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Waterfall Card & Picture Frame with Metal Foils

Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Waterfall Card & Frame with Metal Foil
Waterfall Card & Frame with Metal Foil

 

Materials:

Tools:

  • Embossing Stylus tool
  • Craft knife & Cutting Mat
  • Ruler
  • Scoring board
  • Double sided tape

 

1 – To make the Waterfall Card. In preparation print off 1 sheet each of the dark red, mid red and multi stripe papers from the Patchwork papers download. Cut 1 strip 5 x27.5cms red card for waterfall mechanism. Cut 1 strip 2 x10.5cms red card for retaining strip. Using the A4 sheet of smooth white card, score a line 11 cms from the left hand narrow edge and fold. Attach the mid red background paper to the inside back of the folded card and the striped paper to the front of the fold. Allow an overlap on the striped paper to fold to the back of the card to keep the edges neat. Secure into place. Prepare mats of silver mirror card and dark red background paper to place on the front and the inside of the card as per the sample. Stamp the sheet of textured cardstock with the background paisley stamp and emboss with silver embossing powder. Cut mats for both panels from the stamped card measuring 6 x 16.5 cms each. Attach to the card as per the sample. 

2 – Prepare the waterfall mechanism using the red card as per the diagram. The lines that are at 2cm intervals are to be scored and folded. The longer section is the back of the mechanism and must be left unglued for the waterfall action to work. Leave aside to be completed later.

 

3 – Take the Art Emboss foil and cut 6 squares measuring 6 x 6 cms each. Stamp your chosen images onto three of the squares using Staz On ink. Using a stylus tool or old biro pen, carefully outline the images into the foil. It helps to use a padded surface for this technique. It is also good to practice on a spare piece of foil to check the pressure you need to apply. Too much and you can pierce the foil. You will soon get the hang of it. Your embossed image will appear on the front of the square. Trace as much or as little of the shape as you like.

 

4 – When you have completed the embossing, fill the resulting shape with PVA glue and allow it to cure at least overnight. This will ensure that your embossing will retain its dimension.

 

5 – Now that your pieces are ready, cut some plain white card into 5 x 5 cm squares, one for each of your foil squares. Centre the card onto the back of the embossed foil. Cut off the foil corners diagonally and fold the edges over the card pressing down lightly so that it retains its shape. Turn the piece over and carefully using a ruler and a fine point stylus, mark the front edges of the piece to give it a finished and tidy appearance. Now mount the finished squares onto a slightly larger square of white card. Ink the edges with toning red ink.

 

6 – Take two of the remaining foil squares and using Versamark ink and the border paisley stamp, stamp the image into the centre of the square. Cover with silver embossing powder and heat emboss. Allow the metal to cool before handling. Finish off these squares as for the others. No backfilling is required with these images. It is a good idea to wipe over the surface of the metal with an anti-static pad before stamping. This prevents any stray specks of embossing powder adhering to the metal. Prepare your greeting on the computer remembering to print it out on the mirror image setting. Choose a clear font for ease of embossing. Centre the greeting over the last square of metal foil and trace the letters with a stylus tool. Finish off the square as for the others but add an extra mat of red card.

 

7 – Place the retaining strip for the waterfall approximately 7cms from the bottom of the card. This is the 2 x 10.5cm piece you cut earlier. Attach this to the card using the silver brads as per the sample. Slide the back of the waterfall mechanism behind the strip and leave it totally without adhesive.

 

8 – Attach the completed squares to the waterfall starting at the bottom. Glue the bottom square to the first 5 x 5 cm section.

 

9 – Each following square is attached only to the 2 cm scored section as you need the mechanism to move freely, the completed squares will ‘hang’ from the waterfall mechanism. Alternate the embossed and stamped images as per the sample.

 

10 – Glue the bottom of the first panel where it makes contact with the strip to keep the mechanism in position. Punch a hole in the centre of the back strip where it falls below the retaining strip and set an eyelet. Tie a ribbon through the eyelet to use as a pull for the waterfall.

 

11 – Finally position the sentiment on the other side of the card. I used a die cut heart and some reverse stamping to create the motif on the top of the card but this panel could equally well be made into a book mark as an extra wee gift for that special Dad. Your Waterfall Card is now completed.

 

12 – To decorate the Frame. Carefully separate the front of the frame from the back. Release the holding string from the front of the frame. Leave attached to the back of the frame as you will be re-attaching it to the front later.

