I SAW THREE SHIPS - Stamps from issue #207 Simply Cards & Papercraft

 

I saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

I saw three ships come sailing in

On Christmas Day in the morning

And what was in those ships all three

On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day?

And what was in those ships all three

On Christmas Day in the morning?

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there

On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

The Virgin Mary and Christ were there

On Christmas Day in the morning

Pray, wither sailed those ships all three

On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

Pray, wither sailed those ships all three

On Christmas Day in the morning?

O they sailed into Bethlehem

On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day

O they sailed into Bethlehem

On Christmas Day in the morning

And all the bells on earth shall ring

On Christmas Day, on Christmas…

WISH UPON A STAR - KINETIC CARD

 

Star light, star bright,

The first star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might,

Have the wish I wish tonight. 

I had a lot of fun making this DL sized shooting star card!! 

Here is how you would go about making it........ 

First  cut 2 pieces of black card  -  both the same size, so they will fit onto the front of a DL size card base, with just a narrow gap showing all around when it is glued in place. 

Out of one of the pieces cut a narrow band with a curved top and bottom. The band needs to be cut at an angle from top left to bottom right as shown in the photo. 

To create the right width for the band measure one of the two same sized coins (I used UK One Penny Pieces) and cut the width of the band a bit smaller, so that the coins will "roll" along the cutout band without popping out - after everything is put together. 

Next align one of the coins behind the cut out panel and firmly glue a circle of dimensional foam with hot glue to the coin. You want it to be stuck well and you want a small amount of clearance around the edge of the foam, so that the coin will be able to roll freely. 

Now firmly glue the 2nd coin directly on top, as shown in the photo above. 

Turn the card over and stick dimensional foam either side of the coin rolling mechanism and onto the rest of the card to make sure it stays firm and stable when the back is stuck down onto it. 

Now stick the plain uncut piece of black card down onto the first piece, with the foam in between them, to form the back. 

Check to make sure the coins roll comfortably up and down the panel piece. 

Once you are happy that the mechanism is working you can decorate the front of the panel however you like, before sticking it to the card base. 

To decorate mine I brushed Opal Blaze polish through a star stencil directly onto the black card. I also stuck on some glitter paper die cut stars and some blue gem stick-ons. 

Onto the rolling coin mechanism I glued a larger glittery die cut star. 

Finally I finished the card with a birthday wish made from hand written word blocks. 

AQUARIUM - SLIMLINE SHAKER CARD - Stamps from issue #86 of Creative Stamping

 

I had some left over fish which had been stamped up when making the previous "Dawn Catch" fishing card - - which you can see in the previous post.

Looking at them and thinking about what I might be able to do with them inspired this card. 

I'd been thinking about making a shaker card anyway!! These fish gave me the idea of turning the shaker element onto an aquarium. 

A slimline sized card made the perfect base, especially when landscape oriented. 

I just cut 2 pieces of white card the same size, to create the topper. They were cut at 0.25 inches smaller in the length and width of the base card. 

With one of the pieces of white card I cut out an aquarium shape rectangle, with half an inch clearance around the three sides to the left, top and bottom and leaving space to the right hand side for the greeting.

After aligning both pieces of card I lightly pencilled a line through the cut out rectangle onto the piece below. 

The pencilled area was where I created an aquarium scene. The colours for the water and the sandy floor were done with Distress Oxide inks. 

I stamped rocks onto the sandy base, using rock stamps from the set. 

A fussy cut piece from a section of dentritic printing, of old, provided a clump of aquarium grass, which was glued in place. 

Then the fish were glued into position in the fish tank. 

Once I was happy with the aquarium I adhered strips of dimensional foam around it (to create the boxed in space to keep the shaker beads and sequins from escaping. 

Further dimensional foam was added all around the sides of the card. 

The glass front of the aquarium was created by gluing a piece of acetate behind the cutout rectangle. 

I made a "double layer" of foam tape to all the taped areas to give enough depth (the tape I was using is quite thin). 

After putting some beads and sequins into the aquarium I stuck the top down. 

Finally the front of the card was matted and layered with black card and some patterned card and the sentiment stamped with Dovecraft wooden alphabet blocks. 

The words "Happy Birthday Fishes" (I like a good pun) were then glued to the card. 

DAWN CATCH - (Stamps from issue #86 of Creative Stamping)

 

My Creative Stamping magazines arrived here in Spain last Friday. 

I ordered #85 and #86 from Craftstash the week before. So that's not too bad, time wise, coming from the UK right in the middle of a worldwide virus pandemic of Covid 19.

The sting was the postage costs. Both came in the same packet, but postage charges were £5 - each!!!! Oh well, cheaper than flying over to collect I guess and the nice customer service person at Craftstash gave a 10% discount after ringing them to see whether they could reduce the postage.

Anyway, this is the card I made with some of the stamps that came with issue #86. 

