Crazicards Crafty Blog

I recently received this image from Ina who sent it in after she decided to have a go at my Double Diagonal Pocket tutorial that I published here recently.

Ina decided to fold the topper in a slightly different way giving her a landscape pocket instead of a portrait topper. Doing it this way really gives the topper a completely different look.

Ina told me that she stamped the Daisy stamp and coloured her in using Promarkers, and that she used 2 different sentiment stamps, one from Clarity stamps and the second from a Fairy Doodles stamp set.

A lovely card once again Ina, thank you for sending it in to share with everybody.

If you would like to send in your project images please contact me here.

Until Next time Happy Crafting xx

Receiving images from my customers showing me what they have made with the items they have purchased from my website Crazicards always brings a big smile to my face.

And when I received the image of this card from Sara Jo Sawdon it was no exception.

And I am sure that you will agree that this card is absolutely gorgeous. And I can imagine that the lady who received this card was thrilled to pieces.

Sara Jo has used the following items in here card:

Angelina Fibres
Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad
Copper Gilding Flakes
Fusible film
Promarkers - Autumn Pack

Thank you for sharing this with us Sara Jo, I will look forward to seeing more of your work.

Until next time Happy Crafting x x

The theme for June's ATC swap was Summer Solstice. You can let your imagination run wild on this theme but I decided t keep it quite simple this month.

This first ATC was made using the waste paper from making embossed paper backgrounds from toilet tissue.

I used the glossy paper to lift the left over ink from the mask after I had made the  background and the effect was absolutely stunning so it was put into my stash box ready too use at a later date. "Waste not want not as they say".

I stamped the tree from one my Crafty Individual  tree stamp sets. Not a very technical ATC but very effective I think.

This is the ATC that I received from Karen Paul. It's made using Stampbord and I absolutely love it.

The Stampbord makes the colours on this ATC pop right out of the ATC at you. And the stamping is so clear, you can see all the different background stamps Karen has used when you hold it up to the light, amazing.....

For my 2nd ATC I created an background again from recycles cut off's from a previous project.

I stamped over the top using the gorgeous flourish from the Chocolate Baroque Happy Birthday A6 stamp plate.

And I added the lovely little rub-on word Sunshine before finishing off with a little faux stitching around the edges and a little bling.

This next ATC was my second swap and came from Rebecca Harris, it is also very gorgeous and very, very delicate.

The little bird on the wire is so cute and has loads of detail, as does the background. I think Rebecca has stamped the background in clear inks then used a brayer to create the backdrop to this gorgeous little ATC.

The over stamping of the meadow flowers has been done in similar ink shades to the background and perfectly sets the whole image off. I love it.

Next months theme is "Trees and Flowers" and I am really looking forward to this one.

So until next time Happy Crafting x x

The theme for May's Chocolate Baroque Guild tag swap was Roses or Pearls. And we had to make 2 tags.  For my first tag I decided to go with the Pearl theme.

I created the tag from a plain White piece of card stock sprayed  with Cosmic Shimmer Ocean Sunlight and Aqua Lagoon.

I then took the beautiful small flourish from the Chocolate Baroque (Elusive Images) Butterfly Daisies stamp plate and stamped it into two opposite corners and left it to dry.

Whilst I was waiting I took one of the stamped Gesso backgrounds from my previous tutorial  Creating Gesso & Acrylic Paint Textured Backgrounds.  I stamped this with one of the fabulous butterflies from the Butterfly Daisies stamp plate and cut it out. 

I then used my hole punch to create faux pearl beads using the waste from the but out butterfly.

I then carefully added Pearly Doodles to both of the flourishes on the tag, "not a good idea when your hands shake" Once dry I added the butterfly and Faux brads and finished off with a shimmery wired ribbon.

This is the beautiful tag that I received from Judith, I just love this stamp plate and it is now on my wish list. 

Judith used distress inks to colour the background of her tag before stamping the image which she then embossed with White embossing powder. 

The wooden scrabble tiles have also been distressed and adds a fabulous touch to this beautiful tag. 

As I don't have any Rose stamps in my stash currently I had to think of other ways to portray the Rose theme. So for this second tag I decided to make some stamped vellum roses. I embossed the roses with White embossing powder.


For the background I used a tag I had made previously for a tutorial called The Faux Bleach Technique unfortunately my photograph doesn't show how shimmery the tag actually is.

