We’re Going To Miss You – Leaving Card

This card is A5 in size and is made by simply scoring and then folding a sheet of white linen effect card in half.

Yet another of my “Leaving Cards” and part of my  evil plan to use as many of my vast piles of adhesive alphabets as I can. I’ll be honest, when I was making this card I wasn’t too sure about the combination of colours, but looking at it now with fresh eyes, it’s OK!!!

As the term progressed I had a good idea of some of the people who would be leaving at the end of the school year, and this was made with Sarah the Geography teacher in mind, as I used part of an old map that I scavenged earlier on in the year when they were having a “chuck out!  The map I used was actually of an area the department visited and studied every year, but whether she will spot the fact remains to be seen! The background largely uses the sea area …. and the flowers are taken from towns and the foliage, well it had to be forest/woods didn’t it?

The flowers are made using three layers of large and medium sized punched flowers with flat backed gem centres, the foliage was also punched. A touch of faux stitching round the edges of the mat and layering brings it all together. Again, very over the top for me, but I think it works, despite my initial reservations!

Handbag Birthday Card (40th Birthday Card)

This card is A5 in size and made using a white linen effect, hand cut card blank.

Aghhhhhh this card! Made to order (and no, I won’t ever do it again, my making cards to order days are well and truly over!!!). Would it come together?  Would it my Aunt Fanny!!!!!!

I cut the card blank (A5) and then added the mat and layered gingham background ….. then, I made the sentiment and embellished panels with no real plan as to how they would come together!! Big mistake!

The self adhesive, 3D handbags came from Papercellar, so I reckon I’d had them for a least five years, they were made of silk and all I added were a few tiny faux pearls and matching clear flat backed gems for extra bling.

The self adhesive letters were from a Christmas range from Papermania. and had a touch of glitter about them.

When I started to put the card all together it soon became obvious that both mat and layered panels would have to go on the card at a “jaunty” angle to fit on the card …. and that was the problem, and yes…… in the end I did have to do them again to make them fit ….. and I HATE doing that!

Once the jaunty angle was sorted, I thought that there was too much empty space, some empty space on a card is good, but no every little space needs to be filled in, it’s a balancing act and in this case the two panels balance or come “together” …….. aghhhh

In the end I punched tiny flowers first for the background panel …. and then saw that a few more were needed on the sentiment panel ….. with added tiny flat backed gems ……… and finally faux stitching!

As I said I will never, ever, ever make another card to order ……. the time and angst just aren’t worth what I tend to charge!  If I took into consideration time, materials and effort you’d be looking at a £20 card and no one would ever pay that!!!!

Simple Wedding Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a white linen effect, hand cut blank.

I have to admit that I made this card in a panic and a rush.  I don’t usually make cards for other people anymore as I don’t like the pressure of meeting other peoples expectations, but on this occasion I relented with only a days notice, but for the first half hour or so whatever I tried was wrong …….

But in the end I decided to start again, and started with a wooden heart and wrote the sentiment …… the back hides my first effort where I didn’t think the spacing was quite right.

I add the faux stitching using a black fine liner pen, the wood appears to be polished and so didn’t absorb the ink, but I made sure it was dry before centring it on the card.  Two small, blue, flat backed gems complete the something blue theme, as well as the two matting layers.  Simple and quite less is more, however if I was doing it again, perhaps I might miss out the faux stitching on the layers.

I wish that they did an inexpensive, long lasting, grey fine liner pen, sometimes black can be a little bit harsh and obvious, but there again I could always do my faux stitching lightly with a pencil!!!

Dinosaur Shaker Cards

I have used Royal  & Langnickel 3ins x 8ins aperture cards and bubble fronts for these dinosaur cards,  however, I have had them for some many years  I am afraid that they may no longer be available except perhaps on e-bay.

I bought the card blanks and bubble fronts because I loved the thought of cards with three dimensional scenes, but I’ll be honest, most of them ended up in the bin because although I tried, I never seemed to do any good with them, the end effect always seemed lumpy and the folds not crisp enough, whatever I did  looked tatty! But since I am now on a major stash busting mission, I have had one last go …. and finally, after all this time, I am happy with the results.

I was determined to put them together as carefully as I could using double sided tape, as I had invested too much time putting the dinosaur “scenes” together to go in the bubbles to waste them. 

The dinosaurs came from a market stall (again, ages and ages ago) and cost just 60p a pack. I have quite a collection of dinosaur stickers (so expect to see them quite frequently now I am desperately trying to downsize), and although “never out of fashion” I haven’t used them as much as I should.

I put together three 2ins square scenes for each card, with two or three dinosaurs in each, depending on their size and then doodled a few trees and a bit of grass, nothing too artistic, just to add a little more interest.

