I've been tagged!

Thank you (see, I was raised to be polite!) to Joy for tagging me :) Visit her here to see the cute things she makes. I have 5 questions to answer...

1. What was happening 10 years ago? I was about to give up full time work to return to university full time.
2. Name 5 things to do today - Make something Christmas-y. Have beans on toast for the first time in yonks! Watch Wimbledon. Make something not Christmas-y. Go to bed.
3. Snacks I enjoy - Popcorn, mixed salted nuts, nachos.
4. Things I'd do if I was a millionaire - Buy a big house with a huge craftroom. Travel a lot.
5. Places I have lived - Chicago, New Jersey, London, Newcastle-upon-tyne, Middlesbrough.

I will not be passing this tag along, as I can't think of anyone that wouldn't be irritated at being tagged by me again! LOL

Nursery Wrongs 2

Some of you may remember that a while back I produced a mini-book of nursery rhymes with a modern twist - warning against the "evils" of the modern world in the same way as the traditional rhymes were often cautionary tales set around events of their day. (See it here).

I have now produced a 2nd volume, 7 more adapted poems with a sting in their tail (or tale for that matter!). I hope you like them, click on an image to see a larger version. :o)

EDIT: I want to take a second to address the comment made by Phree regarding this book. Thanks for your comment Phree :) I haven't presented these rhymes in my introduction as being funny, though if people are entertained by them, I am happy about that. I describe them as having "a sting in their tale", and certainly they were written from a cynical viewpoint, and were intended to have a core of truth to them. I think perhaps "satirical" might best describe them. Dictionary.com describes satire as "the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. " - I think that pretty much sums up what I was hoping to achieve with both these and the first collection.
Dan x

Free Template Saturday #4!

A Bonanza of Bookplates!

[EDIT - These templates are now available again! Email me for details!!]

It's Saturday again, and that can only mean one thing - it's time for a bunch of new, original, FREE templates for you to download!!

Today's templates may not be the most obvious of themes, but they are one of those things that are ALWAYS useful, and can make all the difference on a scrapbook page or card. Cut them from co-ordinating or contrasting cardstock, or mirri card for a more traditional metal bookplate effect. Distress them with sandpaper, ink or paint, or ring the changes by fixing them in place with eyelets, brads or just plain ol' adhesive!

Here are some examples I cut out on the Cricut - there are 8 designs in total.

There are so many ways to use these - why not cut them out in an extra large size and use them as fun frames for photos on a page?

Click on the shapes to see a larger view.

Again, these templates will be "live" for 1 week. Next Saturday, they will be taken down, and new ones will replace them. 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.

Because there are 8 files, I have put them into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the templates out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save them.

There are 3 versions of each template:

• A printable version (GIF files) that you can import into a program like Word, then resize, print, cut out and use like any other paper template (these are NOT Word files, so don't use File/Open in Word! Use Insert/Picture to bring them into a Word document).
  
• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot 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 right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

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! :)

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.

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

Catch a falling star and....

This is for a new challenge on my friend Hel's blog, called "In my pocket...". Each week, there will be something different in the pocket, this week it's buttons.

I started out having a bit of a play with this one to be honest. No firm idea of what I wanted to make, or what it should be like. I knew I wanted to try another of the lovely (and so cheap!) PPs I got from Costco recently, and to try out some new stamps that were burning a hole on my desk.

I started out cutting a blank pocket from white card (it has to measure 7" x 3.75", and it's folded at the 3" mark). I decided not to trim the corners in any way, but to leave it rectangular.

I then covered it in the PP, using a double sided sheet, so I knew the two patterns would co-ordinate together well.

After that, it was a "just" a case of decorating it! The ribbon was stamped in black versafine, and one of Tim Holtz's journalling tickets was stamped and coloured with white acrylic and fixed into place. The "52" was stamped, and the edges were sanded with a glass file. Finally the "lock" was fixed into place and the inside was painted black.

The inside of the pocket was stamped in black versafine. One of the flowers on the Anna Griffin background stamp was highlighted by hand-painting. The chrome "J" and button brad were painted with a mixture of black and copper acrylic paint and dried with a heat gun and fixed into place. The Tim Holtz "dream" adage ticket were distressed and fixed into place. The buttons were stamped onto the reverse side of a piece of PP, cut out and fixed into place. The receipt was stamped, distressed and held in place with a copper clip. The buttons block stamp was painted with a yellow wash, and the photo turn was fixed to the card with a brad.

Phew! I think that's it! I hope you like it, click on the images for a larger view :o)

So good, they named it twice!

EDIT: I've just realised that "holiday" was meant in the halloween/christmas/USA type of sense, not in the "vacation" sense as we use it here in England, so my effort might seem a little strange to some, lol. Ah well, these differences make life interesting!!

This is my entry for the Theme Thursday challenge, which this week is "favorite holiday".

The holiday I have referred to in the creation of this piece is one that I took in 1994, to New York and San Francisco. My best friend was terminally ill at that time, and only had a few months left, and as I'd just collected a heathly redundancy payment from the job I'd had, the timing was perfect for one last big adventure together!

We had a wonderful time, it was a bit like the slogan in that TV ad they have for holidays in the US right now - "You've seen the movie, now visit the set!". It seemed like just around every corner was a diner, or a street, or a bridge or something that we could recall from some movie or other!

We arrived in New York at around 9 pm, and as it was October it was already dark. We set off walking hesitantly from our hotel in Chelsea (on the fringes of the "meatpacking district") down to Times Square (this was in the days before it was all "cleaned up") and we felt certain that we were going to be mugged or shot at any moment!

Ah, look, you got me all distracted then for a minute, with my reminiscing, but that's enough for now! I hope you like the house, click on the image to see a larger version :o)

Dans ma maison il y a ... de la musique

A somewhat late entry for the Dans ma maison challenge!

The house was cut out on the Cricut, then spiced marmalade and dusty concord distress inks were applied with cut'n'dry foam.

The music stamp, from the Artistic Stamper, was applied with black versafine ink. Large eyelets were set in place, and the twill music ribbon, also from the Artistic Stamper was tied in place.

Finally, the roof gable, window and fence were fixed in place.

I hope you like it, click on the image for a larger view! :o)

Free Template Saturday #3!

On the beach

[EDIT - These templates are now available again! Email me for details!!]

It's Saturday again, and that can only mean one thing - it's time for a bunch of new, original, FREE templates for you to download!!

With summer well and truly here (or at least so the calendar says!), it won't be long before it's time to start scrapping all those summer holiday photos you've taken. Today's templates have a beach theme, so hopefully they'll come in handy any day soon! Simply cut out these funky beach templates to your own size, from your own cardstock or paper to bring those pages to life with some summer sizzle!

Here are some examples I cut out on the Cricut - there are 7 designs - a beach ball, a sandcastle with pennants, a bikini, a bucket, a spade, the sun and some ocean waves.

There are so many ways to use these - why not try using the reverse as a stencil to stipple some ink or paint onto your pages!

Click on the shapes to see a larger view.

Again, these templates will be "live" for 1 week. Next Saturday, they will be taken down, and new ones will replace them. 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.

Because there are 7 files, I have put them into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the templates out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save them.

There are 3 versions of each template:

• A printable version (GIF files) that you can import into a program like Word, then resize, print, cut out and use like any other paper template (these are NOT Word files, so don't use File/Open in Word! Use Insert/Picture to bring them into a Word document).
  
• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot 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 right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

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! :)

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.

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

Theme Thursday Challenge

After being late with yesterday's challenge, I've made sure to get in good and early with this one!

The Theme Thursday Challenge this week is "hats". I decided to make a tag, and here it is!

All stamping was done with versafine ink. Distress inks in a range of colours were used for colouring and blending.

The man and flourish border were stamped first, then masked at different times to produce the blended ink effects. The ruler and man background were coloured with a paintbrush and inks. The plasters and hat were stamped and coloured separately, then fixed into place, to give a slight dimensional effect. Finally, the tag was edged with walnut stain distress ink, to give a distressed effect.

I hope you like it! Click on the image to see a larger version :)

Dans ma maison, il y a du soleil

I'm a bit late entering this weeks Dans ma maison challenge, but they do say better late than never. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it! :o)

The house was cut on the Cricut using a template I created a while back. Stamps were applied using black versafine ink, and the house was then coloured using inks and a paintbrush.

