Saturday 28 March 2015

Fiskafriends - The Power Of Community Blog Hop

WELCOME
to the
Fiskafriends - The Power Of Community Blog Hop

If you came from Stasia Sloma's blog, then you're in the right place,
if not, keep on reading, all the Blog Hop links are below,
along with some giveaways.

The Blog Hop officially begins 6pm PDT Friday 27th March
and ends 11:59pm PDT Sunday 29th March.
I'm down in Australia, so the local times for me are
from midday AEDT Saturday 28th March to the
end at 5:59pm AEDT Monday 30th March.

Today I'm sharing a box card.
There are lots of templates and tutorials out there in cyberland but I wanted to make a BIG 21st birthday card, so I "upsized".  With the star sticking out from the top,
it sits 9 1/2" tall.  The card folds down and sits flat for postage and you can see,
if you don't include the large top star, it becomes a flat 6" x 7" card for postage.
 

To make the card, I started with two sheets of cardstock,
one sheet 9" x 7" for the front panels and
one sheet 5" x 9" for the back panel & bridges to go inside the card.


I'm not sure if you can see clearly on this diagram,
so I will describe the scoring, cutting and assembly.
  • take the largest panel and score at 3" and 6", turn and score at 4"
  • with the panel sitting flat, cut down the two top 3" score lines, this makes the three flaps that fold down to become the front & side panels of the open card
  • fold each of the score lines to prepare for when the card is assembled, the 2x vertical score lines are folded inwards to make a "U" shape, the top flaps are folded down & outwards, it really helps if you have a bone folder to make crisp folds
  • take the smaller panel and score at 1" and 4", turn and score at 4"
  • with the panel sitting flat, cut the top 2 x 1" strips - these 1"-scored-3"-scored-1" strips are the "bridges" using inside the card (you can make these separately, it was quicker for me to score them at the same time as the panel and they were the right size, with no extra cutting)
  • cut down the two top 3" score lines then across the 1" score line at each side, you will have a 3"wide x 7"tall rectangle with tabs at each side at the bottom, these are the tabs to secure it to the front section
  • now comes the fun part - decorating & assembly
  • using glitter paper, I cut the following:
    - three 2 3/4"x 3 3/4" panels to decorate the outside of the base panels
    - four 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" panels to decorate the top 3 flaps and the top front of the back panel
    - one 2 3/4" x 6 3/4" panel for the back of the back panel (what a tongue twister, sure hope these makes sense)
  • because I wanted to write a message on the back panel, I cut a piece of black cardstock 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" to go on top of the glittered panel
  • adhere the decorative panels in place (it is much easier when the pieces are flat, not assembled)
  • secure the back panel to the front section with strong adhesive on the 1" tabs (I used Helmar Professional Acid Free Glue) - the base of the card will now become a box shape, the back stands vertical and the three flaps fold down
  • take the "bridges" and secure them inside the top of the box base - it doesn't really matter which way you insert them, I went with the direction of the tabs securing the back in place, with the tabs pointing towards the front of the card


  • I cut an assortment of stars using black cardstock and glitter paper using Sizzix nesting Stars dies and decorated the panels & bridges.  To secure the cardstock to the glitter paper, I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry (my GO-TO glue) and also used some foam dots for some dimension.
  • Some of the stars are attached to the "front" of the bridges, so I adhered a black star to the back of them, on the other side of the bridge to make them more secure and, in the case of the glitter stars, it hid the white background too.  Oops, I nearly forgot, I used a black marker to colour the edges of the foam dots too.
  • the "HAPPY" and "21" were cut using Kaisercraft Alphabet & Numbers die sets
  • the "birthday" is from the Sizzix Stephanie Barnard Regal Stand-Ups Card die set
  • the "celebrate" on the back of the card is from the Paper Smooches Birthday Words die set
  • I cut three of each sentiment and adhered them together with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue for extra dimension ... I confess that I'm new to Tombow and LOVE IT already!!!

I hope you enjoyed my sparkly box card.

***  NOW for the PRIZES  ***
 If you would like to be eligible for the sponsor giveaway drawing,
START at the Fiskafriends blog and follow the instructions there.  If you have already done that, I would love for you to leave a comment here and don't forget
... it gives you an entry in the
Fiskafriends - The Power of Community Blog Hop prize draw.

Here is the Fiskafriends Blog Hop List:
Fiskafriends Blog <=== start here
Tracy Moloney  #6773 <=== you are here

***  WAIT - there's MORE!!!  ***
I am also hosting a giveaway (separate to the main Fiskafriends Blog Hop prizes).
Open to everyone, all over the world.
It wouldn't be a Fiskafriends prize without a little orange & green.

