A Sweet Little Girl.....back to basics New Baby card with Papermilldirect

Hello, welcome to this weeks +papermilldirect  post and it's a bit of a back to basics card project.  This one is ideal for those that may not have Electronic cutting machines or manual die-cutters or punches.  It is also ideal for those that are maybe not as confident with inks and stamping and the colouring is easy with no tricky shading.  Or perhaps like me, you just fancy doing something simpler for a change.  The card is a simple design and you could of course colour your image using pencils or even paper-piecing if you prefer.  The design can also make use of any ribbons, buttons or flowers you may already have in your craft stash.
I started by printing off the downloaded Image set (details at end of post) onto Papermilldirect White Linen Paper, You could also use the White Linen Card if preferred.  The image set I chose prints 4 to an A4 sheet, so plenty to practice on if you want to test your colour combos. 
My Chosen Elephant image was coloured with alcohol marker pens in shades of pink by block colouring each section, so no shading to worry about.  I used 3 shades of pink for the elephant and a touch of yellow for the bow and inside the white flower.  The grass area was created by simply dotting randomly with the tips of 2 different green shades of marker.  I allowed the marker pens to dry fully before adding some extra details with a white gel pen.  It’s easy to add simple polka dots to areas such as the legs, tail and inside ears, for the body I doodled simple flower shapes, the white became brighter and more noticeable as the white ink dried and I added some to the white flower the elephant is holding.

 I trimmed the completed image panel down to approx. 3 ¾ “x 4 ¾ “and matted & layered it first onto a slightly larger piece of PMD Raspberry Pink card and then again onto a slightly larger panel of PMD Daffodil Yellow card using a combination of clear drying glue and double sided tape.  To complete the panel a pink ribbon was attached across the bottom and the ends secured onto the back using double sided tape.  A pale yellow felt flower was glued to the right hand side and topped with a pink button threaded with twine tied in a bow. 
To create the card blank, I took an A4 sheet PMD White Linen card in portrait position and cut down at approx. 5”, then scored and folded the piece in half to give a 5” x 5 ¾” card base.  The completed layered panel was then attached to the front using 3D foam pads.
I really liked the colour combination of pink and yellow teamed with the bright white of the card base.  Using Linen paper and card added texture and interest and Linen always gives such a lovely quality finish to your projects.

For more Baby Card inspiration using Papermilldirect cardstocks check my Blog Links (HERE)



Materials Used:
Baby Elephant – Digital Image set £1 – Pink Petticoat
http://www.pinkpetticoat.co.uk/digi_stamps_boutique/digi_stamps_baby_elephant/baby_elephant.php
(Download prints 4 elephants to a page or single images, includes with sentiments and without sentiments, Sentiments are ‘A Sweet Little Girl’, ‘A Sweet Little Boy’ and ‘Welcome Little One’)

White Linen Paper - Papermilldirect
White Linen Card - Papermilldirect
Raspberry Pink Card – Papermilldirect
Daffodil Yellow Card – Papermilldirect

Pink, Yellow & Green Markers - First Edition
(Sorbet (43) Candy (44) Pale Pink (46) Lemon (38) Pistachio (25) Jade (26))
White Gel Pen 0.7 – Pergamano
‘With Love’ Sentiment Ribbon – Belle & Boo
Felt Flower, Button, & Twine from stash
Adhesives:  Cosmic Shimmer Clear Drying Glue, 3D Foam Pads, Double Sided Tape

Papermill Design Team:
if you have a moment, please do pop over and check out the other papermill teamies blogs and see what they got up to this week: 

• Barbara 
• Lisa 
• Ruth 
• Sylvia 
• Sandie
• Nessa 
• Nicole
• Papermilldirect Inspire Blog  

Click Logo to go direct to papermill

Welcome Little One - with Papermilldirect

Hello and welcome to this week's Blog Post, The Design Team have been working on the theme of 'New Baby' and I have a simple 2 colour card to share with you this week.

But first news of the Special Offer, which this week is the very lovely and very special 230gsm White Seal Embossed card and is available in A3 as well as A4 sizes starting at just £15 - you'll find it in the Special Offers section of the website - Link Here:

Flourishes and swirls are quite popular at the moment in card making, so I thought it would be nice to use them to create a simple 2 colour design to welcome a baby girl.

The card base has been created by scoring and folding Papermilldirect white hammered card to create a base to accommodate the 7” x 5” panel. The front layered swirl pattern has been cut on the Cricut Explore using a cutting file by Birds Cards, and a sentiment from within the Cricut Design Space subscription.  (as always materials list and links at bottom of post)

The layered panel was resized to measure 7” x 5” and the sentiment was easily resized to fit the oval panel on the front. I choose PMD plain white and baby pink cardstocks for the panel and sentiment. 

Cosmic Shimmer glue was used to glue the white swirl part to the pink swirl backing and then the whole panel was mounted to the card front using 3D foam pads to give height and depth to the cut outs. I also used cosmic shimmer glue to layer the sentiment and again attached to the card front using 3D foam pads.

