Sunday 17 December 2017

Christmas Flowers and/or Foliage - CD Sunday

Thanks to everyone who entered my theme for the CD Sunday Challenge blog. It was lovely to see people who regularly support the challenge joined by new people from a couple of Facebook groups I belong to. I'll be back on Sunday 7th January 2018 to announce my Top Three and I have a prize ready and waiting for the winner. Don't forget to check the CD Sunday blog to see if you were a winner in Jane's 'Christmas Things With Wings' theme from 2 weeks ago.
This time it's Meg's turn to pick the theme and she's chosen Christmas Flowers and/or Foliage. I knew I wanted to have poinsettia's somewhere in my project and came up with this:



There's a bit of poinsettia overload LOL! 
I had a new pack of vellum and some stamps (free with Creative Stamping magazine) sitting on my desk. I stamped and embossed the poinsettias onto the vellum, fussy cut them out and added Tonic Nuvo Drops in Dandelion Yellow.

                                        

I then knew I'd have to make a pop up box to display the poinsettias. It took me 4 attempts to find the right backing paper! Every time I thought I'd found the right one I printed it onto card, made the box up and held the poinsettias in place and they just didn't look right. I eventually found a paper with poinsettias on from DoCrafts Digital Designer. It's in the Christmas Past series of discs from Papermania and the collection is called Henbury Lane - Poinsettia.
To decorate the flaps I used dies from Tonic Studio. They're quite an open design so I coloured some white card with a Forest Green Promarker and made a backing for them.





The dies are called Festive Gift, Ornate Candle and Christmas Pud. They were cut from Tonic's Craft Perfect card in Fern Green - brilliant card for die cutting! I added a few drops of Berry Red and Woodland Green Nuvo Drops to each of the die cuts.



                                       

                                                                                                                                 

Behind the poinsettias there's a Christmas greeting but it's hidden by the flowers.



The stamp is from Tonic and then die cut with the matching die set - Merry Christmas Double Banner.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a card you've made that has something to fit the Christmas Flowers or Foliage theme just remember to use something from a CD. The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project, such as a stamp or die cuts, but you must include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamped images or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of being one of the Top Three if the above hasn't been followed.

You have until Saturday 7th January 2018 to submit your entry and we now have 3 ways to do this. If you have a blog you can enter from there, you can email a photo to the email address on the CD Sunday blog or you can now post a photo on the pinned post on Facebook.

The CD Sunday team hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!








Sunday 3 December 2017

Christmas Present - CD Sunday

It was lovely to see a few new people entering the challenge last time. And our new Facebook page has had several visits and 'likes' so hopefully even more people will join in.
Jane will pick her Top Three for Christmas Things With Wings and the winner will be announced on the CD Sunday blog on 17th December.
It's now my turn to pick a theme which will run for the next two weeks until Saturday 16th December. I like to pick themes that give people the chance to interpret them in different ways. So I've chosen 'Christmas Present' - no 'S' on the end of present. So you can choose to do Christmas gifts or Christmas as it is today in the 21st century. All of the design team have gone with Christmas gifts except me LOL! But that's my quirky sense of humour!
The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project, such as a stamp or dies, but you must also include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamped images or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed.
I designed my card in Serif's Craft Artist. We allow Craft Artist to be used as it was originally available on a CD. 


I've used 4 Purple Ronnie kits - Christmas Dinner, Christmas Family, Christmas Mates and Christmas party. Everything was put in place in Craft Artist, resized, shadows added and a thin black frame placed around the outside. I then printed the design straight onto card - perfect for posting as it can go small letter. This is going to a particular friend who has the same sense of humour as me and likes Purple Ronnie. 
I'm sure everyone is frantically making Christmas cards at the moment so why not enter the challenge at the same time? Just remember to use something from a CD and you could win the prize I have ready to be posted. And don't forget you can now enter on Facebook by adding a photo to the pinned post for this new theme. Good Luck everyone!

Sunday 19 November 2017

CD Sunday - Christmas Things With Wings

I decided to use the new theme at CD Sunday to make hubby's Christmas card. It's Jane's turn to pick the theme and she's chosen 'Christmas Things With Wings'. My first thoughts were angels/fairies but I was having a look through Craft Artist and came across a pre-made card design/layout with 2 owls. All the items on my card are from the digikit 'Cosy Up Christmas'. CD Sunday allow the use of Craft Artist in their challenges as it was originally available on CD.
I changed a few things in the pre-made design and came up with this:



I opened 2 pages in Craft Artist so that I could print elements off to cut them out and 3D them instead of having a totally flat, printed card. The first page was the blue backing paper with the owls on the branch. I glued ribbon from my stash to the lower part and then stuck the page to the front of an A4 card. The second page was used to print off the paler backing paper and the Merry Christmas banner. I die cut an aperture using an outer edge die from Tonic's Jasmine Sunset Layering die set. This was then raised up on foam tape. 


