30.12.14

Pop Up Card for a little girl !

Pop Up Card
Pop Up Card
Hi friends my husband's niece recently turned 2 and she is such a cutie pie I had to make a fun Pop Up Card for her. The cute bee peeping from behind the flower is a digital image from Paper piecings by Nikki and the grassy arch is a Memory Box die cut
Pop Up Card
Pop Up Card
On opening the card another cute little bee swings up [a digital image from Digital Delights also seen in Swinging Card tutorial ]in her hammock amongst glittery butterflies and sparkling flowers in my favorite lattice background [from Poppy stamps]. I kept the card relatively simple without pearls and tiny embellishments as it was for a 2 year old!

Pop Up Card
Pop Up Card
The twist up pop up mechanism is difficult to explain in words and here is a short vidoe clip showing the "twist up" Pop Up Card mechanism

Here is one more Twist up Pop Up card I had shared earlier: Twist up pop up card
Children love pop up cards and it was fun to see the wonder in my little niece's face when we gifted her the card!
I hope you liked it too!

Craft Supplies : Dies : Memory Box, Poppy Stamps Meso background , Provocraft Butterflies, Spellbinders Rose creations, Heart felt creations leaf, Sizzix Butterfly, Couture Creations Scallop Circles. Embossing Folder- Dots Itsy Bitsy folder. Digital images: Paper piecings by Nikki, Digital Delights

29.12.14

Easy Fancy Fold Card Tutorial

Fancy Fold Card
Hi friends as the year end approaches I seem to be engulfed in a whirl wind of activities juggling family commitments and the professional front! Writing blog posts seems to calm me down and I am so thankful for all the loving comments you leave on my blog though I have been so erratic in returning blog visits!
Fancy Fold Card
Sharing a simple fancy fold card featuring some adorable Christmas puppies [ a free 3 D decoupage image whose link I have lost  - if you know the source please add a comment]
Fancy Fold Card
I love this particular card fold design as its so easy to make but different from the usual simple card folds.The inside panel features my favorite origami Christmas tree with the Cheery Lynn  light swags!Here is the link to the Paper tree tutorial : Easy Paper tree tutorial

Origami Christmas tree

How to make an easy fancy fold card

Actually this is a super simple tutorial for beginner card makers so my experienced friends please do bear with me!
Fancy Fold Card Tutorial 
Take an A4 or other sized rectangle piece of card

Fancy Fold Card Tutorial 
Fold it in half and crease the fold line well with a bone folder/ blunt knife or your fingernails!

Fancy Fold Card Tutorial 
Take the front half of the card and fold it towards the left as shown to reach your original fold line.
Fancy Fold Card Tutorial 
You don't have to measure - that's the best part of this card design! Crease the fold well with the bone folder / blunt knife/ finger nails!

Fancy Fold Card Tutorial 
You have a self standing " Z fold" card ready to decorate.
Fancy Fold Card
This type of card design is awesome to use when you want to highlight an image.I added my 3 D decoupage puppies on a contrasting colored square , adorned with golden heat embossed Marianne Petra dies [you can see more of the Marianne Petra die set here: 3 D chariot tutorial , 3 D lantern, 3 D Gazebo tutorial ]
Fancy Fold Card
The card has a rectangular strip which can be decorated too. I used the Poppy stamps swirly curve border to die cut the design from silver glitter foam and added a swirl design from Spellbinders Lace hearts and the Cheery Lynn  Christmas light swag bulb
Origami Christmas tree
Supplies : Dies : Cheery Lynn  Christmas light swag, Memory Box Happy New Year, Spellbinders Lace heart, Poppy Stamps Swirly Curl border, Poppy Stamps Meso background [ have used the negative of this on the card front], Marianne Petra die
Punch: Star foam punch

27.12.14

Pop Up Christmas Card

Pop Up Card
Pop Up Card
Hi friends, Thank you for dropping in. I am still in the Christmas mood so sharing yet another Pop Up Christmas Card.This one has lots and lots of Cheery Lynn  dies and features my favorite Cheery Lynn  window die [ here are more projects with the Cheery Lynn  window die : Fancy Fold Card, Pop Up Window Card, Window Frame Card]
Pop Up Card
Origami Christmas tree
I am so in love with the Cheery Lynn  Christmas light swag die and the origami tree is perfect for the little lights which I cut out with glitter foam
Glitter Foam
I love to work with dies which can cut foam without effort and all the Cheery Lynn  dies cut foam like butter! The  little red flowers were cut with the BAF- 3 embellishment die and I added tiny golden "bindis"[ we Indian women use bindis to adorn our foreheads!] on the flower centers
Glitter Foam
The olive branch die is another favorite of mine as it has 2 leafy branches which face different directions[ you can see another project with the Cheery Lynn  olive branch here : Altered Tin Can]
Pop Up Card
Pop up New Year Card
The lacy mat below the Christmas tree is a Poppy Stamps die cut and the New Year is a Memory box die .Love how glitter foam can give so much dimension and sparkle to any project!
How I made the Pop Up Card
Pop up Card tutorial 
Scored an 8 x 7 inch card on the 7 inch side at 0.5 , 1 and 6.5 inches to give gluing tabs of 0.5 inches on each side.Later on mountain fold at each score line.
Pop up Card tutorial 
Since I use a Big Shot whose comfortable card cutting width is 6 inches, I folded up the score line on one side as shown so that my card can easily pass through the Big Shot to cut the Cheery Lynn  window die.

Pop up Card tutorial 
After cutting out one window I cut out another widow. Use a low tacky tape to stick the die to the card so that it doesn't move around when you pass it through your die cutting machine.
Another tip : To effortlessly cut the Cheery Lynn  window die use the Cheery Lynn  metal plate adapter.

Pop up Card tutorial 
I used a folded A 4 card for the base of my pop up card.Glued the 0.5 inch tab to the center fold to fit the fold snugly.
Pop up Card tutorial 
Hand cut snow from felt and added a Sizzix die cut Glitter foam Santa sleigh and reindeer [ Also seen in Christmas diorama]
Pop up Card tutorial 
After decorating the base card under the pop up windows, folded over the card at the 1 inch score line, applied glue to the 0.5 inch glue tab .When the whole card is folded closed, the glue tab will stick to the correct position on the other side of the card[ it is a bit confusing in words...but sorry  I didnt click pics of that step!]
Pop up Card tutorial 
Added simple box type pop up mechanism to the window layer to add a 2nd pop up layer of lamp posts and an origami tree.
I die cut the Cheery Lynn  Colonial lamp post in golden and black glitter foam to make mirror lamp posts.
Pop Up Card
Origami Christmas tree
I hope you like my Pop Up Card though the pics are a bit gloomy [courtesy being clicked indoors at night which I always try to avoid!]Here is the link to the Paper tree tutorial : Easy Paper tree tutorial
Pop Up Card
Pop Up Card
I have used a lot of Cheery Lynn  dies in this car. Here is a link to :My Cheery Lynn  Die Projects on Pinterest
Supplies : DiesCheery Lynn  Dies used : Cheery Lynn  Christmas light swag,Cheery Lynn  Colonial lamp post, Cheery Lynn  Olive branches,Cheery Lynn   BAF3 embellishments,Cheery Lynn   Flourish Leaf strip, Cheery Lynn Window A ,
Spellbinders Borderabilities curved border 2, Sizzix Santa sleigh, Poppy Stamps Swirly Curl border, Memory Box snowflakes

25.12.14

CD Reycling with Sospeso Transparente

CD Sospeso Trasparente Art
Hi friends of late I have been in a "non- paper crafting" mood .My fascination with the Italian craft of Sospeso Trasparente continues.To display the beautiful Sospeso Trasparente flowers I recycled a CD.
CD Recycling
The picture above shows the CD, pattern paper cut out to fit it and glitter foam cut to fit the CD with my favorite Poppy Stamps Meso background die.

