Sunshine and Showers

 

     

      The theme at River Of Creativity this month is sunshine, this challenge blog is not just for mixed media and cards, it is for ANY craft. If you have made it and it fits our theme we would love to see it.

     Both of these card started with I-Zink pigment inks and some acetate. The ink was dropped onto one piece of acetate, then covered with another piece of acetate and squished together.

     Before the ink could dry the two pieces were pulled apart, this is what gave it the steaky patterns. It was then set aside to dry, which didn't take very long. I made several different sheets using other colours and put them in my stash box, after all if you're going to get all the products out you may as well turn it into a full creative session.

     The best way I have found to stick these panels down is to put the decorated acetate on to a sheet of double sided sticky film, then you get no glue marks because it's sticky all over.

     These acetate panels were die cut after the sticky was added, using Tonic nesting ovals. I also discovered it was best to stick down one end of the panel and gently peel off the backing, smoothing it down as I went. It helped keep it aligned and made sure I got no air bubbles under the acetate. If you do get an air bubble you can pierce the card from behind with a pin, just make sure you don't go all the way through the acetate aswell.

      For the rain man the acetate was stuck onto a sheet of white card, then decorated with Distress Ink and spritzed to get the rain drops. 

      For the sunshine lady I used a stencil and Distress Ink to create the rays of the sun before sticking down the acetate. The stencil wasn't quite large enough to cover the card completely so I inked the main part and then moved the stencil around to enlarge the area.

      A mixture of Scattered Straw and a dash of Fossilised Amber created the desired effect. For each card the character was going to need to be grounded, this was done by using a piece of torn paper and the same Distress Inks used for the backgrounds.

      The two characters are cut using metal rule dies, one Sizzix and one unknown. The rain man was cut in very dark blue and the lady was cut in a pearly dark brown, each image panel has been matted on the same card as the character.

      The sayings were found on line, typed out and printed off. I don't know who Rain Man's saying comes from but the Sunshine Lady is by Helen Keller. Both sayings were die cut oval to match the acetate panel and ink blended to match the backgrounds. Both characters and sayings are mounted on foam, sayings on 1mm thick and characters on 2mm thick.

      The two cards were made several months apart as it took me a while to find a suitable lady for the sunshine card. Now they're complete I rather like them as a set, they may just end up being framed and kept rather than gifted as cards, although each acetate panel has a double so maybe it's a good reason to make some more.

      Don't forget that River Of Creativity is a new challenge that accepts ALL forms of craft, as long as we can see how the theme has inspired you any project is welcome.

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

Path To Positivity - #91 optional - change your environment (frame as pictures)

Use Your Stuff - #422 Use A Stencil

Crafty Calendar - Masculine

The Creative Crafters - #40 Anything Goes

Love To Craft - #58 Anything Goes

Let's Craft and Create - #171 Anything Goes + No Patterned Paper

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes With Dies

Dies R Us - #169 Anything Goes using stock a die

A Bit More Time To Craft - #140 Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - #5 Anything Goes / optional mood board

Small Lantern Winter Scene

      A few weeks ago I made a Winter scene using the Large Lantern die set by John Next Door, this time I've made one using the Small Lantern. The standard Small Lantern is about 3.5inches tall when assembled, making it perfect for hanging on the Christmas tree.

     

     This lantern is a little taller than 3.5" because it's been modified to hold an LED tea light in the base.

     I cut the main body in snowfall acetate and cut the bottom off. Then I cut two pieces in white card, both have the base but one has a slightly taller side than the other.

     Both base sections have a small hole cut in them, one for the candle flame to poke through and one for access to the switch on the candle.

     

     The acetate was stuck on the inside of the taller base section, then the lantern was assembled. You must use something like redline tape for this, it's the only thing strong enough to hold the construction together.

     The slightly shallower base has the candle stuck inside with the flame poking out, this section will be pushed down into the lantern once decorated.

     The little houses are a Sizzix die by Tim Holtz called Paper Houses, I used the smallest one and cut it down in height to suit.

     I made sure there were plenty of windows in these tiny houses for the light to shine out. The windows then had small pieces of vellum stuck on the inside to mute the glow and make sure you can't see he flame. There is also a small gap cut between the two adjoining houses for the light to pass through

     The rooves are not covered with snow for two reasons...one is I didn't want to mess it up and the second is their insulation is terrible so it's all melted!

     The houses and a tree were stuck onto the base, making sure the flame was inside the buildings, then it was covered with a thin layer of True Snow paste. 

     Once all this was dry and set hard I lowered the base into the lantern, this was sticky as it was a tight fit. I also had to make sure that I got the switch in the right place, over the hole in the bottom of the lantern.

