A Spot of Colouring

Just sharing a little more of the colouring I've been doing lately... I'm loving this combination! These images are destined for an article about Cascade Cards in Love Cardmaking magazine later this year.

Stamps: Celebrations by Beccy's Place

Delicious Dutch Fold Card

This is one of three cards I created last year for a magazine article on Dutch Fold cards. They're fabulous for big events where you want multiple people to sign the card, plus they have the added advantage of being reasonably simple to make!

Stamps: Just Desserts by Beccy's Place

Colouring Project - day five

Well, here they are... all framed up and ready to hang! I enjoyed this project so much that I think I'm going to start on another. Perhaps this time I'll steer clear of the florals and go for something a little more whimsical. I know of a few cute little gnomes that are lots of fun to colour!

Colouring Project - day four

This is the final image for the floral colouring project I've been working on. Now all I need to do is get all four images into their little frames and hung on the wall.

Stamp: Wild Rose by Beccy's Place

Colouring Project - day three

These blooms are called blanket flowers and they're native to north and south America. Based on how they look, you probably won't be surprised to learn that they're in the sunflower family.

Stamps: Thinking of You by Beccy's Place

Colouring Project - day two

The next digital image I chose for my framed floral project is the sweetpea from the Garden Seed set. Now that it's all coloured, I wish I had chosen pink or maybe a peachy orange instead of the purple, I think it would have been a little more striking.

Stamps: Garden Seed Set by Beccy's Place

Colouring Project - day one

I have some small, white photo frames that I've been storing in one of my cupboards for several years waiting for just the right project to come along. Well, the day has finally arrived! I've chosen four of my favourite floral digital stamps to colour and mount in the frames. I think they'll look great all hung together as a floral collection... plus I'll have the added advantage of spending some quality time colouring them all in!

I'm starting with one of the iris images from the Iris Garden set. I forgot to take a photo before starting the colouring... just a little too keen for my own good!

Stamps: Iris Garden by Beccy's Place

CAS on Kraft

Just a little piggy, sitting on a little card.

Originally, I just had the pig and sentiment on the card, but it looked too clean and simple and not quite finished. I decided to use a white pen to add a border (Signo brand for anyone who's curious), and a scattering of some Nuvo crystal dots.

Stamps: Doris & Daphne by Beccy's Place

Tutorial - Never Ending Card

For a long time now, I have both admired and felt intimidated by this fabulous card fold. I'm ashamed to admit that until very recently I've never even investigated the mechanics behind how it works simply because it appeared so complicated. I finally decided the time had arrived to step outside my comfort zone and give this fold a go...

Now I'm almost embarrassed to share this tutorial with you. The card base is formed from just four pieces of card stock joined together in the corners, and eight score lines. I admit that I was gobsmacked when I realised how simple and easy it was to make. Lesson learned.

1. Start with four pieces of card stock, each measuring 3" x 6". It's important to have nice straight lines and accurate measurements so the card can move freely.

2. Lay a piece of card stock horizontally on your score board and score at 11/2" and again at 41/2". Repeat for the other three pieces of card stock. Fold back and forth along the score lines.

3. OPTIONAL: ink the edges of the card stock, including the folds, for a vintage look.

4. Lay two piece of card stock vertically on the desk in front of you with the score lines running horizontally.

5. We're going to place adhesive in each of the four corners, 11/2" from the centre of each piece. I've marked the location of the adhesive in the photos below. Make sure you only apply it to the outer section or your card will not operate properly.

6. Add glue or double sided tape to the first corner. I found it easier to work on one section at a time. Make sure your glue or tape is strong enough to withstand a lot of handling... people are going to play with this card!

7. Secure a piece of card stock horizontally across the top of the two pieces that are on your desk. Keep the edges flush and the score lines all lined up. Refer to the photos for correct placement.

8. Repeat the process in the bottom corner.

9. Now we're going to adhere the other two corners, remembering to keep all the score lines and edges lined up nicely.

10. Believe it or not, that's all it takes to complete the card base. Once the glue is dry, you can have a little play with your card.

11. Now to decorate. I must admit that I found this more difficult that the actual card itself... mostly because of how many different spaces there were to fill. If you want to decorate your card the same way I did, you'll need four image panels - two measuring 23/4" x 53/4" and two measuring 53/4" x 23/4" (two vertical and two horizontal). You'll also need eight pieces of patterned paper measuring 11/4" x 23/4" and eight pieces of patterned paper measuring 11/4" x 11/4".

12. I wanted my card to look kind of like a puzzle, so I chose to cut each of the image panels in half so that they split and come together as the card is viewed. If you don't like the idea of cutting your four large image panels, you could opt to have eight individual panels instead.

13. Start with the image that you'd like to appear on the front of the card. Remember, the orientation of the card doesn't matter - you could just as easily start with a horizontal image by turning the card 90 degrees.

14. Use glue or double sided tape to adhere the elements to the front of the card. Avoid bulky embellishments that will hinder the operation of the card and definitely avoid placing anything over any of the edges.

15. Flip the card open to the next area for decoration. Be careful not to turn the card while you're decorating - you don't want to end up with images or sentiments that are upside down!

16. When you come to this section, be aware that the middle pieces will actually cover a whole image panel rather than some of the small pieces of patterned paper. Refer to the photos below.

17. Complete the card with the remaining patterned paper and image panels.

I absolutely love this card! Even though I know the mechanism is simple, it's still incredibly satisfying to play with. My 13 year old son thought I had performed some sort of magic when he saw it... in fact, he enjoyed it so much that he appropriated the sample version!

Products:

New Release: Farm Fresh

We live in a semi-rural area where horses and cows graze happily in barbed-wire-fenced paddocks and chooks scratch their way through household vegetable patches. Occasionally you can even find an old tractor, complete with flannel-clad farmer, trundling it's way along the back roads to reach a fallow field. Although I grew up quite happily in the suburbs, I much prefer the simple charm of country life, where everything seems just a little more relaxed.

Farm Fresh

digital stamp set

Available in Store Now

My designers have created some wonderful, down-home projects with the new set. You can check them all out below, or visit their blogs and social media pages by clicking on the links at the right hand side of the page.

Judy's clip board organiser

Carla's card

Anesha's card

Two cards from Karin

AJ's card

Two cards from Petra