Happy Hallowe'en

 Good morning,

Today, I've found out my Happy haunting collection by Craft Consortium Ltd that they sent me last year. It is still current and available on their website so I thought I'd have another play. The images are really cute not scary; another design by Helz Cupleditch. I thumbed through the papers and refreshed my memory of how lovely they all are and what super quality. Some of the papers have embosed lines as if you'd stamped and heat embossed them. 

I decided to use one of the panorama strips with the beautiful cobweb paper with the torn paper technique to reveal the scene through the cobweb design. Here is how I made it:

I trimmed A4 black card to 11 1/2 length  and folded to make tent card base. I cut the spider paper to 8 x 5 1/2 and cut the scene strip from 12 x 12 paper pad which is approx 4" wide. Holding the spider paper over the strip, I yey-balled where to tear it, pulling the centre towards me to reveal a white torn edge. I trimmed the tear to approx 1/3 of the length and rolled around a paint brush before adhering to the main paper. I adhered the scene behind the spider paper near the torn edges and kept the left hand edge straight before adhering it all to the base. Luckily I had a Paper Boutique sentiment die that was perfect and I finished it with pearls from the Happy Haunting Collection. 

For a simple insert, I stamped the Happy Hallowe'en sentiment, cute hanging spider and flying bat from the stamp set. So many cute stamps to choose from!

An easy technique but the card is better given by hand because of the depth of the rolled paper. - or posted in a stout box.  Hope you give it a try. 

See you soon,

Lesley x

Tartan Doorhanger Treat

Hello again crafters, 

Here is my second project with the terrific tartan papers as I'm calling them! I was inspired by my US friend Karen to try this style, but after researching YT and watching tutorials, I couldnt quite see the size I was looking for. So, I ended up making up my own sizes and probably amalgamating ideas from several people. I don't know who came up with the original idea so I think it would be unfair of me to name just one of the many tutorials I saw.

These would make  super thank you gifts for Teachers, Hallowe'en, Easter, in fact almost any time or occasion and could be easily personalised with a name, large sentiment, card topper, die......  

Here, I've used a JND poinsettia die and stamped and embossed an overlay with some twigs from my stash. Luckily, I had some poinsettias left over from last year. I tend to batch-make these in various sizes, when I am in the mood, and then they are ready to go for a quick project. 

I am confident that I will be making something similar with different papers very soon and might even be tempted to make a video.

If  anyone would like a free template, please subscribe to my blog, leave me a kind comment below and your email to send the pdf.

Have a go yourself and do try these terrific tartan papers from Craft Consortium.

Keep safe,

Lesley

Candy Christmas Shadow Box

 More supplies arrived this morning from Craft Consortium so it woud have been ungrateful not to play, wouldn't it? I got 6 x6 papers in the "Candy Christmas" collection plus washi tape that I had been waiting for, and  top ups for the "Tis the Season" collection too. 

Candy Christmas won and I set to, making a card. I often mix papers from both size pads and today I chose the 4 x 4 toppers, a little decoupage , co-ordinating papers and the 6x6 pad. And glitter! How could I forget that! The front of the card needed a little "je ne sais quoi" and there it was - the pack of sequins. These snow flake ones are soo pretty as they are holographic and really glisten in the light. 

This is what I made.

I already have a tutorial on my blog for the shadow box with different papers, so if you go back a few posts all the instructions will be there. I used a different shape die this time for the aperture as the toppers in the pad are square and I thought this shape went better with the whimsical images in the collection.

The card folds flat and will fit into a 6 x 6 square envelope. Result! 

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a kind comment below and pop over to see more makes on my socials - I dont always have the time to blog every one.

https://www.instagram.com/elegant_edges_crafts/?hl=en

You'll also find my posts on the Craft Consortium Network Facebook group. 

Back soon

Lesley x

All kilted up

After two projects with the Terrific Tartan papers from Craft Consortium, I was ready for a card. When I think of Tartan, what springs to mind? A Scot, with a shapely leg, sporting a kilt! I didnt manage the leg but here is a kilt card. 

 I spotted a couple of kilts on Pinterest but didnt find a tutorial, so I hope this is helpful if you want to make something similar. 

I started with a premade 6" card blank that measured 5 3/4 (I know, don't ask!) and matted with the smallest design from the 12 x 12 Tartan papers 5 1/2 x 5 1/2.

To make the kilt I cut a strip 6 1/2" x 2 1/2". If I were making another kilt I would check the pattern carefully and get it centred on the tartan across the front of the kilt. Try cutting and scoring copy paper and centring that on the best tartan paper to do this. Score the strip at 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, 2, 2 1/2, turn and score same from other edge. fold the first fold each side under and then do valley, mountain etc to centre. Don't burnish. Secure these fold with  narrow red liner tape across the back. 

To make the natural look of a moving A-Line to the kilt, gently pull out the pleats each side, then burnish the folds, keeping the centre panel square. add more tape to the back to secure folds lower down. Add a strip of dimensional foam tape down the centre back to keep it flat. Trim the top of the kilt straight. Cut a narrow strip of black card for the waistband that is wider than the kilt and wrap arond like a bellyband, secure when happy. Take a black  marker and colour the edge of the kilt paper behind the waistband so that it is not noticeable. 

To make the Sporran

I cut a small scrap of black card about 1/2" wide, rounded corners one end and cut to 5/8"

Then I layered white on top cutting narrower and rouning coners. To make the tassels I cut 3 pieces of black linen thread and knotted at one end fraying the ends and trimming so tassel ends were the same. I placed red liner tape on back of sporran base and arranged three tassels on top. To cover the top I cut a flap free hand from the rest of scrap card, added a fold and glued from the back. 

the chains to hold the sporran are silver peel-offs. I have a mountain of these in my stash so great to use even a tiny bit! I wrapped the peel offs around the kilt and adhered sporran on top.

I matted this onto 3 1/2" square white card that I embossed with an argyle folder by Craftwell to continue the theme, black card 3 7/8 and white again 4".

Let me know if you try this.

Happy crafting,

Lesley

Countdown to Christmas

Here is the first of my projects with the terrific tartan papers from Craft Consortium that I introduced in my last entry. 

It's a new take on a perpetual calendar - 

There is a drawer all across the bottom of the unit, above that three pillar shapes sit with a different month on each side, and on top sit two cubes for the days. 

I printed the months on the PC to get the required size,  trimmed thes trips to fit and lightly brushed with pine green ink to bring the colours together. Although I roughly followed a project on YouTube, I found the sizes didn't fit very well and I had to adjust everything. I made the cubes smaller so they fitted with a little more room as I covered all sides of the outside holder. I ended up making templates from copy paper to check all the sizes of the YT and adjusted to fit before wasting card. I really love the project and the flat bow is such an easy trick and worth remembering.

Instead of December, I substituted Christmas so it can be used as an advent countdown; much safer than having candles with young children about. I used various different patterns from the 12 x 12 Tartan pad to show how well they look when cut and go together. Papers from a 6 x 6 pad would work for this project too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jRltKVDba8&t=3s

A fun make and especially good with these lovely Tartan papers. Do comment below if you try it and let me know if you enjoy these papers please.

Have fun!

Lesley

Here is the link for them:

www.CraftConsortium.com

Essential papers - Tartan   available in 6 x6  and 12 x 12

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 Good morning everyone,

I've never been a really big fan of checked papers until I opened my Christmas goodies from Craft Consortium and saw the wonderful Tartan Essential papers. 

Obviously with green and red they are perfect for traditional Christmas projects but there are blues and browns, too. Great for the men. 30 Double-sided sheets with 20 different designs, so there should be plenty to keep me busy here for a while and this si just the first one of three different collections.

They are available from Craft Consortium Ltd and other good craft stores. 

My first project is finished but the blog post will take me a little longer to complete. Hope to see you soon to show you the finished article 

Products:

www.craftconsortium.com  Essential Craft Papers   Tartan   

Magic Box

Here is a walk-through of an inriguing little box Imade with the fabulous new Ink Drops Rose papers from Craft Consortium. These are just so pretty and I had been wanting to make this box for a while, so....

If you would like instructions for this box, please leave me a comment below or on YouTube  and dont forget to subscribe to my channel please. It really makes a difference. 

Meanwhile, let me leave you with a photo of the cover of the paper pad so you have a taste of all the different papers and the lovely colour palette.

Triple Twisted easel card

 

Once I started playing with the Hippest Hippo stamps and dies, I knew that they would be such fun with this style of card.

I am writing these instructions in a hurry as I am in the middle if designing for a new launch but as I promised a new subscriber – so here you are.

I made mine in centimetres but it is easy to convert to inches and I have attempted to write sizes for US card. The method is exactly the same.

Score and fold on the dotted line and cut on the red lines.

Metric

base   20cm x 14.7.  

1.     fold in half at 10 cm on long side

2.     Turn card and on short side  CUT at 4.9 cm to the score line, and again at 9.8 cm.

3.     score across the diagonal as shown

4.     fold and burnish

matts

2 patterns of DSP cut 3 of each 4.4 x 9.5 cm and cut across diagonal THE SAME WAY as card. Use 3 of each and there will be paper left to make another card reversing the DSP designs.

 

US Letter size card

base 5 ¼ x 8 ½

1.     score in half at 4 ¼ on long side

2.     turn card and cut 1 ¾ to score line and again 3 ½

3.     score as metric from corner to cut line as diagram

4.     fold and burnish

matts

2 different patterns DSP. Cut 3 of each 1 ½ x 4

UK  using A4 card and inches

base 5 ¼ x 8 ¼   score at 4 1/8, then as US

matts  1 ½ x 3 ¾

 

ALL SIZES

Adhere DSP to card and find suitable stopper – I used a flower from the die set to hold each twisted  easel in place BEFORE finishing the decoration and adding Hippest hippos so that you can align the characters properly.

 

Once you’ve tried it, this is such an easy fold

 

Happy crafting everyone