Friday 26 July 2013

Cricut Owl Pop 'n Cuts Card

After camp next week, one of our girls is going back to Canada, having lived here for a few years.
I made this Good Bye card for her using the Pop 'n Cuts A2 base, with Funky Label insert (though this has been cut down to fit behind the tree trunk.)
The tree and owl are cut from Cricut's 'Live Simply' Cartridge. I like how easy the Cricut design is - only two layers for the whole thing (or three to add the white eye rims.) I added googly eyes, embossed the tree trunk with a bark folder (can't remember where from, but you could use the Tim Holtz one), clouds from Papertrey Ink and sun from Li'l Inkers.
I hand cut the speech bubble and layer for it, and used Tim Holtz's 'Typeset' Alphabet to cut out sticky-backed paper.
The hearts are from Sizzix Owl #2, and a Stampin' Up punch.
 Also while I was using the Cricut, I cut another little owl and tree, and made this simple card.
 I've also been doing some sewing today - making a flag for our girl's camp site. I wanted to base it on the Worldwide theme which all the youth programme in our church has for this year:
I love that it encourages the youth to make where they are in their lives right now, regardless of circumstances, into a 'Holy' place - somewhere where they feel able to keep their standards and feel peace.
I started off with a scrap piece of fabric, and added layers of colour with bondaweb, and zig-zagged stitched along the edges.
I added the figure of the girl with more bondaweb and zig-zagging, then cut it all out into a circle, and sewed it to a large white flag I made. I need to add some wording round the circle, then that will be it.

Some of products:


   

Thursday 25 July 2013

Pop 'n Cuts Camping card

Sometimes I enjoy myself so totally when I make a card, and it just seems to put itself together - this was one of those!
I wanted to make a Thank You card for the brave couple who have agreed to be the camp cooks for the 75 or so teenage girls and leaders, who I am responsible for on camp next week!
I used Karen Burniston's Pop 'n Cuts base die with circle label. (I cut the label down to fit better behind the tent.) I also used her Flagpole with Lantern and Sign die, and my red Sizzix Originals tent die.
 Here are all the paper pieces ready to be inked round the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink, and then assembled. (I didn't end up using all the clothes pieces.)
 For the front, I made a large pocket which will hold a sheet of paper for all the people on camp to sign, and a tag cut from Karen Burniston's Funky Label framelits.
To make the pocket I just cut a rectangle, scored along 3 edges and cut out the bottom corners, then folded under the flaps, and adhered with my ATG gun.
The green background paper is an old Stampin' Up one, and the other papers are from First Edition's Floral pavilion. I cut the bottom edge of the sky with Tim Holtz's On the Edge Scallops die.
For the sky, I used Papertrey Ink Clouds and  L'il Inker's small Sun die. The clothes on the line and dinky pegs are cut from Cricut's Country Life cartridge, which I glued to twine with Beacon's 3-in-1 glue. I used a Stampin' Up woodgrain stamp for the clothes poles and pegs.
I cut the campfire pieces, heart and grass by hand, and the Stampin' Up sentiment is on two more labels from the Funky Label Framelits set.
  I cut two slots in the shelf part of the pop-up, to accommodate the clothes poles. I folded a section of the bottom of the poles, and glued them to the card base, then covered these sections with strips of green paper.
The campfire is also on a bent strip of card, so that it can fold down flat too.
He he! It makes me smile!
 And just to show that it can all actually fold fairly flat!!

Some of Products used:


   


Tuesday 23 July 2013

Happy Birthday Karen!

A birthday card I made and posted a couple of weeks ago for Karen Burniston's birthday, which is today!
Hope you have a lovely day in Las Vegas Karen, at CHA!


