Deco Mâché ideas

Here's some decomache projects from today's demo. Loving the new cog design in the Santoro range. Here I've just placed the frame over one of the gorgeous pads. 

And then we played with little hearts. Three for £1.99 these are. Using the First Edition papers. 

Negative strip.

Dovecraft stamp, masked using a post it note and the mini pictures stamped inside the frames. 

For the flowers I used the top of the Belle and Boo vase stamp. 

Then I coloured with colour pencils - always blending two colours as I went. 

Off to dig out more stamps or items to put 'on film'. ;-))

"Bohemian" Clear Stamp

Bought one of the new Dovecraft stamps yesterday. Only £2.99. Been experimenting with Inktense pencils, paints and ink pads, but nothing working as nicely as the original artwork. 

So. Change of tack. Who would've thought the stamp could look like this??

Pretty in Pink

The springtime demo season has the Dovecroft pretty in pink papers and embellishments. 

First sample uses a cheap picture frame and turns it into a pinboard affect memory board. Perfect with girly pink photos. 

I've also made a card using the pretty pink papers both on the card and  with one of the new die cuts from First Edition. Loving these little flowers, sadly the Dies won't be on sale for this Saturday's demo so I need to find a second version. 

Woodware Singles Stamp

Still loving this stamp I bought at Birds in the Barn, near Marks Tey. 

For Annika's benefit here's a photo including materials used. 

Bead Weaving

Took a short break from Papercraft today And made my friend a bead woven bracelet to match the scarf I had bought her. Loving the colours really got a good bead match. 

Speedy Recovery

Demo season not kicked off yet, so I'm playing with non Trimcraft products. 

This is a Woodware stamp, One of their singles. And we have a friend going in for an Op so this seemed the perfect use of the flower. Something a little like Zentangle with my white signo pen. 

And some Sizzix curly flourishes. 

Winter Wonderland Reindeer Stamp

Rather than colouring him in I have inked him in. 

Stamp the reindeer onto a post it note and onto your card. I then cut out the reindeer with a knife being careful to keep the outside area intact so any small cuts were on the Image itself. 

To get the light yellowy areas I used watercolour pencil and water brush and whilst it was still wet, clear embossing powder and then my heat gun. 

This means that this area will resist the brown ink which I add next. 

Place your post it mask over the reindeer so that only his body is showing. Sponge the Dovecraft natural pigment ink pad using a make up sponge through the mask. 

Then emboss with clear powder using the heat gun. 

For the scarf I stamped on some of the Winter Wonderland patterned paper. Cut out the scarf. I then added some watercolour pencil to alternate stripes and then embossed with clear powder and heat gun. 

This stamp also has some lanterns and a little holly wreath. I used the bigger of the lanterns, stamped on to frosted shrink plastic, coloured lightly with watercolour pencil and then shrunk. 

Here he is ready to go onto a card 

Technique coming out on the road with me too. Check out Trimcraft website for demo details. 

Caroline x

Christmas Tree made with Paper Rolls - fab with small prints

• Take a piece of 6x6” paper and cut in half. Do this with 4 or 5 different designs so that your paper rolls will be a mixture of designs.

• All your paper rolls will be 3” long. You then need 9 rolls, starting at ½” and increasing in size by ¼” with each roll. I'm showing the first few all in the same paper in this example but when I make the trees I vary the designs, laying them out as I go to check how they contrast. Another top tip I learnt was, use stripes vertically not as I have here - cut this way you would lose the stripe once rolled ;-)

• Using a wooden Kebab stick and your thumb curl the paper along the 3” length a little. Then put double sided tape along the edge furthest from your stick. Now roll the bead nice and tightly.

• Complete with all 9 rolls. When finished lay them out and measure how tall the tree will be on the card. I then cut High Bond Tape to this length and lay it on the prepared card bank as if it were the trunk. You can add a couple of other strips at an angle if you like, to help hold the rolls. Starting with the longest paper roll, place them seam facing down up along the 'sticky trunk'.

• Decorate with gems or pearls – Dovecraft Back to Basics do both to match the papers - and then hand draw on the trunk and faux stitching around the white card if you wish.
• And away you go...

