Thursday, October 21, 2010
Simple Christmas Cards - Joanne
Hi everyone! Its my turn to show some Christmas Cards today.
I was sent some gorgeous papers from Echo Park - the Merry Christmas range (available here). I have been waiting for these papers ever since I saw the sneak peek on the Echo Park Facebook page :)
For both of the cards I made I only used two 2inch x 12inch pieces of double sided patterned paper. So if you needed to make a lot of cards it would be a very economical way of doing so.
Please click on the images to see them larger and better quality. I'm not sure why they are coming up slightly blurry when small.
This first card is very simple to do. I have used a Christmas Cuttlebug embossing folder on the white card, and then I ran the card through the Cuttlebug without the folder to 'squash' the pattern a little so it was more of a subtle pattern. I picked four squares of patterned paper, inked the edges and adhered them to the card. I drew some faux stitching and chose the Kaisercraft Embellishment for the center. Then I simply added the bling and the sentiment.
Here's a little closeup...
Here's the second card:
Another very simple card. I used another Cuttlebug Embossing Folder for the background and 'squashed' it like the first card. The scallops are circles I punched from white cardstock.
Supplies used:
Kaisercraft Bling
I hope I have inspired you to create some lovely handmade Christmas cards of your own! If you do make some I would love to see them!
Joanne.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tanya Leigh - Cards
Hi everyone, Tanya Leigh here
Liz sent me a wonderful box of goodies along with the awesome Christmas papers by Teresa Collins
I am a fan of Teresa Collins products and was rapt when these papers arrived on my door step. Get in early as these papers won't last long.
I have one card to show you today using these amazing papers, I was planning on more but due to another big aftershock here in Christchurch yesterday I lost it and just couldn't do anything.
25 December Card
I have done lots of de-stressing and inking and love the old style of Christmas and these papers were perfect for that.
Don't forget to keep checking back for more inspiration from the Design Team girls.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Lowri - Cards
Hi Everyone - Lowri here.
In my box of Christmas Goodies were the latest papers from the Imaginisce “Cottage Christmas” collection.
There are some lovely colours and a real variety of prints suitable for everything from cards for kids, bold brights – some of them even have a retro feel to them.
I have three cards to show you today – they may take a little time to figure out, but once you master the technique, it would be easy to repeat quickly. These first two cards look impressive but actually use very little product – making them very economical too.
If you are in Timaru – pop into the shop to take a look as I have sent these cards to Liz! I have also uploaded instructions and more pictures in my gallery.
Tri-Fold Shutter Card
I had seen a few of these in magazines and on-line and I have been waiting for ages for a suitable time to try one out! It looks complicated but it’s really not. Just follow the diagram carefully and remember to use EITHER the inches or cm measurements. Either set of measurements will result in a card to fit a standard envelope.
When I try something new like this – I always give it a go with scrap card first (even a cereal box for thicker cards) to get a feel for how it works, double check measurements etc. It’s much easier to make adjustments at this stage, where if you make a mistake you haven’t spoiled any of your good quality paper.
Once you have made your card base following the diagram – then the fun starts and you can get decorating. I used plain cardstock in co-ordinating colours to make a mat for each panel and then cut patterned paper to decorate. I used a 1/8 inch margin (3mm) each time to get a layered effect.
In my box of Christmas Goodies were the latest papers from the Imaginisce “Cottage Christmas” collection.
There are some lovely colours and a real variety of prints suitable for everything from cards for kids, bold brights – some of them even have a retro feel to them.
I have three cards to show you today – they may take a little time to figure out, but once you master the technique, it would be easy to repeat quickly. These first two cards look impressive but actually use very little product – making them very economical too.
If you are in Timaru – pop into the shop to take a look as I have sent these cards to Liz! I have also uploaded instructions and more pictures in my gallery.
Tri-Fold Shutter Card
I had seen a few of these in magazines and on-line and I have been waiting for ages for a suitable time to try one out! It looks complicated but it’s really not. Just follow the diagram carefully and remember to use EITHER the inches or cm measurements. Either set of measurements will result in a card to fit a standard envelope.
