A Christmas Explosion box !

Hi and thanks for visiting :-)

I did a workshop at a new local store about 10 days ago to make this 'Explosion Box'. About 2 years ago, I bought an Explosion Box kit from another place after seeing one made up, and was keen to open up the kit and get cracking - except that once I read the instructions and sat there and frowned alot and thought that my head would probably explode instead of the box, I packed it all up again and put it aside {sigh}. That's not to say that the instructions were hard to follow - I'm just not very good with instructions - I'm more of a visual person who needs to watch someone do it step-by-step, and then I'll be fine. Mine is a little rough - some panels aren't quite on straight and I smudged the sentiment, but I'm just keeping it as a sample so that doesn't matter. Using a Scor-Pal made the whole process very easy!

The designer paper is the new Basic Grey Jovial range and the bow on top was made using Sizzix Bigz Die - Bow, Create-a-Bow #656544. There are three different sized dies in the pack to make the bow - you diecut several of each size and then you use a brad to hold them in while you are putting it together (quite fiddly!). The workshop teacher put this die thru her Cuttlebug but I don't know what sandwich she used (I didn't even know you could use the Sizzix Bigz dies in the CB). Here is a link to the die on Sizzix and if you Google the name, it appears to be readily available in Australia as well as the UK and the USA.

The next pic of the box is after you take the lid off to (partially) reveal the folded layers of cardstock/designer paper.

And the next two pics are the inside once you open it right out. You will see that there are two layers of cardstock: the burgundy plus the brown - the brown cardstock is cut slighly smaller than the burgundy, otherwise the box won't close.

I'm not sure who made the sentiment - it may possibly be Stampin' Up. If you do know, drop me an email or leave a comment, and I'll update this post.

The tags are supposed to have little photos or a handwritten message on them - or whatever you like - and I have seen one of these boxes with lots of family photos instead of having the tags and the bit they tuck into. The tags were diecut with a Sizzix Bigz Die - Tag, Super Crescent #656341 which was also put through the Cuttlebug.

I did an Internet Search to find some instructions for you - as I don't think I could explain it without a step-by-step tutorial and accompanying photos.

Here is a tutorial by Marie Aviza (her lid is deeper than mine but the rest of the box is virtually the same), and here is a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers (you have to be a member of Splitcoasters to be able to view this tutorial). If you Google "Explosion Box tutorial", you will bring more variations on the theme and there seems to be some videos on You Tube (I haven't watched them so I can't vouch for them being easy to follow etc).

Thanks again for stopping by - back in a few days!

Penny Black Feeding Frenzy - birthday card for my BIL

Hello and welcome to my Blog!

I made this little birthday card for my BIL's birthday - he loves dogs so it wasn't a hard choice to pick a stamp with a Penny Black dog on it! I only bought this cute little stamp the other day and couldn't wait to ink it up - it's so adorable - and I love how their little tails are furiously wagging.

I stamped the image onto Watercolour paper and watercoloured it with acrylic paints. The main image panel and sentiment are up on mounts (dimensionals), The bone is a button and the designer paper is digital.

The sentiment stamp originally had a present in the centre, but I masked it out so I could put the paw pad button there instead.

I am popping this card into the Splitcoaststampers 'Free for All' F4A17 Challenge of 'Man's Best Friend' eg: dog, cats, fish, reptiles etc.

Plus I am also entering the card into the 'Stampin' for the Weekend' Challenge 45 of 'Anything Goes' which can be anything as long as it has a stamped or digi image on it. Makes it a nice and easy challenge :-)

Thanks again for stopping by! Back in a few days with another card.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black 'Feeding Frenzy' 1701H, Sentiment - Stampin' Up 'Riveting' set

Ink: Stazon Jet black, Colorbox Chestnut Roan chalk

Designer paper: NitWit Collections Fat Quarter Bundle Series "Me-Wow" ©2009 by Mary Fran of www.nitwitcollections.com

Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swiss dots embossing folder, Spellbinder, Circle Nestabilities, 140lb Watercolour paper, JoSonya acrylic paints, paintbrushes, Shelly's buttons & more - Tiny Dogs, chocolate grosgrain ribbon, 1mm/1.5mm mounts (dimensionals), paper piercer, Bazzill InStitchz mat (used for piercing), Cardstock: mustard, chocolate

A very vintage Christmas from the NEW Debbi Moore Vintage Christmas CD

Hello and welcome to my Blog :-)

This is a DT card for Fat Cat's Card Corner using the new Debbi Moore CD range of printable images.  This particular image (the centre panel, ie: the Church) is from the Vintage Christmas CD and there are 100 images for you to play with.  Now I have to say that I LOVE Vintage cards but haven't really made them until this card - I've had all the tools and I have a little collection of Vintage-style Christmas dp's and embellies, but wasn't quite sure what to do.  So what better way to start, than to jump in the deep end - plus it was easy starting with an image that I didn't HAVE to colour - the job was already done LOL!!

