Free Template Saturday #8!

Fast Food!!

[EDIT - Email me for access to these files!!]

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

Today's templates should be very useful for all the scrappers out there - they're images of fast food!!

I've included 2 templates each of two parts. There is a cup of soda and a carton of popcorn(background and foreground of each). Cut them out in any size you like, in the cardstock of your choice! Use them to embellish scrapbooking pages about family days out, trips to the movies, camping trips and summer camp, the list is endless!!

Here are images of the files, along with an idea of what the cut example will look like. As usual, I have cut these out on the Cricut before uploading them, to make sure that they cut as they should! Click on the image 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.

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.

Because there are 2 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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

Boys shouldn't play with dolls

...but this doesn't really count, does it? I had a quick play with the Art doll stamps from the Artistic Stamper - stamped it, cut out the parts, flung some ink and rubber around, no finesse or diligence! I wanted to see how it looked all pieced together, and to see what problems there might be in making it. None to speak of (apart from my usual messiness), so I will have another go with some more, but will devote more time and thought to them! :)

I hope you like it, click on either image to see a larger view!

A view from a different eye

I just wanted to post this picture that was taken by Sharon of the aperture cards she'd cut using my SVG files. Isn't it SO MUCH BETTER than my photo? LOL Check out her blog too, for some great stuff! :)

Free Template Saturday #7!!

Aperture Cards!!

[EDIT - Email me for access to these files!!]

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

Today's templates should be very useful for all the cardmakers out there - they're aperture cards!!

I've included 6 templates, 3 for square cards and 3 for tall slim cards. The apertures are squares, circles and hearts. Place diecuts or stamped images behind the apertures, or use them as the basis for shaker cards!! Cut them out in any size you like, in the cardstock of your choice! Decorate them with patterned papers, stamp on them, or distress them with sandpaper, ink or paint!!

Here are some examples I cut out on the Cricut, click on the photos 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.

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.

Because there are 6 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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

1 - 20 Somebodyelse's Street

Well, I've received the 20 houses I was due in the "Little Boxes" swap. Aren't they great? Thanks so much to all the talented artists who made them! :) Click on the image to see a larger view.

I've won an award!!

Many thanks to Roni for this award!! Go check out her wonderful blog. At once!! :o)

Free Template Saturday #6!!

Take cover, this box is gonna blow!!

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

Today's templates are for one of the most popular items in papercrafting recently, the exploding box!!

I've included templates for both the box and the lid. Cut them out in any size you like, in the cardstock of your choice! Use them as a memorable container for a small gift, or why not create a themed keepsake, decorated with photos and ephemera from a vacation, holiday or wedding? Imagine how touched grandparents would be to receive one of these charming boxes decorated with photos of baby's first year! Decorate them with patterned papers, stamp on them, or distress them with sandpaper, ink or paint, or ring the changes by tying closed with some stylish ribbon!! Make an extra special box by making a lid for each layer inside!!

Here are some examples I cut out on the Cricut, click on the photos to see a larger view.

Note that the dotted lines to show where the pieces need to be folded are shown for illustration only.

Here are 3 photos of an exploding box my friend Hels made for someone's birthday. Isn't it wonderful!?! Click on any of the photos for a better view or see the original post on her blog!

I've shown boxes with 3 layers inside, but you can have as many or as few as you like! Just cut out the number of pieces you need, one for each layer, and make sure each one is slightly smaller than the one before. The two boxes in my photos were created with 1 lid and 3 layers each, sized at 6x6, 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 and 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

Instructions for assembly:

1. Cut out a lid and as many box pieces as you need, 1 for each layer. Remember to make each box piece smaller than the last, so that they nest easily inside each other.

2. Score and fold along the dotted lines, then flatten again.

3. Placing the largest piece on the bottom, apply adhesive as shown, and fix the next piece in place, centered on the bottom piece. Continue until you have a stack of box pieces, largest at the bottom, smallest at the top.

4. Fold the lid as shown and adhere tabs in place.
5. Fold up the sides of your box and place the lid on top. You're ready to start decorating and embellishing your exploding box!

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.
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.

Because there are 2 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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

A bit of a dog's breakfast!

... as we say in the UK, or in other words, a mess!

As those of you who read my blog regularly will know, I don't always upload the successful pieces here, from time to time I also show the failures, as I feel there is some value to be gained in sharing those too. This counts as one of them :o)

I was making a tag for a book I have in mind, and found a piece of white card lying on my desk that had a slight sheen to it, so thought I'd cut that down to size and use that.

The first thing I did was stamp the house (actually it's an old fashioned store) with black versafine. It stamped absolutely beautifully! The black was very dark and the detail was amazing. And that's when the trouble started - it just wouldn't dry, despite ironing it, and heat tooling it, as soon as I rubbed it with a piece of kitchen paper, the whole thing just came off. Add to this that distress ink just sank straight into the card and could hardly be moved around at all, things just went from bad to worse, lol

This cardstock is actually posterboard from Staples. We don't have it here in the UK (as far as I know), but I got it in a branch near Vancouver last year and used it for the Christmas fat pages I made while I was there. The technique I used on the background of those pages was perfect for this cardstock (you can see examples here and here).