     To finish off I threaded a thin red ribbon through the holes in the top and drew it all together, I left this ribbon long so it can be used to hang the lantern. A few die cut Aster leaves and some tiny pinecones finished off the top and a wide strip of patterned paper around the base completed the project.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - Not A Card

Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes

Allsorts - Christmas

Creative Knockouts - Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks - #537 Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas     Top Pick

Pick Up A Pine Tree

     Sadly this will be the last challenge at Not Just Cards, it has been running since 2014 but now it's time to hang up the scissors, thank you Helen for the last 6 years. 

     Making Christmas projects is one of my favourite things to do at any time of year, especially when I can make something tailored to the recipient. I have one friend that owns a few WWII American military vehicles and another that owns a haulage firm, so this was a perfect way to make something for them.

     

     I started with the Sizzix Bigz die by Tim Holtz called Old Jalopy and an A5 piece of card folded in half. Either side of the centre fold I added another fold to make a pleat, this was in one of Tim's many demo's, I'm sorry to say I don't know which one.

     When I put the card on the die I made sure that the pleat was just above the cutting edge at the bottom of the wheels, it didn't matter having a flat at this stage as tires would be added later.

     

     I also cut six wing pieces, two in red to match the car and four in black. I stuck two black together and then a red one on top to make them stand out, trying to get foam tape this thin would have been a nightmare!

     The hub caps and bumpers were also cut in black card, then they were coloured with silver guilding wax but not with a perfect cover as they are vintage vehicles and need to show wear and tear.....vintage will hide any tiny mishaps too.

     The lower part of the car was cut in black card, this forms the tires and shading under the wings, it was trimmed down to fit below the wings and running board. I cut the back of the car off to make it into a pick up.

      These vehicles are double sided so both sides have been decorated, when gluing the various bits on to the car remember that they will be the other way around on the back.

      The trees are also a TH die, cut in light green card, stuck onto a darker green card and then fussy cut. Again these are double sided so the tree outline on the back had to be stuck on back to front.

     With all the car parts stuck on and the tree loaded in to the back of the pick up it was time to stick both sides together but only at the top. I ran a small line of glue along the bonnet, across the cab and then along the top of the buck.

     If you stick the whole card together it will not stand up, having the ability to open at the bottom helps the pleat become the stand for the pick up.

     To make the military truck I used a suitable green card for almost everything except the tires and added a small white star to the door. Both the red and the military trucks have been aged with a dusting of black Distress Ink.

     For the blue truck I used blue card and silver satin mirri card for the wings, hub caps and bumpers, the Chris Riches fleet are always spotless with gleaming chrome accessories and at night they light up like a Christmas tree. The logo on the door was taken from a photo as my drawing skills were not up to copying it accurately.

     There is little space to write anything as they are not really a card, so I will be adding a small tag to the tree with my Christmas message. I hope that these will come out again next year as a simple decoration, I have kept several stand up items, both commercial and handcrafted, over the years because they have been too nice to throw out.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - Not A Card    Top Pick

Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/optional Vintage

Ike's World - #139 X is for Christmas

Dream Valley - Christmas

Use Your Stuff - Winter/Snow/Christmas

The Paper Funday - Anything Goes/option Christmas

Tag Card Nature Journal

     Another use for John Next Door's new Tag Card die is to make a journal, this one is only three pages long but you can make it as long as you like. There is a basic assembly video by John HERE.

     For this project I cut one cover in Kraft card and three pages in off white card.
     Using another piece of Kraft card I die cut the corners and leaves to make the decorative cover, this was stuck onto a piece of gold mirri card. To fill in all the gaps I die cut the corners and leaves from gold pearl card and then glued them into the gaps. To finish off I added a die cut circle with a letter embedded in it, just like the rest of the cover, to the centre.

      Each page was decorated with a stencilled design in pastel inks with a rough theme to each page. I clipped the pages together to see if I was happy with the overall look when fully open.
     There are two panel dies in the set, one straight edge and one stitched edge. I used the straight die to cut a couple of panels for each page, then stamped them with a script design and edged them with pastel inks.

      Each page has a selection of die cuts and stamps, you can decorate as much or as little as you wish, leaving spaces for things to be added as you find them.

      Two of the pages have an envelope to house a tag, this tag die is in the set as well but the envelope, Sown With Love by Sheena Douglass, was from my stash.
     I chose not to stick the last page to the cover, this means it will open out, plus it can be added to if so desired.
     Inside the back cover are two die cuts, one is a pocket for tags and tickets, the other is a small envelope for little treasures, both are Sizzix dies.
     With more pages it may be necessary to create a spine to the cover, this is relatively easy to do but does need to be done before you glue in the pages.
     A journal like this would make a nice gift for a someone going off on a walking holiday, or bird watching, it's almost like a mini scrapbook. It's much easier to put together than it looks and is sure to deliver the wow factor to it's recipient.

