Thank You Card

 

Use tiny stamps to make this lovely thank you card

This week I needed to make some thank you cards. I'm using a technique where you use a mask to keep some of the card blank and then stamp around the edge to create the pattern. The mask is eventually removed leaving a blank space and in the case of this card, I then stamped the words Thank You.

I've used Aster Wreath SFL34047 stamp set by Rubber Stamp Tapestry. It contains 5 stamps ranging from 1 cm to 2 cm in length. You can use any stamps you have in your collection and any shape mask to accommodate your greeting. 

I've made similar cards in the past, where I've masked off an area and then stamped around it.  Click here to be taken to the page where I made an anniversary card and here where I created a stripe across the page

 
Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Santa's Giftbag

 

How to make a giftbag using We R Memory Keepers gift bag punch board

This week I needed to make some giftbags for some chocolate gifts for my work colleagues. I used the We R Memory Keepers Gift Bag Punch Board but I've added some instructions at the bottom of the blog for those of you who do not have this tool, so you can make the same thing but with a guillotine with a score blade.

The giftbag is all dressed up like Santa and is quite a good size - 15 cm high by 8 cm wide by 5 cm deep (not including handles). The main body and handles are made out of one sheet of A4 card which most of us have in our stash. I guess you could also make a snowman giftbag but make it white with black buttons for coal and a stripy scarf instead of Santa's collar.

Follow the below link to find out how the giftbag was made

Christmas Gift Tag

 

Make your own tags - really quick and easy

For some reason I always end up with lots of rolls of Christmas wrapping paper but no matching tags left. I love my parcels to look pretty and special, so normally buy rolls of wrap with an idea for a matching tag in mind and then go home and make lots of tags. If you think of a simple but bold design, you can make lots of tags in one sitting - bit like a production line! I showed you how to make one this time last year - a reindeer design and if you missed it, you can click here to be taken to that blog page. This year I have gone for a Holly design which will match several of my rolls of wrapping paper.

Like I said it's a quick project to do, because we are all very busy this time of the year and do not always have time to nip to the shops if we suddenly find we have run out of tags!

My design has been made using a die from Sizzix called Tag, scallop Combo. It's a die that has 3 different sized tags on. I bought it years ago and it is probably my most used die. You cannot get this particular one new any more, although you may find it on some auction websites. But any tag die set can be used instead or just use a rectangular piece of card and punch a hole in the top.

Follow the below link to find out how the tag was made

Name Place Cards

 

Learn how to make these cute name place cards with stamps

We normally have a house full of people at Christmas, so for the dining table I have always created name place cards to organise where people are sitting. This year is going to be different as due to covid we are not allowed to mix in high numbers. However, just because there are fewer of us, it's no excuse not to make the effort and decorate as we would do normally. So this week I will show you how to make these:

I've used two stamping and die sets from Stampin up but you can use any stamp sets you have in your collection as long as the stamp is no taller than 6 cm. It's easier if you have the matching dies but you could always use a craft knife instead - it will just take you a little longer :)

I've done these for Christmas but they can be made for any occasion by just changing the stamped image. It would be lovely to make a set for a wedding using a bride and groom image or maybe a bunch of flowers or wedding cake.

Follow the below link to find out how they was made

Secret snowmen chain card

 

It's like a Z card full of snowmen!

Do you remember cutting out chains of people out of concertina folded paper when you were younger? Maybe you still do it? Well this card is based on that principle but instead it's in the shape of snowmen.

It starts of as one snowman, then folds out to reveal its secret of lots of snowmen ! :)

I've done this example with just 3 folds - basically a Z fold base card, but you could make your card bigger by adding more folds. You would need a bigger piece of card to start with or maybe just make your snowmen smaller.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Peas on Earth!

 

Create a simple Z fold base card to make this cute Peas on Earth design by Lawn Fawn

I really love this new stamp and die set by Lawn Fawn - it made me chuckle. I actually bought it for my son to make his Christmas cards but I love it too ! As they are quite small stamps, I used a Z fold base card in a patterned paper so I could use lots of small images but they wouldn't look lost on such a big card.