Monday 22 July 2013

Tanya Whelan Pop 'n Cuts Butterfly Window Card

 I realised tomorrow is the last day of school for my youngest two, and I still wanted to do a thank you card for the teaching assistant in my youngest's class.
Karen Burniston's Butterfly Window insert in her Square Pop 'n Cuts base, makes for a fairly quick card.
I cut everything from First Edtion's Floral Pavilion paper, and decorated the butterflies with layered butterflies from the Bigz 'Butterflies & Labels' die.
I filled in the space created by the butterflies, using the Bigz 'Edge & Scroll' die, with some paper folded in half first, and placed just inside the blade of the long straight edge, so that it makes one perfect sized piece to fill in the whole gap.
I also added some extra swirly bits both inside and out, cut from Memory Box's Madera Corner die.
 The oval behind the 'Thanks' is cut from Movers and Shapers Sized Ovals - the smallest, and embossed with Brenda Walton's 'Rose Vines & Trellis' set. The 'Thanks' is from Cuttlebug's 'Olivia' Alphabet set.
I lightly brushed the edges with Tim Holtz's 'Peeled Paint' Distress paint.
Also today I cut out 160 Sizzix flowers and 80 leaves from felt... (in between card making, cleaning the bathroom, having 3 kids at home - holidays have begun for 2, and the littlest went flying off the top of an 8ft tall roundabout at the weekend and is hobbling around with a swollen ankle - no point sending him to school today as it's Sport's day - which I also popped along to, to cheer for my middle son...) I now have the job of sewing two of each sized flower together with a button centre. I'll attach them to clips, and these will be the four group colour markers for the girls on the youth camp I am going on next week as a leader.

Products used:


   

Congrats Pop 'n Cuts card

A card I made for my brother this afternoon, as he leaves his old Landscape Architect job and starts a new job to do with property renovation... (hence the house theme!)
I used Karen Burniston's Square Card with Ornate Edge Pop 'n Cuts base die, with the Congrats insert. I also used the Congrats Sizzlit which decorates perfectly the lettering.
The house border was cut with Tim Holtz's 'Townscape' On the Edge die, and the heart is from Owl #2 die.
 It was hard to get pictures which show the different textures and sheens on the card. I used linen textured card for the pale blue at the bottom, and mirror card for behind the windows of the bottom houses. The red 'Congrats' is cut from highly reflective red card, and the background to the houses shimmers.
I made the background by daubing white card with Tim Holtz 'Brushed Pewter' Distress Paint, and 'Festive Berries' and 'Tumbled Glass' Distress Stains, then spraying it with water and drying it with a heat gun. I wish I could have got a good picture of it, because it's actually quite pretty.
 A simple card front.

Some of products used:


   