There are instructions on the CD on how to print the images - you don't need any fancy software.  I printed the image out onto white cardstock using my Canon printer on the "highest" quality.  Easy peasy!

The designer paper is by Webster's pages Holiday Collection Combo pack 6" x 6" pad which I bought last year.  I literally squealed with delight when I saw that the same colours on a lot of the Vintage images on the CD match this Webster paper pad perfectly even down to the aqua roof on the Church!  A match made in heaven!

I distressed each layer with a blending tool and Antique Linen distress ink.  The main image panel is up on 1mm mounts (dimensionals) as is the sentiment circle.  The sentiment is from a retired Stampin' Up set called 'Riveting'.

I added some fine red glitter to the berries on the designer paper.  The poinsettias have a sparkly star brad in the centre and were glued on using Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue (LOVE this stuff!!).  I sprayed the whole card with Gold Glimmer Mist which adds a lovely subtle sparkle.

I did a very simple card inside:

I used my Labels 1 Nesties to diecut the cream cardstock sentiment panel to match the same shape as on the designer paper on the card front, then heavily distressed it with Antique Linen ink.  As you can see, I need a bit more practice with distressing so I don't get any hard edges!  The sentiment is from a gorgeous set by Waltzingmouse Stamps called 'Very Vintage Christmas'.  Waltzingmouse Stamps are based in Ireland and post worldwide.  The decorative border was made with a Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge punch - there is a score line just above the border which I made with a Martha Stewart Scoring board.

Check out the other Debbi Moore CD's at Fat Cat's Card Corner.  There is a large range to suit your taste - from Silhouette to Oriental, to Art Deco to Sepia, Men's & Boys, Cats, Vintage Flowers and more!  Plus there are also Debbi Moore stamp sets.

Thanks again for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  SU Riveting sentiment set, Waltingmouse Very Vintage Christmas clear stamp set

Ink:  Colorbox Dark Moss chalk ink (for sentiments), Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink

Designer paper:  Webster's pages Holiday Collection combo pack 6" x 6" pad

Accessories:  Debbi Moore Vintage Christmas CD, Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Circle Nesties & Labels 1 Nesties, Ranger Inkssentials blending tool and foam pad, ribbon - Making Memories 'Fa La La', 1mm mounts (dimensionals), Glimmer Mist - Iridescent gold, fine red glitter, Tim Holtz Prima Poinsettias, red glittery star brad - Making Memories, Crafter's Pick Incredibly tacky glue, MS Arch Lattice edge punch, MS Scoring board, Cardstock:  olive green, white, cream, burgundy

Another Christmas card using the Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland set

Hello and thanks for popping by my Blog :-)

Haven't had much time for cardmaking this week because it's school holidays plus it was my DD's 7th birthday. We went to see Toy Story 3 and it was really fun - highly entertaining for both children and adults.

I did manage to squeeze in another quick one-layer-card this past week again using one of the folders from the new Cuttlebug Winter Wonderland set except this time I turned the folder up the other way. Here is the link to the first card I made using this folder.

I watercoloured the image with acrylic paints and added blue transparent Art Institute glitter to the letters and orange glitter to the snowman's hat. I added Crystal Lacquer to the snowman's hat so it looks all shiny. The ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

I'm also popping this card into the Splitcoaststampers Clean and Simple Challenge CAS02 of 'One button will do'. See this link for the deets.

Thanks again for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Stampin' Up Big on Christmas (retired)

Ink: Stazon Jet black

Accessories: JoSonya acrylic paints, paint brushes, crystal lacquer, Art Institute transparent blue and orange glitter (from Shabby Chic set), Art Institute Designer Dries clear glue, Cuttlebug, Winter Wonderland embossing folder set, 10mm wide ribbon, blue button, blue sewing thread, Stampin' Up corner punch, Bow Easy, cardstock: white