The pea stamps have separate eyes so you can create your peas with different personalities. I used the Stamparatus so I could get the eye stamps in the right place but it is possible to stamp them using a standard clear stamp block as I find the Lawn Fawn stamps work so well.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

3D snowman card

 

Learn how to make this 3D snowman with white circles cut from card

I saw something similar made in a craft magazine several years ago and always wanted to try it myself. So here is this weeks blog - a 3D snowman made from circles of white card folded and stitched together.

I think he looks rather cute. You could make them slightly bigger and back two of them together to make a hanging Christmas decoration.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

3D Poinsettia

 

A very easy flower to make that can be used to decorate gifts and cards

I like to use craft paper to wrap my Christmas gifts and then decorate them with things I've made rather than using ribbon and pre-bought bows. I wondered if it would be possible to make a poinsettia from craft items I had in my stash. I was very pleased with the end result, so this week I show you how you can also make them.

I used a 4 cm (excluding stem) by 2 . 5 cm leaf shape die to cut the petals, however you could cut them by hand - an egg sort of shape but with a bit more of a point at the narrowest end. My overall flower measures about 8 cm, however you could use bigger or smaller leaf dies to get different sized flowers.

At the end of the blog I show you some examples of what I have decorated with my poinsettias.

Follow the below link to find out how they were made 

Drawer giftbag

 

Make this lovely giftbox that has two drawers for your gifts

This cute giftbag/box is made from card and has two drawers plus a gap above where you could add a small bag of sweets. The drawers push through from either side and the internal dimension of each drawer is 7 cm by 5 . 5 cm by 2 . 4 cm deep.

This is quite simple to make but just double check each measurement before you make the cut or crease. I've made the main drawers from thicker white card and the outside decorative papers are from Stampin Up's 12x12 designer papers. You could use coloured card for the drawers and even make them without Christmas papers for other occasions.

Follow the below link to find out how the giftbag was made

Christmas Baubles

 

How to make some really pretty baubles from Christmas patterned card

In this blog I will show you how to make a single bauble and then how you could string a few together to make a garland.

I've used Christmas patterned card but you make these from plain card or even old Christmas cards. You could make them in any colour or pattern to match the occasion - ie Easter or maybe even for a birthday.

They are fairly easy to make and I ended up doing all the folding over an evening whilst watching a bit of television. I have made them fairly small so they can hang on a Christmas tree, however you could scale them up for bigger decorations to hang from the ceiling just by cutting larger starting circles.

Follow the below link to find out how the bauble was made

Christmas House Gift Box

 

Made using Lawn Fawn's scalloped box die and beach hut add on

I challenged myself to make a Christmas house gift box but using Lawn Fawns beach hut add on die that I already have. I've done a previous blog where I made beach huts for my work colleagues as a welcome back to school treat (Click here if you'd like to see this blog)

I managed it ! I turned a seagull into a robin and the life ring into a wreath. It makes a lovely little Christmas gift box. As I'd achieved my goal, I then used another stamp and die set to embellish it even more. I will show you this one at the end of the blog - just scroll down to see. 

Sometimes dies and stamps can be used to create other shapes than what they were intended for. This blog page shows you just one of these. Have a look at what you have in your cupboard - you might find a new use for some of them :) 

Follow the below link to find out how the gift box was made 

Owl Card

 

How to make this cute shaped owl card

I love shaped cards - so this week I show you how to make a cute owl shaped card. You can use your favourite patterned papers too, to create the owls feather tummy. As it only needs small amounts of patterned paper it's a great way to use up your scraps too.

I wonder with halloween coming up if you could turn it into a spooky owl by making it in purple, black and orange colours. I feel that this card could be used for anyone and for any occasion just depending on what colours you use. You could even add a mortarboard to make it a graduation card. 

 
Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Halloween Bat Box

 

Make these fab bat pillow gift boxes out of just black and white card

It will soon be Halloween so this week I show you how to make these cute bat gift boxes. They are made from an A4 sheet of black card and a small amount of white card. You can then fill them with sweets and gift them.

