What’s a Sentiment between friends? (~a handmade card for lots of reasons!~)

I wanted to make a ‘versatile’ card.  A card for almost any occasion.  So … I knew I’d have to be able to change the sentiment on the card in order to make the card versatile.  So this is the ‘story’ of one card, and,  just for the photos – four different sentiments.

Hello …. friend?  Maybe?  Haven’t seen you for ages?  How are you?  Or maybe  ‘Hello’ on the front, and ‘Get well’ inside?  Or ….  Hello,  Happy Birthday?

Made on a 6″x 6″ white card, and using Dovecraft  ‘Couture du Jour‘  papers and decoupage pad as a background paper, and for the pocket (for the tags).

I decoupaged the main focal image, and it has 5 layers in total.

“With Love” …. because you’re not feeling too well?   “With Love”  because … I love you?  “With Love”  …  just because?   “With Love” … on your Birthday?

The tags (in the pocket on the front) were stamped on plain white card, using stamps by Viva Decor.  They’re really fabulous crisp images which stamp clearly from the word go.

The tags were then ‘vintaged’ and layered on some green print paper, again from the Couture du Jour papers by Dovecraft.  I used some pastel chalks on the tags, in various places – on the one tag, I turned the stamped image of a bird into a blue bird.  And on the other tag, I coloured up the stamped image of a rose, using three different colours of chalks.

These are chalks I’ve had for … y.e.a.r.s!   I have two large sets of them – both made by Dovecraft.  They give a lovely soft, fuzzy sort of colour to things.  I really like them.

“Thinking of You”  . . .   well this one speaks for itself.

The heart hat pins are ones which are generally available.  I think I bought mine on Ebay years ago.  I wanted some red ones, but had to buy a whole set in order to get the red ones.  tsk tsk.  No wonder my craft room has no space … it’s filled with ‘left overs’!  lol.  🙂

“Just for You” . . .   because you deserve it.  “Just for You” because you’re amazing.  “Just for You”  . . . to say thank you for looking after out house while we were on holiday?   “Just for You” … because you’re a great help to me?  “Just for You” … just because.   . . .  or for a million other reasons.

The dragonfly over on the right (about a quarter of the way down) is from a selection by Anitas,  and the peg with the pink heart on it – down in the bottom left corner, is from the Santoro range.  And it’s this mini peg which enables me to change the sentiment on the card.  Virtually any sentiment can be held by that peg and it makes the card suitable for pretty much anyone.  I’ve just stamped four different sentiments to show you … and added some really pretty glitter – but you could stamp anything you wanted.

And that, as they say ….  is all there was to it!  Ta daaaaah!

Anyhoo ….. Happy Tuesday, 13th June.

Could someone please tell me who stole January to May?  And do the police know about this major robbery?

Do you know what’s made me a bit cross and fed up?  Create and Craft are having their CHRISTMAS  IN  [fricken]  JUNE  event.   Ho, Ho  bl**dy  Ho!

Now they  (Create & Craft)  say  (on their website)  that it’s only till the 25th June …  however, I remember last year and the year before … they said the same sort of thing, and Christmas never went away after their Christmas Event, so I have no hope that they’re going to change their ways and make Christmas in June, July, August, September, or October disappear.  [grouch, grouch, grump]

Ah well… I’m sure we’ll survive it.  I just won’t be buying anything from them until they stop the madness.  🙂

Wishing you a terrific Tuesday.  May the wind be a lazy breeze.  May any rains be soft, and feel like a caress as it touches your skin.  May the skies be a beautiful blue,  and may your day be free of anything which makes your heart ache.

Have a truly blessed Tuesday, all  ~

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A Classic in Times Nouveau, on an Easel.

I broke out the Graphic 45!  I did.  I really did.  Graphic 45 in their Times Nouveau collection, and made a Tag Card,  on a Graphic 45 large tag, and it’s all held onto an Easel which has a working stand, which ‘folds’ out from the back and holds the card like an easel would hold a piece of art work in a Gallery.  It has two hidden tags (one you can see in the picture above) and a little something special on the back, for writing the message.