The Merry Christmas banner originally had a green layer around it but I wasn't happy with the shade of green so cut it off. I found some green glitter card in my stash and used it as a mat around the sentiment. This was also raised up from the ribbon.
I then needed to add something to the paler aperture layer as it looked very bare. I used Tonic's Falling Snowflakes Trio die set to cut snowflakes from plain white card. The small snowflakes are from another die that was free in a craft magazine. In order to make the snowflakes fit in I coloured the white card with Cosmic Shimmers Glitter Kiss in Sea Green Kiss. They turned out almost identically in colour to the green glitter mat around the sentiment! I finished off by adding Tonic's Nuvo Drops in Buttermilk to the snowflakes 



I then used glaze on the eyes and the stars on the blue backing paper were highlighted with a Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen in clear and then a clear gem put in the centres. 




Don't forget that the CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project, such as a stamp or digi image, but you must also include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamped images or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed.

And we now have three ways of entering the challenges - the blog, by email and now a new Facebook page!
This theme, 'Christmas Things With Wings', will run until Saturday 2nd December. I'm sure everyone has their Christmas stash out frantically making their own Christmas cards so hopefully you'll make one that fits in with this theme and can join in - good luck!

Monday 13 November 2017

Two wedding anniversary cards.

Two posts in a row that have nothing to do with the CD Sunday Blog Challenge LOL!
Recently it was my brother and his wife's first wedding anniversary. I'd made table decorations and place names for the reception last year and still had some of the purple card left so used it on this card.


 The figures were cut using Tonic Silhouette Scenes First Dance die set. The word 'Love' was also cut using a die from Tonic - the Someone Special die set. For the two hearts I used Marianne Design Creatables - Petra's Heart die set. A simple layout with some parts raised on foam tape which I think worked well and they loved it!

At the other end of the scale it was mine and hubby's 39th wedding anniversary the week after and this was my card to him.


It looks as if I used white glitter card but I didn't. It's a piece of plain white card that's been embossed using the Filigree Affections Idyllics embossing folder. I then rubbed Frosty Sparkle Glitter Kiss from Cosmic Shimmer all over the card to pick up the embossing.
I then cut a banner from red sparkly card using a die from Apple Blossom's Wintry Additions - All Occasions Collection. The Happy Anniversary is a die from Creative Dies.
I finished the card off by adding some heart die cuts that I'd covered in Fire Red Glitter Kiss and some red heart dew drops that I've had a very long time!

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Crafting with Dragonflies

I thought it was time to make serious headway with my Christmas cards and had a rummage through my Christmas stash. I love Christmas so my Christmas card-making stash is huge - it fills a small wardrobe and that's not including all my CD roms, dies and stamps Eeek!!!
So I sat down with a Hunkydory kit that was free with Card-making and Paper-crafting magazine a few months ago. The colours are mainly pastel shades and I don't normally make this style of Christmas card but the toppers were so pretty I wanted to use them. I made several cards and this is just one of them:



A blog I follow posted about the Crafting With Dragonflies challenge whose theme is 'Use Your Stash Plus Bling #93' so I thought this card was suitable.
The bling that I've added are some pale pink pearls which are the same shade as a pink in the topper. All I've used is one large topper and a sentiment banner so there's still loads left in the kit.

Sunday 5 November 2017

CD Sunday - Take a Stamp

At CD Sunday this time it's Carol's turn to pick a theme and she's chosen 'Take a Stamp'.
The design team decide on themes well ahead of the date that they're published on the challenge blog. When I was thinking of making my card for this theme, back in June, my husband asked me to make some cards for the staff at the local cancer centre. He was due to have his final chemotherapy session and wanted to thank the staff for making the time he spent there as pleasant and stress free as possible.
I'd seen a design in Papercraft Essentials magazine (issue 147) that I'd wanted to try so made these cards for the staff on the two wards that had treated him.



I printed the backing paper from a My Craft Studio Cd called 'Field of Flowers' which was then glued to the front of an 8 by 8 card. I then took another piece of white card and removed a section using a die. I used the outer edge die from Clematis Climber Strip Die Set by Tonic. I then inked the edges of the white card with a toning colour. The sentiment was then stamped in the same colour ink in the bottom right hand corner. The stamp was from a set of sentiment stamps free with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. 



I embellished the cards slightly differently. The first one had pearls along the cut and inked edge and three flowers grouped together.



The second card I grouped the pearls at the edges of the card and glued a ribbon rosette to the front.


Hubby bought boxes of biscuits for both the wards and the staff thanked us both and quizzed me about how I'd made the cards.
The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project, such as a stamp as in this theme, but you must include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamped images or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed. 
The challenge runs until Saturday 18th November at 13:00.


Sunday 22 October 2017

When Autumn Leaves Start To Fall - CD Sunday

It's time for a new theme at CD Sunday - am I the only one who thinks the weeks are just flying by?
The last challenge at CD Sunday didn't attract many entries, are you all knee deep in making your Christmas cards? It is only 9 weeks to the big day so perhaps I ought to join you LOL! Margaret will pick her top three winners and there is a prize for her first choice. The winner will be announced in 2 weeks time on Sunday 5th November - oooh that's Bonfire Night LOL!
The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project but you must include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamped images or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed. 
This time it's Jocelyn's turn to pick the theme and she's gone for 'When Autumn Leaves Start To Fall'. I knew straight away what I wanted to make as I've previously made a similar card for a monthly card swap (back in September 2013!).


The first stage was to make an stepper card. I have a set of dies that make a side stepper card but I wanted the 'steps' to be a certain height so the first attempt made using the dies went in the bin. I then searched the net for templates and instructions for various designs but after my fourth attempt ended up in the bin I made my own!


I then cut mats from dark brown card to fit the three sections. I used rectangle dies with a stitched edge from The Works (£5!). The dies weren't quite long enough so I only ran the card part way through my machine then moved the die to the length I needed and run it through the machine again. The second mat is a design printed from a CD and the same process used to lengthen the mat. The backing paper design I used is from DoCrafts Digital Designer and is called Woodland Folk and Friends. I used the Woodland Folk section called Everyday but lightened it a touch.


I inked up a piece of white card with 4 Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Dried Marigold, Festive Berries and Vintage Photo. I left it to dry overnight and then used it to die cut all the leaves. These large leaves were cut using Creative dies that were free in a craft magazine. The words 'Autumn' and 'Leaves' are cut using Tonic DuoCap Initials - Pretoria Dies.


The tree was cut out three times from card and all glued together to make it stronger as I wanted it to overhang the edge of the card. It's glued to the card using silicon glue to raise it up from the card. The tree die is from Die'sire called Four Seasons and these leaf dies are from a Signature Collection - Autumn Morning by Sara Davies called Tumbling Leaves.


This pile of leaves were cut using dies in the set with the tree die. The acorn die is an XCut set called Woodland Gift Tags. There's lots of tiny dies in this set - perfect for using on ATCs. The hedgehog was a free die with Papercrafter magazine issue 111.
I'm really pleased with how the following leaves turned out. I think the colours of the Distress Inks worked well. I bent the edges of the leaves up and only glued along the middle vein using silicon glue so they stood out from the card.



But my favourite part of this card is this little hedgehog!


Isn't it cute? Hubby and I have several hedgehogs visiting our garden and put food out for them. 
This theme runs until Saturday 4th November at 13:00 and Jocelyn will choose her top three favourites from the entries. Her chosen number one will receive a prize so make sure you get your entries in on time and to include something printed from a craft CD - Good Luck!

Sunday 8 October 2017

For The Love Of Dogs - CD Sunday

At CD Sunday this time the theme is 'For The Love Of Dogs' which has been chosen by Margaret. When I saw the theme I wasn't too happy with Margaret! Cats I can do - I adore them, but did I have anything dog related? So I started looking through my stash and came across some cat stamp and dies that I'd bought recently and there were dogs as well as cats! Phew - Tim Holtz to the rescue LOL! You're forgiven Margaret!
My most recent sister - in - law runs a dog walking business and it's her birthday on 23rd Deember. She misses out with her birthday being so close to Christmas so I thought I'd go over the top and make her something really special. As well as running her business she owns two gorgeous dogs. Bess has been with her for a few years and Denver is one year old. I talked my brother into emailing me some photos of the dogs so I could personalise my project. So I now had loads of doggie images to use and decided a pop up box card would be the best way to show them off. I've never made one before so turned to YouTube where I found a brilliant video that shows a very simple way to make one. I you want to look it up search for 'pop up box card' and find the one by Sabrina Radeck.
As my SIL's dogs are mainly black I made the box out of black card from Creative Crafting World - Linda's black card. I also needed an element from a CD so printed off a paw print paper from Sharon Duncan's Embossibilities Celebration Cd. Out of the 22 colours I chose a light grey. I found it easier to decorate the sides and flaps of the box while it was flat, before gluing the sides together. You can do it afterwards if you want as the box closes flat for putting into an envelope. The pop up dogs were all added after the box was made in order to have them at different heights and so they could all been seen from the front. They're glued to stripes of acetate of varying lengths.

There's now lots of photos following this and you don't have to read any thing after them if you don't want to. After the photos I've explained how I did all the pop up dogs as I used a clever technique to line up stamps and their matching dies. And also there's a little bit about the real dogs.




This is the box closed ready to go in the envelope. The paw print paper is the one from the Cd. I added more die cuts from the same set as the dogs. The paper clip is only there to hold it closed for the photo. 



The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project but you must include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamps or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. Now you may think that these instructions are easy enough but in every challenge we have entries that can't be picked as a winner. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed. 

This theme runs until Saturday 21st October at 13:00 and Margaret will choose her top three favourites from the entries. Her chosen number one will receive a prize so make sure you get your entries in on time and to include something printed from a craft CD - Good Luck!


Aligning stamps with the matching die cuts:

The stamps I used were from Stampers Anonymous by Tim Holtz and is called Mini Cats and Dogs CMS272.
The matching dies are Sizzix Framelits by Tim Holtz and they are called Mini Crazy Cats and Dogs 661594.

I can't claim this technique as my own, I've read it in several craft magazines and also on Face-book craft groups.
Take a piece of card and cut out your die - keep the 'waste' piece that you would normally throw away. I used the Tim Holtz/Tonic Stamping Platform to do my stamping but you may find other ways of lining things up. I placed a scrap piece of card onto my stamping platform, put my stamp in the middle of the card and closed the lid, which picks the stamp up. Ink the stamp and close the lid to leave an impression on your piece of card. Now take the 'waste' piece with the die cut shape cut out and line it up over your stamped image. Make sure you don't move the stamped image while doing this. Either tape the die cut waste down or use magnets to hold it in place. Now place your die cut shape from earlier back into the piece of card you'd cut it from. Re-ink your stamp and close the lid, when you open the lid again you will have the image stamped centrally onto your die cut! Simples! 
There's no other way I would have been able to stamp and die cut these eyes/noses/tongues etc.




Introducing the stars of the show:


This is Bess, she's a working dog and helps my SIL keep the other dogs under control when they are being walked. She's always waiting to be given instructions on what is expected of her from my SIL. She was ring barer at my brother and SIL's wedding last year and she stole the show and everyone's hearts.
This handsome young man is Denver. He's only one year old and he's grown so big in that time. He's full of energy and loves nothing more than to be splashing around in water. He also likes watching TV especially the sheep dog trials on Country File - I kid you not!

This is the two dogs together - Denver certainly knows that Bess is the boss!

Sunday 24 September 2017

Mellow yellow - CD Sunday

The CD Sunday challenge is all about making items using craft CD Roms. You can use other craft items on your card/project but you must include something from a CD. So if you like colouring stamps or digis you can still enter the challenge but you must include something from a CD such as a backing paper, a sentiment or a butterfly for example. In your blog post you must give the name of the CD you've used. This is especially important if the items you've used can be bought as a download as well as a CD as the Design Team can't tell which has been used unless you tell us. Your card can't be in considered for a prize if you haven't used a CD or if you haven't told us the name of the CD in your post. Now you may think that these instructions are easy enough but in every challenge we have entries that can't be picked as a winner. The Design Team still leave comments on the blogs but there's no chance of winning if the above hasn't been followed. OK enough of that onto my card for this theme.
Mellow Yellow is the new theme for the CD Sunday Challenge picked by Wynn. 
Mellow Yellow brought to my mind an image of a sun with the rays branching out from the centre. So I was quite pleased when I opened Papercraft Inspirations magazine, issue 167, and found a guide on how to make Starburst cards. 
I had to use yellow in the design, as per Wynn's theme, and knew that Kraft card went well with yellow so I set about looking through my craft CDs for backing papers that went together.
This is my finished card, which includes a few 'firsts' for me:
                                                    


