WOW! Some new stamps :)

Very exciting news – WOW! Embossing Powders have new stamp designs available. Here’s a quick card showing some of them, with a minimalist design suitable for beginners.

I’m entering it into the ‘Less is More’ one layer challenge this week as well. I’ve prepared an instruction sheet ready for the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC, Birmingham (22nd-25th March) – here – I’d love you to have a look and let me know if it’s clear enough!

 

Twelve Tags for 2012 – March & April

Hi all – my journey into 2012 in tags continues, with March and April ready to be taught at the Manic Stamper Craft Club on 17th March. I note that a certain Mr Tim Holtz has copied me copying him and is doing his own monthly tags too 😉 – check them out here. But before you do – here’s mine! Full instructions for March and April are posted over at The Manic Stamper blog.

An old magazine and a bit of Brasso?

Recycling is all the rage these days – apparently making something you’re about to throw away into something useful and beautiful is now known as upcycling. Here’s how to upcycle a glossy magazine page into a pretty greetings card using Brasso, embossing powder and a bit of elbow grease.

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More ATCs and a Gift Box

I’ve been busy melting powders today… the last of my ATCs for this weekend’s swap with the Wow! Embossing Powder Design Team are complete! As normal, the photo doesn’t quite do them justice 🙁

And the last of my creations to be made in time for the trade show at the NEC is this lovely gift box – it’s just 5 cm square at the base and made from a sheet of A4 coloured card. The stamps are all from Wow! Embossing Powder, as is the fabulous no-messing-about-with-antistatic-bags white embossing powder.

Self-closing box instructions

Following several requests (well, at least one!), here are instructions for making my self-closing box using the printable template on my Template page.

Either print or trace the outlines from the template onto a sheet of A4 card (at least 160gsm recommended)
Cut round the solid lines
Using a scoring blade in your personal cutter, or an embossing tool or other scoring technique of your choice, score the dotted lines
Crease all the scored lines, folding upwards. Add a strip of double sided tape to the underside of the tab (red strip in photo)
Stick down the tab to the inside (printed) side of the last (right hand) section of the box, to make a pentagonal cylinder
The tags tuck under one another to close the box – you should end up with a nice swirl. To unlock, just pull one of the hooks from the rest. By doing the same top and bottom, you can create a horizontal box like the centre of a Christmas Cracker
If you want a vertical standing box, try tucking the hooks toward the inside of the box – this is tricky and fiddly, but gives this smooth bottom closure
And this is what it would look like on the inside.
Hope this helps! If you want a video version of this, then I’ll point you toward my Amazon wish list so you can get me the webcam I’d like to set up video tutorials 🙂

Wow! A Mother’s Day Bouquet

I’ve posted another project over at Wow! Embossing Powder blog as part of their design team. This time I have designed a bouquet in a perfectly formed custom gift box, making use of the February fluorescent theme colours. Pop over for the instructions.

Templates and instructions for the box can be found on my new Templates page – look in the toolbar above, or click here.

New ‘Templates’ section

In readiness for my next Wow! Embossing Powders project, I’ve added a new section to my blog to hold a library of templates that I have used over the years. The first to appear are a self-closing box and base that I designed to be made from a sheet of A4 in acetate, though it would work well enough in card too. Please have a peek, using the link on the toolbar under the blog title, and let me know if I need to add any assembly instructions!

Twelve Tags of 2012 – January

I’ve been inspired by Tim Holtz’s Twelve Tags of Christmas, and decided I’d give some creative thought towards my own ‘Twelve Tags for 2012’. This has the added bonus of giving me some projects for this year at The Manic Stamper Craft Club! The muse developed to a design, and the design has developed into a prototype and that then developed into my final version of the tag for January. Please let me know what you think 🙂

I’m chuffed with the snowdrops, since I didn’t have any inspiration other than a photo of a real one – and it all starts as a daisy! If you want to know how to do your own, the instructions are over at the Manic Stamper blog.