I wondered if perhaps we could do another GIVE AWAY for this card – if anyone would like it.  I’ll explain in a minute how to enter the give away if you’d like to, but first … I thought I’d better show you how I made the card.

• SHOPPING LIST (roughly’ish’ – if I’ve forgotten to mention anything just point it out in a comment and I’ll let you know.)
• Pinflair Novelty Easel Card – minus the ‘canvas’
• 1 x Graphic 45 Lrg. Tag from a Regular Tag Album (9 pack)
• Kraft Mannequin from a pad of 45 (2 sizes: large, smaller, & either plane or foiled in gold and silver) by Craftwork Cards
• News Print card by Anna Marie Designs
• Olive Spot  and larger spot in black card – both by Anna Marie Designs
• Graphic 45 Times Nouveau Classic Collection – plus some chipboard tags and stickers from this collection.
• Very pale mint spot from stash.
• Tiny black with off white spots paper from stash.
• Ribbons and twine are all from stash.

How I made it:-  Take one black card tag … cover it on one side with Newsprint card,

Add a tiny piece of very pale mint spot paper, and a larger piece of olive spot card.  Making sure you leave a section for a tag to ‘hide’.  (shown by the bit of white and grey leaf card)

Add a piece of Graphic 45 Times Nouveau in the dog-tooth design.  (Again building in a section for a tag to hide in – not shown in this picture (above) but you’ll see the tag hiding place in the next photo)

Can you see where the little hiding spot is on the right hand side now?   Here in this photo (above) I’ve added some black card with very tiny white spots on it;  a mannequin which I distressed and wrapped in a little length of green organza;  I added a fussy cut rather stylish lady, which I mounted on first black larger spot card, then again on small spot card – just for the contrast;  A vintage Car – again fussy cut, but this time from some papers I had in my stash.  I then popped the chipboard ‘Swanky’ tag onto the card and pushed two pearly hat pins behind the card, so that they peeped out a the top of the chipboard tag.

Then came some finishing touches …  Added ribbon, made a bow and added netting in two colours and a couple of flower from my stash;  some tiny pearls around the neck of the mannequin and tucked some sequins into one of the folds of the organza so that they would catch the light.  I then made some little tags using both spot papers and some Graphic 45 Paper, . . .  and then came the easel for it to be displayed on  …

There is a little ‘making’ to the actual easel – but it’s nothing which is difficult.  They’re fabulous easels, and so beautifully made.  Everything is cut ready for you, and REALLY well cut too.

I had trouble lighting this card.  I tried it with the flash, without the flash, with desk lamps, with ceiling lights … and every combination of the previously mentioned ways.  I would say that the true colours are somewhere between the last two photographs above.  The one on the easel seems to have a little too much of a yellow tinge to it.  Where-as the photo before it is rather pale and wiped out by the flash I think.  It looks like it needs to be taking iron tablets.  lol

OK… here’s the  *instructions*   for entering for the give away for this card if you would like to throw your name into the mix and be in with a chance of winning it . . . .

TO ENTER THE GIVE AWAY HERE’S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO

You MUST be a follower of the blog –  The Cobweborium Emporium. (This is because I have to keep in mind that I’ve made great friends with almost all of my blog followers and so have a great loyalty to them and would want one of them to win the card.  I think this is fair).

IN A COMMENT BELOW YOU MUST TYPE THIS WORD IF YOU WANT YOUR NAME TO BE INCLUDED  …. and that word is:-  GIVEAWAY.  ← Exactly like that.  One word.  Type it at the start or end of your comment.

You have to put it exactly like that –  one word, in capital letters.  Simple – and it makes sure that I don’t miss anyone.  🙂

And that’s it.  That’s all you have to do.  Simply make a comment with the word GIVEAWAY either at the start or the end of your comment.  It couldn’t be easier, could it!  Oh … and …   Please  DON’T  put your real name or address in the comments box.  I need to look after your privacy and security.  If you win, I’ll organise how to get your address afterwards.

To make sure that all is fair,  each entrant will be assigned a number in the ‘time order’ in which they make the comment, and  I’ll get the Random Number Generator to choose the number, and do a screen shot of the R.N.G and post it so that you can all see which number was generated.

I’ll ‘run’ this giveaway from today (Wednesday 5th October 2016), until next Tuesday – TUESDAY 11th OCTOBER, and it will end on that day at 6pm UK time.  Just a week – so that no one is kept hanging around waiting for the result. (We don’t have zones in the UK, we just have one time zone for the whole of the UK – so you’ll have to ask (perhaps) Google to work it out for you so that you know what time that would be where-ever it is that you are.)

This is open to ANYONE IN ANY AREA OF THE WORLD … so long as your country allows a card posted to you from outside your country through your customs. You won’t be asked for any postage or any monies what-so-ever.  This really is just a little fun between us friends.

Well, Wednesday has found it’s way to us all again.  I have a plan for today already ear-marked:   I’d love to show you, if you don’t already know, how to make your own professional looking Christmas Crackers.  Not from a kit …   not those kits you buy for making Crackers, which are from thin card and don’t look like proper Christmas Crackers at all.  I want to show you, if I can, how to make firstly a regular Christmas Cracker …  and then how to spice them up a little and make them into something way more special.  The problem is … can I do it in pictures?  I’ve only ever shown folks how to do this face to face, sitting next to each other so that they can see exactly what I’m doing.  And … I still don’t know how to do the video thing … and load a video onto YouTube – which perhaps would make things easier.  But … I’m going to give it a try and see if I can make it work, and hopefully I’ll be able to share the secrets with you.

So anyway ...  what are your plans for today?  Going anywhere?  Making anything?  Cooking something?  Sewing?  Knitting?  Anything?

Do share the information with me because I can then come to your blog and badger you if you don’t post the results of it for me to drool over!  🙂  lol – just joking.  Actually … no, no I’m not.  I feel, as your friend, that it is my duty to come and badger you.  So yes, I shall come and badger you and poke you with the end of my stick!  It’s a tickling stick and so will make you laugh!

If you’re still reading,  (well done),  I wish you an absolutely WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!  May the day be bright.  May the winds be gentle.  May your day be easy.  And, until we meet again, may your God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Have a blessed day my friends,

 

Friday Post:- Things I’ve learned this week!

I’m hoping to begin a ‘Friday Post’, as each Friday comes around (and boy do they come around quicker the older I get!).  Each week I find I’m learning something(s) new and hoping to share these with you  …  if my one remaining brain cell remembers to do this, of course.

Before I branch out into this weeks life’s lessons can I just take a moment to say  ….

Hello and Welcome to a handful of new followers who have joined us.  It’s fabulous to have you joining the team here and so lovely to see and meet new folks.  Please don’t be shy.  Chat to me and the rest of the great team in a comment, so that we can get to know each other.  Talking in blog land is something I heartily encourage as otherwise it’s just like another Facebook – and we don’t need another one of those.  So … in the words of someone famous though sadly not here with us anymore...  Can we talk?

Anyhoo … here’s what I’ve learned this week:

1.  As I’m sat here right now, in my favourite grey t.shirt which is all wet down the left hand side (visibly wet), I’ve learned that I should ensure I put the cap  PROPERLY  on my plastic see through squash tumbler/flask before I tuck it into the crook of my arm and hold it firmly against my body (left br3@st) so that when I bend slightly to pick up the crafting freebies which came with my magazine this morning, the said ‘orange squash’ doesn’t leak all over my t.shirt,  causing me to look for all intents and purposes like a heavily lactating new mother!  (*Dear God, it’s me again.  Can you make sure no one comes the door right now because I look a total mess.  thank you God ~ me. x).

