Heartfelt Thanks Card - Step By Step Tutorial

Hello, I'm back again to share another Step by Step card tutorial.  This week the +Papermilldirect Design Team are working on the theme of ‘Pinterest Inspired’ and I’m using this card pinned here as my inspiration.  From this design I decided to choose the trio of embossed shapes on bright backgrounds and bird as elements for my own card.

Step-by-Step:

Using nesting circle dies, cut 3 from Papermilldirect White Linen card and 3 larger ones from papermilldirect coloured cardstocks (Mandarin Orange, Dark Violet and Marine Blue).  Emboss the white linen circles using 3 different effect embossing folders.

Cut a panel of PMD White Linen approx. 4 5/8” x 6 5/8” and stamp sentiment of ‘Heartfelt Thanks’ in bottom Right corner using black Archival ink, mat onto slighter larger panel of PMD Black card.  Glue embossed white circles onto coloured card circles and then arrange onto card front as shown.  When happy with layout, glue top circle to card base and then add the other circles using 3D foam pads, allowing each circle to overlap the previous one.

Take a woodgrain embossing folder and add memento rich cocoa ink to one side of the inside, use to emboss a small piece of PMD Buff cardstock.  Trim into a small branch shape approx. 3” long.  Die cut some small individual leaves from PMD Apple green cardstock.

Die cut a bird shape from PMD Teal and buff card and add to card front using 3D foam pads, positioning across the overlapping circles.  Add 3D foam  pads to back of branch.

Adhere branch onto card front, positioning it so the bird looks to be perching on it.  Add small pieces of 3D foam to the back of each leaf and add to branch in pairs.  A small dab of clear drying glue on the stalks to adhere them under the branch.  Score & Fold and A4 sheet of Papermilldirect plain White cardstock, trim down to create a standard 5” x 7” card base and attach completed panel using a combination of double sided tape and glue.

This is a great way to make use of those scraps of gorgeous bright papermilldrect cardstocks and the embossing adds lots of extra interest, the use of white linen gives a lovely texture and plenty of white space which adds impact to those bright colours.  I felt my design needed a 'sentiment' to finish it off, but you could make this card for all occasions simply by changing the sentiment and / or centre element.

Materials Used:
White Linen Card, Plain White Card – Papermilldirect
Black, Mandarin Orange, Dark Violet, Marine Blue, Teal, Buff, Apple Green coloured card – Papermilldirect
Swiss Dots, Divine Swirls, & Tiny Mosaic Embossing Folders – Cuttlebug
Woodgrain Textures Embossing Folder – Crafters Companion
Circles #65755 Die set – Sizzix
Wildlife Dies set #FEDIE053 – First Edition
Foliage Die Set #FEDIE019 – First Edition
Sentiment Stamp – Clearly Besotted
Inks: Jet Black Archival Inkpad, Rich Cocoa Memento Inkpad
Adhesives: D/S Tape, 3D Foam Pads, Cosmic Shimmer glue

Giraffe Thank You Card using Digi Images - Step by Step Tutorial

Hello, hope you all had a lovely Easter, I have had a little break from blogging for a couple of weeks to enjoy the holiday time before my son went back to school, but I am back and ready to share a new card tutorial with you.  Sometimes it’s nice to have a few thank you cards already made ‘just in case’.  Today I’m following on from my last digi image card where I worked with a silhouette style, this time I’m printing and then colouring the image with alcohol marker pens.  I am printing onto Papermilldirect white linen card and using a free image from LC Designs (Little Claires) and also entering the Little Claires Blog Challenge #67 Anything Goes.

First visit LC Designs website (all links at end of post) to download your image, print off onto PMD White Linen card by first choosing how big you want the design (mine measures just under 4” dia.) and also select the quality of the print (I used fine).

Take the printed image and colour using your preferred medium, I used a selection of First Edition alcohol markers.  This is a simple image so you don’t need to get too worried about lots of shading, just colour however suits you.  When the image has been coloured, take a pale grey marker and outline to add extra definition. Highlights can be made with a white gel pen if you wish.

Take a circle die and place over the image, use tape to secure in place before die cutting. It doesn’t matter if you die cut before or after colouring. (or even halfway through as I have)

Take a piece of PMD Buff coloured card and die cut using a scalloped circle die that is slightly bigger than the image so that it leaves a nice border all around.  Mat image onto scalloped circle using d/s tape. 

From PMD Mandarin card die cut the ‘Thanks’ word die and emboss a rectangle of card using the ‘tiny mosaic’ folder. 

Trim embossed card to approx. 5” x 4” and round the corners using a corner rounder if you have one.  Score and fold an A4 sheet of PMD Plain White card and trim down to 5.5” square.  Position with fold across the top and round the bottom corners.  Using D/S tape to attach embossed panel to top of card.  Add image panel to card front using 3D foam pads.  Use a clear drying glue such as Cosmic Shimmer glue to adhered the ‘thanks’ to card front.  To finish add 3 small orange adhesive gem stones.

I do like the pop of colour from the mandarin orange card and the embossing folder is one of my favs for adding texture. Have you tried crafting with digital images before?  Don’t forget to share your makes over on the Papermilldirect Facebook page.

Challenges Entered:

Little Claires Monthly Blog Challenge #67 - Anything Goes

Materials Used:
Plain White Card – Papermilldirect
White Linen Card – Papermilldirect
Mandarin Card – Papermilldirect
Buff – Papermilldirect
Giraffe Free Digi – LC Designs (Little Claire)
Alcohol Marker pens – First Edition
Tiny Mosaic Embossing Folder – Cuttlebug (Provocraft)
Thanks word die – Clearly Besotted
Circles dies #657551 – Sizzix
Scallop Circles dies #657552 – Sizzix
Corner Rounder, d/s tape, 3D foam pads & adhesive gems

Thank You Card step-by-step Tutorial

Hello and Happy New Year!! I'm back after the festive break with my first PMD Design Team blog post for 2016. It's that time of year when we may be sending 'Thank You' cards to family and friends, so using this week's special offer 'Mustard Yellow' cardstock from Papermilldirect, I created this little ‘Thank You’ card design as follows:

 Score and fold a sheet of A4 PMD Black card in half then trim down to create a square card blank.  I cut mine to measure approx. 5 ¾”.

Cut a square of PMD Mustard Yellow card to measure approx. 5 ½” square and emboss using the ‘distress’ effect embossing folder through your die cutter.

 Position black card blank in ‘tent’ position (with fold along the top) Adhere the embossed panel centrally onto card front using double sided tape.

Cut 2 strips of pattern paper approx.  1 ¼” deep by just over 5” wide. Mat the pattern papers onto PMD black card to leave a small equal border showing all around on both strips.

 Using a red-brown ink and the sentiment stamp, stamp ‘Thank You’ onto PMD Mustard Yellow card.  When ink is dry carefully position a frame die over it and run through your die cutter (tip: I use a little low tack washi tape to hold dies in place). 

Cut the same frame die again using PMD black card, you will see that there are 2 parts to each die cut frame set, use the thin black outer piece to frame the stamped piece, use a little strip of card and / or tape on the back to hold them in place.

Cut a ¾ “deep strip of PMD black card to fit across the mustard embossed panel.  (I was using up scraps so mine is shown as 2 pieces).  (Optional) Spray with gold ink and leave to dry. (you can mix your own spray using a gold ink and water into a mister bottle and giving it a shake before using)

Assemble card as follows:  add 3D foam pads or tape to back of paper pattern panels and position bottom one first, then add top panel so that it is equally spaced and lines up with bottom panel.
Add 3D foam pads to black gold sprayed card strip and position across the centre of the card between the patterned panels.  Add sentiment to centre using 3D foam to give height.

To finish add black sequins to right of sentiment.  I used 2 small and 1 large black sequin and glued in place using cosmic shimmer clear drying glue.

This is a simple card layout and of course you could add different sentiments to the centre to suit other occasions.  It also makes use of any pretty paper scraps you may have laying around.  The pretty bird paper strips were left over from other projects and way too pretty to discard, they worked well with the PMD Mustard Yellow and Black cardstocks and the addition of height and embossed texture added to the effect. 

 

Materials Used:
Mustard Yellow Offer Card – PMD
Black Card – PMD
Distress Embossing Folder – Textures by Crafters Companion
Botanical Notes 6x6 paper pad – First Edition
Borders, Frames & Buckle Die Set – First Edition
Thank You sentiment stamp – Oak House Studio
Ink Pad – Oak House Studio
Spray Ink – Oak House Studio
Black sequins
Double Sided Tape, 3D Foam Pads (or Tape) Cosmic Shimmer clear drying glue

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 
• Wendy
• Papermilldirect Inspire Blog  

Simple Makes - Kids Thank You Card with Papermill Direct

Hello, this week I'm sharing a simple thank you card that children can make by themselves using simple everyday materials.
This is the resist technique at it’s most basic. I think every child will have access to Wax Crayons and some type of watercolour paints or even water with a little food colouring would work.  

