Gift Card Holders

My daughter, Kieran, recently made some gift card holders for some, er, gift cards she was giving for Christmas. She did an excellent job and our craft group asked if she would do a class. So she did!

One of the ones that Kieran made

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer 
• Bone Folder
• Punches, dies, etc, as desired

Materials

• 6” x 4” Patterned Paper
• 6” x 4” Light Coloured Plain Cardstock, e.g. Whisper White or Very Vanilla
• Tear and Tape
• Embellishments, as desired

Instructions

1. Cut the patterned paper 5¾“ x 4” and score at 2½“ and 5” on the long side.

2. Fold on the score marks and burnish with a Bone Folder.

3. Apply adhesive to the edges only of the small piece to form a pocket to hold the gift card, approximately ½” at each end. Fold this piece up.

4. Place a piece of Tear and Tape across the bottom so that the holder can be sealed once the gift card is in place.

5. Create labels and/or images (stamped or die cut) for the front of the holder.

6. Stamp "To" and "From" on some plain cardstock and attach to the back.

7. Attach labels and embellishments on the front of the card.

Note: Kieran found out that it is best to have the “To” and “From” on the back of the holder because if it’s inside you won’t be able to read it once it has been sealed.

Heather made these

The ones that I made

And that's it. Very simple.

Happy crafting!

Mini Calendars

A year ago I made about 30 mini calendar cards as swaps for OnStage Local in Melbourne.

I shared the 'skill' with my craft group earlier this year and, at their behest, we had another class last week with 2019 calendars. I dug out a few different designs and the ladies enjoyed making their calendars. 

Desk Calendar

A very easy self-standing desk calendar.

Materials

·       Plain cardstock (calendar base) 8½" x 5½"
·       Patterned Paper to match, 2⅞" x 5⅜"
·       Coordinating cardstock (calendar mat), 3" x 2" (Note: The mat dimensions may need to be adjusted depending on the actual size of the calendars)
·       Mini calendars (we got ours on eBay)

Equipment

·       Paper trimmer
·       Bone folder
·       Adhesive, e.g. Tape Adhesive or Multipurpose Liquid Glue
·       Ribbon or Washi tape (optional)
·       Embellishments, e.g. Enamel Dots or Shapes, Faceted Gems

Instructions

1.      Cut the base cardstock 8½" x 5½", score at 3", 6", 7" and 8" on the long side. Fold so that it looks like the diagram on the right from the side. Do not apply any adhesive just yet though. It's easier to attach the other elements whilst it is still flat.
 2.      Cut the patterned paper 2⅞" x 5⅜".
 3.      Adhere the patterned paper to either of the two long sides.
 4.      Cut the calendar mat 3" x 2".
 5.      Adhere the calendar to the mat, then adhere them both to the patterned paper on the calendar.
 6.       Decorate and embellish as desired.

Examples

Other Versions

Landscape Self-Standing Calendar

Basically the same as the one above, but in landscape

Here's one made by Samantha at our class

·       Cut your cardstock 4” x 11½” and score at 4½”, 9”, 10” and 11”

·       Cut the card mat/patterned paper 3¾” x 4¼”
·       Cut the calendar mat 3” x 2” (check the size of your calendar first) and adhere to the calendar
·       Adhere the calendar to the card and add embellishment as desired

Heather made this one

Another of Sam's creations

Easel Card Calendar

·       Cut cardstock 4” x 10”, score at 5” and 7½“ on the long side for the base
·       Cut a second piece 4” x 5” for the card front
·       Cut patterned paper 3¾” x 4¾” for the card front
·       Adhere the card front to the card base but only up to the score line (i.e. 2½” from the bottom)
·       Cut the calendar mat 3” x 2” (check the size of your calendar first) and adhere to the calendar
·       Cut a second piece of patterned paper 3¾” x 3¾” and adhere on the card base (the yellow patterned paper in the photo) and add a pad of sticky notes or small note pad.
 ·       Add sentiments/embellishments as desired OR you can make it as above but then

