Saturday 28 July 2018

Cogs and Clocks - A Man Card

Hello dear visitors and welcome to my blog.  A very special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you so much for joining me on my crafty journey!

It's been a while since I last posted.  I have managed to get into my craft room once in a while but  haven't been able to complete any of the projects I've been working on so I thought I would share another of the man cards I created a while ago.  

 A fairly simple card made with two layers of some older Kaisercraft papers. 
 For a bit of texture and interest I wrapped twine around the papers before adhering them to the card base.  The two clocks were freebies from the net.  I printed them out and mounted them on some cardboard.  Both were slightly darkened and distressed by rubbing them with Distress Ink.
 A small piece of 2Crafty Chipboard underneath the cogs and wheels which were diecut from cardstock and then coloured with Versacolor stamp pads.
The greeting was generated on my computer, cut out and mounted on a piece of chipboard and edged with a Sharpie pen.
 To give the cogs and wheels more substance and dimension I actually cut them out three times and then glued them together before colouring. 


 Added some prills for extra interest.  Those of you who know my work will know that I love my prills!!  LOL!!


Here is the inside ..
 .. and here, the full frontal!!
I made this card for a very close friend of ours.  Unfortunately, he is not well and I wasn't able to give it to him personally but I hope he liked it.

I hope you liked this card.  I have a few more of these to share with you and I hope to be posting them soon, along with another project I am close to finishing.

Thank you so much for your visit and a special thank you to those who left me such lovely comments on my last post.  They are very much appreciated.

Have a wonderful day!!
Take care and God Bless.

Friday 6 July 2018

My Junk Journal Part #2 - Envelopes and Paper Clips

Hello my  dear friends!  
Welcome, and thank you for stopping by my blog today.

I am on a very specific creative journey at the moment.  I am in the process of  making some Junk Journals.  Yes, I do realise it's not terrible momentous but, for me, it has become quite a Journey!  I have been working on these for some months now.  'What??'  You say!! .. 'Why is it taking so long??'  Well, firstly, I only work on them once in a while and secondly, I keep changing my mind about things I've done previously.  Consequently it is becoming quite a saga!!  LOL!!  But, I must say, it is a saga I am thoroughly enjoying!!

If you missed Part 1 of this Journey, and you'd like to take a peek, HERE is the link.

In that first Post I mentioned that I would show a few of the envelopes I had made in more detail and might also share how I altered my paper clips and, as a few people showed interest, I am here to show you exactly that.  So, here goes!!

Firstly, the envelopes.
 
In my stash I found some paper that I had already diecut with a Tim Holtz MM die.
 It wasn't a very big piece and I don't actually remember what I had intended to use it for so, after thinking about it, I decided I would create the front of an envelope with it.
 So I cut a piece of card for the back and then created the pocket and the flap with the diecut paper.  Really love how it turned out.
 Used it to hold some journaling cards.
This second envelope was created for the other Journal I am doing.  For this book, I wanted a couple of larger envelopes, but I wanted them to be a stand alone feature.  I didn't want them attached to another page. 
 I used two of my tea stained papers and created a double ended envelope ..
.. and added it to my paper stack.  To add the ribbon closure, I simply cut a small slit in the centre and inserted two strips of torn fabric and also added a strip of washi tape to the fold for some extra strength.
Here's how it looks in the book ..

.. and here it is open and ready for some journaling cards or memorabillia.

Now, onto the paper clips.
Firstly, you need to cut some paper or cardstock to create the base to attach your clips to.  You will need two for each clip.  I decided to use paper because I found cardstock was a bit bulky but you can use whatever you like.  Also, it doesn't have to be circles.  They can be any shape you like.  I found it easier to simply punch out the circles for my clips.
 Then you simply slide one of the paper shapes onto your paper clips.  Make sure the shortest part of the clip sits on the wrong side of the paper and that you slide it over far enough so that the end of the clip sits close to the edge.  The long side of your clip needs to be left free so the assembly can slide over the edge of your page.
 On the side with the short end of the clip, add glue to the paper making sure you cover the clip as well and then attach the corresponding paper piece over the top, wrong sides of the paper together.  I used my hot glue gun but you can use any glue as long as it's fairly strong.
This becomes the base for your embellishments.
And, of course, this is the side that slides onto your page.
 That's it!!  That's all there is to it!! 
With this base you can build up any kind of small collage with which to decorate your page and it also becomes a tuck spot for tags, etc.
Here are a few of the ones I have made.
 This is the back.  I found you can really use any size paper clip and any size paper shape for small or larger embellies.  It really doesn't matter all that much.  Both will hold onto the page but, when I want to make larger, heavier ones, I do prefer to make the base a bit bigger.

Below, you can see that I used a smaller circle for one of my larger pieces.  It works alright but I would have been happier if I had used a bigger  base.
Because I added small bits of lace around the edge, it does looks a little untidy.  I could have covered it with some pretty paper but didn't bother because, once you slide it onto your page, you don't see it anyway.
Here is how they look once they are in a book.




 Here's a very simple one with some tags tucked in underneath.  I've also attached a small piece of ribbon through the end of the clip as well.  Just for a bit of extra shabby chic decoration!


It really is a very simple process and I hope I haven't made it confusing.  I really enjoy making these.  Easy peasy and a lot of fun!! Have made quite a few more of them too!  LOL!!

Thank you so much for visiting.  I hope I have given you some inspiration and that you will come back to see more  about my Junk Journal Journey!! 

Have yourselves a lovely day!!
Take care and God Bless.

Monday 2 July 2018

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #215 - At Least 2 Dies/Punches or 1 of Each

Hello my dear friends and welcome to my blog.
Hope you are having a wonderful day!!

A new Challenge has begun at Crafty Cardmakers.  Jackie is our host and the Challenge is to use At least 2 Dies/Punches or 1 of each.  As always, you may create anything you like as long as it fits the Challenge.

For my DT contribution, I have created a masculine card.  I still have a few more of these to make so I'm really pleased I could make one to fit the Theme.
 The papers are by Kaisercraft from their Documented Collection.
 I used a border punch by EK Success to add a decorative edge the top layer of the papers ..
.. and I used a die by Cheery Lynn for the cogs and gears.
The gears were cut from cardstock and, to make them more sturdy and to give more dimension, I actually cut three sets and then glued the layers together.   I coloured them by swiping with a  VersaColor stamp pad in Lapis Lazuli and also in Bronze.
The clock was a freebie  from the net.  I simply printed it and cut it out and then layered it on some chipboard.

Layered it all together on top of some bits and pieces of ephemera I found in my stash.
 The greeting was computer generated.  I layered this on some chipboard as well and then doodled around the edges with a Sharpie pen.
The completed card measures 3.75" x 7.25".

Hopefully you feel inspired to join in!

I would love it if you would pop on over to take a look at the wonderful creations by my Teamies.  I'm sure that will definitely inspire you!   Simply follow the link and, perhaps you can add your take to the mix!  Would love to see what you create!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #215 - At Least 2 Dies/Punches or 1 of Each

Thank you so much for stopping by and for all the lovely comments on my last post.  I really appreciate them all!

Have a wonderful day!
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg