Crazicards Crafty Blog

A Belated Happy New Year

2012-01-16T19:07:00.000Z

A belated Happy New year everyone - better late than never I know...

New Year didn't get off to a fabulous healthy start unfortunately but things are getting better and I am hoping to be soon back up and running.

I have loads of new tutorial ideas to bring you this year including some great tutorials from so of my crafty friends.

So please become a follower and call back on a regular basis for some great tutorials :O)

Until next time, Happy Crafting x

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

2011-12-22T18:27:00.002Z

I just wanted to write a quick note to wish everyone who reads my blog a Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year.

I hope to be back with lots more exciting tutorials and even more group Art from my Facebook swap group in the New Year.

So please keep safe and I hope to see you back here in January safe and sound.

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

Just for fun - Distressed Stains

2011-12-16T18:28:00.003Z

I was at a bit of a loose end today so I thought i would have a little play with my new distressed stains and I had a jolly good time too......

I had no idea what I was going to do just that it would be a tag and it had to have distressed stains included. So off I went, trying to remember what Hels Sheridan from Ink on my Fingers did on Create & Craft. I ended up covered in ink but it was worth it...

And these are the two tags I made:

I had loads of fun and am extremely pleased with how these two tags turned out, I should play more often without a theme....

OK that's all from me today have a great evening and keep warm . it's mighty chilly out there.

Until next time Happy Christmas xx

Parchment Christmas Tree Tutorial

2011-12-09T19:38:00.000Z

I just love parchment but have yet to master the traditional way of parchment crafting. Some of the works of art that I have seen, and they are most definitely works of art, must have taken forever to create as they are so beautiful and intricate.

This week I thought I would show you a a different way to use Parchment to make a Christmas Tree Card.

The effects you can achieve are fabulous and all you need are a few items to create a fantastic looking card like this one.

What you will need:

Parchment
Stamps of your choice
Scissors
Versamark ink pad
3D glue gel
Green Pearl wow powder
Brown Kraft paper
Peel off stickers
Felt Card for your card base
Gold mirror board
Embossing tool
Embossing mat
Hougie board
Glitter pens
Craft knife
Rhinestones

Step 1

First of all you will need to stamp out several trees with Versamark ink and emboss them all with Green Pearl WOW embossing powder.

Then cut them out ready for step 2.

Step 2

Take one of your tree and place it onto your embossing mat face down.

Now take your embossing tool and gently emboss the back of the tree following the stamped image. This will give you a 3D effect to your trees.

You need to do this with all of your trees.

Step 3

Once you have embossed all of your trees you will need to cut them all out.

Step 4

Next you need to create you main back ground. For this I chose to create a snowflake background.

To do this you need to stamp your snowflakes stamps on to your parchment sheet several times using Versamark ink.

Then take you embossing tool and gently emboss over the Versamark ink as shown in the image to the right.

Once you have embossed all your snowflakes turn over the parchment and there you have a fabulous background ready for your trees.

Mount this onto your brown Kraft paper background and edge with peel offs.

Step 5

Next you will need to start putting you card together.

To do this I tore some strips of parchment paper to make hills for my trees to sit on.

Note: Make sure you tear the parchment carefully as it can run away from you.

Once you have composed your scene using the 3D glue gel, add a sentiment by stamping in versamark then embossing it from the back to ensure the writing is the right way around.

I added a few rhinestones to give my snowflakes a little bling and mounted everything onto your Gold Mirror board.

And there you have it a parchment Christmas Tree card with a difference.

I hope you enjoy having a go at this as it is so much fun and you can do it with any of your stamps, just play and have fun.

Until next time then, Happy Crafting xxx

Sheena Douglas New Stamps

2011-12-07T19:12:00.001Z

I was having a play with the fabulous new stamps from Sheen Douglass and here are my 3 creations so far.

This first one I tried out on the back of centura pearl card and it is fabulous for painting. I totally enjoyed painting this and will defiantly be using this set a lot more in the future.

This next one was done on watercolour card and is totally different to anything else I have ever done, and it was so much fun.

This last one will eventually become a 90th birthday card it just needs to be matted onto the card base and a insert added. Another fantastic image from this brilliant set of stamps from Sheena Douglass, I can't wait to see what she brings out next.

Until next time, Happy Crafting xxx

Crazicards Postcard Swap - November 2011

2011-11-28T19:56:00.003Z

Last months Postcard swap was once a huge success and the art work that was sent in for swaps was just brilliant.

The theme for November was "Christmas Trees". And I received a total of 18 fabulous postcards which is fab considering everyone is in the middle of making their Christmas Cards.

This is the last Postcard Swap for 2011 and I am really looking forward to starting a fresh in 2012 as I know that the swaps are just going to be amazing.

If your interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here . It doesn't matter what level of crafter you are everyone is welcome.

If your not already a member you will need to register and you will need to accept my friends request so that I can invite you to the swap event. It's as simple as that...

Now here are the fantastic Postcards from the November swap:

Well done ladies these are all fantastic.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards TAG Swap - November 2011

2011-11-28T19:56:00.001Z

November's Tag swap theme was "Christmas Carols" and once again the ladies in the swap group took the challenge by the horns and sent in a staggering 24 tags between 12 of them. This is fantastic considering Christmas is just around the corner.

Every single tag is different and really shows how different people have different ideas on a subject, just brilliant.

The next tag swap isn't until January 2012 but if you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here. As well as Tags swaps we have a weekly ATC challenge, ATC swaps and Post Card swaps. And from January a lot more will be happening but that is under wraps for now.... Pop back in January to find out what were up to.

If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. All levels of crafter are welcome.

Here are the fantastic tags from the November :

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

Crazicards ATC Swap - November 2011

2011-11-28T19:55:00.001Z

Well it's that time again and the November ATC swaps that were received for this months challenge of "Christmas Tree Decorations" have all been received and they are fabulous as always.

Despite this busy time of year 12 members still managed to join in the swap which was fantastic considering everyone is in the throws of making their Christmas Cards and presents.

This months swaps are the last swaps for 2011 as for December we have a card swap currently under way. I am sure anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will agree with me in saying that the many swaps that I have posted here for everyone to see have all be absolutely brilliant. From crafters new to swaps to seasoned crafters who swap on a regular basis it's been a fabulous 6 months and I am sure that next year will be even better.

So thank you to everyone who joins in with the swaps without you there simply wouldn't be a group.

If you would like to join in the Crazicards weekly swap please feel free to pop on over to my Facebook group here , everyone is welcome and the more the merrier.

Until next time Happy Crafting :O) xx

Count down to Christmas - you have just "31 Days" left......

2011-11-23T13:30:00.001Z

Can you believe that is is only "31" days and "32" sleeps until Christmas Day....

If your anything like me you still have loads of cards to make and gifts to buy or make, and there never seems to be enough time in the day or night to get it all done.

And it doesn't help now the weather seems to be turning cold and miserable, and the threat of snow is ever looming.

Still I am sure we will all work away like little beavers and even if it's Christmas Eve when we finish everything will get done... And we will be able to let out a huge sigh of relief for another year.

So with out further a due have a great rest of the week and I hope you get all your bits and bobs finished well before Christmas Eve so you have more time to play..... :O)

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge - Romance

2011-11-21T14:32:00.001Z

This weeks just for fun ATC challenge is "Romance".

I love this theme as there are so many different things you can do. I chose a Clarity Stamp for my ATC this week.

I had a great time making this ATC. First of all I stamped the background out using Archival ink. And the I decided to make the corset out of Angelina Fibres.

To do that I inked up the stamp and placed it face up on the table. I then took some Angelina Fibres and spread them out over the top of the stamp and covered this with copier paper before ironing it with a medium hot iron.

Once that was done I repeated the process using a different colour of Angelina Fibres to give me a contrasting centre piece to the basque.

Once finished I cut out the centre panel of the 2nd basque and stitched it using thick Black thread to the first one. I the attached the whole thing to the front of my ATC once I had inked the edges in Pink.

And there you have a cheeky little ATC with a Romantic theme ....

I can't wait for next weeks challenge. I you would like to join in please visit the Crazicards Facebook group here, you will also be able to see the other fantastic creations made by our members once you become a member.

The new weekly swap theme will be posted every Saturday afternoon.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Male Birthday Card

2011-11-21T14:18:00.001Z

Today I thought I would show you a birthday card that I made for my brother-in-law. I always get stuck for men's cards so I decided to try something different, for me anyway, and this is the end result.