I started with a cream card blank and covered it with Kraft card which was then covered with the first of the backing papers - that was the easy, quick bit done LOL!
For the starburst/sunray effect I chose 3 further backing papers which were cut into 11 cm lengths but different widths. Here comes one of the firsts! Each piece had to have the edges inked and I always shy away from this as I make a right mess. I used Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and I'm pleased with how it turned out although it's not very noticeable in the photos. These rectangles were then cut in half to make triangles which were glued onto Kraft card. 
A second, smaller rectangular mat of Kraft card was covered with the spotty backing paper and the triangles were then arranged to form the sunburst. I used foam tape to raise them up from the spotty paper. The triangles are made to be too long for the mat so you then cut off the overhanging edges.
Time for the another first! A faux stitch effect was added to the papers with a black fine liner. I made a right mess of this with different sized stitches and wonky lines. I've since read somewhere to use a piece of card in order to keep the lines straight. If you use a plastic ruler the ink can stay wet on it and then smudge your paper.

                                                       

I then added my own take on the design by making a faux bow and sticking the bow and a length of ribbon to a piece of Kraft card and placing it along the lower half of the design. The ribbon was taken around the back of the mat and glued in place. The whole layer was then glued to the prepared card blank. To cover the area where the 'rays' join together I die cut a scalloped circle from Kraft card and a plain circle from yellow card. A sentiment was then stamped onto the yellow card.
I finished the card by glueing yellow dew drops onto the centre of the ribbon and the centre of the sentiment. Finally I added some really tiny dew drops to the top right and bottom left of the second layer of Kraft card - again they're difficult to see in the photos.


The challenge runs until Saturday 7th October at 13:00. Please don't forget to include something from a Cd!

The CDs I used are all from Creative Crafting World - Perfect Essential Companions, Perfect Forever Companions and Perfect Floral Companions.



Sunday 10 September 2017

Clean and Simple - CD Sunday

Thanks to everyone who entered my challenge 'Let's Hear It For The Boys'. I'll be picking a Top Three and the winner will receive the prize that I have ready and waiting to go in the post. Sadly a few people either didn't use something from a CD or didn't name the Cd in their blog post so can't be considered for the prize.
This time it's Meg who has chosen the CD Sunday theme and she has picked 'Clean And Simple'. A perfect theme if you need to make a card in a hurry as there's no need to use loads of mats and layers or embellishments.
I decided to add to my Christmas card supply and I knew where to head for some lovely papers and images - DoCrafts Digital Designer. Sadly this isn't available anymore which is a shame as it has some really lovely designs. 
I chose Henbury Lane - Poinsetta.



I put the design together on screen using an image of some presents layered onto a very pale green paper,a sentiment in a darker shade of green and a pale green mistletoe design backing paper. I was going to print it out as one layer but decided the image surrounded by the pale green paper wasn't standing out and that it needed a white mat between it and the mistletoe paper.
After I'd printed it I cut the image out using a Tonic Studio Essentials Mixed Edge Oval Layering Basic die (could they have made the name any longer?). I thought I'd used the right size oval die but it was a little to big and left a very small white edge. When I tried the topper on the backing paper I decided I liked the look so I then cut the BP slightly smaller than the card front leaving a small border of the white card to match.
I only added holly corner peel offs to finish the card and my Clean And Simple card was complete!




Meg's theme runs until Saturday 23rd September at 1 pm. Don't forget to follow the 2 rules - you must use something from a craft Cd and you must name that Cd in your blog post. You can use a download on your card as long as you also use something from a Cd. So you could use a downloaded image with a backing paper from a Cd for example. Meg will pick her Top Three cards/projects and has a prize for the winner - good luck!

Sunday 27 August 2017

Let's Hear It For The Boys - CD Sunday

It's my turn to choose the theme for the next 2 weeks at CD Sunday. I know we all find male cards difficult to make but do we find it easier to make cards for little boys? So I chose 'Let's Hear It For The Boys' as my theme but your make doesn't have to be for a young child it could be for a teenager or a grown man.
I knew I had a project Cd that had several makes that would fit the theme - I just had to pick which one I wanted to do.
So meet Metal Mickey!


