Crackers Are Not Just For Christmas

 

     The challenge at River Of Creativity this month is all about Celebration, this doesn't have to be Christmas, it can be the celebration of anything. I have chosen to make a cracker because I like them and think it's such a shame they only get used at Christmas, they're great for any occasion.

     This cracker is actually a half normal size version, great for tea parties and other get togethers, it also means you can cut two from one A4 sheet of card.

     Glitter card makes for a very bright cracker and using the Craft Artist non shed, non shed because it's not actually glitter atall, means there's no mess.

     Using the new strip dies from John Next Door, JND235 Shiregreen, I cut several lengths of black card to decorate the cracker before assembly. Two strips with one side and the bar middle, then one strip with both sides and the bar middle. All the strips were attached with redline tape as it's good and strong.

     To make the rosette I cut two strips in black using only one side die and stuck them together to make one long strip. Then I scored the strip at every pattern repeat, each diamond point and each gap between diamonds.

     Once all scores were made I pleated the entire strip and glued the ends together to make a ring. After the glue had dried I gently pushed the straight side of the ring down on my craft mat to make it form a rosette, this took a little bit of encouragement but it's so worth the time spent. Happy that the rosette was alright I glued a small piece of black card under the centre of the rosette, placed a small weight on top to hold it and went away for a cup of tea while it dried.

      In my stash I found a nobly clear gem that would fit perfectly over the small hole in the rosette, but I didn't want a clear gem so I coloured it yellow with an alcohol marker before sticking it firmly in place with strong glue. As the rosette had a flat back because of the small card circle it was stuck to it was easy to fix to the cracker with redline tape.

      This cracker won't actually crack, I didn't put a snap inside but you could if you wanted to. I chose to use curling ribbon to seal the cracker  because I like the curls you can make with the ribbon ends, I have used two lengths on each end to get extra curls.

      You can make these crackers with any colour combination you wish and any decoration that suits the occasion, so why limit their use to Christmas. A cracker is not just for Christmas, it's a great way to wrap a small gift any time of year.

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

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

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

A Perfect Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Classic Design - Anything Goes

Creatalicious - Anything Goes/option Christmas

It's A Gift

 

     River Of Creativity have a new challenge beginning today, this month the theme is Gift. It could be something you have made for a gift, a bag or box to hold a gift or any other way that you interpret the word Gift. 

     I love making 3D projects so it had to be a gift box for me. This box was made as a sample for John Next Door's new Belgravia Mandala die set show.

     The mandala made me think of Indian decor so I chose to use peacock type colours for the box, making the it up with kraft card.

     The mandala made up the decoration on the lid but I used a few circle dies and the sides of the heart box to make the basic carcass. The bottom circle was slightly larger than the the one that the sides were stuck around, it also helped cover up the tabs on the edge making neater.

     

     

     For the lid I used the same size circle but was a little looser with the sides, making sure that the lid would fit over the base.

     I cut the basic full size shape of the mandala in kraft, then cut the outer edge in gold pearl paper. I cut the next layer in turquoise but kept all the little bits that fell out and glued them into the gold layer.

     

     The next layer was cut in kraft card and set aside while the centre piece was cut in turquoise with a gold pearl layer underneath.

     The centre turquoise was stuck over the gold layer then with foam tape it was stuck onto the kraft layer, making sure to leave a gap in the middle. Then this centre layer was stuck on to the kraft layer with foam tape, again leaving the middle free of tape.    

     I then added a brown tassel to the centre of the lid by poking a whole through both raised layers and securing it firmly before adding this section to the large turquoise layer.

      To finish off the lid I added tiny gems around the mandala. For the box sides I cut a strip of turquoise card, making sure there was a gold pearl layer under the centre and stuck this all the way around the sides, this brings the decoration to the sides to finish it off. 

     I shall be making more of these for Christmas, not looking too seasonal will mean they can be left out on display all year round.

     Please come and join us at River Of Creativity with your projects, they don't have to be paper based, we'd love to see your artwork or mixed media too.

