Crazicards Crafty Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

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

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

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

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

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

What you will need

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

Step 1

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

Step 2

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

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

Step 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time Happy Crafting. xx

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time Happy Crafting. xx

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

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

What you will need:

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

Getting started.

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

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



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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time Happy Crafting xx

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

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

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.

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

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

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)

In my previous tutorial we went through the steps required to make your exploding box and we inked and stamped all of the panels before putting the box together.

If you missed that first part you can see it again here.

Now for the fun part and that is making your butterflies and making them float inside your box.

What you will need

• Plain White card for stamping, you can use coloured if you prefer.
• Butterfly stamps of your choice - Gina K "Take Flight"
• Ink pads in your chosen colour - I used Black archival
• Acetate sheet
• Waxed Cotton thread
• Glitter or Sakura gel pens
• A fine liner pen in the same colour as your ink pad. 
• Promarkers
• Wet glue, mini pegs or paper clips

Step 1

Stamp you butterfly out 4 or 5 times depending on how many you wish to use for your project.

For this I used a dye based ink as I am going to use Promarkers to colour in my butterflies.

Once the ink is thoroughly dry cut out you butterflies as close to the image as possible.

Step 2

Now we need to stamp the backs of the butterflies so that when they are floating about they look real and don't have a white underside.

To do this place your stamp flat onto your work surface and ink it up with you dye based ink.

Now take one of your butterflies and place it gently down onto your rubber stamp.

Now you need to gently press down so that the ink from your stamp is transferred to the back of your butterfly. You can use a brayer for this step if you prefer. Don't worry if you have white edges we will correct that in a minute.

Step 3

You might end up with a small white line around the edges of your stamped image, if you haven't then skip straight to step 4.

This is easily fixed with a black fine liner pen or felt tip. Carefully go round the edges of your butterfly and colour in the white edges with your fine liner.

Taking care not to load too much ink onto the card as it may seep through to the other side and muddy you image.

Step 4

Once you are happy with the underside of your butterfly you can then go on to colour it in with your Promarkers.

Start with the top first and then once you are happy colour in the underside making sure that you follow the same colour pattern as you chose for the top.

This is to prevent the colours muddying up. Once you have coloured in all 5 you will need to make the antenna for each butterfly.

For this I used black waxed cotton and you can also add other embellishments if you like. I added a little black glitter so that it catches the light when the butterflies are bobbing around when the box is opened.

Tip: Don't add too much embellishment as this will make the butterflies too heavy and rather than float they will flop over.

Step 5

Next you will need to cut 5 thin strips of acetate, mine were just under 1cm wide and started off at 8cms long.

You need to make it longer than you will need as setting the height of the butterflies will require adjustments as you go along.

This is the trickiest part of the whole project and will take a little time to achieve the look that you want so please be patient.

Take your acetate strips and attach them to the underside of your butterflies with Glossy Accents , Collall Glue Gel or something similar. Take care not to crease the acetate as you need it to bounce once the bottom is attached to the box.

Hold the acetate in place with a mini peg or a paper clip until it is completely dry. Glossy accents dries a lot quicker that silicone gel so depending on how patient you are you can use either one....

Once the acetate has been attached to your butterflies you can then proceed to position then inside your box.

I chose to vary the height of my butterflies, to do this you simply place the acetate onto your box panels and slide it up and down until you get a level that you are happy with and where your butterfly will float quite nicely without flopping over, snip off any excess acetate.

To attach the base I used a combination of extra strong tape and a dab of glossy accents. Again take care not to crease the acetate as this will cause your butterfly to flop rather than float.

Tip:  Make sure to check the position of your butterflies each time with the box sides lifted up as you want the butterflies to spring out when the box opens. If they are all clumped together you run the risk of them getting tangled together.

And there you have it - An Exploding Box with a Twist. 

Here is another example of an exploding box with a twist. For this one I made some lovely little flowers and butterflies with Cosmic Shimmer Film and Angelina Fibres.

I hope you have had fun making your own boxes. The key is to experiment and have fun making them. Please feel free to send me the pictures of your completed boxes with a brief summary of the products you have used and I will show them off in an update blog. Send your images to support 'at' crazicards co uk.

Don't forget to visit my website for some great crafty bargains.

Thank you for reading and until next time Happy Crafting xx