Having a go at Steampunk

One of my favourite things to do is to make a card for a challenge - I find it leads me to do things I wouldn't necessarily have otherwise tried. That's definitely the case for today's card! I made it for this week's Make My Monday which is challenging us to make Steampunk artist trading cards (ATCs). Come and see what I've made:

I've never made an ATC in my life, but all the measurements are there on the MMM site and it was just like creating a small-scale card really. I made it by layering various pieces of my Newsprint designer paper, colouring some parts with ink and watercolour pencils, overstamping with the Eiffel Tower image from Artisitc Etchings, then embellishing with eyelets, piercings and a piece of knotted silver cord.

Here you can see how I squashed the eyelet by forgetting to change one of the settings on my cropadile...  Oops! I quite like the bashed-up look though!

Do you like the way the map is looking like smoke coming from the top of the tower? I got all excited when I saw that! I adore these jumbo eyelets and am so sad to see them leave the catalogue. I would be urging you to grab them from the Last Chance List while you can - but you can't because they were the first thing to sell out!

I didn't want to just leave my ATC loafing around my Crafting Square Metre so I made a card out of it! The card base is Crumb cake card stock swiped with Whisper White craft and Marina Mist classic ink pads and sponged with a little Chocolate Chip ink.

Supplies needed for today's card:

Stamps: Artistic Etchings

Ink: Basic Black, Marina Mist, Chocolate Chip Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White craft ink

Card stock: Crumb Cake, Basic Grey, Chocolate Chip

Other: Newsprint designer paper (retiring), mat pack and piercing tool, 1 3/4" circle punch, cropadile, metallic eyelets (retiring) jumbo eyelets and silver cord (sold out)

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. Click here to view the Last Chance List - full of stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% off, available only while stocks last.

I've been thinking for a while that my Crafting Square Metre is bursting at the seams and looking a bit tired - well, on its last legs really! So I've had a little chat with my husband and put a few ideas forward. My craft area is in our living room so it's important that it stays tidy and looks good - wouldn't this fabulous storage solution be fantastic? My husband isn't quite so keen (I expect he saw the price tag!) His idea is more like this:

Thank you for popping over to my blog today. Do leave a comment if you'd like to and I'll look forward to returning your visit. Have a great weekend and I'll see you very soon.

Designer paper card

I've been having a look through my designer papers this week and they were out on my desk when I saw Natasha's fabulous FTL156 sketch at Clean and Simple stamping. Naturally, since all those lovely papers were in front of me, I had a little play and in the back of my mind I was thinking about this month's challenge at the St Lukes Charity Card Challenge - to take four items from the 'buffet' and use them to make a card:

The Newsprint paper range contains a selection of printed pieces some ideal for backgrounds, some perfect for cutting images and numbers out of and some perfect for focal pieces in their own right! I've chosen a piece of book print for the background here, which I cut to make use of the vertical line. A piece of Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon sits to the right of the line with the flower on top. To make this I just cut several of the flowers out of a showstopping paper from the Greenhouse Gala range, snipped between some of the petals and layered them together. Instead of a sentiment I used leaves cut with the two-step bird punch.

For those that like to know, my four items from the St Lukes 'card buffet' are designer paper, a flower, ribbon and a punch and I shall be posting my card off with several others to be sold to raise funds for this truly worthwhile charity. If you have spare cards, why not send them off too - you'll find the address on the side bar of the site.

The sharp-eyed among you may have noticed that all the current 5/8" grosgrain ribbon appears on the Last Chance List  and all this year's designer paper ranges will no longer be available after September (except the Patterns stacks).  If you have favourites, this is definitely your chance to stock up! If you prefer smaller quantities of ribbon or paper, check out my special offers section.

Supplies needed for today's card:

Stamps: No stamps!

Ink: Sahara Sand (for sponging the edges of the background paper

Card stock: Very Vanilla

Other: Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, 2-step bird punch, Greenhouse Gala DP, Newsprint DP, paper snips

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. Click here to view the Last Chance List - full of stamps and accessories, some at up to 40% off, available only while stocks last.

Yesterday we had a picnic planned as a last summer holiday get together with friends so naturally we woke up to torrential rain lashing against the windows and a gale force wind howling around the house! You'll be pleased to know however that in true British spirit we did meet up and went for a bracing walk together - a VERY bracing walk in fact!

If you're constantly finding that you're not getting enough time for crafting, you may be pleased to know that Three Minute Thursday is back tomorrow. Thank you for popping in to see me today and I'll hope to see you tomorrow.

Masculine Monday - using Newsprint DP

Good morning! When I looked at my favourite challenge site Less is More today, I was delighted to see that Chrissie and Mandi have challenged us to produce a masculine card... which fits in rather well with my weekly series on that very subject!

There's very little stamping on my card today!

I was inspired by the wonderful Newsprint designer paper - perfect for masculine cards! - and have stuck  to a simple red, black and cream colour palette. The textured effect on the front of the card base is achieved by inserting the card stock a little way into my crimper before starting, and only turning the handle a little way.

On some of the Newsprint papers there are pictures like this one which can easily be cut out and used as the focal point of a card. As well as this gorgeous vintage bicycle, there's a rocking chair and a pair of spectacles (which might appear on a card for my dad at some stage as he can never find his own glasses!)

It was easy to make some cogs and washers using punches and I was rather pleased with the bicycle chain effect on the sentiment, which is from the Punch Bunch Sale-a-bration stamp set. This promotion has finished now, so the set is no longer available, but do click the Specials tab at the top of my blog for current special offers.

Here's how to make this card:

• Cut an A4 sheet of Cherry Cobbler card stock in half vertically. Score and fold in half to make a card base.
• Insert the card front a little way into the crimper and turn the handle until you have about nine or ten crimped lines.
• Cut a piece of the dark Newsprint designer paper to make a background, being careful about what words might show - I used mine upside down so that no words leapt out at you! My piece is 5cm x 9cm. Cut a focal picture to fit the space at the top of the background and attach it with dimensionals. 
• Stamp the sentiment onto Very Vanilla card stock using Basic Black ink. Cut out a Happy Birthday tab to use later and cut a 'bicycle chain' out of the remainder of the sentiment. Cut out some cogs and washers using punches and arrange them, with the chain, on the background. Tie a piece of linen thread through one of the washers and round the paper. Glue everything down and attach the paper to the card base.
• Glue the sentiment to the side of the focal image.

Supplies
Stamps: Punch Bunch (retired Sale-a-bration set)
Ink: Basic Black
Card stock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Other: Punches (I used Boho Blossoms for the cog and 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4" circle punches for the washers), linen thread, crimper

I hope you've all had an excellent weekend. We've all been spring cleaning for two days solid! My lovely children rolled up their sleeves too, with my eldest son cleaning all the ground floor windows inside and out; my youngest son valeting the car; and my daughter clearing out the airing cupboard. It astonishes me how much stuff we have accumulated over the winter and it certainly feels good to have a clear-out.

Thank you for popping in today. Don't forget to leave me a comment so that I can return your visit - I love seeing what you've been up to!

I'll be back tomorrow with another project and hope to see you then.
Enjoy your Monday!