Gift set

It's always good to have a few small gifts on hand for Christmas and other occasions, so I decided to put together a set of notecards and matching notepad.

This set features Crate Paper's Restoration collection. To make the patterned background, I cut strips of paper and glued them onto a piece of cardstock, using the technique which Michelle Wooderson describes here. I then trimmed the panels to the size I wanted and stitched around the edges with my sewing machine.

And here are the other cards:

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Butterfly birthday

I've been making a few birthday cards for January birthdays.  Needed to get these organised and mailed before my holiday.  I'm now away for 6 1/2 weeks in Europe.  Have arranged for some scheduled posts but I won't be posting quite as much as usual, so please forgive my absence!

Here is a simple card which uses Crate Paper's gorgeous Random collection. I just whipped out the sewing machine to add a bit of stitching. The butterfly is pretty shiny IRL - that's crystal effects which gives  a great 3D gloss:

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Best wishes

I thought it was about time I pulled out my In Bloom impression plate which hasn't seen much use. For this card, I used the letterpress technique which I used in this post.

I need a few more easy to mail cards for my stash, so this will be perfect. The fresh snow ink shows up beautifully against the dark background.  Must try this again!

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Paper windmills

Do you remember these from when you were a kid? 
I've been having fun making some paper windmills. Or pinwheels if you prefer. Run with them or blow on them and watch them spin.

I found a template on line and was contemplating cutting them out, but then discovered this great svg file courtesy of Heather Bailey and Denise Hill:

Supplies
Paper - SU Bella Rose DSP
Accessories - cricut, Heather Bailey Pinwheel svg

Gift card

Well, actually it's cash, but I made a gift card holder and thought it would also be a nice way to package up a gift of money. Usually I don't like to give gift cards or money, but this is for a teen, so I'm sure it will be appreciated!

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Other: Stampin' Up! 1/4 inch Riding Hood Red Taffeta ribbon (retired)

Christmas packaging

PTI has a fantastic new die for creating holiday and birthday packaging.  It's the 'Front and Center' die which allows you to cut shaped panels which can be attached to a paper bag or lunch sack to create a pretty bag.

For this one, I used some cardstock and patterned paper which I've had in my stash for ages.  The snowflakes were from Stampin' Up.

This was so easy and produces such a great result.  Can't wait to make some more for other occasions!

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She sells sea shells?

Well I always had trouble with that rhyme, but I love PTI's Friendship Jar Summer Fillers. Cute pint jar which can be filled with so many images,  including these shells. Webster's Pages Yacht Club paper - how appropriate.

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What a doll

Another card using a vintage paper doll and some Webster's Pages goodness. This time it's paper from the Yacht Club collection. Fabric ribbon from the Wonderfall Collection.

Love that measuring tape ribbon and hope I can find some more somewhere!

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Tartan happy birthday

Well, Japanese tartan really. It's the washi tape clan. A good masculine birthday card which is easy to mail. Och aye!

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Just a note

Time for a few more easy to mail cards for my stash. This one features PTI's Banner Builder. One of those 'just because' kind of cards that could be adapted for all sorts of occasions.

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Sumer Is Icumen In

Lhude sing cuccu!

Well that's the idea anyway. A slow start to summer here, but time to chase it along with a card which screams 'summer' to any Kiwi - sand, shells, a day at the beach followed by a barbie. What more could anyone ask for?

Of course, by the time summer proper arrives, I'll be off to cooler climes - 6 1/2 weeks in the UK and Europe - fab.u.lous. Not the greatest time of year to be wandering round outdoors admiring the scenery, but I plan to spend lots of time indoors sampling seasonal fare with friends and family. Can't wait!

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Thanks

I love this paper collection from Pink Paislee - so much so that I've nearly used it all up! This card uses up some scraps that I had sitting around after finishing other projects. Very satisfying to find a use for them!

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Mehndi medallion

I made a set of cards using PTI Mehndi Medallion. Clean and simple and easy to mail. Not much more to say really!

