Summer Paper Funday

 

     This months challenge at The Paper Funday is all about Summer Fun. So for this little card I have used one of our sponsor images, Tree House Love by HettyClare.

     There are no progress pictures as it was just a case of printing the image off on some 120gsm white card and colouring it in with alcohol markers. There is a thin very pale grey line all the way around the image to make it stand out a little, a friend taught me this trick and it seems to work well.

     The card blank is only four inches square, a very small card that would make the perfect tag for a New Home gift. I searched through my stash for a New Home stamp but came up empty handed, hard to believe I don't have one......yet!

     A very thin mat layer helps pick out the red in the image, I tried a few colours but that looked the best option.

     Please come and join us at The Paper Funday, it's an Anything Goes challenge with the optional twist of Summer Fun.

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

Your Next Stamp - #167 Home Sweet Home

Angie's Digital Stamps - #54 Anything Goes/optional Flags

Digi Choosday - Wk27 Anything Goes

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

Cherry Blossom Light Box

 

     The new Art Deco dies from John Next Door made me think of oriental style projects. Rather than a card I decided to make a box scene with internal lighting.

     To begin with I die cut a box shape in dark brown pearl card, twice, one for the bottom and one for the lid.

     Using the Cassandre die I cut the lid, this gave me a perfectly sized hole to drop a gold die cut of Cassandre into and a brown version to trim up and glue along the outside edges of the lid.

     To keep the gold die cut in place I attached some thick acetate to the inside of the lid opening and glued the gold die cut on to it.

     To create a mid depth layer I used the same box die, cut one layer in kraft card and then trimmed the sides down to half the depth of the main box. In hindsight this could have been a little shallower as the image at the back of the box didn't show as well as I had hoped.

     In the centre of the kraft layer I die cut the trees from another of JND's die sets, Four Seasons and attached some pink flowers o look like cherry blossom. Each flower is shaped and has some yellow pollen like flock in the middle.

     At the back of the box I used a white card layer with an oriental style peel off stuck to it, this layer was glued flat inside the box back. 

     To create a misty effect I used a sheet of vellum glued at the back of the trees, this would allow the lights to shine through and the black on white image to be seen.

     Before assembling the kraft layer I used a hole punch on the corner of the panel to thread the lights through, there was also a hole punched in the back of the brown box for the lights to pass through from behind.

     

     The kraft layer was assembled and the lights run around the outside edge and fixed in place. I put the kraft layer in the box back and then glued the box corners together, this made sure the kraft layer would fit inside and gave a tight fit so it wouldn't shift about in transit.

     There were half the lights left to be attached around the inside of the box on the top layer, these were fixed in place too. 

     Fixing the lights is not as fiddly as it sounds, as long as you remember to thread them through from the back of the box, that way the battery pack will stay on the outside. For this box I used some redline tape to secure the battery pack so it was easy to use and would stay in place. It is possible to change the batteries once they go flat so you can keep your scene for a long time.

     To get the box to stand up I cut a stand from the same brown card as the box and glued it in place.

     To finish the box I put the lid over the back and glued the corner flaps together to create a tight fit. With the battery pack outside the box there should be no need to take the lid off, but it will come off if necessary.

     Using kraft card and the Twigs die I cut two twigs and covered them with the same flowers as used inside. To hide the join in the twigs I made a small knot using Japanese Mizuhiki cord in shades of pink and hot glued it in place.

       

Materials used 

PCD224 - Cassadre die set

JND194 - Four Seasons die set

JND187 - Twigs die set

JND174 - Small Flower plate

S57320 - Thick Acetate

S57262 - 3D PVA glue

S57085 - Ultra Clear Tape 6mm  (Redline)

   Other items from stash

       

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

Creative Fingers - #210 Anything Goes

Love To Craft - #59 Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - #555 Anything Goes/Option - Make A Scene    (Top 3)

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 8th June

Let's Create and Craft - #172 Anything Goes/Option Add Buttons

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies ~ June

Creative Craft Cottage - #141 Eileen's Anything Goes

A Perfect Time To Craft - #6 Anything Goes     (First)

Merry and Bright

 

      A new challenge at Christmas Craft Creations begins this week, the theme this month is 'Heat Embossing', so break out those stamps and powders.

      The stamp used on this card is an old Woodware one, it's one of my favourites. Stamped on black card and embossed in silver.

      Black isn't usually the first choice for a Christmas card but with a pop of colour I think it makes an elegant card.

      When I cut the mat layer I cut out the centre to keep for another project, it won't be seen so why not use it for something else.

       The layers were all assembled before the tiny purple gems were added, I have a few friends that love purple so this card will go to one of them.

       As I like making decorations for Christmas it's good to make the cards early in the year and store them, before going on to the 3D projects later on. So why not come and join us at Christmas Craft Creations with whatever seasonal project you have made using heat embossing.

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

The 12 Months Of Christmas - #78 Anything Christmas/optional ChristMouse

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - #545 Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - #35 Anything Christmas

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

Sparkle and Shine

     Sparkle and Shine is the optional twist at The Paper Funday this month. The stamp I used on this card is a reverse image, so the light area is Distress Oxide ink on black card.

     The image came out quite well but it needed a colour burst, this was achieved by putting tiny gems on the seed heads.

     To make the gem colour stand out I used some cerise card to make a mat layer, the shine is added by die cutting a greeting in pink mirri card.

     It was a very simple card to make, it joins the card stash for future use. The inside has been left blank so it can be used for almost any occasion, most of the cards in the box are like this so they're ready at short notice.

     Please pop over and view the DT inspiration, then come and join us with your project.

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

Love To Craft - #59 Anything Goes

The Crafter's Cafe - #267 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