Step by Step Cardmaking- Lesson 2- basic card fold

The basic card fold is the staple card fold for a new cardmaker. It's simple but classic. This style of card fold can be used to create a wide range of card sizes but I would start with an A4 sheet of card. I would advise using a bone folder (at the least) and a scoring board if you're serious about this.

If you have a score board, it will more than likely have a mark, showing where to score, for an A4 half fold card. Make sure that you put the short edge of the card right up to the score board barrier so that the card is scored correctly. If your score board does not have any markings, then simply measure the length of the piece of card and mark the card half way along at the top and the bottom. Align these lines to the score board ridge and then score. It's important to measure each piece of card as they can vary slightly each time.

Without a score board, you can still achieve good results but you will need to be a little more careful. It is possible to simply fold the cald in half and crease, but this can cause the edge of the card to crack and leave you with unprofessional results. You can buy a 'ball embossing tool' for a couple of pounds but if you've got an old, out of ink, biro then that will work just as well. Measure the long edge of the card and mark the centre line with a pencil at the top and the bottom. Line up the ruler with those two lines and then use the ball tool, or biro, to mark that line. It's best to go over it 3/4 times just to create a slight indentation.

When you have scored the card, turn it over so that the mountain of the indentation faces up and then crease towards you. This means that the valley aspect of the indentation you made, becomes the outside edge of the card- this gives you the crispest fold. This is where you use the bone folder to run down the edge of the card and make the fold extra crisp.

You can buy pre-scored cards that you simply have to fold but these are more expensive and not available in as many colours as the plain A4 card.

This is a very versatile card fold and below are some examples of cards that begin with that basic fold, in both portrait and landscape orientations.

 

 

Kanban 'Winged Dress' card

When I visited the Kanban outlet a few months ago, I was seduced by a beautiful acrylic stamp set that featured 3 large images of outfits and smaller crowns, cogs & watches. They are in the 'steampunk' style that is very popular at the moment. At the time, I was reading the book 'The Night Circus' and the stamps really made me think of the style described, so well, in the book. The set was £10 and I couldn't resist. This is the first card that I have made using the stamps.

I started with a piece of white card, cutting it to a size that would fit my main stamp image once I had added the wings to the dress (they are 2 seperate stamps). I used my 'pumice stone' distress ink on that white card to give it a vintage look. I was desperate to use my Spectrum Noir alcohol inks so I started by stamping the dress in a brown memento ink so that it would not bleed when I used the pens. As I wanted to add the wings, from another Kanban stamp set bought at the outlet, I stamped the middle part of the dress onto a sticky/post-it note to act as a mask. I placed this mask onto my initial image and then stamped the wings over it again using the brown memento ink.

I then wanted to colour my image (using my spectrum noirs) and chose a deep green colour. I have been practising my shading with the pens but I didn't feel that I had a colour close enough to the original one I wanted to use. I therefore decided to just use the one pen and build up the layers to create the shading. I started by colouring the whole dress so it was a flat solid colour and then used the same pen to go over the lines provided by the stamp and the shadow areas underneath the folds of the dress. It created a very good shading effect. I repeated the same technique on the hat using a brown pen and the flower on the hat in the same green one.

I was keen to foil the wings just to add a different colour and texture to the card. I did this by picking out parts of the image with my quickie glue pen and then using some gilding flakes to add a range of colours to the image. This is a really simple technique and one that I've really got into since getting some bargainous rolls of foil again from the Kanban outlet. It's a great way to tart up a cheap topper! You can see that in detail below-

I then used the small crown stamp, from my clothes stamp set, with the 'pumice stone' distress ink just to start to add some detail to the background as it looked a but plain. I wanted some of the images to seem as if they were partly behind the dress so I again used my mask to create that effect. I then used the cog stamp with the brown memento ink to add a different shade to that background. I then used the same memento ink to edge the topper piece.

I mounted my topper onto a piece of dark, earthy green card showing a 0.5cm border on each side. I then attached this to a, once white, A5 card front that I had distressed using the same pumice stone ink and crown & cog stamps. The only addition on the card base is that I also added a few splashes of alcohol ink in a range of brown shades- this probably wasn't a great idea, in hindsight, as the alcohol ink does bleed through the card quite a lot so I'll need some sort of cover/insert on the inside. Not exactly a 'happy accident' so much as a mistake!

Crafting in Kent

I spent a couple of days in the lovely county of Kent last week and of course, made it my mission to hunt out all of those fabulous craft shops. We were focused mainly around the Dover area so my craft hunting was slightly limited as I didn't really realise that Kent was such a large county.

I, unfortunately, have just one craft shop to report on and that is Rainbow Crafts in Herne Bay (http://www.rainbow-craft.co.uk/). The shop was on the high street, which itself is just off the main sea front. and was BIG! Definitely worth a sneaky visit if you can convince the family that a day out at the seaside is a good idea. Large shop, with lots of goodies including docrafts, distress inks, scrapbooking papers & lots more. They looked to have an area for workshops too within the shop.