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Wish big

I recently spotted some cute 1920s paper dolls here.  I was such a fan of paper dolls growing up that I just couldn't resist using one with some Webster's Pages Wonderfall paper and fabric ribbon. 

How sweet :)

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Just a note

Here's a simple card I made recently for my aunt. It features my new favourite background stamp - envelope pattern from Hero Arts. What I haven't shown is how many 'out takes' it took to get a card base that looked halfway decent. Using A2 size stamps is a bit trickier than I imagined.  Or maybe I'm just 'background challenged'?  Anyone got any hints or tips?

Supplies
Paper - SU  sahara sand,  PTI pure poppy
Stamps - PTI Tiny Tags, Hero Arts Envelope Pattern
Ink - Versafine onyx black, versamark
Accessories - Tags svg, clear embossing powder, PTI cream button twine

Congratulations!

Friends of mine are expecting a baby at the end of the year.  They know it's a little boy, so I thought I might as well get a head start on the card.

I love PTI's 'Hanging Out' stamp set but couldn't justify buying it as I have a couple of similar sets. Here's my take on the washing line using the string from Banner Builder, posts and grass cut with my cricut and images from a Quickutz die set.  The 'pegs' (clothes pins) are the ends of little brown brads:

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His and hers

Here are a couple more calendars I plan to give as Christmas gifts.  Again, these use patterned paper and came together really quickly:

And here is one of the pages:

Supplies
Paper -  White cardstock from stash,  SU Nouveau Chic DSP, Crate Paper Toybox Collection, Basic Grey Curio Collection
Stamps - PTI Calendar Basics
Ink - Versafine onyx black
Accessories -  Perpetual Mini Calendar Maker for PSE, calendar page svg, calendar CD case

Die organisation

I've been storing my dies in a 'display book', but the clear pages have started tearing as I've been pulling dies in and out. That's why I was so excited to see Heather Nichols' post here about a new way of organising her dies. I store some of my clear and cling stamps in a folder and thought it would make sense to add another folder with dies.  We have Office Max here too and I was hoping that maybe I would find the same [IN]PLACE line had reached our shores.

No such luck, but I did find some sturdy A4 zip pockets at a local stationery store. I kept one at full size for storing border dies:

And used my sewing machine to stitch the others to create either 2 or 3 pockets to hold smaller dies:

 

Very happy with the result!

Take 2 - Round and Round

I needed a few easy-to-mail cards for my stash. Haven't inked up PTI's Round and Round anniversary set for a while, so thought it was time it saw some daylight. I used my new Hero Arts music background stamp. Love the fact that it's full A2 size and I don't have to line anything up.

Here's what I came up with.  No sentiments yet - I'll leave the cards blank until I decide who to send them to and for what occasion:

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FAQ

From time to time I get asked questions and since I wasn't sure how replying to comments would go,  I thought the best way to asnswer some of them was right here:

1. Did you make those or buy these glittery buttons ?
 
 I made them. Guess you could use glue and glitter, but I used stickles for these ones.  Just apply and let dry (preferably overnight).

2. What svg file did you use for the rolled roses here?

This is one of Penny Duncan's fabulous files. You can see the rolled rose here and download the files here.  If you have an electronic cutter, I suggest you check out the rest of Penny's blog. She makes a huge range of cutting files in all the main formats - SVG, DXF, GSD and PDF.

3. How did you make these flowers?

It's super easy.  I used PTI's satin ribbon for these but you can use any kind of ribbon or strip of fabric.  Take a needle and thread, put a knot in the thread, start at one end of the ribbon and, using a running stitch, stich close to one edge. Then just gather the ribbon along the thread until you have the flower the size you want.  I overlap the ends a bit to make a rosette kind of shape. Put a button, pearl etc in the centre to cover up the little hole and you're done. 

4. How do you tie your bows?

Most of my bows I just tie by hand.  For double bows, like the one on this card, I use the bow easy.  I use a 'cheaters' method and attach a strip of ribbon to the card front, then tie my bow separately and attach it with a glue dot. As for ribbon, I think PTI's grosgrain or saddle stitch ribbon produce the nicest bows.  If you're looking for great tips,  I found Dawn McVey's bow tying video really helpful. You can check it out here.

