Glue, 3D Foam Squares
I am entering this project in the I Heart You Challenge over at That's Crafty! Challenge Blog, link here: http://thatscraftychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/i-heart-you-challenge.html
Hello, Today I have a Pumpkin Tealight Holder to share with you. This is a project I designed for the +The Craft Blog by Trimcraft where you can find the tutorial and a FREE downloadable Template (links at end of post)
I love the Wow gold embossing powder and just had to use it to emboss this fab sugar skull stamp, for a distressed look.
A battery operated tealight is perfect to use inside, I found some that were orange for halloween. You can find them in different colours and some have flickering lights too.
Why not make one or more for your very own seasonal pumpkin patch?
Hello, I was recently invited to be a
Guest on the DT over at Cherish The Memory to work with the Sweet Winter
Season collection from Studio Light. (All product links and Youtube
Video at end of post)
For my 2nd project I took inspiration from the star shaped sheep image, which is a sweet 3D layered decoupage, and created a star shaped easel card using star dies that echoed the shape. A little piece of clear Acetate invisibly provides a base for the easel to rest on the stopper
I covered the easel card with blue paper from the 12x12 pack, inking the edges with a blue distress ink. This collection also includes a really nice clear stamp set. I used the snowflakes and music stamps, along with one of the sentiments, stamping in Versamark ink and heat embossing in Gold.
To finish, the card was embellished with adhesive pearls and ribbon trim. This star shaped easel folds down to fit into an envelope all ready for posting out.
The 3D decoupage elements are die cut and
easy to press out, layer up with 3D foam pads and add to your makes, there is a great selection of
images on the sheets, perfect for your winter themed makes. I do hope
you like todays project and please do pop back for more makes with this
collection.
Hello, Today I have a simple Halloween themed bridge card to share with you. The Free Halloween downloadable papers from Trimcraft are
fun, cute and have funky colours perfect for making a simple ‘Bridge’ card
design, especially as they have sentiments included too.
I decided to make a little spider and add a web along
with a floating Ghost for a fun Halloween greeting.
Step By Step:
Cut Dovecraft black card approx. 11” x 6”
With long side across your scoring board, score from left
at 1 ½”, 3”, 8”, and 9 ½”
Decorate card panels by matting pattern paper onto white
card and then again onto panels using double sided tape.I’ve used pink pattern paper for centre and
inner panels and turquoise skull paper for the 2 out panels.
Cut a ‘bridge’ strip from white card approx. 8” x 2” and
decorate with a strip of ghost pattern paper.
Attach bridge strip by folding in left side of card and
adhering the strip to the first panel, take it across the card and adhere where
it meets the edge of the end panel, this will allow the card to fold down.Use a clear drying glue to allow adjustment.
Cut out Halloween sentiment, bat, skulls and ghost.
Adhere sentiment to centre panel at top and bat to overhang left panel.
Adhere ghost to a strip of acetate and attach to centre
panel using clear drying glue on the back, hold in place for s few seconds to
prevent it slipping.Adhere skill trio
to acetate and attach under bridge section.
Adhere a piece of white spiders web trim to panel at
right hand side, apply adhesive where it will be covered by spider and eyeball)
Make a spider by cutting a circle of Dovecraft black
glitter card, adhere black cord ‘legs’ to the back and then cover with a circle
of black card. Add 2 googly eyes to spider before adhering to spider’s web.
To finish, add a couple of eyeballs (these were from last
year’s Trimcraft free Halloween download papers) add black adhesive gems to
ghost’s eyes and centre of eyeballs.Add
a panel to the back of your card for the greeting.