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

Country View Crafts - Christmas Gifting

Love To Scrap - #151 Anything Goes

Mix It Up - #55 Anything Goes/ option 3D project

C.R.A.F.T. - #616 Gift Bag or Box

Moving Along With The Times - #136 Anything But A Card

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 2.11

Wildlife By The River Of Creativity

 

     I'm trying something different for this month's River Of Creativity, we may be a multi craft challenge but that doesn't mean you can't enter with a card project. So if you are making your Christmas cards you can join us as long as it has a wild animal on it.

     This trio started as a splodge background using Distress Oxides. I like making a few of these splodge backgrounds in a nice long, messy play session, no two are ever the same, even when using the same colours.

     To add a little sparkle to the background I used pearl mica water instead of just water when spritzing the inks, I have found that this means I can tip the stamp platform around mixing up the inks with no need for a brayer. You do need a heavy weight card so it doesn't buckle when wet or better still watercolour card, although that can be harder to stamp on than smooth.

     Tartan seems to be popular this year so I searched through my stash and found one that picked out the ink colours perfectly, more by luck than judgement. 

      I stamped with Versafine Black using Lavinia Stamps deer and trees, the beauty of a stamp platform is silhouettes are no longer hit and miss, these images were stamped three times to get a nice dark coverage.

      When I cut mat layers I am very frugal, why use a complete layer when a wide border will do, I can keep the inners for another project.

     Although each card has a similar background I wanted them to be noticeably different. The first one was cut as a stitch dot square, mounted on a thin black mat, then on top of the tartan layer using foam tape, with the tartan flush to the card. To finish off I used a white gel pen to add highlights, mixed results with this, then a few tiny silver peel off stars.

     The second one I cut with a stitch dot circle, matted on a black layer with foam onto the tartan layer that was die cut in the corners with a snowflake pattern. To keep the curve element I used a corner punch on both the tartan and the card blank.

     I have been admiring the eclipse cards popping up in blogland so decided to give it a try. The main panel was again cut with the stitch dot square but then die cut with a bauble die. I then cut four plain card layers with the same bauble and stuck them together to make a thick mat. I wanted to add a little sparkle so I coloured the edge of this thick mat with a silver Sharpie, followed by a silver glitter gel pen, then I stuck the top layer on.

      As the bauble was raised I chose to mat and layer all the other pieces without any foam tape. This image has a small Father Christmas and reindeer stamped in the sky and to finish it off I used a white Posca pen to add the snowfall.

      All three cards are 7x7 inches so will either be a large letter or hand delivered. It was challenging to make them all appear different while using the same stash and it adds three cards to the box ready for December.

      Please come and join us at River of Creativity with anything you have made, including cards, that features wildlife. 

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

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round - Something beginning with S or T

Sparkles Christmas - #129 Flora / Fauna

Jingle Belles - Snow

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - #152 Anything Christmas

The Holly and Ivy - #102 Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - #39 Anything Christmas

Peace On Earth Christmas - #1 Anything Christmas

It's All About The Bling

 

     This month's challenge at River Of Creativity is all about Fashion Sense. It's a challenge for all creative projects, so if you have made a new dress or knitted a new top you can enter them, we would love to see your work.

     I have wanted to make this head for some time, I've been collecting all sorts of 'bling' for months. I made a steampunk-ish type one several years ago and this one started life the same way, papier mache.

     I have a polystyrene head which I covered with cling film and then approximately 8 layers of papier mache. Once completely dry I cut the head open at the back and removed the polystyrene form. Using hot glue and a selection of clean stones from the garden I weighted the bottom inside.

     I pulled the head back together and sealed the wound with three layers of papier mache - an old newspaper and some PVA glue.

     Once the head had dried out thoroughly I die cut some swirl shapes in greyboard and glued them in place at random. I also die cut a fancy border in greyboard and glued that all the way around the base. 