The motorbike is from Clarity Stamp and I coloured it in with Promarkers.

The 3 tiles were stamped and again coloured in with Promarkers and then I used Craftynotions Jewel Enamels - Diamond Clear to cover them. Giving them a ceramic tile effect.

I chose a nice co-ordinating background and added some Black ribbon before attaching the tiles and the greeting. I am really pleased with this one and will no doubt be trying it again in different colours. And especially now that Letraset have released thei Metallic Promarker Set.

Until next time, Happy Crafting xx

Sympathy Cards for Walter Nooyens

2011-11-21T14:10:00.001Z

I think that sympathy cards are one of the hardest cards we have to make as crafters.

So when I was informed that my sister's father in-law had passed away on Friday evening I knew I had better get my thinking cap on.

I eventually came up with these two cards which I think are quite appropriate:

Walter was a lovely dutch gentleman and I know he will be sorely missed. Sleep well Walter xxx

Until next time xx

A Few Cards For The Children In Need Appeal

2011-11-18T15:21:00.001Z

I was recently asked by my mum to help her make some cards for a Children in Need Coffee Morning that her and her fellow residents at Phoenix Court in Darlington were having today 18th November 2011.

As it is such a fantastic cause she didn't have to ask me twice and I set to making a these cards for her to sell at the coffee morning.

I made 11 in total, with sentiments such as Just a Note, Happy Birthday and Thank you.

Each card was hand stamped using Memento Ink and then coloured in using Promarkers.

I matted and layered each card using bright coloured card to match each topper using my Spellbinder Dies.

And I cut out some mini tags for the sentiments and made some miniature ribbons to finish them off.

These fabulous little stamps were free on a magazine and were sent to me by a very good friend of mine Jane from Bonny Scotland, sadly Jane is not a stamper so had no use for them. They fit the occasion of Children in Need perfectly.

Fingers crossed the cards all sell and we make a good amount to make a decent donation for this fantastic cause.

I will update this post once the cards have been sold and we have a total.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

UPDATE: All in all we made £40 for Children in need throught the sale of handmade cards.

Christmas Tea Light Lantern Tutorial

2011-11-17T11:39:00.001Z

For this weeks tutorial I thought I would try something a little different. So I decided on this little Christmas Tree Tea Light Lantern that you can use as a table decoration.

What you will need

Hougie Board or similar
Cuttlebug or similar
Metal Edge Craft Ruler
Craft Knife or Scissors
Spellbinder Dies
Various ink Pads
Glitter or Crystals
Water Spritzer
Kitchen Towel
Paintbrush and water
                                                     Adhesive Tape or Tape runner
                                                     Scrap Paper and masking tape
                                                     Glue
                                                     Foam Pads
Step1

Trim your plain white card down to 5 1/2" (14cm) x 10 1/4" (26cm)

Take your Hougie Board and place the card down (longest side first) and score at the following points, 2 1/2", 5", 7 1/2" and 10".

Next turn you card and place the shortest side to the top and score at the 1 1/2" line.

Fold and score all the score lines.

Place the scored card to one side, we will finish it later in the tutorial.

Step 2

Next you need to stamp out the images you want to have on your lantern. For this lantern I chose Christmas Trees.

I stamped out 8 trees in total, 4 large and 4 small.

I stamped these trees in Peeled paint Distress Ink.

Once you have stamped out all your images take a damp paint brush and drag out the Distress ink and colour in your images.

Once you have coloured them all in you will need to cut them all out

And then you need to add your glitter or Crystal's and set them to one side to dry.

Step 3

Now for the main body of the lantern. First of all you need to add some interest, for this I took a scrap of paper and tore a cross to make a hill, this was then stuck down over the card and inked above the line.

For this I used Broken China Distressed ink and a Blending Tool to colour in the skyline.

TIP: If you don't want to make your own background you can use pre-printed card stock instead.

Whilst the ink is still damp spritz some water over the top and dab with kitchen towel to make a snowy effect.

Step 4

Once the card is completely dry you now need to cut out your aperture's using the Spellbinder dies, for my lantern I used S4-169 labels but you can use any shape you wish as long as it fits your panels leaving a gap around the edges for the next stage.

Step 5

Now you need to cover the back of the aperture's with vellum or parchment, whichever you have to hand.

Make sure you leave plenty of space round the edges to stick the vellum down securely. For this I used my tape runner

Step 6

Next you will need to cut out sections at the bottom of you panels so that the lantern all fits together nicely once it is stuck together. Your panel should look like mine when you have finished.

TIP: Don't just cut a straight line up the crease, cut a slim triangle as this will give a better finish.

Step 7

Now to put the lantern together. Take some double sided tape and affix it to two of the flaps on the inside and one of the flaps on the outside (the one between the other two).

Take another strip of tape and place it down the thin side panel on the coloured side.

Stick the side panel to the edge first then fold in the two flaps that have the tape on then and stick them together.

Now stick the flap that has no tape on it, down, followed by the last one which does have the tape.

This will finish you lantern base off nice a neatly as shown in my picture.

Step 8

All that is left to do now is decorate your lantern with your stamped images.

Use your tape runner or double sided tape to stick the main tree and for added effect use some foam pads to the smaller tree.

Add your images to all four sides and there you have your finished lantern.

Caution: If your going to use a real tea light please be extremely careful that you don't set the lantern on fire.

To be extra safe use a faux battery operated tea light instead of a real one.

I hope you will enjoyed making your Christmas Lanterns, don't forget you can use any images you like to decorate the sides.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge - Remembrance

2011-11-17T10:56:00.001Z

This weeks just for fun ATC challenge is "Remembrance".

As an ex-soldier this weeks just for fun challenge has a lot of meaning. Remembering those people with whom I served with and who are no longer here brings a heavy heart but remembering the good times we have had in the past brings back good memories.

This week I made 2 ATC's for the challenge :

For both of theses ATC's I used Sheena's Poppies and Daisies I coloured them in with Promarkers.

Once I had finished colouring them in I added a couple of rub on words them triple embossed them both using Utee. I then cracked them to give a shattered glass effect.

Here are a few other fantastic ATC's entered in this challenge:

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Teebag Folding Christmas tree Tutorial

2011-11-10T14:17:00.000Z

This weeks fabulous tutorial was created by my guest crafter Pauline Jackson. And is an excellent idea for a Christmas Card.

What you will need

Pattered paper
Craft Knife
Craft Ruler
Bone folder
Coloured card Stock
Glue
Double sided Tape

Step 1

Take your patterned paper and cut out 11 4cm x 4cm squares using your craft knife and ruler.

Step 2

Take one square and fold corner to corner then repeat with all other 10 pieces then open and lay them flat.

Step 3

Now take your square and lay it pattern side down. Fold the left and right sides into the middle to meet up with the crease down the middle, this will make a kite shape. Do this with all 11 pieces.

Step 4

When you have finished they should look like this.

Step 5

Take a rectangular piece of card (colour of your choice) and draw a pencil line down the centre.

Then take 3 kite shapes and stick them longest point up onto the card so the tips are on the central line.

Fix another row of 3 kite shapes slightly higher up the card, they should all overlap the first layer.

For the next 2 rows stick two more kite shapes on top of these and you will see the tree shape take form. )Use the images as a guide)

Finally stick the last kite shape to the top. And finish off with a star or other embellishment of your choice. Next you need to create a bucket under the using a piece of scrap cad or paper.

Step 6

Mount your topper on to a blank card and add a sentiment and further embellishments such as ribbons and gems if you wish and then your done.

Here s a couple of cards I made following Pauline's great tutorial, by shaping the kites a little more or a little less you can see different effects to be sure to have a play so that you get the effect that you want.

For these two cards I used the Papermania - Wonderful Christmas 12 x 12 paper pack and a few pearls which I coloured with my Metallic Promarkers

Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge - Bonfire Night

2011-11-07T15:46:00.000Z

This weeks just for fun ATC challenge is "Bonfire Night.

I really enjoyed making this at. Lets face it with all the fireworks that have been let loose over the weekend around where I live I had plenty of inspirations to help me along.

To make this ATC i chose a piece of black American Crafts card stock and drew the houses for the skyline using a white marker.

I then took my Sakura Gel pens and went over the skyline to make it sparkly blue, and I drew in the fireworks in the sky. Unfortunately this photo doesn't show you how sparkly this actually is.

I then took my Promarkers and drew the rockets, barrel and other fireworks which I also added sparkly highlights to using my Sakura gel pens, and cut them all out.

I glazed the barrel using glossy accents, then using my 3D glue gel I put everything together.

A fab little ATC for bonfire night.

Visit the Crazicards Facebook group here to see the other fantastic creations made by our members.

I am looking forward to next weeks fun challenge, if you would like to join in please pop over and join the swap group on Facebook we have a great gang and all new crafters are welcome The new weekly swap theme will be posted every Saturday afternoon.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Actetate Card Tutorial

2011-11-04T21:18:00.001Z

Acetate is one of those things we all have in our crafty stash but sometimes don't know what to do with it.

So this week I thought I would show you a quick and easy Acetate Christmas Card.

What you will need

Acetate sheet
Coloured card stock - For this I used American Crafts and a small piece of White wash Coordinations with a pale blue core.
Ribbon
Rhinestones
Christmas Snowflake mask or similar
Cuttlebug or other die cutting machine
3D glue or foam pads
Double sided tape
Hougie board
Sandpaper tool and Dust Buddy
Spellbinder Circle Dies or similar

Step 1

Take a piece of coordinations card stock and run it through your cuttle bug along with the Christmas or Snowflake mask. Then cut out the sections you want to use for your card.

Step 2

Next I took my Spellbinders and cut out the circles that i wanted and sanded them down to reveal the coloured car.

Step 3

Next I cut out 3 different colours of Blue American Crafts Card stock to back my Snowflakes.

You can also cut out another set of plain circles to use on the inside of your acetate to hide the sticky tape or glue that you use to attach your Snowflakes to the front.

Step 4

Next I took my White Stazon Ink and a few different stamps and covered the front of the acetate.

This can be as full or as sparse as you like, I added a few swirls to give a little interest.You will need to set this to one side to dry as Stazon takes a little time to dry on acetate.

Step 5

Now you will need to add a piece of coloured card to the inside back cover of your acetate card.

I chose a pale Blue American Crafts card stock for this. And once again I cite a similar sized piece to use for the back of my card which is where I stamped the sentiment and wrote my Christmas message.

This hides the tape or glue from the front piece.

Step 6

All that was left then was to assemble the card using various bits and bobs such as ribbon, silver mesh material and rhinestones from my stash box.

A really pretty and contemporary Christmas Card that doesn't take too long at all to make.

I hope you will enjoy having a go at this card, if you do please send in your photo's to me here and I will add it to my blog for every one to see.

Thanks for popping by.

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

Crazicards Postcard Swap - October 2011

2011-11-03T17:45:00.000Z

Last months Postcard swap was a huge success and the art work that was sent in for swaps was amazing.

The theme for October was "Autumn Glory". And I received a total of 20 fabulous postcards.

The theme for November will be released later ths week, so if your interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here . It doesn't matter what level of crafter you are everyone is welcome.

If your not already a member you will need to register and you will need to accept my friends request so that I can invite you to the swap event. It's as simple as that...

Now here are the fantastic Postcards from the October swap:

Well done ladies I can't wait to see next months Postcard swaps.

Until next time Happy Crafting :O) xx

Crazicards Tag Swap - October 2011

2011-11-01T22:58:00.000Z

October's Tag swap theme was "Winter Wonderland" and once again the ladies in the swap group took the challenge by the horns and sent in a whopping 31 tags between them.

Every single tag is uniquely different and the creativity shown here is totally awe inspiring. Especially when you consider that this swap group consists of both young and older ladies as well as brand new crafters and seasoned crafters. I never cease to be amazed every month when these fabulous works of art drop through my letterbox.

The next tag swap theme will be released later this week. If you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here.

If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. All levels of crafter are welcome.

Here are the fantastic tags from the October swap "Winter Wonderland".

Well done ladies these tags are all fantastic. Looking forward to seeing your swaps next month.

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge - Music

2011-10-31T23:39:00.002Z

This weeks just for fun ATC challenge is "Music"

Unfortunately I didn't have as much time to spend on this as I would have liked but I thought it was a quick and fun ATC to make.

To make this ATC I stamped a watch face several times in Momento Tuxedo Black Ink over the front of the ATC.

I then made some simple masks to cover the watch faces whilst I stamped music in Archival Sepia ink over the rest of the ATC.

Then using Tim Holtz Distress Tea Dye ink and some Ranger Cut n Dry Foam I covered the whole ATC and left it to dry.

Once the ink was completely dry I removed the masks and coloured in the watch faces with Promarkers and then covered them with Glossy Accents.

Once this was dry I added the ATC back and there you have it, an effective looking ATC which is very quick and simple to make. Perfect for a weekly challenge ATC.

I am looking forward to next weeks fun challenge, if you would like to join in please pop over to the swap group on Facebook here . The new weekly swap theme will be posted every Saturday afternoon.

Until next time. Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards ATC Swap - October 2011

2011-10-31T14:56:00.002Z

Last weeks launch of the Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge was a great success and the ATC's submitted ranged from the absolutely scary to really cute.

This is just a fun challenge to pass the time as the nights draw in and winter descends upon us and this weeks Challenge is "Music".

If you would like to join in the Crazicards weekly swap please feel free to pop on over to my Facebook group here , everyone is welcome and the more the merrier.

I have also been busy preparing November's tutorial which will be a Christmas acetate card this time around. So keep your eye open for that later this week.

Right back to the October's ATC swap. The theme was "Home & Family" and as always the swaps are all absolutely fabulous. I received a total of 30 fantastic ATC's, take a look at them all below...

Well done ladies I can't wait to see next months swaps.

Until next time Happy Crafting :O) xx

Count down to Christmas starts today you have just "58 Days" left......

2011-10-28T12:45:00.000+01:00

Oh My Goodness........... Can you believe that is is only "58" days until Christmas Day....

So much to do and so little time, before we know it, it will be Christmas week and the scurry of frantic feet will be heard in every craft room across the land as we all whizz around trying to get those last minutes Christmas Cards finished.

Or if you are really Crafty all those gorgeous handmade Christmas gifts need to be finished off and wrapped up ready to go to their new homes.

This week I have been busy preparing next months tutorial which just happens to be a lovely acetate Christmas card. So keep your eyes peeled for that next week..

And as it's almost time for Christmas I will be adding Christmas Card tutorials on a regular basis from next week onwards until Christmas week. So if you craft along with me until then you will have made at least 8 more Christmas cards.

Have a great weekend.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards Weekly ATC Challenge - Halloween

2011-10-28T12:32:00.001+01:00

Over at Crazicards swap group on Facebook things have been pretty busy with the monthly ATC, Tag and Postcard swaps. And there have been some fantastic swaps over the past 3 months.

As the winter nights draw in and we start to see more and more cold rainy days we decided to started a "just for fun" weekly ATC challenge. This challenge is for those of the group that have spare time on their hands during the gap between the monthly swaps. And a different theme is set each week.

This week Pauline chose the theme of Halloween and here is my entry :

I really enjoyed making this ATC. Especially the little broomstick which was made out of a little twig from the garden.

I started off by making a round mask to create a moon which I attached to the ATC with photo glue so that it can be easily removed afterwards.

I then took some cotton wool and a Tim Holtz Spiced Marmalade distress ink pad and padded it onto the ATC, I also added a little Scattered Straw and Rusty Hinge to add a little atmosphere. I then used a fine mister to add a little water over the top.

Once that was all dry I decided to draw a tombstone for the broomstick to lean upon. I did this with my Promarkers and because I used shiny card stock the Promarkers gave the tombstone a little marble effect in places.

I then removed the moon mask and coloured slightly with Scattered Straw distress ink before I stamped the crooked tree ranch from the Sheena Douglass "Trees" stamp plate.

I then stamped the Black cat and a few small silhouette flowers and added the word BOO which I coloured with my Promarkers.

To finish off I glued the broomstick to the front using 3D Glue and used a fine liner to draw a tiny spider and web.

I am looking forward to the next weekly swap which starts tomorrow.

If you would like to join in with the Crazicards Swaps please visit my group on Face book here the new swap theme will be posted there tomorrow afternoon.

You don't have to be an expert crafter so come on over and join in the fun. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

New Home Card

2011-10-11T16:13:00.002+01:00

Well at the ripe old age of 70 my mum decided that she wanted to move house again. Rather her than me is all I can say although I must admit I will glad when the day arrives that we can pack up and move to the seaside, when that will be is another rather long story which I won't bore you with today. I don't want you all falling a sleep now do I!!

