This blog shares my crafting projects, product reviews and other ramblings crafting related. I have 2 sons who keep me busy when I'm not crafting and a partner who is happy with me crafting but not yet convinced that the spare room should be a craft room! I hope you enjoy reading my experiences as much I enjoy sharing them. Happy Crafting!
Back again with another spinner card, this card is similar to my previous bear spinner card, which you can find here. However this time I'm using a watercolored lion die cut, an orange card base and utilizing a card front with a window cut out I found in my crafty stash. If you prefer to watch a video click here or view below for the process video.
I have this white note card with a slanted window cut out of it. This note card was torn and ripped in a few places so I needed to conceal those imperfections. I decided to make a spinner card.
First step was to die cut the windows for the spinning element to spin inside. Using the note card with the window already cut out of it, I lined up a matching sized orange notecard and the front cover of an orange card base. Then I cut out the windows using my Big Shot die cutting machine.
I took the orange notecard (with the window cutout) and black heat embossed "happy birthday" under the window.
Time to make the spinner element. I grabbed the white note card and taped some red string I found across the window, securing it using double-sided tape and ensuring the string is taught. I then sandwiched the string between the front and back images of the lion using double-sided tape.
To assemble the card, I adhered the orange note card to the front of the white note card using double-sided tape; making sure to line up the windows. Then I did the same to adhere the card front to the card base.
So I got enticed by AliExpress recently and my stationery obsession led me to buy a 10 pack of STA Metallic Brushmarkers. For those that prefer to watch video reviews, click here or view below for mine...
I paid US$6.81 including shipping. I had the option to select a bullet tip but I went for the slightly more expensive brush tip end because I didn't have a set of brushmarkers, well I have watercolor brushmarkers (click here for more details on those) but they are quite different to these.
First up the package arrived safe and sound, I ordered it during lockdown level 4 in New Zealand on 30th April 2020 and it arrived on 23rd May 2020, that's just over 3 weeks - no bad during a pandemic...
The package itself was well packaged and undamaged. I was delighted to see it came in the sturdy plastic case as shown on the seller's listing. By the way, I bought these off a store called "wangwangkong Store" and they are pretty much as described in the listing but there were a few things that I was disappointed with.
Well Packaged, Undamaged AliExpress Package.
Bit more on the plastic case...it's textured! The diagonal lines in the photo are actually slightly raised and gives it a neat feel.
A
Plastic Case
The markers themselves are a thinline brushmarker so good for delicate colouring. As they are a brushmarker, I tried getting broad lines and I got good solid thick lines. Although the brush tip is nice and flexible, it felt delicate and one of them was a little frayed after a few strokes.
Testing on White Paper
The ten colours are (metallic): Black, Grey, Red, Blue, Olive, Green, Brown, White, Purple, Gold. All except the white were very pigmented. When colouring you can draw over the top of ink pen lines as well as other colors of the markers. The ink in these markers is most brilliant or vibrant when used on black or dark paper/card. I did not like the white, I wanted more pigmentation. I did not like how it seemed to write clear, even on black paper...you could only see a faint white marking when it had dried - the photo seems to brighten the white much more than it looks in reality.
Testing on Black Paper
I'm not great at handwriting or calligraphy but when I tried to do some basic brush strokes, they were achievable but I found the brush tip difficult to control.
Testing Brush Strokes
I tried these out on an acrylic block to test how well they write on plastic. Not so great. The ink bled and moved around a lot - not something I would recommend doing with these markers.
Testing on Plastic
Overall, I do like these metallic brushmarkers and they are a reasonable price. There is a good variety of colours in the 10 pack and whilst most colours performed well and gave a great metallic sparkle, expecially on dark cardstock... I didn't appreciate the lack of pigmentation in the white marker. These markers are ok for colouring, drawing and lettering; the fine brushmarker tip means intricate work as well as the bold lines or fills are not a problem. However, the tips seemed delicate and easy to damage or fray so you do need to watch the pressure you apply. As the stroke is hard to control I would steer away from these if you are a beginner calligrapher or lettering artist.
Great entry level metallic brushmarkers to add a bit of sparkle to any quick doodle or sketch. I would buy these again if I wanted some metallic brushmarkers for simple projects. If I needed to use them a lot over a long time or wanted perfect brush strokes, then no, I would not buy these.
Today this post is about how I made a card perfect for a new mum or a mum who could do with a loving hug. Click here or see below for a link to my card process video:
Inspiration for this card came from stuff I found in my crafty stash including my 'good job mama' stamp set and a background I stamped and colored using my STA watercolor brushmarkers. I was coloring the background piece to test my brushmarkers as part of my review of those markers so I wasn't really being careful in places, hence why a lot of the coloring is outside of the lines!
Because of this 'poor' coloring I needed to hide the imperfections somehow whilst making a good looking card. To do this I decided to overlay vellum on the top of my front notecard.
To start off I cut my watercolor piece to the largest square I could using a square diecut.
