Up, Up and Away

Just recently Tattered Lace have bought out some clever new dies, which make 3D designs, like the cocktail shaker and martini glass in my last blog.

One of the designs I really enjoyed making samples for was the hot air balloon. I love it if you happen to see one floating around, and it took me back to when we were lucky enough to go in one in Egypt a few years ago. It was so smooth and quiet, apart from the occasional blast of heat, even animals are not spooked by them as they don't know they are there. Luckily for us, even the landing went smoothly!

Once again, you can have these mounted onto a card front, or made up into complete models, which is what I did here

I wanted it to look as if the balloon was literally floating above the ground, so I made a set of two of the cut dies and joined them altogether to make a complete 3D model. I then made a small hole in the bottom of the basket to secure and thread through some invisible thread and also attached some to the inside of the top of the balloon, one strand on each half, so that it would hang evenly. I love the invisible thread for these sort of projects but, boy, is it difficult to work with at times as it is, literally, invisible!

I then made up three identical card bases, each with an oval cut into the centre and scored and folded in the middle. The trickiest part is to make sure your ovals are cut in exactly the same place so when the card bases are joined together, they all fit together perfectly. Then it's just a case of joining the bases, with the strands of the invisible thread securely sandwiched between them and pulled quite tight so the balloon doesn't sag and hangs nicely in the air.

Shaken not Stirred!

It's the summer, although I think it may have gone on a break this weekend, but we have been having glorious weather and, now we can meet up with a few family or friends in the garden, what's better than a couple of cocktails or six whilst chating in the sun. 

The Ready to Party collection of dies, which were recently launched by Tattered Lace are perfect for makes with cocktails and parties in mind.

Two of the dies I was asked to make samples with were the cocktail shaker and martini glass dies.

These are so versatile, great to use as they are on a card front or, as I did in this sample, as a stand alone gift.

These are so easy to make and look so effective. You just need to cut two of each die and join them together, back to back.

I made a box out of acetate and silver card and glued them into position on the base of the box, standing on a small doily I had in my stash. The little extras like the lemon peel, spoon, mint leaves, lemon segment and ice cubes are all included with the dies.

The lid of the cocktail shaker can be left so it can be removed, but I attached mine to the shaker so it wouldn't keep falling off, especially in transit.

The most fiddly bit was the 'drink' in the martini glass. For that I cut a piece of acetate to fit inside the top of the glass and cut a triangle shaped hole it in where I wanted the ice cube and mint leaves to pop out of, as if they were floating in the drink, and a place at the side where the lemon would go. I stuck the ice cube in place and the whole acetate piece using dries clear glue.  I then stuck the lemon in place and left it all to dry. Although it dries clear, the glue will still show but this was covered up by covering the top of the acetate with a coloured liquid glue. You do not have to be very precise with this at all, in fact it look much more realistic if it is done quite roughly and forms air bubbles. Finally, I put the mint leaves in place, which were held by the coloured glue.

Cheers! 

Frozen!

It seemed a bit strange making a card which is all about snow and ice, when it's so hot and sunny outside, but my little granddaughter, who was 3 yesterday, loves the characters from the film, so that had to be the theme for her birthday card.

I wanted something she could interact with, so the front had one of the Tonic number 3 shakers and I made a pull tab which moved some of the characters (Anna, Kristoff and Sven - see, I do know their names! 😂) towards where she is standing with Olaf. 

The inside was probably the most challenging and a real labour of love. I searched the internet for templates of Elsa's castle, but with little luck as none were really meant, or sized for cards. So I found one picture, printed it several times, using each one to cut out different sections to make templates, then I cut each one from either white or blue glitter card or acetate which I had coloured blue. I then layered them up using various sizes of pop up tabs so the castle would pop out when the card was opened in different depth and layers.

All the backing paper's were from the internet (what would we do without it!) which I sprayed with the Crafters Companion Spray and Sparkle iridescent glitter spray. The character's are the Disney dies from Crafting.co.uk.

I was really pleased with the final effect and, although I couldn't be there due to the lockdown to see her reaction, I am told by her mummy and daddy that she was delighted with it. 

Sweet Birthday

If you're like me, this lockdown is not doing you any favours when it comes to snacking! So when I was asked to make a few samples for the Duo Dies new set of dies this month I was really taken by the ring doughnuts that were included. 

I thought it would make an ideal card at this time, even if it was just to show someone that you are missing them and thinking of them, and is a calorie free option to sending a real box of doughnuts!

It was so easy to make. The 'lid', with the shaker element, is made seperate and added on top, so the sugar strands shake freely without getting caught up on the doughnuts.

What I really like about the dies is that they come with an additional die so you can layer them or use to cut apertures, but I used mine to give them additional depth to look like the icing is really standing out on the doughnut. You just have to remember to cut a centre hole in that layer. You can, of course, also colour them to make them any flavour or colour, so you can match them to the recipient's favourite doughnut choice, and they are so easy to colour.

Let's hope it won't be too long until we can meet up with friends and family again for a real coffee and doughnut, until then, stay safe x

Lockdown Lodge

I hope you are all keeping safe and well in these crazy times.
One of the benefits for us crafters is the enforced lockdown is giving us plenty of time to be creative. I am very lucky to be on the design team for Tattered Lace, and that keeps me fairly busy but, having a quiet interval from that, and having caught up on some of the cards I needed for friends and family, I suddenly found myself in the rare position of just being able to play.
I have recently found the Lawn Fawn stamps and dies (I know, where have I been!) and am now completely hooked and my collection is growing well.
Looking at the Lawn Fawn blog this week, I saw their new challenge was to make anything but a card and, as I have just received their scalloped treat box die, with some of the add-ons, I knew this would give me a great opportunity to try them out!

I came up with a fun way of having a little gift box to brighten somebodies day during the lockdown and to show them you are thinking of them. I called it 'Lockdown Lodge' and the little door is nailed shut to show that we cannot go out as we used to. The little girl at the window is wearing a face mask, but everything outside the house is normal, with flowers blooming and birds singing.

The back of the house has a (very large!) ginger cat, again perfectly able to wander around outside as normal, while the shutters are shut on the window, symbolizing us not being able to join him.

This side of the house shows a little boy looking out of the window, again wearing a face mask with flowers blooming below his window. 

The other side is similar, but having a little dog looking out the window, probably looking forward to the one walk a day he is allowed!













You could fill the box with sweets, tea bags, anything you think the recipient would enjoy, but I have put two reusable face masks in mine, to be used when we can venture outside.