     The next step was to use pieces of aluminium tape to cover the newsprint and the shapes, taking care to use a ball tool around the shapes to flatten the edges and define the swirls. Then it was time to break out the black acrylic paint, this was sponged all over the head, then just before it dried completely I rubbed some of it off so it had a distressed look. It's easy to touch up any areas you're not happy with but you can get messy hands, good thing it's all water based.

      Then came the fun part, trying to decide which bits and bobs to put on the head. The mask was a must, it helps define the face as the features are not strong. I was originally going to cover it with bling but having used aluminium tape it already had shine before anything else was added. It ended up with a tiny tiara, earrings, necklace and lots of stud earrings popped in on the swirls. Everything was attached with hot glue so I had to work fast, I made a few mistakes and had to peel things off, patch and try again, but I did enjoy making it.

      The last one I made was for a headphone stand but I have no idea what this one will be used for....yet. I have also kept the polystyrene shape just incase I feel like making another one.

Steampunk type head from 2016

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

Creative Artiste - #75 Anything Mixed Media      Top 3

Watercooler Wednesday - #323 Cathy's Challenge - All Things Feminine

Mixed Media Lovers - #5 Anything Goes

The Crafter's Cafe - #273 Anything Goes

A Perfect Time To Craft - #9-2021 Anything Goes      DT Fav

Love To Craft - #62 Anything Goes

Crafter's Castle - #45 Anything Goes

Crafty Calendar - September Anything Goes

Castles In The Sky

 

     I do seem to be carrying a bit of a theme through most of my River Of Creativity projects, it wasn't intentional but I do love dragons. Our theme this month is 'One Earth', a bit of a stretch maybe but this is my dragons earth.

    

     Using the Lavinia Stamps Fairy Orbs I stamped on white card, this was following an idea I had seen on their FB page and I'm very sorry to say I can't remember who to credit for this idea.

     The castle is an Encaustic Wax stamp that I have had sitting in my stash for years.

     Once the castle was stamped and dry I used a fine micron pen to draw lots of tiny circles to join up the orbs, it took an hour or so but I really wanted to try this idea and I think it was worth it.

     Once I had drawn all the circles I die cut a circle in masking sheet and covered the card with it so that it would make a moon just behind the castle towers.

     I chose three shades of lilac/purple to blend around the castle, trying to avoid colouring the orbs if possible. The advantage of using Distress inks was I was able to bleach out the colour with a water brush where needed.

     When I was happy with the colour coverage I used a spritz bottle and my hand to flick water across the card to make marks. I also used a white Posca pen to make tiny specks on the card by tapping it with a rule to make it splatter.

     Using the same pen I added some white lights to the castle windows. Then it was time to add the dragon, another Lavinia Stamp, using black Versafine.

     A thin black mat around the card frames the image and helps pick out the stamping. It was a little tricky finding the right shade of purple for the wide mat layer. I didn't want to colour it with inks as I wanted a solid, plain colour that wouldn't distract from the image.

     Finally it all went on a white layer, ending up 8x8. It won't be a card, I'm keeping it as a picture. I might try another one sometime but right now it's happily sitting above my desk until I decide how to frame it.

     If you have a project that you think will fit our loosely based theme then please come and join us at River Of Creativity, we would love to see your creations. Remember it doesn't have to be papercraft, it can be anything you have made yourself with any materials. 

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

Addicted To Stamps and More - #411 Make Your Mark

Ike's World - #147 Anything Goes/option Animal

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes Aug3

Crafting Happiness - Anything Goes

Challenge Up Your Life - #138 Circles

Country View - Monochromatic

Dragon Girl

     Our third challenge at River Of Creativity is to make anything you like as long as there are 'no hearts or mushy stuff' on it. It doesn't have to be papercraft, it can be anything that you have made.

     

      The image panel on this picture is a digital paper from Vectoria Designs, I don't do much with digital images but this caught my imagination because I love dragons. The whole pack has my head buzzing with ideas for a journal, but for now it's just a picture to hang on the wall.

      After printing the image I took a piece of white card and some Distress inks and made a corresponding backing sheet. Spritzing with water when finished to achieve the speckled effect.