 

13 – Cover the front of the frame with the striped patterned paper, mitring the corners for a neat finish.

 

14 – Using the 5 x 5 cm foil squares emboss 4 of the small paisley images, one in each square as for the card project. Back fill with PVA glue so that the embossing retains its dimension. Allow the glue to cure overnight. Cover a piece of card 3.5 x 3.5 cm with the embossed image and finish as for the card project. Glue an image to each corner of the covered frame.

 

15 – Reassemble the photo frame and re-attach the string to its original position. Be careful to leave one side unglued so that you can insert the photo of your choice. Finish off your project by making your own wrapping paper. Stamp the paisley background stamp onto a sheet of tissue paper using a toning ink. Your project is completed.

©2008 Edna Taylor

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First Communion Angel Greeting Card

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

 

This classic and elegant step-by-step project by Edna for a First Communion Greeting Card and lined envelope is a sure winner. Consider adapting this beautiful and timeless card for other special occasions too – wedding invitations, baby announcements and sympathy cards.

Materials -

  • Faith Angel unmounted rubber stamp
  • 1 sheet A4 white textured card and 1 sheet A4 white card for stamped images
  • 1 sheet translucent vellum
  • 1 sheet pearlescent paper to line the envelope
  • 7.5 x 7.5 cm piece gold mirror card
  • Shrink plastic
  • Versamark ink pad
  • Gold embossing powder
  • Gold Brilliance ink
  • 1 DL envelope
  • Decorative gold border peel offs
  • Gold metallic ribbon
  • Sakura clear glitter pen.

Tools – Craft knife, Ruler, Cutting mat, Scoring board, 1” circle punch, 2” scallop circle punch, Adhesive, Small jump ring.

Instructions are given for the girl’s version of the project. Use the ‘Hope’ angel image and the silver colourway for a boy’s version.

 

1 – Cut the sheet of A4 card to 19 cms wide. Using your scoring board, place the narrow edge against the butt edge of the board and score along the A4 tri-fold line. Turn the card round and score again.

 

2 – Set up your computer and print the main sentiment on the card at the bottom left hand side. Use gold (Red 165, Green 138, Blue 82) for the girl’s card and silver (Red 186, Green 186, Blue 198) for the boy’s version.

 

3 – Stamp image of the ‘Faith’ angel onto a piece of scrap paper. Cut out the stamped image and place near the top and centrally inside the first fold of the card. Trace round the image lightly with pencil.

 

4 – Cut out the shape approximately 3mm inside the traced line. Erase the pencil marks. Go round the cut edge on the front of the card with a decorative peel off border as this helps to finish off the edge neatly.

 

5 – Stamp and heat emboss the ‘Faith’ angel, the Communion cup and the cross on the separate piece of card. Cut out the images and using your 1” circle punch, punch out the cross image to place on the back of the card. Ink the edges of the circle to give some dimension. Place the images on the card as shown in the photograph, centring the angel to fit in the window and glue in place.

 

6 – Using your computer, print the verse and the details onto a piece of translucent vellum cut to fit the inside folded part of the card. Fold the vellum in half and attach to the inside of the card using vellum adhesive or glue stick.

 

7 – Stamp the angel image onto shrink plastic using Brilliance ink. Cut out leaving a small margin. This will not show when the piece is shrunk. Take care not to smudge the ink. Punch a hole into the arch before shrinking. Glitter may be added at this stage using a Sakura clear glitter pen. The shrinking process intensifies the look of the glitter. Once the piece is shrunk, insert a small jump ring through the pre-punched hole.

 

8 – Finish embellishing your card by adhering a length of metallic ribbon down the side. Tie a small bow and attach the shrink plastic tag through the centre of the bow. Glue the bow and tag into place and your card is complete.

 

9 – Line the envelope with a toning sheet of pearlescent paper cut slightly narrower than the width and sized to fit the length minus the gummed strip on the envelope. Insert the paper into the envelope and bring up to the edge of the flap and use that as a guide to cut the paper. Slide the paper into the envelope past the gummed strip and only glue the flap area using a glue stick. Fold over the flap and press it down for a crisp edge.