Materials List    Available from your local craft shop
JND100 - Large Tag Card die set
JNDAD014 Regal Flourish die set
JND094 Decorative Corners die set
Strong PVA Glue
Sheena Douglass die Sown With Love
Sizzix 662697 - Stitched Slot & 657843 Pocket Envelope
Stencils, card and inks.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Fab 'n' Funky - Anything But A Card

The Sisterhood of Stampers - Birds, Bees and butterflies

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/option Diamonds & Lace

The Artistic Stamper - Journaling

Blank Page Muse - Stencil It

Creative Crafting Uncles - Anything But A Card

Recycled Die Cut Christmas

      You may think making Christmas cards this early is a bit daft, but when we get let out of lockdown will you really want to be indoors making cards? I know I won't!
      With limited supplies I decided to raid my stash of old Christmas cards and see what I could recycle. I found several rather nice ones that would work well in John Next Door's Square Scene Box.

     Using some dark blue pearl card I cut out my scene box and added the Oakham Lattice for the aperture. I had to trim the old card to fit within the square but thankfully only a little.
     As the old card had lots of trees I decided to die cut some more and pop them at the front, just behind the latticework. I cut them in pearl white to help lift the colouring of the whole card, having a dark blue foreground and background could be a bit too much.
     There is a little sparkle on the old card so I didn't feel the need to add any more, the pearl effect is enough.
   

   
     On the back I have added a white card square to cover the dark blue  edges and give somewhere to write.
     To make it stand up I have cut a small white card stand and glued it in the middle, it will fold flat for posting.
      I'm quite enjoying recycling old cards as some of them are so nice, with a little new work added they have a chance to carry festive cheer again.
      Come on over to Christmas Craft Creations to see what other DT inspiration you can find.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas Goes

Crimbo Crackers - Die Cuts

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Oh Christmas Tree

     Trees are the optional theme for Christmas At Sweet Stampin' this month. I dug a few things from my stash and began to play around with various trees, settling on a traditional looking Christmas tree.

     Inkylicious have a rather nice splatter plate but as I wanted to make smaller cards for posting I managed to get their newer Mini Splatter, great for a 5 inch square.
     Using Distress Oxides Jeans & Spruce I made the background by inking up the plate, then spritzing it with a little water containing pearl mica powder, before stamping it onto my card base.
     Using a Lavinia Christmas tree I stamped it with Versafine Olympia Green.

     I wanted to use a red pearl card to cut the word Christmas but I couldn't find any, so I made my own. Using the small spritz bottle of water with pearl mice added I sprayed my red card very lightly.
     Once dry I cut the word with a Tim Holtz die but as it's rather thin I left it in the die, dabbed the glue on the back of the card and then placed it on the background and gently poked it out of the die. I found this much easier than fighting with it, I also did this with the word Merry, it made sure the spacing was perfect as well.
     This card was so easy to make I decided with time running out that I would batch make, creating my own background means they are not all the same.
     Please pop over to Christmas At Sweet Stampin' to see all the DT inspiration, then come and join us with your project.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Unicorn - Christmas/Winter

Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Two Jays Blue Bauble

     This is my second card using a new stamp by Two Jays - Festive Farm. It's very similar to the kraft card I made earlier but I had a few hiccups with this one.

     For this one I used another bauble die to cut my own stencil, this time a different shape.
     I used the duster brush and a sponge to add white ink to the card and as before stamped the image with the stencil still in place, this was because the image is slightly larger than the bauble shape, using a dark blue ink.
     Once the ink was dry I drew around the inside of the bauble shape with a white pen. Then with the same pen I added accent to the image for the snow.
     I used the same die bow as before but this time in silver, a ribbon bow would be better if the card is to be sent through the post.

     Now this is where I had a hiccup, I die cut a greeting and stuck it on the bottom of the card......it did not go well!
     I removed the greeting but damaged the card in the process. I didn't want to waste the card when it was almost complete but how was I going to get out of this mess.
     The usual remedy for a smudge or mark is to 'stick a butterfly on it', but that wouldn't work for this one.
     I die cut a tatty banner in the same dark blue card I had used for layering, it was just the right size to cover the hiccup but I didn't have a stamp small enough to go on it......good thing I've still got a few peel offs in my stash. Mounted on foam pads it goes across the bottom of the card covering the little tear perfectly, the only down side is it does cover the point at the bottom of the bauble......nobody will ever know why!!

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas
Winter Wonderland - Christmas Ornaments
Cute N' Crafty Christmas - Anything Christmas
Creative Craft Cottage - Christmas

Baubles....Soon Be Christmas

     This card is made with one of the new stamps by Two Jays- Festive House. I love Kraft card, especially when teamed up with white.