CD Recycling
Glued the pattern paper to the CD and used PVA glue[ Fevicol Mr ] to stick the glitter foam die cut to the paper. I used circle dies to cut a circular framework to fit snugly around the Meso background lattice.
How are Sospeso Trasparente flowers made?
Sospeso Transparente materials
I had already introduced you to Sospeso Trasparente in 2 previous posts [ Sospeso Trasparente bouquet tutorial and Ice crystal flowers].
Sospeso Transparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente flowers
The flowers in this project were made by sticking flower designs from thin paper sheets called Paper veils onto special Sospeso Trasparente plastic sheets and cutting and heating them to form 3 dimensional flowers
Sospeso Transparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente tutorial 
Roughly cut out the flower / leaf designs from the "Paper veils"
Sospeso Transparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente tutorial 
Apply diluted Sospeso Trasparente glue to the cut outs and stick to the plastic films. You can stick design side up or down depending on whether you want a  paper or plastic look for your final Sospeso Trasparente flowers.
Sospeso Transparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente on film
Allow the designs to dry, then cut out the designs and cut inwards towards the flower centers so that you can shape them later.
Sospeso Trasparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente technique
Hold the plastic side towards a candle flame and heat and emboss.Emboss the petals of the flowers from the under surface and emboss the center as shown below.
Sospeso Trasparente tutorial
Sospeso Trasparente embossing
The Sospeso Trasparente flowers look gorgeous just as they are but you can make them sparkle by adding 
  • Diamond dust
  • Ground glass crystals
  • Distress glitter
Here is the detailed tutorial to each technique : Sospeso Trasparente techniques
Sospeso Transparente
Sospeso Transparente Crackle Paint
The flower above have a crackled  glossy look because it was painted with Clear Rock Candy crackle paint.
Sospeso Transparente
Diamond dust flowers
The flowers above have diamond dust and ice crystals
Sospeso Transparente
Sospeso Trasparente Crystal flowers
Dusted some of the Sospeso Trasparente leaves and flowers with distress glitter for a subtle shimmer effect.And some of the flowers like the one shown below were left plain and gorgeous !
Sospeso Trasparente
Sospeso Trasparente flowers
         Many crafters asked me about best gluing options for Sospeso Trasparente as they found their work falling off projects! Sospeso Trasparente has  plastic and as you all know plastic is not the easiest medium to glue! 
        One option is to use a sticky clay like mseal to adhere to glass/ metal/ plastic etc like I did in the Sospeso Trasparente bouquet tutorial 
           Another option is to stick to foam! Foam and plastic literally melt into each other with hot glue form the simple glue gun and so you know the reason why I made my lattice background in foam!
Sospeso Trasparente
Sospeso Trasparente 
I hope you like my altered CD craft.
Supplies : All Sospeso Trasparente material courtesy Crafters Corner, Distress Glitter, Crackle paint, Diamond dust, _ from Craftes Corner
Poppy stamps meso background die, Glitter foam, DCWV floral recollection,


20.12.14

Pop Up Christmas Tree Card


Pop Up Christmas Card
Hi friends I have a huge fascination for Pop up cards and can spend hours designing several pop up mechanisms in a pop up card but this one is super simple and has just one pop up mechanism which makes the Christmas Tree pop out on opening the card.
Pop Up Christmas tree
The layered Christmas tree is an easy to make Origami tree  featured in many Christmas cards I have shared earlier and here is the tutorial link : Easy Paper Christmas tree tutorial . This origami tree was made with squares of pattern paper measuring 2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5 inches and fits perfectly inside my pop up card [made with an A 4 card folded in half]
Pop Up Christmas Card
I used the Poppy stamps meso background die to make the backdrop to my Pop up tree and added Cheery Lynn Christmas light swag [bought with my win at Cheery Lynn Challenges] on the tree and on the lattice framework.It was so much fun making all the little light bulbs from different colors of glitter foam! Ha Ha almost felt like a child!!
Pop Up Christmas tree 
The lacy carpet for my Christmas tree was made using the Swirly Curl border Poppy stamps die.The stand for my Pop Up Christmas tree was made using my Scorpal
Pop Up Christmas Card 
I used the negative of the Poppy stamps meso background die to form a diamond shaped anchor for the hanging ornaments at the base of the card.I have mixed and matched many brands of dies in this card and I guess its quite evident I love die cutting!!
Pop Up Christmas card
Here is the poppy stamps meso background negative "damond shape" with a Spellbinders ornament combined with a Cheery Lynn Christmas Light bulb!
Pop Up Christmas Card
Another Spellbinders die [from the Spellbinders Lace heart set] + the cute Cheery Lynn  light bulb!
Pop Up Christmas Card
The "Believe" was also cut in glitter foam. I love the dimension foam instantly gives a project!
Pop Up Christmas Card
I hope you enjoyed this utterly glittery sparkly Pop up Christmas card. We gifted this card to my daughter's favorite Maths teacher!
Do tell me how it has come out.
Supplies : Dies : Spellbinders Lace heart, Spellbinders Holiday tree 2012, Spellbinders Borderabilities curved border 2, Cheery Lynn  Christmas light swag, Sizzix Believe, Poppy Stamps Meso background , Poppy Stamps Swirly Curl border, Punch : Foam star punch