Two Jays Holiday Map

     This was made with some of the new stamps released yesterday by Two Jays. If you get stuck making masculine cards you might like these.

      I began by stamping the World Map twice, once on large a piece of  white card, then again on another smaller piece of card. The second stamped image was the one that I coloured in the three places I was going to cut out, to make them stand out more I added clear embossing powder over the top.
      It was very easy to line up the die cut circles on the plain map using the grid lines, I stuck all three discs flat on the map, then stamped the word Travel in red across the equator.

      I used a script stamp from stash and added a few faint words around the map to break up the white space. The next step was to colour blend the outside edges so it would sit happily on the coloured mat layer I planned to use.
      I stamped three of the small images from the Travel Tags set in different colours and cut them out. Each small coloured disc had a tiny brad put through it and so did each small image, the images all have a foam pad on the back to make them stand away from the map, these images were then stuck on to the main panel.
      I stuck the main panel down on to the mat layer and then on to the card blank before linking each brad set with red embroidery cotton, this made sure that I didn't place too much tension on the thread and buckle the image panel.
      All that was left to add was a tag which holds the greeting, this was edged with the same ink as the main panel and mounted on a foam pad.
      If you know someone that's travelled, or is hoping to, this would make a great card for them, you can pick out the places they have been or wish to see, making it unique to them.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
CTJJ132 - World Map by Two Jays
CTJJ130 - Travel Tags by Two Jays
S57262 3D PVA Glue by Stix2

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

Southern Girls - Anything Goes    Top Pick

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

Creative Sketchy Girls - Men's Card

 Dragonfly Dreams - Masculine

Dove Shaker Card

     A wedding card made with one of the new Pop Box inserts from John Next Door, using these inserts you can make the cards to match the boxes giving you value for money, which we all love.

   
     When making a shaker card I prefer to make a shallow box to contain the confetti, that way I don't see any foam tape and nothing can escape.
      I cut the dove die in the middle of a large square piece of card and made a box approximately 3mm deep to surround it. An acetate front was stuck behind the doves, then small red heart confetti was added. For the back I stuck some gold mesh on a piece of white card , added it and then sealed the box around it. I then put this piece aside to make the main card for the box to go on.

     I wanted to use the same gold mesh as a background so I cut a square, gold mirri frame and mounted the mesh behind it. This was then mounted on a square, white card blank.
     Then the shaker box was stuck to the middle of the card, having the same gold mesh inside the box makes it look like the shaker is a frame hanging over the background but I know the confetti is secure inside it's own little box. As a finishing touch I added a gold mirri heart to the dove cut out.
     If you are making your own wedding stationery, favours and table decorations this set of inserts would enable you to co-ordinate everything, it's also pretty good for Anniversary parties.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND160 - Wedding Bells   (die inserts for Pop Box)
S57262 3D PVA Glue

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

Dream Valley - All Occasions

The Crafter's Cafe - Things With Wings

Sparkles - Wedding

Fun Friday YNS - Shake It Up

Gem Of A Craft - Anything Goes

Always Fun - Anything Goes

Pop The Question Box

     A box with a purpose made with the new inserts from John Next Door, this set is called Wedding Love but it's not just for weddings.

   
      I cut the box in black card, then cut all the heart panels in red pearl card, enough for both inside and out. I chose not to decorate the inside of the lid because I didn't want anything to take away from the impact of the ring stand.
      This box only has two small points that need to be glued, the tabs on the lid, making it an ideal pop open box for a proposal. It could easily be personalised with initials or anything of special significance for a truly unique item.
      To complete the top I cut a bow in the same card and stuck it in the centre of the frame.

     The ring stand is made using two hearts, one is snipped and creased at the top before being rolled into a cone and the other has a circle cut out ready for the cone to go through. The little snipped top bits make tiny tabs to be glued on the underside of the flat heart.
      I also cut a small ring of card to make a collar to go over the join just to keep it all tidy. Once the stand was complete I glued it firmly to the base of the box, making sure that the slope of the stand fell towards the back of the box.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND147 - Advent Pop Box
JND162- Wedding Love 
S57262 3D PVA Glue

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

Southern Girls - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes

Craft-Dee BowZ - Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with a die
Love To Craft - Anything Goes
Sparkles - Wedding

Pop Box Basket

     When is a Pop Box not a Pop Box?...when it's a basket. John Next Door has some new inserts for the Pop Box die, including wedding themed ones. I love the boxes but I wanted to make some other projects with the dies and came up with this one.

