Tutorial - Centre of Attention Fold

I love how a piece of cardstock can be transformed into a fabulous card with a couple of cuts and a few score lines! Even better when they are 3D and can stand open for display.

TEMPLATE:

1. Place an 8" x 6" piece of cardstock horizontally on your score board, and score at 2" and 6".

2. Use a knife or trimmer to make horizontal cuts between the two score lines, 11/2" from the top and bottom edges of the cardstock. See the template for correct placement.

3. Place the cardstock back on the score board and score at the 4" mark, starting at the top edge and stopping at the first cut. Repeat at the bottom of the card, scoring from the bottom edge up to the second cut. See template.

4. Score vertically between the two cuts at 3" and again at 5". Refer to the template for correct placement.

5. Fold along the score lines to form your card base.

6. To decorate, you'll need four 13/4" x 53/4" pieces of patterned paper (2 for the front and 2 for inside), four pieces measuring 1" x 13/4", and two measuring 1/2" x 31/4". You'll also need an image panel for the centre measuring 21/4" x 31/4".

NOTE: To create a double mat, cut coloured cardstock using the measurements in step 6, then cut patterned paper 1/4" smaller in length and width.

FRONT:

7. Decorate the centre panel as desired. You can hang items over the sides of the centre panel, but only adhere them to the centre. DO NOT allow any elements to span the cuts as the card will not open and close properly.

8. If desired, create a belly band to hold the card closed for posting.

Products:

Hibiscus Flowers

I didn't want to wait too long to use the flowers I coloured a couple of days ago. (Things have a way of going missing if I don't use them pretty quickly... stashed in a "safe place"... never to be seen again) I teamed the brightly coloured hibiscus blooms with some lush ferns for a fabulous tropical vibe, perfect for summertime birthdays.

Products:

Just The Flowers

I'm always looking for different ways to use my stamps, dies, and other papercrafting items, and one of the easiest techniques is to selectively stamp parts of your images. There are a few different ways of doing this, such as masking on the paper, masking the stamp or even cutting the stamp into sections. Today I'm using little pieces of cardstock that are big enough for the part of the image I want to use, and then I'll use some small scissors to cut away the excess.

I want just the hibiscus flower from the Girls' Night set of stamps. I'm using water based ink to stamp on blending card so I can colour with my alcohol markers.

Pro-tip, colour around your image with marker before fussing cutting. This gives you a little more margin for error and makes for a tidier cut.

Now I have a collection of pretty flowers ready to add to my cards!

Products:

Day 29 - "Z"

Thank goodness for Z-fold cards! Not only are they fabulous as display cards, but they also come in handy for the Z prompt each year.

YOUR TURN: Create a project using the letter "Z" as your prompt.

Upload a photo of your creation to the

Challenge Gallery

INSPIRATION WORDS:

Z-fold, Z-box fold, Z-fold slider card, zentagle, zzzzz (as in snoring)

Products:

Happy Hour

To make the background for this card, I started by colouring with very light-coloured alcohol markers in patches around the uncoloured image. The splotchy effect is cause by dripping blending solution straight from the bottle onto the coloured card. 

Stamps:

Girls' Night digital stamps

Girls' Night clear stamps

Party Time!

Tropical beaches and balmy breezes, cocktails on the terrace... ahhh, that's the life for me.

This background was created by stippling colour with the tip of the brush marker, starting with the darkest colours and working into the lightest as you move further out from the image. Don't forget to add the shadow under the image to help give it some weight and anchor it to the ground.

Stamps:

Girls' Night digital stamps

Girls' Night clear stamps

Bring on the Bubbly!

It's girls' night all week at my place, and that means fancy cocktails with pretty decorated glasses...

which really means card stock, markers and a set of stamps! 

Stamps:

Girls' Night digital stamps

Girls' Night clear stamps

Something Frosty

At this time of year in Australia, we look forward to something frosty at the end of a long, hot day. Whether a frozen softdrink, chilled juice, icy cold beer or a fabulous frosty cocktail complete with sweet, fresh strawberries... as long as it's good and cold.

I created the background with light-coloured alcohol markers in the same colour families as the ones I used for the image. Blending solution helped to give a mottled look where the different colours meet and blend.

Stamps:

Girls' Night digital stamps

Girls' Night clear stamps

Happy Hour with Anesha

Anesha is our fabulous host today, with drinks for all her besties.

She has created two wonderful cards using the Girls' Night set of digital stamps. The first one is all about the sparkles... from bubbly champagne to a glittering background. Who wouldn't feel fabulous receiving this?!

Anesha's second card is all about relaxation and life in the slow lane. It brings to mind balmy summer days lounging by the pool with palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. I'm thinking white sand beaches, the scent of tropical flowers and a full day of doing nothing in particular.

For more of Anesha's fabulous work, visit her blog:

Anesha's Blog

Cocktails with Carla

It's happy hour at Carla's place today with mojitos for all!

Carla has created an absolutely fabulous project that would make a fantastic birthday card for a cocktail loving friend, a cruise ship aficionado or someone who just loves to party! Her mojito inspired creation comes complete with straw, a decoration for the glass and a fabulous recipe for a delicious and refreshing evening tipple.

Carla has very kindly included a translation of the recipe into English for those of us who'd like to follow along at home:

Rum

7 fresh mint leaves

1 half lime

Cane sugar

Place a quarter of a lime, 4 mint leaves and 1 tablespoon of cane sugar in a mortar and grind with a pestle until the juice has mixed with the sugar. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Fill the glass three-quarters with crushed ice and add the rest of the lime and mint leaves. Pour over 50 ml of rum and add soda water.

Not only has Carla shared her fabulous cocktail recipe, but she has also given us these fabulous templates so we can recreate her project!

Head over to Carla's blog for more fabulous inspiration:

Carla's Blog