All About The Background

The Coral Reef set features semi-silhouette images that are perfect for layering over beautiful backgrounds or pretty papers. For this card, I laid down a mixture of Distress inks with a blending brush then painted over the surface with clean water to leave a subtle wave pattern.

Stamps:

 

Selected, retired digital stamps at an incredibly low price for just 48 hours.

No rainchecks. No repeats.

Party Pig

digital stamps

Available for a Short Time

Under The Sea

It's time for an underwater adventure with Karin, who is sharing two fabulous cards featuring the Coral Reef set of stamps.

The second card is a fun fold with concertina sides to allow more depth and space for decorating.

Karin has added a belly band to hold the card flat for postage.

Karin's Blog

Tutorial - Pop-Up Step Front Panel Card

Believe it or not, the base of this fabulous display card is constructed with just two pieces of card stock. It can be decorated for almost any occasion and, like all the best pop-up creations, it also folds flat for postage!

1. The base is constructed from two pieces of card stock, one measuring 113/4" x 4" and the second measuring 53/4" x 23/4".

2. Place the large piece of card stock horizontally on your score board and score at 53/4", 63/4", 101/4" and 111/4". Place the second piece of card stock horizontally on  your score board and score at 41/4" and 51/4". Fold both pieces of card stock along the score lines.

3. Time to decorate! I used two coordinating papers for my card, one pattern for the base and the other on the front panel. The base pieces measure 2" x 33/4", 31/4" x 33/4" and 3/4" x 33/4". The front panel pieces measure 4" x 21/2" and 3/4" x 21/2".

4. Place the long base piece vertically on the desk in front of you so that the 53/4" section is at the top. Secure the 2" x 33/4" piece of patterned paper to the top of the card stock leaving a small, even border on three sides (see the photo below for correct placement).

5. Fold the base panel at the second score line so that three sections are visible. Secure the other two pieces of patterned paper to the lower two sections leaving the 1/2" tab at the top clear.

6. Secure the remaining patterned paper to the front panel and set aside.

7. Add glue or double sided tape to the tab on the card base. Fold the tab over and press to the back of the card base securing it in place.

8. Apply glue or double sided tape to the tab on the front panel.

9. Now fold on the second score line so that both the tab and the first section are toward the back. See the photo below.

10. Carefully line the front panel up in the centre of the base card, keeping the top edges flush.

11. Your card should look like the image below. Note that the tab is secured 1" down from the top of the card base.

12. To secure the front panel to the card base you will need to apply glue or double sided tape to the sections that overlap. Press the card so that both pieces of card stock are completely flat. The section of the front panel that overlaps the large panel on the base of the card is where you want to apply the glue. (See the photos below).

13. The card should be able to freely pop up and fold flat again.

14. Decorate your card as desired. You can add dimensional embellishments, stamps and images that overlap the front panel if desired.

Stamps:

Get Creative With Anesha

Anesha has created an awesome pencil case using one of the platypus images and a fun sentiment from the Limited Edition set of digital stamps. She printed the image files onto transfer paper, then heat set them with an iron onto a piece of fabric, which she sewed into a fabulous case for her pencils and markers.

She also created two fun cards using images and sentiments from the set!

For more of Anesha's work, click on the blog link at the bottom of the post.

Anesha's Blog

Everything Papercraft - Bargello

Bargello was originally a needlepoint embroidery technique consisting of stitches that are laid in a pattern to create geometric designs and shapes. The stitches traditionally consisted of wool on canvas, making it a very durable craft and therefore popular for decorating pillows, upholstery and carpets. The modern resurgence of bargello in the 1960s saw the technique adopted by quilters and textiles artists who sew long strips of fabric together to resemble the finished pieces.

Like many other sewing techniques, bargello eventually found it’s way into the world of papercraft where the geometric patterns are recreated with strips of coloured paper. The strips are secured side by side in a vertical pattern, cut horizontally and then reassembled in “steps”, which gives the finished design it’s characteristic geometric look.

Life On The Reef

The dazzling colours of the coral reef are showcased beautifully on Judy's cards, and she's even managed to describe the movement of the water by colouring rippling shadows and textured backgrounds. The base cards are colour coordinated with the markers used on the images, which gives a harmonious look to the overall design.

Judy's Blog

Monochromatic Reef

Last week it was all about colour... this week I'm sticking to a single hue for a much more refined look. 

You can try this with whatever colours you have in your stash (remember that you can colour white card using inks or markers for a coordinated look). Don't forget to add neutral mediums such as glossy accents, stickles or Wink of Stella for a little bit of sparkle and shine.

Stamps:

 

Let It Snow

Although it's January, Karin is still feeling the Christmas vibe and has created this cute card using one of the platypus images from the Limited Edition set of digital stamps. Adding holiday or celebration elements to images is a great way to extend your library of stamps, making them suitable for lots of extra occasions.

Karin's Blog

Hot Tip Tuesday

Sourcing Supplies

We all have our favourite cardmaking and papercraft supply stores, but don't forget to look beyond your current sources every once in a while. You'd be surprised at what you can find in unexpected places, and you'd be surprised by what you can actually use on your cards and projects that aren't specifically created for crafting.

Hardware stores, op shops, garages sales and even the local grocery store can be Aladdin's Caves of wonderous treasures. Sometimes it's about letting your imagination take you from sandpaper to a textured base for your seaside themed stamps, a jar of old buttons to snowman eyes or Rudolph's shiny nose, children's markers to awesome paint spattered backgrounds.

And don't forget to upcycle! Cardboard boxes and packaging can be covered with patterned paper or paint and used for book covers. Pieces of plastic packaging are perfect for crafts requiring acetate sheets. Ribbons, fancy wrappings and coverings from boxes of chocolate, perfume and other luxury items make wonderful embellishments for cards.