 

10 – To complete the envelope, create a seal using gold embossing powder or gold Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. Pour a little of either powder onto a heat resistant surface and gently heat until the powder is molten. Keep adding powder until you have enough to stamp your chosen image into. If you haven’t melted sufficient powder you can reheat it and add more until you are satisfied. Pre-ink your stamp with Versamark ink and press firmly into the molten powder. Leave it to cool and gently peel away the ‘seal’. Trim with scissors to get a pleasing shape and decorate using a length of metallic ribbon. Centre the seal onto a punched mirror card circle and attach to the flap of the envelope to complete your project.

©2008 Edna Taylor

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Get Ready for Easter with this fun Exploding Box

Saturday, March 1st, 2008
We’ve got a fun Exploding Box Project by Dawn which makes a trendy hidey hole for those oh so yummy creme eggs!

These are the materials and basic tools that are required to make the exploding box, all available from the shop section.

  • Four 12×12 sheets of coloured card, two shades of yellow and blue were used.
  • Corner rounder punch.
  • A length of yellow satin ribbon.
  • Graphics and backing paper taken from the Bunny Angels Designable collection.
  • Basic crafting kit, to include, craft knife, scissors, ruler and pencil, bone folding tool embossing tool, a selection of double sided tape, glues and foam pads.
  • Cadbury crème egg or similar.
  • Optional – Cuttlebug die cutting and embossing system or other die cutting system and a Cuttlebug large embossing folder.

1 – The important part of this project is accurate measuring. To begin take three pieces of the 12×12 card. Cut the first 12×12 piece down to 30x30cm, the second down to 28.5×28.5cm, the third down to 27x27cm.

2 – Taking the largest piece of card make faint pencil marks at 10cm intervals along all edges of the card. Taking a ruler and small tipped embossing tool, score the length of the card, using the pencil marks as a guide. You will end up with a grid of nine equal squares. Carefully cut away the four corner squares. Repeat with the middle sized card making marks at 9.5cm and the smallest piece of card making intervals at 9cm, scoring and cutting as above.

3 – Using the corner rounder punch, punch all the corners of the squares.

4 – Cut 4 lengths of contrasting card 10cm by 5cm. Cut a length of ribbon for each.

5 – Apply double sided tape to the ribbon and attach to the card ensuring the ends of the ribbon are secured around the back of the card.

6 – Glue these strips to the largest piece of card. These will form the outside of the box.

7 – Cut a square 20cm x 20cm, in the final piece of card, make a faint pencil mark 5cm in from each side, join these marks by scoring with your ruler and embossing tool. Take opposite edges and cut into the embossed line, up to the square formed in the middle as shown in the picture, I’ve drawn the embossed lines in pencil to make it easier to see.

8 – Apply a strong glue such as book binding glue or tacky glue to the flaps and fold your box lid together. I’ve used low tack tape to hold the box lid together until the glue dries – paper clips or pegs will also work.

9 – Carefully cut out your chosen graphics using a pair of scissors and craft knife.

10 – Print out the backing paper. Cut out five squares measuring 9cm x 9cm (one will be for the lid). Four squares measuring 8.5cm x 8.5cm and four squares 8cm x 8cm. Using the corner rounder punch round the edges of the squares. An additional option to add a nice touch if you have a Cuttlebug or other system is to emboss the squares with one of the large embossing folders.

11 – Glue the squares onto the card.

12 – Add your graphics with foam pads to add some dimension. I’ve added the graphics to the first and second layers, leaving the third layer with just the backing paper on.

13 – Glue the last square of backing paper to the lid, then stick your final chosen graphic to the lid with foam pads – I’ve used the frame image and layered it on a piece of silver mirror card.

14 – Take the bottom layer of the box and apply double sided tape to the centre box as shown. Stick the second layer on top and apply double sided tape to the centre box, and stick the final layer.

15 – Cut a piece of card 15cm by 5cm, score along the middle, then cut triangles along the bottom half (this doesn’t need to be exact).

16 – Form this into a circle and glue. Use low tack tape to hold together until the glue has dried. Cut out a circle and glue in the bottom of the cup.

17 – Glue the cup into the centre of the box. Add some tissue paper, then place your Cadbury crème egg in the cup – yum yum!

18 – This box is very versatile, once you’ve made one you’ll want to make lots in different designs!

19 – Try adding photos and messages to the flaps and hiding a variety of small gifts in the box – have fun!

©2008 Dawn Corner

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Valentine Concertina Tag Card

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008

 

These are the materials and basic tools that are required to make the book, all are available from the shop section.

  • Young Love and Love Bits Designables
  • A selection of red, pink and white card either A4 size or 12×12 size cut to size
  • Resized oval and heart templates taken from the freebie section
  • White card to make templates
  • Coordinating ribbons
  • Heart or other shaped gems
  • Charms
  • Chalks

· Basic crafting kit, to include, craft knife, scissors, ruler and pencil, bone folding tool embossing tool, a selection of double sided tape, glues, foam pads and hole punch.

· Optional – Cuttlebug die cutting and embossing system, or other die cutting system and a choice of Cuttlebug large embossing folders.

 

1 – To make the tag template take a piece of A5 card or fold an A4 sheet of card in halve measure 14cm along the length of both sides, make a small mark, draw a line across to join the two marks. Next find the centre of the top of the card, make a mark, then draw a line 2cm either side. Join the lines together at an angle as shown in the photo. Cut out the tag shape. You will now have a reusable template.

 

2 – Take a sheet of red A4 card (or 12×12 cut down to size) fold in half, smooth down using a bone folding tool. Place the tag template on top and draw around, then cut out, repeat so you have two tag shaped cards.

 

3 – Open one of the tag cards, and take a ruler and embossing tool, and score across the card as shown in the photo.

 

4 – Carefully fold down the flap.

 

5 – Turn over the card and apply double sided tape along the edges shown. Place the other opened tag card underneath, and stick the first card on top. You will now have a concertina card with a pocket and flap as shown in the photo.

 

6 – Print out your chosen graphics, and carefully cut out with scissors or craft knife.

 

7 – Resize the freebie templates of the oval and heart, this can be done in any graphics programme or many other programmes such as Word or Open Office (which is free to download). You will need 2 oval sizes, so one will fit on top of the other. The length of the ovals I used was 15.5 cm and 13.5cm. The length of the heart I used was 9.5cm. Cut out the reusable templates. Draw round several times, so you have 5 large and 5 smaller ovals and 3 hearts. Carefully cut out. If the thought of cutting so many ovals is a bit daunting, simple rectangles or even making a smaller tag template and using this would look just as effective.

 

8 – An additional option to add a nice touch if you have a Cuttlebug or other system is to emboss the ovals and hearts using the Cuttlebug embossing folders. The large oval wont quite fit in the folders but if you do part of it, then turn it round, it will still look just as effective. Sandwich the shapes using the embossing folder and run through the machine.

 

9 – Print the backing paper taken from the Love Bits graphics collection on to some card. Take your tag card, with the pocket/flap face down and lay it on top of the printed card. Line up the edge of the tag card with the edge of the printed sheet. Make a pencil mark where the tag part of the card goes up to an angle. Remove the tag card and draw a diagonal line from the mark to the corner of the printed card. Cut out, then repeat with the opposite page of the card.

 

10 – Apply double-sided tape to the corner edges only of the pockets (not along the side where the tags will slip in). Once in place add the heart borders with double sided tape.

 

11 – To make the tags that sit inside the pockets, take a large oval and stick a smaller oval on top. Take your chosen graphics and using foam pads attach the graphic to the tag. Taking a hole punch, punch a hole and thread a length of coordinating ribbon through and tie a knot to secure. Repeat with the other tag. You can write secret messages on the back of the tags, also messages can be added to the hearts on the graphics.

 

12 – Layer an oval combination on the centre panel of the card, and place chosen graphics again fixing with foam pads This will be the ideal place to write your main messages.

 

13 – Taking the heart tags, apply a light border of chalk around the edges.

 

14 – Punch a hole in the top, thread a length of ribbon through adding a small charm, then tie in a knot to secure.

 

15 – Make the two front panels in exactly the same way as the tags, but this time attach the whole topper to the panels of the card with foam pads. Pop the heart tags inside the pocket (after adding your secret messages!). Add the final graphics and stick gems to the flap, this is another place to add a secret message or even a hidden photograph, punch a hole in the flap and add ribbon.

 

16 – Fold the card together and punch a hole through all the layers, thread ribbon and tie in a big bow, this will hold the card together until ready to be opened.

 

17 – There are lots of places in this card to add your secret Valentine messages, you could even add photographs on the back of tags or even under the flap.

©2008 Dawn Corner

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