Father's Day at The Paper Funday

 

     The new challenge at The Paper Funday begins today. We are an Anything Goes challenge with an optional twist, this month it's Masculine. I chose to make a Father's Day card.

     Using Kraft card I die cut the words with John next Door's individual letter squares, this gave me the chance to lay it out like scrabble tiles.

     I wasn't sure how well the die cut letters would stand up to a woodgrain embossing folder, so I used a ball tool to score the grain lines and a little green ink to highlight them.

     For decoration I have used die cut ivy touched over with a little white ink, a few punched flowerpots and some stamped and cut garden tools. All of these items have had a little shaping so they aren't completely flat.

     On the back of the main panel there is foam tape all around the outer edge but also in between the letters so it doesn't sag. Some of this tape is visible from the outside at an angle so it has been coloured brown with an alcohol ink pen.

     The main panel was stuck onto a satin gold mat layer on a white DL card blank. All the decorations were then added to the card with a strong PVA glue or tiny foam pads.

     With the addition of acetate this could be made into a shaker card for added interest.

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

Shopping Our Stash - #471 Make Mine A Tall One

Try It On Tuesday - For The Man In Your Life

Well and Truly Cornered

 

     A corner die doesn't just have to be for corners, you can make some great patterns with them., just by careful colour choice you can make them masculine.

     Working on a white square of card and using a pencil I marked faintly the centre lines. The Mayfield corner dies were cut out four times in blue card, this gave me 16 corners to play with, I also kept the waste incase it would be useful.

      Starting in the centre I glued down the corners, working towards the outside, checking the measurements along the way to keep it symmetrical.

      Once all corners were stuck down I used a few bits of waste to fill in, then gently rubbed out the pencil lines.

      The centre pattern panel was them mounted on a blue mat and stuck on to a white card blank. The words were added using the small stencils in the Shutter Card set, sticking the 'waste' from the stencils on to the card instead of cutting them through the white panel.

      Using a large DL card blank this one was made by sticking the corners directly on to the card.

      Again the card was marked out with faint pencil lines, this time I lay the die cuts on the card before gluing until I liked how it looked.

      The letters are cut in silver mirri and the corners were cut in two shades of blue. I tried to make sure the spacing was even, it just takes a little time and frequent measuring but I got there in the end.

      Two masculine cards using a corner die and a few extras, with no mention of sport, cars or booze!

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

Cardz 4 Guyz - #264 CAS

Seize The Birthday - Birthday / option Hearts  (hearts at point of corner)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - A Slimline Card

Watercooler Wednesday - #308 Occasions

Castle Reveal Card

 

     Today is the launch of a new die set from John Next Door called the Reveal Card, it has internal sliding doors that reveal the back panel when the front doors are opened.

      The outer cover and the inner sleeve were die cut from grey card to look like stone. To get some texture and increase the stone look I used an embossing folder, but as I didn't want an all over texture I used the open folder and a ball tool so I could be selective on where I embossed.

      For the inner sliding doors I cut from light brown card and stamped woodgrain in a darker brown. I did find with the inner doors I needed to cut a tiny bit off the height to aid sliding, this may be because I fixed the window sleeve a little to tightly, I would suggest you check yours before gluing.

     For the reveal I cut an arched window in the sleeve and added some ivy for a splash of colour and interest.

     The image is a piece of my artwork from a few years ago which I thought went well with the castle theme. I placed the window over the image and held it with clips until I had the image in just the right place, then I stuck the image down.

     The window sleeve was then stuck down in the centre of the back panel. I slid the doors in place and held them together with a small piece of stencil tape while I stuck them in place, this made sure they would still meet when the card was shut.

     For the front cover I used the 3D embossing folder called Quilted Blocks, I though it looked like an old studded door. Using Kraft card and some Distress ink to dirty it up, one embossed piece of card was enough for two door panels.

     For the hinges I used a Sizzix Tim Hiltz die and cut from Kraft card, to make them look a little more metallic I used Distress ink for the rust and gilding wax to look like brass.

     For a castle I thought the doors should have brass studs, so I used a pearl pen from Dutch Doobadoo, it's similar to pearl drops. 

     I was going to cut the hinges off at the edge of the card but they wrapped around to the back and met in the middle so beautifully, so I stuck them down.

     To help my doors slide a little more easily I added a gentle fold down the back, this means that the doors have less tension on the inner sleeve when they move, making it all run more smoothly.

     John has made a video to show how this card is put together which you can see here. For my card I didn't use foam tape, I scored a second fold very close to the first, both top and bottom of the sleeve to make a tiny tunnel for the doors to slide through. 

     I strongly suggest making this up in basic card to get the feel of it before you use your best card. Bear in mind that a textured card may make a difference to the slide of the doors, as will anything raised on the back panel behind the doors, this is speaking from experience!