Rose Garden

Love the Rose Garden pad: it's made some gorgeous projects. 

But this 12" page has kept looking at me. 

Running a class on paper flowers on Monday so this sheet and others are now punched to pieces.  

We're gonna have some awesome pots of flowers. 

Bit of aged edges and mix and match and there you go. 

More flowers to follow. Looking forward to experimenting with the texture of the canvas sheet and the crackle look from the large rose page. 

Bouquet pop-up

Made this card today for a friend's birthday, and put a pop up inside.

For anyone who has made bird beak pop ups inside a card as a child or with their kids - you'll see where the idea for this one has come from....

And here are a few tips on how I did it...

The main Card is taken from the First Edition 8x8" square paper stack. Fold it in half and you get a perfect DL size card. Use a punch to round the corners and decorate with other pages from the scrummy stack..

Then cut another sheet to 6.5 x 6.5" square and fold in half, pattern side facing in. This will be your insert and will be what you cut the pop up into.

The photo below shows the reverse side after you have done three steps:

 1 - whilst folded draw two pencil lines. The lower one is 1" across and 3" up from the bottom. The higher one is 2" across 3" up from the first line.

 2 - with the card still folded, cut along both pencil lines with scissors. Open out.

 3 - with an embossing tool and ruler score a cross between the two pencil lines i.e. top left to bottom right etc.

Now open out the sheet and crease along your score lines. I run my finger nail along the score line as I push the pop up into place. Work all creases gently before you fold the pop up into place.

Don't stick the lining in place yet. Complete all the decorating first.

Photo below shows you that I have stuck a scalloped circle of acetate behind the pop up, so that I can attach flowers with brads so that they appear above the 'paper wrapping'.

You can add punched leaves, and more flowers inside too if you wish. Just keep testing that wherever you place them you can still close the card shut ;-o

When all is decorated (I added a punched heart behind my flowers, and stitched crochet cotton from Bouquet to tag) you can stick the lining inside. Put double-sided tape on the outer edges, not on the centre fold - you want that to have a little give as the card opens and closes.

Hope the pictures and explanation are helpful.
Good luck to anyone trying this sort of pop up for the Trimcraft Theme Challenge.
Details on www.trimcraft.co.uk/forum

Caroline

One way to Pop

The theme challenge for June on the Trimcraft website is Pop Ups. 

 So here's my card to get you started and a video with tips on making the pop up involved. 

http://youtu.be/La7mNweaKJc

More pop up ideas to come soon. 

Caroline

Birds and Bees and Butterflies too!

Over on the Trimcraft website, I've set the Theme Challenge for March.
Anyone can join in and there is a prize. Closing date is 1 April.

Every shop I look in and my wardrobe too, seem to house clothes and scarves with little critters on. I am wearing my black and cream Lola Rose Bird Scarf as I type.
I just keep falling in love with this trend in the shops.
So I've been having a go at repeating it on my cards. I started off doing multiples and then went on from there.

The Theme is called - Birds and Bees and Butterflies too!

Here are my samples...

 



I'm gonna start working on next month's challenge now, as there will be a video to go with it, giving you some top tips. Details will be posted here and in the Trimcraft forum at the start of April.

Caroline x

Theme Challenge - Words & Letters

Over on the Trimcraft website, a lovely lady called Christa and I have taken over the monthly theme challenge.

This month the theme is Words or letters as a central feature. (Check out the challenge in the Forum at www.trimcraft.co.uk)

I made cards with words on to start the challenge off, but wanted to do something with a single letter.
Originally I had thought of L for my daughter's name but once I had started to collect the photos together, a better sentiment and letter came to me.

The letter is printed directly onto cardstock from the First Edition "Rose Garden" stack. Just cut a piece of  the 12x12" the width of A4 and pop it in your printer. It's 200gsm and a great weight.
(I test on printer paper first of course!)

The font I have used for the letter is from Scrap n Fonts and is called CK Fairytale Transparent. It cost me $1 to download. I enlarged it in a text box in PowerPoint and then added another text box with 'Your are Beautiful' to float on top.