      Using Kraft card I cut the box shape minus the lid, then using the tiny heart dies I cut a shape in each of the four sides.
     To make the basket shape I cut along the dash score line of each folding corner panel, overlapped them and stuck them together.
      I cut a large red heart to go in the bottom of the basket and several tiny ones to decorate the basket, inside and out as well as the handle.

      To cut the handle I used the side panel die from the Heart Box set, this set was a gift from Val so 'Thank You Val'.
     As I am lucky enough to have a standard size Big Shot and a Plus size one I was able to use the small cutting plate in the Plus machine to make sure I only cut certain areas.  It took a bit of planning and I would have to say when you do this check and check again your small plate position BEFORE you cut every time.
     This method means you can cut a handle as long as your piece of card, I could have cut two and joined them, but I didn't want a join that might show or kink in the wrong place. With hindsight it may have been better to cut two long ones and glue them together for added strength, chocolates can be rather heavy....but only for a little while!

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND147 - Advent Pop Box
JND160 - Wedding Bells   (Tiny Hearts)
JND162- Wedding Love    (Large Heart)
JND063 - Heart Box    (Side Panel)
S57262 3D PVA Glue

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

Cuttlebug Mania - Wedding    win
Arty Divas - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies
A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes  #118
Pammie's Inky Pinkies - Anything Goes #2024

Light Bulb Glow Bug

     Lockdown has proved to be inspirational, having time to look at some amazing projects on blogger and Pinterest has sparked a few ideas. This is based on a project I saw that was crafted in glass and metal, again skills and tools beyond my capabilities. The challenge?.....to use what I have in my stash to make something similar and then post it for Not Just Cards as my DT project.

     The centre piece is the lamp, this came from Poundland some months ago, it has a short string of LED lights inside, battery operated, and a nylon string to hang it up.
      I have in my stash some jewellery wire of differing gauges, I found two of similar colours and set about making some legs. I did try wrapping the wire around the screw part of the bulb but it looked chunky and untidy, so I made three pairs of legs and wire wrapped them together, leaving a length of fine wire to wrap around the screw.
     The screw part of the lamp comes off so you can change the tiny batteries, this meant I had to attach all limbs, etc. to the screw only.

     For the wings I die cut some foiled acetate, this was quite thick so the open work in the wings did not cut out but it did emboss rather well. I cut two sets of wings and coloured them with a little alcohol ink in colours to go with the legs. I also used an embossing ball tool to give a little dimension to the wings before sticking both sets together in the middle.
     Assembly began with the legs hot glued to the screw, once the glue set I used the long wire to twist around the screw for added security, the wings were then stuck on with hot glue.

     It's larger and a little more crude in it's construction than the gorgeous ones I saw on Pinterest but I am very happy with it. If I manage to find any more lamps then I shall make him some friends, maybe with different coloured bodies. He looks good in daylight but so much better at night all lit up.
     Please pop over to Not Just Cards to see all the DT inspiration, come and join us with your projects, we'd love to see what you've been making.

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

Creative Crafting Uncles - Anything But A Card    (top 3)

Moving Along With The Times - Things With Wings

World Wide Open Design Team - Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes with A Critter   (top 6)

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

A Perfect Time To Craft - Anything Goes   (winner)

Classic Design - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

     This month's challenge at Christmas Craft Creations is Christmas Trees, so come and join us with your seasonal makes if it's got a Christmas tree on it.

     Using a tree shaped die I cut a window in my card blank, I had used a square card and it looked a bit 'roomy' at the top, so I chopped it down to be tree shaped too.
     The window made the front a little flimsy so I added acetate to strengthen it. I was going to put the greeting tree inside but it didn't look very good, so I decided to stick it to the acetate on the outside. This meant I needed a contrast colour behind it to make it stand out, so for the cream card I cut a green tree and the white card a patterned blue paper.
     The outside edges of the card were quite bare so I used a 2in1 glue pen and added foil all the way around. Making two at the same time, but in different colours, was a good way to build up my card stash so when we get to November I can start making decorations instead of cards.

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas