Megs Garden - Forgotten Meadows Concertina Card

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, I hope you are having a lovely day.

Megs Garden has a new paper Collection called ' Forgotten Meadows'.  Designed by Kerry-Jean Watson.  It is soft and romantic and absolutely beautiful.  The card I am sharing with you today is decorated with this collection and I must say I am totally in love with these papers.

This one is a Concertina Card, at least, that's what I'm calling it.   I saw a tutorial on how to make it but, unfortunately (although I thought I had it pinned) I cannot find it again.  My card is actually made a bit differently from the one I saw and so I decided to share a short step by step as well.

The original was made from one sheet of 12 x 12 designer paper and it was simply folded but I wanted mine to be a bit wider and so I have actually made it with cardstock.  I only had A4 cardstock in the colour I wanted and I used three sheets.   The height of the card is 6" and the finished width is 3.5".  Of course, you can make it any size you like but this template only works for that size.  

Cut your cardstock to a depth of 6" and then score according to the photo.  I have added the small .25" gussets so that I could add some embellies and still close the card properly.

As the A4 cardstock isn't long enough for the whole card, you will need to cut another piece at 6" x 3.5" to attach to the end.

Use double sided tape or any kind of wet glue and attach the extra piece close to the last score line being careful not to overlap the score line otherwise it won't fold properly.

Fold the card as shown.

This is how it should look.
To add the pockets, cut 3 pieces of cardstock 6" long and only 3.4" wide  (they need to be a tiny bit narrower so the pocket fits in between the folds) and cut another piece 6" x 3".

On the 6" x 3" pocket punch a small half circle on the  left hand side and on one of the 6" x 3.4" pockets punch a similar half circle at the top.
 

The other two pockets could be folded as shown above or you can simply leave them as full length pockets as well.

Place the first two pockets on the left hand panels as shown ...

... and the other two on the right hand panels.

This is how the inside of the card should look.  As I was sewing my paper onto the card I actually didn't glue the pockets down until after they had been decorated and found it was a lot easier that way.  Once they were done I simply ran a thin line of glue around the edges (except for the open side of course) and stuck them down.

OK.  Now that the step by step is done, I'll show you the details of my finished card.

The papers are all from the Mini Paper Pack.  I created the background on the front of my card with some texture paste and a stencil and then sprayed lighty with some Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays.

All the flowers came from Megs Garden.  The fabric heirloom flower was originally plain white.  I coloured the edges of it with a VersaColor pad.  The ribbon was lightly coloured with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.

Here you can see some of the texture.   As a base for my flower cluster I fussy cut one of the flower images from the Cut & Create page.  I only glued the fussy cut image on each end as I wanted to close the card with ribbon and didn't wish to tie it over the flower cluster.  By leaving the cut image free in the middle I could thread the ribbon through behind the cluster.

The Card Word Circle is a 2Crafty Chipboard piece.  I coloured it with acrylic paint and, while it was still wet, I sprinkled it with clear glitter.

Those lovely daisies at the bottom on the left are part of the paper.  Didn't I tell you this Collection was beautiful? 

Added a little stamping, some washi tape and some seed beads.  The tickets are also from the Cut & Create Page. The butterfly is from the More Butterflies Transparency Sheet.

This is the tag inside the pocket on the first panel.  Stitched on some washi tape and scraps of paper for embellishment.   A little technique I picked up from Heather Jacob.  Thank you Heather, I love how it looks.
 

The second panel has some metal embellies that I covered in gesso and inked with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.  It was a single piece that I cut in half.  The chippy is again from 2Crafty Chipboard and was treated the same as the Word Circle on the front of the card.  The large blue flower is from my stash but the small roses and rose buds are from Megs Garden.  I won't show you the tag inside this pocket as it has a personal message on it.
   

I decided to do the diagonal fold on the pockets of the third and fourth panel.  Love how it showcases more of the lovely graphics on these papers and it gave me an excuse to use those pretty vintage brads to hold them down. (not that I needed an excuse but it sounds good. LOL!!)

 

The tag from this pocket ...

... and the tag from this pocket.

The back of the card.  I did glue the ribbon down on the back before adding the paper as this end does not need to move.

The inside of the card when open ...

... and the back.

Well, we are finally at the end.  I hope you enjoyed this post and that the step by step makes sense to you.   Why not go over to Megs Garden and check out the stunning creations made by the rest of the Team.  I'm sure you will be inspired.  HERE is the link.
To take a look at all the fabulous products Megs Garden has in store just click HERE .

Megs Garden products used

Forgotten Meadows Mini Paper Pack
Forgotten Meadows Cut & Create
Filigree Long Oval
White Heirloom Flower
Puffy Paper Flower
Velvet Primrose
More Butterflies Transparency
2cm Off White Lace
Seam Binding
Mini Rosebuds
Small White Roses

Thank you so much for visiting and do enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox
Marg

"A Few Shades of Blue" - Megs Garden #1

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  So lovely that you could drop in for a visit.

I'm here to show you part one of  the Design Team projects I created for Megs Garden.  This month I have created some cards to share with you.

The first card is made with papers from the Correspondence Collection.  These papers are stunning!!  With their lovely neutral shading and gorgeous textures they are the perfect background for any colour or embellishment that you may wish to incorporate.

The papers chosen are Mademoiselle Louise and Letter from Tucson and they are from the 12" x 12" sheets. 

  

 

After sewing the two layers together, I created a band across the card with some of the stunning lace that Meg has in the shop.  This became the base for my flower cluster.  Once the lace was glued down I sprayed the left side of the card with 'Peacock Feathers' Distress Spray Stain and also with 'Afraid of the Dark' Glimmermist.

Added some twine (from my stash), some gorgeous blue and green beads from the 'Green Bundle' and a small butterfly from the Transparency sheet.  The lovely little fabric flower was originally Ivory.  I simply sprayed it with Afraid of the Dark Glimmermist and was so pleased with the result.  Not only is it now the perfect colour but it also has a lovely shimmer to it in real life.

The inside was decorated with some Border Punched strips from the Correspondence Mini Paper Pack.

 Instead of adding leaves to my cluster I thought it would be fun to add a couple of metal gears.  A little touch of steampunk amongst the shabby chic.  LOL!!

Megs Garden Products used

Papers

Flowers

Ribbon, Lace and Beads

I hope you like the little card I have created and that you have gained some inspiration here.  Megs Garden has loads of gorgeous and interesting products in store so why not take a look.  You can find the shop HERE. 
Also, why not take a stroll around the Garden and look at some of the stunning projects created by the rest of the Team.  You can find the Blog HERE.

Thank you so much for visiting and do enjoy the rest of your day!!
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

A 'Gentleman's' Wallet/Brag Book for Meg's Garden

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!  Hope you are having a wonderful day!
Sorry that I haven't been around lately but 'life' got in the way of my paper crafting and blog visits.  Things have settled down now and hopefully I can get back to normal.

It's my turn again at Meg's Garden Blog and this time I would like to share with you a Wallet style Mini or 'Brag Book' made specifically for the men.
I must point out that this is not my design.  I first saw this style of Mini Book on Astrid Maclean's blog 'Astrid's Artistic Efforts' and she actually got the instructions for this design from a video on You Tube made by Dawn's Inspiration.  I really loved this design and thought it would be perfect for the 'Gentlemen' papers.
I should warn you that this will be a long post as there are quite a lot of photos so I hope you won't get bored.  Perhaps you should grab yourself a cuppa before we begin!!

Here is the front cover.

For this wallet I used the strips from the bottom of the 12 x 12 Gentleman's Collection papers and also some sheets from the Mini paper pack.  On the cover I used the strip from 'A Gentleman on Time' page.  Roughed up the edges with a distressing tool and inked them with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I then scraped some Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint in the top right hand corner and, when it was dry, swiped some gesso  around the corners as well.  The inkwell and quill was fussy cut from the 'Letter from a Gentleman' strip and the labels are from the 'Cut & Create' page.

The clock was cut from the 'Old World Time' Transparency and the cute little metal clock and key are also available from Meg's Garden.  As you can see, I wrapped some wire around the twine to hold the clock and key in place, but I need to practice that a bit more so I can make it look a bit tidier.  LOL!

Unfortunately the crackle paint doesn't show up very well in the photos, but you can see where the gesso cracked as well.  The metal gears are the Idea-ology Mini Gears from Tim Holtz.  All the papers (with only one exception) and embellishments used in this project are available at Meg's Garden.  Below is a closie of the fussy cut inkwell.  I used some foam dots  underneath to pop it up off the page.

When closed the whole booklet measures 4" x 7" but there are lots of flaps to open and some pockets as well for holding tags and journaling spots.
Here it is with the top flap open.

This flap has one of the pockets.  The tags were cut from the 'Create & Cut' page.  I inked the edges and backed them with some kraft cardstock so they can be used as journaling spots.  Stenciled a flourish on the pocket itself with some translucent texture paste and, as an embellishment, I cut out the small graphics from the mini pack and trimmed them with  some fancy scissors.

On the flap below there is space for a photo and you can see some more of the labels from the 'Cut & Create' page to which I have added the small metal clock and a piece of Tim Holtz's Mini Film Strip.

The page above and some of the following pages were stenciled with either the Lattice work Stencil or the Burlap Stencil from Tim Holtz using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

All the removable tags and labels were mounted on kraft cardstock.  The clock can be used as a journaling spot and the tag beneath as a photo mat.

The page above opens to the right to reveal a photo mat ...

... and opens to the right again to reveal a pocket and tag ...

... and another photo mat.  The coffee stains and splats were made with Bobunny's Stained Textures Stamp.

The tag was stenciled with 'Black Soot' and  'Gathered Twigs' Distress Ink and some circles created with a bottle cap dipped in gesso.

I hope you are all still with me.  I did warn you about the photos didn't I???

 This page opens to the left ...

... to reveal another photo mat and opens to the left again ...

... to reveal a pocket and tag ...

... and another photo mat.

More stenciling and stamping and circles.

Here is the middle of the wallet with both sides open.  The belly band was made with paper from Prima's Engraver Collection.  I simply attached it with some eyelets.  The gorgeous Filigree oval trinket is also available from Meg's Garden.

The tags and calendar were cut from the 'Gentleman's' papers.

Don't despair people, we're nearly finished!!!  Hope you're still with me!! LOL!
These photos show you what the whole piece looks like.
It was very difficult to photograph the whole wallet so I elected to do one side at a time.
This is the front left side ...

... and the front right side.

The back left side ...

... and the back right side.

I didn't add much in the way of three dimensional embellishments because in the first instance, guys don't really go for that and in the second instance, the wallet would have ended up way too thick.  Besides, this paper collection is awesome all by itself and doesn't really need too much embellishment.

I do hope you managed to stick with me to the end and that you like my Gentleman's Brag Wallet and are inspired to try it, or something similar,  for yourself.

Meg's Garden Products used:
Gentleman's Collection 12 x 12 papers
Gentleman's Collection Mini Paper Pack
Old World Time Transparency
Filigree long oval
Tim Holtz Mini Gears
Tim Holtz Mini Film Strip
Clock Charm
Hardware Metals - Key Antique Chest

HERE is the link to Meg's Garden Online Store.
Why not pop over to the Meg's Garden Blog to take a look at the awesome creations by my Teamies.  HERE is the link.

Thank you so much for visiting and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care and God Bless.