I will attach a link so you can download a template in order to cut out your bat shapes by hand. However if you have a silhouette machine, send me a message via my contact me page (here) and I will email you a file that your machine can cut out.

I made a lot of these for my work colleagues and filled them with Hero chocolates. I can't imagine the chocolates lasted long but they said the boxes were so cute that they would bring them out again next year and refill them!

Follow the below link to find out how the box was made

Folded bookmark

 

Turn a folded bookmark into a little gift for someone in your life

My children have made these in school before - ones with big googly eyes and jagged teeth making them look like monsters! I love making little gifts for people and these are great bookmarks to make and could be made to go with a gift voucher or book gift or on their own if you are sending just a card. I've made some with just patterned paper and some I have then decorated up to look like animals.

I have used an old stamp set from Stampin up called Playful Pals as they were designed to go with triangular boxes - absolutely perfect for this project. However if you don't have this set you could just draw features for your bookmarks or use other stamp sets you have. I have also done some with googly eyes - particularly the penguin as my son loves penguins and googly eyes!

They can be made with a piece of 6 x 6 paper or card which means if you have any favourite papers that you do not want to use or give away - just make yourself a quick bookmark to mark the pages of your favourite craft book or magazine.

Follow the below link to find out how the bookmark was made

Envelope Book

 

Make a book from envelopes that can hold your keepsakes or favourite memories

By making a book from envelopes you create pages of little pockets. These pocket books can be used for memories, recipes, collectors cards or even tokens and vouchers. You can use pre-made envelopes or make your own. The size of your book depends on the size of your envelope and how many envelopes you use.

I saw one of these many years ago and have been keen to make one since. I wanted to make a holiday book as I keep all my tickets and leaflets etc from each day that I am on holiday so when I get home I can turn them into a scrapbook. So this is my attempt at an envelope book. I will talk you through how to make my holiday memories envelope book using the pre-bought envelopes, but will give you instructions on how to adjust the sizes depending on your own size envelopes. I will then show you how I made a Christmas book out of envelopes I have made using my WeR Memory Keepers envelope punch board.

Follow the below link to find out how the book was made 

Large Picture card

 

Create a really simple card using just one large image

Whilst tidying my study recently, I found a couple of books with fairly large images in them. Therefore today's blog is to show you a really simple card that can be made using just one of these images.

The images I used are from 'The Little Book of Pampered Paws by Hunkydory. The images are 15 cm high by 10 . 5 cm wide. I chose a really simple design for this card as the pictures are so pretty - which is probably why I bought the books in the first place :) You can decorate with as much extra detail as you wish or could even 3d decoupage the picture using the duplicate images from the book. 

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Beach Hut gift box

 

How to use Lawn Fawns Scalloped Treat Box and Beach Hut add on dies to create a fab little gift box

I absolutely love beach huts and being by the sea. So when I was rummaging through my dies to see what I could make this week, I stumbled across these dies, that I haven't used yet, and thought what a perfect project. Children about to go back to school and the weather has started to get a little colder, so why not build your own little beach hut as a reminder of the sunnier times.

It just takes lots of little bits of coloured card and a bit of patience to cut out all the die pieces. Then it's just a case of gluing it all together. Quite straight forward and simple and once built you can fill with treats or just build to create a sunny display.

Follow the below link to find out how the gift box was made 

Pop-Up Card

 

Use Lawn Fawns pop up card die to make a truly 3d card

It's another cat card - Lawn Fawns Meow You Doin stamp set is really cute but this blog is to show you how to put together their Pop-Up card. This is a seperate die but is quite versatile as you can use any of your stamps and papers to decorate it.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made 

Perpetual Calendar

 

How to make your own perpetual calendar from your favourite card stock

I found whilst in Covid-19 lockdown as I was not doing my normal routine, I soon forgot what day and date it was. I then started forgetting to do things, like putting the bins out! One Saturday my husband queried why I was cooking a roast which we normally do on a Sunday - ooops! I wondered if I could make a perpetual calendar from card - so after a week of playing around with various size boxes, I came up with this perpetual calendar:

I was rather pleased with it. I've made mine using red and green patterned card so it fits in my living room decor. Now every morning when I open the curtains, I just move the boxes around to the new date and hey presto - I can now remember what day it is! That's the plan anyway!

It's a bit fiddly to score and cut out the boxes but just take it slowly - double check your measurements before cutting and you will get there. If you have any problems with my instructions just send me a comment on the contact me page and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Follow the below link to find out how the calendar was made

Monster Birthday - twin style

Using the same stamp set to make slightly different cards

When it comes to giving birthday cards to twins, I like to treat them the same, however they are still individual, so I like to make two cards that are similar. Sometimes I do the same card but in different colours but this year for one set of twins I have made the same card but with different images.

These cards also give me the chance to show off some more of that patterned paper I have been hoarding !

I had a bit of a dilemma when making these cards as I had the idea of the monster holding a balloon image but with the tags down the side of the layering rectangle, it didn't fit onto a C6 card. By turning the base card into a tent fold and the layering rectangle extending past the top of the card, it all fits and gives an extra shape to the card. As long as it still fits into a standard envelope, it's a win, win !

Follow the below link to find out how these cards were made

Rainbow greetings

Make a cheerful rainbow card just to say hi or get well soon

Here in the UK we use rainbows to symbolise hope in the covid-19 crisis and it suddenly struck me how I could die cut one to make a card. They are cheery, so got out my dies and ended up crafting two cards.

The rainbow itself is made using nesting circular dies so I created a whole circle of the rainbow and then cut in half to create two cards.

Follow the below link to find out how the cards were made

Pretty Squares

Show off your really pretty patterned paper in this squares card

Still trying to find ways to show off my patterned papers - so hence this weeks card. Extremely simple and a great way to use up scraps of your favourite patterned paper.

You can also incorporate stamped images into the design. If you have some small stamps, they can form the pictures within the small squares. Or layer them ontop of the squares. I did a couple of extra green samples showing these which you can find at the bottom of this blog page.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Peel off flower birthday card

Use decorative papers and peel offs to create a pretty birthday card

I've done a previous card where you stamp onto patterned paper then cut out (click here to see this card) but this time I am using some peel offs. I have quite a few peel offs that I have accumulated over the years and I am trying to find different ways of using them.

I've used flower peel off's but any pictured peel offs with largish cut outs in them will work. I have a lovely kimono peel off that I may try later with some pink or purple card behind it. I've then used the same patterned paper to create the border at the bottom of the card.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Double edge stepper card

I used Lawn Fawns really cute cat stamps to decorate the double edge stepper card

This weeks post is more about showing you how to do another shaped card rather than the decoration. I will go through how I decorated this card incase you have the stamps and wish to make one similar.

This one takes a bit of measuring, cutting and folding so I recommend you practise on a piece of printer paper first so you know how to make one before starting on some precious card stock.

It's a great card base to make if you have a lot of little stamps or images you wish to show off.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Birthday Candles

Make a really bold birthday card using washi tape for the candles

Are all crafters hoarders? I know I definitely am! I realised I had a lovely collection of washi tape the other day and needed to find a way to use some of it. So hence my birthday candles card. It's quite simple to make and it will show of your lovely collection of tape !

You don't need to do any complicated measuring, just stick your tape down to the lengths you feel looks right. I've gone for a sort of blue theme but there is so much gorgeous patterned tape out there, you could knock up a batch of these quite quickly.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Double Z fold card

Decorate this double Z fold card with birds and feathers

This week I wanted to show you how to make a different shaped card. This double Z folded card looks complicated but it really isn't. I also wanted to challenge myself to make a card using items from the front of a magazine. I bought the July 2020 edition of Crafts Beautiful which has stamps on the front of butterflies, birds and feathers. I didn't look in the magazine for inspiration as I wanted it to be my ideas so just took the stamps and got creating.

