Right on the button!

I usually prefer my buttons to be made from Cadbury's chocolate, but in this case I've made an exception!  The theme for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge is "buttons" and I've made a feature of Kraft Resist cardstock and buttons (both real and stamped) on this tag.  The tag was coloured with Distress Stains, which were also used to dye the white organza ribbon I used. 

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Time to Breathe

I don't know about you, but after CHA, when loads of new products flood the market, I need to find some time just to sit down and mess around with them, to get a feel for their properties and how I might use them in the future.  This card is the result of such a session - I sat down with a square of Tim Holtz's Kraft Resist pad and just attacked it with Distress Stains, Color Wash sprays and acrylic paint, to see how it reacted and performed.

It doesn't really matter what kind of mess you end up with, you will have learned a lot, and you can always mat the result and make a "men's card" out of it! :)

Dave-in-a-box!

I read this great quote by Michelangelo this week - when asked about his statue of David, he said "I saw an angel in the block of marble and I just chiseled 'til I set him free".  As I had Tim Holtz's David stamp and a silicone mould of part of his face I thought I'd make a piece based around that quote for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge.  The theme this week is "a Tim Holtz technique", so I decided to use his Kraft Resist cardstock for a variation on the blended batik technique.

The first task was to cover the Configurations box that I was using in black cardstock - I thought it would make a change from the usual patterned cardstock trimmed with tissue tape that I've always done in the past.  This was quite a job in itself, but worth the effort I think!

The latticed label holder and pediment were designed on the computer and cut on the Cricut.  The name and quote were printed on the computer and the paper clay face had been made the day before and left to dry overnight.  Apart from the black American Crafts cardstock, all the rest is Kraft Resist.

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Freebie #64!

Windowed Pocket Tags

Following a request I received this week, tonight's freebies are windowed pocket tags.  Perfect for holding a journalling spot on a scrapbook page, as a cute frame for a small photo, the focus on the front of a card or just as an extra special tag on a gift for a loved one!  Why not use these pocket tags to hold special messages or ephemera such as tickets?

There are 5 designs in total - circle, square, heart, scalloped square and solid, just cut them on double sided cardstock, glue or tape down the tabs and you're all set!  I've included marks to show where to fold and I've also included reinforcement circles for that authentic stationery look.  All 5 are in 1 file, just cut the ones you need!

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and can not share it or distribute it to others in any form. I spend a great deal of time creating my designs, please respect the terms under which they are shared.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down. Don't forget, if you have any requests, pass them on! I can't promise, but I will take suggestions into account when planning future templates.

These files may not be uploaded to a group, forum or website for sale or redistribution, or shared among individuals. They are expressly for the personal use of each person that downloads them from this blog.

There is one file and I have put it into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the files out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save it.

There are 2 versions of each template:

• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot or Make the Cut program and then cut out on your Cricut.
• A DXF version which is Craft Robo friendly, and ready to be imported into your Robomaster software (I'm not a Robo user, so if there are any problems with this, please let me know!)

Simply click on the appropriate button below to download the file!

Any feedback on the templates is more than welcome, and if you have any suggestions for possible future templates you'd like to see, please let me know! If you make anything using one of the templates, please post a link to it here so that others can be inspired by how you've used them!

I hope you like the templates - let me know how you get on! :)

Files © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2011

Not all cards are made with Retro Grunge

... but this one certainly is!  When I sat down at my desk I found a square of Retro Grunge paper left from another project, so given my current campaign to use up some of my patterned cardstock, I decided to make it the base for this card!

Add on some swipes of white paint dabber and wild honey distress stain, some splatters of butterscotch color wash spray, a Sharpie white paint pen and some Tim Holtz stamps and Bob's yer uncle! :)

Freebie #63!

Square Gift Box

Following yesterday's post of a set of notecards with matching gift box I've had a number of emails asking about the box, so I thought I'd offer it as todays freebie :)  This shallow gift box with snugly fitting lid comes in either SVG or DXF format, ready to cut on the Cricut, Craft Robo or other digital cutters.

I originally designed the box at 5 1/2 inches square, to fit the cards I'd made, but I've included a sizing chart below, which shows the width and height to cut the box and lid to make a range of box sizes.  Remember, this is a square box, so the two shapes you cut should be square in proportion.  For example, for a 3x3 box, the base should be 5.2 x 5.2 and the lid should be 4.77 x 4.77. 

Note:  Although I calculated these sizings I haven't tried cutting in all the sizes yet.  I already knew that the 5.5 box cuts perfectly, so I then went on to make a sample cut of the 3x3 size, which also worked just fine.  I figured that as the 3x3 was the smallest and most fiddly to assemble that would be the one that was most likely to go wrong, so I was relieved when it worked! :)

Box size	Base w/h	Lid w/h
3 x 3	5.2	4.77
3.5 x 3.5	6.04	5.54
4 x 4	6.9	6.3
4.5 x 4.5	7.76	7.06
5 x 5	8.62	7.85
5.5 x 5.5	9.5	8.625
6 x 6	10.34	9.38
6.5 x 6.5	11.22	10.14

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and can not share it or distribute it to others in any form. I spend a great deal of time creating my designs, please respect the terms under which they are shared.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down. Don't forget, if you have any requests, pass them on! I can't promise, but I will take suggestions into account when planning future templates.

These files may not be uploaded to a group, forum or website for sale or redistribution, or shared among individuals. They are expressly for the personal use of each person that downloads them from this blog.

