New Home Window Box

A lovely work colleague and friend is moving into a new home any day now and I wanted to make her something to say 'good luck in your new home'.
My initial thought was a pop up box as they are so pretty and I wanted something similar but a bit different.
I came up with a window box.

No flaps like an open box but still requiring acetate pop-ups.
It's much longer than your normal pop-up box and I had some DL cards which I used. I cut the length of one side down and adjoined it to another DL card also with one side cut down and formed my box shape. I covered this with some wood patterned papers from my stash.
Slats across formed the base to add my acetate sticks of flowers, which I slit into to twist so they faced forward.
The daisies I cut from some magazine papers along with the house shaped tag saying New Home.
Whilst it folds flattish enough for an envelobox (an envelope with depth) it is quite a length at about 10"so I decided to make a little bag to put it in upright.

I used two 12 x 12 papers scored at 3" on one side and at 1" on the two adjacent sides.
I joined the 3" bases together but the sides required a 2" insert. I decided to use a different pattern for this although this isn't very clear in the picture.

I topped it off with a couple of gold clips and a trio of tags and voila.


I'm really pleased with it.
Hope you like it too

Thanks for stopping by and please come again.
Karen

Large letter stamps

I picked up a few of the Crafter's Companion letter stamps a while ago and you may remember this one I made using some papers from May' Making Cards magazine. I said I'd be using these again and this time I went for black card.

I decided to heat emboss with silver embossing powder. I loved this look enormously but I can't show you because I immediately began colouring them in. Duh.


Strange but I've never tried colouring on black card before and it is not easy.
In the end I found water based pencils worked best although the colour is more muted.
Two of the images I cut out and matted onto a white card with either a side bar of silver mirror card or a centre horizontal bar of silver glitter can and pink ribbon. I actually like this one very much.

The third one I left uncut and matted onto a white card with silver mirror card.
I'm not sure if I prefer the images cut or left uncut as I like all three but E is my favourite I think. Probably because of the pop of colour from the pink ribbon.
These cards are small at 4 inch square but a perfect fit.
The stamps themselves I recommend as they stamp perfectly first time and are excellent value.
Plus when you're stumped for what to make for someone then a card with their initial on definitely hits the spot.


I hope you like these and thanks for stopping by.
Karen xx

Teenager

My youngest grandson was 13 recently. Oh where have all the years gone?
He is so grown up and handsome.
Anyway, he's also a teenager and that means hugely messy bedrooms, clothes thrown all over the place, cups under the bed. You've been there right, I know!!
As well as being teenage and a typical one to boot, he's also pretty good on the guitar.
Needless to say I needed a card that said music and mess and I found just the thing.
Courtesy of Splashcrafts I found a brilliant decoupage sheet in their kids and teens range and just had to have it.

To back it I chose a sheet of guitars from the Grand Plans paper pad by Trimcraft. If you've not used Trimcraft paper pads before do give them a whirl. Not only are they excellent quality but also approved by the FSA which means they are not harming the planet. And for we crafters that has to be good. Look out for the FSA logo on the front of their pads. I bought mine from Amazon
My grandson was thrilled with his card which pleased me no end. What he really said was "Actually, that's not bad grandma" haha. We grans take our compliments when and where we can get them!
I'm glad he liked it anyway and all before he even made any attempt to shake the £££s out haha.
I was pleased with it and hope you like it too.
Thanks for stopping by and do call again
Karen

Making Cards and papercraft June 2019

This months Making Cards magazine has some stunning papers and toppers.

I decided to fussy cut some of the toppers out whilst watching tv one evening.

The following day I decided to put some of the cut outs together with the papers.

Love these toucans and the tropical leaves paper were perfect for this card. Not got a sentiment yet but thought perhaps an anniversary card and something involving Two Can but not firmed that up yet. Someone suggested something like "I've got your back" which I quite like so may use that instead.

Now this paper is so opulent. I decided to layer up the black and gold paper with a gold 50 in the centre. This will either become a 50th anniversary card or a 50th birthday, whichever event comes round first.

This last one used some more tropical papers but this time I teamed it up with one of my Crafter's Companion letter stamps with the tropical foliage around it. I love these new stamps and I'll be doing more with these so watch this space.

I do hope you like these and thanks for stopping by.

Do come again

Karen

Les Mis

My friend is 60 in a few days time.
This is the friend who I always make a card for to represent something she likes or a show we've been to or are going to see. You guessed it, Les Miserables is our next stop on the 3rd of August.
Neither of us have seen it before which posed a bit of a problem with what to make.
I turned to the crafters in one of the Facebook groups I follow.
I had numerous suggestions and claims that "you will love it". One lady suggested using the French flag colours and another suggested looking at the songs of the show and picking one from that such as Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.
I liked both these suggestions so did both. But I made a star book card with a reduced number of 5 points rather than seven, and chose a song for each page.

On one side I added a verse from a song and on the other the song is portrayed with a picture or scene.

All the Les Mis adverts show the face of a young woman on the poster and a lovely colleague who is far more artistic than I drew one for me. I used this on the front cover which I titled Les Julie.

The 'lovely ladies' was also drawn by my colleague on the theme of cancan dancers. I just know she will howl laughing when she reads this one. That's as well as using her favourite phrase 'Muck ole'!!

I enjoyed every page of this and can't wait to see her face when she sees it.

Her favourite song from the show is I dreamed a dream and I chose to put a verse from this song on the back in a little pocket.

I am sharing it here as she will not see it but it won't go on my Facebook page until the end of next week.
I know Julie will love it and I hope you do too.

Thanks for stopping by
Karen :-)

legacy keeper off cuts

Like a bus, you wait ages for one to come and then two come together 😉
I know I've posted today but just couldn't let this wait.
I've been playing with Tonic's Legacy Keeper Wallet die to make some stand alone keepsakes, not just in albums.
Anyway, it's cut from a full A4 size of card and I was looking at the off cut and thinking 'hmm, what can I do with those'.
This is the card after it's been cut from the A4 sheet. Those gaps are what are left in the card, as well as a very small border. I cut off the gaps (if that even makes sense haha). Have a look at the picture of the off cuts and the cut out itself and you'll hopefully see what I mean.

Anyway, I took the short stubby off cuts and made a perfect pull tab. And it's such a lovely size to add a keyhole too.

Had to share this with the memory book group and it seems some others do it too and even use the longer ones as wraps.

Have a look at your off cuts before you throw them away. Can you make something with it?
It definitely makes you stop and think.

Thanks for stopping by and do come again.
Karen

Memory Book number two

Well the sneaky peak seems like an age ago now but the book and its accompanying box are complete and now in the hands of my lovely friend.

I was afraid she wouldn't like it but I needn't have and I was so pleased.

I loved how the spine and cover turned out. And I loved how the colours blended together so well.

Finally, the video!!
I don't know where I was looking at one point and it's not great so apologies for my media skills haha.
(Unfortunately Blogger doesn't accept videos over 100 mb so to view the finished video I'm inserting a link to my Facebook page.)

Campos Crazy Crafting

Overall though I am pleased very much with this. My next one will be a little different. I have a commissioned project involving the memory books to do but for now a short break. I need a change.

Hope you like it and thank you for stopping by.

Karen :-)