Contest Winner!

The winner of yesterdays contest was....

Rockin Robin Caldwell!

Congratulations Robin, if you email me we can sort out your prize!

Thanks to everyone who took part, and for your kind comments!

The Line, The Cross and the Curve

Today we are continuing our trip through past projects that I have never blogged. I'm so pleased to finally show this one here, as it's one of my favourites, and was a LOT of work! LOL

Well over a year ago I was invited by Scrapbook Sisters (a great store by the way, that runs some great classes!) to be guest designer on their blog. They sent me a Melissa Francis kraft paper covered chipboard box with concertina book, and after several days, this was the result!

I covered the box with my favourite cardstock of the time, which was one from a collection from Costco, then sanded and inked it to distress it. The copper bookplates were distressed with acrylic paint and sanding and stamped images were inserted to represent the line, the cross and the curve. The inside of the lid was primed with red paint and then gilded, while the inside of the box itself was painted a deep, rich red.
The book is loosely based around the idea of dreams, and the words used on the book cover come from the Kate Bush song "The Red Shoes" which was featured in her movie "The Line, The Cross and the Curve" and they say:

"With no words and no song,
you can dance a dream with your body on.
And this curve is your smile.
And this cross is your heart.
And this line is your path."

There are too many pages to write about each one individually, so I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves! Click on any image to see a more detailed view.

Moo Frame Gift

Not the greatest of photos, but hopefully clear enough for you to see what's going on here. I really must do something to try and improve my cameraphone skills!! LOL

I made this aaaaaaaaages ago as a Christmas present for a friend, but couldn't blog it in case they saw it, and then life got in the way and the photos have just been languishing on my computer, staring glumly at my mouse pointer as it kept passing them by! LOL

My previous framed moo projects used deep frames that I got from Tesco, but they stopped selling them and I had to start looking around for other frames to use. It's not easy to find frames with enough space behind the glass to add dimensional elements, but eventually Ikea stepped up to the plate with this square frame.

Using a different frame meant designing a different mount to fit it, which I duly did in Inkscape and cut with SCAL. This time I also cut a 1 inch border frame to go on top of the mount, which I think makes it look a little more "finished", don't you think?
Each individual panel was stamped, inked, embossed etc and then fixed to the back of the mount. The bird with the secret compartment where you can hide little embellishments was designed in Inkscape and cut on the Cricut, and then stamped and inked. Mort with his pin curl was placed behind glass in a copper memory frame and attached to one of Tim Holtz's keys, which had been rubbed with a little white acrylic paint on my finger to make the lettering pop.

Thanks for taking a look, I hope you like it! :) Click on any picture to enlarge it.

Freebie #42!

Top Gear(s)

[Edit - I've started to make my files available from my blog again and am adding a new set each week. Check out the "Cutting Files" tab at the top of the page to see which ones are available for download.]

I know it's only been a couple of days since my last freebie, but I want to get back to my regular schedule of posting the files at midnight on Fridays each week, so an extra set for today was called for to get back in sync!

I have to thank a nice lady called Diane for this idea. She emailed me asking if I had any SVGs of cogs for a project she had in mind - I didn't, but decided to go with the idea for this weeks freebie. I've got some fun ideas for further things I can add to this set too, so hopefully I'll get to work on those soon too!

Obviously great for guys/boys projects, be they cards or scrapbook pages. I think these would look really cool cut from acetate too, giving a nice bit of shine to a project :)

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and may not 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 given.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down, and new ones will replace it. 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 4 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 them.

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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2009

Autumn Concertina Tag Book

While I don't have access to my crafting stuff I thought I'd take this opportunity to show some things I've made in the past which predate this blog. Today we're going back over 3 years to September '06! This is the sample I made for a class I was teaching at the time, 4 autumn themed tags in a distressed concertina folder. I've just realised as I'm writing this that the piece predates my addiction to stamping - in fact at this point I didn't even own a stamp and most of my crafting was computer-based! Click on any image for a larger view.



The folder was made from a piece of moss green white-core cardstock with a brown check paper adhered to the back. After shaping and folding, the pockets were held in place with eyelets at each end. It was then sanded to distress it and the quotes were matted and fixed to the pocket fronts. The black plastic name plate on the front was coated with a tape runner and then gold metallic flakes were applied to gild it. It was then sanded to distress the edges and fixed in place with brads.