·       Cut patterned paper 3½“ x 3½“ and a piece of cardstock 3¾” x 3¾”
·       Adhere them together and then mount them with Foam Dimensionals and not include a pad of sticky notes.
·       Or add a label or similar that is mounted with Dimensionals. Anything to stop the top sliding down.
·       Add sentiments/embellishments as desired

  

Fridge Magnet Calendar

Make a card front measuring, e.g. 4” x 6” (or any size, really), decorate as desired, adhere the calendar and add a magnetic strip to the back.

And there you have it.

Happy crafting.

Santa Punch Art Card

A fellow demonstrator, Donna Todd, posted a photo of a Santa card on Facebook and it was so cute that I decided that our Craft Group needed to make our version of the card. There are quite a few variations of the card, just Google "Santa Punch Art Card" and you'll find lots and lots of examples.

Donna made hers with regular cardstock, but I thought that the White Velveteen Sheets would be perfect to make Santa's beard and hat trim, being a little furry. 

So, here's how to make it...

Materials   (Click on the names to see the items in my shop)

• Red A4 Cardstock 
• White A4 Cardstock 
• White Velveteen Sheets - regular white cardstock can be used instead
• Pink A4 Cardstock
• Black A4 Cardstock – a small scrap will do
• Foam dimensional squares
• Adhesives: 
• Multipurpose Liquid Glue
• Tape Adhesive
• Mini Glue Dots
• Charm/Trinket, or a stamped and coloured image or other embellishment could be used instead

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer 
• Big Shot 
• Swirls and Curls Textured Embossing Folder 
• ¾” (1.2 Cm) Circle Punch 
• Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies or Layering Ovals Framelits Dies 
• White Stampin' Chalk Marker 
• Sponge Daubers 
• Pink Ink Pad 

Instructions

1. Cut Red Cardstock 11” x 4” for the card base, score at 5½”. You will get two bases from one sheet of A4 cardstock.

2. Cut a piece of White Velveteen Sheets (or white cardstock) 4½” x 4” and emboss using the Swirls and Curls Textured Embossing Folder. If using Velveteen Sheets, adhere this to a piece of white cardstock of the same size as bits may break away when you cut it later. On the wrong side, make a pencil mark at 2½” (shown in red) and another at 3¼” (shown in green) on both sides. Then mark at 2” (red) and 2¾” (green) in the middle. 

3. Draw a curved line across each set of marks. TIP: You can use a plate to draw this curve. The area below the green line will be used for Santa’s beard, the strip between the red and green lines will be his hat trim and then we will use the other bit to create his moustache. 

4. To make the moustache, start about ½” in from the edge then draw a curved line to the centre, with the lowest part of the curve just under an inch from the centre top and the inverted V at about ½” from the centre top. It doesn’t have to be exact. Repeat on the other side and cut it out. The red line is the same red line in #3, after the pieces have been cut out. 

TIP: It may be useful to create templates for all three pieces for future cards using regular cardstock.

5. Punch two ¾” circles from the black cardstock and place a small line or mark on each using the White Stampin' Chalk Marker. (See my card photo at the top).

6. Use the second smallest oval from the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies or the 1¾” long oval die from the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies to die cut Santa’s nose using Powder Pink cardstock.

7. Punch one ¾” circle from pink cardstock and a piece 2” x 4” for Santa’s face. 

8. Sponge around Santa's nose with pink ink, and add a little colour to his cheeks as well.

9. Attach all of the pieces in the following order:

• Position the top of the pink face piece at 1¾” from the top of the card (i.e. the folded edge) using Multipurpose Liquid Glue or Snail Adhesive.
• Adhere the beard flush with the bottom of the card (Multipurpose Liquid Glue might be best for this as it will allow for easier positioning). 
• Adhere the hat trim so that the centre is about 1” from the top of the card, making sure that it covers the red at the bottom edge using Multipurpose Liquid Glue or Snail Adhesive. 
• Adhere Santa’s lip and moustache, using Dimensionals for the moustache. 
• Adhere the Snowflake Trinket, nose and eyes, using Dimensionals for the nose. 