When I try something new like this – I always give it a go with scrap card first (even a cereal box for thicker cards) to get a feel for how it works, double check measurements etc. It’s much easier to make adjustments at this stage, where if you make a mistake you haven’t spoiled any of your good quality paper.Once you have made your card base following the diagram – then the fun starts and you can get decorating. I used plain cardstock in co-ordinating colours to make a mat for each panel and then cut patterned paper to decorate. I used a 1/8 inch margin (3mm) each time to get a layered effect.
The beauty of this card is the structure, so I wanted to keep the decoration simple. Saying that I have seen some really ornate cards in this style online which work very well too.
Here is the template for this card
Tri-Fold Square Card
I printed some invitation wording onto acetate for the inside – but of course you can write any note or greeting you like. I have highlighted some of the stars on the patterned paper with rhinestones and used Kindyglitz on a chipboard accent for additional decoration.
The chipboard present on the front of the card was a precut piece I had from last year, so I covered it with the Imaginisce patterned paper, then a layer of glossy mod-podge and then a little bit of Kindyglitz over the top for extra sparkle. I used Kaisercraft’s tiny red pearls for Holly Berries. The ribbon is glued across the back only, leaving it free to be tied easily at the front.
Pull Apart Card
Basically it involved a lot of frustrating cutting of chipboard and paper and them some very fiddly gluing to get it to work properly.
So - bottom line is this was a lot of work for one card – but if anyone has an easy template for this card I would really like to see it!
I love the effect for a card/invitation so I am definitely going to stay on the lookout for an easy pattern.
The Kaisercraft Flourish star on the front I dabbed with white ink and sprayed with silver glimmermist. The inside had to be kept simple as any extra dimension would mean the card won’t open properly.
Set of Notecards
Finally, I wanted to use some of the Bella Blvd felt pieces Liz sent me – so I created these mini cards using the Kaisercraft Sheet music stamp, and then also stamped on the felt for a bit of added detail.
I used Stayzon Ink and it worked really well. I hardly do any stamping, but this was a fun idea which has left me inspired to try a few more projects!!
I hope you enjoyed these - if you have any questions please leave a comment and I will try and answer.
We have heaps more posts coming this week, so keep an eye out for some more inspiration from the Design Team
Once again I have provided a diagram for the basic card which I made from plain white cardstock. Once you have done this , place the card down in front of you right side down, and glue the top left triangle to the bottom left triangle.
I printed some invitation wording onto acetate for the inside – but of course you can write any note or greeting you like. I have highlighted some of the stars on the patterned paper with rhinestones and used Kindyglitz on a chipboard accent for additional decoration.
The chipboard present on the front of the card was a precut piece I had from last year, so I covered it with the Imaginisce patterned paper, then a layer of glossy mod-podge and then a little bit of Kindyglitz over the top for extra sparkle. I used Kaisercraft’s tiny red pearls for Holly Berries. The ribbon is glued across the back only, leaving it free to be tied easily at the front.
Here is the template for this card
This was a cross between a labour of love and hate! I had seen a couple of cards like this online and I even followed a tutorial to make one – but the end result was really flimsy. My kids have a set of pull apart flashcards which I wanted the feel of, so I carefully prized it apart to see the mechanism and copied it.
Basically it involved a lot of frustrating cutting of chipboard and paper and them some very fiddly gluing to get it to work properly.
So - bottom line is this was a lot of work for one card – but if anyone has an easy template for this card I would really like to see it!
I love the effect for a card/invitation so I am definitely going to stay on the lookout for an easy pattern.
The Kaisercraft Flourish star on the front I dabbed with white ink and sprayed with silver glimmermist. The inside had to be kept simple as any extra dimension would mean the card won’t open properly.Set of Notecards
Finally, I wanted to use some of the Bella Blvd felt pieces Liz sent me – so I created these mini cards using the Kaisercraft Sheet music stamp, and then also stamped on the felt for a bit of added detail.
I used Stayzon Ink and it worked really well. I hardly do any stamping, but this was a fun idea which has left me inspired to try a few more projects!!
I hope you enjoyed these - if you have any questions please leave a comment and I will try and answer.