Anyway I saw a similar card to this is a Chocolate Baroque newsletter so i thought I would give it a go.

I started by creating all my mat and layers using the cuttlebug, spellbinder dies and a sunburst embossing folder.

I used felt card for my base and my main mat as it has a lovely and rich texture. And I also used Black mirror card and plain Gold rainbow holographic card.

I stamped out my image from the Chocolate Baroque Home Sweet Home stamp plate a couple of times and then drew in the horizon and the sun rays before colouring the whole image in using my Letraset AquaMarkers.

Once I put everything together I decided that the trees needed to be decoupaged to give a lift to the image and I think it turned out just great. Mum loved it so I am a happy chappy.

I also made this small card for my sister who lives in Holland with another image from the same stamp plate.

I love this stamp set it is so easy to think of ideas how to use it so I have no doubt at all that I will be using it a lot more...

Until next time Happy Crafting xx.

Spotlight Technique

2011-10-06T14:53:00.000+01:00

Continuing on with the theme of sprucing up your craft projects using small but effective features today I am going to show you how to do the "Spotlight" technique.

What's is Spotlighting? I hear you say... Well by Spotlighting a small area on your project it creates the effect of magnifying that particular area of your project.

What you will need:

Glass cutting mat
Cuttlebug or similar
Spellbinder circle cutting dies
Low tack tape and 1mm or 2mm foam pads
Stamps of your choice
Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
Clear Wow Powder
Promarkers or other colouring medium
Luxury Felt Card , White card and Black Card
Embellishments of your choice

Step 1

Choose the stamp you want to use for your project and stamp and emboss your image onto White card.

From you Spellbinder circles set select 2 small circles to use on your project, you can use larger circles if you wish, the choice is yours.

You then need to choose which part of your project you want to "Spotlight". I did this by moving my smallest Spellbinder, cutting edge down, around the image until I found the area I wanted to "Spotlight". Once happy I placed 2 small pieces of low tack tape on the edges of the die to hold it in place ready for cutting.

Step 2

Take your Cuttlebug and cut out the small circle from your stamped image.

Then take a small piece of Black card and cut out the largest of the 2 circles. This creates the mat for your stamped cut out.

Step 3

You will then need to colour in your stamped image.

I found the best way to ensure that both the cut out and the main image match is to pop the cut out back into the main image before colouring in.

For my image I used Promarkers to colour in my fairy and I used Sakura pens to glitter the wings and the sash.

I then used a Sakura glaze pen to highlight the flowers and I also glazed the glittered wings.

Step 4

Once you are happy with your image you need to put it all together.

First of all mat and layer your main image onto the main White felt card blank using the Black card.

Stamp your sentiment onto the card front directly, if your not comfortable doing this you can also create a separate sentiment and mat it with the black card also.

To create your "Spotlight" adhere the 2 circles together and use foam pads to lift the circle from the main image slightly.

This gives the illusion that the "Spotlight" area is magnified slightly.

Add your embellishments and your all finished. The key is to keep it clean and simple and not to over embellish.

I hope you enjoy trying out this technique, have fun with it and experiment with different size circles for slightly different effects.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards Postcard Swap - September 2011

2011-10-04T15:51:00.000+01:00

I decided to add this new Postcard swap for September just to see how it went.

The theme was chosen by one of the swap group members and was "Positive Affirmations".

I think most of the group found this theme a little more challenging but they rose to the occassion and I am please to say that despite the challenges the theme brought I received a total of 16 Superb Postcards.

I will be continuing on with the new swap format I believe it gives the artist more scope to create a fantastically unique piece of art each month on a larer scale.

The theme for October is "Autumn Glory" so if your interested in joining please visit my swap group on Facebook here we still have a few places left open but not many.

If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. It's as simple as that...

A brilliant start to the new Postcard swap, keep up the good work ladies. I can't wait to see next months swaps :O) xx

Birthday Cards

2011-10-03T13:49:00.001+01:00

Here are a couple of birthday cards I made recently using the Paint Fusion technique.

This first card I made for my mum's 70th birthday.

I stamped the leaves in a frame then using Acrylic Paints and Sheen Douglass's Paint Fusion Technique.

I left that to dry whilst I stamped the wheelbarrow image with Stazon ink before painting it with my acrylic paints.

By the time I had finished that the leaves were well and truly dry so I cut round the outer leaves using scissors then I took my craft knife and glass mat and cut out the centre of the frame to create a window.

Once everything was dry I matted and layered a holographic Gold card square onto a felt card base approx 7" x 7".

Then using my Collall 3D glue I assembled the card placing the wheelbarrow in the centre followed by the leaf frame. I had a few extra leaves that I made earlier which I used to decoupage the leaves of the frame giving the whole image a 3D effect.

To finish off I painted some Alphabet Soup Grungebord letters to spell MUM and number 70 in Gold acrylic paint.

This 2nd card was made in exactly the same way except I used a wishing well stamp. And instead of using my craft knife to cut round all the leaves I used my spell binder circles die set to cut out the aperture

I coloured in the wishing well using distressed inks, ProMarkers and AquaMarkers and then added a little flowersoft for texture.

For the Sentiment I stamped Happy Birthday using my Versamark ink pad and then embossed that with Wow Rich Gold Embossing Powder.

I really enjoyed making both of these cards. And I have no doubt that I will be mixing Paint Fusion with other traditional images in the future.

Until next time Happy Crafting x

I have entered the top card from this post into the Polkadoodles week 39 challenge, pop on over and take a peek at all the beautiful entries so far xx

Crazicards Tag Swap - September 2011

2011-10-03T12:44:00.000+01:00

September's Tag Swap was based around an "Oriental" theme and the response to this swap was once again brilliant.

I received a total of 28 tags and they are all absolutely fantastic. Well done ladies you have done a brilliant job this month and you should be really proud of yourselves.

The October tag swap has a theme of "Winter Wonderland". If you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here.

If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. All levels of crafter are welcome.

Well done ladies these tags are fantastic. Until next time Happy Crafting :O) xx

Crazicards ATC Swap - September 2011

2011-09-30T13:20:00.000+01:00

The theme for the September ATC swap was Sun, Sea or Sand. For this challenge you could use just one element or all of them together.

And once again my monthly swappers amazed me with their super talent and enthusiasm. I received a total of 29 ATC's and every single one of them is briliant as you can see below.

The theme for Octobers's ATC swap is "Home & Family". If you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here we still have a few places left open.

If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request.

Well done ladies I can't waiti to see next months swaps.

Until next time Happy Crafting :O) xx

Wax Paper Tutorial

2011-09-15T14:30:00.002+01:00

If you are like me you are always looking for new and interesting ways to spruce up your craft projects.

Here is a quick and easy project using wax paper to make interesting backgrounds giving your projects that extra little wow factor.

What you will need:

Cuttlebug or similar and Embossing Folders
Wax Paper sheets
Glossy Card and Coloured Card
Iron with steam switched off
Promarker Gold or Silver Markers
Craft Knife and Metal Edge Ruler
Glass Cutting Mat or similar
Distressed Ink pads of your choice
Archival Ink Pad

Step 1

Choose the embossing folder you want to us for your project and cut your wax paper to the same size.

Step 2

Place the wax paper inside the embossing folder and then run it through your cuttlebug or a similar die cutting machine.

Step 3

Carefully remove the wax paper from inside the embossing folder and place it between 2 pieces of glossy card.

(You can us just one piece of glossy card if you wish but I like to use two, you will see why in a few moments).

Step 4

Take a piece of copier paper and place it over the top of your glossy card. Then take a hot iron and iron over the top making sure to iron over the whole card area.

This process transfers the wax from the wax paper to your glossy card.

Once finished you should see a faint image if you turn the card to the light. But don't worry if you don't see it the hot iron will still have transferred the wax to the card.

Step 5

Now take your distressed ink pad, in this case Barn Door, and gently apply the ink to your card.

You will start to see the image of your embossing folder appear on the card like magic.

As I mentioned earlier I use two pieces of card, this is so that I get the negative image as well as the positive image from the wax paper.

Some of the effects you can get are brilliant.

You can also make use of the waste wax paper for another project. Just add a little ink to the top.

Step 6

Now take another piece of glossy card and using the same colour ink pad cover the whole card making sure it is nice and even.

