Let's go 3D

It's Dawn's turn to set our challenge this week at Daring Cardmakers and she's asking us to go 3D - make a bag or a box!

I always find myself wanting different ways to present gift cards come Christmas so I had a go at a pop up box and made it Christmassy!

I particularly liked the idea of adding a little extra, so I used this tutorial. I found a stash of Bazzil cardstock recently so picked out Limeade for a slightly brighter take on Christmas colours.

I did tweak the the tutorial as I added an extra bit so there's a divider towards the front to tuck the little extra into. I love her idea of the tube of Rolos but you could substitute other chocolate or sweets or something like a lipstick or mascara for a girlie gift I reckon. I also punched a half circle thumb hole to make the lid easier to open and clipped the back corners of the lid into a slope.

Slide the ribbon off, open the box and ta-da! (An old NT membership card is standing in as body-double for a gift card here).

Stamps:
Noel (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Holly (Freebie magazine stamp)

Paper:
Bazzil (Limeade)
Deep red
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Crimson Red)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Labels die by Spellbinder
Circle punch by Fiskars
Red Spica glitter pen
Stitch tags dies by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Red gingham ribbon

Thanks for stopping by, take care and stay safe if you are somewhere where restrictions are easing.

Secret hideaway

My turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. I'd like to see a card with a hidden element! You might choose to use a camouflage/eclipse sentiment with die cut words or letters, add a pocket to your card and tuck something inside, use a flap to conceal a surprise image or sentiment... what can you come up with to create a secret hideaway?

I've added a "custom giftcard" to mine - the headphones are stamped and coloured then a die cut giftcard was placed over the top and I stamped again (I find the MISTI is invaluable for jobs like this where you need precision placement). The partial image on the giftcard was coloured to match and I used a die that cuts the two notches to slot the card in to.Custom gift card information is added to the back of the card and a little greeting message written between the headphones on the base.

Stamps:
Feel the Power (Sheena Douglass)
Birthday Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (Twisted Citron)

Other:
Giftcard dies (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Copic markers
MISTI

Thanks for stopping by!

Hopping with Paperbabe

Some of you may know Kim Costello's name and style from her lovely work in Craft Stamper magazine. Kim's launching her very own range of Paperbabe stamps and she's invited a few stampy friends to help her celebrate with a hop featuring the debut collection.

I got my hands on the DesignAKnit set for a play. There are lots of stitch patterns (as well as some individual stiches, pompoms and sentiments) in the set. Each border style stamp represents two rows of knitting and because they're clear it's easy to line them up and repeat stamp to build a background. 

I made a beanie hat gift card holder using the wide rib stamp for the main part and a double stitch to make the edging. There's a little eyelet "hinge" under the pompom so the top part of the hat lifts to reveal a gift card underneath. Kim's offering cut files for many stamps in this debut release but I decided just to cut freehand round the stamped pompom. It's quick and easy since it doesn't need to be perfect!

The base for this is a 5" circle which means the stamps are not long enough to go all the way across but again, it's really easy to line them up and the pattern repeat is designed for easy repeated stamping so you can have any width you like!

While I was at it, I thought the chunky stocking stitch stamp would be perfect for some ombre stamping on a really quick and easy card. I used four different inks, stamping twice with each one to make my graduated colour panel. I stamped off for the little accent on the sentiment strip so the ink colour was not quite as intense.

As well as the DesignAKnit set I've been playing with, the debut releases include Tree Hugs and Ribbed Background. MayLeeDee is available as a digital download. Check out the projects on the rest of the hop to see all the images in action or see everything here in the shop!

There are prizes on offer if you hop along with us

• 1 winner of the TREE HUGS SET
• 1 winner of the DESIGN A KNIT SET (as used here)
• 1 winner of the RIBBED BACKGROUND Stamp
• 1 winner of the MAYLEEDEE DIGI
• and ONE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive THE ENTIRE RELEASE for JULY!

That's a LOT of chances to win! Here's who's hopping today:

Kim Costello

Chris Dark (DT)

Amy Wanford

Kath Stewart

Sandie Dunne

Joanne Allison (you are here!)

Dawny P

Kim Dellow

Paula Whittaker

Simonne Clay

Tricia Tilly

Paperbabe Stamps

Winners will be announced on the Paperbabe Blog on the 12th July - you have until the 10th to hop with us, just leave comments as you go so you can be entered into the draw!

Supplies:
Stamps: all from BuildAKnit by PaperBabe Stamps
Paper: smooth white, bitter chocolate
Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Cranberry, Currant, Raisin, Pitch Black)
Other: eyelet (to hinge the gift card holder), wooden button (to accent the card)

PS - I didn't forget about the Hero Arts draw from a couple of posts back, I just forgot to announce the winner here, sorry! Viv's name was first out of the hat and the stamps have gone to live with her.

Jolly Holly!

I'm playing with Shady Tree Studio stamps again today for more Christmas in July.