We have heaps more posts coming this week, so keep an eye out for some more inspiration from the Design Team
Monday, October 18, 2010
Clarissa - Cards
Hi everyone.
I get to bring you the first Christmas card of the Countdown. With all these fun Christmas projects I get to make, I've had the urge to dig out my Christmas CD's and really get in the festive mood. Anything that helps the creative flow!
My inspiration for this shaker card is a very cool product called Diamond Dust which adds gorgeous sparkly texture to flowers or anything you care to stick it to. As soon as I saw it I thought SNOW!
If you've never tried a shaker card I would encourage you to give a go. They are a lot of fun to make and there are lots of things you can use to fill them such as glitter, confetti, or even some coconut for a different snow effect. All you need is some acetate and double sided foam strips to make an sealed space so the contents don't fall out of the card.
The papers I've used are from the DCWV Christmas Combo paper stack, which has a great selection of traditional and non-traditional colours, and the stamps are from Kaisercrafts 'Tis the Season Collection.
Looking forward to seeing your creations in the Competition Gallery!
Clarissa
Sunday, October 17, 2010
10 Week Christmas Countdown begins!!
PRIZES TO BE WON!
Who can believe it's only 10 weeks until Christmas!! Artfull Crafts wants to celebrate the lead up to Christmas on the blog and so we've got our Design Team on board and want to invite you all to join in the fun! We know that people often take the opportunity at Christmas to make gifts, cards and create special touches for the house and dinner table. So we've put together a useful set of 10 weekly themes to inspire you!
Each week's theme will be announced on this blog on Sunday night and each day throughout the week the Design Team will be blogging their creations. That means you'll want to pop back each day to see what they've been up to. You are also invited to send us your submissions throughout the week and we'll load them up in our Competition Gallery. Each week there will be a prize pack up for grabs. To be in the draw you just have to email us your project that matches the weekly theme. We'll do a random draw and announce the winner on the next Sunday night's blog.
This week's competition prize is a set of Teresa Collins Noel papers (9 in the collection), chipboard and ribbon (see below):
So the theme for this week is CHRISTMAS CARDS! Any style is welcome - big, small, colourful, plain, flat, bumpy - there are no rules - except it needs to be made by you. There are so many styles to think about. Vintage seems to be a big trend this year and have you looked at the Kaisercraft blog lately? They've done some great Christmas cards with the fabulous 6x6 pads. They have 4 pages of die cuts in the back - along with all the specialty papers.
What can you use? Anything!! Have you noticed all the little scraps you've got sitting around? Why don't you go on a little "treasure hunt" around the home this week. Look for buttons, scraps, bits in the bottom of drawers and see what you come up with? Why not pull some old cards apart and make a remodelled version. How about getting a 3D decoupage sheet and make a card that pops off the page.
Why not get your kids involved in the weekly challenges?! In fact, I think that's a great idea. I'm going to put up an EXTRA weekly prize for the under 18 years age group. Let me know when you email if you are in this age group. Remember the prize is randomly drawn - and you've got to be in to win!!
So, now we've set the guidelines and given you some ideas. We'll give you daily inspiration throughout the week and all we want from you are your submissions!!
We can't wait to see your cards throughout this week. Please make sure your submission gets to us by 6pm Sunday next week (24th October) - so we can do the prize draw before the next blog.
We also want to give a prize away tomorrow (Monday 18th October). So if you want to win a $25 prize to get you started on this 10-week countdown, then just leave a comment on this blog by Monday midnight!
All the Design Team have been sent parcels filled with different brands and styles of Christmas themed products. They will use these as the basis of their Countdown projects - although they are also welcome to use any other products they choose. Here's a few photos of the packs we sent out:
Janine has been given a set of Websters Waiting for Santa papers and a mix of delicate products and projects.
Lowri has been given the Imaginisce range of papers (Cottage Christmas)
Tina has got Graphic 45 Vintage papers (Christmas Past)
Shirley's parcel had lots of the Be Merry Kaisercraft Collection
Joanne will get to play with Echo Park's Merry Christmas Colletion
Who can believe it's only 10 weeks until Christmas!! Artfull Crafts wants to celebrate the lead up to Christmas on the blog and so we've got our Design Team on board and want to invite you all to join in the fun! We know that people often take the opportunity at Christmas to make gifts, cards and create special touches for the house and dinner table. So we've put together a useful set of 10 weekly themes to inspire you!
