apologies to my BIL...

he is such a good sport and a cutie to boot...so i couldn't resist turning one of our Christmas photos into the crop class this month...don't worry will...there were only about 25 people there...and none of them laughed ;) *honest*


i just love kinetic cards {ones with moving parts} even as a child i loved to make simple pop-ups...and at Christmas time i like to make something a bit special for my loved ones...something that will get pride of place in their card display...i think these fit the bill!

this first one is a simple swing card...made from one sheet of A4 cardstock, but cut and folded so that the focal point swings as you open and shut the card...enabling you to see both sides...so here is the outside...see Rudolph has a red gem on his nose?

and here is the other side of the panel...my gorgeous BIL pretending to be a raindeer...and he has a gem on his nose too!! lol the rest of the design is simple two-coloured stamping with Autumn Leaves' flourishes...they get everywhere those stamps!!

the second card we made was a window card...which forms a box to allow it to stand unaided...but squashes flat for posting...i think you can see this from the aerial photo :)

you can also see from this photo that it was quite windy out...and the card blew off the table top and onto the mossy floor...denting one corner!! hey ho...luckily the moss was green...so i can disguise it by inking all the edges in green!! *disaster averted*

hope you like these ideas...the ladies at the crop seemed to enjoy them...and the cards they ended up with were fabulous...well done all!

there will be more ideas over the coming days...Christmas card making in earnest now...

hugs

:)

distressed by inky fingers?

this is a post for my teamie, sue...and anyone else who is fed up of getting thier fingers stained by distress and other inks...

***hints***
instead of holding the cut and dry foam directly with your fingers...mount small squares onto old door knobs or blocks of wood {the ones you've removed from old mounted stamps are good too}...simply glue the grey side to the bottom of the knob...et voila...you have a handle...and clean finger nails!! :) its not necessary to have one for every ink you use...but keen to specific colours so you don't end up with a muddy mess...i've simply written the colours in OHP pen on the top...{any permanent marker works fine}...so i don't get them muddled when i have lots out on the desk at once!

hope that is of use to some of you out there...i use my inks much more now that they don't stain my fingers...

right...off to finalize the class i'm teaching at the saturday crop...hope there will be lots of you ready to play...its a stamping class...and a paper engineering class...how to make one card...3 different ways!

hugs

:)

ooops...i was nearly a naughty alix...

apologies for promising to share an item i made for Craft Stamper last Christmas...it turns out i'm not allowed to show it even after 3 months now...so if you want to see it...you'll just have to look out an old issue!!

good job katy is on the ball...i was very nearly in trouble then!!

i'll think of something else to share tomorrow :)

ooh yes...and several people have asked me whats in the advent calendar...and like a twit i forgot to mention...as yet its empty...but i do plan to fill each day with a cute suprize for my hubby :)

advent calendar idea No1

hi everyone :)

a huge thanks to those who drop by...and especially those who take the time to leave me cute comments...its so good to get a little feedback when you're online crafting...you wouldn't want to feel all alone in the craftroom, now would you? ;) its so great to know that you're crafting too...and i really hope sometimes i inspire you to go off and make something lovely!

right, today its the first of my advent calendars...the weather is still grotty...so the photos aren't superb...but i think its enough for you to get the idea...and if you do decide to run with it...please let me know by leaving me a comment and a link to what you've done :) thanks!

ta daaaa...a shot showing not only a section of the calendar...but also a glimpse into my messy world!! lol

what i've done is take a pack of wage envelopes {£1.99 for a pack of 50 in my local PO} and stamp them 1-25 in pearly brilliance ink. i've then stamped a cute Christmas tree by Tanda Stamps on the first 24, and a cute Santa on 25.

i've added a gem star to the top of each tree and drawn in a trunk, and i've coloured the santa brightly to make the final day look *special*...

Santa's fir trim is coloured with Liquid Applique...something i seem to reach for every Christmas time for snow and fir...and every spring time for lambs' wool!! you apply it like regular paint and heat it with a heat gun until it bubbles up. if you haven't tried this stuff its fabby...and you can use it on t-shirts and bags/shoes too which is a great project to do with the kids :)

i've hung my envelopes from ribbon attached with household pegs...and i've stamped the pegs for added interest using the same Christmas tree stamp...i've done my alternating in bronze to match the tree and green to match the numbers...

***a hint***

the pegs are longer than the tree stamp...so stamp up to the metal clip from one end, then repeat with the other end :)
easy when you know how!

ok, i'm off for lunch now...hope you enjoyed stopping by...and have a crafty afternoon...tomorrow...i shall share the project i did last Christmas for Craft Stamper magazine using this same stamp!

its sooo *distressing* ;)

ok, so i said i'd be uploading my advent calendar today...but i'm afraid its bucketing down and the cottage is waaaaay too dark to photograph pretty things indoors...so i've had to improvise!

instead...here are some rather *distressed* tags that i made earlier this week :) we all have lots of those luggage tags or the rather uninspiring ones that came with early scrap kits...so why not get out your distress inkpads and some cut and dry foam and have a play :)

this one is simply distressed with blue and brown shades onto a blue tag and then overstamped in black ink...a good design for boys/men this one...and looks brilliant on pages about bicycles or fixing cars...even mechano type pages!

this one was a cream coloured tag, distressed with brown and green and stamped with three separate stamps to make up a cute rustic journalling tag...ideal for a page about a country walk...or life in the cottage!

this one is for a card and didn't scan awfully well...but is overstamped in brilliance and is really pearly and shimmery in real life...a good one for a sympathy card as the colours are soft and gentle.

hmmm, i'm thinking brilliance is not a good mix with the scanner here either...this tag reads *true love* which was stamped using a foam stamp over the trees in various shades of adirondack ink...this is for a photo of my sister and her hubby walking hand in hand through a beautiful wooded park near their home :)

and finally...for it seems blogger will only allow me to upload 5 pictures in one post...is a scrumpled tag...this one was cream initially...distressed with blue and crumpled up into a small ball before being flattened out...spritzed with water and distressed in a darker blue. it was then over stamped in black ink once it was dry. this is a great fun one as it looks alot like denim...so i'm going to use it on an 80's page where we were all stoned washed denim and looking disasterous!! lol

hope that's given you food for thought for today...and i'd love to see/hear that you've had a go too :)