The hearts, rose plate and swirls are all cut out from designs in the Rose Garden Pad.

I then wrote my journalling around the outside. Cut copy paper to size and write it out first so you know it fits and then write it on the real sheet with your copy sheet below it for guidance. That way you won't run out of room as you go round the page :-)

My words say:
   "As you grow up your are more aware of how the camera captures you. You have your 'photo smile'. But I love all your smiles and think .......  You are Beautiful."

With age comes self consciousness, and a critiquing of every photo we see of ourselves!
So scrapbookers - capture every photo of your young when you can!

The page will be out on the demo circuit with me - details on Trimcraft website.
Caroline
xx

Folded Box Video Tutorial

Here's hoping that this works...

My daughter and I played with the camera last night and created a You Tube Video showing how to fold the boxes using the gorgeous First Edition Stacks.

Click here to find it.....hopefully :-)

http://youtu.be/Nd9FGyVzxWU


Caroline
x

Little Treat or Favour Bags

This one has been popular out on the demos, and I have promised it would appear next. It's a little double pocket bag made from a few simple folds.

I started making these for the Easter table with space for chocolate in the back pocket, then made some with the Tea Party range. Need to think on Jubilee ones next!

1.      You need a piece of 8x8” paper. For my Easter bag I used the First Edition Spring Stack and for these Tea party bags I’ve cut down the 12x12” double sided paper to size.

2.      Fold the 8x8” square in half diagonally.

3.      Either on a score board or using a ruler score along the diagonal edge.

I used line 1 on my Eaziscore. For measuring and other boards score at 2cm.

 

 

 

4.      Now along the diagonal edge measure in 10cm from each point and score at right angles. I used line 5 on my Eaziscore board. If using another brand of board find the line equal to or just less than 10cm. (PS - no I don't work upside sown, but for some reason Blogger is randomly altering my photos - who knows which way up the next one will be lol!)

5.      Crease all score lines.

6.      Open out Square and fold two points in as shown. They will overlap slightly; they need to do this. (ah sideways working now lol)

7.      With both side points folded in, fold the top point down to the bottom one using the centre horizontal fold. So that the two points meet together.

 

 

8.      Now fold both points back up using the second fold lines.

9.      Punch a hole in the top so you can secure the two open pockets with ribbon. If you want to ink the edges do this now before you secure the ribbon.

 

10.  Now decorate with Doilies and stickers from the Tea party range. These will take little bars of chocolate: cover the outer wrapper in the papers to match in if you wish. They will also take gift cards and more.

Sorry everyone, hope the photos don't give you all too much neck ache. I have tried lots of remedies, photobuckets and goodness knows what else this afternoon, but the sun's out, there's a choc-ice in my freezer and I have admitted defeat with a smile.

Caroline
xx

Scrapping project using new London Line

Received a Trimcraft stock top up this week: the new London Line range.
I will make cards with it but this is my first project.
I've been wanting to use the photos of our fab trip to see Matilda the musical. (which I have to say was well worthy of all it's awards!) and London theme was perfect.
This is a cheap jigsaw from a discount book store. Each piece is stripped of its picture and then has photos or papers stuck on. File edges with an emery board to get a better finish.
Finally stick pieces back in place and add embellishments.

Hope you like.

I'm heading off to buy more jigsaws I can think of other themes I wanna do :-)

Dovecraft paper blossoms

Here are the blossoms given a little 3d treatment...plus Fizzy Moon wedding decoupage balanced on a spring!! Not saying the Mrs has put on weight, but he looks a bit wobbly :-)

Flowers

Thanks to the lovely Karen at Birds in the Barn, I've got the hang of roses now. I was using the wrong glue and not flattening their bottoms as much as I should!

Using a six petal punch you need four flowers and two apples! Hopefully you can see how ive cut into them and stuck them together. Then turn over and dent bottoms. I'm using a wooden stick or embossing tool.
The glue is Glossy Accents by Ranger.
Cut stalk off apples, curl and place in centre upside down. Tadaa!

Now on demo I'm adapting this to produce 3D flowers with the Dovecraft paper blossoms.