To go in the random draw for your chance to win my giveaway, mention in your comment a new technique you want to try or product you want to buy.
It would be nice if you decide to follow my blog but it is not a requirement.
Entries close when the Blog Hop ends at 11:59pm PDT Sunday 29th March,
which is 5:59pm AEDT Monday 30th March local time for me here in Australia.
ONE comment per person please.
 The winner of my giveaway will be announced on my blog on Friday 3rd April and the winner must contact me by 11:59pm PDT Sunday 5th April or another winner will be drawn.
I will advise the winner when the prize has been posted but
I cannot be responsible for errors, lost, damaged or stolen prizes.

Don't forget to hop on over to Kim Chenez's blog,

THANK YOU for taking the time to visit my blog.
I hope you enjoyed hopping along with the Fiskafriends
!!!
TracyM #6773

SPARKLING 21st birthday box card


If you're visiting for the
please see my next blog post here.

This is my first ever box card and because I wanted
to send BIG 21st birthday wishes, I "upsized".
With the star sticking out from the top, it sits 9 1/2" tall,
the flaps hanging out the side are 3"x 3",
the base panels 3" x 4".

I have entered my SPARKING 21st birthday box card in
the Paper Issues - New Issue: Painting By The Numbers.
Some more photos of my card, along with a tutorial
and giveaways can be found on this post.
I hope you will drop by and check it out because it is part of the
Fiskafriends - The Power Of Community Blog Hop
The Blog Hop is filled with creative projects,
sponsored giveaways and some blog giveaways too!!!
It is always fun to be inspired and have the chance to win at the same time!!!
THANK YOU for visiting my blog,
I hope you enjoyed my card.
TracyM #6773

Friday 27 March 2015

40 & fabulous

Milestone birthdays add a touch of fun to card making.
I went with an elegant, modern design for this 40th birthday card, combining dry embossing on smooth white cardstock, sparkling silver glitter and lots of dimension using bundles of foam squares between each layer.


Ingredients:
  • Ruby Rock-It Fundamentals A5 card base
    (I cut off the front stepper section) for this 8 1/4" tall top folding card
  • American Crafts silver glitter paper
  • Couture Creations Large Peacock Fans 5x7 embossing folder from the Marriot Collection
  • American Crafts Thickers
    - Shoebox DIY Thickers for the "40" and "&", smothered with silver WOW! glitter
    - Amy Tangerine Scene silver glitter foam stickers for the "fabulous"
I have entered my card in the
http://paperissues.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/new-issue-painting-by-numbers-with.html
http://paperissues.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/new-issue-painting-by-numbers-with.html
and the

http://papercrafterscorner.com/blog/papercrafting-challenge-magazine-mondays-week-92/  http://papercrafterscorner.com/blog/papercrafting-challenge-magazine-mondays-week-92/


PS - don't forget,
starts tomorrow, hope to see you hopping along with us.

Paper Smooches Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.
Kim and the DT will be sharing fun and fabulous projects using the
four new stamps and eight new dies from the April release.
CREATIVE INSPIRATION
CRAFTY TEMPTATION
AND the chance to WIN one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!
AWESOME!!!


Head on over to the Paper Smooches Blog and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Thursday 26 March 2015

Coming soon - FISKAFRIENDS - THE POWER OF COMMUNITY BLOG HOP

I am thrilled to be part of the
FISKAFRIENDS - THE POWER OF COMMUNITY BLOG HOP
 
Full details of the Blog Hop blogger list and prizes will be revealed 6pm PDT 27th March, which is midday Saturday 28th March Australian Eastern Daylight Time
 
Here is a link to the Fiskafriends Blog so that you can learn about the Fiskafriends and our upcoming Blog Hop:
 
I hope you will drop by and join the fun of the Blog Hop with us :)
 

My little pony

I love personalising birthday cards and had lots of punchy fun creating this 5th birthday card.  This is the second one I have made using this design ... it's wonderful that My Little Pony is still so popular, maybe I will get to use it again!

The card is 6"x6".
The rainbow background is textured cardstock, alternating the Groovy Rainbow and Up In The Clouds Interchangeable Border Punch Cartridges from Fiskars.
Other Fiskars punches include:
Yeigh or Neigh lever punch
Cloud medium squeeze punch
Soleil LE squeeze punch


I have entered my card in the Paper Issues New Issue: Painting By The Numbers

Sunday 1 March 2015

March NEW releases and BLOG HOP with Paper Smooches

Come on over and check out the March new releases from Paper Smooches, be inspired by the projects shared by the PS Design Team and have the chance to win one of four $25 PS gift codes to use in the PS online store!!!

Here are the details:
  • FOUR winners will be chosen at RANDOM from any of the design team blogs and the PS Blog to win the $25 prize.
  • Just leave a comment on any of the design team blogs listed below or the PS blog for your chance to win!  (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify but it increases your changes) 
  • Deadline: You have until midnight PT on Sunday, March 1st to leave a comment. 
  • Please check the Paper Smooches blog on Monday, March 2nd to see if you are one of the FOUR lucky winners.  

Start hopping at Paper Smooches - have FUN and GOOD LUCK!!!