 This is the end result (I'm going to read the magazine next to see what they did with their cards !)

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Summer Floral Wreath

Bring the summer inside with this floral wreath made from card

The sun had come back out this week which inspired me to make this cheerful wreath. It's made from cardstock with dies and punches. It will take you a little while to make this one but you can spend a few evenings cutting out the parts whilst watching your favourite tv program.

My finished wreath is about 23 cm in diameter but you could make it larger or smaller and use any embellishments you like. I nearly added some stamped and die cut butterflies to mine and also thought how pretty it would look at Easter with pastel coloured eggs instead of the flowers. If you made them smaller, they could go on the front of a greetings card or you could use them to decorate a box or maybe hang them on your Christmas tree.

Follow the below link to find out how my wreath was made

Fathers day easel card

Using a Lili of the Valley stamp to create a circular easel card for dad

It's a bit late for me to be posting a fathers day card for you guys to make but it can be easily changed to a Happy Birthday card or why not get ahead and make your card for next year! I wanted to share a technique on how to stamp only part of an image from a rubber stamp, hence why I am posting this card anyway.

I originally wanted to make this a fancy square easel card but realised my fancy square dies were not quite big enough. However the circular card did work well and I don't think you get many circular cards as they normally do not stand up very well !

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Floral Butterflies Birthday Card

Use acetate to create a 3D looking butterfly and floral birthday card

By taking a bit out of the front of the base card and replacing with acetate, it creates a window that makes the butterflies look like they are flying.

I've made this into a birthday card but as the image is quite universal you could change the greeting for almost anything - thinking of you, congratulations or even get well soon.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Roses Anniversary

Playing with double sided card to make a soft romantic roses anniversary card

I needed to make an anniversary card this week and found some really pretty double sided card in my collection. I also wanted to make it shaped by folding back the top corner to reveal the pattern beneath but it would have meant the pretty roses paper being on the inside and making signing the card without showing from the front quite difficult. I love the card I eventually came up with as the inside pattern is reflected on the front and it works being so simple.

I have used Lawn Fawns 'Stitched Scalloped Borders' to create the edge of the triangle but you can use either a straight cut or any of your edging tools to create a decorative edge.  This decorative edge is also reflected at the end of the greeting banner.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

No matter the weather we're friends forever

How to make a colour changing umbrella that's sure to put a smile on anyone's face

Here in the UK, rainbows have been appearing in lots of house windows to represent unity, support the NHS and remind us of hope that the virus won't restrict us forever. So with this in mind, this week I have made a rainbow colour changing umbrella card.

This card is based on the reveal wheel idea with the rainbow colours being added to the wheel. I've used Stampin' Up's 'Under my Umbrella' stamp set but actually the colourful reveal wheel would work with any small stamp you have - it could be a multicoloured leaf, flower or cat !

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Writing paper

Send a friend a hand written letter on your own created gorgeous paper

I had a friend write to me recently - I haven't had a letter through the post for some time. I am determined to write back but my paper is just the plain white stuff that you can buy. I therefore decided to make my paper more interesting by using stamps from my stash.

So yay - I now have some lovely paper to write back to my friend on. You could make the paper with the same image on each page or even use die cuts instead of stamps. When I write my letter and have gaps in my writing I will probably fill the spaces with either more stamps or die cuts or even peel offs. It's a great way to use those stamps you love.

You may want to make a letter and envelope set to give as a gift. You could theme the letters and envelopes so they all match. I show you how to make a basic wallet to store them in at the end of the blog.

Follow the below link to find out how the stationery was made

Ribbon and Cactus Birthday

A way of using your small scraps of ribbons to create a lovely background for any stamped image

Being in lock-down provides lots of opportunities to do those tasks you keep putting off - my task this week was to tidy my sewing threads and ribbon boxes. They do get awfully tangled ! It was then I realised how many small bits of ribbon I had and as I do not like to throw anything out.  I had to think of a way to use them, hence the card this week.