A shaker card absolutely need sprinkles ….. and for these I used tiny polystyrene balls and I am thrilled with finished results …… finally!!!!! Perhaps, they might even start a new theory that the dinosaurs were killed by of a giant snowstorm!

I now have five aperture cards left, but ten bubble fronts ….. it seems pretty obvious that I should make five cards featuring fish …….. but what do I do with the other bubble windows …….. I am not sure how neat I can be with a craft knife …… hmmmmmm!

Plundered Old Maps

When I was at work, the Geography Department was throwing away all the old maps that were no longer relevant to the new schemes of work, oh my life,  sacrilege ………..believe me, I was round there pretty dam fast, work had to wait that day!!!!

I know it doesn’t look like much here, but I managed to salvage a huge bin bag of the little beauties, I would have taken the lot, but I had to be sensible!  My initial reaction was “Well, that’s some of my Christmas paper sorted for this year!” ….. if I can come up with some sort of Santa on his sleigh type tags and add some cartoony flourishes to look like movement, I think I can get away with saying that the wrapping is representative of Santa’s journey around the world on Christmas night!!! It will also make quite good birthday wrapping paper too!

There’s also the prospect of perhaps covering an old suitcase or two …… and if I were staying at Castle Greysquirrel I would almost certainly paper the walls of my shed with a good few of them …… not to mention smaller projects like covering travel journals and as backgrounds for cards etc.

I have also looked on Pinterest and found no end of inspiration there, so it looks like I will be very busy with my plundered treasure with many exciting projects already mapped out!

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=old%20maps

Card/Notelet With Bookplate Embellishment.

This card measures 5.5 ins x 5.5ins and is made using a manufactured Kraft card blank.  I am afraid the picture doesn’t really do them justice, my lighting is pants at the moment!

I have to admit, this is the sort of card I would love to receive. I cut a 5in square piece of scrap card and then stuck 1in strips of vintage print papers on to it, adding a little faux stitching, but when I make more of this design I am going to run them through with my small, battery operated sewing machine, without any thread and then join the holes up with a fine liner pen, for a “proper” faux stitching effect.  The panel was also mat and layered on gold mirror card.

I then added a gold tone bookplate, an effect I love, but have only used once before. The font I used for the sentiment is Edwardian Script ITC, font size 26, which was a perfect fit.  Two matching brads keep the bookplate in place.

The die cut, cardstock ephemera embellishments (double sided) are from K & Co, I have had them for a few years now, loved them, but didn’t have a clue what to do with them….. but, on this card they were perfect with a little translucent glitter added here and there.

I am so pleased with the results that I am going to make a whole lot more, now I don’t work and I am on a very tight budget these will be brilliant put in sets of eight (and in a decorated box) to give as notelet sets as Christmas presents. 

Flower Garden Card

This card measures 4ins x 4ins and is made using a white linen effect, hand cut card blank
This card was made to solve the problem of what to do with a pack of “tiny weeny” flower stickers which I think originally came from Woolworths!!!!

I started off making the centre panel by cutting a 2.5 ins square, adding a scrap of green Bazzill for the grass along the bottom and then drawing a series of stems to stick the “tiny weeny” flowers on top.  I doodled the leaves using a green fine liner pen and then added a small ladybird sticker to finish the whole design.

Next followed a little extra mat and layering on white and turquoise card because the embellished square looked a little lost on just a plain white card blank.

In the end I managed to get ten cards from one pack of flowers, however ….. I now have the rest of a pack of ladybirds to use up …… probably on a nine square card, so watch this space!

Small, Very Simple, Pearl Heart Wedding Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using a hand cut, ivory linen effect card.

A VERY less is more card today, mainly because it was made in a hurry!  To get the shape of the heart right I punched a large heart and then mat and layered it on ivory and gold mirror card.

With the punched heart in place I went round it with a light application of PVA glue and set the small flat backed pearls in place with the slightly damp end of a cotton bud,  A little faux stitching with a sepia coloured fine liner pen finishes off the design.

A Little Wish Bottle

As I have said many times, sometimes if I am not happy with an idea/project, I put it away and come back to it later, as was the case with this little wish bottle.

My frustration was all down to the dandelion seeds, which when I first put them in the bottle I could hardly see them, and so didn’t look very “magical”, but now, after a year or so on my shelf,  I noticed that they had dried and the effect I had wanted had finally been achieved.I haven’t done a lot to the bottle, just wound some blue thread round the top and then tied a silver wishbone charm into it.  The label is made using a Dymo label maker but I am wondering if it is delicate enough? Perhaps another idea for next time.

On the top I had glued an ornate silver spacer bead with a tiny eye screw in the centre, to which I linked a jump ring so that the bottle can be worn on a cord or chain or perhaps ……  hung on a branch on a tree in a secret place  …… left, if you believe in such things,  as an offering for the wish to come true?????. Now, there’s a thought ……..