On the Cd he's called Robot Ralph which I didn't think was very roboty so as I've used craft metal to decorate him I changed his name to Metal Mickey. The Cd is from PolkaDoodles and is called Paper Boutique. It's from 2011 so quite old but the projects are still useable. The Cd gives you a template to print and cut out to make the card base plus another sheet with all the parts of the robot to cut out and stick to the template. From this printed sheet I only used the face, with the teeth included, as the other parts I used as template and cut them from funky foam and craft metal.
The blue craft metal has been embossed with a hessian embossing folder and the green with a dotted matrix folder. I didn't run the folders through a machine as I thought the pressure would make holes in the metal as it's quite thin. Instead I put the metal in the folder and then just rubbed over with an embossing tool which worked really well.
For the eye area I cut out the printed rectangle and layered a smaller craft metal layer on top. I then pushed 2 green jewel brads through the 2 layers for eyes. This was then put on foam tape to lift it up from the face. The teeth were already printed onto the face so I just used glossy accents on them. 
Are the things sticking out of the side of his head aerials? I wanted them to look 3D so firstly I glued a black button on and then a small circle of silver card on the top..
I drew an 'M' onto a piece of holographic plastic and cut it out then glued it to the top of his head. Now everyone knows his name begins with the letter M LOL!



The arms and legs were cut from red funky foam with the hands, knees and feet cut from black funky foam with metal brads added just for effect. At this point he started to look like Father Christmas which is why I then did the rest of him in different coloured metals.
My favourite part is his belly! On the Cd he just has lights, buttons and Happy Birthday but I wanted to add cogs to make it look like the workings inside him. These were also cut from craft metal using a Sheena Douglass die set - Perfect Partners Time Traveller Geared Up. I then used the printed lights as a template to make the yellow and orange lights, layered them up and coated the top layer with glossy accents. I glued all this to the embossed green craft metal but it all looked too flat. So then I set about trying to find a square plastic 'bubble' to fit over it all. I like to recycle items - ask anyone who has received an ATC from me when the theme has been 'recycle' LOL! So I had lots of plastic bubbles cut from old packaging but none of them fitted or were too deep. So I decided to make my own. Using a piece of thick plastic packaging I scored around it and bent the edges to form the bubble - perfect fit! I had to use red liner tape to get it to stick to the craft metal as no other glue would hold it. To finish it I glued a green 'go' button and a larger red 'stop' one to the outside.



For the inside I printed off 2 sheets of backing paper from the Cd that has rockets, stars and planets on it. I also used the printed 'Happy Birthday' from the sheet that should have been on his belly but layered it up on the inside of the card.



My theme runs until Saturday 9th September at 1 pm. To be considered for the prize I have you must use something from a craft Cd. It doesn't matter how small the element is, it could be a sentiment, a tag, a bow etc. but it must be from a Cd. You can use a download on your card as long as you also use something from a Cd. So you could use a downloaded image with a backing paper from a Cd for example. You must also state the name of the Cd in your blog post. The design team may visit your blog and leave comments but if you haven't followed these 2 rules then your entry won't be considered for the prize.
I hope the new school term (in England and Wales) doesn't stop you from crafting and entering my challenge - I look forward to seeing your entries.





Sunday 13 August 2017

Past Times - CD Sunday

The challenge at CD Sunday this time has been chosen by Jane and she has picked 'Past Times'. I knew I had a Cd that was perfect for this theme - I'd won it in a prize draw from a now defunct craft magazine. It's called 'Summer of 59' and is from Krafty Hands(who also appear to no longer exist!).
I wanted to use several of the images from the Cd and decided the best way to do that was to make an accordion card. I have a couple of Die'sire Create-A-Card Accordion dies that I bought from eBay fairly recently and chose the circle version of the accordion die for this card.



I copy and pasted the images into Word and resized them so they would fit the central circular section. I then cut 4 pages using the main die and decorated each of the pages using a Die'sire Create-A-Card Filigree Circle Overlay die cut out of Tonic Craft Perfect card in toning colours to match each of the Cd images. I made a small string of bunting using a Tonic Jubilant Jubilee Bunting die and used Promarkers to colour it to match the rest of the card. And basically that's all that I did - the accordion dies did most of the work I just had to assemble it!

This is the front of the card:



The first 2 pages:      




The middle 2 pages:      

 The last 2 pages:          



I also decorated the back of each section using the same colour as the front but different images of the women.


The first 2 pages:       
                                   

 The back of the last 2 pages:    



And finally the back of the card:



The challenge ends at 13:00 on Saturday 26th August. To qualify for the prize you must use something from a craft Cd (not a download) and you must name that CD in your post.