Monochrome Cameo With New Release Dies

I used a 6" x 6" card for this particular design as it fitted the frame perfectly.  The frame I used is the largest Trellis Square which I cut in black, I cut the next size down scalloped rounded corner square in white and embossed it with the Garland Fancy Embossing Folder out of the Idyllics set as it has a nice small pattern.  This was glued in the centre.

I cut the Ascot Pillbox head in black, I cut two of the hat and of the feather.  I stuck the first hat in place on the head and cut the brim off the second one before layering the top part on with silicone glue for added dimension, I also added both of the feathers again sticking them with silicone glue.  There is a close up of this to allow you to see the detail, this doesn't always photograph too well as its all layered in the same colour.  I completed my cameo by adding a punched flower to cover all of my joins with a pearl centre.  This was then positioned centrally on the prepared card base and stuck down with 3d foam pads.

For the sentiment I die cut the centre ellipse shape from the Beautiful Buckle die set in white and added the Aunty die cut in black from the Family Members Sentiments Set 2 which I stuck in place with 3d foam and finished with a couple of pearls.

Niece Blue Cameo Acetate Panel Card - Tonic Studios New Die Release

For today's card I decided to use the new Tonic Studios Chepstow Bonnet die set along with one of the Verso Splendid Screen dies.

I cut a 7" x 7" card blank and using one of the straight edge dies out of the Splendid Screen dies, cut the front edge of my card off, using the pattern die for positioning I placed the straight edge die back on the card front and cut out the section for the acetate panel.  I cut my acetate down to size and using double sided tape stuck it in place on the rear of the card front.

I stuck some ribbon on the small panel with double sided tape and added a hand tied bow.  The layering panels for the larger panel were cut using the Splendid Screen straight edge die with the top layer embossed with the Garland Fancy embossing folder from the Idyllics range.

I cut some layering panels from the Rectangular Scalloped Layering die set and the cameo from the Chepstow Bonnet set in blue and white and the hat itself in just blue with the band and bow hat decorations in white to contrast.  These were layered and stuck to the card front with 3d foam pads for dimension.  The Niece wording was cut from the Family Members Sentiments Set 2 and glued in place.

The Splendid Screen die was cut out of blue with straight edges and this was lined up with the acetate and glued onto the back of the card so it was visible through the acetate.  The card was finished simply with a tiny blue pearl on the hat band and a tiny white pearl on the 'I' in the niece wording.

I hope you like it and that you will continue to join Jodie on Create and Craft for more ideas and demonstrations.

Karen x

Millinery Shop Window Card New Release Tonic Studios Dies

As this new range of dies from Tonic Studios were called The Millinery Shop Collection, I had to make a shop window card.

I started off with a 7" x 7" card blank which I made by cutting down some sheets of A4 card, to make the window card this needs to have the fold at the top.  To decorate the base card I cut one of the Beautiful Buckle dies out of matt gold card, cut it in half down the centre and stuck it to either side of my card blank, right on the very edge and trimmed off any overhang, top and bottom.  I cut the I Wish You Well sentiment in both matt gold and patterned paper out of the vintage set which I drop shadowed and glued to the upper part of my card.  The Romantic Vine Oval was cut from matt gold and the same patterned paper to match.  I made my hat stand out of the Mannequin Tag Die, just rounding the body off which was cut out of dark brown.  The hat was cut from the Chepstow Bonnet die set.  I cut the hat out of cream card and for the gold layer I embossed the die instead of cutting it which raised the 'cut outs' I then trimmed around the outside with a scissors and glued it under the cream layer, only using the brim of the hat.  The gold layer seems to pop out through the cream.

To decorate the hat I cut the bow and feathers in cream and gold, trimming  the feathers off the cream one before layering them, I added some pearl sprays before sticking these to the hat with silicone glue for dimension.

The window section was cut from a 7" x 10" piece of card.  This was scored 1" in from either side for the overlap and the smaller more chunky border from the Lych Gate Wish die set was cut into the top and bottom.  I then took a knife and metal ruler and cut the centre section away by cutting along the score lines.  I stuck the same sized sheet of acetate inside and creased it well before sticking it to the rear of the card front.  I tidied this up with another 7" x 7" sheet of cream card.