The selection is fabulous and after cutting a 6 x 6 inch base card with a scalloped circle die from the X-Cut nesting dies, I got to work choosing a scenic layout. 

The white topper was inked with Distress Oxide inks in the lower section, to represent a lake. I coloured the top half with Faber-Castell polychromos colouring pencils to create a sunrise / dawn effect.

The reflections on the lake were done with the colouring pencils. 

I had already "tried out" and positioned some of the stamps (un-inked) onto the card to see what scene I would do. 

The selected stamps were inked with Ranger Black ink into some white card. Then they were coloured with the colouring pencils and fussy cut out. 

I used dimensional foam on the reeds and grasses in the foreground and attached the fish to the fishing rod with a short length of fine thread. 

One of my nephew's does a bit of fishing now and then, so this card will be just the ticket for a birthday card for him! 

BLACK ON BLACK

 

The white-on-white card I made for a "one colour" challenge running currently on the Craftworld website had me wondering whether I could create a black-on-black card. 

So, here is the result. 

Just a slimline black coloured base card. 

Very quick and easy to make in the end. Although it seemed to take ages and ages to select the embellishments and decide on the layout and orientation. 

All I ended up doing was to cut out a lace border from black card, using a Tonic Studios lace die, then inking it with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink, to give it a slight contrasting tone. 

I added a little more contrast with a strip of glitter foam, a ribbon bow, a black button and some small holographic hearts. 

"Ooh La La" was how I thought it turned out looking. 

But, "Elegant" , "Simple" , "Classy" , "Sassy" and "Versatile" were some of the wonderful adjectives it received from some of the lovely ladies on the site. "Like a Garter" , was mentioned too. 

Yep..... I don't mind going along with all of that!! 

SLIMLINE EASEL

 

I was invited to join the "Slimline Cards" making group on the CraftWorld website, where I am a member. 

So, I wanted to submit something to the group but not make it an ordinary flat card.

After mulling on the issue for a short while I came up with the thought of using an easel card fold. 

To make the base card:

 I cut 3.5 inch down the long edge of a piece of A4 white card. 

Then I folded it in half. 

The top half was folded in half once more toward the first fold - to make the hinge.

Using papers from the First Edition Sweet Nothings paper pad I matted and layered the base card. 

Because the card is quite narrow it seemed a great idea to use a feather embellishment.

Of course, an ink well was the obvious choice to fit with the feather!

I created the feather by dabbing Opal Blaze polish through a feather template and fussy cutting it out. 

The inkwell was hand cut with a craft knife and topped with the word "ink", which was die cut using X-Cut alphabet dies. 

After adhering the feather and ink well to the front of the card with dimensional foam, it then needed something to help prop the hinge open. 

So, I loosely rolled a piece of cream card to make it look like a scroll. Making some small tears and rips and brushing on some Distress Oxide ink, I was able to "age" the scroll quite effectively. 

When the scroll was glued into position it formed the ideal stopper for the easel hinge and made a great place to be able to write a little note before mailing the card. 

Finally, I glued a small die cut shape to the front of the card, on which I had written "Just a Note". 

I am really pleased with how it looks. 

The photos below show the card folded flat to put in an envelope and also when it is propped open. 

WHITE ON WHITE - TUTORIAL

 

This card is made for the 'just for fun' challenge on the CraftWorld site. The challenge is to make a one colour card and I decided to go for an all white card, to fit into a DL (4.33 inch x 8.67 inch, 110mm x 220mm) envelope.

I really didn't have a specific occasion in mind for the card, so I decided not to include a sentiment on the front. Having said that, I rather like it 'as is' anyway. 

When I do come to use it I will just write a message inside, or I could put something very very simple on the front for a special occasion - a couple of faux gold or silver rings onto the ribbon for a wedding card, for instance.

"OWL IN THE TREE" POP UP CARD - TUTORIAL

This is a card which had been formulating in my mind ever since I received the Creative Stamping magazine, issue #83, which I had ordered for delivery from the UK. 

The magazine included an "extra" set of free stamps, which had an owl in it.

With the owl being such a good size I thought it would look great in a pop up box card, which was shaped like a tree. 

I also thought that it would make an ideal male birthday card. Perfect for my brother, who's birthday is in November.

So today I finally got around to creating it.....................

THIS IS WHAT I USED:

• Black Card 270 gms
• Cream Card 270 gms
• White Card 200 gms
• Owl Stamp
• Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks
• Leaf Punch
• Strip of Acetate
• Wet glue
• Double Sided Tape
• Hot Glue Gun

HOW TO MAKE IT:

For the main pop up box:

1. Cut a piece of brown card measuring 8.5 inch(wide) x 3.5 inch(high) and score along the width at 2.5 inch, 4 inch, 6.5 inch and 8 inch.

Cut the narrow strip at a slight angle, both at the top and bottom, so as to create a tab. 

