CARD SHARE DAY!

Today I'm sharing with you two cards.....similar...but oh so different too....a comparison of cards with a blast from the past and a newer version showing how much I've 'progressed' with my cardmaking. And, as an extra...I'm sharing with you my tutorial on how to make the yellow daisy (from the second card)...it's new, just uploaded yesterday...just click on the link and it'll take you to my other blog.

http://thesixinchsquare.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/spellbinders-create-daisy-die-set.html


THE OLD - 'Lilac and white flower' card

This is one of my VERY first cards that I ever made. Made it quite a few years ago. I had few crafting/cardmaking tools and skills back then...as an artist I had numerous paints and pencils and made my own hand drawn or painted cards but cardmaking was only just taking off and there was little by way of tools, paper and embellishments available in the shops (oh how times have changed!) I had just bought a small Cuttlebug hand die cutting machine but again, despite thinking how amazing it was, there was only a few and very limiting set of dies available...and then I discovered the electronic Cricut Create...and thought my world of creativity was about to explode! I was amazed that with just two little cartridges I could programme in, sit back and watch it do all the work for me...multi cutting flower shapes in numerous sizes in minutes....and fonts!...I could cut out any word I wanted...and apertures!....I could cut out different shapes and to the size I wanted rather than buying shop premade ones!...

...so with a few ideas in my head and one sheet of white paper...and another in lilac...I made this card.

Very simple card which I think sort of shows I had the basic ideas emerging and card making skills...but not the confidence to do anything too bold or elaborate. I kept it reasonably plain and basic because it was all about the flower embellishment.....oh boy was I pleased I could create such a dimensional piece!

 

Everything on this card has been produced using the Cricut Create...except for the rounded corners of the card base. I drew around a coin and cut that by hand...YES a coin!...I didn't even have a corner paper punch back then either!

I set the machine to cut a basic circle aperture in the front of the card then set about designing a flower that I could stick on the inside so that when the card was closed, the flower protruded out through the aperture. I had the machine cut out four different sizes of a basic daisy flower shape, and layered then all together....and to be a little different, instead of curling and shaping the flower up and out in more natural and usual way, I flipped it over so it curved downwards. A pile of foam pads underneath helps keep it's shape and keeps it raised up.

 I added a name and small matching flower to the front...and a Happy Birthday inside. I made this for a family member, who accepted it warmly and with great interest....she was delighted that I'd personalised it with her name too!

 

 

THE NEW - 'Yellow Daisy' Card

 

Oh have times have changed! Many years on and my collection of cartridges for my Create machine has grown and I have the additional add-on Gypsy gadget which extends the use of the machine and what it cuts even further....and my collection of dies for the manual machine has also extended...and what is now available is pretty amazing...all sorts of designs, elaborate, intricate and versatile. There are many different machines available, you can now cut up to A4 size too! My poor little Cuttlebug has worn itself out and I'm having to upgrade...but it's done well and been a good servant to me.

 

So, on to the card. I wanted to share this one with you because it shows how much my cardmaking has progressed and changed. Partly due to the huge range and variety of cardmaking things available...partly due to huge amount of inspiration out there via websites like Pinterest and Facebook, groups, craft shows and magazines. This card is an echo of the design of my card above...but obviously dealt with and embellished a lot more differently.

The basic card design is the same....a tall rectangle piece of cardstock (black card...one of my staples in my stash nowadays) with a circle aperture cut into the front section. This was cut using a Spellbinder Nestabilities 'Standard Circles' die. The same die, plus one a little bigger was also used to cut a thin frame to go around the outer edge of the aperture. The card front was covered in a mat of patterned paper...again with the circle aperture cut out...and the remnant was reserved and used as a mat behind the flower embellishment on the inside of the card. A little bit of Distress Ink - Black Soot was applied around the edges of the card to soften and give a slightly more shabby chic look.

Two strips of Spellbinder border die from the 'Ironwork-accents' set were placed back to back and topped with a wide piece of grosgrain ribbon to make a band across the bottom of the card, two butterfly embellishments were cut from Sizzix Thinlit 'Butterflies 8pk' dies and some black stick on gems used for a bit of sparkle and 'non paper' interest.

The 'with Love' sentiment is a stamp from Clarity Stamps, inked using Distress Ink - Black Soot.

The Flower embellishments are again, created from dies cut on the manual die cutting machine.

The two smaller flowers were cut from lemon 'Efco' paper using Spellbinders 'Carnation-Creations' dies, inked up using Distress Inks - Scattered Straw and Black Soot, layered and toped with black gems.

The main larger daisy flower is from Spellbinders - 'Create a Daisy' Die Set, cut from lemon Efco paper and inked up as per the above. It was glued to the round mat on the inside of the card so that when the card is closed, the flower pops out through the aperture.


SPELLBINDERS CREATE A DAISY - TUTORIAL 

I recently purchased the Spellbinders Create A Daisy die kit and was a little dismayed to find such vague instructions on the packet as to how to construct the flower...in particular how to achieve the central floret piece. The die set is small and so is the packaging...which is not a bad thing regarding waste, except that this only allows limited sized photo instructions. This plus a strange lack of tutorials on the internet and a small glitch on the Spellbinders website (doesn't currently allow you to access their more detailed instructions) has prompted me to decide to post up my own step by step, comprehensive (I hope) written and photo tutorial.

This is the flower you should be able to create using the die set and by following my tutorial...which I have now uploaded to my other craft blog 'The Six Inch Square'.

 

Please click on this following link to take you direct to the tutorial page.

 

http://thesixinchsquare.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/spellbinders-create-daisy-die-set.html

 

I hope you find this of interest and help to you.

 

xx Ange xx