Pet Treat Boxes

   
      Welcome to another pet based project for Creative Expressions, this week we have some little treat boxes for you.

      The boxes are from a local craft shop and come ready to decorate, fold and fill. I have put a one pound coin here so you can see the size.

      Stamp one side using Archival Ink Coffee and the background stamp Kitten Treats. If you stamp the back of the box with this pattern you can hide the fact that the ends are not completely covered when you fold the box shut.

     Using the single stamp Best Friends mask off the dog and ink the stamp with Archival Coffee.

      Make sure you remove the masking tape BEFORE you stamp the box.

     Stamp the second box back with Paw Print Lattice with the same ink.

      Mask off the cat this time and stamp the dog onto the box.

      Fill the boxes with dry treats, fold in the flaps at the ends and tie up with Bakers Twine. Stamp two pieces of Kraft card with sentiments and die cut. Using foam pads mount these tags on the front of the boxes and your gift is ready.

      I just wanted to tell you about these wipes. Yes they are more expensive than supermarket wipes but have a look at this one, it's been on the go for six projects over a period of two weeks and it's still wet!
      I have kept it in a sandwich bag when not in use and even though I've cleaned countless stamps with it it still works. They even work on flake and glitter glue covered stamps!
      I am what I would call a thrifty crafter and would never have gone for these before, but now I've tried them I am a definite convert.


Materials used
Best Friends single stamp
Kitten Treats background stamp
Paw Print Lattice background stamps
Paws-itively Great sentiments set
Archival Ink Coffee
Bakers Twine
Grime Boss Wipes

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

Addicted To Stamps - Use A Tag On Your Creation
Pile It On - Something Edible

CASE-ing Christmas Challenge #2

      Welcome to my first project for CASE-ing Christmas, we are a new challenge making Christmas cards by CASE-ing selected cards each week. For this month only we have CANDY each week, so please pop over and take a look, we would love you to join us.
     This card is based on Pat's lovely card, I chose to use the colours and the sketch and I love snowflakes! To try and match the gorgeous colours of her flower I used Distress Inks Broken China and Dusty Concorde to colour the edge of my white card blank.
     The backing card is Cryogen White, it has a subtle sparkle to it that is perfect for snowflakes, run through an A4 embossing folder Snowflake Lattice by Creative Expressions. Each snowflake has a tiny dot of Sakura Stardust clear in the middle.
     The tag is purple pearl card mounted on a layer of silver mirri card. My centre piece is a snowflake die cut in Cryogen White with Spellbinder Ironwork Motifs with tiny clear gems on the end of each arm.
   

     There is a silver Frosty Border by Memory Box stuck under the snowflake which is mounted on a foam pad, there is also a small silver snowflake cut from the border die stuck in the middle of the white snowflake, this also has a tiny gem on it.
     The greeting is a tiny peel off as I couldn't find a stamp that small in my stash. It is stuck on to a tiny label cut with an XCut die, mounted on foam and purple gems stuck over the holes at either end.
     I have thoroughly enjoyed CASE-ing Pat's card and I hope she likes it, I'm really looking forward to the next one. At least this way I will have lots of great cards by Christmas so I can spend more time on decorations and baking. Come along and join us at CASE-ing Christmas and build up your stash too.

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

Creative Shopping Challenge - Snowflakes
Scrap It Girl - Snowflakes
(PIN)spirational Challenges - Snowflake
Try It On Tuesday - Favourite Thing  (Snowflakes)
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes


I would just like to say thank you to all visitors for calling in and leaving me a little comment, and a big Thank You to followers old and new. May this year bring you all lots of Happy Crafting!

New Beginnings at The Male Room

     New Year greetings from The Male Room. This fortnight we have a 'New Beginnings' theme, it could be a new job, house, car or adventure for a man or boy.  My card is for a friends nephew who is off again on his continuing adventures in the southern hemisphere.

     The globe and plane are X-Cut dies that are my bargain sale find. The plane actually flies around the globe, it's stuck to a bar that is fixed by a brad to the globe, somewhere in Mexico! I have had to add a little foam pad under the globe to stop the plane dropping to the bottom when the card is standing up but it does still move across the top.
     The backing paper is a map scrapbook page that just looked right for this, mounted on a blank white 7x5 card that has had the edges coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress ink.
     The sentiment is a stamp by Chocolate Baroque from a set called Artistic Affirmations, stamped in Archival Ink Coffee and Cosmic Shimmer Clear embossed.
     There is a ship in this set too so I shall have to make another card and find someone who is going off on a cruise. I liked these dies when I saw them, really liked them when they were on sale, but now I know they move I love them!
     Please come and join us at The Male Room with your creations, we have lots of inspiration for you on the challenge blog to get you started.

I would like to fly my plane at the following challenges:

Dragons Lair Design - New Beginnings
Cardz 4 Guys - Vintage
Crafty Boots - Something New
Shopping Our Stash - Use Something New
Crafty Sentiments Designs - New Beginnings
Make My Monday - New Beginnings

In The Doghouse

    Welcome to my first project of 2015 for Creative Expressions. This month we have some cute cats and dogs to show you.
    This was a little outside my comfort zone, I don't make cute very often, but thanks to a brainstorming session with my crafting buddies I now have a series of projects for the rest of the month.
     This one is a very easy card to make, with some stamping and colouring it comes together very quickly.

     Begin with an A4 sheet of Foundations Taupe card, fold the ends to the middle to create a gatefold card. Lay the stamp on the card in the centre to work out how big the opening of kennel will need to be.
     To get the arch even at the top I drew round an oval die, then drew straight lines from the widest point to the bottom. This will need to cut hand.

     To shape the roof mark the centre at 6.5 inches and the sides at 4.75 inches, draw a line from the sides to the middle, check that you are happy with the pitch of the roof and cut.
     On the offcut measure 5/8 inch from the shaped edge and cut a parallel strip for the barge boards. Colour these brown with an alcohol marker.
     Using Tree Bark background stamp and  Archival Ink Coffee stamp the front of your card, do this with the flaps open so you don't accidentally stamp the inside too.

     Fix the barge boards to the top of the kennel with foam pads. Using the Hope You Have A Doggone Good Day! sentiment from Paws-itively Great stamp on a red scrap of card in Archival Coffee and clear emboss.
     Die cut the red card with a Spellbinder die, Curved Rectangles, using the smallest one. Attach this to the card flap on ONE SIDE ONLY.
     Stamp Alfie in Archival Ink Coffee and clear emboss on a piece of Taupe card. Colour Alfie using paint, pencils or alcohol markers and allow to dry. Fussy cut the dog ready to go on the inside back of the card, using Cosmic Shimmer PVA dries clear stick Alfie to the card.
      I have found it easier to do it this way, it saves ruining the card if the stamping goes wrong, as long as you use the same colour card it doesn't really show that much. There is room inside to write your greeting hidden behind the flaps.

Materials used
Alfie single stamp
Paws-itively Great sentiment set
Tree Bark background stamp
Archival Ink Coffee
Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder
CS PVA Dries Clear Glue
Foundations Card Taupe
Spellbinder Die Curved Rectangles

I would like to enter Alfie in the following challenges:

Alphabet Challenge - W for Whiskers

January

     I like to make projects other than cards, so this great calendar from Stix2 was just what the craft doctor ordered, you can get these at your local Craft shop. It's a hanging calendar that you can decorate yourself, the pages are approximately 9.5 inches square which means you can get a great 8x8 layout on them. Layouts that you can remove and keep after the calendar is finished or make for a friend or family member to keep.

     I have used papers from my stash to back my layout as well as to decorate the page that holds the dates, I found some papers that had almost the same shade of blue in them as the printed page.
     I have also stamped a white snowflake on the date page to tie the top and bottom together by theme.
     The photographs were taken in January two years ago on a very long school run, it took twenty minutes to go three miles but over an hour to get back! ice under snow and lots of crazy drivers, but it did look pretty.
     The small photo is mounted on foam tape on the bottom and both sides, this leaves the top open to tuck a small tag inside where I can write a little message or this month's birthday list.

     The quote is from a poem by Sara Coleridge and just seemed to go so well with the pictures. It's printed on white card in turquoise by changing the text colour before printing, then die cut with a Spellbinder die and inked with Distress Ink Broken China before taking the die off the shape.
     I have added some small turquoise gems to the snowflakes to add a little sparkle.
     Next month is mauve so I will have to see what I can come up with for that one.

I would like to enter January in the following challenges:

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes

That's Crafty - Blue Is The Colour

Country View Challenges - Use Something New To You
Scrap It Girl - Snowflakes

Happy New Year from the House Of Cards

     Welcome to a New Year with House Of Cards. Our format has changed a little, but it now gives you the chance to see all the DT cards at the beginning of the challenge, with a reminder each week through the month so you'll never be stuck for inspiration.
     This month we have a Glittered Blues theme, you can make any style card you wish as long as you stick with our theme. I have made a Vintage style card with a glittered border.
   

      To make the glittered border I have used some double sided sticky sheet and a piece of lace. Lay the lace over the sticky sheet and sprinkle on some mink coloured glitter, remove the excess glitter and then remove the lace. Using a contrasting colour, teal, sprinkle over the remaining sticky sheet to fill in all the gaps. Trim the edges to make a tidy glittered strip. (Top Tip Tuesday's Tip)

     The main image is a free digi from the Graphics Fairy, they have lots of gorgeous vintage images to download. This one has been lightened and had the edges faded out to remove some writting that I didn't want.
     The frame is cut with a Spellbinder die from gold satin card and tarnished with brown acrylic paint. The backing paper is one I had from Eclectic Anthology for a previous project, the colours are perfect for this challenge, I have printed it off a little paler than it was originally.
     The swirl is die cut with a Sizzix Bigz die in dark blue pearl card and decorated with small white sakura flowers edged with Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire, then finished with some small pen strokes using a Stardust clear pen and a tiny teal gem in the middle.

     So come and join us at House Of Cards for the start of a great new year of card creations.
If you like to make Christmas cards there is a new weekly challenge starting on the 2nd of January called CASE-ing Christmas and for the first month there is CANDY every week!!

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

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - Make Your Own (Patterned Glitter Strip)

Sparkling Baubles! Christmas isn't over yet.

     Christmas is never far away in my house and if you come and join us at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra you can keep it with you too.  We are a monthly challenge that embraces anything made for Christmas, not just cards.
     We are sponsored by Bugaboo Digi Stamps so you will find this image there, it's called Make It Snappy Merry Christmas Ornaments.  There are lots of very cute designs as well as some stunning silhouettes to work with.
     This image has been printed on thin acetate and the baubles have been glittered from behind. The snowflakes also have a little clear glitter to give them some sparkle. To attach acetate to card can be a bit of a nuisance as most adhesives show through, for this one I chose to use some double sided sticky sheet, that way the glue is all over so it's not so visible.

     The card the acetate is mounted on has a blue marble effect which lends itself very nicely to the winter theme. This is then attached to a blue pearl card blank so there is sparkle and shine all over this card. The holly berries are red gems stuck on top of the acetate and the small stars have tiny clear gems stuck on them.
     This use of a digi is great if, like me, your colouring skills need improvement as not a single pen has been used.
     Come and join us at CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra with your seasonal makes and get ahead for next Christmas.

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

Glitter N Sparkle - Anything Goes

Christmas Card Challenges - Anything Goes