      I cut a dark blue mat layer to go between the image panel and the backing sheet, then cut another blue mat to go behind the backing sheet, it's amazing how much it changes the picture.

      To give the picture some dimension and interest I printed another page from the set and die cut it with one of Jamie Rodgers Canvas Collection dies. The sides were glued down but I used some foam tape in the middle to give it support.

      I was hoping to have it framed before now but I haven't found the right one yet, when I do I think it may have to be altered slightly to fit with the subject, I'll update this post when it's done.

      Please come and join us at River Of Creativity, we accept anything you have made as long as we can see our chosen theme in there somewhere.

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

The Fairy and The Unicorn - Anything Fantasy

The Crafter's Cafe - #269 Anything Goes

A Perfect Time To Craft - #7 Anything Goes

A Bit More Time To Craft - #142 Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - #52 Anything With A Critter

Crafty Calendar - July Anything Goes

Gem Of A Craft Challenge - #14 Anything Goes

Learning To Fly

 

     It's our second challenge at River Of Creativity, this month our theme is Parent and Child. We accept any hand crafted project as long as we can see how our theme has inspired you.

     I have been watching some very inspiring videos online by Eileen Godwin, her use of stencils to give just a hint of colour to the background really caught my attention.

     To begin this card I stamped the mushroom by Lavinia Stamps in Versafine black. Before getting a stamp press silhouettes were a bit problematic, but now it's so easy, if you miss a bit then stamp it again.

      To make sure my moon was kept perfectly clean I die cut a circle of Stix2 masking sheet and placed it so it would appear to be behind the mushroom.

     With the mask in place I used a stencil, some Distress Oxide in Lilac and a blending brush to colour my background.

     I only coloured part of the area through the stencil, I kept lifting it up to peek underneath and check it was where I wanted it to be.

     Once the Distress Oxide had dried off I stamped the large dragon in the air and the baby dragon sitting on top of the mushroom, looking at his Mum.

     The mushroom was grounded by adding a small shadowy area at it's base with a coloured pencil. The sentiment is also a Lavinia stamp, stamped in Versafine black.

      The image panel was trimmed to fit a 6x6 black card blank but it needed a tiny splash of colour to bring it all together, this was when I started searching my stash for the right piece of card or paper. After what felt like hours I gave up and used a purple pearl marker to colour the edge of a white card mat, once under the image panel it looked perfect, just a hint of purple to match the background.

      River Of Creativity is not just for cards or mixed media, we would like to see any hand crafted project that fits your interpretation of our theme, please come and join us.

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

Shopping Our Stash - #446 Gnomes / Mythical Creatures

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes With A Critter

A Bit More Time To Craft - #141 Anything Goes

Sunshine and Showers

 

     

      The theme at River Of Creativity this month is sunshine, this challenge blog is not just for mixed media and cards, it is for ANY craft. If you have made it and it fits our theme we would love to see it.

     Both of these card started with I-Zink pigment inks and some acetate. The ink was dropped onto one piece of acetate, then covered with another piece of acetate and squished together.

     Before the ink could dry the two pieces were pulled apart, this is what gave it the steaky patterns. It was then set aside to dry, which didn't take very long. I made several different sheets using other colours and put them in my stash box, after all if you're going to get all the products out you may as well turn it into a full creative session.

     The best way I have found to stick these panels down is to put the decorated acetate on to a sheet of double sided sticky film, then you get no glue marks because it's sticky all over.

     These acetate panels were die cut after the sticky was added, using Tonic nesting ovals. I also discovered it was best to stick down one end of the panel and gently peel off the backing, smoothing it down as I went. It helped keep it aligned and made sure I got no air bubbles under the acetate. If you do get an air bubble you can pierce the card from behind with a pin, just make sure you don't go all the way through the acetate aswell.

      For the rain man the acetate was stuck onto a sheet of white card, then decorated with Distress Ink and spritzed to get the rain drops. 

      For the sunshine lady I used a stencil and Distress Ink to create the rays of the sun before sticking down the acetate. The stencil wasn't quite large enough to cover the card completely so I inked the main part and then moved the stencil around to enlarge the area.

      A mixture of Scattered Straw and a dash of Fossilised Amber created the desired effect. For each card the character was going to need to be grounded, this was done by using a piece of torn paper and the same Distress Inks used for the backgrounds.

      The two characters are cut using metal rule dies, one Sizzix and one unknown. The rain man was cut in very dark blue and the lady was cut in a pearly dark brown, each image panel has been matted on the same card as the character.

      The sayings were found on line, typed out and printed off. I don't know who Rain Man's saying comes from but the Sunshine Lady is by Helen Keller. Both sayings were die cut oval to match the acetate panel and ink blended to match the backgrounds. Both characters and sayings are mounted on foam, sayings on 1mm thick and characters on 2mm thick.

      The two cards were made several months apart as it took me a while to find a suitable lady for the sunshine card. Now they're complete I rather like them as a set, they may just end up being framed and kept rather than gifted as cards, although each acetate panel has a double so maybe it's a good reason to make some more.

      Don't forget that River Of Creativity is a new challenge that accepts ALL forms of craft, as long as we can see how the theme has inspired you any project is welcome.

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

Path To Positivity - #91 optional - change your environment (frame as pictures)

Use Your Stuff - #422 Use A Stencil

Crafty Calendar - Masculine

The Creative Crafters - #40 Anything Goes

Love To Craft - #58 Anything Goes

Let's Craft and Create - #171 Anything Goes + No Patterned Paper

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes With Dies

Dies R Us - #169 Anything Goes using stock a die

A Bit More Time To Craft - #140 Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - #5 Anything Goes / optional mood board

Sunshine On The River Of Creativity

     There is a new challenge on the block, River Of Creativity is for all crafts, not just paper. There will be a theme each month but it will be quite a broad one, allowing your creativity to run riot. 

     This picture started life as a wooden wallart item found in a charity shop, I didn't like the artwork much but when I looked at the back it was a great shallow frame I could do things to.

     I started to put together the image panel and tried it inside the frame, it was too much of the same colour, so I painted the inside edge of the frame with dark brown acrylic.

     I had a sheet of 12x12 paper that was almost exactly what I wanted but it was a bit too bright and a tad too big, the inside of the frame is 10.75 inches square. After playing around with different ideas I found a sheet of vellum in my stash with little flowers all over it. Perfect, it knocked back the colour and added another feature, as the light changes across the panel the flowers show up. After trimming the paper to fit inside the panel I folded the edges of the vellum over the paper all the way around, this way the vellum stays put and there is no need for glue.

     The bee hexagons are cut from mat photos using a die by Jamie Rodgers, the shape caught my imagination as soon as I saw it, they're like little boxes, which reflects the idea of using a box frame.

      To fix the paper panel in the frame I used some redline tape, this stuck to the vellum overlapped edge so hopefully over time it will not show through the paper as it doesn't actually touch it.

      To fix the bees to the vellum I used some Stix2 3D PVA, strong stuff and acid free. To get even spacing I used a wooden stir stick between each shape until the glue set.

     The corners needed a little something so I die cut some honeycomb in mustard card, thank you Avril for the use of your die, but only stuck them in two of the corners.

      At the bottom I added some paper sunflowers and at the top there is a small die cut bee, this is only stuck on with tack because I'm not sure if I like it, maybe I will find something I like more in time.

     I am so pleased to be working with the girls at River Of Creativity, it's great to have a challenge that welcomes all craft, not just card making. Please pop over and read all about it, then come and join us with your creations.

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

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - #5 Anything Goes

We Love To Create Mixed Media - #5 Anything Goes

Always Fun - #212 Combine Old & New Products

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes With A Critter

Creatalicious - Things With Wings

World Wide Open Design Team - #4 Anything Goes

Dies R Us - #168 Anything Goes With A DRU Stock Die