And that's all there is to be said! Fairly straightforward, just like yours truly! I hope you like it, click on the image for a larger (if slightly blurry) view. :o)

Free Template Saturday #2!!

[EDIT - These templates are now available again! Email me for details!!]

It's Saturday again, and that can only mean one thing - it's time for a bunch of new, original, FREE templates for you to download!!

A friend was complaining to me the other day that she never seemed to have the right flower die cuts to match the cardstock she was using. Hopefully, with today's templates, that won't be a problem any more! Simply cut out these funky flower templates in your own size, from your own cardstock or paper - instant match!

Here are some examples I cut out on the Cricut using those double sided papers we've all been grabbing from Costco! Hopefully it will give you some idea of the sort of thing that is possible. There are 6 flower designs, and a flower centre (ok, so it's a circle, lol).

There are so many ways to use these - cut them out in graduated sizes to stack them in layers, or from contrasting cardstock to give some added zing to your cards or scrapbook pages!

Click on the flowers to see a larger view.

Again, these templates will be "live" for 1 week. Next Saturday, they will be taken down, and new ones will replace them. 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.

Because there are 7 files (6 flowers and a centre), I have put them into a zip file to make downloading easier. After saving it, open in the usual way, and drag the flowers out onto your desktop or wherever you wish to save them.

There are 3 versions of each template:

• A printable version (GIF files) that you can import into a program like Word, then resize, print, cut out and use like any other paper template (these are NOT Word files, so don't use File/Open in Word! Use Insert/Picture to bring them into a Word document).
  
• An SVG version which can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot 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 right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

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! :)

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.

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

The Boy Who Would Be King

This tag was created for the Tag You're It! challenge. This week it was a colour theme - "Olive, Aubergine and Ivory".

I stamped the background using a Tim Holtz diamonds stamp. First I stamped the aubergine, then I used a stamp positioner to stamp the olive diamonds in the right place. The tag was topped and tailed with black versafine on an ivory background which had been applied with cut'n'dry foam.

The boy and crown were stamped separately and fixed to the tag. The crown was coloured using fired brick distress pad and a water brush.

Finally, the edges were tinted with tea dye distress ink.

I hope you like it! :o) click on the image to see a larger version.

Balloons Tag

This tag was made for the Layers of Colour challenge. The theme this week is "balloons".

I decided I was going to make something that used no colour at all. I'm not sure how successful it is as a piece but I include it here regardless! (Obviously, it is very successful in terms of acheiving it's lack of colour, but that's not what I meant, and you knew that all along, you awkward so-and-so! :o)

The blank balloons were created on the computer and then cut out on the Cricut. They were stamped with black versafine ink, and fixed to the card. The buttons balloon is raised on 3d foam.

The word "Balloons" is in my own fair hand (and yes, I hate my own handwriting, just the same as most of you do too!)

The balloon strings were drawn in with a black gel pen.

I hope you like it. Click on the image to see a larger version! :o)

Unlikely Fairies!

I'm having a stab at the Theme Thursday challenge today, and the theme is "Fairies". I dunno about fairies, but the gremlins have been interfering with this photo, it's a bit blurry, so sorry about that! (I say gremlins, because obviously it couldn't be anything I myself had done wrong! But you knew that already, didn't you? LOL)

I thought I'd use some dragonfly wings to make a pair of very unlikely fairies, just to be a bit different! The two women were stamped in black Versafine and then masked. Orange and yellow distress pads were blended on the background, and the notepaper was stamped in brushed corduroy distress pad.

The wings were painstakingly (through bad planning, lol) trimmed and stuck in place. The edges of the tag were tinted with brushed corduroy pad, and then sanded.

I hope you like it! Click on the image to see a larger view. :o)

Birds ATC

I made this for my friend Lesley's My Time to Craft challenge. This weeks challenge is "birds", so I thought it was time to give the two bird stamps I had made, another outing.

I tinted the card by blending brushed corduroy and broken china distress pads, then spritzed water onto it for a stained effect. I then dried it with a heat gun.

Finally, I stamped the two birds images in black versafine ink.

I hope you like it. Click on the image to enlarge it! :o)

Hearts and faces tag

Let me start by saying that the photo for this has come out a bit weird! The colour is rich at the bottom and a bit washed out at the top. I'm not sure what's caused that - hopefully you can still see it well enough to see what's going on!

This tag is for the Arty Girlz "Faces" challenge (I hope I'm not barred from taking part cos I'm not a girl!) and the De Creatie "Hearts" challenge.

I drew the heart on my computer as a ribbon slider, and then cut out several on my cricut, in various sizes, both with and without the slots for the ribbon to go through. Faces were stamped with black versafine, the hearts were tinted with tattered rose distress pad, and edged with fired brick. Finally I finished off by using a signo white pen to colour some of the eyes, and added a ribbon slider in the bottom corner.

I hope you like it! Click on the image for a larger view :o)

"Round" ATC

This is for the Think Monday, Think ATC challenge, where the theme was "round".

The face and buttons were stamped and masked, then the tag was coloured with blended broken china and faded jeans distress ink pads. The script was stamped in faded jeans, along with the spiral binding in black. I coloured one of the flowers I cut out on my cricut with the broken china pad and fixed it in place. Lastly the edges were distressed a little with walnut stain ink, and sanded.

I hope you like it, click on the image to enlarge it. :o)

Guest Blog

If you look in the right hand column of this page, down at the bottom, you will see I have chosen another guest blog to feature here. This is an occasional event, and it will stay for a couple of weeks.

This time the featured blog is "A Crafting Journey", a showcase for the wonderful creations by my friend Linda, so please click on one of the images there to check out the great stuff she makes! :)

Free template Saturday #1!

[EDIT - These files have been enhanced with extra shapes, and are now available again! Email me for details!]

Today is the start of a new feature on my blog. Every Saturday I will upload a free, original template that you can download and use as you wish! Each template will be available for 1 week only - when the new template is made available each week, the old one will be taken down.

There will be 3 versions of each template:

• A printable version that you can import into a program like Word, then print, cut out and use like any other paper template.
• A cuttable version which is in SVG format and can be imported into the Sure Cuts a Lot 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 right click on the appropriate button below, and choose "save link..." or "save target..." and save your template!

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 it!

This weeks template is the one I've used for the wonky houses I've been making lately. Here are two examples, and a picture showing all the parts that are included in the template. Click on an image if you want a larger view.

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

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.

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

"Truck" tag

Not my usual style, patterned papers, and it's a bit of a mixed bag, this tag. I wanted to have a play around with the double-sided scrapbook papers I recently bought from Costco, so I started cutting out bits and bobs on the Cricut.

The flower is one that I created myself on the pc using Inkscape, then cut out on the Cricut using SCAL. As this features both a monogram and a mode of travel, this is doubling as my entry in this weeks Tag You're It! and Thank God It's Friday challenges.

The edges of the tag and flower were distressed with a glass file (thank you Annette!). Stamping was with black versafine ink, and parts were coloured with a redwood Ancient Page ink pad.

The monogram was cut in Arial Black font, as was the negative word "TRUCK".

I hope you like it :o) Click on the image for a larger view.

"Numbers" 4x4 Challenge

Ok, ok!!! Yes, yes, I know it was a bit obvious to use this Tim Holtz numbers stamp for this challenge, but stop going on about it! :o) Seriously though, it's a perennial favourite of mine, so I make no apologies for returning to it again.

This was made for the 4x4 Friday challenge, the theme this week being "numbers". The other image I used was from Paper Bag Studios, and is another image I find myself never tiring of.

I hope you like it, click on the image to enlarge it! :o)

Pencils tag

Finally got back online, and can start adding new things here again! :) I made this tag for the Mixed Media Monday challenge, but as my phone service went down, I never got to upload it to take part. The theme was "pens and pencils".

The text in the bookplates was printed from the computer, and the bookplates themselves were drawn in Inkscape and then cut out on the Cricut using SCAL (sure cuts a lot) software. They were cut from glossy black card, then distressed with sandpaper.

Stamping was done with black Versafine ink, and the tag was coloured with distress ink pads applied with cut'n'dry foam. The pencils were coloured with a waterbrush and distress ink pads.

I hope you like it! :) Click on the image for a larger view.