Using nesting square dies to create the base to stick your ribbons to makes a really stable background. It doesn't have to be square dies, you could use any nesting dies and even turn the item into a really cute tag - this would use up your really tiny bits of ribbon.

There are some lovely ribbons out there - different widths, textures and some even have pictures or patterns on them. Mix and match to get a lovely background.

I haven't quite got around to finishing sorting out my ribbon stash - sort of got distracted with this card !

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Rucksack giftbag

Use Stampin Up's 'All Dressed Up' dies to create a more masculine giftbag

This is quite a small giftbag - perfect for a giftcard or a few favourite sweets. I bought this die after seeing beautiful girly bags that other people had made but I wanted to do something a little different. So I tried to see if there was a way of giving this girly bag a more masculine look to make the die more versatile. So here is my rucksack with a little pocket for a message card.

The finished giftbag is about 9 cm tall, 8 . 5 cm wide at the base tapering to 5 . 5 cm at the top with a depth of 2 . 5 cm. It would be a fab little bag for a gift card, little notes or a few of their favourite sweets. You could make them as favour bags or for any occaision. I made another one for a going back to school bag - scroll down to the bottom to see this one.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Topiary Anniversary Card

Using 'Beauty and Joy' stamp set by Stampin Up and some clever die cutting to make an aperture

I saw this technique done in a magazine several years ago and love how it creates a gap for your stamp rather than the usual matting and layering of your stamp. It's used just one stamp set to create the image and the background pattern.

I made it to be an anniversary card but with the colours I have used it could be confused as a Christmas card ! I used a 10 cm high by 7 cm wide oval die to create the gap, however change the size of this depending on the size of stamp you decide to use. The possibilities are endless and is a great way to use slightly smaller stamps as most of the card is the stamped background.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Lawn Fawn Cactus birthday card

Use a really cute cactus stamp by Lawn Fawn and patterned paper from your stock to make this fab birthday card

I often struggle to make cards as the background always look a little bare. This card is created using smallish bits of patterned and plain card to create the background - use up scraps you have and also display the patterns you love - this is win win !

Lawn Fawn make such cute stamps and this cactus is no exception. With just one small stamp, I've made 3 different looking cacti. I'm sure you could make more with different colours and positions of eyes and flowers :)

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Postcard - Buzzing by to say Hello

Use your favourite papers and stamps to send friends and loved ones a postcard

We are in difficult times at the moment with the lock down due to Covid-19 so I thought wouldn't it be nice to send friends and loved ones a little note to say Hi ! I love to receive something through the post and as we are not doing holidays as such this year, wouldn't it be fab to send postcards?

I had just bought a stamp set that lends itself to a postcard as it has a greeting that says 'Buzzing by to say Hello'. You could make this into a notelet if you would prefer some more space to write a letter or just make it into a birthday or greeting card.

You can use any of your favourite papers or stamp sets - similar idea to Artist Trading Cards. Just ensure, if you intend to send it as a postcard, that your layers are all flat as it won't go through the postal system in one piece. If you want raised layers, then I suggest you put it into an envelope to post it.

Follow the below link to find out how the postcard was made

Doily Anniversary card

Stamp your own background to make this simple yet effective anniversary card

I liked the card I made by masking off an area and then stamping to create a background (click here to see the card) and wanted to do something similar to create this anniversary card.

I had a square greeting so wanted to create a white layer for it to sit in. So this time I used a piece of card to create a layer, cut out a square aperture, stamped on this layer and then glued it to a base card. This left a perfect aperture for my greeting.

Obviously a bit of sparkle in the form of gems just finished it off : )

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Cute little Easter box full of chocs!

Using Lawn Fawn's Eggstra Special Easter stamp and dies to make a bakers box to hold your Easter gift

I found some really cute chocolates wrapped as carrots and they were perfect for my gift to my colleagues for Easter. I used Versamark ink pad to stamp onto a plain green card and then used Stampin Up's Bakers Box Thinlits die to cut the gift box.