Step 7

Take all 3 pieces of glossy card and divide them into equal sized squares.

I chose 2 inch squares for this project but you can make the squares as big or as small as you like.

Step 8

Next you will need to chose two patterned squares and two plain squares and fix them together using tape.

This creates the base for your card topper.

At this point I used my Gold Promarker around the edges to hide the white card. I like to do this on all my projects to hide the white edges and depending on the style of card I am making I adjust the colour to match.

Step 9

To finish off my topper I cut a flower out of glossy card and coloured it using the same distress ink pad and added some gold highlights using my Gold Promarker pen. I then stamped some small flowers onto the plain sections to add more interest.

I fixed the flower together using a gold brad and then glued the it to the topper using Collall 3D glue. You could add any element you like here depending on what style of card you are making.

I then placed a black mat behind the topper before placing it onto my card blank.

I chose to make this card into a Christmas card but as you can see from the image to the right I used the same technique and a different colour (Red Brick) to make a simple card that could be used for a birthday or a thank you.

And by switching the patterned squares around you can change the look of the finished card quite easily.

I hope you enjoy playing with this idea.

Until next time Happy Crafting. xx

Crazicards August TAG Swaps

2011-09-13T12:45:00.000+01:00

August's tag swap was based on the theme of "Woodland Walk" and once again the response was fantastic.

A total of 21 tags were received and I am sure you will agree they are all fabulous.

The theme for September's Tag swap is "Oriental" and if you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here. If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. Most people choose to join in both the ATC and Tag swaps so if your interested in both please let me know.

Here are the tags for the August Swap:

Crazicards August ATC Swaps

2011-09-12T11:31:00.000+01:00

First of all my apologies for the lack in posts this last few months have been rather hectic with many visits to a fro to the hospital. Time just seems to dissappear and before you know it we are well into September.

The theme for September's ATC swap is "Sun, Sea & Sand" you can use one or all of these elements in your swap. If you are interested in joining in please visit my swap group on Facebook here. If your not already a member you will need to register and I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you once you accept my friends request. Most people choose to join in both the ATC and Tag swaps so if your interested in both please let me know.

Anyway, August ATC swap was another great success with the theme of "Words"

Here are the fabulous swaps sent in for August:

Chocolate Baroque Guild ATC Swap July 2011

2011-08-23T16:41:00.000+01:00

The theme for July's Chocolate Baroque Guild ATC Swap was Trees or Flowers. And trees just happens to be one of my favourite things to do so i really enjoyed making these ATC's..

I decided to make double ATC's this time just for something different and to give me more space to create.

This first ATC I have called Trees at Sunset.

I created the background by using my Big and Juicy Soothing Sunset ink pad and my brayer. Once I got the background covered I tore some paper and using a sponge I created the hills and fields using the same ink pad.

Once the background was completely dry I took my Crafty Individual tree stamps using my Archival Black ink pad and created the scene. I highlighted the trees using a white gel pen here and there and added a few birds to make the scene come to life a little more.

I then split the image in to two pieces and matted and layered them adding Organza ribbon that I coloured using my Promarkers to bring the two halves together.

For my 2nd ATC I decided to create a similar scene to the first ATC but I change it to evening time with a big bright moon using my Big and Juicy Waterfall ink pad.

I was very pleased how these two ATC's turned out and will definitely be trying this double ATC style again but with different scenes.

Here are the two ATC's that I received for the swap. The first id from Joyce Dixon and is fabulous. Joyce has also used the double ATC but in a slightly different way.

Joyce has stamped her leaf design and then cut round the edges of the leaves. She has then stamped a few more leaves and then embossed the whole leaf several times with clear embossing powder. This really makes the decoupaged leaves pop out.

When you open the front of the ATC you have a fabulous tree scene which has been stamped using Crafty Individual Stamps. "I just love it Joyce thank you".

The second ATC I received was from Mickie Suttcliffe. Michkie has used a stamp from Chocolate Baroque which she embossed in clear embossing powder and she has used distressed inks to create the background. A terrific ATC and this stamp set is now on my want list....

Another brilliant swap for July.

Unfortunately due to regular visits to the hospital in August I haven't had the chance to participate in the Chocolate Baroque swaps for August. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to participate in September' s swaps though..

Anyway until next time Happy Crafting xx.

Fusible Film Flowers Tutorial

2011-08-08T14:14:00.000+01:00

Many of us use Angelina Fibres and Fusible film, but what can you do with all you scraps? They are far too pretty to just throw away.....

There are many things you can do with your scraps and one thing I love to do is make pretty little flowers for my projects.

I hold a Tag and ATC swap over on Facebook you can visit my group here if you would like to join in. Anyway the TAG theme for July was "Take flight" and I decided to make some flowers so that I could use my hummingbird stamp from Inkadinkado.

And I thought I would share how to make them with you as they are so quick and simple but look stunning when they are finished.

Here is the finished tag that I made using these handmade flowers:

What you will need.

Fusible Film and Angelina Fibre scraps
Flower outline stamp or Cutting Die
An Iron
Copier or grease proof paper
Scissors
Dries Clear Glue - I used Crafty Notions
Heat resistant mat or Glass mat
And pre-made stamens

Step 1

First of all place a piece of copier paper or grease proof paper onto your heat resistant mat or glass mat and spread out your Fusible Film and Angelina Fibre scraps over the paper making sure they overlap slightly.

Step 2

Take another piece of paper or grease proof paper over the top ensuring that you don't disturb the scraps underneath.

As you can see from this image I also placed a few scraps of gold mesh between the layers of fusible film scraps for added texture and interest.You can add what ever you like between your layers of film, sequins, glitter even small beads.

Next : Take a hot iron and iron over the top of the paper checking as you go to ensure the scarps are adhering to each other, make adjustments where needed.

Once completed you will end up with a fully fused sheet of gorgeous shiny Fusible film..

Step 3

Stamp your flower outline image onto the newly formed sheet using Stazon ink and then cut them out.

(If you don't have a stamp you can use a cutting die or draw your flowers free hand).

Step 4

Start by making a cut between the petals from the outside to the centre and then fold one or two of the petals behind each other, depending on the size flower you want, and stick with glue.

If required hold together with small pegs or a paper clips until dry.

Step 5

Take your scissors and snip off the bottom of the flower making sure that you don't make the hole too big.

Now take your pre-made stamens and twist them together before pushing them through the hole you just made with your scissors.

Arrange them in the centre of your flower and add a blob of glue to the back then leave to dry completely.

(As an alternative you could make your own stamens by using florist wires and Flower Soft or Pearly Doodles).

Once dry snip off the excess wire from the stamen stalks.

And there you have your pretty Fusible Film and Angelina Fibre scrap flowers.

These little flowers could be used for all kinds of things such as Wedding boquets, hair slides, flower arrangements, table settings etc etc.

Your just limited to your own imagination.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Crazicards July TAG Swaps

2011-08-02T14:29:00.000+01:00

I am absolutely thrilled to bits with the response to the July Crazicards Tag swap. Last month I had 8 participants and this month 12 people joined in and sent in a total of 21 Tags.

As with the ATC swaps I made an extra tag to make up the numbers and to ensure everyone received back the number of tags they sent in..

And I am sure you will all agree that the Tag for July's "Take Flight " theme are all absolutely fabulous.

The theme for August's Tag swap is "Woodland Walk" 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 I in turn will forward the details of the swap to you. Most people choose to join in both the ATC and Tag swaps so if your interested in both please let me know.

Here are the 22 Tags from July's swap:

Crazicards July ATC Swaps

2011-08-01T14:17:00.000+01:00

Can you believe July is over already... I can't but then the last 2 weeks has been spent either in hospital having appointments and treatment or visiting the better half who was rushed in for an emergency operation. Thankfully a catastrophic outcome was averted and things are now slowly but surely on the mend.

July's Crazicards ATC swap was another huge success and every single swap was gorgeous so well done ladies you should be proud of yourselves.

The theme for this swap was "Black & White with a hint of Pink" and participants had the choice of doing either one or two ATCs. I received a massive 27 ATC's in total so to make the swap work I made another one to balance everything up.

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 for the August swap.

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 28 ATC's that I received.

