Sleighing cuddles rocker card

Materials…

• Teddy Bo & Co paper pad and Sleighing Cuddles digi stamp
• Cardstock
• Ribbon
• Button
• Glamour Dust and Sakura Quickie glue pen
• PC and printer
• Marianne Creatables Snowflakes die (LR0123)

To create…

1 Cut a piece of navy cardstock to measure 29×14.5cm and fold in half to create a 14.5cm-square card blank. Lay the card on the table with the crease across the top, and on the left-hand side measure and mark 4cm up from bottom and 4cm in along the crease line. Repeat on the right-hand side.

2 Use the edge of a plate or saucer to draw a curve between the two bottom marks, and draw a line diagonally from the edge of the curve to the 4cm mark on both the left- and right-hand sides. Cut out the rocker shape.

3 Using the card base as a template, draw around it onto backing paper, but cut it out slightly smaller so that when attached to the card you have a small gap all the way around. Affix a piece of argyle backing paper to the card front.

4 Print two copies of your image and colour, using an editing software such as PhotoShop as I did here, or with marker pens, and fix one directly onto the front of the card. After glittering as desired, stick the second image directly on top using 3D foam pads. Cut out, glitter, and attach a sentiment panel as shown using 3D foam pads.

5 Die-cut some snowflakes, cover with glitter and punch a small hole in the centre of the top flake. Thread a small piece of ribbon through a button and the hole in the snowflake as shown.

6 Fix the top flake to the bottom flake using a 3D foam pad, then attach to the centre-top of the card, again using 3D foam pads.

Snowflake flight sliding box card

Materials…

• Teddy Bo & Co paper pad and Snowflake Flight digi stamp
• Pink and blue cardstock
• Acetate
• Martha Stewart Deep Double Edge Snowflake punch
• Nestabilities scalloped circle die.
• Blue Debbi Moore glitter
• Glamour Dust and Sakura Quickie glue pen
• Computer-generated sentiment

To create…

1 Cut a rectangle of blue cardstock to measure 10.5x12cm, score and fold along the 12cm length at 5.5 and 11cm. Attach tape to the 1cm section, fold in and stick to make a sleeve.

2 Cut two 5cm-wide strips of pink A4 cardstock, then score and fold both strips at 1cm, 10cm and 19cm. Insert the longer section of each into the sleeve, one from the left-hand side, the other from the right. Apply tape to 1cm sections and stick into place to form a box shape. When pressed flat the sleeve should move freely.

3 Cut a 17.5x19cm rectangle of blue cardstock, measure halfway across the 17.5cm length, score, fold and crease well. Keep folded and use a plate or round template to mark a curved line from the centre to the side, then cut through both layers to give an arched top. Punch strips of snowflakes in silver and white glitter card, then cut between flakes to make singles. Glue randomly to the arched section.

4 Cut four pieces of 4.5×8.5cm backing paper and attach one to each section of the box. Stick a silver punched snowflake border across the two front sections of the box, allowing for the crease in the middle. Print out your sentiment twice, die-cut one and glitter around the edge. Cut around the wording on the second image, glitter and stick to sentiment panel using 3D foam pads. Affix to the box.

5 Attach tape to the back of the arched section, no higher than 5cm from the bottom. Slide into the back of the box, line up the bottom edges and press into place.

6 Print and colour the image, stick to a piece of firm cardstock to strengthen and cut out. Glitter as desired. Use wet glue to attach the bottom of the image onto the front of the sleeve, then decorate the sleeve with more snowflakes.

7 Cut three narrow strips of acetate, attach snowflakes to each and arrange and stick into place so that they dangle over the arched section.

8 Cover the back of the arched section with backing paper to cover the acetate, and add a message panel to finish.

Craftsuprint.com is introducing a brand new printing service where for the first time ever crafters can ask for their order to be professionally printed and sent direct to their door.  Craftsuprint.com has become the largest craft sheet supplier in the world, with over 200,000 designs for crafty cardmakers to choose from and now it’s even easier to get the highest quality prints.  Whether it’s a crafter with printer issues or a downloading technophobe CUP can now remove any printing problems by doing the job themselves.  By simply choosing the print option during the checkout process craftsuprint.com will professionally print any order onto high quality gloss 200gsm paper.  All orders will be printed, processed and despatched within 24 hours and can be posted worldwide; meaning if that special card is needed in a hurry CUP can deliver.

As with all Craftsuprint orders when crafters have finished making their cards they can photograph it and upload the finished picture onto the CUP website to receive a cash commission every time the sheet their photo is supporting makes a sale. Craftsuprint.com is the fastest growing UK craft website and has a thriving, friendly craft community; packed with tutorials, craft videos, competitions, games, freebies, special offers and a busy craft forum.