10. Cut white cardstock 3¾“ x 5¼“and adhere inside the card using Multipurpose Liquid Glue or Tape Adhesive.

And there you have it, a cute Santa Christmas Card. I'll be making a bunch of them for my family and friends this year, so if you're on my Christmas card list, you just may get your own one of these!

Happy crafting.

Christmas Decorations

We made some Christmas decorations at craft this week. We made an angel, a snowflake and a star. They were a little trickier than I initially expected, but we got there in the end and had a few good laughs along the way. All of the instructions are below, and I've given you the URLs for the original videos that inspired me. 

First we tackled the angel.

Paper Angel

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1DyuVOS4DI)

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer 
• Bone Folder 
• ¾” Circle Punch 

Materials

• Patterned paper 6” x 6” (for the angel) - it doesn't have to be Christmas paper though
• Scrap piece of patterned paper (for the head)
• 1” x 4” (or 2” x 2”) Thick White Cardstock
• Coordinating ¼” Ribbon (8” long)
• Double-sided tape adhesive
• Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow)
• Rhinestones/pearls/other embellishments, as desired

Method

1. Score the 6” x 6” patterned paper at ½” intervals along one side.
2. Turn the cardstock 90° (so the score lines running across the sheet) and score at 2” and 4’ then cut 3”
3. Fan-fold both pieces of patterned paper.
4. Once fan-folded, bend the folded piece at 2” (this will create the wings and give you one half of the angel). Burnish the piece, if desired. Adhere one short edge (wings) to one long edge (skirt) – choose the edges that are closest to each other.
5. Repeat with the second piece of patterned paper.
6. Place a piece of double-sided tape along the edge of the ‘skirt’ that does not have a wing attached and place a piece of ribbon to form the hanging loop. Add an extra piece of tape over the top of the ribbon so it will stick onto the other half of the skirt. Don’t place the ribbon too close to the edges though or it will show. Do the same on the second half (with the other end of the ribbon, off-setting the positioning to minimise the bulk), add more tape and stick the two halves together.
7. Use Thick Whisper White and punch out 4 x ¾” circles. Using Tombow, glue two together and the other two together. Punch two more circles using scrap patterned paper and glue these to each pair of circles.
8. Using Tombow again, glue the two circles together at the top of the angel, over the ribbon (pull it tight and flatten it as much as possible). Slide it down as close to the wings as you can. Optional: add Wink of Stella on the head or the edge of the skirt and/or wings or add rhinestones/pearls or whatever you want.

EDIT: A friend later suggested using a extra piece of cardstock folded in a square to separate the two halves of the head. We had a lot of trouble getting the head to sit straight because it twists to be the same as the ribbon. 

Next, we tackled the snowflake. This one looks so good when it's finished. It's finicky the first time, but really easy.

3D Snowflake

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjbErGDRKF0)

You need to have a suitable pattern on the back of the patterned paper. The green isn't that great but the gold looks good!

These look really cool when made with vellum

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer 
• Small scissors
• ⅛”Circle Punch

Materials

• Patterned paper 6” x 6”
• Coordinating ¼” Ribbon (6”-7” long)
• Mini Glue Dots or Double-sided Adhesive - it works just as well as the Glue Dots but the Glue Dots are easier.

Method

1. Cut the 6” x 6” patterned paper into 12 x ½” strips.
2. Get two strips, fold each in half and pinch lightly to find the centre of each strip.
3. Lay one strip vertically face down and place two glue dots along the centre fold. Place the second strip horizontally across the first one to form a +.
4. Now place more glue dots to the horizontal strip on the outside of the centre square (the blue dots on the diagram).
   