Each week's theme will be announced on this blog on Sunday night and each day throughout the week the Design Team will be blogging their creations. That means you'll want to pop back each day to see what they've been up to. You are also invited to send us your submissions throughout the week and we'll load them up in our Competition Gallery. Each week there will be a prize pack up for grabs. To be in the draw you just have to email us your project that matches the weekly theme. We'll do a random draw and announce the winner on the next Sunday night's blog.
This week's competition prize is a set of Teresa Collins Noel papers (9 in the collection), chipboard and ribbon (see below):
So the theme for this week is CHRISTMAS CARDS! Any style is welcome - big, small, colourful, plain, flat, bumpy - there are no rules - except it needs to be made by you. There are so many styles to think about. Vintage seems to be a big trend this year and have you looked at the Kaisercraft blog lately? They've done some great Christmas cards with the fabulous 6x6 pads. They have 4 pages of die cuts in the back - along with all the specialty papers.
What can you use? Anything!! Have you noticed all the little scraps you've got sitting around? Why don't you go on a little "treasure hunt" around the home this week. Look for buttons, scraps, bits in the bottom of drawers and see what you come up with? Why not pull some old cards apart and make a remodelled version. How about getting a 3D decoupage sheet and make a card that pops off the page.
Why not get your kids involved in the weekly challenges?! In fact, I think that's a great idea. I'm going to put up an EXTRA weekly prize for the under 18 years age group. Let me know when you email if you are in this age group. Remember the prize is randomly drawn - and you've got to be in to win!!
So, now we've set the guidelines and given you some ideas. We'll give you daily inspiration throughout the week and all we want from you are your submissions!!
We can't wait to see your cards throughout this week. Please make sure your submission gets to us by 6pm Sunday next week (24th October) - so we can do the prize draw before the next blog.
We also want to give a prize away tomorrow (Monday 18th October). So if you want to win a $25 prize to get you started on this 10-week countdown, then just leave a comment on this blog by Monday midnight!
All the Design Team have been sent parcels filled with different brands and styles of Christmas themed products. They will use these as the basis of their Countdown projects - although they are also welcome to use any other products they choose. Here's a few photos of the packs we sent out:
Janine has been given a set of Websters Waiting for Santa papers and a mix of delicate products and projects.
Lowri has been given the Imaginisce range of papers (Cottage Christmas)
Tina has got Graphic 45 Vintage papers (Christmas Past)
Shirley's parcel had lots of the Be Merry Kaisercraft Collection
Joanne will get to play with Echo Park's Merry Christmas ColletionTanya has been sent Teresa Collins' Noel products and Clarissa choose a random selection of goodies. Betsy has been playing with Kaisercraft's Tis the Season products to create a card kit that will be available in November.
In summary there are two things you need to do... put a comment on the blog to go in the draw to win a $25 pack by Monday midnight 18th October and then send us a Christmas Card picture by Sunday 24th October 6pm to go in the draw to win the Teresa Collins products shown above.
The final part of the blog post each week will be portions of Scripture that outline the Birth of Jesus Christ - a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas. Even I can get all caught up in the crafts, gifts and busy nature of the end of the year, and forget that there is meaning to the celebration. This God-man Jesus split history and is still changing lives today. We start with a passage in Luke. 1:26-38
Have a great week and let the fun begin!
:-) Liz
In summary there are two things you need to do... put a comment on the blog to go in the draw to win a $25 pack by Monday midnight 18th October and then send us a Christmas Card picture by Sunday 24th October 6pm to go in the draw to win the Teresa Collins products shown above.
The final part of the blog post each week will be portions of Scripture that outline the Birth of Jesus Christ - a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas. Even I can get all caught up in the crafts, gifts and busy nature of the end of the year, and forget that there is meaning to the celebration. This God-man Jesus split history and is still changing lives today. We start with a passage in Luke. 1:26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Next week we'll look at Joseph's response to the news of the impending birth.Have a great week and let the fun begin!
