Crazicards Crafty Blog

I was recently having a play with some new stamps that I have and some others I haven't played with for a while and I made this little card for my Cancer Research fund raising project.

For this card I stamped the stamps with Archival Ink then I stamped the background trees using distressed inks which I then pulled out using a damp paintbrush. Once I had finished the trees and sky and they were dry I used the masks I had made earlier to cover each stamp in turn as I created a little scene with trees and flowers.

I love the effect that these stamp stamps give you, every card is different and you can theme the card to any subject you like. I will definitely be making a few more of these in different styles for sale on my fund raising page. I just need to acquire some more mini stamps to make the little scenes.

You can see this card and the others I have made for this superb cause and you can also read my own cancer story by visiting here.

I also accept donations for this worthy cause on my dedicated Just giving page which you can visit here.

I am keeping it short and sweet today so thanks for popping by, have a great weekend.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

I am sure you have all seen or even had a go at the bleaching technique and besides being messy, smelly and a little dangerous, especially when children are around.

And sometimes when using coloured card it doesn't always work.

By starting with a plain white card you can create your own bleach effect but with the colours you want and not a colour dictated by the colour of your card stock.

This faux bleach technique is quick, simple and anyone can do it if you have the right tools.

The effects you can create are endless using this technique so have a play and see what happens. 

What you will need

Plain White card stock
Stamps of your choice
Cosmic Shimmer Sprays or similar
Ink pads if you don't have sprays
Versamark ink pad or similar for embossing
Clear WOW embossing powder you can try coloured embossing powder for a different effect
A heat gun
A craft iron, travel iron or house hold iron - without steam
Scrap paper or copier paper

Step 1

To begin I created a tag from my white card stock. This can be any size you like. I chose to use 8.5 cm wide by 16 cm long. Snip off the top two corners and punch a hole to make your tag shape.

Step 2

Now take your chosen stamps. For this I chose Sheena Douglass's Best Friend Swirls.

Stamp your image onto the tag using Versamark ink and emboss with clear WOW powder or similar.

Step 3

This is the fun bit - Now take your Cosmic Shimmer sprays or which ever spray inks you have and cover the whole tag.

For this project I used Purple Violet, Peacock Green and Ocean Sunlight.

Once you have covered the tag dry it off gently with your heat gun making sure not to melt the embossing powder.

This tag is the dried result. Notice that although the swirls are prominent they are a little dull looking.

Note: If you don't have spray inks or Cosmic Shimmer misters then you can either create your own using a mister and a little water and ink or you can colour your background using your ink pads and cut 'n' dry foam or a sponge.

This takes a little longer but you will get the same effect. Just make sure to add enough ink.

Step 4

Now you can choose either remove the excess ink from the embossing powder and leave it as it is - this is known as the resist technique or you can continue on as follows to create the faux beached effect.

Make sure your iron is hot and that the steam is switched off.

Place your tag onto a heat resistant surface and cover with a piece of scrap paper or copier paper and then iron over the top of your tag.

If the iron is hot enough you will start to see the melted embossing powder melt into your scrap paper.

Have a little peep underneath to make sure all the embossing powder has gone. If it hasn't simply carry on ironing until it has.

Once your done your copier paper should look simlar to the image on the right.

Once you have finished remove the scrap paper and there you have your faux beach effect.

Notice that the swirls are a lot brighter on the finished tag once the embossing powder has been removed.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tutorial. I would love to see your creations. So please feel free to send me your photos with a little description of the colours etc that you used and I will be more than happy to add you creations to Crazicards web gallery and in this blog. Please send you images here.

Until next time Happy Crafting. xx

The theme for April's tag swap was Baroque in shades of Blue. This one took some thinking about as Baroque can be interpreted in different ways.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word  "baroque" is derived from the Portuguese word "barroco", Spanish "barroco", or French "baroque", all of which refer to a "rough or imperfect pearl". However in informal usage, the word "baroque" can simply mean that something is "elaborate", with many details. So I decided to go with that.

Here is the tag that I made for my swap. I started off by using a brayer to cover a piece of silk art card with ink from the Waterfall Big 'n' Juicy ink pad. Once dry I stamped an image from the Grungy Brocade stamp plate and I embossed it with clear WOW embossing powder.

I then took a dye based Adirondak black ink pad and brayered over the whole card again. Where you have embossed will resist the black ink giving you this beautiful rainbow effect.

 After that I took a piece of cream and blue baroque style paper and added Crystal Laquer to the pattered elements. And once dried I went around the edges with a Versamark ink pad and embossed with Blue Pearl WOW powder. Once everything was dried I matted and layered the rainbow panel and put the tag together. Finishing of with some fancy fibres in blue tones.

This is the beautiful tag that I received from Gina. I hope my photograph does this tag the justice it deserves.

Gina has used the Artylicious "Essence of Nature"  cd to create a gorgeous background paper.  She has used a crafty Individuals stamp for the pretty lady image and a couple of Chocolate Baroque paisley stamps which she has embossed in gold.

To finish off Gina added a pretty little flower with a pearl centre. Its a beautiful tag and I love it. So thank you Gina.