Customer Creations - Thank you Ina

2011-07-18T11:51:00.000+01:00

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

Customer Creations - Thank you Sara Jo

2011-07-12T13:07:00.001+01:00

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

Baroque Guild ATC Swap June 2011

2011-07-08T11:01:00.000+01:00

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

Baroque Guild Tag Swap June 2011

2011-07-07T10:56:00.000+01:00

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

Double Diagonal Pocket Card Topper

2011-07-06T12:10:00.000+01:00

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

Crazicards June TAG Swap Success

2011-07-05T11:07:00.000+01:00

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...

Crazicards June ATC Swaps Success

2011-07-04T16:53:00.003+01:00

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 Calling Card Challenge............

2011-07-04T12:31:00.000+01:00

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

More Paint Fusion - Better late than never !!!!

2011-06-24T12:24:00.001+01:00

I really thought I had already posted my original attempts at Paint Fusion but alas I was mistaken, either that or the blog fairies took them ha! ha!

So here they are in no particular order - my first attempts at paint Fusion....

First off we have the Poppies. They are painted onto simple grey board which has been painted with a dark coloured emulsion paint and then crackled with PVA and a lighter coloured emulsion paint.

I made it into a tag ready to go onto a card and then stamped and embossed the swirls and the word Poppies with Rich Gold WoW powder.

To finish off I also edged the tag with the Rich Gold. I really must try more of these poppies as they are so pretty.

Next up was the Berries. Again I prepared the grey board using emulsion paint but this time I didn't crackle, I tried to distress the paint by over heating it in places which caused bubbles to form in the paint.

The leaves were the hardest to paint here, it took 3 goes to get them looking like this, lol.

I added the berries using my thumb and the rubber off my pencil, not quite plump enough for me, next time I need to find someone with bigger thumbs to assist me ...

Again I stamped and embossed the swirls and the wording but this time using Brass WOW powder.

Next up was the Lavender from Simply Sweet. I made another tag, but for some reason the crackle didn't quite crackle and the end result looked more like a bad paint job with a slight surface crackle. If you click on the image and take a look at the larger image you can just about see what I mean.

Anyway as it was my first attempt I carried on in the hope that I could rescue the end result with distressed inks. And I think it worked out quite well in the end.

Last but not least I had a go at the Daisies. Again on a crackled grey board. I found these a little difficult to start off with. Judging the right amount of paint to use was a little tricky but I persevered and after several layers I think I got the hang of it. I need to work on my centres but for a first attempt I was chuffed to bits.

I have already posted my 2nd and 3rd attempts at paint fusion you can see them in the post before this one. I now have many ideas in my head of where to take this next so pop back soon for my next adventures in Paint Fusion...

Until next time Happy Crafting xxx

Paint Fusion

2011-06-23T17:26:00.000+01:00

Over the last week or so I have been playing with my Paint Fusion stamps again but this time I decided to be a little more adventurous and paint onto Canvas instead of board.

This first painting is on a small A5 ready primed canvas which cost a couple of pounds off the internet. I wasn't sure if it would take the emulsion paint or allow me to crackle it but it did and the result was fabulous. It did take a little patience though.

For this painting I used the Sheena Douglas Paint Fusion Daisy Stamp Set and the little bee from the promotional Butterfly stamp set. I used Slate Grey Adirondak ink for stamping. And I used my Rich Gold WoW powder to emboss the swirls and the little bees.

In order to use the stamps I had to use them off the block, inking them up and them pressing them down with my fingers. The impressions weren't brilliant but they were enough to give me a guide. I used a small box underneath for support when I stamped the word Daisy which made it a little easier.

I think the end result turned out great and it gave me a lot more confidence for my next challenge...

This is a 12" x 10" canvas I bought from the pound shop that now resides at our old Woolworth store. The actual frame is a bit rough but the canvas is fine and accepted the acrylic paints quite well for a cheap buy.

For this painting I used Slate Grey Adirondak ink to stamp the Sheena "A little bit Sketchy" Believe stamp set and I used the Berries Paint Fusion Stamp Set for the corners.

This picture took a couple of days to do and I am really chuffed with how it turned out, and it made my day when someone told me it looked like a picture bought from the shop.. I am a happy crafter now....

So now onto a new challenge of Sweet Peas and Roses, should be fun.

Until next time, Happy Crafting x

Customer Creations - Thank you Ina

2011-06-17T14:19:00.000+01:00

I love to receive pictures from my customers showing me what they have been up to, so today I thought I would show you three cards sent in by Ina Wilkinson from Lancashire.

This fabulous card was stamped using the "A Little Bit Sketchy Cheers" stamp set from Sheena Douglas.

Ina said this was here first attempt at this style of card. And a fantastic first attempt it is too I am sure you will agree.

Ina also created this gorgeous double easel card which has been stamped and coloured in using some Cosmic Shimmer Paints and also Promarkers .

This a really pretty card and a lot of work has gone into it. I just love these double easel cards it gives the card so much more interest than the traditional single sided card.

And finally this is a gorgeous cross over card that Ina made using her Hougie Board.

The Kimono is a peel off and Ina has coloured it in using Promarkers and cosmic shimmer paints. Peel off borders have been used to add interest to the card edges and I na has also added one or two peel off butterflies to finish off.

Another terrific card.

Well done Ina I am sure the lucky recipients of these gorgeous cards were very happy. Your cards are now in the Crazicards Gallery on my website for all my visitors to see.

Unit next time Happy Crafting xxx

Creating Gesso & Acrylic Paint Textured Backgrounds

2011-06-07T14:55:00.000+01:00

In my stash box I have had a jar of Gesso for ages and to honest I have only ever used it once or twice to prime my projects before painting them with acrylic paints.

I have never really thought about using it for anything other that it's original purpose of priming my projects until today.

So what is Gesso? I hear you say....

Well Gesso is traditionally used by artists to prime their canvas or any other surface ready for painting with oil or acrylic paints.

It is very much like white acrylic paint but is much thinner in texture, and when it dries it dries hard making the surface it is painted onto very stiff. It also has a slight texture to it.

The beauty of Gesso is that you can apply it to almost any surface, and then you can paint on that surface with acrylic or oil paint. For example, you can apply a layer or two of Gesso to an old CD or an old vinyl record and once it is dry you can paint on to it with acrylic or oil paints. The possibilities are endless!

So this month I decided to try something a little different with my Gesso and I loved the results so much I made into this month tutorial. I hope you will enjoy having a play too..

Small Note: I know a lot of people might not have any Gesso in their crafty stash so instead of Gesso you can also use your Acrylic Paints. The results aren't exactly the same as your paints are coloured but the principle is the same so you can follow this tutorial but substitute the Gesso for your Acrylic Paints instead.

What you will need:

A jar or tube of gesso - I used white but you can use any colour you like.
Stamps of your choice - I used my Artistic Affirmations stamp set from Chocolate baroque (formerly Elusive Images).
Glue stick for sticking stamps to block if required.
An old paint brush.
A spare acrylic block or some form of smooth surface - all will become clear.
Cosmic Shimmer Mists or misters of your choice.
Plain card stock
Kitchen Towel & Baby Wipes

Step 1

Take your Gesso and a paint brush and add a layer of the Gesso to your acrylic block or other smooth surface making sure not to make it too thick or too thin.

I used an acrylic block for this as it is easy to handle, but you can use a tin lid, your glass mat or anything similar that is smooth and will accept your Gesso.

TIP: Make sure you give your brush and block a thorough wash before the Gesso dries.

Step 2

Now take you chosen stamp and gently press down into your Gesso layer. Make sure not to press to hard as that will squish the Gesso into all the nooks and crannies of your stamps and when you stamp onto you card stock you will not get the desired effect.

You can use a paint brush to add the Gesso but I found that this filled in all the nooks and crannies on the stamps I used and the resulting stamped image was blurred some what.

It's best to practise this step several times so that you get a feel for how much Gesso to use and how hard to press down when adding the Gesso to your stamp. The clearer the print the better the end result will be.

Once your happy with the result cover the whole of your chosen card stock with stamped images. Then allow to dry, this doesn't take very long but if your in a hurry give it a blast with your heat gun taking care not to scorch the Gesso.

TIP: Make sure you was your stamps straight away as the Gesso will be difficult to remove once it has dried.

Step 3

Once the Gesso is dry take your chosen misters, for my background I chose Purple Violet, Peacock Green and Ocean Sunlight. I just love this colour combination.

Start with you darkest colour at the bottom and graduate your colours over the card stock until you get the effect you are happy with.

As the misted spray hits the Gesso you will start to see that the Gesso peeping through the ink. The more your piece dries the more the Gesso shows through.

