It Arrived!

[Picture coming soon]
Two weeks ago I told you about a great online rubber stamp manufacturer which I'd found - www.simonstamp.com. Well, I've since put my order in and now my own stamp has arrived!

The ordering process was really simple - I just selected the size I wanted and then uploaded my image. If you like you can add some extra text - or use their selection of images.

With postage the total cost was $13.60 or £7.37 which for my own design is a bargain! It took 10 days to arrive which was great and there were faster services if you can't wait that long.

So why not get your own made up? Mine is a print of my logo and website so that I can print it directly onto the back of all my cards. Hopefully this should act as good advertising for my cards and I may get some more orders from it!

I'll get a picture put up here so you can see my design - check back soon!

Christmas Design One

I've decided that it's time to start sharing my Christmas designs with you so here is the first installment of three.

This stylish Christmas tree can be made very quickly and can use up odd scraps of paper and card. You will notice, over time, that the majority of my cards are made on tall and slim blanks. I prefer this to using the traditional A6 card as I think it looks more special.

1. Cut three triangles the same size from different coloured paper or card.
2. Cut each one along the bottom edge with special effect scissors, you should cut different amounts off each to make them different sizes. I suggest you play around with different sizes and angles to get what you think looks best.
3. Cut out a little plant pot shape to go at the bottom of the tree.
4. Glue all the tree parts together as shown - overlapping them slightly.
5. For the foil background I've used an old sweet wrapper. I just flattened it out and trimmed it so that it was just larger than the tree.
6. Cut out a piece of Christmas Red paper, this time just larger than the foil.
7. Combine the tree, foil and red paper, twisting them at odd angles and mount onto your card blank.
8. Stick a 'Merry Christmas' sticker onto another piece of the red paper. Cut out so that it will fit nicely onto the card. Mount it near the bottom of your card blank.
9. Glue three small star shaped sequins onto the card blank as shown.

I hope you enjoy making this card as much as I enjoyed designing it. Also - if you want to make it extra special you could add a star or gem to the top of the tree!

I'm only going to look...

...at least that's what I try to tell myself.

Last week I talked about going to the shops and buying the bits you need to make your new designs. However, I have a weakness when it comes to shopping. I popped into Ikea on Saturday to buy a new box to keep my ever expanding craft items in and couldn't resist having a look around the whole store. During my visit I found a complete bargain - some garlands of hearts for a Christmas tree. Each garland is made up of heart shaped beads in three different sizes and I think there are about 100 in each pack. This is great at only £1.49 and will give me plenty of time before Valentine's Day to create some new designs! I ended up buying three packs - one of each gold, silver and bronze.

So now you know - I can't resist the temptation of embellishments - at least not at that price!

Beaded Embellishments

As a teenager I bought loads of seed beads to make little bracelets and similar jewellery. I did do some when I was younger, but my interest quickly disappeared now leaving me with a large box of beads in about 30 different colours. I keep thinking that I must be able to incorporate them into my card making, but the results are varied.

I'll describe here one success story and one bad experience - lets start with the good!

This is my beaded felt flower design. I really like this and have had some great comments on it from friends and family. It was quite simple to make, but it did take some patience. The best bit is that not only does it use up my beads, but also the felt supplies that were given to me from someone who didn't want them (obviously not a true craftie - as it's a crime to throw anything out!).



On the downside here are my failed attempts at making beaded Christmas trees. The plan was to make three, with different coloured baubles, and put them in a row onto my card. As you can see they don't look very neat as I've not managed to get the corners looking sharp. Any ideas or tips from anyone? I tried putting wire through the beads - as in the bottom row, but it was really fiddly and the wire kept getting too weak and broke.


More design ideas to come soon so don't forget to check back regularly!

Personalised Stamps

Have you ever wondered about designing your own rubber stamps? I have and when looking up the costs was quickly put off. However, after spending a little time searching I've found a fantastic website which will make your own stamps for as little as $6.90 which is about £4. You can make up any graphical design you like and add text in a variety of fonts. So my mission this evening is to have my own logo made into a stamp. I'll then be able to print it on the back of all my greetings cards - much easier than having to write out my website address and it will look much smarter and professional.

If you're interested the website is www.simonstamp.com. I'll post again when it arrives and give you more details on the costs and how easy the ordering process was.

Making the most of your rubber stamps

Rubber stamps are so versatile that I've decided to share with you some ideas for how you can incorporate them into your handmade cards. Though remember to always practise on scrap paper first to get the very best results.

1) As promised - design your own background papers by stamping multiple images onto plain or coloured paper. The images can be rotated to give a funkier look. Fill the spaces between your images using dots and swirls, possibly in different colours - see what you like.

2) Stamp your image using slow drying ink and then cover with embossing powder. Then use a heating tool to emboss the image onto your card design.

3) Try triple embossing to get a reverse embossed image. Ink up an area large enough for your rubber stamp and cover with embossing powder. Melt with a heating tool and then add more embossing powder. Do this once more and whilst the powder is still melted press your rubber stamp firmly onto the embossed area.

4) Stamp two or three copies of your image in different colours onto card and mount them as a set onto your card blank.

5) After stamping your image why not colour it in using either water colour pencils or gel pens to give a unique feel to the image.

6) Use slow drying brush pens to ink up your stamp. This means you can use a variety of colours in your stamped image.

7) As a final touch try stamping the same image onto the envelope.

Let me know how you get on and I'll soon get some pictures on here to show you my creations.

Background Papers

Do you always use plain coloured mounts and card blanks? Do you find that your designs are looking a bit plain or not very unique? Well, have you considered using patterned background papers? There are so many available on the market which range from being small and delicate repeating patterns to vibrant designs.

I have only recently discovered the extra dimension they can add. I was worried that the colours in the paper would be too much for my design and always panic about colour coordination. Now I have the confidence to use them in my own handmade cards and am so pleased with the results.

My favourite idea for how to use them is to make small cut outs of background paper into embellishments for my card. For example, as you'll see in forthcoming posts, I've made stockings out of red starry paper and little xmas presents from some blue and silver starred paper. They look so much better than their plain equivalents.

Another way to incorporate them is to use a large piece almost covering the whole front of your card. You can then add your embellishments over the top and your background paper just gives that extra interest.

I've also seen some people covering half their card with background paper and half with plain paper. I like this as it means you can use more striking patterns without it becoming overpowering.

Check back on Wednesday when I'll tell you how you can quickly and cheaply make your own unique background papers!