May's tag theme was Emerald and we had to make 2 different tags, easier said that done. Once I receive my swaps back I shall add them here. I am looking forward to seeing what I will receive this time.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

The theme for April's ATC swap was Chocolate and Cream.

This is the gorgeous little ATC that I received from Barbara.

The ATC is stamped using the Chocolate Baroque Nature Table stamp set and coloured in using Promarkers.

Barbara then over stamped a leaf design which she  has emboss with a Caramel coloured embossing powder which gives a great effect.

Then to finish off Barbara has punched out some pretty little butterflies. 

This is the ATC that I made for the swap. I decided to have a play with some light modelling paste which I spread over the ATC made from grey board. Once I got an even covering I stamped into the paste with a swirl from the Patchwork Butterflies stamp plate from Chocolate Baroque.

Once dried I painted the image with acrylic paints and I used rub on accents to highlight the edges of the images and ATC. I then filled in the void created by the stamp with Crystal Lacquer and coloured some plain white square pearls with a permanent brown pen.

Because the light modelling paste is so light and flexible I was then able to punch  down the side with my ribbon punch and I then threaded through some fancy fibres to finish off the ATC

Top Tip: The trick with modelling pastes and rubber stamps is to lightly spray the stamp before pushing it into the paste so that you don't get too much paste sticking to the stamp. You also have to remember to wash the stamp and your tools straight away to ensure the paste doesn't dry on them. Once it has dried it is extremely difficult to remove.

The theme for next months ATC is Summer Solstice which should be fun as it is a celebaration of everything summery.

Until next time Happy Crafting. xx

The accordion card is a fun card to make and makes a very special gift for someone special.

The beauty of the accordion card is that you can make it as big or as small as you like and as long or short as you like. The choice is entirely yours.

What you will need:

2 pieces of grey board or 2 pieces of card cut from a cereal box or similar. Measuring 4" x 4".
2 pieces of pretty backing paper or designer paper measuring 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
2 pieces of coordinating card stock measuring 3 3/4" x 3 3/4".
1 piece of White or Cream card stock measuring 3 1/2" x 7"
1 piece of White or Cream card stock measuring 3 1/2" x 10 1/2".
Some scraps of plain or coordinating card stock for decorating and matting your pages
Ribbon for the cover and decorating..
Glue - Photo Glue or 3D Glue Gel
Ink pads of your choice
Stamps of your choice
Spellbinders Cutting Dies or cuttlebug dies - optional

Getting started.

Step 1. Take a sheet of A4 White or Cream card stock and measure and cut 1 piece measuring 3 1/2" x 7". And another piece measuring 3 1/2" x 10 1/2".

Step 2. Take your White card panels and score each one at 3 1/2" intervals using you Hougie Board or similar. Making mountains and valleys to create the accordion effect.



Step 3. At this stage you can cut out an aperture using a Spellbinder Die or similar to add a little interest to your card. Here I used the Spellbinders Labels Set and die S4-168 Large Labels.

Step 4. Next I cut out a layer of coordinating card stock for the inside of my aperture using the Small labels set S4-169 from the Labels Set.



Step 5.  Now we need to make the covers for our Accordion Card.

Take the 2 pieces of 4" x 4" Grey board or cereal box and cover them with your backing paper or designer papers, making sure not to leave any gaps in the corners. This can be done by cutting across the corners.

Once you have secured the backing paper cover the inside with your coordinating card stock.

Tip: As an alternative you could also cover your grey board with fabric instead of designer papers.

Step 6. Now for the fun part of decorating your card. You can do this however you like.

Remember: You will only have to decorate one panel of your 2 section card panel as the other one is the backing for your aperture and is where the card sections are joined together. You can also leave the backs blank if you want to, to save time.


I chose to ink my page backgrounds using Distressed Ink this one was Scattered Straw. And then I over stamped it using my chosen stamps British Wild Flowers and Meadow Flora using Shabby Shutters and Scattered Straw distressed ink. And I stamped the dragonflies in Chocolate Chip dye based ink.

Next I stamped a couple of butterflies using Sepia Versafine Ink and they were coloured in using Promarkers and Sakura Glitter gel pens. I made some antennas from craft wire with a couple of  beads.

After the butterflies I took the scrap label made when cutting out my aperture and created a little sky scene using my Promarkers.   This was then attached to the back of  my aperture before the card was put together. As an alternative you can ink up and stamp an image into the centre of the panel that goes behind your aperture. I used the label so that the ink didn't bleed through onto the back of the card.

Once you have finished decorating your card you need to put it all together and add the finishing touches by adding tags or sentiments.

Now you will need to stamp another image for your front cover,  this also helps to secure the ribbon to the card for closing.

A little tip here to ensure you have enough ribbon to make a pretty bow is to run the ribbon the whole length of your card. Once the card is closed you will have plenty of ribbon for tying your bow. I forgot to do this hence the smaller bow.

Here is the front of my finished card, and at the top of the tutorial is the completed card. I hope you enjoyed making yours as much as I did making mine.

Don't forget to send me your photos, for inclusion in this blog and in my website gallery, to support at crazicards.co.uk along with a little description of what products you used and of course your name.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx