New Year Party Treats

     Going to a dinner party this holiday? How about taking some after dinner sweet treats in a champagne bottle box. This is made using the large bottle die from John Next Door, it stands around the same height a real bottle would.

      With the bottle die there are dies for the labels, cork, glass and bubbles. I wanted to have bubbly in the glasses so I die cut the wine with bubbles from cream card, over vellum and laminated it, then cut the glass from the laminate. This made them strong enough to stand up when attached to the box.
      The acetate box is two pieces of fancy zigzag patterned acetate cut to form two sides each, they are then stuck into a green card tray that measures the width of the bottle die cuts.
      I cut two bottles from dark green card, the same card as the base tray, then decorated them with the labels shapes cut in white and gold.

     The stamp is from my stash, make unknown but it was perfect for this box. Using my stamp platform I worked out where on the card to stamp by laying the die down and lining it up. The little stars are die cut with dies from the bottle set, they allow the gold mirri mat to shine through.
     The cork is cut from Stix2 cork sheet and stuck on with redline tape, which is what I used for making the whole box, nice and strong.
     If you don't stick the bottles together at the top you can put a real bottle in the holder, but I preferred to keep it for after dinner treats.
     There is also a small bottle die set available, that would make cute individual little boxes, ideal for wedding favours.
     Whatever you are doing this holiday I hope you enjoy it, have a very Crafty New Year.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

International Art & Soul - Anything But a Card

ABC Christmas - Y-Yuletide, Z-Zigzags   

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

For One Night Only

     A rather simple card made with one of last years Woodware stamps and a die cut. Keeping the colour palette to black, white and a splash of red makes it a bold card, suitable for any age or gender.

     Using Versamark I stamped on to black card and then embossed with white powder, I also ran a white ink across the card to look like a slightly dirty blackboard. I left a wide border around the stamp to make it stand out and matted it on red for a hit of colour.
     The card blank was run through a snowfall embossing folder before the image panel was stuck on to it.
     The deer was die cut in both white card and black, I stuck the black over the white but slightly out of line to give a reverse shadow effect, it makes him stand out a little better against the black background.
     All that remained was to give him, or her, a tiny red gem for a nose. The deer is mounted on foam pads so that it stands out a little form the card, but will still fit in a standard postage envelope.
     This month's optional theme at Christmas At Sweet Stampin' is Critters, so if you have any animals on your cards then please come over and join in the December fun.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Jingle Belles - Happy Holidays

The 12 Month's Of Christmas - Anything Christmas optional-layer it up

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Past challenge (52CCT4-19 & 52CCT12-19)

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Cards 4 Guyz - Christmas Critters

Seasons Greetings

     Not Just Cards challenge blog is for all things crafty, so this month I made a wreath for the door.

     The base for this was a polystyrene ring, which I then covered with hessian ribbon, to secure the ends I used hot glue.
     There is a wire loop on the back which gives me somewhere to tie the wreath to the door.
     The pine fronds are from an old artificial tree that I use as an outside decoration. The pine cones were collected on one of many walks around parkland, all I had to do was use the hot glue gun to secure it all and add in a few wired berries.
     The bow is wire edged ribbon, again stuck on with hot glue. A rather simple but effective seasonal make. Please pop over to Not Just Cards and see what other inspiration we have.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

International Art & Soul - Anything BUT A Card

Never Ending Safari

     If you like mechanical cards you'll love this one, a never ending card. It used to involve some very careful measuring, a few spare sheets of card and a hot cup of tea to calm the nerves....not any more, you can do it all with a die set! This is a new die set from John Next Door (JND106-DIE), you get the main card dies that also add fold lines, plus some of the small panel topper dies to save all that fiddly trimming.

    There is a video tutorial for this card on John's You Tube page, I would also suggest cutting the main pages in rough card to begin with so you can play around with it before using your best cardstock.
     I cut my base card from Kraft card as it was going to be covered with animal pictures. All the mat layers were cut in a dark brown card as black just didn't look right.
     You may be able to see from this photograph that I planned which photo would go where and also which way up before sticking anything down. As the card folds the pictures face different directions so a little planning will save having the elephants upside down!

     Parts of the following pictures can sometimes be seen, but I don't think this takes away from the ones on the current page, it adds to the interest of what follows. This was made using pictures taken on a birthday safari, a fabulous day out with a great bunch of nutcases that I am proud to call friends.