At this point you can either put your project to one side to dry naturally or you can dry it off again with you heat gun.

Step 4

Once your project is dry take a dry kitchen towel and buff your stamped areas, this will remove any remaining ink from the Gesso and if you used Cosmic Shimmer sprays it will bring up the sparkle a little more.

The end result is fabulous and the stamped words have a great texture to them.

You can of course use any stamps you like and they don't need to be word stamps, the end results will still be the same.

The moral of this tutorial - Experiment with things you have in your craft box as they may have more than one use that you didn't think of before!!!

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Baroque Guild Tag Swap May 2011

2011-06-07T12:14:00.001+01:00

The theme for May's Chocolate Baroque Guild tag swap was Emerald. For some reason this was another one that I needed to really think about as we had 2 tags to make, but once I got going things turned out just fine - Well I think they did anyway...

Here is my first tag. Whilst I was rooting through my crafty stash I came across a set of Artylicious A6 papers. And lucky for me this gorgeous bird paper was in Emerald Green.

I wanted to make a feature of the Blackbird sitting on the branch so I covered it with some Crackle Accents. This really made the Blackbird and his perch pop out from the background but it still wasn't enough...

So I put my thinking cap on and decided to create a Moon from clear embossing powder so that you can still see the fabulous detail from the paper I had chosen. I then added some of my favourite trees from Chocolate Baroque Tall Trees stamp plate and embossed them with clear embossing powder also. I added some fancy mixed fibres and embossed the tags edges to finish off.

For my 2nd tag I chose another of the Artylicious papers also in Emerald Green. I chose the gorgeous Breath of Spring stamp plate from Chocolate Baroque. To start off with I stamped the main flower directly onto my tag and a scrap of the same background paper.

I coloured in the flowers using my Promarkers. I then decided to glaze the individual flowers on the spare stamped flower using Glossy Accents. And once they were dry I cut them all out individually - mad I know......

I decoupaged these onto the tags main flower before adding some Emerald rhinestones , a lovely little ribbon from my stash and a sentiment. I also added a little sparkle with a stickle glitter glue.

Then to finish off I embossed the edges of the tag with Gold WOW embossing powder.

As this was a double swap I also received 2 tags. Here is the gorgeous tag I received from Joyce Dixon. I really like this tag as it catches your eye wherever you look at it because of all the different textures.

We have the gorgeous reflective Emerald ribbon, torn paper, torn vellum for the sentiment, Emerald rhinestones and a super little frame made from a very pretty holographic card. A fabulous tag thank you Joyce.

The 2nd tag that I received was from my good friend Sheila Jacob. And is fabulous as always.

For this tag Sheila has used my favourite Tall Trees stamp set which she has embossed in gold. To make the trees come to life Sheila has added Green embossing powder to the leaves and it looks really effective.

The trees have also been shadow stamped onto a lovely piece of artylicious paper and Sheila has used a leaf punch and the same backing paper to add little embellishments.

The satin flowers have inked edges and the hand made embellishment to the right of the tag is just fabulous and sets off the tag beautifully. Well done Sheila I love it.....

I recently started an Tag and ATC swap group on Facebook. If you'd like to join in the monthly swaps please visit my new group Crazicards ATC & Tag Swap page. Everyone is welcome.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Baroque Guild ATC Swap May 2011

2011-06-06T16:06:00.001+01:00

The theme for May's swap was Faeries, I love this theme but I don't really have many stamps with faeries so I had improvise a little bit as we now have to make 2 ATC's for each swap.

This is the ATC I received from Mel and I am sure you will agree that it's a gorgeous little ATC and I love everything about it. From the textured background to the collaged fairy. There is such a lot going on in this ATC that you have to take a close look at it to take it al in.

And this is the 2nd ATC I received from Kate in Spain. Another gorgeous little ATC with lots of delicate detail. I especially love the pearl drops in the background and the little wings are just gorgeous and pearly.

Thank you ladies they are fabulous ATC's......

Here are the 2 ATC's I made for the swap.

This first one was created by stamping one of the butterflies, from the Chocolate Baroque (formerly Elusive Images) Patchwork Butterflies stamp plate, onto acetate.

I then attached the butterfly to a sheet of A4 double sided adhesive and I cut it out. I then took a pot of Variegated Red gilding flakes and covered the remaining adhesive side with the gilding flakes. I love this technique because the final product never ceases to amaze me.

Next I stamped an image from an Inkadinkado stamp set I have onto acetate. I chose this set because if you look carefully the centre of the butterfly is in fact a miniature Fairy. Perfect to use as my fairy butterflies body. And once dry I coloured in the back of the fairy using my Promarkers. To finish off I added some coloured Rhinestones and a piece of wired ribbon from my craft stash which I made into a wave and used Collall 3D glue underneath to stiffen the peaks.

For my 2nd ATC stamped the butterfly wings onto acetate and embossed them using Gold WOW powder. I then found a silhouette of a fairy on the internet which I cut out and then glazed using Glossy Accents from Tim Holtz.

To attach the wings I folded them in half and added a little 3D glue to the edge, I then placed this into the Glossy Accents so that the wings looked like they were coming out of the back of the fairy silhouette.

I added a lovely little yellow paper rose and used one of my stickles glitter glues to bling up the background. I finished off by embossing with a WOW pearl embossing powder round the edges of the ATC.

I recently started an ATC & Tag swap group on Facebook. If you'd like to join in the monthly swaps please visit my new group Crazicards ATC & Tag Swap page. Everyone is welcome.

Thanks for dropping by.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Fathers Day is 19th June

2011-06-02T15:33:00.001+01:00

Fathers’ Day is on Sunday, June 19th this year. Have you made your card yet?

Cards for men in general are quite hard to make so I decided to try something different this year and this is the card I made.

I embossed the background using my cuttle bug and the Creative Expressions Time embossing folder. Once I had embossed the card I dragged a Walnut Distressed Ink over the top to highlight the detail.

I then stamped my stamp stamps onto watercolour card and the masked them up using post it notes whilst I stamped a fob watch.

I then chose several stamps from My Chocolate Baroque Miniature Curiosities set and stamped into each stamp in turn masking as I went along. Once I had finished that I used Tim Holtz Glossy Accents to make the watch faces look like they have glass covers. I added the sentiment and made an insert and there you have it, my Father's Day card for 2011.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Card for Cancer Charities Fund Raising Project

2011-05-20T15:48:00.001+01:00

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

The Faux Bleach Technique

2011-05-18T14:40:00.002+01:00

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

Baroque Guild Tag Swap April 2011

2011-05-18T12:09:00.001+01:00

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

Baroque Guild ATC Swap April 2011

2011-05-16T16:06:00.000+01:00

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

Accordion Card Tutorial

2011-05-03T11:11:00.000+01:00

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

Just a small Thank you...

2011-04-20T15:43:00.000+01:00

As some of my readers will know I was diagnosed with Cancer back in 2008 and thankfully things are going well on that front.

This year I wanted to do something to raise a little money for Cancer Research by selling Shopping Trolley Tokens and handmade items made by me personally.

One of the things I like to do when someone makes a donation or purchases one of my trolley tokens is to send a little thank you card along with the trolley token.

So this week I have been busy making a few more cards ready to be sent out. I decided on nice bright colours as the sun is shining and Summer is almost here. And I decided on the theme of flowers and butterflies as I love them both.

This first card was made by cutting out an aperture from a piece of copier paper then I used it as a stencil to make a coloured block background using a Big and Juicy ink pad, this one is Spice.

I then stamped and embossed a couple of doodle butterflies from Chocolate Baroque. And for effect I added a few little clear Rhinestones to each butterfly.

The second card was made by first of all stamping a leaf design directly onto the card using the same Big and Juicy ink pad.

I them stamped and embossed a fabulous little daisy stamp that I found in the bottom of my stamp box, I think I bough this one off eBay many moons ago. And to be honest I had forgotten just how pretty it was.

I then coloured them in using different colours again from the Big and Juicy ink pad and cut them out before sticking them to the card using 3D glue. I finished off with a Thank You stamp.

Nothing too flash but a quick, simple and effective way to say thank you to all my supporters for helping me to raise money for such a great cause.

If you would like to help me raise money you can purchase a shopping trolley token from my website fund raising page HERE. Or if you would like to make a donation straight to Cancer Research through my Just Giving page please visit my page HERE.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far, I appreciate your help more than you can ever know. Cancer research is such a good cause and every single penny counts...

So until next time Happy Crafting xx

Stamped & Gilded Art Deco Lady

2011-04-19T12:21:00.000+01:00

I just love Art Deco ladies so when I came across the Debbie Moore Clear Stamps I just had to have them. This is the 2nd lady that I have and she is gorgeous.

This First card was a Mother's Day card. I stamped the Deco lady first onto plain white card using Momento Black ink and then onto clear acetate using Stazon Black Ink.

I then cut out just the dress and hat from the acetate image. And I also cut out the whole thing from the white card stamped image.

Once everything was cut out I coloured in the face and arms using my Promarkers and then used my craft knife to cut along the arms and around the hands so that I could lift the arms over the top of the acetate dress when I attached it.

I then took a piece of A5 Icory Pearlescent card cut from a sheet out of the Nocturne Pearlescent 12 x 12 Card Pad and scored diagonal lines from the bottom left to the top right leaving approx 1cm between each line at the right hand corner, this gave more interest to the background behind the Deco Lady.

I then printed a fabulous Art Deco flourish onto another piece of printable acetate and attached it to the Pearlescent card using gold brads. And then mounted the whole thing onto a piece of Gold holographic mirror board.

Next I used Variegated Red Gilding Flakes to cover the back of the acetate stamped dress and hat. And once they were dry I glued them to the stamped card image making sure to lift the card arms over the top of the acetate.

Once dry I was able to shape the dress quite easily before attaching the completed Art Deco Lady to the acetate covered base card using 3D Glue Gel.

The 2nd card was a birthday card for my sister. The Deco Lady was made in the same way as the first card except I used Variegated Green Gilding Flakes.

For the background I printed another fabulous Art Deco panel and I also used a fabulous Art Deco backing paper in Pale Green to co-ordinate with the gilding flakes. And I mounted this onto Silver holographic mirror board for a dramatic effect.

I finished off with a Big Sister Silver charm and some clear rhinestones. This is a beautiful stamp set and I just know it will get plenty of use.

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

Baroque Guild ATC Swap March 2011

2011-04-12T15:49:00.006+01:00

The theme for this months ATC swap was Spring Colours with a theme of Pink and Fresh Green.
This is the gorgeous little ATC and fabulous card I received from Gina.The ATC is covered in beautiful little flowers and is really sweet.

The gorgeous card that accompanied the ATC was a lovely surprise and was stamped using the Patchwork Butterflies stamp plate.

This huge butterfly is just glorious and reminded me that I need to find my 6 x 6 acrylic block out and play with this stamp, soon.

This is the ATC that I made for the swap. I covered the ATC in bright green pearlescent acrylic paint before stamping the butterfly which is also from the Patchwork Butterfly stamp set.

Once this was dry I coloured it in using my Promarkers. And then proceeded to add several layers of clear Utee to make an enamelled tile. This really made all the colours ping.

I finished off by adding a little gold embossing around the edge using Rich Gold wow powder. The end result was great and this ATC now has a lovely new home with Barbara. Next months ATC and Tag challenges have already been set and will be done under the new banner of Chocolate Baroque which is the name of the new company opened by Glenda Waterworth.

The Art of Zentangle

2011-04-05T16:48:00.000+01:00

I just love to doodle, I doodle when I'm on the phone, I doodle when I am watching the TV, in fact I doodle where ever there is a piece of paper and I have a pen in my hand. It helps me to relax and it also helps me to focus.

I think everyone doodles at some point or another, did you ever scribble all over a page then colour in the resulting pattern with your crayons or felt tip pens when you were younger ? That's doodling too....

So what is Zentangle I hear you say, well basically Zentangle is a form of doodling. But instead of doodling nothing in Zentangle you doodle repetitive patterns to make beautiful pieces of art. And the beauty of Zentangle is that absolutely "anyone" can do it. Whether your 99 years old or 5 years old you can Zentangle.

It's fun and relaxing and you never get the same Zentangle twice unless you want to of course...

Zentangle is also an exciting form of art as you never know what you will end up with before you get started.

So what do you need to get started with your Zentangle?

Tools you will need: Good quality White card or paper, you can also use coloured card s you wish. And any fine liner pens, pencils, gel pens or felt tip pens you wish to use.

Not an extensive list of requirements at all really. There are absolutely "no" rules to Zentangle, it can be black and white or colour according to your own preference. And there are no set shapes or sizes. So you are basically free to do whatever you want.

How to get started

Start by drawing a basic shape onto your chosen card or paper stock using a fine liner or felt tip pen. Here I used a thick felt pen to draw my basic shape and create a contrast. You can draw free hand or use a shape to draw around. You could even stamp an image if you wanted to.

It might be a good idea to try out a few different patterns on a spare sheet of paper before you get stuck into you first Zentangle. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

By starting off with some simple lines you can make some fabulous 3D effects such as these. I'm no expert in this field and I have never had any lessons but these were very easy to draw.

Crossed straight lines can produce stunning chequered patterns and if you make the lines wavy you get a fabulous effect too.

I think the main thing to remember with Zentangle is that it doesn't have to be perfect and you can create any pattern that takes your fancy. The idea is to have fun with it.

Here's one I made for this blog entry. I started by drawing round a cereal bowl using the thick end of my Sharpie pen. After that I added a few wavy lines and started to build my patterns.

And after about half an hour this is the resulting Zentangle which incorporates swirls, spots, straight lines, zig zag lines, scallops and so much more.

It was so relaxing to do and the sense of achievement is great once you have finished and you step back to look at what you have created.

I can totally understand why people do them for fun and relaxation, you can pass away the hours without even noticing it.

Here are a few more that I have created whilst investigating Zentangle:

They aren't master pieces in any shape or form but I think they look great and really effective. If you want to see some fabulous pieces of art be sure to Google "Zentangle" or visit the Zentangle website. I am sure you will be as amazed as I was.

So that is the art of Zentangle I hope you will have fun trying it out and please feel free to send me photo's of your own creations, you can find my email address on my website under contact details.

Thanks for joining me and until next time Happy Crafting :O) x

Customer Creations - Thank You Sheila

2011-03-21T10:53:00.001Z

This fabulous card was created by Sheila Jacob using the Stream of Life stamp from the Sheena Douglass "A Little Bit Sketchy" stamp range.

Sheila stamped the image using a permanent Archival Ink before colouring in the image with her water colour pencils and once finished she covered the whole image with Glossy Accents to give the image a super tile effect.

I think the matting and layering really make this image stand out, and I love the other little touches with the ribbon, button, brads and the painted branch. They really finish the whole card off. Well done Sheila I am sure your son loved this fabulous birthday Card. Your card is now in the Crazicards Gallery on my website for all my visitors to see.

Hope you have a great week until next time happy crafting x

Graphicus Guild Tag Swap March 2011

2011-03-15T12:46:00.002Z

The theme for this months tag swap was Autumn Glory and we also had to incorporate the following colours,Gold, Bronze, Copper and Burgundy.

Autumn is my favourite time of the year as the colours created by nature are just amazing.

This is the gorgeous tag I received from Joyce. She has used Elusive Images stamps and Tim Holtz Distressed Inks with Gold and Copper embossing on the leaves.

The gorgeous little leaf towards the top of the tag has been stamped onto Stampbord and then double embossed making it look like a little tile. Sadly my photography skills will never do this tag the justice it deserves. I need to practise more....

I thoroughly enjoyed making my tag for this swap. The smaller tag went out of the window again as I just had to go large for his one.

I started by making a leafy background using my Mica Mask aptly called Leaves and a little light moulding paste. This is similar to embossing paste except it is White.

Once that was dried I painted it using Pearlescent acrylic paints in Gold, Copper and Green. I painted the whole tag in the same colours so that everything matched. Once that was dry I took my Sepia archival ink and stamped the fabulous tree from Crafty Individuals several times down the right hand side.

I then cut out and glued a section of the leaves I made earlier to the left hand side of the tag. Next I painted the letters in the required colours, Gold, Bronze, Copper and Burgundy. And once they were dry I glazed the letters G and R with Crystal Lacquer.

I then made the main leaves from Gold, Bronze and Copper metal. I have just discovered craft metal and I must say I really like the effects you can get from it. Once everything was dry I assembled the card using Collall 3D Glue Gel. And there you have it my Autumn Glory tag.

I sent it off to it's new home with Margaret on Monday and I hope she likes it :O)