To finish off I added some pearls that I had coloured to match and a shimmery ribbon.


This is the second tag that I received and it was made by Jean Straw. It is absolutely gorgeous and another stamp is now on my wish list. 

Jean has coloured the tag itself using distress inks and then she has very delicately over stamped it using one of the fabulous flourishes from the Patchwork Butterfly stamp plate.

I just love the colours Jean has used for this tag.

The theme for the next swap is Rainbow or kaleidoscope which has me currently stumped .... I am sure I will think of something though.


So until next time Happy Crafting x x

As a crafter you are probably just like me and have lots of nice pretty papers sitting in your stash begging to be used.

But finding a good enough excuse to use them can sometimes be rather difficult as they are almost always too pretty to use and I like to just look at them....

"Am I ringing any bells ??".

So for this tutorial I thought I would put some of my pretty papers to good use by making a double diagonal pocket card topper, "that's a mouthful", which can be used as a stand alone card or as a topper on a larger card blank.

What you will need:

• One  A4 sheet of double sided  (8 1/4" x 11 3/4") patterned paper.  If you have only got single sided patterned paper this is also great I will show you how to fill in the white space at the end of this tutorial.
• Bone folder
• Hougie Board or other score board of your choice
• Scissors
• Adhesive either wet glue , double sided tape or tape runner
• Craft ruler and a pencil
• Additional card stock, stamps and embellishments of your choice to decorate the card front.

Step 1

Score the long side of the patterned paper using your Hougie Board at the half way point 8 1/8th and fold in half.

As there isn't an exact score line at the half way point the easiest way to ensure you have the centre point is to measure and mark a small pencil mark at the centre point.

You can then line this up with one of your score lines on the Hougie Board. Make sure you don't press too hard or your paper will crack when you fold it.

Or if your in a hurry carefully fold your paper over and marry up the edges and flatten with your bone folder, take care not to tare the paper though....

Step 2

Now turn your paper 90 degrees and score at the centre point and fold your paper into quarters.

Again use your ruler and pencil to find the centre point.





Step 3

Open up your paper and cut along the horizontal fold from the left edge of the paper to the vertical centre score line.








Step 4

Now take the bottom right corner and fold it upwards so that the bottom edge meets the edge of the centre score line. And use you bone folder to make a good crease.






Step 5

Now take the top left corner and fold it down making sure you leave between 1" to1.5" from the centre fold to where you fold down corner.

For this project I left a gap of 1".

The depth of this corner fold determines how much of the patterned paper you see once the card is all folded together. Experiment to find the width you  like the best.

Step 6

Take the top left rectangle and fold it over to the right hand side.









Step 7
Now take the left hand bottom rectangle under the folded rectangle on the right bottom.

To make the card rather than the topper :-

At this point if you wish to make this into a card rather than a topper you would take the bottom 2 rectangles and fold them upwards.

Once in place take the right hand rectangle and fold it around the back to create your card.

(I will hold my hands up here and admit I forgot to take a photo of this step - sorry)..

Step 8

Now take the bottom right corner and fold it up over the previously folded corner. And make sure your creases are sharp.

And to finish off fold the bottom rectangle upwards to create your double pockets.




Step 9

Finally you will need to stick the open edges of your card or card topper together using either wet glue, double sided tape or a tape runner.

This will enclose your pockets so you can add tags etc..







Step 10

Now for the fun part of decorating your topper or card depending on which route you took at step 7.

I chose to stamp a cute Magnolia stamp which I coloured in using Promarkers. I also created a couple of tags using the same paper as the topper and used a set of stamps to add sentiments. And I added some pretty matching organza ribbons for the tag pulls.

I finished off with a little rhinestone bling.

I then mounted this onto my card blank after matting and layering it onto Silver mirror board. To finish off the full size card I used some matching pearls.

Alernatives

If you only have single sided papers don't panic because you can still turn the white diagonal space you would normally have into a lovely faux patterned paper using a rubber stamp and some coordinating inks.

This was a single sided 12" x 12" Cerise Pink sheet of paper when I started out.

Without cutting any of the paper down to size I followed the guide above and turned my 12" x 12" paper into a 6" x 6" double diagonal pocket topper.

You can make any sized square topper as long as your original paper is square. So 6" x 6" will result in a topper 3" x 3" in size.

As the reverse side of the paper was bright White and not the look I wanted I had to find a way to change it.

