Thank You Teacher!

I've been busy all afternoon making some thankyou cards for teachers...



I absolutely hate peel-offs - they are tacky and look at their worst when they are just plonked on a card almost as an afterthought. However, like most crafters I have a box full, mostly bought when I first started to make cards. I'm trying to use up some of my huge pile of stash so ended up using these. I'm really amazed at the result. I coloured them black so they didn't look so bad then coloured parts in after sticking them onto thin paper. I doubt I'll ever be a peel-off convert but I suppose they do have their place!




I made templates for the letters and numbers in WordArt then traced them and carefully cut them out. I suppose that a die-cutting machine would save me loads of time doing things like this but I do genuinely get enjoyment from cutting out so I'm sticking with my method for the moment! The apple was traced from a magazine.




These letters and rub-ons are from a scrapbooking kit bought in Poundland.


The stars and books are from the same scrapbooking kit as before. The blackboard I made myself and the white writing and numbers are peel-offs.

Sketches

In this month's issue of Simply Cards and Papercraft, there's an article on using sketches as the basis of the layout of your card. Inspired by this idea, I've quickly knocked up these four cards this afternoon..



I love experimenting with unusual colour schemes and this floral paper from DCWV's Retro stack was a perfect background for the turquoise flower. These flowers were a brilliant find - I got them in Birthdays card shop and I think they are meant to be scattered over tables at parties! In my opinion they are ideal for card-making as the packet contained about a hundred in five different bright colours and was only 3 quid! Shame they don't come in pastel colours as well.



Same flower - different colour. The buttons in the middle of the cards come from a huge jar I bought at a car boot sale years ago and am still using. Dunno who makes the paper - I found it when I had my mass tidy-up earlier this week.


I've been dying to play around with the idea of flip-flops sine I saw Patsy Jackson's fab flip-flop card in this month's Papercraft Essentials magazine. Mine are made with the same template but greatly reduced in size. I've used thin ribbon to make the straps and finished off with a tiny punched flower. I'm still not happy with this card and may have to add something to it - it has a bit of an unfinished air about it.



Change of greeting here. The numbers are created in Word Art then traced onto patterned paper. The spotty and stripey paper came from a scrapbooking kit I got in Poundland and the flowers from Lakeland.

I've just used a really basic sketch for these cards but I think this is a great starting point for card layouts - definately a technique I'm going to use in the future.

You just don't realise how much craft stuff you have until you try and get it in some kind of order! I spent all day yesterday sorting all my scraps of paper and ribbons into colour order in the hope that when I am actually making cards I can find the stuff I need easily. All my patterned papers are now neatly stacked in a box and I have made some 'themed' shoe boxes for 'weddings', 'new baby' and 'christmas' to keep all my bits and bobs in one place!

To make the most of the boxes of unused stash I have all over the house, I have been trying to make cards using products that are out of my comfort zone. The first offering is a wedding card that isn't in the traditional gold/silver colour schemes...


The paper is from DCWV Teenage stack and the rub-ons were a great find in Poundland - I lurve that shop! It's a bit weird using cream card for this as usually I do all my cards using white card but white would have been way too harsh.


I really love the effect that I have seen in various magazines where paper is inked round the edges. I was reluctant to try this as I was sure it would just end up a splattery mess but I'm pleased with the 'aged' effect it gives.

Like most people, I save all the free papers and tags etc that you get with magazines. This decoupaged effort is from this month's Simply Cards & Papercraft. Very simple - took all of 10 minutes to make and can be added to my stock of emergency birthday cards!

I've been soooo busy...

I haven't posted for ages as I've been so busy creating cards for loads of occasions....

I got the idea for this card from a website called Lotus Arts that make the most gorgeous wedding and anniversary cards - blatant plagiarism I'm afraid. I worried about the bulk of the flowers as the card was going into an envelope rather than a box but as the card wasn't being posted it didn't prove a problem.



Baby Boy Christening card - I wasn't sure about using the image of a frock for a baby boy but those in the know assured me that it wasnt too girly. I was annoyed that I couldn't find any ribbon and paper in exactly the same shade of blue but that's just me being anal!


Made this birthday card in a hurry for a friend who is on a diet - couldn't resist taunting her with cake! The cakes are from a card-making pack I got in a bargain bucket at Hobbycraft though I think they could be easily made using clip art images and adding diamantes.


I saw a card similar to this in an old copy of Papercraft Inspirations and just had to make it. I was a bit unsure about adding the baby's head but I'm pleased with the result. The baby's hair is made with a leaf punch with the stalk cut off!


I love the Papernation decoupage characters - they are so cute and really easy to cut out. I think that this company has really revolutionised decoupage, which I used to think was a bit of an old-fashioned crafting technique. The flower arch was made using an X-cut leaf punch and a tiny flower punch.


I'm really pleased with this 'Guido' card. I love tracing - it's a greatly under-rated craft skill and I go through loads of baking parchment which makes really cheap tracing paper. For this card I simply printed a picture of Guido from a website, traced it then decoupaged it. The most worrying bit was the fork-lift things on the front of the car and I had to highlight bits with a black pen to make it look more 3D.


I saw some embellishments like these in a magazine and they cost about £2.50 - mine cost pennies! I love the challenge of copying some of the expensive crafty bits and bobs I see in magazines - my aim is to have all my cards truely 'hand-made'. As usual I can't resist a splattering of glittery stars.



This driving test congratulations card is one of the quickest I have ever made - probably took all of 10 minutes! I'm learning myself at the moment and can't wait for someone to send one of these to me..


This retirement card was a serious challenge... what do you do for someone whose interests are skiing, cycling and snorkelling?? I couldn't resist using my fave Doodlebug paper and of course it had to be pink! The ski sticks are made from cocktail sticks and black embroidery thread.


Don't you just love the Pound Shop! My work colleague wanted a birthday card for her 10 year old who is a Hulk fanatic and these stickers were perfect. The backing paper came from a craft pack I got in Lidl a couple of years ago. Some of these cheap stores are great for crafty finds.