But first I have news of this week's Special Offer from +papermilldirect which is a 300gsm card in a really rich Violet colour, this gorgeous card can be yours in an A4 box for just £5-28 a saving of 40%!!  - Link Here

Back to the thank you card, which children can create by simply writing with a white or pale coloured wax crayon and washing over with watercolours to reveal the sentiment or picture they have drawn. For very young children you could assemble the greeting onto a card base for them. Older children can have fun adding twine and buttons to their design, perhaps adding drawings as well as a sentiment.

To create this simple but bright card I wrote the word ‘Thanks’ onto Papermilldirect Plain White card using a white wax crayon. As I already had some water based Aqua Markers I used those to add strokes of colour across the wording and then washed over with a water-brush. The same effect can be made by using any water based colours and a paintbrush to reveal the sentiment. I then trimmed the design to measure 4” wide x 3 ¾ “and matted this onto PMD Apple Green card to leave a small border using double sided tape. Twine was wrapped around the completed panel and secured on the reverse. 

The card base was created by simple folding and scoring PMD Plain White Card and trimming down to measure 5” x 4 ½ “ which accommodates the design and is a child friendly size. The completed panel was attached to the card base using 3D foam pads to give height and extra interest, it is also easier for your child too, and if a little wonky will only add to the beauty of a card a child has made themselves. A bright pink coloured button threaded with twine and tied in a bow was added to finish the design.

**There is also exciting Design Team news as we welcome Nessa to the team, welcome aboard Nessa!! (you can find her blog link below)**


Materials Used:
Papermilldirect Plain White Card
Papermilldirect Apple Green Card
White Wax Crayon
Letraset Aqua Markers in Rose Carmine, Flame Red, Straw Yellow, & Celery
Water and brush
Natural Button Twine, Bright Pink Button,
Adhesives: Double Sided Tape, 3D Foam Pads



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 
• Nessa
• Papermilldirect Inspire Blog 

Making Gift Boxes with Papermill Direct

Waving hello and welcome to another week, another month in fact  and another blog post from me.  This time the +papermilldirect DT theme is Gift Boxes and I have created two different styles which will work for all sorts of occasions.

But first, of course, I have Special Offer News, this week is it a rather sumptuous 270gsm Emerald card stock, such a beautiful green colour I expect this one will sell out quickly especially at just £3-96 for a small A4 box size.  Link Here:   

Thanks Gift Box
This little pear shaped gift box is easy to fill and secure using the two little holes at the top to thread ribbon through. The cutting file is found within the subscription images available within Design Space (or if you have the cartridge and / or a different Cricut machine, the cartridge is called ‘Fancy Boxes’). I chose Papermill’s Raspberry Pink card to create a bright gift box and the letters cut out to spell Thanks show the contrasting panel. I chose to cut the inner panel in a pearlescent white paper and then ran it through my Big Shot using a Dots embossing folder to add some texture to the words. The box is easy to put together and features a choice of two cutting files, one is a single piece to fit a 12x12 card and the other is in 2 pieces so it can easily be used with A4 card. I chose to use A4 and only needed to add a strip of double sided tape to one panel to assemble. To finish I added one large clear adhesive gem at the top and 3 smaller clear gems along the flourish just under the Thanks wording. The top of the box was thread with sheer white organza ribbon and tied in a bow.

Candy Box Gift Box
The sweetie shaped Candy Box has been cut on the Cricut Explore using a cutting file purchased from MyScrapChick, (files are on special offer at the moment for just $1). I chose Papermill’s Pale Turquoise card for the main body of the gift box. The software cuts the score lines for you, or you can do as I did and change the cut score lines to basic score lines that use the Cricut Scoring Tool, I prefer the look of the score line. The Candy Box file comes with a straight edged wrap but I wanted to add a more decorative effect, so I searched the Subscription Images and found a lace border which I then resized to fit the box. The lace border did have extra eyelet holes in the centre but I decided I would prefer it plain, so I easily removed them by simply selecting some basic circle shapes to fit over the eyelet holes, when all were covered I selected ‘weld’ and the circles disappeared leaving me with the plain inner to the lace that I required. I cut the lace wrap from papermill's pretty pearlised paper.

Once cut I went over the score lines with a bone folder to crease a bit more firmly and then assembled the box using a little cosmic shimmer glue. Using distress ink in ‘Broken China’ I inked around the blue card to emphasise the shape a little. The lace border was attached around the centre using double sided tape and a strip of patterned paper cut from 'Bright Spark' collection was added on top. To finish pink & white twine was doubled up and tied in a bow at each end.

Materials Used:
PMD Raspberry Pink Card - Papermilldirect

PMD Pale Turquoise Card - Papermilldirect

PMD Pearlised Paper - Papermilldirect
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder
Clear sparkly adhesive Gems
White organza ribbon, Pink & White Twine 

Double Sided Tape, Cosmic Shimmer GlueDovecraft Bright Spark patterned paper
Broken China Distress Ink

Cricut Explore
(Pear shaped Thanks Box file from Subscription Images)

(Candy Boxes cutting file from MyScrapChick) 

(Lace doily wrap created in Design Space from subscription Image)

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 

Saying my Thank You's in Bright Pink!! with Papermilldirect

Hello, welcome to another week and another blog post.  The weeks seem to be flying by and I still can't believe it's May already!!  My daughter will soon be finishing her College course and my son will be starting his final year at Primary School after the summer holidays, where on earth does the time go??

This week I've been working with the new Special Offer card at +papermilldirect  , a really bright and cheery pink called 'Bright Pink' of course.  It is 160gsm and available in an A4 pack of 30 for just £2-25 - Link Here: 

I decided to make 2 cards on the theme of 'Thank You'.  The first is this fun 'Thanks a Melon' card:

I started by cutting the layered sentiment and melon shapes on my Circuit Explore. Although the melon shape is very simple and could easily be cut by hand and a stamped or die cut greeting added for those without a cutting machine. The Bright Pink 160gsm offer card cut cleanly and easily in my Cricut Explore using the same Cardstock+ setting I use as standard (although my blade is probably not as sharp as it was). I also popped the pink melon segment through my Big Shot to emboss it with a Dots design so you can see it is a very versatile weight card.

The melon layers were assembled using 3D foam to give height and the sentiment layers were adhered using clear drying Cosmic Shimmer Glue. I thought the Bright Pink worked really well with the green cardstocks and along with the rounded rocking base it created a fun way to say Thank You.

For my 2nd Card I created a different style of Thank You card, again using the Bright Pink offer card to create an elegant look. This time teaming it with Ivory Linen and a touch of Spring green to lift the pink. I do love pink and green together.
The bright pink panel overlay was cut on the Cricut Explore, again you can see how cleanly it cuts even with my blunt blade. I layered the overlay onto a panel of Ivory Linen cardstock to give a touch of luxury and texture to the design. The completed panel was then mattered and layered onto PMD Spring Green card to give a small border all around and then the whole front was mounted onto a card base made by scoring & folding Ivory Linen cardstock.

The sentiment of ‘Thank You’ was also cut on the Explore, This time I used the PMD Spring Green as the contrast and added a shadow layer of the bright pink adhering with Cosmic Shimmer glue before mounting to the card front with 3D foam pads to create height.

Using a Fiskers 2” butterfly punch, I punched a butterfly from Spring Green Card and added sparkle to the wings by applying Detail Sparkle in White Shimmer. I added 3 pale green adhesive gems to the body and also 3 more to the top left hand side of the card front to finish.

Materials Used For Melon Card: All card is Papermilldirect – Bright Pink ‘offer card’, Teal, Spring Green, & Black card.
Adhesives – 3D foam Pads, Cosmic Shimmer Glue
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder 'swiss dots', 
Cricut Explore using Design Space subscription images and sentiments

Materials Used for Overlay Card: All card is Papermilldirect – Bright Pink ‘offer card’, Ivory Linen, & Spring Green card
Adhesives – 3D foam Pads, Cosmic Shimmer Glue
Fiskers - 2” Butterfly Punch
Imagination Crafts – Detail Sparkle in White Shimmer
Pale Green Adhesive gems

Cricut Explore using Design Space subscription images and sentiments

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