So I chose a pretty clear flower stamp from my stash and once all the folds were in place I opened the topper back out until I got back to the Step 7 stage.

I then place the edge of this fold onto a scrap piece of paper and stamped along it with my flower stamp.

And then I lightly coloured in the flowers and leaves using Aqua Markers to give them a subtle look.

This is an easy way to get rid of the plain white blank space on your topper. You could also add double sided tape and cover in glitter or you could perhaps paint it in a coordinating colour if you wished. The choice is yours really.

This will make a beautiful topper for another card.

You can batch make these toppers with relative ease which is perfect if you make lots of cards to sell or for charity.

I hope you enjoy having a go at this simple but effective topper. And I would love to see your projects if you decide to have a go.

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

As I mentioned yesterday I love to make ATC's. I also love making tags too and I am a regular swapper with the Chocolate Baroque Guild members, you will have seen the swaps I have made and received in previous posts on this blog.

Anyway I decided to try hosting a TAG swap on Facebook to see if there was any interest by other crafter's in the big wide world.

I set a theme for "Floral Buttons" and then sent out the invites to everyone in my Facebook list that loves to craft. By the end of the month I received 8 tags including my own which in my book was a brilliant success as not very many people have ever made a tag to swap before.

I am delighted at the response for July's Tag swap as the numbers are slowly creeping up which means another fantastic swap is a foot....

The theme for July's Tag swap is "Take Flight" if your interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here. If your not already a member you will need to register and then you will be able to send me a message  and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you.

Here are the 8 gorgeous tags that were received for this swap and I am sure you will agree that they are all stunning, and considering that the majority of the ladies that joined in have never made a tag before I think they did a sterling job - so well done ladies I can't wait to see July's tags...

I absolutely love making and swapping ATC's and I join in with a couple of swaps each month when my health allows me to. Last month I decided to start a swap group on Facebook as I have a lot of friends on there who also love to make and swap ATC's.

For the first swap I set a theme of "Summer" and I received 14 ATC's which is fantastic for a 1st swap.

If your interested in joining in the July swap or any other future swaps please visit the Crazicards Swap Group on Facebook by clicking here. You will have to ask to join the group then please leave me a message and I will send you the information you will need.

I am also hosting a Tag swap too on Facebook so watch out tomorrow for the Tags that were received for June's swap, they are simply gorgeous too. You can join in this swap at the same place as the link above.


Here are all 14 ATC's in all their glory.

I am sure you will agree that they are all fabulous. Well done ladies you should be very proud of yourselves, especially those of you that have never made an ATC before this swap came a long.....

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Creative Expressions are currently looking for new Design Team members so I thought I might apply.  Aside from the general requirements a challenge has been set called "Calling Card".

The only requirements of this challenge are that you create a project that includes rubber stamping of some sort and that an ATC is featured somewhere in the piece. Other than that the challenge is completely open to your own interpretation!...

And here is the card that I made to fit in with this challenge.

How I made it:

For the card background and ATC background I made my own misters using alcohol inks in a little water to give a defused look. I used Oregano, Terracotta, Ginger and a little Latte. I placed the ATC in position before spraying so that the tones were continuous across both the card and the ATC.

I then took a separate sheet of super smooth paper stock and stamped out the Harlequin and Daisies stamp from the Chocolate Baroque (Elusive Images) Butterfly Daisy Collage stamp plate and stamped it out several times. I then cut them all out as well as the white space between the Harlequin pattern as I wanted the background colours to show through the design.

Once I had finished the cutting out I coloured in the Daisies using my Promarkers for a subtle look. I then collaged them onto my background lifting some of the daisies to give a more 3D effect.

I then took one of the glorious butterflies from the Chocolate Baroque Patchwork Butterflies and stamped it onto acetate using Stazon. Once this was dry I used my crafty Notions Sunshine gilding flakes to cover the reverse before cutting it out and adding it to the collage with with my 3D glue Gel.

I then stamped and embossed my ATC with a sentiment from the Sheena Poppies and Daisies stamp plate with Rich Gold Wow embossing powder. And I stamped a few swirls from the Sheena Best Friends stamp plate around the edges of the card and ATC, using a Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I also embossed round the edges of both the ATC and the Card with the Rich Gold embossing powder to give them both a lift.

And there you have my entry for the "Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge".

Until Next time Happy Crafting xxx