For more information: http://www.craftsuprint.com/

Materials…

• eclips™ starter kit (656155)
• eclips™ Holiday cartridge (656167)
• eclips™ Halloween & Scaredy Cat™ Alphabet cartridge (656858)
• eclips Giddy Me™ & Moon Doggy™ Alphabet cartridge (656173)
• green, black, orange, purple and white cardstock
• black and purple ribbon
• green, black, purple and orange inkpads
• hole punch

To create…

Front cover

1 Place a 12×12” piece of black cardstock onto your cutting mat and load into the machine. Insert the Holiday cartridge and select the ‘Halloween’ option, then select the pumpkin shape. Select the ‘Pieces’ function and the base of the pumpkin. Edit the size to 9” and cut.

2 Repeat the above step, cutting the pumpkin from orange cardstock. Trim the stalk off both pumpkins and save for later. Glue the orange pumpkin onto the black pumpkin and ink around the edges. Load a piece of green cardstock into the machine and cut another 9” pumpkin shape. Trim off the leaf area around the stalk.

3 Select the ‘embellishment’ option on the pumpkin shape and cut the vine with leaf shape. Use green ink to darken the edges of this and the leaves from around the stalk. Glue onto the top of the orange pumpkin.

4 Load a piece of black cardstock into the machine. Select the ‘pieces’ option on the pumpkin shape, select the eyes and mouth and press the scissor button to cut. Glue the face onto the pumpkin. On the same sheet, select the witch’s hat shape and cut out at 4”.

5 Load a small piece of white and a small piece of purple cardstock. You can do this on the same cutting mat. Move the blade to the white cardstock, select the belt buckle piece of the witches’ hat and cut. Move the blade over to the purple cardstock, select the belt piece and cut. Darken the edges with ink and assemble the hat pieces together. Attach the hat to the top of the pumpkin head as shown.

Inside pages

1 Load a piece of orange cardstock and cut another 9” pumpkin, base shape as before. Glue to the back of the front cover. Load a piece of green cardstock and cut another 9” pumpkin. Trim off the leaves and stalk, and glue to the top of the orange pumpkin.

2 Load a small piece of black cardstock. Select the haunted house shape on the cartridge and select the ‘Pieces’ option. Select the base house shape at 2.5” and cut. Load a small piece of purple cardstock, select the roof and stairs of the house and cut. Glue these layers onto the house and attach the house to the pumpkin as shown. Whilst the purple cardstock is loaded, select the bat shape at 2” and cut twice. Save these to one side for later.

3 Load a piece of black cardstock and cut a pumpkin at 9” and a hat at 4”. Cut a 9” pumpkin from orange cardstock. Glue the black pumpkin onto the orange pumpkin, then glue the black hat onto the black pumpkin. At this point you will need to change your cartridge to Halloween and Scaredy Cat™Alphabet.

4 Load a piece of green cardstock. Select the alphabet function, use the keypad to type the phrase ‘Halloween Bash’ at 1” and cut. Load a piece of white cardstock. With the same phrase still typed in, select the ‘Shadow’ option and cut. Glue the green letters onto the white shadow letters and glue onto the black pumpkin as shown. Glue the two purple bats down.

5 Swap your cartridge to the Giddy Me™ & Moon Doggy™ Alphabet cartridge. On the white card, select the Giddy Me™ alphabet at 1”, type the words ‘Your invited to a’, ‘8pm’ and ‘At my’ and cut. Colour the edges with green ink and glue to the invitation as shown.

6 Trim a rectangle of black cardstock to measure 7x3cm, fold in half and punch two holes along the fold line. Glue the strip across the inside pages of the invite to attach them. Tie pieces of black and purple ribbon through the two holes and tie into a bow.

 Project by Stacey Rogers for Sizzix. Originally published in Complete Cardmaking issue 32

Materials…

• Pink Petticoat Spring Wishes papers
• Lilac & black Bazzill cardstock
• Cosmo Cricket letter stickers
• Maya Road journaling block
• Prima paper flowers
• Button
• Ribbon
• Fabric butterly

How to create…

1 Create a 4 ¼ x 5 ½” card blank from lilac cardstock.

2 Matt a 3 ¾ x 5″ piece of patterned paper onto black cardstock and affix to the card front.

3 Secure a 4 ¼ x ¾” strip of a different patterned paper towards the bottom of the card front and add a piece of ribbon tied in a knot on top.

4 Attach a journaling block to the right-hand side of the card, then add letter stickers and a fabric butterfly.

5 Adhere paper flowers topped with buttons as shown to finish.

Project by Missy Neal from Creative Cardmaking Special Edition: Cards For All Occasions

Issue 88 of Simply Cards & Papercraft contains lovely nature-inspired autumnal images that are perfect for a variety of seasonal occasions. To get your hands on a copy of these images you can either click here or on the image below.