For the inserts:

1. Cut 2 pieces of brown card measuring 3.5 inch(wide) x 1.25 inch(high) and score both pieces along the width at 0.5 inch and 3 inch. 

Fold and burnish all the score lines (as in the photo above) 

Creating the box:

Glue the tab on the main piece and stick it to the opposite side to make the 'box' shape. (refer to photo above).

Glue the tabs for the inserts with wet glue, so there is some wiggle room, and slot the inserts into the box. (refer to photo). 

Keep checking to make sure the inserts won't stop the box from folding flat to go into an envelope.

To decorate and embellish:

Cut the layers to decorate the box:

1.  Cut 2 pieces of brown card measuring 2.25 inch x 3.25 inch
2.  Cut 2 pieces of brown card measuring 1.25 inch x 3.25 inch

Emboss the layer pieces with a wood grain embossing folder and accentuate the wood effect by sponging with Distress Oxide inks.

Glue the layers to the front, back and sides of the box.

The owl stamp:

1. Stamp the owl onto white card with black ink and colour it in.
2. Fussy cut the stamped owl ready for inserting it into the pop up box.

Tree branches:

1. Sketch branches to your liking onto brown card. Remember that they will need to fit inside the box in such a way that they won't go beyond the confines of the envelope when the card is folded flat.
2. Run the branches through the wood effect embossing folder and highlight their colour with the Distress Oxide inks.
3. Make a tree stump style of branch which will raise the stamped owl up a bit higher in the box.  (refer to photo further down and to photo of finished card).

Make the autumn leaves:

Smear Distress Oxide ink onto a glass mat (use autumn leaf colours). Spray with water and 

"smoosh" white card onto it so that the colours are picked up randomly.

Let the ink dry, then punch out leaves with a leaf punch, or cut leaves with a die or craft knife.

Adhere the owl to the tree stump branch and glue it into the box. Add in the other branches. 

Again, remember to keep checking that the tree branches will stay within the confines of the envelope when the card is folded flat.

With a spot of hot glue, attach the leaves where you want them onto the tree branches.

The Moon:

Cut a circle from cream card, which has had a thin watery layer of Distress Oxide smooshed onto it in patches, to indicate craters.

Cut another circle the same size for the back of the moon. Sandwich a strip of acetate between the two circles and glue them together. Use the acetate to glue the moon in place in the pop up box.

To finish:

.

Create a sentiment and attach with dimensional foam to the front of the pop up box. Also glue a piece of plain card to the back - for writing your message. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The card was great fun to make and I think my brother will be pleased with it.

GRADUATION SHAKER CARD - TUTORIAL

Here is a “fun” graduation shaker card, which I originally designed as my entry into a forum challenge on the #Trimcraft blog, to make a male card. 

I also needed to make a congratulatory graduation card as well, so thought I would combine the two! 

I used background sunglasses illustrated papers to represent the need to wear darkened glasses while being in the presence of someone so “bright”

The gold layer represents the equivalent level of a gold winner.

The hand cut head silhouette holds the space for the “brain”

The brain “shaker element” is where all the cogs and wheels and stars and sparkles that rattle around in all our heads are!!

😂😂😂

The products I used and the tutorial are as follows:

For this card I used:

1. Simply Creative 'Around The World' 6 x 6 inch paper pad

2. Black card

3. White card

4. Gold Acrylic paint

5. Cog wheel die cutter

6. A craft knife

7. First Edition Celebration dies

8. Gold and blue sequins and silver stars

9. Dimensional sponge tape. 

10. A piece of acetate. 

What to do:

a) Layer a piece of paper from the paperpad onto a square card base.

b) From black card cut a sillhouette head shape (refer to photo for guidance on the size - it doesn't have to be exact, but needs to fit within the card and large enough to take the cutout which holds the shaker bits)

c) Cut the 'brain' cavity (this is the cavity for the shaker elements)

d) Mount the head onto white card. Then cut through the white card where the brain cavity is.

e) Stick a piece of acetate behind the head to create the 'see-through' brain cavity.

f) Stick dimensional foam at the back of the head (around the edge of the cavity) . Make sure there are no gaps for the sequins to fall out of.

g) Fill the cavity with some sequins, silver stars and small die cut cog wheels. Not too many - you want to be able to shake them around. 

h) Seal the cavity with a square piece of black card. Add extra sponge dimensional tape, up to the edges for sturdiness. 

i) Paint the white card around the silhouette head with gold acrylic paint. When dry attach the finished piece to the base card. 

Finally, cut the words "graduation" and "well done" from black card, glue to beige card and fussy cut around. Glue these onto the card. 

There you have it.... A "brainy male" shaker graduation card!!

The original post in the Trimcraft Forum where my card was entered into the challenge can be found by clicking the link below:

https://www.thecraftblog.com/inspiration/tc-male-card-(25)