Thursday 18 July 2013

Collaborative Accordion Album Project

A couple of months ago, Karen Burniston asked a few of us to make two pages each for a collaborative Accordion Album, which she could take with her to the CHA show this month in Las Vegas.
Karen just posted pictures of the finished project... isn't it fun!! It really does show just how versatile the Accordion Album die is for different styles. 
Follow the link to Karen's blog, to see a list of everyone else who contributed, and go have a look at their super panels!
 Here is a break-down of how I made my section.
 Karen asked that we each include a picture of ourselves, and our blog addresses, but other than that it was up to us what we chose to do. I think it's quite funny that given the heat-wave we are experiencing in England right now, I decided way back then, to do a hot summery theme!
1. First of all I cut out a mount board label from the 'Frame & Label, Bracket' die which accompanies the Accordion Album die. I used it as a template to draw round, for the background of my first panel.
2. I trimmed away the top edge of my background, so that I would be able to line it up with the blades of the die, when I came to cut out the piece.
I used the large oval from the Movers and Shapers Sized Ovals, to cut a couple of pieces of sand coloured glitter card, and layered them up on foam pads to create two swathes of sand. I let the bottom edges overhang the bottom of my background.
3. I took the piece, and face-down, lined up the top edge with the blades of the label piece in the 'Frame & Label, Bracket' die. I washi-taped it in place, then ran it through the Big Shot.
 4. This gave me a background piece, with my sand layers also cut perfectly to shape.
I then made some little beach huts by hand, using red paper-backed satin to make the stripes.
 5. The separate sections of the beach huts were stuck down with foam pads. I cut foam pads in half for the tiny roof and door bits. All the pieces were lightly edged with black Distress ink.
 6. Next I used Tim Holtz's 'Brackets' On The Edge die to cut four strips from blue shiny card and glitter card, to be waves.
 7. I drew round my template piece from Step 1, to create a backgound for my second panel, and used my ATG to stick on my layers of waves.
 8. I again trimmed off the top edge so I could line it up with the blades in the die. I taped the piece down, and ran it through the Big Shot, to give me neat edges to my waves and the rest of my background.
 9. I made a little boat, with paper pieces cut from the smallest die from the Movers and Shapers Sized Ovals set. I glued them to a cut down cocktail stick, and glued on some twine and mini flags.
10. To this panel, I also added a sun, which I added Glossy Accents to, some Perfect Pearls to the polka dots on the boat, and tiny letter stickers to give my boat a name. ('Why Worry' is the name of my parent's little boat, which we have had a lot of fun on during our summers in France.)
11. To my other panel, I added some little hand cut birds, covered with Glossy Accents, Perfect Pearls for door handles on the beach huts, and a little picture and my blog address.
 12. Finally, I added some washi-tape flags to some twine for a mini strand of bunting in the bottom right-hand corner.
I just realised today that I had got the wrong end of the stick with the instructions for doing our panels (amazing I managed to get any G.C.S.E's, quite frankly!), and so I didn't think I was supposed to decorate the outer frames of my panels, and they are plain white in the collaborative project. (Doh!)
Here's a picture of my finished panels, with some polka dot frames which I had temporarily adhered for these pictures:
(Update... Karen took pity on me being a twit and has now stuck on some more red polka-dot frames for me!! Love her!)

Some of Products used:


   




Wednesday 17 July 2013

Pop 'n Cuts Layered Cake card

 A fairly simple birthday card for my friend Becky, who likes Cath Kidston-type patterns.
I used the original Pop 'n Cuts base die, with circle label insert for the card base, and snipped down the circle label so it would be more hidden behind the cake stand.
I love this Layered Cake die by Brenda Walton!
I hand cut the bunting and little candle. (Love the cake shadow too!)
The papers are from Basic Grey's Mint Julep 6x6 pad.
I used the lovely banner from Tim Holtz's Regal Crest die, and one of his stamps (which I bent round a bit before putting onto my acrylic stamping block), the name was cut using Tim's Typeset die, and the heart is from Owl #2 die. For fiddly bits like the lettering, I always use a fine tipped glue pen - makes life much easier, and is very clean to use.
 I added a little of row of bunting to the envelope too...
I made the card quite late last night, ready for a birthday breakfast for Becky this morning, and I popped down the bottom of the garden early this morning to snap a couple of pictures of the card in the sunshine...
Look at the state of the grass! It looks like it's been snowing! I'm now covered in fluffy stuff which has come off our neighbours trees!

Products used:


   

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Summer Florals Thanks Pop 'n Cuts card

I'm still hobbling round (aching horribly!) after taking part in our church's area Athletics competition on Saturday... why I thought it would be a good idea to take part in virtually ALL the events, with no training (and in sweltering heat), I don't know! Anyway, I have a few cards to make this week, including some Thank You cards for women who I have worked with in the Youth Programme of our church, but whose roles have recently changed.
I've been privileged to work with some really wonderful people, and wanted to express my thanks to them.
I used Karen Burniston's Square Card with Ornate Edges Pop 'n Cuts base, with the Thanks insert, and used the Sizzlits Thanks set to decorate it.
I added an extra pop-up part on the shelf above the 'Thanks', to bring one of the flowers more forward.
The lovely green trim is from Eileen Hull's Hydrangeas and Borders Biz die.
For the card front, I used the scrolly piece from the Square Pop 'n Cuts base die, the Library Card Pocket (old red Sizzix die), and a hand-cut arrow. 
 I wanted the library pocket on there so I could add a little note.
 The flowers are from Brenda Walton's Summer Florals Sizzlit strip, and I used papers from Basic Grey's Kneehighs 6x6 pad.

Products used: