Hello there

I  felt this title was really appropriate after being shaken about over the last day or so.  We had another big earthquake – this time it was 6.6 yesterday afternoon and then we had a series of aftershocks of over 6 about 5.30 pm.  Very unsettling!  The aftershocks have continued today and although I don’t feel most of them there are still some good sharp jolts.  I am getting to know the light fittings in minute detail as they are a good indicator that we are having another shock.

However, we cannot live waiting for the big one to come so hence the mantra “Keep Calm and Keep Crafting”  so I have continued to keep crafting.  We are very close to making a special announcement for Make Shift so I have to keep working hard making cards.  Today I am going to focus on one card  and show you how I have made it.

Here is the completed card:

 

For the base card I have used a lovely cream linen finish card from www.cardmakers.co.nz.

I then embossed an A5 sheet of cream metallic cardstock with the Nellie Snellen embossing folder HSF005.

 

The embossed card was then trimmed to  10 cms by 14.5 cms to fit onto the base cardstock with a small edge around it.  I find that my CM personal trimmer is great to get a good square cut.  The cardstock I buy from the Cardmakers is slightly larger than the A5 cards, which is good as I like the layered look of the embossed card over the base card.  It gives it an extra texture and dimension.

 

I then die cut the lovely oval frame from Marianne Craftables CR1204.  This is a beautiful frame that comes with a flower as well.  It sits in well with this embossed folder.

 

 

I then die cut all the embellishments out of the cream metallic card.  I have found a heavier weight of card better for most of these embellishments.  I have used Metallic quartz board from Direct Paper 285 gsm for these die cuts.  For the roses I have used a lighter weight metallic paper from the local $2 store as this paper is much easier to roll up for the flowers.

 

The dies I have used are:

Marianne Creatables Branches LR0151

Marianne Creatables Ivy – LR0206

Marianne Creatables English Rose  LR0162

To adhere the branch I have used my CM adhesive pen as it has a fine nib but any good adhesive pen would work.

I trimmed the bottom of the branch and placed it to follow the curve of the oval frame.

Unfortunately the photo of this placed on the frame has been corrupted and I am unable to show you this step.

I then placed the ivy over the flourish and here you can see the flourish on the frame.

The rose leaves were then placed over the ivy and branch.

 

The roses were made by using my quilling tool to roll the die cut flowers into a rose shape and using a quick drying glue to hold them into place.

The roses were then glued into place over the rose leaves and ivy.  Here are some close up images.

 

To finish off the card I have placed a Peelcraft greeting on the oval.  Here I have used a ‘happy anniversary’ greeting as I need to make some anniversary cards to add to the range of cards for Make Shift.  But an elegant Happy Birthday would be lovely as well.

Once again here is the finished card:

 

Depending on the greeting used this card could be either a landscape or portrait card.

Before gluing everything together I played around with all the elements to ensure that I ended up with a pleasing arrangement.

I love the simplicity of the cream on cream and the metallic finish makes this card very elegant.  It could be suitable for a lot of occasions depending on the greeting and die cutting numbers in gold could personalise this even more.  (I am so looking forward to getting my Cricut and CTMH Cricut cartridges to add a greater dimension to my cards – couldn’t resist putting this in as we have a date to start on 1st September).

Here are another couple of variations including a cream and gold card using a gold base card:

The dies have been purchased through www.kalsbeek.co.nz.  They have a great range of the Marianne Creatables and Craftables products and many more products to make fabulous cards.  I have found their after sales service to be excellent.

Despite a couple of reasonable aftershocks I have finally managed to finish this post so I hope that you have found it useful and easy to follow.

So don’t forget to Stay Calm and Keep Crafting

Patricia

 

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• Special cards for the Special person (patriciamanhire.wordpress.com)
• Baby Cards for Make Shift (patriciamanhire.wordpress.com)