I hope you like it and tune into Jodie today on Create and Craft to see more demonstrations.

Karen x

New Die Release Sunburst Friend Card

When I started to make the cards for the new releases, The Millinery Shop, Strip Dies and Sentiment Dies I really wanted to incorporate the new Vintage papers, they really are beautiful designs so I decided upon a sunburst backing paper effect.

I made the largest square card as I could out of a sheet of A4 card, it measures just under 6" square.  Now to make the Sunburst, this is much more simple to do than it looks!  To get the different segments cut, you need to cut a rectangle of paper, I knew I didn't want the sunburst panel to cover the whole of the card front so I went for a 6" long rectangle x 2" wide.  Next you need to cut your rectangles along the diagonal which will give you two long narrow triangles, you need to cut enough of these so that when you start to lay them together to stick them down they will reach from one side of the card to the other, mine took nine triangles which I then inked on the edges with a Tim Holtz Aged Photograph Distress Ink Pad and a sponge.  To make the backing sheet, cut your layer of card to size, I cut a brown layer first, then a layer of scrap card, it doesn't matter what colour as you are going to be completely covering it with paper.  I placed a strip of double sided tape around the outside of my layer and also added a couple of strips across just to hold everything down.  Starting with two triangles at the centre, stick your triangles down, making sure they are all laying flat and as close together as you can get them without overlapping.  Trim off any overhang and trim this to size,  ink the edges.  Stick this onto your brown layer which then sticks onto your card front towards the top.  Die cut one of the Beautiful Buckle Verso Strip Dies in cream with a brown backing strip and a brown scalloped oval for the top.  Punch some flowers for the oval from cream and the scraps left over from your sunburst and glue these in place on the oval.  Die cut the You're My Friend sentiment out of the Just Because Sentiments set in cream and brown and drop shadowed them before sticking them centrally on the sunburst paper and adding another layered punched flower.

The card was finished off with a few pearls as flower centres.

I hope you like it and don't forget to tune in to Create and Craft at 6pm for the Tonic Studios launch show.

Karen x

Forever Moments - Verona

I'm not one for 'messy' crafts like paints and whatnot but when the guys at Tonic Studios asked me if I'd like to have a go at decorating one of the promotional units for the Forever Memories Range, I thought, why not? :)

Here's my take on the Verona Unit, I decorated it as a Tea Chest

I used the papers from the Vintage set which is available today, Avante! Drawer Front Dies, Nuvo Paints and Gilding Wax.  I added little teacups to the fronts of the some of the drawers which I also gilded.

I hope you like this.  Look out for the Launch with Jodie on Create and Craft this morning at 9am.

Karen x

I Miss You Topper and Frame with Flowers

Hi to all my new followers, its great to see you :).  For today's Tonic Studios card, I'm going to give you the instructions to make one of my cards that Jodie made live on Create and Craft.

I started off by making an 8" x 8" square card blank out of cream pearlescent card, I've shared how to do this so many times you're probably sick of reading it so I'll leave it out of this one :).  I cut a layer of gold pearlescent paper leaving a small border.  I punched a strip using the Simplicity Victorian Border punch both sides, sticking it in place on the left side of your layer.  Make a simple gold satin looped bow and attach it to a length of matching ribbon folding and sticking a small piece for the centre wrap on the bow.  Stick this in place in your layer with double sided tape. This large layer can now be stuck on your card.

Cut a cream layer leaving a small border on three sides and a gap from the punched strip on the fourth side, cut another gold paper layer to top this, again leaving a small border all the way around.

Cut the more square of the Flora Frames in cream and glue in place on your layered card front.  Cut the largest layer from the I Miss You inner topper set in gold paper, cut the I Miss You wording out of cream card using the smallest layer.  Stick this to the gold layer then add 3d foam pads to the back and attach it to the frame.

Cut three flowers from the Flora Frames in gold and three in cream, shape and layer them, alternating one set so you've got two cream on gold and one gold on cream.  Glue a pretty centre to them, mine are actually pearly snowflakes but they fit perfectly inside these flowers.  Glue them to the base of the frame and add two sets of the leaves.

Finish your card off with some pearls to match your flower centres.

I hope you like this one, I loved making it :)

Karen x

Monochromatic I Miss You

A simple monochromatic sample card for you today from the batch that went to Create and Craft for last weeks Tonic Studios Pick of the Week.

An A5 black card blank with a white layer which had one of the dies from the Ornate Elegance Header Fold dies cut into the bottom with a couple of embossed lines above it.  The I Miss You Inner Topper Die was cut into a white piece of card with a black layer cut for beneath it.  A small length of ribbon was wrapped around a longer length and tied in a knot.  This was then stuck in place on the white layer.  Stick the White layer in place, add 3d foam pads on the I Miss You topper and stick over the ribbon.  Die cut the 'Love' sentiment from the Love/Believe Topper Die set, glue this to the bass of the card and finish off with a few pearls, not forgetting one to dot the 'I' :)

I hope you like this simple card.

Karen x

Christmas Top Border Card

Just a simple card to share today after the last slightly more complicated one!  For this card I used one of the Topper Dies for the Tonic Studios Pick Of The Week Dies.

I used two sheets of A4 cream pearlescent card to make the 8" x 8" card blank by cutting the first sheet down to 10" x 8" and scoring the long side at 6" and 8".  Cut the second sheet down to 8" x 8" and score this at 6".

Thread a pearly heart ribbon slider onto a length of 25mm red ribbon so it gathers in the the middle as shown in the photo.

Fold the 8" score line on your larger sheet of card, this will be the section that holds your two pieces of card together to form your card blank.  Between the two score lines, right in the centre, place a thin line of double sided tape right across and over lapping so you can secure your ribbon at the back.  You may also want to place a couple of shorter strips either side of this central strip but these won't need to come to the centre as the ribbon is gathered.  Place your ribbon on your card with the heart in the middle and secure it behind.

Place some double sided tape along the outer flap and stick your back panel onto it, matching up the score lines.  You also need to put some double sided tape between the score lines to stick this together as this then forms the top of your card.

You now only have to decorate the 6" x 8" panel of your card below the score line.  Cut a layer of red card leaving a small border of cream pearlescent showing and stick this in place, now cut a matching cream pearlescent layer leaving a small border of red showing.  Take your Pansy Topper die and using the patterned section, place it to the left of your cream layer, as we are going to cut it into our cardstock, leave an equal border on three of the sides.  Tape it down and run it through your machine.  Because of where it is placed on the card and because the die is one of the larger ones you may need to turn the die and run it back through your machine in order to get it all to cut which is why it is important to tape it down well with low tack tape so you can pick it up and see if its all cut.  Once it is all cut, insert one of the christmas topper sentiments or indeed if you bought the Pick Of The Week bundle, die cut your own sentiment using the Inner Die Set.  Wrap a shorter length of matching ribbon to the right of the design securing with double sided tape and stick your layer in place.

Taking the Christmas tree design out of the Christmas Wishes Header Die Set, cut this onto a scrap of cream pearlescent card, mount this onto red card and trim around the outline.  Stick in place with some 3d foam pads close top the base of the strip of ribbon.  Finish your card with a few self adhesive pearls and you're all done.  A quick and simple, yet effective Christmas card.

Hope you like it,

Karen x

Believe Flora Frame Card

Another card from the Tonic Studios Pick Of The Week Topper Dies.  Even though these have sold out on Create and Craft at the moment, you'll still need inspiration when they drop through your letterbox soon.

This is a nice simple card to make, I started off with an A4 sheet of soft pearlescent grey card which I scored in half to give me an A5 card blank.  To this, I added a layer of baby pink pearlescent paper, leaving a small border.  I cut the tail die from the Large Dainty Bow Die Set five times out of the same pink pearlescent paper and embossed each one using the Garland Fancy Idyllics Embossing Folder.  I stuck them in place, each one a little lower than the last until the last one almost touches the bottom of the pink layer.

I cut the Clematis Climber Strip Die in the pearlescent grey and just the edging in pink to make a backing and glued these just above centre on the card.  I cut the leafy frame out of the Flora Frames Topper Die set in pearlescent grey and added one of the ready made toppers. The Believe wording was cut out of the Believe/Love Topper Die set in grey and the card was finished off with a hand tied bow.

Well done everyone who got their Pick of The Week Dies, they are a very useful set, they cut wonderfully and are fabulous to work with.

Karen x

Curved Top Gatefold Thank You Card

Just before it sells out I thought I would get one more card posted for the Tonic Studios POTW Topper and Inner Die Set on Create and Craft.

Today I've chosen to explain to you how I did the curved top and gates on this card, you do need an A4 cutting machine for doing this, I use a Grand Calibur.  I can only apologise for not taking more photographs of this but it was made as a sample for the Tonic POTW and I no longer have it.  The same goes for detailed photos of the construction.  I kind of designed it as I was going along and it was a little hit and miss until I got it perfect :/ some time next week I will remake this and add some photos for you. Edit:  Just remade it and added *lots* of photos!

First, taking a sheet of purple card for my base, I scored it on my score board at the Gate A4 line, turn 180 degrees and score Gate A4 again, fold these into the centre.

Taking the less swirly outer die from the Sending A Big Hug Semi die set line it up on the centre section of the card, tape it down either side and run it through your machine.

For the front 'Gate' sections, open out your card fully, and line up the die where you want it to cut, as you can see from the photo, I lined the highest part of my cut, which would be the centre of the semi circle, with the base of the cut on the centre section, tape this down.

Only the gate section will stay on your cutting board, the rest of the card and die just flop over the side so be accurate when you line this up and watch your card and die as it travels through the rollers so it doesn't get caught.

Remember that anything on the cutting board that has a die on it is going to cut!

You need to repeat this for the opposite side, making sure you get your gates equal.

The waste will still be attached either side so just take your craft knife and nip these off.

For the decorative layers, cut a sheet of A4 card in half so that you have two equal A5's.  Line up the less swirly outer die from the Beautiful Wishes die set, position it at the top of your A5 card layer, tape it into place and cut.

Take the patterned die from the Butterfly Princess die set, line that up beneath your curved card edge leaving a small border, tape it down and cut.  This will be the panel that will be shown through your open card.

The panel for the gates is slightly different, you still need to cut the curved edge with the Beautiful Wishes die but when it comes to the patterned Butterfly Princess die you need to take a strip of scrap card approximately 1 centimetre in width and line it up in the centre of your die before placing it on your card.  You may need to fold your strip in half to make sure its thick enough.

That way the very centre strip of the die won't cut and this will allow you to cut the whole panel in half, leaving a border.

You will need to use a craft knife to take some of the waste out of the die as you need to keep everything attached in that inside strip.

Cut this in half centrally to give you a decorative panel for each gate, trim to size and glue into position.












The sentiment is what is cut from the POTW dies.  This is the Thank You Topper Die Inner Set. Cut the base in matching purple, same as your base card and the next layer down gets cut in white with the wording itself being die cut into that layer.  Glue these together and Place foam pads on the half that is going to be attached to the left card front.

Die cut a couple of butterflies from the Fae Trellis Topper set and finish off with a matching bow and a few pearls on the butterflies.

I hope you like this and that you managed to get hold of the POTW dies.  They certainly are selling fast :) Enjoy the rest of the televised demonstrations with Jodie on Create and Craft.

Karen x

Noel Wall Hanger

Just a change from cards which you get from me pretty much every post :/

As I was watching Create and Craft yesterday during the Tonic Studios POTW Launch I suddenly realised that as a Design Team we seemed a bit short on ideas.  I know I only made cards although I know a few boxes were made too so I decided I wanted to make something a little bit different and settled on a Wall Hanger.  Mine's a pretty short one as I just chose to do Noel but you could make all sorts, either going down like mine, or across in a bunting style for longer words like Merry Christmas or Seasons Greetings for example.

To make it I started off by die cutting some basic shapes for my letters to go on, I chose the new I Miss You Inner Die Set from the new POTW die bundle on Create and Craft and cut four of the largest shape in gold mirror card and four in plain cream card for my backing.  Next I cut four in seasons greetings paper out of the Christmas paper pack using the next size down in the same die set.

I inked the edges of the cream layers just as a finishing touch, even though you wouldn't really see it as its just a backing.  I added a strip of double sided tape approximately half way across on either side of the back of the die cut shape and placed these equal distance apart using my craft mat for measuring.

I took my length of red thick double sided satin ribbon and leaving an overhang on the bottom, uncovered the tape and stuck the ribbon centrally, taking care not to move my panels.  Once I reached the top I made a loop for hanging and came back down the other side of the panel, trimming my ribbon off at the bottom to have an equal overhang, I then dovetailed these.
To make sure the ribbon was secure in between the layers, I placed another strip of double sided tape on the backs of the mirror card layers before sticking these in place with a good layer of glue, sandwiching the ribbon in between them.  Next I layered the seasons greetings paper layer over the top making sure I had an equal border of mirror card showing.

The letters were taken from the new Pretoria Duocaps Initial die sets, I cut them twice, in gold mirror and cream.  I glued the outer more decorative gold letters in the right order on each panel before inking the edges of the cream letters and placing these back in the centres to fit perfectly and I also have a negative of this to use in another project.

This was a very quick and simple project to do but I think it's going to look very effective hanging on my wall this Christmas.

I hope you like it and don't forget to keep watching the Tonic Studios Pick of the Week shows with Jodie on Create and Craft over the weekend for more inspiration and ideas.

Karen x

Alphabet And Toppers Pick Of The Week Launch Card

Just a quick post before I start rushing around for the day.  Here's one of the cards I made for the Tonic Studios Pick of the Week Launch which is on Create and Craft today at 12 noon, don't forget to set your Tivo for it :)

For this card I've made another 8" x 8" card blank out of plain white card and trimmed the front top corner by drawing around a dinner plate and trimming it down.  I've created a nice powder blue layer for the top by using the scrap I trimmed off the white card blank as a template.  I get exactly the same curve that way.  Before sticking the blue layer in place I added the ribbon so I could tuck the ends away underneath.

I die cut one of the new topper frames from the Believe/Love Topper Frames Die Set and made my own topper to go in it with the plain panel from the Thank You Topper Die Set, finally adding the Just for you from the Just For You Pansy Topper Die Set.

The Happy Birthday lettering was cut from the Pretoria Duocaps Initials Die Sets but just using the centres.  These were glued in place around the curve.

The piece that was cut off when cutting the blue layer for the front was then trimmed down and glued in place on the exposed back corner and finished with a die cut corner from the Ivy Deco Frame Die Set.

The card was finished off with a nice full hand tied bow and quite a few tiny blue pearls.

I hope you like it.

Karen x

Willow with Lantern and Tonic Studios Bow and Sentiment

I don't claim to be one of the best colouring artists in the world but I absolutely love it and hope that if I manage to get enough practice I'll eventually get better! so for today's card share I've coloured the beautiful Willow with Lantern from Whiff of Joy and used it along with some luxurious rich red satin ribbon together with my wonderful Tonic Studios dies and embossing folders.

To start off with, I coloured in the Whiff Of Joy stamped image with Copic Ciao markers and cut it out with a large square cutting die.  I cut the largest Threaded Scallop Square to layer under that and added some trimmed down Mystic Vine large corners.

I made a metallic gold 8" x 8" card blank, I cut a white layer for on top which I embossed with the Tonic Studios Amelia Embossing Folder which then had the edges inked.  I added some ribbons but before sticking them in place I trimmed one of the Christmas Sentiment Toppers down, inked the edges to match and cut a slit top and bottom so I could slide the ribbon through.  They were then stuck in place.

I cut the smallest bow out of the new Large Dainty Bow die set and glued it together before positioning it on the corner remembering that it has to be above the bottom edge of the card to enable it to stand up.

I finished the card off with a few little red pearls here and there.

I hope you like it,

Karen x

Merry Christmas Poinsettia

After trying to replace some missing photos on my blog which seems to have a mind of its own with its moving posts and invisible pictures! I've finally managed to get today's post uploaded.

Today's card is another Christmas card, I seem to be on a roll!  I started off with an 8" x 8" pearlescent ivory card blank which I made from a couple if sheets of a4 card which had been trimmed down to size.  I layered with gold metallic and another layer of matching ivory pearl card.

A layer of wide Christmas organza ribbon was added as a border and one of the large corners from the Tonic Studios Mystic Vine Die Set was cut from matching ivory and gold and layered.  This was stuck to the bottom right of the card.

I made the poinsettia from the Oriental Lily die set by cutting 10 petals then embossing them using the embossing folder from the Idyllics Garland Fancy die set before inking the edges with a sponge and my Aged Photograph Distress Ink Pad.  I curved the petals by running them over my bone folder using my thumb to hold them down as you would do if you were curling some ribbon.  Once all 10 were shaped I glued them onto a punched circle with silicone glue to add some dimension.  The centre of the flower was finished with some tiny 3mm gold pearls.  Before sticking the flower in place, I die cut the large flourish from the Royal Fern die set in gold metallic card for it to lay on.

For the greeting I cut one of the scalloped tails from the Large Lacy Bow die set as a banner to hold the Merry Christmas sentiment out of the Christmas Cracker set.  This was stuck in place with 3d foam pads.

I hope you like it,

Karen x

Large Winter Snowflake Made With The Rococo Christmas Tree

Today's card is a little different.  When I look at a die I don't just see it for what it is, all dies have so much potential so when I was looking at the beautiful Christmas Tree in the Rococo range of dies from Tonic Studios, to me it looked a lot like a point of a snowflake so that's what I made it into!

As the Rococo Tree was going to be quite sizable when it was pieced together as a snowflake, I knew I needed an 8" x 8" card but as I wanted to use the new Gallant Gate as a header die I trimmed my A4 card down to 8" in width but when I turned my card, I only made a pencil line either end to mark the 8" line as this would be where I would be placing my Gallant Gate pattern die.

This took a few passes to cut as it was in the middle of the mat which isn't the best place for cutting, I even had to shim the very centre but it came out cleanly in the end, just remember to stick the die down really well with repositionable tape so that you can take it out of the machine and have a good look at it.  Line up the outer cutting edge die and run it back through.  This will form the front of your card.  For the back of your card you need to trim another sheet of A4 card down to 8" wide, turn and score at 8" again, fold this score line, cover the front short flap with double sided tape and line up and stick your card front to it.

I die cut four Envelope Dies to use as corners and glued these in place.  I then die cut the largest Threaded Scalloped Square in shiny silver mirri as its for a christmas card and layered with the matching blue card that I used for the base.  These were stuck in place centrally but on the diagonal as a base for the snowflake.

For the snowflake itself, I die cut six Rococo Christmas Trees in plain white card and glued them together, in pairs, with the 'pot' slightly overlapping.  I layered these three pairs as evenly as I could and glued them in place.  I had tiny 3d foam pads and stuck them to the snowflake so they couldn't be seen and layered this onto my base card.  I punched two tiny snowflakes and stuck these to the centre of my large snowflake to cover the joins.  I added some tiny blingy clear gems for a hint of sparkle.

I hope you like it,
Karen x

Winter Wishes Hot Cocoa

Here's a card using the Tonic Studios Pick of the Day Small Dainty Bows Die Set. 

I started off by cutting a Teal square card out of an A4 sheet of card, I cut a silver glitter layer and a white felt card layer.  I rounded the corners on all of these.

I die cut the Small Dainty Bow in teal and white and layered them before sticking the bow together.

The Rococo Hot Cocoa Die was cut again out of teal, white and silver glitter.  Using the white as a base, the teal cup was cut out and paper pieced on top along with the silver candy cane and bow.  I backed the white foam of the cocoa with the remnants of the silver die cut just to give some depth.

The Winter Wishes wording is cut from the Christmas Wishes Header Die Set with the individual letters being curved over the top of the cup and glued into position.  The bow was stuck down at an angle over the corner.

This is quite a simple card to make but with the added paper piecing I think it makes quite a focal point.

I hope you like it,

Karen x