5. Lay another strip to the left and right of the vertical strip, across the top of the horizontal strip. Be sure to line up the top and bottom edges of the strips.
   
6. Place more glues dots as shown in the diagram. You can add one or two; whatever you think will work best.
   
7. Fold up the centre vertical piece at the bottom and place another strip across so that it will be under the centre strip and on top of the other two. Add another dot underneath the vertical piece before flattening it, to hold it in place. Do the same at the top.
   
8. Lift the top horizontal strip and place a glue dot on the right side (pattern-wise) of the strip. You will have to give it a little twist to do that. Then get the left vertical strip and give it a twist and stick it to the other strip. Continue for all four corners.
   
9. Repeat steps 2 to 8 with the other six strips.
10. Place one piece on the table with the wrong side up (same as when you made the piece), then take the other piece, turn it over so it’s right side up and place it on top of the first piece. Feed each of the long strips through each of the corner parts (as made in step 8). You may find it easier to do one side and then flip it over to do the other side.
    
11. Using glue dots again, adhere each strip to each corner.
12. Trim off the excess at each corner (i.e. the long bit that is sticking through.
13. Punch a small hole in one corner and feed the ribbon through the hole. Tie a knot at the top and it’s ready for hanging.
14. Add some rhinestones or other embellishments to the centre and inside each corner for added sparkle.
15. You can make a larger star by using 12” x 12” and cutting into 1” strips. This size would be suitable for the top of the tree (and therefore wouldn’t need ribbon).

Christmas Star
[I couldn’t find the original video that the screenshots are from, but it’s the same method]

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wgdn3piXpU)

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer
• Small scissors

Materials

• 2 x Patterned paper 6” x 6”
• Coordinating ¼” Ribbon (6”-7” long)
• Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow)
• Mini Glue Dots

Method

1. With the right side down, fold the patterned paper in half from side to side, in both directions.
2. Fold it again diagonally in both directions.
3. One each centre line (not the diagonal lines), draw a line 1¼” from the edge. This mark won’t show as it’s on the wrong side of the DSP. You will have 4 lines in total. Snip along each pencil line. 
   
4. Gently fold one piece into the diagonal line to make a triangle. Repeat with the piece next to it.
   
5. Do the same on all four corners.
6. In one corner, glue one of the folded pieces over the other. Repeat with all four corners.
   
7. Repeat steps 1-6 with the second piece of patterned paper.
8. To join the two sides, place two glue dots at the base of each of the points (around the hole in the middle) and then press the stars together, offsetting the points.
9. If you wish to hang this star, take a glue dot, roll it and stick it one end of the ribbon, then do it again at the other end. Glue the ends to the top of one of the corners (place one near the top and then the other straight below it). Alternatively you can punch a small hole and thread some twine or ribbon 
   

We used a really stiff cardstock and I wouldn't recommend it at all! It's very hard to form good points; the cardstock kept tearing.

They are all really pretty and not too hard at all. I urge you to watch the video first and then use a printout of the instructions when you make them.

Here are some of the ones made at our craft group...

Libby and Annette displaying their goodies.

A star and angel made by a shy Amanda

Sam was pleased with her creations

Another shy crafter, Donna, made these. This was Donna's second time of making any paper crafts ever!

I hope you enjoy making these. They'd be suitable to make with your kids or grandkids, too.

Happy crafting!

Colouring With Stampin' Blends

We had a play with the Stampin' Blends at our Craft Group this week. It was a very relaxing evening.

Here are the notes that I handed out to my ladies, plus some photos of images that I coloured (some not very well).