This little gift card holder gives the Holly Jolly set a contemporary look just by using a slight twist on traditional colours with a lighter, brighter green than your usual shade for holly and hot pink in place of red.

There's an image of a potted holly in the set - I coloured and cut out just the bow from that to add to the base of the wreath.

I finished off the inside by stamping the holly border along the top of the pocket that holds the gift card in place (you can just see it peeking out on the left side of the photo).

Stamps: Holly Jolly set plus sentiment from Embrace Christmas (Shady Tree Studio)

Paper: Cryogen White

Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Inkssentials gel pen by Ranger
Corner Chomper
Scor It
Foam tape

Thanks for stopping by!

Krafty Coffee

Today's challenge over at Daring Cardmakers is to use kraft cardstock on your project. I love kraft so this wasn't a difficult one for me! For those of you in the UK, I usually get the ribbed kraft recycled cardstock from PDA as I like the texture it has.

I've made a little gift card holder rather than a standard card. It's basically the same as the pop up one I did a wee while ago (in this post - link to instructions for it there too) but I've changed the proportions and used a standard A4 sheet so the piece that holds the gift card is just a little shy of half way on the folded bit in the middle.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
The Cafe (Shady Tree Studio line)

Paper:
Simply Smooth
Kraft

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Coffee Bean, of course!)

Other:
Copic markers
Antique copper mini brads (Making Memories)
Circle punch
Sewing machine and thread
Linen thread

Thanks for stopping by!

A quick gift (maybe for you, too!)

Gift cards are a popular choice for those "hard to buy for" people we all have in our lives. It's nice to dress it up and make it just a bit more personal though and these "pop up" gift card holders are one of my favourite ways to do it. Using the Thomas Kinkade papers means you get a really dressy result without spending a lot of time on it - perfect for the busy Christmas season!

I first saw this little gift card holder as part of a Splitcoaststampers challenge which pointed to the video instructions on the Hero Arts blog.

I warmed up the base with a fine houndstooth pattern (I find it easier to do this before sticking anything together) and then cut a section of one of the Kinkade quad papers with a Nestie to make a panel for the front. I wanted a narrow mat so I ran a blade around the outside of the same Nestie I used to die cut the image. A gold gel pen adds a little definition between the two and a gold embossed stamped sentiment finishes it off.

I punched a slot with a Making Memories slit punch to thread my ribbon through under the image panel.

Inside the holder, I used one of the background papers from the paper pack to make a nice finish. Just cut strips of 4" x 6" and stick them in place. I stitched a punched strip to one section before sticking it down to make a fancy edging to overlap the gift card. I've left it with no stamping or other images so there's plenty of space to write a personal message.

I didn't have a gift card for the photograph so that's my National Trust membership card posing as a "body double"!

If you watch the Hero Arts video, you might notice that my gift card is portrait orientation and theirs is landscape - either will work just fine as long as you cut the slit to the appropriate size, I just happen to like the proportions this way round.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock
Vintage Christmas Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments line)

Paper:
Winter Wonderland paper pack (Thomas Kinkade line at CHF - see below for a chance to get one for yourself!)
Stormy Light and Medium (Prism Papers)

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Slate)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Detail gold embossing powder
Silk ribbon
Labels One Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Gold gel pen
Slot punch (Making Memories)
Border punch by Fiskars (Threading Water/Scalloped Lace)
Sewing machine and thread

Want the papers?

As well as this being a quick gift you could make, I have a quick gift for somebody today. I have a pack each of Winter Wonderland and Victorian Christmas papers from the Thomas Kinkade line to give away. Each pack has four different Kinkade pictures on a full size (8" x 8") piece, four quad sheets (parts of the picture scaled down onto quarters of the sheet) and two sheets each of four different coordinating background designs for a total of 16 sheets in each pack.

Just leave me a comment if you would like to go into the virtual hat - I'll close commenting at midnight Wednesday 30th September and pick out a name to receive the two packs. I'm happy to ship anywhere.

Thanks for stopping by on the continuing WCMD blog tour, I appreciate you taking the time!

Prism Inspiration

Well, how dumb am I? I've been meaning to make something for the Prism inspiration challenge and only managed to get to it today. Did I check the deadline first? No I did not. When was the deadline? Yup, yesterday!

Never mind, thought I'd show you anyway. The challenge was to make something based around this inspiration piece



I love the curve you get when you plump a pillow down like that and it reminded me of a bag closure. The colours are kind of masculine though so I made this little gift card holder that looks a bit like a mini messenger bag. I thought you could put one of those cards loaded up with credit for iTunes in there so that awkward male teen in your life could choose his own downloads for his MP3!



The colours are a much closer match in real life but the light is rubbish for photos at the moment - it keeps trying to snow so it's rather dark!

Supplies: Bazzill and DCWV cardstock, Clearsnap chalk ink Burnt Sienna and Chestnut Roan (to colour the 'flap'), Dovecraft mini brads (muted colours), Sakura Souffle pen (white).

Thanks for looking!