Materials List
JND170 - Reveal Card die set
PCD304 - Quilted Blocks 3D embossing folder
JND129 - Mini Ivy die

656632 - Sizzix Tim Holtz Hardware Findings  (retired)

S57262 - 3D PVA Glue

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

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/ optional Winged Things

Challenge Up Your Life - Dragon or Kite     Top 3

Crafter's Castle - Anything Goes

The Fairy and The Unicorn - Anything Fantasy

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything With A Critter

The Dream Factory - How To Train Your Dragon     Top 3

Porthole Blues

     When the new layer die sets arrived the first thing I thought of for the circle was a porthole. This set is the 5", it has two cutting dies and an embossing die for each shape, circle , square and rectangle.

     The first time I used the embossing circle die I had a bit too much pressure and ended up cutting holes instead of embossing them, I have kept that bit for another project. With a tiny shim adjustment the next one came out just right.

     I cut the outer circle in plain white card and stamped the Two Jays sailing ship on it in grey ink, I coloured it in and also ran a dark blue alcohol marker around the outside edge, this shows as a mat layer under the mirri ring.

     

     To give the backing card a little more interest I used a linen card blank, inked up with some Mica Magic in shades of blue.

     The complete circular panel was stuck flat on to the card with a couple of die cut nautical shapes from my Mum's stash added to opposing corners, the gull has tiny foam pads so he's flying high.

     I didn't add a greeting on the outside, I think it would have become cluttered with anything else added.

Materials List
JND180 - Layering Dies 5"
CTJJ131 - Ship At Sea stamp
CAT008 - Mica Magic Brights

S57262 - 3D PVA Glue

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

The Male Room - #142 Travel

Watercooler Wednesday - Masculine

Dies R Us - One For The Boys    Top 3

International Art & Soul - Tic Tac Toe  emboss/die/image

Simon Says Monday - Frame It

Craft Artist Pigment Petals

     Today sees the release of the new Craft Artist Pigment Ink Petal sets, there are five in total, this card was made using the Autumn set.

     This card began as a white A6 piece of card which was put in the Press To Impress stamp platform, then it was stamped with one of the recent Two Jays stamps in brown ink. I then stamped again onto some Stix2 masking sheet and cut it out to cover the first image.
     Once the main image was covered I inked up the round Media Plate and stamped it onto the card. One of the other new products is a set of amazing little brushes which I sued to blend the ink around the edges of the plate.

     I left this to dry for a few hours, checked it and decided to finish it off with the low heat setting on my heat gun. I wanted this to be completely dry because I was going to use mica powder and that will stick to anything damp or sticky. Using a stencil and Versamark I inked up the Media Plate, this way the mica should only be on the circle and the beauty of a stampplatform is if you missed a bit you can go back and do it again knowing it will be in the same place.
     I dusted the image with an anti-static bag, stamped the image and then dusted with pearl mica. I used a dry paintbrush to remove any stray mica before giving it a quick spray with cheap hairspray, it needs to be cheap because you don't really want added conditioner.

     After all this it was time to remove the mask, the image was completely clean, this masking sheet is sticky all over so it sits down perfectly covering everything, it can be reused several times too. The image looked rather pale so with a water brush I coloured in the rocks by stamping on my craft mat and using it as a palette.
     When it came to mats and layers I found some card colours that I liked but one of them wasn't big enough to use, thinking cap on....blend a few ink colours together on beige card to make the shade I needed.
     A small wording embossed in gold tucked up in the corner was all that was needed to finish this card off. When the light catches the mica the lighthouse really shines out across the sky.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
CTJJ133 - Lighthouse by Two Jays
CAT053 - Craft Artist Pigment Petal - Autumn
CAT013 - Craft Artist Blending Brushes 
JLGP004 - Media Plate set of 4
S57268 - Masking Sheet
S57262 3D PVA Glue by Stix2

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

Challenge Up Your Life - Vacation Mood

Craft Rocket -For Men/Boys

Moving Along With The Times - At The Beach

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

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

Bright and Loud Circles

     A couple of cards made with John Next Door's new Circle Layer Dies. These are available individually or as a set of three. On both cards I have used all three dies. The top layer is a plain circle but the next two layers have stitched edges.

     I was so busy playing around with the layers that I forgot to take any progress pictures, but it's all quite simple really. The top card has the circles layered evenly and the bottom card has them layered off centre. Both have the layers stuck together flat, you could get another effect by adding foam tape between them. There are lots of examples over on John's Facebook group or on his You Tube channel.

     We're often stuck for masculine cards but I think this lends itself to all manner of themes depending on what else you add to it, if anything, or what colours you use.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop

PCD217A - Mulitlayer Circle Die A  - Large Circle
PCD217B - Mulitlayer Circle Die B  - Medium Circle
PCD217C - Mulitlayer Circle Die C  - Small Circle
Strong PVA Glue
Coloured Card

Sentiments and image stamp from stash.

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

Art Impressions - All Layered Up

Creative Craft Cottage - Masculine

Try It On Tuesday - Cut It Out

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Circles

Spring BBQ

     Making cards for men can be a bit of a challenge but with this bench/bridge card die set from John Next Door it's easy to come up with ideas, here's another one. You will find John's basic assembly video here.