Not a place to make a special trip for, as the range was nothing out of the ordinary, but worth a look if you're nearby or there on your holidays.

Kanban outlet

Whilst looking through my various blog posts, I realised that I've mentioned this place a few times in passing but for some, deeply unknown, reason have never given it a blog post of it's own. This is a huge mistake as anyone who has visited before will know.

I first visited on the way back from a wedding that was roughly in the Shipley area and now go back at least once a year even if it means a special trip. It is well worth the petrol it costs to get there.

For those people who have only been familiar with Kanban since they have been part of the Create & Craft family, you've not even seen 10% of what they have to offer. When Kanban were a large part of the QVC craft line-up, they bought out new products much more regularly and had a much wider range.

The outlet shop is a mecca for all Kanban fans!

It is in Shipley, West Yorkshire and is a little difficult to find (don't trust an AA route map) but it's worth the effort. It has changed every time I've been so it may be different to my description when you go (which you should) but it will still be awesome.

The shop is split into 2 rooms. The first houses the 'expensive' side of things- you'll see why that's ironic in a minute, and this leads through to the bargain bargain room! The second room is full of large shelving units that house all manner of 'seconds' which essentially means the start and end of a print run. This means that the topper sheets are not die-cut and not foiled or glittered. You do have to search through everything and pick out the good stuff but you will find some real treasures. Some of the items are printed on 2 sides but if you're cutting out a topper and sticking it onto a card then you'll never see it anyway. There are usually some good background cards and if you're really lucky envelopes & some foiled pre-scored cards. It is very much hit & miss and you'll never get the same things twice but I've never been disappointed. When I last went in May, this room had a 'fill a box' system with each box costing £9 and probably holding about 100 A4 sheets. If you bought 2 boxes though, the 3rd was free. that means you're getting around 300 sheets for £18. That makes each sheet just 6p! That is truly unbeatable. Even if you only manage to get 1 card out of 2 sheets then you all know that's a bargain- even by the time you've added your own glitter (or foiling as I'll explain in a minute!). This is why the first room seems 'expensive'! The major things I got this year were part of the new London themed images and I got way above the full kit amount for a lot less than it cost- yes I need to cut them out but that's worth the savings.

The first room starts with a counter that shows all of the acrylic stamp sets they sell. These are sold at retail price but they are still great value. This room also has topper sheets but these ones are perfect (die-cut, foiled & glittered) for 20p or 30p each. This is even cheaper than buying them in bulk set from a shopping channel and you only buy the designs you like. They are mostly older designs but the new designs are available to buy too (but for RRP). There are also out of season bargains to be had e.g. 10 Christmas decoupage sheets for just £1. You can sometimes get ex-QVC kits too at major reductions. My favourite part is the foil rolls though (this is what I meant about adding your own foiling). You can get a huge roll of coloured foil (probably close to 100m) for £2/£3. As long as you've got a quickie glue pen then you can foil the sheets from the 'fill a box' room for yourself. 1 roll will last for years but when you see all the different colours (much more than just gold & silver) then you'll end up with at least 5! You can also pick up background cards, printed acetates, glitters, envelopes & ribbons all for great prices.

No matter where you live in the UK (or Europe & maybe even the US) then you need to visit the Kanban outlet. You'll probably never use all the stuff you get but you'll still go back for more. It becomes an addiction!

Prepare to be there for at least 4 hours (if you're going to do it properly) and make sure that if you take a non-crafting person with you, they take a book/ipod/ipad to keep themselves entertained. There is a sofa and free tea/coffee making facilities provided!

Skater Boy

Back in May, I picked up a reduced price stamp from one of the stands at the Sincerely Yours papercraft show in Lincoln. It was in a design style that I'd not seen before but knew instantly was just my sort of thing. It is by a company called 'The Greeting Farm' who are US based but they are available on a few UK websites (unfortunately I have no idea who I bought it from). The stamp is called 'Skater Ian' and is part of a range called 'Anya & Ian'- a set of boy & girl stamps in various situations e.g. surfer, teacher, wild west etc.

This is the first card I've made with the stamp and found it a great design to decoupage and a great opportunity to use my Spectrum Noir pens properly. Decoupaging the design meant that I had some extra unseen pieces to practise on too!

I stamped the image 4 times using a black Memento ink so that it would not run as I used my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens. I tried out various colour combinations and blending techniques on the lower hidden layers until I was happy to work on the layer that would be seen. I found it easiest to blend the colours by covering the whole area with the lightest colour first and then using the 1 or 2 darker shades to put in the shadow. After colouring, I cut out and layered up the image using foam pads (poundland special!).

