Desktop Calendars

As 2012 is slowly coming to an end, I am currently working on some desktop calendars for 2013. Main ingredients are heavyweight A4 card (I am opting for at least 300gsm), calendar tabs, patterned paper, stamped and coloured in images and embellishments.

The cardstock is getting folded in half and scored horizontally half-way down the back of the calendar base. The top halves of the front and the back are then glued together, which gives the finished calendar stability and makes it possible to fold back the bottom section which is the mechanism that makes the calendar stand upright.

The desktop calendar  at the top features a mermaid image by Lili of the Valley and die-cuts created with a die by Joy! Crafts.

A few more examples:

 

These two desktop calendars are created using dog stamps by Art Impressions and Trimcraft papers from a Laura Ashley collection and a First Edition paper pad. The paper flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts.

All images are coloured in using Spectrum Noir pens.

And One for the Boys ...

Not long ago I was so lucky to win the double CD-ROM 'Vintage Motors' by Kraftyhands in a Making Cards prize draw. And the images are just so useful for male cards.

Here is now a birthday card that I made by using the following elements:

* 15cm square card blank in ivory by Southfield
* Textured cardstock in black, brown and ochre
* White glass-smooth cardstock by Southfield for the printouts from the CD-ROM
* Tim Holtz washer border decorative strip die
* Tim Holtz Texture Fades diamond plate and riveted metal set
* Adhesive including large 3D foam squares by Dovecraft

I hope you like this vintage style card.

Celtic Delight in Mandarin and Peach

No, I am not starting to talk about deserts. But on this freezing cold and grey day I could not resist to use some really yummy colours for a Celtic card.

The card is designed around the Celtic Knot Set (CT190M) by Crafty Stamps.

I stamped the large Celtic Circle in black Memento ink, cut it out and coloured it in using ProMarkers in Soft Peach, Peach and Mandarin. For the stamped border I used the triangular stamp and always turned it by 180 degrees to create the border. This was an experiment, but the stamps are so well cut and so great to work with that the first attempt to create the border was already successful. I then coloured in the border using the same three ProMarker pens.

And here are the other elements, which I used for the card:

* 15cm square white card blank with linen texture from Southfield
* Black textured cardstock
* Core'dinations cardstock
* Glass-smooth white cardstock from Southfield
* Square and round Celtic dies by Tonic Studios
* Round nesting dies
* Adhesive pearls in 'charcoal' by Mark Richards (these are distributed by Woodware)
* Die-cutting machine
* Crop-a-dile corner rounder
* Adhesive
* Toolbox essentials

18th Birthday Celebrations

 Obviously not mine ...

I thought the Toread nymph 'Comge' from a stamp set by Crafter's Companion would be quite nice for a card for a lovely young lady. 'Comge' just has such a cute and slightly cheeky facial impression. I decided on a lilac/purple colour scheme and coloured her in using Spectrum Noir pens. Other 'ingredients' for this card are:

* Shaped card blank by Crafter's Companion
* White glass-smooth cardstock by Southfield
* Coloured textured cardstock
* Round and decorative round cutting dies
* Leaf die by Marianne Designs
* Britannia dies
* Cherry blossoms by Wild Orchid Crafts
* Paper rosebuds
* Adhesive gems

Have a good weekend everybody!

Party Weekend

What a month! It seems to be full of celebrations of one kind or another.

First of all we needed a 40th birthday card. I opted for a white, pink and silver colour scheme and a Strawberry Kisses image. White linen cardstock by Southfield, Hunkydory cardstock, silver mirri card and white glass-smooth cardstock by Southfield are the basics of this project. Sepllbinders dies, Britannia sentiment and number dies and a Marianne leaf die as well as flowers by Wild Orchid Crafts and some tulle are contributing to the design.

I also needed to make a wedding card. I built this up around one of my trusted images by Crafty Stamps - the large wedding cake stamp WD160KI. I combined it with white Centura Pearl cardstock, gold mirri card, paper flowers and rosebuds, organza ribbon and heart pins. The 8" x 8" embossing folder used for this card and the decorative frame are by Die'sire, the sentiment is created using a Britannia die.

Poppy Time

The Poppy Appeal and wearing a poppy at this time of the year is something that is very close to our hearts. But when I picked up my poppy the other day I began to wonder, if it could not look a bit prettier. And yesterday morning I just started to customise it.

I applied Clear Accents to both sides of the poppy and distributed it with a paint brush. I then attached three fabric leaves with silicone glue and brushed on Clear Accents on the front of the leaves. The black centre is covered in Clear Accents (it was my all round helper for this project) and added black adhesive gems. Clear Accents just helps to secure the gems a bit better. Stickles glitter glue in' Frosted Lace' provides a bit of sparkle and a slight wintery touch. The final step was then to attach a brooch bar to the back of the poppy using silicone glue.

The only problem is now that I am hooked and need to organise more brooch bars urgently, so that I can customise some more poppies. But I think I should be able to cope with that ... ;)

Merry Xmas ...

... although it is only relating to the card designs at the moment. But it is scary that we have already nearly reached the end of October and Christmas is not really that far away.

A lovely designed Christmas sentiment of a good size can also be a beautiful focal point of cards. And the large candle and holly merry Christmas image (XM137HF) by Crafty Stamps is just perfect for this. For this card I opted for a mainly monochrome design with splashes of colour introduced by paper roses and the candle and holy image within the stamped image, which I coloured in using Spectrum Noir pens.

For the topper I used a Spellbinders label die. The main feature of the panel underneath is black cardstock with a white core, which I embossed using a Snowflake embossing folder and sanded using a Tim Holtz sanding grip. A quick wipe with a Dust Buddy by Core'dinations then brought out the colours nicely.

For the holly die-cuts I used a Cheery Lynn die. The holly sections underneath the paper roses are created with the same die, but I trimmed off the end sections. A snow writer by DecoArt helped to give the snow on the letters more of a 3D feel. Clear adhesive gems and Stickles glitter glue in 'Frosted Lace' applied to the paper roses provided the finishing touches.

And Crafty Stamps/Stamper's Grove (that is their craft shop in Edinburgh) will also be at the Hobbycraft show at the SECC in Glasgow from 25 to 28 October 2012. If you are going, perhaps pop along to their stand C26 and say hello to Emma. Loads of gorgeous stamps are already packed up and ready for the trip to Glasgow.