Issue 87 of Simply Cards & Papercraft contains a selection of cheeky monkey images that are perfect for a variety of occasions. To get your hands on a copy simply either click here or on the image below.

Papercraft Essentials #71

The latest edition of Papercraft Essentials features:

• Making words count, as Lynda Bellinger places sentiments as the focal point of her cards.

• Missy Neal whips up a fabulous collection of teenage birthday cards using 5 quick tricks with punch tape.

• Su Pennick shows off the versatility of UTEE to create a variety of projects in an Essential Masterclass.

• Sakura pens are put to the test as designer Liz McGuire adds a dash of colour to her cards.

• Plus fantastic giveaways, Essential templates, Cut out and keep, Readers’ Gallery and much, much more!

The latest edition of Papercraft Essentials is on sale 4^th August and comes with a free set of CraftsUprint design sheets!

Creative Cardmaking #31

The latest edition of Creative Cardmaking features:

• Crafter’s Companion Ultimate Pro is put to the test as Louisa Thompson explores ways to get the best results for your projects.

• Missy Neal demonstrates how to bring your cards to full bloom using paper flower embellishments.

• Jackie Reader introduces Hunkydory’s Country Cottages collection.

• Designer Chris Cooke injects some elegance into his work with a selection of stunning Art Deco cards from Kraftyhands.

• Creative Cardmaking goes stamp happy with a Focus On stamping and a guide to making the most out of your inkpads.

• Plus our readers’ gallery, the winner of Your Creative Cardmaking, ideas for using your free gift, fantastic giveaways and much, much more!

The latest edition of Creative Cardmaking is on sale 29^th July and comes with a free 16-page Polka Doodles paperpack!

Looking for new ideas for your next craft project?
Whether you want to create a personalised card for your loved one or make a unique scrapbook to cherish forever, check out these seven great tips from Serif, the makers of CraftArtist, on how to get inspiration.

Reminisce with photos

When looking at old photographs, we always feel the memories flooding back and often think of small but meaningful conversations or actions from the past. Take note of these little gems, as they can result in a truly emotional scrapbook or photobook. Great for bringing out at family occasions! You might also want to use some of the old photos and mix them with new snaps.

Visit an arts & craft fair

Here is a perfect excuse to escape the house on Sunday! Check out all the stalls, from jewellery and beading to card-making and papercrafts, at your local craft fair. You are bound to leave with some unique ideas – whether it’s new colour combinations or materials you had never even thought of using. Also chat to the exhibitors – ask them where they get their inspiration from and share your ideas.

Read a book or magazine

We have access to so many fantastic crafting books and magazines nowadays. Many are packed with invaluable ideas, tips and designs that can help even the less-creative person have their light bulb moment. Buy some magazines or a book (or hire from your local library if you don’t want to part with cash). A story, photo or even an advert could be just the inspiration you need for a superb craft project.

Examine old projects

You don’t really want to make a craft project that looks the same as the last one, but looking back can help ignite some ideas on what NOT to do. Could it have been better? What was missing? Maybe you want to recycle some old bits and mix them with new ones. If you are new to crafting,
check out other people’s scrapbook and card designs – what would you do differently?

Spring clean your home

Who said cleaning wasn’t fun? Tidy up the spare room, clear out the garage or put your wardrobe in order. Whatever place you choose to spring clean, you may find items that will spark memories or ideas. Even better, you could find some objects to use for your project such as an old photo or love note.

Surf the web and forums

With most households having access to the internet, it makes perfect sense to scour the web for inspiration. Visit crafting websites
and forums such as http://www.daisytrail.com/ – a social crafting community site and the home of CraftArtist. Also, make the most of search engines. Type in what sort of project you’re trying to make and see what articles or galleries jump out at you.

Cheat (sort of!)

If you still need a helping hand, there are fantastic software programs for creating unique and personalised craft projects. With CraftArtist Platinum there are hundreds of pre-made templates included that you can easily personalise and make your own. There are designs for everything from weddings and babies to holidays and Christmas!

For more information, visit http://www.craftartist.com/.

Simply Cards & Papercraft #87

The latest edition of Simply Cards & Papercraft features:

• How to use glitter to add some sparkle to your summer makes.

• The Melissa Frances Kitschy Kitchen collection has arrived and designer Missy Neal shows us why they’re a must have for any cardmaker!

• Designer Su Pennick demonstrates how get the most from the latest craze – Japanese Washi tape.

• Inspirational ways to create adorable designs by printing on acetate.

• Step-by-step guides to the art of doodling!

• Plus fantastic giveaways, a ProMarkers Masterclass, a pull-out-and-keep craft activity pack and much, much more!

The latest edition of Simply Cards & Papercraft is on sale 20^th July and comes with a free exclusive Craftwork Cards Botanicals paperpack!