They say it's your birthday ...

... well if it is your birthday today then I hope you have a very happy day, if it's not then you can still have fun by making this bold and bright birthday card.

Jean has some gorgeous sticker strips in the shape of flags and banners and coordinating 6x6 paper from the Sassafras range (sticker strips out of stock but I think she's getting more in) which I fell in love with and used to make my card

Step 1: Doodle an edge around your folded cardblank with plack pen - doesn't have to be straight doodles never are!

Step2: Cut one of the flag stickers to length and adhere to card, add a few of the smaller strips across the top

Step 3: Glue one dew drop on the bottom of each flag. I love these dewdrops and use them stacks as flower centres, on the corners of my cards and as little design extras to fill up the spaces on my cards. Even better - they last forever!!

Step 4: Tear lengths of coordinating paper into strips. Curl up the edges and glue together.

Now you could have a dig around your scrap box to find small scraps to make your paper strips with but everyone who knows me knows that I don't 'do' scraps very well at all so I was perfectly happy to break into new pieces of paper to make my torn strips. Ha Ha! I came out in a cold sweat just thinking of even keeping scraps :)

Step 5: Create a sentiment or greeting on your computer or use a rubber stamp - I would have used a rubber stamp but I couldn't find my black under under the mound of 'stuff' on my desk so made do with my computer and printer. Trim it, round the corners and doodle an edge around it

Step 6: Glue onto the back of your paper strips and then glue everything onto your card

Step 7: Glue a length of black rikrak across the paper strips and add a button tied with string or thread to finish your card

There you have it, a fun birthday card to make someone smile

And, just because I had all my tools and the rest of the paper out on my desk I made another card using the same paper as I love it so much

Have fun, Andrea x

Julie: Head Trinket Keepsake project

Hi all, how's things? How much crafting have you got through this week? Not as much as you'd like [No? Me neither!] or too much? [if there is such a thing as too much crafting that is!!]

While this isn't something I've made this week, there are two specific reasons I thought I'd share this particular project with you today.

1. The first is that it was Shakespeare's birthday just last Friday [What? Did you forget to send him a card again?].
2. Meanwhile, at this exact time last year, I was setting up the inspiration blog The Copy + Paste Project and this Shakespeare-inspired project was the very first thing I made for one of our challenges. [You can read more about it here].

While it looks like I might have spent a lot of time and care cutting out a tiny head shape ... I certainly haven't! No, I just bought and altered a 'Head Trinket' from the 3DJean shop:

Once I'd completed the simple construction I decorated the outside with paint, a scrap of wrapping paper, a rub-on, some coloured crayon and Stickles glitter:

The tiny quotation is from Shakespeare's Hamlet and to frame it within the shadow-box I:

• typed it into Microsoft Word document using a size 8 font;
• printed it off;
• glued it in place;
• Glossy Accented it and finally ....
• smeared it with various colours of Stickles:

The end result is now proudly on display and as it's so tiny and so light he's simply Blue-Tacked to a shelf unit! [Not sure how respectful that is to a Prince of Denmark!]

Now, having re-visited this project, I'm wondering why I didn't buy more of them and have a line of wise heads lined up across the shelf.

Luckily, there's some in stock right now .... I'll race you to the checkout ...

Julie ;)

Shimmer Shimmer Shimmerz

Shimmerz one of my favourite products. I dont realy do cute but having a 10 year old girl I often need a card for a birthday party, so i bought some stampinbella's. Here are 3 of the cards I made with them , the Shimmerz and some of Andrea's left over paper's (I love sitting next to her when I make cards lol)

I painted the stamped images with the Shimmerz and a very very fine brush.
And then painted some plain Prima flowers in the same Shimmerz to match.

So from these plain Prima's we end up with.

These lovely Shimmery Shimmerz one's which look just right on the cards.

Pretty as A Picture!

Need something quick to make for the man in your life?.. this could just be the thing!
A racy little photo frame.........

It's made from two chipboard frames, these were cut with a Sizzix die but if you don't have a cutting machine then just cut 2 plain rectangles from chipboard, cut an aperture in one of them.Cover one side of one frame (front)with patterned paper. Cover the other frame, front and back with black card. Stick the two frames together with double sided foam as in the picture. To decorate .....glue tissue pin up onto card, cut out and glue to the front of the frame. Add clear Dew Drops around the edge! To make the frame stand cut a strip of card and glue to the back to form a hinge.The sentiment is by Catslife Press.If you would like to have a chance to have this winging it's way to you then just leave a comment! Hope you like it!

Effie

XXX

Back in Stock

Those lovely Webster's Pages 6x6 papers are now back in stock , but they're selling fast

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love

With these gorgeous Webster's Pages petite papers. I want to stroke them ,they are just so yummy and they're double sided. I'm so glad 3DJean has decided to stock these . You can buy yours here but you had better be quick I don't think they'll be on the shelf long.

Easel cards are so easy to make. I think that these papers don't need alot to embellish then but I couldn't resist going down the vintage route with paper dollies and the fab prima flowers.

I've chalked the Mother Goose nursery stamp to add suble colour.

The flowers have been painted with Shimmerz pearlz and caramel to give them a bit of bling.
The centres are Robin's nest Dew Drops.

Time for a Cake

Had a bake so here are some pictures of the yummy Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes I made and the recipe.

You will need

cake

120g plain flour

140g caster sugar

1 1/2 teasp baking powder

40g buter

120ml milk

1 egg

1/2 teasp vanilla extract

12 strawberries chopped into small pieces

2 digestive biscuits

icing

150g icing sugar

25g butter

60g cream cheese

mix together either by hand or machine flour , sugar , baking powder and butter , when you have a sandy consistency pour in the milk , vanilla and beat , then add egg , beat again.

divide strawberries between 12 paper cases and then top with cake mixture

cook at gas 3, 170c for 20-25 minutes , allow to cool

make icing by mixing together all ingredients until smooth , decorate cooled cakes and then crumble biscuits and sprinkle on top of cakes , now eat and enjoy.

Don't You Just Love Variety?

I like nothing better than making something from a random selection of 'stuff'.....so Jean came up with a goodie box.........so with a sheet of Victorian scraps, an Art Chix collage sheet,
black shrink plastic ,a bottle of Dew Drops And a few extras from the 'store cupboard' I made this!....................

The cross is cut with a Sizzix die from shrink plastic and the shrine itself is made from scraps of chipboard. The scraps edging makes a fab border around the shrine and the Artchix crow fitted perfectly.

but one of the best bits for me is the Dew Drops edging.... this is something I'll definately use again!

Hope you like it!

Effie

XXX

What To Do With a Lumpy Bumpy Card ...

... Or, that's a lovely card but how are you going to get it in an envelope?????

Have you seen the gorgeous Webster's Pages paper pads in the 3DJean store? Mmmmmm, totally delicious. I used some of the papers from the Collection Triple Pack which includes the seaside retreat, garden gala and nature's storybook collections.

Here is the card I made using the gorgeous papers, some felt, hand stitching, a paper rose and a bit of paper curling which is my newly found addiction. I recently discovered Stacey Cohen's blog and love how she incorporates paper curling into her projects.

Anyway, I made this card at our last crop day. I drew the big flower shape onto the back of the paper, cut it out and then glued it onto felt before trimming around it and adding some stitching around the petals. The paper rose is just a circle shape cut from paper then cut into a spiral, twisted around and glued with glossy accents at the bottom to anchor it. I poured glitter into the flower to cover the glossy accents then just tipped the excess out when the glue was dry. When the card was finished I gave it a generous spray of Shimmerz Spritz to give it some subtle sparkle.

Once I had finished my card I sat there contemplating the beauty of it - as you do at crops when you actually manage to fit some crafting in between chatting and eating and even more so when you actually finish something!! when I heard a voice from the other end of the table (Jean)

"that's a pretty card, don't know how you're going to get it in an envelope though?"

Easy I said, I'll make it a box :) and this is how I did it ...

From cardstock cut two shapes like this, fold along the lines - this is where a scoring tool and board comes in handy but if you haven't got one then use a ruler and a blunt pair of scissors to score

You'll have two pieces of cut and folded card, one running across and one running upwards

Tape the folded flaps of the piece that goes from side to side (the first piece in my photograph) and join to the other piece making sure the flaps are in the inside of the box, tuck the flap in at the bottom and tape that too. The big flap at the top goes on the outside and will be decorated.

Now you'll have a plain box

Trim and glue coordinating papers to cover the front, back, sides and inside too

Add some embellishments to the flap using the scraps from making the card and the box and tie a pretty ribbon around from top to bottom which will keep the box closed. I sprayed my box with more of the Shimmerz Spritz to give it just that little bit more glitter and sparkle :)

My card

My box

My finished project

Supplies:

Webster's Pages paper pad and Shimmerz Spritz from the 3DJean shop

Martha Stewart border punch

Felt

Scalloped circle punch

Embroidery cotton

Rikrak

Papertrey Ink sentiment stamp, ribbon and flowers and scallop die

Glitter

Glossy Accents

Glazed brad

Have fun, love Andrea x

Legs eleven!

When I saw these amazing images from Southern Blackberry Designs I thought wow wish I had legs like those! Mine are more the short fat variety.

Postcards sprang to mind as she reminded me of the saucy kind you used to see on holiday. I've used Basic Grey June Bug for the background. Stamps are Catslife and Purple Onion designs. The images from Southern Blackberry are printed on tissue and I've used a glue stick to back it onto the black card. I did keep the backing sheet (white) on though to keep the colour bright.

Julie :: Mini canvas

Hi all.

Here's my version of the mini canvas project:

The brand new Canvas Project Kit comes complete with the materials required to make your own version and it's available to buy here .

For further instruction on how to put it together see Jean's post here, [I love the crown she made for hers!]

I chose to use this particular image because

• [a] I have a soft spot for bird imagery and
• [b] I love everything wordy and text-patterned and, as you might just be able to make out, his little body features a text background:

After spraying my silver crackle paint with blue and green inks, I gave my little 'new bird' some blue wire antennae and then took him outside for a little photo-shoot with one of my favourite garden birds!

As you've been able to see by looking at each of the work of each of the design team over the last few days, no two crafters respond to a kit-project in quite the same way.

Now we can't wait to see what you do with yours ... please remember to share it with us when you make one of your own!

See you soon,

Julie :)

This is the One!

This is the one that started it all!................These little canvases are so quick and easy to do and the kit will supply most of what you need. You can really make them individual by adding all those saved for best bits! This one uses the gold crackle paint and is then sprayed with green colour wash, but you can use any green dye based inkpad.The wings are gold but with a piece of sandpaper and any permanant marker or alcohol inks then you can have any colour you want. This is silver... sprayed with blue colourwash, again any blue dye ink pad will give a similar effect, just wipe on and remove any excess with a baby wipe.

And here's something a little more cute! Silver this time over painted with Shimmerz Enjoy!

Effie

XXX