About Stampin' Blends

• Stampin’ Blends are alcohol based markers. Always use a water-based ink, such as Memento, to stamp the image without having any bleeding.
• Stampin’ Blends come in a variety of colours, each with a dark and light marker. You can use either one to simply colour your image as you would with any other marker, but the magic happens when you use both shades and blend them together.
• There are currently 21 colours with another 6 coming in the Holiday Catalogue, plus the Ivory and Bronze for skin tones, and the Colour Lifter.
• Each marker has two ends; a fine tip end and a brush end. These can be identified by the thin or thick line at each end.
• The lids can be placed on the other end of the marker whilst you’re using it (so you don’t lose it). When you’ve finished with a Blend Marker, replace the lid straight away. Make sure the cap ‘snaps’ on so that it doesn’t dry out.
• You can use the dark colour first and then blend with the light colour, or you can do it the other way around as well. It probably depends on what image you are using and how you want it to look.
• The colours blend better when they’re wet, so do really large images in sections. You can always go over them again if they’ve dried out but you will end up with a more saturated colour.
• You can use different colours together, e.g. use an orange at the bottom and shade it up to a yellow at the top. Experiment to find the combinations that you like.
• The Stampin’ Blends Colour Lifter can be used to remove small marks when you’ve accidently gone outside of the lines, but it may leave some colour so try not to do that.
• You can use the Blends to colour embellishments so that you can get the perfect colour for your card. You can colour Rhinestones, Clear Faceted Gems, Pearls or even any white ribbon!
• You can draw on Window Sheets with Blends, or colour vellum (on the back or the front of the vellum, depending on the look that you want).
• You can use a Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Brush on top of the coloured image to give it some overall glitz or just to highlight certain areas.
• Stampin’ Blends should be stored horizontally for the best outcome. 
• There are many different methods for using the Blends. Do a YouTube search for “Stampin’ Blends” and watch some videos. Each person seems to do it differently, so just experiment and see what works for you.

Materials

• Whisper White, Shimmery White, or any light coloured cardstock - cut to size
• Grid Paper to use beneath your cardstock

Equipment

• Paper Trimmer
• Stampin’ Blends in your choice of colours
• Stampin’ Blends Colour Lifter
• Memento Ink Pad (Tuxedo Black)
• Outline stamp suitable for colouring (See suggestions at the end)

Method

• Stamp the image onto the cardstock and make sure it is completely dry before you start colouring.
• Be sure to place some Grid Paper or scrap paper under your cardstock when you are colouring. These markers can really saturate the cardstock and may bleed through.
• When using the dark colour to highlight lines on the stamped images, use the fine point end and simply draw over the lines and then use small circular motions or ‘flicking’ strokes around the inside of the outline. Don't press hard on the brush though, or you will ruin the shape.
• Use the brush end (or the fine tip end on a smaller image) of the lighter shade to fill in the centre and blend the dark into the light. Circular motions are best for this.
• As you colour you will see a streaky sort of effect, as you do with any other kind of marker. These streaks will disappear as the alcohol dries. It’s magic!
• The colours will lighten as they dry (give them a minute or two). You can then add more colour if you want.
• For even more dimension, use the Colour Lifter to create an even lighter highlight on your image.

Examples

I started simply colouring in these images from the Painted Glass Stamp Set. Don't look too closely though because I missed a lot of spots. I think I need better glasses for these, lol.

I coloured some butterfly wings  from the Beautiful Day Stamp Set. I only had half-butterflies available because the stamp was bigger than the one block that I had with me at the time.

I used the dark Pumpkin Pie on the outer edges with the lighter shading on this flower (also from the Beautiful Day Stamp Set) 

 

This was the first one I did and I obviously need more practice with the blending 

I tried the same method again later with much better results.

Definitely better at the blending on this one

I experimented by using a dark Pineapple Punch in the centre of each petal and then blending it with the light all around the rest of the petal. It looks alright.

I got adventurous and used the dark and light Pumpkin Pie AND light Daffodil Delight. I like how this turned out.

I tried the same method with Highland Heather and Light Daffodil Delight but the yellow turned the purple a maroon colour. But it doesn't look too bad, I guess, and some flashes of the purple still show through.

I finished off by just doodling on some smaller images from the In Every Season Stamp Set and trying different colours.

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!