I then cut some specialty paper (Typewriter Luxury Designer Paper from Cristina Re d-i-y stationery) to 10.2cm x 20.4cm to make a square card base that is 10.2cm x 10.2cm square.
Time to cut the vellum. I cut it 0.5cm longer than the watercolor piece on one side to allow me to fold it over and behind the watercolor background to help with securing the vellum.
I then decided to heat emboss in black a love heart as well as the sentiment "good job mama, you are doing a great job" on the vellum. If I had red embossing powder I would have used that for the heart but I didn't so never mind. These sentiments/images are from the stamp set called "Good job mama" from Simon Says Stamp.
Time to put this card together... so I used double-sided tape to adhere the vellum to the watercolor background. I make sure to score, fold over, and tape down the excess to get a good hold. I leave the right hand side flapping about so that you get a little pop of color every now and then as you hold, open and close the card. The vellum does a great job of obscuring the imperfections in my coloring without taking away the beauty of it.
Next, I decide I wanted a bit of dimension to the card so I use foam tape to prop up the card front and adhere it to the front of the card base.
I'm quite new to the whole cardmaking/ scrapbooking world and as I've become more into the craft I've accumulated many stamps and decided I needed a way to store and organise them. I like the monochromatic look so you'll see there's a lot of black, white, and grey tones when it comes to my craft supplies storage.
This post will be about how I currently store my clear stamps and coordinating dies. I do something a bit different for my die cuts which I'll cover in another blog post. Click here or below to view the video I made showing my stamp and ide storage.
As you can see I use 230 x 162mm black envelopes to store my stamps. I purchased 50 of these from AliExpress for US $19.78. I use white pigment ink to stamp the entire stamp onto the front of the envelope so I can see what is inside. In this case I used Stampin' Up craft ink in Whisper White. I use a piece of A5 sized inexpensive cardstock to add a bit of stiffness which also acts a a divider between the stamp set and any coordinating dies. To keep the dies under control in the envelope (especially once they're separated), I use a piece of magnetic sheet under the dies. If I have a mask or spare cut out images I store them in the envelope too so they're all together with the set they belong with.
I did a silly thing of throwing out the packaging without noting down the manufacturer or stamp set name so I don't know what a lot of my stamps actually are. Where I do know I use a brother letratag label making machine to print a label and stick it to the flap on the back. Unless I'm storing more than one stamp set in the envelope, then I stick the identifying label on the front near the stamp set it goes with.
Example of label for an envelope holding one stamp set
Example of labels for an envelope holding more than one stamp set
At the moment I'm storing all my crafting gear in re-purposed cardboard boxes as I wait for my partner to let me have a craft room!
Close Up of stamp storage Box
Stamps Storage in Box
For my dividers I cut a piece of core flute slightly longer than the envelopes (about 255 x 165 mm) and label the top. I organise my stamps by theme but that's just my preference.
For the process video on how I made this card click here or check out the video below:
This card used the stars and moon background I made using small stamps from multiple stamps sets - check out my blog post here on how I made it, or watch the video below.
Clear Heat Embossed Stars and Moons Background
I decided to only use half the background so that I could make another card. I used my Sizzix big shot to cut a 2.5 inch diameter circle out of black cardstock. This will be a circle window on the front of the card that looks through to the stars and moons background.
Circle Window and Embossed background
From here I grabbed my space themed stamp set and decided I wanted the sentiment "Have and Stellar Birthday" to feature on the front of this card. I also had some stamped and colored images from this set so I wanted to use them up too. Conveniently they were already die cut as well. Just for completeness, I used alcohol markers to color the images.
Space Themed Stamp Set
I did a rough arrangement of the background in the window with the die cut space images to gauge where to place the sentiment.
Space Themed Die Cuts and Rough Card Layout
Then I used my We R Memory Keepers stamping platform to stamp the sentiment onto my card front using clear embossing ink - as I will be heat embossing, I of course used an anti-static powder tool all over the card front first. After that I sprinkled white Ranger embossing powder all over the sentiment, tapped off the excess then used my heat gun to melt the powder and set the heat embossing. This gave the sentiment a stand out bright and bold look on the black cardstock.
Washi Tape Used to Position Background
I wanted a slight stand off inside the window so decided to adhere foam tape to the back of the card front around the window. Because I wasn't using a whole card of background, I needed to also use washi tape to position the background correctly in the window. This ensured the background is placed exactly where I want it behind the foam tape.
Foam Tape
Adhering scrap cardstock
I removed the backing paper on the foam tape then used some matching scrap cardstock to cover the remaining exposed sticky foam tape. Using scissors to cut off any excess.
Using double sided tape and foam squares, I stuck the space images down to the front of the card as shown below.
Final Card Layout
To finish I adhere the card front to a navy blue card base and use a guillotine to trim off any excess.
And this card is all done. For another card using the same stars and moons background click here for how I made my starry shaker birthday card or for the background itself click here.