Anyway, I guess you live and learn :) I guess I hope you like it, lol Click on the tag for a larger view.

20 & 21 Dan Street

... and that's the last of them! All houses now sent to the swap orgainiser, and receipt has been acknowledged (yay!). Now all I have to do is wait patiently for some of the wonderful creations I've seen in the swap gallery to start winging their way to me! Many thanks to Sarah (aka Flo) for organising this swap so well, the addition of a gallery and dedicated chat site really made the whole thing a pleasurable experience!!

What will I do now, with no new houses to build? I have several ideas bubbling on the stove, so watch this space! :)

Free Template Saturday #5!

A Tidal Wave of Tags!

[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 are one of those enduring essentials to any papercrafter - tags!! They're one of those things that are ALWAYS useful, and why pay out for them, when they can be so simply cut out, AND in the cardstock of your choice?

I've included both single tags and 4-tag concertina versions. The concertina tags are especially useful for accordian tag books, brag books or for those occasions when one tag just isn't enough! Use them on a scrapbook page for hidden journalling or cut them in half to make a tag birthday card - there are just so many ways to use these versatile tag templates! Decorate them with patterned papers, stamp on them, or distress them with sandpaper, ink or paint, or ring the changes by adding eyelets and some stylish ribbon to really make them pop!!

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 get the kids to decorate them to make their own birthday or holiday gift tags?

Click on the shapes to see a larger view.

Yes... I forgot to cut out any of the pointy tags... gimme a break, it was in the middle of the night by the time I'd finished posting these! LOLAgain, 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.

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

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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2008

18 & 19 Dan Street

Phew!! Houses # 18 and 19 finally finished... only got 20 and 21 to go! This has become a more major undertaking than climbing Mount Everest!!! I'm absolutely exhausted from making all these houses!! Who would ever have thought that it could be so completely physically draining???

Of course, those among you with your fingers on the pulse will know that the previous paragraph is just a pathetic pretense. I have actually finished ALL of the houses already, and they were ALL sent off to the swap organiser on Wednesday!! AND they were a joy to make! You wouldn't deny me a bit of dramatic artistic license now, would you?

And anyway, my friend Kate, right? You know, Kate that I used to teach with in the college for the deaf all those years ago. Kate! Yes, the one that I used to go to Disney with every year with her and her kids, that one. Well, anyway anyway... Her sister Grania? You know, Grania, the horsey one that lived in Ireland all those years and was the editor of a countryside magazine? Well, anyway, Grania actually HAS climbed Mount Everest (check amazon for Grania Willis if you don't believe me!), and I'm sure she'd say it was harder than making a few houses out of card. But anyway, you're deliberately trying to distract me, you mischevious so-and-so!! I digress...

More stamping, hand painting, ink blending tomfoolery on these houses. You know, the kind of thing that is the bread and butter of this blog! Anyway anyway, I hope you like em! Click on the image for a better view :o)

Things that money can't buy

I've made this for my friend Hel's weekly pocket challenge. I've decided again to stamp onto patterned paper for this one, and I'm enjoying that aspect of these, it's not something I've done much of in the past.

I've had a few briefcase closures in my embellishment box for the longest time, with no idea if or how I'd ever use them. This project was a perfect opportunity!

After cutting out the pocket shape in white card, I covered both sides with PP (from Costco). The ruler stamp was applied to the outer edge with black versafine ink, then tinted with fired brick distress ink. I printed the title text from the computer and then fixed the bookplate and fastening in place and sanded the edges of the pocket.

All the stamping inside was either with black versafine, fired brick or aged mahogany distress pads.

I won't go into detail regarding most of the stamping, there's nothing out of the ordinary about it. The text on the loose paper below the american "quarter" coin was stamped onto PP, then I used white acrylic paint, applied with my finger, to "knock back" the green-ness of the paper.

The coins were fixed in place with glossy accents, and the "mum" was written in my own fair hand :o)

Not much else to say really! I hope you like it, click on the images for a better view.

I got an award!

Thank you to both Jo and Joana, who have both awarded this to me! The rules linked to this award are:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the boys/girls you've nominated.

The blogs I nominate are: Hels, Linda, Andrea, Paul, Angelnorth and Elliemook

Enjoy the award! :)

Hanging around the tree

Here is a Christmas decoration I made for the Artistic Stamper's Christmas in July blog challenge. Go over to their blog and check it out, there's a great canvas to be won! Just make something Christmassy and let them know about it!

I used one their wonderful vintage Christmas stamps, and decorated it with their great new range of pearlescent mica paints. You can see the sheen on the gold here, and just about see it in the snow (blame my photographic skills - it shimmers beautifully in the flesh!).

Finally, I sandwiched the piece between 2 pieces of memory glass, and placed it in a vintage bronze frame. A piece of festive ribbon to hang it on the tree finished it off nicely!

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

3 More Ticky-Tackies

3 more of the houses that I've sent off to the Little House swap. I had some fun with these, using some images I've not used before, and a LOT of mask making!! :) Some ink blending, some hand-painting, yada yada yada, you know the drill by now :) Oh, and the shapes were cut out from SCAL, on the Cricut.

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