Pale pink organza ribbon tied in a bow and some pale pink adhesive gems provide the finishing touches.

Cutting Files Used:
Swirly Frame 5 by Birds Cards - http://www.birdscards.com/swirly-frames-5-6/
(please note that all ‘Birds Cards’ files are for Personal Use only)

Welcome Little One sentiment – Cricut Design Space

Materials used:
Plain White Card - Essentials Range - Papermilldirect
Baby Pink Card - Colours Range - Papermilldirect
White Hammered Card - Essentials Range - Papermilldirect
Cosmic Shimmer Glue
3D Foam Pads
Pink Organza Ribbon
Pink Adhesive Gems

Papermill Design Team:
if you have a moment, please do pop over and check out the other papermill teamies blogs and see what they got up to this week: 

• Barbara 
• Lisa 
• Ruth 
• Sylvia 
• Sandie
• Craig 
• Papermilldirect Inspire Blog 

Oh Baby it's 2015 - with Papermilldirect

So I spent the last days of 2014 and the first days of 2015 in a kind of cold / flu bug hell.  I was so tired and poorly I fell asleep before midnight and totally missed the heralding of a New Year.  Now I'm feeling much better and (fingers crossed) raring to go!!  So to kick off the new year we are celebrating new life over at +papermilldirect our theme is Babies!!  (Why not pop over and check out the Special Offers section, this week there is a rather yummy 'flecked lilac' 240gsm A4 card on offer at just £6 for a small box, along with some other goodies you may have missed)

There's also the launch of a Valentines section which also introduces some brand new Cardmaking Kits!!  

Now back to the theme of 'Babies' and I have seen a few of these block style cards over the years but have never actually got around to making one, so I put that right and here is my first one, it also ties in nicely with the 'Something New to You' Challenge Theme over at Country View Challenges.  I am using a brand new Die Set and also making a new to me style of card, what a great way to start the year.  (as always links and materials lists are at the end of the post).

The base card was created using White Hammered card and the sections were scored using my trusty Hougie board.  I inked around the card and each section using a pale pink distress ink.    Next came the fun part of decorating.  I used dies to cut small scalloped squares and some heart shapes from Baby Pink card & Raspberry Pink card and again inked around edges with pale pink ink, adding a faux stitch detail with a white Pergamano pen.  I used dies to cut alphabet letters to spell BABY from Raspberry Pink card and added them to the Baby Pink card squares.  Squares were then adhered to the blocks card using double sided tape, I used 3D foam to attach the layered heart to give some height.  

The baby girl image was stamped onto Smooth White card and coloured with promarkers, a little glitter glue was added to highlight the lace trim. Then the image was cut around and attached with 3D foam.  Pale pink faux gems & pearls were used to decorate the front squares. 

For the top panels I added 3 more of the Baby Pink scalloped squares and decorated with a button, heart, and a white bow.

I'm quite pleased with the way this first attempt turned out and also the fact that I could actually get 2 of these from 1 sheet of A4 card makes these quite economical to make, as you can decorate with whatever you have to hand. These little blocks cards (I sometimes see them described as Stairs too) can be used for all sorts of occasions and they fold flat to fit into envelopes too, making them ideal for postage.  (just be careful with height of embellishments)  Now I need to make a Baby Boy one or maybe a Twins one, or a Birthday one?  decisions, decisions  :D
 

Materials Used: 
White Hammered Card - Essentials Range - Papermill Direct
Raspberry Pink Card & Baby Pink Card - Colours Range - Papermill Direct
Spun Sugar Distress Ink - Tim Holtz
Baby Stamp (from Die & Stamp Set) Collectibles COL1313 - Marianne Design
Layered Hearts (from Die & Stamp Set) Collectibles COL1307 - Marianne Design
Alphabet Dies - Varsity FEDIE007 - First Edition
Square Dies - Lacy Squares Nestibilities S4-295 - Spellbinders 
Tuxedo Black Ink - Memento
Vanilla, Blush, Pastel Pink, Baby Pink, Blossom - Promarkers
White Pen - Pergamano
White Shimmer Detail Sparkle - Imagination Crafts 
Button, Enamel Dot Hearts,White Bow, & Faux gems - Trimcraft
Adhesives - Double Sided Tape, 3 Foam Pads
Tools - Hougie Board to score and Big Shot to cut dies.


Challenges Entered: 

'Use Something New to You' - Country View Challenges 
I'm using a brand new alphabet die set and a brand new to me style of card :)

Papermill Design Team:
if you have a moment, please do pop over and check out the other papermill teamies blogs and see what they got up to this week: 
Barbara  
Lisa  
Sylvia  
Sandie  
Sharon

New Baby!!