     This page contains one of my favourite pictures of the day....the 'does my bottom look big to you?' rhino. My photographic skills leave much room for improvement!
     The cards ability to fold and turn improved as I added pictures, at the beginning it didn't seem to move well, but I think the added weight helped the mechanics a lot. I also used Stix2 3D PVA, a good strong glue rather than DS tape, all that movement means it has to be stuck down securely.
     These cards are great for special occasions as they have four sides on which to add pictures and messages, becoming mini scrapbooks like this one.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Animals - Anything With Animals Goes

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

The Crafter's Cafe - Flora and/or Fauna or Pocket

Love To Craft - Anything Goes

Oh Christmas Tree

     Trees are the optional theme for Christmas At Sweet Stampin' this month. I dug a few things from my stash and began to play around with various trees, settling on a traditional looking Christmas tree.

     Inkylicious have a rather nice splatter plate but as I wanted to make smaller cards for posting I managed to get their newer Mini Splatter, great for a 5 inch square.
     Using Distress Oxides Jeans & Spruce I made the background by inking up the plate, then spritzing it with a little water containing pearl mica powder, before stamping it onto my card base.
     Using a Lavinia Christmas tree I stamped it with Versafine Olympia Green.

     I wanted to use a red pearl card to cut the word Christmas but I couldn't find any, so I made my own. Using the small spritz bottle of water with pearl mice added I sprayed my red card very lightly.
     Once dry I cut the word with a Tim Holtz die but as it's rather thin I left it in the die, dabbed the glue on the back of the card and then placed it on the background and gently poked it out of the die. I found this much easier than fighting with it, I also did this with the word Merry, it made sure the spacing was perfect as well.
     This card was so easy to make I decided with time running out that I would batch make, creating my own background means they are not all the same.
     Please pop over to Christmas At Sweet Stampin' to see all the DT inspiration, then come and join us with your project.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Unicorn - Christmas/Winter

Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Spread A Little Sunshine

     A non Christmas card for Not Just Cards using a new Two Jays stamp, Tree and Bridge.

     I have used a media plate for the background on this card, with a stamp press it's so easy to ink up the plate, spritz with water and stamp it onto the card. I stamped the plate a couple of times but left any white patches in the sky as they could pass for clouds.
     Using the media plate again, after a good wipe over, I added Versamark through a stencil to the plate. As the plate hadn't been moved it went perfectly over the dry background, leaving the sticky sun rays, which I dusted with pearl mica powder.

     To get a matching mat layer I cut a piece of white card and sponged the edges to co-ordinate with the background.
     When it came to stamping the image black looked a little too harsh, so i used Memento Grey Flannel instead.
     I searched through my stash to find some silver paper that had a sheen similar to the mica powder for another mat layer.
     I have chosen not to add a greeting on the outside, I would normally add one inside when it's needed but I no longer have the card as it was a sample for John Next Door and Two Jays stamps.
     Please pop over to Not Just Cards to see all the inspiration from the DT, come and join us with your creations, as the title says it's Not Just Cards.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JLGP004 - Media Plate set of 4
CTJJ114 - Two Jays stamp  Tree & Bridge
Versamark Ink Pad
Distress Inks
Pearl Mica Powder
S57262 - 3D PVA Glue Stix2

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps - Anything Stamped Goes

Sweet Stampin' - Make Your Own Background

Country View - Hand Stamped

Chocolate Pop Box

     Another pop box made with John Next Door's new die, this time a 'Thank You' gift. It started as an idea to hold a cup cake but quickly took shape as a chocolate box.

      The box base is cut in watercolour card, it's a nice thick card with a dappled texture and being off white looked better with the brown embellishments.
     Using the notched square I cut a mid brown shape for all four sides and lid, both inside and out. I kept the gold for inside the box so that there would be more of a wow factor upon opening.
      The swirl pattern is stamped on watercolour card in Memento Rich Cocoa, which went quite well with the brown card. The Thank You inside the lid was cut in dark brown card as was the bow on top of the box.

   
     To decorate the panels inside I used the 'window' die to emboss a piece of dark card and trimmed it to make a chocolate bar, then wrapped it with a little gold foil and chomped a small corner like teeth marks.
     Using the Star Flower I cut several shapes in both shades of brown and gold, layered them up and added a small gold pearl in the centres. They are stuck on the inside panels at random and are different sizes so it doesn't look too uniform.

   
     The 'chocolate' in the middle is made from gold paper die cut with John's Small Lantern, with a bit of snipping and chopping it came out as an imitation Ferrero Rocher. The little case it sits in is a die cut rosette frill and it's all stuck down on a dark brown notched square.
     I did want the chocolate to open but it became far too complicated so I opted for a sealed one, it would make a great card to go along with a box of chocolates though.
   

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND147 - Advent Pop Box
JNDAD001 - Star Flower
JNDCC001 - Small Lantern
S57262 3D PVA Glue

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesdays - Anything Goes

Die Cuttin' Divas - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

A Place To Start - #1-Pearls, #2-Sentiment, #3-Die, #4-Solid Paper, #5-Flowers

Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes

Watercooler Wednesdays - Anything Goes

Deer Forest Pop Box

     This cute little box is a new die from John Next Door called Pop Box, because when you lift the lid it pops open. The finished box is 2.5 inches square and comes with a huge selection of small dies for decorating inside and out.

     The basic box shape can be cut from an A4 sheet of card, it cuts and scores all in one pass.
     I cut this box from a sheet of double sided card, folded it and then used some ink to blend all the outside edges. The window die is also in the set, this is backed with some snowfall acetate.
     There are silver mirri card deer on the outside, as well as a small snowflake, with a larger snowflake on the lid.
     Inside I used the notched squares to cut my glittering forest and the stags base plate.

    To make the deer stand up I used the tip from Tim Holtz, fold the thin card in a small 'v' shape and cut the 'v' just up from the bottom of the die. This little 'v' gives the deer's legs a tiny flat piece of card so he doesn't fall over, just glue his top half together.
     The inside of the lid is finished off with another snowflake because I love snowflakes. You get two of them with this set but I have to confess I have used some other snowflakes from stash, I do have a few!
     These boxes are great for table decorations, treats and advent boxes. They don't have to be just for Christmas either, with the selection of extras that come in the set you can make them for any occasion

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND147 - Advent Pop Box
JND148 - Advent Numbers   (not used this time)
S57262 - Stix2 3D PVA Glue

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

CraftyHazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything With Patterned Paper

Happy Little Stampers - Dies

Reach For The Stars

     When is a cracker not a cracker?.....when it's a rocket.  John Next Door's new faceted cracker die just lends itself to adaptation, for me it has a more masculine appeal than the usual style cracker.

     Using an A4 sheet of silver mirri card I cut out the cracker. I also cut two small holes in what ends up as the top section of the body, then covered those holes with a small piece of vellum so you can't see the contents when finished.
     To get the pointed top to the rocket I cut out alternate triangles on one end, making sure to turn them into tabs for sticking the top together. I cut one in rough card as a prototype first so I didn't waste my mirri card.
     While the cracker was flat I also coloured the inside of the base red and removed small triangles from the middle of each section to look like the rocket has fins.

      Putting the rocket together was made easier when I put a dab of the Glue Glaze on top of each piece of redline tape I used, it gives a tiny bit of wiggle room and then holds fast. Tape is great but it does eventually perish so by adding glue it will hold for much longer. I started with the top so that I could get my fingers into the point to adjust it as I went round, usually I start in the centre of a cracker but not this time.
     I have a small globe stamp that I then covered with the sentiment embossed in silver, die cut with a circle and then added it to a die cut scalloped circle. A small hole punched through this disc meant I could then add silver elastic cord and add it to the top of the rocket. To seal the bottom part of the cracker I used some silver peel off strips wrapped around twice, this will make it easy to open to get at the gift inside.
     With the rocket assembled I stuffed it with red tissue paper and left a small end sticking out to look like flames as it takes off. These would be great for a children's party, swap the wording for their name or age.

     I love this die, it has so many possibilities, including Sam's pillow box. It will remain a firm favourite at any time of year, afterall, a cracker is not just for Christmas.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND139 - Faceted Cracker
CAT002 - Glue Glaze
S57085 - Stix2 Ultra Clear Tape 6mm (Redline Tape)  

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Allsorts - Gold and/or Silver

Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

Aud Sentiments - For A Child

C.R.A.F.T. - Box or Bag

Crafting With An Attitude - Anything Goes

Southern Girls - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Polar Magic Goes Snowglobal

    This card uses the New Mica Magic two different ways, along with the new Polar Scenes die set and the Snowglobe die set. I have to say that I wasn't very interested in the snow globe die set at first, then one of my crafting friends showed me some of her projects and my head started to pop with ideas, so thank you Avril.  This is also my design piece for Not Just Cards which begins a new month today.

 
     I die cut the scene strips in black and in white card, I wanted to have a highlight type effect. I tried the white on top, then the black on top, the black looked better in a white globe.
    The background was made using the Mica Magic on watercolour card, the card has a texture that gives an almost snowfall look. I worked from the side of the card so the point of origin would be behind the trees, making sure to keep it brighter on the tree side. I added some black to the opposite side to make more of a night sky.