Best wishes

I have an svg file for cutting rolled roses on my cricut, but it doesn't work so well with felt.  That's because you need to use something like heat n bond to stiffen the felt before the cricut will cut it - ok if your felt item is going to be glued down, but not so useful if you want to roll it up!

Long story short, I ended up buying one of the rolled flower dies from MFT - My Favorite Things. The die cuts very well - even using a scrap of craft store felt for this one.

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Felt bookmarks

Haven't posted for a few days because my Mum has had a very bad stroke and is in hospital. But I thought I'd pop in and schedule a few more posts.  Would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for Mum and the family!

In the last few weeks, I've been working on some Christmas gifts.  Decided to break out PTI's bookmark die and some felt.  PTI's wool felt cuts like a dream and these are the result of a few hours of crafting:

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HB2U

Here's a grungy birthday card  and bookmark combo I made for my Godson.The stamp set is Tim Holtz's Bitty Grunge which has lots of fabulous grungy images.

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Cards Magazine

I don't think I ever showed you this card which was picked up by Cards Magazine in August.  Yesterday, my print copies of the magazine arrived, along with a few scrapbooking supplies. So exciting to see my card there on the page! 

I've used some of my favourite Crate Paper Restoration collection, along with an svg dress form file.  Can't imagine ever sending a Girls' Night Out invitation myself, but it was fun creating it all the same.

Birthday crafting kit

It's my friend Pattie's birthday this month. Like me, she loves cardmaking, so I decided to put together a crafting kit as a gift.

I decorated a white metal box with patterned paper  (from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry collection)

And filled it with all kinds of goodies:

I used glassine bags to hold ribbon and a variety of  embellishments:

And also included a portfolio of patterned paper and a stamp set:

Happy Birthday Pattie!

My new favourite ink

Up until now, I've been a strictly dye ink kind of gal. I've just had so many bad experiences with pigment ink - too goopy, takes too long to dry, patchy coverage, smudging. You name it.

But all that changed this week when I took delivery of some A*Muse Studio pigment inks, thanks to Kristie from the PTI forum. Thanks Kristie!  And all my bad experiences just melted away. Can I just say I LOVE this ink, absolutely love it. It's pigment, but not as I've ever experienced before. Not goopy, gives great coverage, dries as fast as a dye ink. A-ma-zing!

So if, like me, you're a die-hard dye ink fan, a pigment-a-phobic, you should definitely try this ink. Check out A*Muse Studio here.

So here's a birthday card I made to test out the ink.  Rather limited colour choices for now, but all that's going to change pretty soon :)

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Bloomers

Love the hydrangea image from PTI's summer jar fillers.  In fact, that was one of the main reasons I ordered the set (the other was to get the pint jar image).  I coloured the flowers with my copics (PTI royal velvet trio).  For once, I also filled in the jar using B000. After I'd stamped the image and started to colour,  I realised I'd used Versafine ink rather than Tsukineko Tuxedo Black which works better with copics. Got a bit of smudging, but not as much as  I expected.

As the hydrangeas don't have stems, I masked off and used the stems from the daisy in the Jar Fillers set. The tulip stems from the Spring Fillers set would work well too.

Supplies
Paper - PTI stamper's select white, Damask paper
Stamps - PTI Friendship Jar Summer Fillers
Ink - Versafine onyx black
Accessories - copics, PTI jar label die, foam tape

Bliss

I finally succumbed and bought the large rolled rose die from My Favorite Things. I can cut paper and card stock rolled flowers using an svg and my cricut, but cutting felt which is to be rolled up is a bit more difficult because it needs to be stabilised with heat n bond or something similar and then would be visible.

So I've been cutting felt flowers as if my life depended upon it.  Here is one cut from scarlet jewel felt. Such a gorgeous colour!  Bliss :)

And a close up of the rose:

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A little whimsy

This is a card I cased from Danielle Flanders' blog. You can see the original here (scroll down a bit). After seeing her card, I just had to have that adorable Jenni Bowlin stamp - what a cutie!  I recycled some of the stamp packaging to make the border:

Supplies
Paper - PTI stamper's select white,  polka dot from Jenni Bowlin packaging
Stamps - PTI Birthday Bash Sentiments, Jenni Bowlin Whimsy Silhouette
Ink -  Tsukineko Brilliance graphite black 
Accessories - stapler, cricut, bakers twine, foam tape

More calendars

Can you bear to look at a few more calendars?  I've had a wonderful time using up stacks of patterned paper and churning out calendar pages with my cricut and photoshop elements.  This is one of my favourites and features Basic Grey's Curio Collection:

Supplies
Paper - white cardstock from stash, Basic Grey Curio Collection,
Stamps - PTI Calendar Basics
Ink -  Memento cottage ivy
Accessories - Perpetual Mini Calendar Maker for PSE, calendar page svg, calendar CD case

Birthday wishes

My aunt's birthday is at the beginning of November.  I've made her this set of notecards as a gift and today I made a birthday card to accompany them.  Since she loves flowers, I used a rolled rose  that I cut with my cricut.  My next challenge is to try and cut one of these using felt.  Will let you know if it works!

Supplies
Paper -  SU sahara sand, PTI scarlet jewel, ocean tides, vintage cream
Stamps - PTI Mat Stack 3 collection, Round and Round (sentiment), Hero Arts Envelope Pattern
Ink - Versafine onyx black, versamark
Accessories - matstack svg, banner svg, rolled rose svg, clear embossing powder, foam tape

Thankful

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but it is good to remember to be thankful for all the blessings that we have. I was inspired by the mums (as in chrysanthemums) die that Papertrey Ink just released and went looking for a cutting file I could use with my cricut.  Thanks to the SVG Cuts blog, I came across this great project featuring a 3D chrysanthemum svg file.  And here's what I did with it:

Here's a close up of the 'mum':

Supplies
Paper -  SU sahara sand, PTI terracotta tile, orange zest, ripe avocado

Ink - Versafine onyx black
Accessories - chrysathemum svg, thankful svg, glue gun, PTI button, glue dots

MIM #35 - washi tape take 2

I had so much fun making my own washi tape using tissue paper and scor-tape for this post that I decided to keep going and make some more. I turned this tape into panels for the focal point. Love this butterfly from Hero Arts!

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Make it Monday #35 - washi tape

This is the first Make it Monday challenge I'm taking part in for months.  This one was a lot of fun - check it out here on Nichole Heady's blog.  I love washi tape and this is such a great idea - make your own. Haven't had so much fun in ages.

So without further ado, here's what I came up with:

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Steampunk debutante

I don't remember noticing steampunk the first time it was around in the late 80s and early 90s, but I like Graphic 45's 'Steampunk Debutante' collection.  Here is a card I whipped up recently for a friend's birthday:

Supplies
Paper - PTI vintage cream, Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante paper pack
Stamps - PTI Fancy Flourishes
Ink - PTI vintage tea dye duo
Accessories - PTI  scallop die, foam tape

Luscious part 2

Here's a bold spring card which features more of the Luscious line from Basic Grey.  It's been a slow start to spring here, so this should help get in the mood!

Supplies
Paper - PTI stamper's select white, Basic Grey Luscious patterned paper and chipboard
Ink - PTI vintage tea dye duo
Accessories -We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, beads, crystal effects

Take 2 - botanical silhouettes

A bit low on inspiration this week, so I shamelessly cased one of Melissa Phillips' gorgeous creations and produced these.  You can see Melissa's card here:

Supplies
Paper - PTI vintage cream, Pink Paislee Sweetness patterned paper
Stamps - PTI Botanical Silhouettes
Ink - Versafine onyx black, vintage tea dye duo
Accessories - MemrieMare cabbage rose ribbon, vintage button, foam tape, scor-tape, SVG files