     To begin with I die cut a large bauble in medium weight tracing paper to use as a stencil, I have kept the cut out for another project. One of my crafty friends showed me how to do this technique with slightly smaller stencils but the idea is just the same.
     Using white pigment ink, a duster brush and a make up sponge I added ink to the kraft card through the stencil. I kept the middle a bit darker than the top and bottom. Before removing the stencil I stamped my image in dark brown ink, the image is a little bigger than the bauble so keeping the stencil in place made sure I didn't go over the outside edge.

     The last thing to do before removing the stencil was to go around the inside edge with a white pen to highlight the shape. With the stencil removed I then added white pen to the house, trees and ground to accent the snow.
     Once dry the image panel was matted with white and added to a kraft card blank. With the addition of a white die cut bow at the top and greeting at the bottom it was complete.
     Quite simple and almost totally flat, when posting a ribbon bow may be better, as it will bounce back after opening.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland - Christmas Ornaments

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas / optional for a female

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Polar Bear Place Card

     A new project for Not Just Cards today, place cards for Christmas Dinner, I have a friend who loves bears so this will be perfect for her.

     Both the tree and the bear were cut using a Sizzix Bigz die, these are steel rule dies that will cut through mountboard and leather so a piece of folded card is no problem at all. You can't do this with thin dies, it will not cut and may ruin your die.
      The card needed to be just over twice the height of the shape I wanted to cut, I then folded it in half, right sides together and creased it. From this centre fold I measured 3/8 of an inch out and scored, doing this on both sides. Once scored I folded the card back to show the right side again, this forms a 'W' shape at the bottom of your card.
   

     When placing the card on the die I had to make sure that the 'W' was just above the base of the cut area so it wasn't chopped off, this made the bears feet a little shallower but at least he will now stand up by himself.
      Before sticking the sided together I die cut the name in the bears body and then backed it with some blue Stardust card, I have kept the cut out letters for another project.
      I have only glued the very top of the bears head and ears together and a tiny spot of glue on his tail too. This leaves a slot in his body that could house a tag listing the menu.

   
      Hopefully you can see in this picture the 'W' in action, it makes your Bigz dies even more useful. They do fold flat for storage until required.
      Both bear and tree have been cut from Stix2 Stardust card as it adds that little sparkle to your table dressing.
     Please pop over to Not Just Cards and take a look at all the inspiration on offer, then come and join us with your creation.

I would like to enter this bear in the following challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas

The 12 Months Of Christmas - Sparkle, Glitter & Bling

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas / optional no stamp or digi

Simple Wrapped Journal

     This is based around the Eileen Hull Sizzix die for a Wrapped Journal, with a few adjustments to suit my stash. As this project is built from scratch it makes an ideal item for Altered Eclectics, where all things altered, recycled and mixed media are welcome, anything but cards and ATC's really.

 
     The base was cut from greyboard using the die, it's a Bigz die so it will cut through most materials.
     For the papers I found an A4 booklet of double sided papers in my stash. Using PVA I covered both sides of the greyboard, but when I folded the board the paper split. Now this I think was partly the papers are not all that thick and partly I was too impatient to let the glue dry completely so the paper was still damp, a silly mistake. I did not want to start again so out came the washi tape, a strip of this over all the joins and all was well.
   

     A little ink along the edges to add to the distressed look made quite a difference too.
     To close the book I chose to use a ribbon tie but it needed to be fixed to the journal, I didn't want a hole in the spine to pass it through so I die cut a label to go over it.
     The ribbon was stuck to the cover with red line tape, then the label was stuck over it also with red line tape, this is the strongest thing I could think of to hold the ribbon firmly in place.

     The cover die cuts holes for you to thread cord through to hold booklets, but this one wasn't having those so I had to make a spine to stick my pages to. I planned for four pages in this book, two flat and two with pockets.
     The spine was glued in place with a very strong PVA and left to dry thoroughly.
     I cut and folded my pages using the same paper pack, for the flat pages I also cut labels to stick on for somewhere to write. These labels were inked around the edges to soften them, allowing them to blend into the page.   

     A panel added to the front cover matted on a die cut label finished off the outside. Another panel added to the inside front cover and a die cut ticket slot pouch on the inside back cover, complete with tags finished off the inside.
     There were topper panels in the pack so I cut some of these out and added them to tags, these also have inked edges and a tiny organza ribbon coloured pink with an alcohol marker.
     The pages are alternated pouch, flat, pouch, flat and there is enough space between pages to stick a few items on and still be able to close the journal.
     These would make ideal little keepsake gifts you could theme to special events. This has been a learning experience so hopefully as I make more of these they will continue to improve.
     Don't forget to come over to Altered Eclectics and show us your creations, we would love to see them.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes optional More Than One Fold