My favourite bit is the chocolate looking Easter bunnies on the front - especially as one of the ears has been nibbled!

Follow the below link to find out how the gift box was made

Easter Magnolia

Make this 3d easel card for Easter using Stampin Up Magnolia paper and Magnolia Memory Dies

Easter doesn't have to be all about bunnies and chocolate. This Easter card was made with a spring theme of magnolia flowers. Part of the 3d magnolia flower was made with a hot air balloon punch!

This card ends up being quite deep and wouldn't fit in a normal envelope without squashing the petals flat. Instead make an envelope box for it. Click here to see my instructions.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Watch the Birdie!

Use a digital downloaded image to create your own decoupage birthday card

Another male oriented birthday card and once again I struggled to find an appropriate image amongst my stash! I had a hunt on the internet and found a lovely and very appropriate image.

If you use Google to search for digital stamps, there are loads to choose from. Some are free, some you have to pay a small amount for. Some are black and white images and some are already pre-coloured. (Please be careful of copyright issues)  In this case I found a pre-coloured image and paid a small amount to be able to download it. Once downloaded you can print to your hearts content. This particular download was in PDF format and came in varying sizes.

As you can keep printing those images, you can cut parts out of the different images to create the decoupage image.

Follow the below link to find out how this card was made:

A cup full of Happy Birthday

Stamping onto patterned paper creates decorative images to use in your cards

Rather than the usual stamping an image onto white card and then colouring it in, why don't you stamp onto patterned paper? That's what I am showing you in this weeks card. If you have a stamp that has a big bare space such as the cup and teapot I'm using, it's ideal for this sort of technique. Just find your favourite papers, stamp and cut out. Mat and layer to create this lovely birthday card:

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Monster Birthday

Add extra dimension to your card using Concord & 9th's Monster Love stamp and die set

I fell in love with this stamp set as you get so many stamps with the set that you can layer up to create different images - for example there are several different arms or tummys you can add to your monsters. I also love stamp sets that you can then die cut out as it makes creating your card such a doddle.

So this week I needed to create a card for my husbands birthday - I find male orientated cards always so difficult because the images I need to use are hard to find. When I saw the monster could hold a balloon it made sense to try and make the balloons attach to wire so they could stick above the base card to create an extra dimension.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Stamped background birthday card

Mask off areas on your card and stamp away to create beautiful backgrounds for your cards

I remember seeing this sort of masking technique done in a magazine I read some time back and thought it was about time I gave it a go. It was so simple and worked extremely well. I made this card in such a short time - it would be ideal if you needed to make a card in a hurry or if you need to make several the same.

I made this card first with a very simple mask across the centre. I think it works well as I used several stamps to create the background which made the contrast between stamped part and the white part very obvious.

I then went on to make a similar card with a cake stamp. I stamped the cakes and candles, removed the tape but it just looked too white. The cakes were outline stamps so it left the 'decorated' area too white and plain. You then lost the distinction between the decorated part and the white band that should have been created across the card. I remedied this by colouring in the cakes and then this card works too. (scroll towards the bottom of my post to see this finished card).

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made

Exploding Chocolate Gift Box

This is a fun gift to make that I am sure will delight many

I am very excited about this make - goodness knows how the chocolate bars made it into the gift without me eating them all first! Valentines is now over so my attention is turning to Easter. I was browsing the internet and found an exploding chocolate gift box for sale - it was rather pricey so wondered if I could make my own - turns out I can. I found a few online instruction videos but struggled to find somewhere that gave me the sizes - not only that I wanted to make it with items I have in my crafting supplies, rather than purchasing larger sheets of card.

So here are my instructions for making an Exploding Chocolate Gift Box. It uses double sided 12 x 12 scrapbooking card so you can adjust it to suit any occasion. You could put wrapped biscuits and teabags or even slip a gift card into the gift. The chocolate bars can't be any bigger than about 9cm in length - the ones I have picked for this gift are the multi-pack bars such as Cadbury Dairy Milk 29.3g x 9 bars.

Follow the below link to find out how the card was made