Tag 1 - The flourishes on the background paper were enhance with gold stickles and the burlap swatch was fixed in place with double sided tape then secured with two textured brads. The quote mat was edged with gold Krylon pen and the quote was fixed to the tag with d.s.t. Finally a brown circle was fixed to the tag and then set with a large eyelet and cord was added.







Tag 2 - Fairly simple this one. Basic Grey background paper, matted quote with inked edges and a spiral paper clip (gilded with Krylon).












Tag 3 - The green tortoise-shell effect was achieved by dabbing alcohol ink to a piece of clear acetate with a square of felt, waiting a second for it to dry, then repeating the process until the desired effect was achieved. The acetate was then cut to shape and turned into a sticker by running it through a Xyron sticker maker (the small X shaped Xyron machine). It was then affixed to the tag. The brad was white, coloured with alcohol inks to match the colour theme of the tag.





Tag 4 - The tag background paper was made on the computer using hundreds of leaf images then printed and fixed to the tag. The slidemount was covered in brown cardstock and a strip of brown check paper was fixed down one side. The leaf image was printed from the computer, aged with brown chalks and fixed in place. An eyelet was inserted in the corner of the slidemount and fibres tied through it.

Simple as that! I hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane with me, there will be another one soon! :)

Freebie #41!

If you want to get ahead, get a hat!!

Edit - This great collection is no longer available here, and has now been enhanced with 5 extra designs! Email me for details on how to find it on my other site, or search google for "My Crafty Files"!

A fun collection this week - 3 quirky hats!

Place them over photos on a scrapbook page or on stamped images or as decoration a birthday card, the only limit is your imagination.

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and may not 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 given.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down, and new ones will replace it. 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 3 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 them.

There are 2 versions of each template:

• 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 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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2009

Freebie #40

Have a heart!!

These files are no longer available from this site, email me for details on how to access them, or Google "My Crafty Files" to find them on my other site.

As many of you may know, circumstances mean that I'm unable to craft at the moment, but since I still have access to Inkscape I'm going to exercise my creative urges by creating files for the Cricut and Robo. :) Please bear in mind that I currently don't have access to my Cricut, so I haven't been able to cut these files myself. As far as I know they should cut perfectly, but please let me know how you get on with them!

Seeing as Valentine's Day is fast creeping up on us, I thought that many of you might be able to find a use for these shapes - there is a heart border and 5 variations on a scalloped heart.

This image was kindly sent to me by Lisa A, who cut out some of the files. As you can see, she did a great job!

Please remember you are only allowed to download this file for your own use and may not 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 given.

Again, this template will be "live" for 1 week. Next week it will be taken down, and new ones will replace it. 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 6 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 them.

There are 2 versions of each template:

• 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 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! :)

Templates © dan99crafter@gmail.com 2009

Psychodelic Something-or-other!

Here's the last of the 3 tags I made on Tuesday. On this one, I rubbed Fired Brick, Mustard Seed and Brushed Corduroy ink pads onto a non-stick craft sheet and then spritzed it with water. I laid the tag down onto the inky mess and then picked it up and dried it. I repeated these steps twice more, to give the funky psychodelic background you see here.

I overstamped with a Wendy Vecchi background stamp in Walnut Stain (I think) and stamped the corner designs (I think the corner stamps are by Autumn Leaves but I can't be sure!). I coloured the corner designs with lime green and aqua promarkers. The "Mort had a pin curl" figures were stamped separately with a black Memento ink pad and shaded with pale grey promarkers before being cut out and adhered to the tag. They were then outlined with a mid grey promarker to give them a little more "pop".

Phew, I think that's everything! :)

Stars and Stripes

This tag uses some Wendy Vecchi stamps for the background, my first time using them. The stripes and mesh were stamped in Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, and then areas were masked off into stripes and inked with Distress Pads and a foam applicator.

The stars were stamped using a black Memento ink pad, and the large stars were coloured with a lime green promarker, the small with a white gel pen. Finally the edges were distressed with more Brushed Corduroy ink.

A bit of messing about...

I met up with a couple of crafty chums yesterday, for lunch and a little "play" time. They both had rather large projects to continue with, while I found myself messing around with a few tags.

This is the first one I made. The bottom-left corner uses the faux batik technique (stamp/clear emboss, ink over the top, iron off the embossing powder with brown paper) and the rest of the tag is a LOT of layered stamping and inking. The 3 main figures were stamped and promarkered separately and then adhered to the tag.