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!

Craft Superstore

Very quick post about Craft Supestore which is a great crafting website that I have ordered from a few times over the last few months. Everything I have ordered has arrived quickly and they always send an e-mail to let you know when the parcel will be delivered and give you the chance to change the day if you will not be at home- great for those of us that aren't at home every day. They have a great range of products, regular offers and good prices. There is also a loyalty points scheme that gives you points for every item you purchase and you can use those points whenever you like.

I have just received the new summer 2012 distress inks (because I clearly need more) and another brilliant We R Memory Keepers 12x12 ring bound leather album. It's the 4th one I've bought recently and they are all lovely- I'll blog some pics in a few days. They are just perfect for my style of scapbooking/photo taking!!!