The backing paper is from the 'Teenage Dream' stack by DCWV and already had a skater image inside the shield design, where I placed my topper. The backing paper was a flat design so I used my Sakura Clear Glaze pen (#800) to go over the multi-coloured shield image just to lift it slightly.

A simple card but the fabulous stamp makes it different to many other cards out there. Definitely a range of stamps I'll be looking out for again.

Step by Step Cardmaking- Lesson 1- card

Okay, so I thought I'd start a little series of step by step instructions for any beginner card makers out there. Each lesson will take you through a different topic, hopefully giving you the information you need to start crafting, or the confidence to try something new. The lessons will follow on from each other, starting with the real basics. If you've got any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to answer! Here goes...

If you are going to make cards then the first thing you'll need is card! There are lots of different types out there but I suggest you start with some basic A4 card in a range of colours you like. If you are making Christmas cards then get reds, greens & maybe some blues for a more modern look. If you're making cards for ladies then get pinks & purples and if it's men's cards you are aiming for then get blues, greens & browns. I also love working with a black base card but this can be a bit more challenging.

Unfortunately, all card is different so it will not be as simple as just finding the colours that you like. Paper & card is weighed in gsm (grams per square metre) so the thicker the card, the higher the gsm. I tend to work with card around 260gsm as if you choose a cardstock too thin, it will not make a solid base card strong enough to hold your topper. If the card is too thick, then it will be very difficult to fold precisely & crisply.

It is worth getting a cardstock that is slightly more expensive as the cheaper stuff tends to be of a poorer quality. So, get the card in ready for lesson 2!

Next lesson- how to fold your cards accurately...

Once Upon A Stamp

Lot's of love here on my blog tonight for the 'Once Upon a Stamp' website. A craft company based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire who I had not used until this week but they will definitely be added to my list of quality websites.

I've needed a new scoring board for a while but didn't really fancy one of those hougie boards that are on c&c. I'd seen a new product called the 'Scorpal' on the craft superstore website but it was out of stock. Lucky for me it was as I accidentally found one this week on the 'Once Upon a Stamp' website for cheaper than it was on craft superstore.

There are 3 different versions available:- a 6"x6" mini scorpal, a metric 30.5x30.5cm version or a 12"x12" one. The difference between the metric and imperial versions is important because all of the boards have multiple lines at regular intervals as well as for the key card folding techniques. All 3 versions are available on their site and I went for the metric version as I always work in cms (at least older crafters who are more comfortable with inches, have the option to go for that if they wish). All of the versions come with the folding tool and this is housed in a handy little clip section at the top of the board so it cannot fall out and you shouldn't be able to lose it!

They currently have an offer where you get the 6x6 board free when you buy the metric board so I got both for just £24.99. This is much cheaper than the craft superstore website (which I do love too) and, most importantly, they have some in stock. I placed my order on Tuesday afternoon and it was delivered this morning (Thursday) so that's great service too. They also have the option on their website to give them your credit/debit card details over the phone rather than over the internet if you are not keen on buying things online. Free p&p too!

I've not looked at the rest of their website as yet but I'm sure I will pretty soon!

Strictly Party

This is hopefully the start of my "at least one blog a week" challenge- I wonder how many I'll actually manage???

I recently bought the 'Ultimate die-cut pack' from the Papermania 'Strictly Party' range, and I have to say that I love it! RRP is £11.95 but with the voucher in the docrafts magazine, you get it for £10 and it's well worth double that. The pack contains backing papers, decoupage, flat toppers, ribbon borders, alphabets & sentiments in blues, greens, pinks & purples. There is a strong floral theme and the images are very girly but what I like best is that they have a younger feel than most floral themed images. I have so far used just 2 of the die-cut decoupage images with some of the backing papers to make 2 cards that I think are rather beautiful!

Here's the first of them in detail:-

This card is in my prefered style of keeping it really simple and elegant and was therefore a quick card to produce (once I had made up the decoupage topper). I started with an A5 front scallop edge card that I inked with my lovely new 'Picked Raspberry' distress ink (why has it taken them so long to do a bright pink one?!?). The decoupage topper is from the 'Strictly Party' pack and I layered it onto some turquoise matt foil paper that I've had kicking around for years. I chose the flowers (prima) to compliment those on the dress (near the girls hand) and attached them with a deep turquoise brad. The card was finished with a couple of turquoise gems in opposite corners.

CardCraft-UK

Exciting news!!!

Just ordered a new cricut cartridge from the CardCraft-UK website http://www.cardcraft-uk.co.uk/ which has recently become my home for cricut cartridges! Their prices are good and their service great. One of my favourite aspects is that if the product you want is out of stock, just give them your email address and they'll let you know as soon as it's back in stock. I know that lots of sites offer this service but I've never found them to be quite as quick in that promise as this website is.