      The base for this card was cut from white cardstock, approx 250gsm, but the shelf was cut from black card.
      Before sticking it all together I covered the base card with sky backing paper and the long 'bridge' panel with grass backing paper.
     Each side of the card has a small strip of black card added to make a shelf for the BBQ. The main shelf was cut down in height to give a gap underneath to show grass, it was then stuck on the outside of the main strip. Two tiny wheels and two small doors with mirri handles were added to the front, plus four tiny brads for knobs.
      The coals on the BBQ were made using alcohol markers on white card, covered with a small die cut mirri grid and dabbed over with black acrylic paint to knock back the shine.
      All the tools were cut from mirri card, those with wooden handles had the handles added from kraft card. The bottle of wine is the chopping board cut in green card and trimmed to look like a bottle, with a tiny scribbled label added.
      There is plenty of space to add a greeting or more tools and bottles, adapt it to suit your recipient. If this is not quite for you then pop over to Not Just Cards to see what else you could make.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND083 - Bench (Bridge) Card die
JND086 - Kitchen Tools die set
JND087 - Kitchen Tools stamp set
Strong PVA Glue

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

Southern Girls - Anything Goes

Creative Moments - Anything Goes/option Something to look forward to - BBQ with friends

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Love To Craft - Anything Goes

Something Fishy

     Another bench card made with John Next Door's new die, this time something a little different. There are so many different ways this die can be changed, it's great as a base to work from.

    The basic assembly video is here, but this card has a few differences. You will need one base section, one long front section and three bracers, all in black card, plus one shelf in kraft card.
     The base section has the front flaps cut to form long tabs, see photo. The long front section has been cut into two thirds for the bottom and one third for the top, these long bands will wrap from one side to the other to hold it all together.
      There is one bracer in the bottom to support the shelf and two across the top to hang the fish from. The shelf will need trimming down at the front to fit inside.
      For the background panel I printed a free aquarium scene I found on line, reduced to scale. Using some of John's foliage dies I cut green weeds and mounted them on tiny folded tabs so they stand up for display but fold flat for postage. The shelf already looked like sand so I left that alone but it could be decorated to look like stones if you so wished.

      The fish are all cut with tiny dies that some of my friends hunted down at a craft show a few months ago, the big ones cut from coloured card and the little shoal from silver mirri.
      To mount the fish I used redline tape on to small tabs of acetate that hang from the top bracers, two bracers makes for better positioning and it makes it stronger too.
       When the bottom shelf is lifted the tank will fold flat....but all the water runs out!! Just checking to see if you're read this far.
      There are so many fabulous ideas out there that have already been made, search bench or bridge card to find them. If you are on Facebook take a look at 'Crafting with John Next Door and Crafts Too' where you can see all the samples made by Lockwoods Angels.


Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND083 - Bench (Bridge) Card die
JND056 - Ferns die set
JNDAD016 -  Elderflower die set
Redline Tape
Strong PVA Glue
Fish dies - Craft Emotions
Acetate, black card, kraft card

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

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Love To Craft - Anything Goes

Crafts Galore Encore - Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Must Feature A Creature

Crafty Animals - Anything Goes

On The Bench

     John Next Door has a new die released today, a bench card, there are so many possibilities with this one. This card is just one of many samples made for the launch show, it's great when you get something that just sets off a whole bundle of ideas.

     This card has the main shape cut in orange card, the shelf, shelf bracket and front panel all cut in Kraft card. The front panel is then cut in half along the entire length, this lowers the shelf, you'll also need to trim the shelf one side when fitting.
     The main panel was coloured at random with Distress Ink Fired Brick before being stamped with Distress Oxide Tattered Rose. The front panel and the bench were stamped with brown ink using a woodgrain stamp.
      The little wooden plank for the shirts to hang from is a die cut from Tim Holtz (thanks Avril) also from Kraft card, this is mounted on foam pads to bring it out from the wall.
      Two die cut jumpers with the sleeves cut down make the shirts, with die cut white numbers added, a perfect way to put an age on the card if required. The tiny rosette is also die cut, again a Sizzix die, with white letters to personalise the card. Two little sets of boots were a bit more of a problem, neither I nor my local friends have a die to cut football boots, a trip to the internet and a free image of blue boots sorted that one.
      The greeting across the bench is die cut from dark brown card and stuck on with PVA. For a trophy I resorted to peel offs, I have a die but it's much too big for the card but the peel off was perfect. I just had to colour the base black with a Sharpie to make it look right.

      Here is the link to John's video showing basic assembly of the bridge card.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND083 - Bench (Bridge) Card die
Stamp Press
Distress Inks
Strong PVA Glue
Bits from stash and lovely craft buddies (before the lockdown)

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

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes/option use Kraft

Fab 'n' Funky - Masculine

Allsorts - Men and Boys

Send A Smile 4 Kids - Cards 4 Boys