Starry Shaker Birthday Card
Below is the process video for the Starry Space Shaker Birthday card:
This card was another inspired by the stars and moons background I made earlier. Click here to go to the blog post on how I made that background or watch the following video:
I wanted to make a shaker card so I grabbed my Sizzix big shot and cut a rectangular window out of a white card front.
Before I get too far ahead of myself (and if you prefer) - here's a link to the process video for this shaker card:
So I cut the window at an angle to give it a bit of interest.
I found this sentiment strip from a moon stamp set I bought off Aliexpress that said "You're out of this world" that I wanted to use. I decided to stamp and heat emboss that sentiment above the shaker window using black embossing powder.
'Moon' Stamp Set
Sentiment Stamp Positioning and Angled Window
Heat Embossed Sentiment
Using an old presentation report cover, I cut out a clear plastic widow big enough to cover the window and stuck it down using double-sided tape.
I grabbed my stars and moons background to check the look before placing foam tape all around the shaker window.
Foam Tape
The foam tape lifts the card front higher above the background so that the shaker elements have somewhere to move around in. I made sure the foam tape was placed as close as possible to the window to prevent the loss of my shaker elements.
I then removed the backing paper on all of the foam tape and filled the window with a sprinkling of glass beads (which I was using as my shaker element). You can use anything as your shaker element, I just decided to use these beads as I found them in my stash and I had no other plans for them.
Filling Window with Beads
Now I grab my stars and moons background, stick it down on top of the foam tape placing it over those beads to enclose them in the window. I then use scrap cardstock to cover up the remaining exposed sticky foam tape and to make sure the back of the card front is all level.
Placing Background Over Window
Covering the Exposed Foam Tape with Cardstock
Shaker Window!!!
Time to make my 'Happy Birthday' Sentiment strip. I grap a strip of black cardstock and a 'Happy Birthday' sentiment stamp from Simon Says Stamp Greetings Mix 1 stamp set.
Simon Says Stamp Greetings Mix 1 Stamp Set
I place the card strip into my We R Memory Keepers Precision Press Stamping Platform and proceed to stamp the sentiment onto the strip using clear embossing ink. Then I heat emboss it using silver embossing powder and a heat tool.
Placing Card Strip and Stamp into Stamping Platform
Clear Embossing Ink
Stamped and Silver Heat Embossed Sentiment
After deciding I want this sentiment strip to sit across the bottom right hand corner of the card. I bring in my stamped and die cut space themed images which I've already colored using alcohol markers and arrange them on top of the card front.
Arranging Sentiment Strip and Space Images
Then I adhere everything down using double-sided tape and trim off any excess using scissors.
The last step is to adhere the entire card front to a black piece of cardstock using double-sided tape to finish the card. This card doesn't have a standard opening card base so it is intended that your card message is written on the back - I would use a white or silver gel pen in this case because I have used black cardstock as my final backing.
Many thanks for visiting my blog, if you'd like to see another card where I use the same background click here to see my starry window space themed card or click below for the process video:
Clear Heat Embossed Small Stamps Stars and Moons Background
Hi there, today I'm going to explain how I made this stars and moon background using small stamps from multiple stamp sets. For the process video on how I do this please check out the you tube video below or by clicking here:
Often our stamp sets contain small images that are often left unused or we don't know what to do with them so I thought hey, why not make a background with similar themed little stamps.
I got the inspiration for this from the small star stamps in the Hand Lettered Holiday Stamps set from My favourite things. This stamp set has lot of small star images and so too did my space themed, birthday celebration and a christmas stamp set which I got off Aliexpress.
First of all I place all the little stamps I'm going to use for this background onto an acrylic block for safe keeping. I'm paranoid that I will lose them so by using an acrylic block I know exactly where they will all be whilst I get other resources ready to make this background.
I decide to used an A6 sized navy blue cardstock and I place it into my We R Memory Keepers stamping platform. I then place the little stamps so they stamp in one corner of the navy card front. As I'll be heat embossing this background I use my anti-static powder tool to make sure the embossing powder only sticks to the places where I've stamped my images. I use clear embossing ink to ink up the stamps, close the door on my stamping platform and press really well to make sure I get a good image.
As I've positioned the stamps to stamp on one corner of my notecard, I can save time by turning the notecard upside down and re-stamping. Now I decide to heat embossed what I've stamped. Before I sprinkle on my clear embossing powder I lay down a sheet of non-stick baking paper with a crease in the centre - this crease is to collect the excess powder and make it easy to pour back into the container. Once covered in embossing powder I use my heat tool to melt the powder.
I replace the notecard in my stamping platform so I can fill in the gaps of the background by re-placing the small stamp images where they are needed. Once again I clear heat embossed those images.
The result is a wonderful raised background with a bit of shine. You can use any combination of small stamps that you may have in your stamp sets to carry out this technique and make your own background. I'd love to see what you come up with.
I use this stars and moons background to create space themed cards below, click on the links to see how I made them.
