New Beginnings at the start of Spring!

Eclectic Ellapu has a new challenge for September called New Beginnings, and as I had a baby card for a girl to make, I combined the two.

When I went to Paperific (did I mention I went to Paperific?) last week I had a go at using foils with glue. Not that impressed really but I got a packet of foil and some glue to try at home. Firstly, a little bit of glue goes a long, long way; secondly, you have to wait for the glue to begin to dry off and go clear; thirdly, it gives a pretty touch but not one that cannot be achieved by other means I think. You be the judge!

This is the card without the foils

This is the card with the foils

A closer look

The bigger flower on the left caused a problem when the glue 'squirted' to the right outside the flower shape. It does scrape off but not cleanly and so it leaves a mark. I added a dot of glue to the red flowers and the red foil seemed to work better with just a touch. The silver foil I added to the bluebells worked better on the buds

My verdict - not that bothered by it at this stage.

Stamp set used was from a magazine.

Copics used to colour it  and Momento inks smudged around created the background.

Thanks for looking!

Last Week in August Challenge for Unstampabelles

Hi all - welcome to another Time to Play blog! 

Lake Rosebery in the early morning. The lake is so calm and peaceful. Thanks to Ellis in Wonderland for a very special shot.

This month Unstampabelles asked us to make something that was not a card and to either create a tutorial or include a link to a tutorial. I made a hinged lid box but the template I used is not mine and I have no permission to share. In fact I didn't use the template I had exactly but recreated it to suit myself but I still didn't feel I could show you that one. So I googled and found another that is very like this with a template available. You can find it HERE.

I used half a sheet of 12 x 12 DP - choose a fairly stiff sheet to use, closer to card than paper as it has to withstand being open and shut a few times. My template was an oblong box ready to take a block of chocolate but I massaged it into a square and filled it with Llint balls. It could take any number of different sweets, nuts etc or a cookie or whatever you wanted. I added a window pane of acetate using my circle die in the lid. The only problem I had was wondering if it would fit my Big Shot platform. It is a 4 1/2 inch square base, and with the sides being 1 inch that made it a bit big but I managed to get it done without chopping into the side pieces with the die.

I decorated it with some pieces from an Amy Tangerine pack - you can see the rest of the items in the plastic bag next to it here. I added the ribbon - initially all the way around, but of course when you opened the lid, the ribbon slipped off at the back, so I cut it and tucked the ends inside

You can see the ribbon ends tucked inside, the window clearly cut and the hinged lid in this photo.

In other words, he whole box - lid and all - is made from one continuous length of card. You could make it so the lid tucked into the top instead of sitting out as I did. The template above gives a third way of dealing with this.

A quick and easy gift box for a thank you, a welcome to the neighbourhood or a Christmas gift to workmates perhaps. 

If you go over to Unstampabelles you will find all the details and some more great inspiration.

You can get to there by clicking HERE and then scroll down to the Linky when you want to enter your project. 

A Waterfall Card for Crafting with Dragonflies Challenge #64

We have a new challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies, and it is 

# 64: More than one fold

I actually cheated a bit - I had a card with a tri fold,and then a Z card to make and then I saw a new fold  - 'gold fold?' - and I thought I would try that......but then I made a waterfall card instead! It has four folds in the pulley for the waterfall, and I got my instructions and inspiration from Vanessa Webb. 

Her card is amazing - mine is a pale imitation but I had a go.

I used two SU stamp sets - Love You Lots and Mum's Love

I used Mint Macaroon to stamp the foliage

I coloured the images with Copics

All the card used is SU but some is old cardstock. 

I love frogs and particularly this one! He has such a goofy look on his face.

The sentiments are stamped in black Momento ink

I noticed the red speck on the bottom of the white only after I had photographed them and had a heart attack!  However, it turned out to be a bit of red fluff! Thank goodness - no need to redo the piece. 

Here are the folds

Couldn't help myself - had to add a ladybird here

So - a card with many folds........hope its fits OK Hilde!

You have a fortnight to put up your card in the challenge for 

Crafting with Dragonflies!

A matchbox for Unstampabelles Challenge #60

The current challenge #60 at Unstampabelles is to make something that IS NOT a card, and as usual don't use stamps when making it. The twist is to write up a tutorial or put in the link to the tutorial, on how you made your project.

I saw one of these decorated matchboxes on Pinterest - yes a great time waster, but so many pretty things.....and I decided to make one but a bit bigger than the normal match box size. I found I had a tutorial in my files, but was not sure where it had come from, so I will not lay claim to it. If it was you, many thanks: can you message me with your name so I can credit you - it is a great template and instructions.

It consists of a sleeve and a box and the box has flaps folded down on the smaller sides but not on the bigger sides. I made mine from one sheet of 12 x 12 double sided DP called fancy Sweet Pea - Abigail. All sizes were in inches, which suits me as I was born in the time of inches and still tend to think of them rather than centimeters. 

Once my sizes were cut out, I scored using my SU scorer anyway so really didn't have to think to much!

The instruction sheet calls this a Matchbox Cookie Gift Box

The sleeve is just folded over and over and glued along the inside - this is actually the bottom of my sleeve........

The box which slides into the sleeve with its flaps turned down and glued into place on the short ends

Then I just decorated it.

I sewed the hessian ribbon in place and layered wide lace, hessian and more lace to make a wrap around the sleeve. 

I rifled through the flower drawers and found some pink stuff, and added them, with a string of pearls and a bit of ribbon. Oh, and a charm. 

I did add a brad to the end of the box to allow pulling it open easier as well -you can just see it here above. It is a bit cold outside so I took the shots inside, and the bottom one is with the flash, so a softer  look at the colours, while the one above is with the lamp only. The colours are inbetween both.

This took me about an hour to make, discounting husbands interruptions.

Itis big enough to put a cookie inside if you wanted, but I think it would be better with chocolate, jewelry, silk scarf, or other small items inside as a gift box. You could even put a note inside with a gift voucher.

Unstampabelles runs for another two weeks

Oh, and here is another pretty photo of my state - this is the bridge I travel over to go to the city. I live on this side of the river - Hobart is on that other side! That is the Mountain   - Mt Wellington - in the background. Time would be about dusk. 

A beautiful shot of the Tasman Bridge by James Kerstan Photography.

Another post for Unstampabelles Challenge#60

#60 Anything but a Card: twist - tutorial or link to tutorial on 'how to make this' added to your blog

for

Unstampabelles

Today I am showcasing a gift bag I very quickly threw together in need, using some die cuts I had purchased some time ago and a gift bag bought from an el cheapo shop. We have a chain of shops here called 'Shiploads' and every so often I visit and fill my trolley with 'stuff' that is too cheap to leave behind. Today I used some of the 'stuff'.

The bags came in a set of 4 and probably cost .50c each - they already had a black plate on one side of the bag. I contemplated covering this as they are not straight but decided to go with the flow as I didn't have a lot of time.

This is the collection of diecuts I used to decorate the bag - there is a very clever panel behind the cellophane bag with an image of all the items in the bag (x 2) so I am able to note on this what has been used already without tipping it all out to check.

I lay the selected items on the bag and moved them around until I was happy with the arrangement.

The ribbon curl made a great 'roadway' for the scooter.

I did add some tissue paper and gold ribbon with the present but didn't take a photo of that!

Told you I was in a hurry.

So, this was made for Unstampabelles current challenge 

and this is the prize offered for random selection

Be Humorous was the challenge at Crafting with Dragonflies this time

Those who know me know I cannot go too far away from a good pun. I saw this one on a card in the village of Richmond, visiting there with a good friend. We had a lovely day out - eating, shopping talking, shopping, talking, eating.....you get the gist.

I came home and started to make this card but again got waylaid by visitors and family - lovely to see them all, but of course it made me late again for Crafting with Dragonflies!

But....here it finally is.....

My take on the commercial card I saw

We have a mutual friend who has just moved house, so it will be ideal for her!

Privet hedge sticks and gold wire but I am afraid I am not good at winding the wire around neatly.

My house is from a stamp step by Waltzing Mouse, coloured with Copics and fussy cut out, and mounted on dimensionals.

There is a double layer on the porch

Some 'grass' to cover up the sticking of the sticks to the card

I was going to use the computer to generate the sentiments, but just ran out of time

So - handwritten!

Hope you enjoy the visual pun and am inspired to go over to Hilde's new post at 

Crafting with Dragonflies

Newest Challenge at Unstampabelles: #60 anything BUT a card

That month went swiiiiisssssshhhhhhhh!

OK August - traditionally the coldest month (for us) even though it is also supposed to herald spring

It’s also snowing on the Midlands Highway from Bianca Calleja

A photo taken last week on the Midland Highway between the North and South of the State of Tasmania - it takes us about two hours to go from one city to another ie Hobart to Launceston, but days like this mean a longer trip for most

In contrast, the weather as I write this is sunny and about 16 degrees - but the weather reporters are cautioning us against getting out the bathing suits and warn that there is more like last week on its way. My dear old (now passed) Dad was a farmer and it was on days like the one last week when he would appear in the kitchen from a perambulation around the lambing grounds,  in his Dry-as-a Bone coat and his old disreputable hat, and draw from the copious pockets of said coat new born lambs - deserted by death or other reasons by their mothers - and gently place them into the warming oven of the old slow combustion stove. No, not roast lamb you cynical readers. It would give them warmth and if they tottered out of the oven later in the day, they were fed from the bottle and be called 'Come On....', and be hand reared until they were old enough to eat grass and survive in the paddocks again. If they didn't do that, they were buried quietly. Such is life.....

What is the challenge, you ask?

Anything but a Card 

TWIST Create a tutorial in your blog OR add a link to the one you used to create the item

There is a prize for this challenge - random number selected.

I made a favor box - suitable for a wedding or a gift of thanks

Cute, huh!

This one takes four Lindt chocolate balls

The die is a SU one called Floral Thinlits - it has two parts - I used the bigger one for this, plus the cutting edge.Cut a strip of card to 8 inches x 4.25". Use a bone scorer to create two folds at 3.25 " in from each long edge. This is the base for the box to sit in. Lay the bigger die plus cutting edge as shown in photo below to the edge, with the straight edge along the first fold and die cut. 

Flip the card over, and repeat on the other end. By flipping over you allow for the top to be identical on both decorative edges. If you don't flip it over, they still match up but just not as neatly. It depends if you are OCD or not - mine is not flipped as I didn't (as per normal) realise you had to do it until I had cut it.

You have two lacy sides and a flat centre piece. Into this bit, I placed a small rectangle box. My box is 4.25 x 1.50 inches with a .75 inch edge around the whole, scored. Cut at the points indicated from outside to fold line, fold up the edges, and glue each resulting tab inside the box for stability. 

I also used some double sided tape to the bottom of the box before nestling it into the wrap. Then I added the chocolates or whatever, and used ribbon to tie close. I punched a heart and used a sticker sentiment, but I am contemplating at Christmas using a tag, and a Christmas snowflake, and making my boxes suitably festive!

As you can see, it sits four Lindt balls nicely into the box. 

There you are - my non-card project and the TWIST (to create a tutorial). Hope you can follow the tutorial and enjoy making the favor boxes. 

You can go to Unstampabelles and see what else the DT have created for inspiration.