There are a few files and I have put them into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the files out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save it.

There are 2 versions of each template:

• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot or Make the Cut program and then cut out on your Cricut.
• A DXF version which is Craft Robo friendly, and ready to be imported into your Robomaster software (I'm not a Robo user, so if there are any problems with this, please let me know!)

Simply click on the appropriate button below to download the file!

Any feedback on the templates is more than welcome, and if you have any suggestions for possible future templates you'd like to see, please let me know! If you make anything using one of the templates, please post a link to it here so that others can be inspired by how you've used them!

I hope you like the templates - let me know how you get on! :)

Files © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2011

Boxing Clever!

The theme over on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge this week is "some distress". I decided to make this set of 5 matching 5.5" notecards with a coordinating gift box.  I used the Retro Grunge card stack, which already has the distress built right in!

I used Tim Holtz's "The Countdown" stamp set to stamp the numbers on the reverse side of some offcuts that were left from making the box and then coloured some of the numbers to echo colours from the Retro Grunge papers.  I only needed 3 sheets for the whole project - 1 for the lid, 1 for the base and another for the panels on the cards.  I tore the stamped panels into strips and applied Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink to the edges.

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Freebie #62!

Accordion Recipe/Photo Wallet

[These files are no longer available here.  Contact me on the link above for details on how to access expired files.]

In many ways this is a cut down version of the concertina organiser I've given away in the past, but this time the entire folder can be cut out of just 1 sheet of 12x12 cardstock!

Perfectly sized for 5x3 recipe cards or photos, I've included a separate file containing tabbed dividers so that if it's used for recipes you can separate them into appetizers, entrees, etc, plus a bookplate so that you can put a label of your choice on the front flap.

I've even included a PDF file with recipe cards you can print and cut out!  The base can be left flat, but I have also included fold guides so that the bottom can be accordion folded too - the choice is yours!

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and can not share it or distribute it to others in any form. I spend a great deal of time creating my designs, please respect the terms under which they are shared.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down. Don't forget, if you have any requests, pass them on! I can't promise, but I will take suggestions into account when planning future templates.

These files may not be uploaded to a group, forum or website for sale or redistribution, or shared among individuals. They are expressly for the personal use of each person that downloads them from this blog.

There are a few files and I have put them into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the files out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save it.

There are 2 versions of each template:

• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot or Make the Cut program and then cut out on your Cricut.
• A DXF version which is Craft Robo friendly, and ready to be imported into your Robomaster software (I'm not a Robo user, so if there are any problems with this, please let me know!)

Simply click on the appropriate button below to download the file!

Any feedback on the templates is more than welcome, and if you have any suggestions for possible future templates you'd like to see, please let me know! If you make anything using one of the templates, please post a link to it here so that others can be inspired by how you've used them!

I hope you like the templates - let me know how you get on! :)

Files © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2011

Time for Simon Says Stamp and Show!

The theme over on the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge this week is "anything but a card". Some of you may be aware that I'm battling to reduce the ever-growing pile of patterned cardstock in my craft room.  I'm making progress, slowly but surely, and this project takes me one step further in the fight! LOL  Having said that, I seem to only be reducing my pile of the Lost and Found stack, which I will be replacing when it's gone, so perhaps I'm not making as much progress as I thought!

I started with a cheap supermarket paper pad and removed the cover and separated the pages and back.  I cut a new cover from Lost and Found card and stamped the wings onto it with Versafine ink.  I then coloured the wings with a paint marker and then embellished it with the clock image and metal parts.  The "TIME" also came from the Lost and Found pad.  Finally I bound the pad together with the Bind-it-all and finished the whole thing off with some Tim Holtz Idea-ology charms.

Our ever-generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp is offering a $50 gift voucher as the prize again this week! The winner will be chosen at random from those who enter the challenge, so why not give it a try? At the very least why not head over to the Challenge Blog to see how the other members of the design team have interpreted this weeks theme! :)

Not Waste Away!

(With apologies to the Rolling Stones for twisting their "Not Fade Away" song title"!)

Here's another card that uses recycled leftover squares from an earlier project.  I've enjoyed making these and really like how they've turned out (which is quite something for me to say, because I can't normally look at things I make without seeing all the faults! lol)

By the way, if any of you have been umm-ing and ahhh-ing about whether to buy the Lost and Found card stack, I'd say go for it!  I keep returning to it time and time again and always find something that inspires me or suggests an idea for a project.  When mine get's a lot thinner I'll definitely be buying another!

Waste not, want not!

Life kinda got in the way today and sabotaged the plans I had made, resulting in no time at all to get to my desk until laaaate!  Consequently I tried to think of a card I could make that would be interesting to look at, but not a lot of work, lol  Kind of like the holy grail for cardmakers I guess!

A few weeks ago when I took the class with Tim Holtz, we lined configuration boxes with pieces of the Lost and Found card stack.  These squares were some of the corner pieces that were cut out and discarded (see?  I told you it was always worth saving those little leftover bits!).  Matted onto black cardstock, I think they make for a striking card, with minimum outlay and minimum effort :)

Watch the birdie!

 All of the stamps on this card are from a great set by Oxford Impressions, which I've had for a couple of years and only used once before, so I thought it was time they had another airing!  I used Antique Linen Distress Stain on the background, which was then knocked back with white paint, and on the "oiseau" panel too.  The mat around the edge was coloured with Vintage Photo DS.

No patterned paper on this card though, I need to stay focussed on my plan to reduce the mountain I have here! LOL