:-) Liz
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Christmas Countdown about to begin!
From Sunday/Monday onwards you'll want to be popping back here regularly. There should be posts most days and each week will have a different theme. So look out for the first series early next week. You'll also have chances to win each week and join us in the challenges. We're looking forward to the fun (and Christmas!)
:-) Liz
:-) Liz
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Craftathon Fun!
We had a great day yesterday at our 10am - 10pm Craftathon. We had a fairly full house with 14 crafters. We had some under 20's and some over 20's, 3 from ChCh, 2 from Oamaru, Clarissa (Design Team Member) and a bunch of keen locals. We enjoyed some laughs, some old-time music and some prizes. Thanks again ladies!
The challenge for the day was to create "something"from some spare Advent Calendar boxes I had. They were allowed a piece of paper and some ribbon from the shop. I promised a prize draw too - but I forgot to do the draw!
I did see 3 completed projects at the end of the night and so we've done the draw for you.. The winner is... Barbara! Come into the store and we'll give you an embossing folder.
I took photos of Diane and Barbara's completed projects and I love them! They created little Christmas Trees. How cute!!
We also ran a Vintage Clock and Mini Scrapbooking album class on Friday as part of our Holiday Programme. We had a great turnout with 14 keen crafters! Here are some pics of the day...
v
If you like the look of the clock then we are running another class tomorrow (Monday afternoon). We are also creating a canvas on Wednesday and a whole crafty day on Friday using the Loire Valley papers and a Kaisercraft Birdhouse, layouts and cards. What fun!! Call us if you want to book in: 688 8566 on check it out online: http://www.artfullcrafts.co.nz/category/117/Classes.html
Friday, October 1, 2010
Hi Everyone!
Lowri here – Liz very kindly agreed that I could let you know through the Artfull Crafts blog that I am starting a blog! Please check it out at http://papervinenz.blogspot.com/.
If you leave a comment on one of my blog posts you will be entered into a draw to win $30 of free goodies! It includes Thickers, rub-ons , die-cuts PLUS a set of 4 personalised cards in any theme you would like! If you actually become a "Follower" of my blog – I will enter your name twice into the draw. Thanks heaps in advance for your support! Lowri J
Monday, September 27, 2010
$1 auctions!
It's that crazy time where I need to get my Trade Me (artfullcrafts) listing allowance up! So I run a whole lot of $1 auctions - and people get bargains...
This time I've gone for lots of glittery stuff - Glitz PeelCraft, Kindy Glitz, Glitter Gel Pens and a whole lot of Embossing Folders (yes for only $1 res!). Some of the folders are not available for individual sale - but I've broken open the sets for this week.
Tomorrow night I'll load up another 100 auctions - Ice Stickles, stamps, Christmas brads, alpha stickers and some rhinestones...
My username is artfullcrafts. If you click that link and then type $1 res into the Trade Me search you will come up with all my $1 res auctions! Happy bidding.
This time I've gone for lots of glittery stuff - Glitz PeelCraft, Kindy Glitz, Glitter Gel Pens and a whole lot of Embossing Folders (yes for only $1 res!). Some of the folders are not available for individual sale - but I've broken open the sets for this week.
Tomorrow night I'll load up another 100 auctions - Ice Stickles, stamps, Christmas brads, alpha stickers and some rhinestones...
My username is artfullcrafts. If you click that link and then type $1 res into the Trade Me search you will come up with all my $1 res auctions! Happy bidding.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Time for Christmas...
We got new Echo Park Christmas Papers in stock today - so I've had a play already!! Here they are on the new Kaisercraft Scallop Hanging Tree. I will be making packs of these hangers (and most of the other Kaiser Beyond the Page projects) - s0 keep an eye on the website for them.
The edges have been painted with Gold and the front covered with Merry Christmas Border Strips from Echo Park. Then I've decorated it by cutting out holly form the Holly Berry Paper. Add some pom-pom ribbon, a Kaisercraft wooden snowflake covered with bling and ribbon tied with knots to sit on top of the presents and you're done! It look about 30 mins.
An easy night's project. You could of course add photos if you wanted - but I just decided to enjoy the papers this time.
Have a great night!
:-) Liz
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