Belle and Boo Brag Book

I wanted to use the Belle and Boo collection for something other than cards and came up with the idea of a Brag Book, designed for my Mum to show off pictures of her grandchildren.

The book started life as a 4"x12" strip of Core'dinations card, folded like this:

Full instructions can be found on my Trimcraft gallery but here are some photos showing how I've decorated the card, with space to add pictures and even a pocket for momentos such as train tickets. I just love the finished result- and so does Grandma!

Products used:

Trimcraft Belle and Boo 6x6 papers, Ribbon (pirate hat) and Toppers

Core'dinations card

Tonic Oval Layering Dies

Creative Expressions Milk Foundation Card with printed sentiment

Bellissima birthday card

This card has been made using Docrafts Bellissima range. I love the way this collection has a modern feel, yet combines well with vintage elements such as lace trim and, my current favourite item, Dovecraft doilies.

To make this card I simply took a decorated card blank and layered it with a sheet of 6x6 paper (at a jaunty angle). I added lace trim, a ribbon and doilie before making up and fixing the centre decoupage sentiment. All edges, including the doilie, have been distressed using distress ink to add depth. The finishing touch is some punched butterflies and gemstones.

Products used:

Docrafts Papermania  Bellissima card blank, 6x6 Decoupage Kits, Ribbon, Gemstones

Hobbycraft adhesive lace trim

Tonic Studios Butterfly Punch

Dovecraft Doilie

Belle and Boo Birthday Card

First of all I have some very exciting news- my Pirate Shutter Card was named as project of the month on the Trimcraft website. You can read about it hereTrimcraft project of the month for April. This is especially exciting as I love Trimcraft products, particularly  Belle and Boo, and have already received a fantastic prize to make more lovely projects with.

Today's card is more Belle and Boo but this time it's a little girl's birthday card. I wanted the focus of the card to be the image and the fab papers but also wanted to add some pretty embellishments. I did this by die cutting and layering some flowers and adding lace and ribbon. I have also used a distress ink pad to add a slightly shabby chic look, which is a departure from my usual clean lines.

Products used: 

Trimcraft Belle and Boo 6x6 paper pad, Decoupage pad, Ribbon

Trimcraft Sweet Paris Pearls

Docrafts Lace Trim

Trimcraft First Edition Flower Dies

Craft UK card blank

Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad Victorian Velvet

I would like to enter this card for these challenges:

Crafting Musketeers May Challenge Use a Die Cut

Allsorts Challenge April Showers Bring May Flowers

Belle and Boo Shutter Card

Time for a confession. I am hopeless with a craft knife. So when Tattered Lace brought out a die set that could make fantastic shutter cards, I bought it straight away. Better still, it contains all the layering dies needed to decorate the card too, so there is no need for hours of measuring and cutting.

I used the Belle and Boo 8x8 paper pad for this boy's birthday card and used one of the images from the decoupage pack.

Perhaps my favourite bit of the card is the rosette I made. For this I cut a thin strip of paper from the pad and scored it at 5mm intervals. I then concertina folded the paper and joined the ends together with tape. I flattened it out and stuck it onto a circle of card. Next I attatched two short strips of paper and two pieces of ribbon to make the tails. Finally I stuck 2 die cut circles on top and added a number.

Products used:

Tattered Lace Shutter Card die set (includes letter dies)

Trimcraft Belle and Boo 8x8 Paper Pad, Decoupage pad, Pirate Ribbon

Docrafts Papermania orange card 

Tonic Studios Circle and Scalloped Circle layering dies

Creative Expressions Foundation Card in Milk

Football Crazy

My eldest son will be 7 next week and is totally football crazy. I wanted to make him a special card so decided to put my colouring skills to the test to personalise a football image. I am a complete novice when it comes to colouring so it was a big challenge for me.

The stamp used is Adam from Crafter's Companion. I used Spectrum Noir pens for colouring- I have coloured the boy's clothes in Chelsea colours (my son is a huge supporter of theirs) and tried to match my son's hair colour.

I embossed a piece of Core'dinations cardstock with a football embossing folder and arranged this and the stamped image on a football background. I added die cut bunting, some twine and an age rosette to finish. I'll blog some instructions to make a rosette in my next post 

Products Used:

Spectrum Noir pens- Shirt TB5 TB6, Hair GB5 GB8 TN4, Skin FS2 FS3, Boots and ball Black IG10, Grass LG3 CG1

Core'dinations Tim Holtz Distress Inks Card in Faded Jeans

Crafter's Companion Angelica and Adam 6x6 male pad, Adam stamp, Football embossing folder. 

Crafter's Companion dies- Bunting and 1" Numbers

Football card from Touch of Craft

Momento ink in Tuxedo Black and Paris Dusk

Baker's twine

I am entering this for the Spectrum Noir Facebook Challenge Use a Die Cut Shape

Patchwork cards

A while ago I bought some Xcut hexagon dies with the idea of making patchwork cards. As always it's taken me a while to get round to making one, but, now I have, I'm really pleased with the look.

For this card, I began by matting some pink paper onto a 7x5 card blank, followed by a slightly smaller piece of coconut white card. I used the smallest die to cut shapes out of 3 different designs of Simply Floral paper. I arranged these in two columns down the left of the card.

I finished the card with a stamped sentiment, matted onto pink paper and a bow.

Products used:
Docrafts Xcut Hexagon nesting dies, Simply Floral 6x6 papers, Papermania Paper
Creative Expressions Coconut White Foundations card
Sentiment stamped using Momento ink in Tuxedo Black
Bow tied from ribbon from my stash

Keeping it simple

Sometimes it's great to make a sweet and simple card, one that is quick and easy to put together but which is elegant enough to make a good impression. I think this card, featuring a Craftwork Cards image and Card Candi really does that.

These topper sheets are 5"x5", so are perfect for a 13.5cm card blank when mounted onto a piece of co-ordinating cardstock. I have tried both Pinflair glue and Candi Fix for adhering the Card Candi and have found that Candi Fix is the best option, although it takes a little longer to do.

I finished the card with a stamped sentiment and a gem in each corner. Sometimes less is more x

Products used:

Craftwork Card Create with Candi Floral stack, Card Candi and Candi Fix (Create and Craft free member's gift)

Docrafts Papermania Cardstock (great for matting and layering) and gems

Sentiment stamped using Ranger Andirondack Ink in Eggplant