Anything Goes

Hello there,

First, I would just like to say a big 'Welcome' to my new followers - it's great to have you on board my journey, I hope you find some inspiration amongst my projects.

I'm back today with a new challenge over at Cardz 4 Guyz, and this week Julie has chosen the theme of

'ANYTHING GOES'

Now, this leaves the spectrum wide open - so thinking hats on and let's see what you can come up with, but remember it has to be for the guys in our lives.

Here's what I made for my DT inspiration this time ...

I made a little gift bag and chose a 'Bon Voyage' theme - perfect for a little 'going away' gift. This is made from one piece of A4 cardstock and has a series of folds to make the little bag. I decorated it with papers from my stash, including some die-cut book paper, lots of ink and some of my 'Timeless Journey' stamps designed by Sam Poole for Creative Expressions. It looked a little unfinished and I would usually add copious amounts of flowers or butterflies to fill the gap, but in this case I chose buttons for a more male themed look!

Here's a little look at the reverse of the bag too, with a space to write your greeting ...

I hope you can join us this week and can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with.

Happy crafting, 

Hugz, Jan xx

Beautiful Buttons

Good morning crafty friends and followers,

Well, today sees the end of my half term break and it has made a pleasant change to do some crafting 'just for me'.

I have a little crafty project today which I made especially for the challenge over at 'Midweek Magnolias', who are also running a DT call at the moment - I am just a little excited, to say the least! I came across this whilst commenting on my new challenge blog over at Fantasy Stampers.

Here's what I designed using one of my favourite Tilda stamps - I think this is a true representation of my style ...

I decorated a gift bag with design papers from my LOTV 'Country Lady' paper pad and layered them with kraft card to match the bag. The edges of the papers are all inked with 'Walnut Stain' distress ink for extra definition. I used my Doohickey 'Tilda Lace' border die to cut the edges of the kraft card and design paper on the second layer, which is embellished with a selection of buttons and pearls to meet the challenge theme - 'Beautiful Buttons'.

The stamped feature is 'Princess Tilda' and she is coloured with my Promarkers - here's a closer look ...

Added embellishments include a piece of ivory lace, a gorgeous ivory feather, a Doohickey 'Leaf Swirl' die-cut and a couple of Doohickey 'Doily Flowers' which have pretty pearl centres. 

Finally I ran a 'Vintage Tag' through my printer, adding the words 'Fit for a Princess' before embellishing and adding to my project. Here's a little peek ...

Right I'm off to enter this into the challenge/DT call now - I have my fingers firmly crossed, wish me luck!

Midweek Magnolias -

Beautiful Buttons challenge (ends 4th March)

Big hugz, Jan xx 

Anything but a Card at MMM

Morning lovelies,

Well another week down and another one nearer to half term - I swear I live my life from one school holiday to another (with lots of crafting in between)!!

It's time for a new challenge over at Make My Monday and this week Fliss has chosen the theme of

'ANYTHING BUT A CARD'

I think this has to be another favourite of mine and it gets us thinking 'outside the box'. Here's what I decided on for my DT inspiration ...

This is a different version of a project I made last year and consists of one piece of card (27cm x 20cm), which is scored and folded to make a gift bag - it's really simple to make (I will add this to my 'To Do' list of tutorials that I am planning for the future).

Once the card is folded, simply decorate. I chose a piece of neutral design paper and edged it with Walnut Stain distress ink. The next layer is a Fleur de Lys nestie cut from book paper and also edged with the same ink. The top layer is a 'Wellington Bear' image from the 'Sunny Days Collection', mounted on a piece of pink card. I made the little flowers from scraps of the book paper and added a few little punched butterflies. A bit of polkadot ribbon for the handles and a little 'To and From' label on the back and job done.

Hope you can join us this week.

Hugz, Jan xx

A little Gift Bag

Hello there,

Monday morning means it's time for our next challenge over at the 'Make My Monday' challenge blog and this week Rosie has chosen the theme, which is '3D ELEMENTS'. Now how much scope is there for this one - I didn't know where to start! It can be interpreted any way you like as long as you use something 3D, so it could be a 3D embellishment, decoupage, altered elements or even a 3D project itself. Here's what I decided on for my DT inspiration ...

I decided on the 3D project and made a little gift bag from just one piece of cardstock which I then embellished.  The image is LOTV and is called 'Big Hug' - isn't it adorable. I have coloured it with my Promarkers, added some frantage powder and a little glitter and then mounted it on a blue die-cut 'Fleur de Lys' square frame. Added embellishments include a Doohickey die-cut flower and heart swirl, together with some little punched butterflies and a few pearls.  

The reverse of the bag has a 'To/From' label (printed on my pc) mounted on a smaller die-cut frame, together with matching flower and little punched butterfly.

I can't wait to see your interpretations of our theme this week and shall look forward to visiting your blogs throughout the week. 

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Artistic Inspirations - Die Cuts/Punches

Cute Card Thursday - Dies and Punches

Fussy & Fancy - Bingo (blue, flowers and pearls)

Happy crafting,

Hugz, Jan xx

Gift Bag Tutorial

Good morning,

I hope everyone is looking forward to the extra long weekend - mine starts here and as it's Friday again, it's time for another challenge over at the Polkadoodles Challenge blog.

This week we would love to see your projects which fit the theme 'Anything but a Card' - so lots of scope for those creative minds.  I decided to make a little gift bag and as promised, here is my very first tutorial on how to make it.  Here's what the finished project looks like ...

And here's the instructions on how to make it, 

using just one piece of A4 paper.

First, print your chosen paper design onto A4 paper 

and trim to 29cm x 19cm. 

Then transfer the template measurements 

to the reverse side of your paper.

Score along all the solid black lines, 

then turn your paper over (printed side facing up) 

and score along the two solid pink lines.  

Turn the paper back again and score along the diagonal dotted lines.

Make all the folds and burnish with a bone folder, 

ensuring the two pink lines are folded from the front.

Now fold down the 2cm at the top to the inside 

and stick with wet glue.

Fold the bag together and glue the 1cm flap to the inside of the bag.  

I added distress ink to all the folded edges next, 

but this stage is optional.

Fold up the bottom of the bag 

(like you would when wrapping a present) 

and stick with wet glue.  

Use a long handled dry paintbrush to reach inside 

your bag and press the flaps down from the inside.  

Cut a piece of card 10cm x 4cm 

and stick inside the bottom of the bag to reinforce.

Punch holes and add your chosen ribbon handles, 

tying knots on the inside to secure.

Your bag is now complete - simply decorate as you wish.

My paper, chosen image and sentiment are all from the gorgeous 'Sugarplum Daisy CD' 

which you can buy from the Polkadoodles on-line store 

HERE.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and found it easy to follow - 

I would love to hear your comments. 

If you encountered any problems please let me know 

and I will be happy to help.

Hugz, Jan xx

X Marks the Spot

Happy New Year everyone,

I do hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year - I have had a lovely break and enjoyed the festive season with my family.  The decorations are all down now and the house clean again, ready for my return to school on Monday.

As it's Friday, it's time for the Alphabet Challenge and this week we are upto the letter 'X'. Shaz has chosen the theme 'X Marks the Spot' and we would like to see your projects using 'spots and stripes'.  Here's my DT inspiration ...

As I've made so many cards for the Christmas period, I decided to make something totally different for this week's challenge and decorated a little brown gift bag.  My 'spots and stripes' feature on the backing paper (which is from my First Edition - Sweet Owl paper stack) and on the stamped image (which is LOTV).  I've even used a different colouring medium this time - I stamped onto watercolour paper and coloured with my distress inks for a change! The little flower petals alternate between spots and stripes and I added a brown button centre for some dimension.  Added embellishments include a stamped sentiment (from LOTV), some pretty pink polkadot ribbon, three matching die-cut flowers from the leftover backing paper (each one has a brown candi centre), three punched pink flowers (each one with a sparkly gem centre) and a little pink heart on the bag handle.  

I shall look forward to seeing your creations over at the Alphabet Challenge blog.  Don't forget to pop over and check out some more fab inspiration from my teamies - just click HERE.

Happy crafting,

Hugz, Jan xx