2.  I’ve learned this week not to put my glasses (spectacles) down on my crafting surface, anywhere near where I’ve dropped a small bit of the opaque, removable Scotch tape which I use to keep my dies in place during the cutting process in the machine.  Because … if  that tiny bit sticks to a lens of my glasses, I instantly think I’ve gone ‘wonky’ in one eye and a tiny bit of panic steps in.  (Hey, so much  is going wrong with me over the past .. what?  Donkeys years??  –  yeah, that will do, – that a wonky eye just seemed like another laugh which my body was having at my expense).

3. I’ve learned to stop checking if air dry clay is  …  dry yet?.  . . .  And now?  . . .   Is it ready Now?  . . .  And NOW? [sigh]  Leave the darn thing alone over-night, woman! [double sigh]

4. I’ve learned that there are some of the most incredibly wonderful people in blog land, who turn from blogging pals, into blogging friends,  into incredible blessings in my life.

Mentioning no names   (The Artisan Duck).  . . .  I had a lightbulb moment a few weeks ago when perusing a blogging pals blog, and I mentioned the idea in a comment to her.

She took that idea and had a play around and improved on it, and from that initial play, she produced the most incredible, darling Hat Pins,  which the scrapbookers and card makers amongst us like to use in our crafting.  But .. Hannah’s  whoops I almost forgot I wasn’t mentioning any names – these Hat Pins are different and so wonderful for card makers/scrapbookers because …

• instead of the mile long hat pins (which Hat pins are normally made in), Han  … ‘Miss Maker & Amazing Talented Artist’ makes her hat pins on shorter, lighter weight, pins, so that we crafters don’t face either having to try to cut pins down (a dangerous affair as I know to my cost)
• or trying to work out a way of covering up a huge stem of a hat pin in ways which we really don’t want to. 
• Neither do they weight a card in such a way that they cost more to post,
• nor drag the front of a card forward or even make it fall down because of the weight. 
• Neither are we faced with trying to ‘hide’ the sharp points of the pins so that the receiver or someone in their family doesn’t get stabbed by the point of a hat pin.

In photographs the pins look great.  But in real life …  the pins are little stunners.  The beads and pearls on the pins twinkle and shine and sparkle beautifully, and the length is totally perfect.  More than perfect.  And on cards – they are the perfect length.

How do I know this?  –  My blogging friend sent me the selection of pins to say thank you for the idea . . .

. . .  and a handmade card, made by her herself with two of her pins added as embellishments. 

See the two handmade hat pins?  Aren’t they pretty!

I’ve had ideas popping out of my head and fingers for donkey’s years and I’ve shared them with the folks who I thought might like the idea(s), but this is the first time anyone has ever made me feel like Hannah has. She validated my suggestion, and let’s be honest here, we all need validation sometimes in our lives.  I had ‘an idea‘. Nothing else. Just an idea which I shared with her.  Hannah liked the idea, ran with it, (not while holding scissors) and then thanked me and is thinking of making them and putting them for sale.  (I hope she does because I’d buy these.)

 I know I simply won’t be able to give these particular pins up by using them on cards because … well to me, they’re not a ‘for crafting’ item, these are a special gift, handmade and given to me from a special blogging friend.  No, I cannot part with these, not for all the tea in China.  They’re mine. 

So … I’m wiser (and older) this Friday, but not just for the 4 points mentioned above.

What about you?  Have you learned anything this week?  Do share!  If it’s something funny then you’ll make us laugh.  If it’s something you’ve cried over, we’ll hold your hand and cry with you.  If it’s something which has made you wiser .. tell us and share the wisdom.

[Looks down at her t.shirt]  …..  ooo goody!… it’s dry now!   (Hello God, it’s me again.  You can cancel that last request and let folk come to the door.  The t.shirt is dry now.  Thank you.  ~ me. x)

Wishing you a truly great Friday and promising that normal service (of crafting and making a beautiful mess with scraps and glittery things) will be resumed on Monday.  In the meantime … I’m cleaning my craftroom.  It looks like someone had a right old paddy in there at the moment.  I swear I don’t make THAT much mess when I’m crafting – so it certainly can’t be me! (I bet it’s that cat of mine!) lol.  We also have our own little star coming to stay over the weekend, and although we love, love, love to have him – but we both feel twice our age by the time he’s gone. 🙂

Have a truly wonderful weekend all.

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We’re all mad here!

Happy Friday!  My first card of the New Year is a birthday card which I made for my Son-in-laws birthday last week.  I knew I wanted to make something which was very different from a regular ‘Happy Birthday’ type card, because he’s a very different kind of chap and I love him to the moon and back, so wanted to make him a card which would make him smile right from the start.  So … I made him a Mad Hatter card!   Not because he’s mad, nor because he’s a hatter – but purely because  “We’re all mad here” – it speaks of ‘us’ as a family.  (not me of course.  I’m the sane one [cough])

The papers I used for this card are made by Tinker n Co – who I discovered via Ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/tinkernco/m.html?item=110970808057&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562) .

The over-sized playing card on top of the box is from a collection of cards I had already – but they aren’t Tinker &Co – however, you can buy these really easily all over the place (including eBay).

card, large and medium-sized tags and small tag shaped money wallet

The card itself is a Cross-Over card, which I stuck down the ‘flaps’ to make it a big pocket so that I could tuck tags and a money wallet inside the card. (if you don’t know what a ‘cross over’ card is just let me know and I’ll try to help).   I made a stand for the back of the card so that it could stand up independently.

There are three hat pins tucked into the ribbon – upper right hand side of the card (from the Mad Hatters top hat);  a tiny glass bottle in which there is a mystical blue ‘liquid’ on the left of the card – (set glue which I tinted blue and added a few tiny flakes of gilding flakes) with a little tag on it saying ‘drink me’;   a tiny brass cake charm with a tag saying ‘eat me’ hanging from it,  and a beautiful large round brad with a top hat picture held behind resin, which I added to the lower right corner.

All the little pictures of the Mad Hatter were fussy cut and mounted onto black card stock, – and I printed out a little sign to tuck behind the three hat pins which reads:  ‘In this style, 10/6’ – which is the price tag which the Mad Hatter has tucked into the ribbon of his top hat.

The ribbon I used for this card is a black and cream striped Grosgrain ribbon, which I wrapped around the centre of the card and simply tied.  (I also used this ribbon to make a rosette rose on the lid of the card box).   The two larger of the tags have two ribbon loops fixed to the top through which I threaded a short length of bamboo – (cut down bamboo skewers).

Each of the three tags have a front and back.  The long, slim tag has the poem:  “You Are Old,  Father William” on the one side,  which was recited by Alice (in Alice in Wonderland) – and it’s a nod to my son-in-law having a birthday and getting old(er).

The shadows in this photo makes the bamboo pole on the larger tag three times thicker than it is .. this is just the shadow from the pole on the back drop behind the tags. The pole is very slim, and it threads through the two ribbon loops.

The back of the large tag has quotes from Alice in Wonderland along with a fob watch charm which I nex sat to the quote:  “No wonder you’re late. Why this watch is exactly two days slow!” (said by the Mad Hatter).   The back of the long slim tag has a picture of Alice chatting to the Caterpillar, and the space above the picture is so I could hand write a Birthday greeting (‘to’ and ‘from’).

Yes – I think we just might be!

The ‘money wallet’ was made from black cardstock.  Shown here  ↑  with a Cobweborium card tucked into the pocket so that you can see where the gift of birthday money will sit.

All three tags sit nicely into the pocket, and the whole card and tags fits into a hand-made 6×6″ white card box, which I decorated the lid of to match the card.

I was thrilled to pieces that my Son-in-law loved his card.  My daughter (his wife) phoned me after she’d sat reading the card and tags, and said it was the best card I’d ever made.  Coo …  I was beside myself with happiness right there and then!

Thank you so much for coming and spending some time with me, and taking a peep at my latest card.  I really enjoy your company – it can get a little lonely in Blog land sometimes.  So thank you for popping by.

Have a truly wonderful weekend all,  ~