No it's not an announcement, so you can relax now mum and dad :D 

New Baby is the theme of the card I have made for this week's Papermill Special Offer 'Light Ivory Smooth' 270gsm card.  (from just £5 for a small box approx 75-80 sheets).  You''ll find all the current 'special offers' in this section, link HERE.  New Offers usually start on a Thursday and previous offers may still be available so do check regularly. (as always the materials list and challenges entered are at the bottom).

I wanted to make something pretty and delicate this week.  I was trying to decide whether to go blue or pink as the contrast to the lovely Light Ivory colour of this card.  I decided to go pretty in pink and as the name of the papermill pink card is 'Baby Pink' it was the obvious choice.

I like shaped cards and I like cards that are tactile, if they can move a little it is always fun.  So I created a card with a gentle scalloped shape that does rock a little if you gentle nudge it.  I used my cricut mini to cut the pink base shape and cut the 'paper-cut' style overlay from the Light Ivory card which is lovely and smooth and perfect for overlaying.  The 'paper-cut' design features a little tree and leaves with a little birdy standing on a branch.  I didn't want to make it too busy by adding lots of colour, so decided that a little stickles glitter glue would highlight the bird and maintain the delicate look.

I die-cut a sentiment and sentiment mat using my Big Shot and dies from Tonic and Tattered Lace.  Attaching it to the card with a 3D foam pad to add  a little height.  A pretty pink bow at the top highlights the 'New Baby' wording.  I gave the little bird a pink faux gem eye too.

 Looking a the card I felt it needed something extra around the edges, my first thoughts were lace or ribbons, but felt they would mask the scalloped edges and I wanted to keep the card more simple in shape.  I found my Card Candi!!  love this stuff, but it tends to migrate all over the house!!  Anyway a few card candis were attached around the outside interspersed with faux half pearls, these conveniently spaced around into the scalloped shapes.  I love how this card turned out, especially by keeping the colour palette simple, so I must make that blue version too.


Materials Used:
Light Ivory Smooth 'offer' card - Papermill Direct
Baby Pink card - Papermill Direct
Sentiment Dies - Tattered Lace
Sentiment base panel Die- Tonic 
Stickles Glitter Glue in 'Star Dust'
Pink Card Candi - Craftwork Cards
Faux half pearls, Faux pink gem & pink satin ribbon from my crafty stash.

Challenges Entered:
Challenge #221 'Shaped Cards' - Fab 'n' Funky Challenges 
 http://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/challenge-221-shaped-cards.html

June 'Anything Goes' Challenge - Sisters of Craft
 http://thesistersofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/sisters-of-craft-june-anything-goes.html


Why not pop over and see what my papermill teamies have got up to this week too?:
Barbara
http://glitterarti1.blogspot.co.uk/

Sandie
http://sandieshores.blogspot.co.uk/

Ruth
http://apassionforcards.blogspot.co.uk/
Sylvia
http://designsforoccasions.blogspot.co.uk/
Lisa
http://papercraftbliss.com/

Finally got around to .....

Yes, I finally got around to creating a Baby Boy version of my elephant shaped 'New Baby' standing card, Although to be honest it would work for both and suit a nursery in these shades as a pretty and fun keepsake :)

This time I gave it a more vintage feel by using papers with a more distressed look and inking the edges with Distress Ink in 'Tea Dye'.

The card was created by drawing around my elephant templates in pencil onto pastel blue card.  Using my favourite trusty scissors I cut 2 of the large 'mummy' and 1 of the 'baby' I then covered the shapes with 2 different papers from a HOTP collection 'Soft Nostalgia', all cut edges were then inked around. 

Ears were hand-cut from a good quality wool blend felt, using a little glue only alongside the inner curve of each ear, this adds interest and allows the ears to be moveable.  Out came the Big Shot next which I used to die cut 4 little scalloped hearts, I also cut 4 blank hearts from the blue card to back my patterned paper with.  (I like them all to be sturdy).  Inking again around the die-cut hearts and the little 'New Baby' sentiment helps to pull the elements together.  2 little pale blue faux gemstones for the eyes in different sizes to suit the elephants and the card is almost complete.
 

Next job is to score the remaining plain blue 'mummy' shaped and attach to the back of my card.  I'm not sure why I leave this part til last, but it is my preferred way of working, so there must be some method in my madness :D The little baby elephant then has a little 3D foam tape applied and is positioned alongside the mummy elephant.  

This is another design that always makes me smile.  It may be a simple design to look at but it takes time and is relaxing to while away just cutting and inking.

And here is a pic of the original 'Baby Girl' version, which was re-homed a while back.  Just to show the pretty pink :)

Materials Used:
Pale Blue Cardstock
Soft Nostalgia' papers -Hot Off The Press
Pastel blue felt - Sew Sweet
New Baby Sentiment - Craftwork Cards
'Tea Dye' Tim Holtz Distress Inkpad
pale blue faux gems - from stash
Double sided tape
Detail Glue - Tattered Lace
3D foam tape

Tools Used:
Scissors for handcutting
Craft Knife for those hard to reach areas of the design
Big Shot & heart die for the little hearts