     John showed a technique where he inked the die and then cut the card, so I tried it with an ink called Silver Blue, to me it looks more lilac but as it's metallic it's great for this. I cut the circular frame and the decorative base this way.
     The card is cut with the snowglobe die making sure to leave a hinge at the top, this is covered up with the big circle that the background is on. The base is slightly longer than the full globe so that it stands out in front and looks like a real snowglobe would.
     To get some sparkle on the frame I used the new Craft Artist Glitter Touch clear, having such a small brush it's easy to add little details.
     The flower is made with Craft Artist foam and the Poinsettia die, then coloured with Mica Magic. This creamy mica is gorgeous on foam, it colours beautifully and doesn't rub off like ink does. It's stuck together with Gloss Glaze then finished off with a half pearl coloured with an alcohol marker.
     Please pop over to Not Just Cards and take a look at all the inspiration from both the DT and the challenge entrants, I'm sure you'll find something you'd like to try.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND143 - Polar Scenes die set
JND123 - Snowglobe die set
CAT004 - Mica Magic Autumn Hues
JNDCC017 - Poinsettia Die
CAT006 - Glitter Touch - Basics
CAT002 - Glue Glaze
CT27829-7 - White Flower Moulding Foam

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas

Cute N' Crafty Christmas - Anything Christmas

Seeing Stars

     Well it's getting closer to Christmas, so if you haven't started making your cards pop over to Christmas at Sweet Stampin' for some inspiration. I chose to go with the optional theme of Stars for my card.

     I started with a 6.75 inch white card blank, then I cut a 5.75 inch gold mirri mat. I wanted the stars to shine through from the mat layer so I cut a dark blue mat and die cut Tim Holtz Swirling Stars into it.
     The scene is John Next Door O Little Town die set cut from Kraft card, I thought this looked a bit like a sandy desert. To add a little light to the scene I inked the edges with white. The beauty of these dies is they are open ended so I could have the scene as wide and as deep as I wanted.
      I stuck the buildings section on to the dark blue and then trimmed it to make sure it was right to the edge. I thought about putting the camel section on foam pads but changed my mind and kept it flat, better for postage I think.
     A gold mirri die cut greeting was all that was needed to finish this one off, inside will be stamped later when I decide who to send it to.
      Christmas At Sweet Stampin' has lots of inspiration for you, whether it's to get started or to keep you going it's worth a look. Come and join us, we'd love to see your creations.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Angels or Nativity

The 12 Months Of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Sensational Santa

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Focal Sentiment 

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

Pink Magic

     This is a sample for tonight's show on Hochanda featuring Mica Magic from Craft Artist. John Lockwood will be demonstrating how versatile this colouring medium is for all manner of substrates, not just card.

     For this card I have teamed the new Mica Magic with a new stamp by Two Jays called Spring, as you would imagine there are three more stamps in the set but they can be bought individually.
     I stamped the image twice in grey on white card, I thought black looked a little harsh. Using the Autumn mica set I coloured one image with pinks, I wanted a little green so I used Distress Ink Peeled Paint.
     I cut out the flowers from the second image and coloured them with pink mica, making sure they were a little darker than those on the image panel.

     After colouring the flowers I shaped them with a ball tool and added a small pearl that was coloured with an alcohol marker.
     I found a nice green piece of pearl paper in my stash that went well with the green ink, so that was my first mat layer.
     For the second mat layer I wanted pink but non of the papers I have were a good match, why not use the mica?  I cut a thin white card mat and then edged it with the same pink mica as the image panel, as it was only around the edge it didn't use too much mica and it gave a perfect match.
     Once all the layers were stuck together I added it to a white card blank and glued the cutout flowers in place, it's much easier to mat and layer before adding embellishments.
     All that was left was to add a die cut greeting, I chose silver so it wasn't too bold and kept it flush to the card.
     These mica's are a creamy based medium so they behave a little like a gilding wax, because of that cream base they don't need a fixative like mica powders do.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
CAT004 - Mica Magic set AUTUMN
CTJJ108 - Two Jays stamp  SPRING

Stix2 3D PVA glue
Finger Daubers
Distress Ink Peeled Paint

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps - For A Lady/Girl

Penny Black and More - Pretty In Pink  For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Colour Crazy - Anything Colouring Goes

Craft Rocket - Pink

Time Out - Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month