Can't wait for it to arrive and to start crafting with it. Blog posts to follow I'm sure!

The London Line- Trimcraft

Recently bought some decoupage, pyramage, backing papers & ribbon from the new 'The London Line' range by trimcraft. The decoupage, pyramage & ribbon came from my local Range store but the backing paper I had already picked up from Wilko's (they have just started a new craft range replacing some create & craft products that they previously stocked). Most of the stuff they are selling is not that new or exciting but these papers are lovely.

All of the products fit with the 2012 British Jubilee/Olympics theme but in a cute way. The 6x6 backing papers have lots of bunting, Union Jacks & tea but also cute animal characters in both Jubilee & Olympic poses. Some of the papers are glittered too and you get 3 of each so it's easy to make some of your own small decoupage images if you want. The decoupage/pyramage co-ordinates perfectly with one of my favourites being a pheasant who is shooting. I've only made one card with it so far but I've got all the decoupage ready so they won't take long to put together.

I started with a 6x6 scalloped edge card and then used my 'A Touch of Craft' Union Flag mask by Creative Expressions to create the background. I used my Worn Lipstick & Tumble Glass distress inks and then edged the design with a gold metallic promarker. The topper was from the die-cut decoupage pack. No scalloped card is complete without Card Candi so I added some gold foil ones to each corner and then used a very small piece of ribbon from the same collection to highlight one corner.

A lovely set of products and well worth a buy!!!



We R Memory Keepers 12x12 ringbound album & McFly signed album

 

These are the lovely WRMK 12x12 ringbound albums that I have recently bought from the Craft Superstore website. They are leather covered (not real I don't think) with metal corners for extra protection. They are currently at the reduced price of £24.99 and in my opinion they are worth every penny. The actual front is larger than 12x12 because the inside rings are large meaning that lots of pockets can be added. Each one comes with 10 page protectors and they are very thick and great quality.

The colours I have shown here are offically named as 'grape soda' (purple), 'kiwi' (green), 'aqua' (blue) & 'orange soda' (orange). Your orange soda one will not arrive with McFly signatures on the front of it!!!

The best thing about these albums is that as well as the normal 12x12 pockets, you can get a whole range of different pockets for different photo layouts. I've got some that hold 6 6x4 photos in either portrait or landscape orientation. There are lots of other options available for larger format photos too.

 

I go to lots of concerts/gigs particularly Take That, McFly & Westlife [ :-( ] and I take lots of photos so the orange, blue & green albums are being dedicated to those pictures. I've only got the orange McFly one done so far as I was lucky enough to go and meet them just over a month ago and that's how I got it signed! I won't post all the pictures (there's too many) but here's a few examples of what I've done.

This was the first ever McFly gig I went to and the album it was for had a beachy theme so I used some DCWV sand 12x12 paper and plain blue textured cardstock that I distressed slightly. The surfboards were cut from another DCWV 12x12 sheet. The page header is a replica of the McFly logo (of the time) again using the same sand & blue papers. The tickets are made on the same blue cardstock, stamped with some lovely Kanban stamps in a distress ink (stormy sky I think).

  

These pages are again based on a DCWV 12x12 page that has the turquoise bricks and graffiti at the bottom. It came from the Teenage Dream stack. I continued the graffiti style by simply using a black biro to recreate the McFly logo & microphone image (after tracing it first!). The photos were simply mounted into a deep turquoise card that I had distressed with Black Soot distress ink. I again used my Kanban ticket stamp as a place to put the date, location etc.

Another simple layout here again based on a 12x12 DCWV paper. This gig was in Sherwood Forest so I wanted to show that in the page. I used a pine tree Kanban stamp and some brown distress ink to create the layered look in the corner and then used some very small SeeD's stamps to create the McFly logo. I made myself a stencil of the shape I wanted and then used 2 small pine needle stamps with both brown & green distress inks to go through the space- it worked really well.

This is my favourite of all my McFly pages, as it is one where I've been a bit more creative rather than just using a paper that already suited what I needed. This tour was called 'Keep Calm and Play Louder' so I wanted to reflect that vintage British theme. I started with a cream/brown mottled cardstock which I added some extra distress ink to the edges of. I then used one of my bottles of Adirondack Alcohol Inks and literally flicked the ink onto my cardstock to create a stained look. The small crown stamp is from a beautiful Kanban stamp sheet of the most fabulous steam punk style outfits (cards to follow soon I hope) and the star is from a clear stamp set by Inkadinkado called 'Rock Star'. The red logos are again traced and then enhanced with a dark red promarker. The picture below shows the 6x4 photo pockets and how I have used them for both photos and journalling.

The purple album will be used for the pictures from my visit to The Making of Harry Potter attraction at Leavesden Studios. I have a ridiculous number of pictures so I'll probably be ready to post some pictures around 2017!