Happy Birthday

Hello Everyone,

Surprise, surprise!! Teddy and I are back crafting and hope to be blogging regularly too.  Have a beauty to show you today, hope you like it

Until next time, happy crafting!

Lauren and Teddy

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Gate Fold Card Tutorial

Hello Everyone!!

Well Teddy and I have been busy making a gatefold card and while we were at it, we decided to make a tutorial for it because we know that not everyone makes the most of their dies and we should.  I love it when a tool is a multi-functional as I am 🙂

The tutorial for this card is here

Gatefold Card with Die Cut Shaped Gates

Hope you like it.

Hugs 🙂

Lauren xx

 

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Brother Scan N Cut

Hello Everybody!

 

What an exciting day it has been, I finally did something wonderful with this wonderful machine.  I have had it for two and a half months and have been converting and making files for it ever since.  Have a nice little collection and have been doing bits and pieces and making all my flowers on it, but did not really have anything that was a start to finish project on there yes.  Well today I do.  Yes I still used a couple of dies, but the rest is all Brother Scan N Cut.  Very proud of myself.

 

 

Yes a pop up box card with loads of flowers and butterflies of course!  All in blues.  The panels are all layered with Bazzil cardstock and a patterned paper. 

 

 

The white flowers have been inked with Ranger Distress ink Shaded Lilac (lovely colour).  I  really am liking using the Distress inks for shading and blending.

 

 

On the top of the box I have used some upright cardstock attached to the cross sections, but find this is not really enough to support a lot of decorating, so I use strips of clear plastic (acetate or transparencies to attach to the supports to extend higher and to support the tops of the swirls and the butterflies.  Invisible support, how clever is that?

 

Well as you can see I am starting to get more use from my ‘Baby Brother’ as I call this toy.  He is really very clever and you will get to see more from his blades in the coming posts.

 

Hope you like todays project.

 

Hugs 🙂

Lauren

 

 

 

 

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Happiness Is A Journey

Hello Everyone,

 

What a week, busy all the time with Melbourne Cup and just having too much fun I think.

 

So I made a card, a scalloped circle easel card.

 

I have a set of Mega Nesties and this is what I got them for. and I have also used a set of Marianne Dies to make a frame and panel for the sentiment and the flourishes as well.  The rose is made with some Joy flower dies 6002/0156 which makes an absolutely brilliant rose… I think perhaps my flower making skills are improving 🙂

 

Of course I have used bling or pearls, the new set of Spellbinders (to me) foliage and ribbon and bow.

 

Hope your day is going ok, mine is fantastic, thanks for calling in.

Hugs 🙂

 

Lauren

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Trifold Beauty

Hello Everyone,

 

Well warm weather has hit us so early this year and I have been melting!! But the great thing is that while I melt I love being in my craft room with the fan on 🙂

 

So you say, what have you been doing?  Well let me show you.

 

My friend Kath made a card like this with the little Quickutz flower die and mat and I was blown away because I thought this was an uneven cirlce and was not sure what to do with it.

 

So I used some Graphic 45 paper, the sewing machine, also the flower die and mat and the shamrock shaped flower dies to make a flower for the front.

 

This is open, and the stamp saying is from Lucy’s Stamps, it is just gorgeous.  See that beautiful flower cut out on the right side?  And I thought it was just a useless die I bought.  🙂

 

Hope you like this.

 

Thanks for calling in.

 

Hugs 🙂

 

Lauren

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Diagonal Gatefold Card…..

Hello Everyone,

 

Did you all get out and vote today?? What about the Pirate Party, I kept seeing reference to it on Facebook and thought it was a joke.  And then there it was on the Senate paper, haha, so funny, never heard of them.  Maybe I am not informed 🙂

 

So after voting today I decided that it would be a craft and movie day, so I have watched Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock, Tara Road with Brenda Fricka, I love her, one of my favourite British Actresses, and now I am watching 8 Seconds, yep all about cowboys, the rodeo kind!! Yeeehaw!!

 

 

This is a pretty little card that my friend Kath Vinson shamed me into making.  She also made me realise that the background die and the filligree bits are a flower, DUH I thought it was just 2 uneven  scallop circles, should I be ashamed?

 

Thanks Kath, love your work teaching me how to do things!!

 

Also set my sewing machine up permanently so I can  sew on my cards whenever I want to.  Oh and look I used those lovely lovely Fleur de Lis rectangles and made a flower with dies from Quickutz, and there is that flower again.  The paper I have used is from Graphic 45, I am finding they are my favourite, love them 🙂

 

Thanks for calling, hope your day is good.

 

Hugs 😉

 

Lauren

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Marianne Anya Square….

Hello Everyone,

 

What a wonderful sunshiny day it was today and I spent all day crafting away that is because I love that best 🙂

 

Now the card today is from the Anya range of dies and these are the ones I fell in love with and first started my love affair with Marianne Dies. They are just gorgeous.

 

 

I love that this set is 5 dies and they all layer together to create the perfect depth and texture.  For this card I have used them all, including the flower.  I have also used Anya Leaves and  Chinese rolled rose and the rose bud maker as well.

 

 

 

See how they all layer and how the flowers so suit the layout.  I have framed the little girl in the centre of the square exactly where it is designed to place an image or focal.

 

 

 

 

Ribbon, lace and more flowers to embellish and really make the card a real thing of beauty.  The theme is carried through to the inside or easel section of the card.

 

It just finishes it all with all the flowers and leaves, all being inked for an aged finish.

 

Don’t forget for anyone in Australia who is interested in these dies to call into Shelley’s Land on Faceboook and become a member for the best prices around.

 

Hope you like her, thanks for calling in, hope your day is great!!

 

Hugs 🙂

 

Lauren

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A box for little cards…..

Hello Everyone,

 

Recently I got myself a Martha Stewart Score Board, now I know it is in imperial and I am a metric girl, but you know it really does not matter…. it has lines just everywhere…. and it cam with the envelope triangle thingie too!!!

 

So I made a couple of rosettes and a box, just because I could, and you don’t even really have to measure anything, it is all done for you.

 

 

So how cool is this??? The box is upside down in the photo, but if I rotate it, Teddy gets to be hanging from the roof and he is not good at that.

 

I know I have MFT rosette dies, but it is almost simpler to use the scoreboard.  I got it at over 50% off, no resistance needed.

 

The box has versamark resist inked with Ranger Distress Ink.  So easy, so effective.

 

See you again tomorrow!! hugs 🙂

 

Lauren

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Tea Bag Folding Wreath

Hello everyone,

Spring is just about to burst out around here, warmer days most of the time, dry, fine and sunny with very pleasant days and loads of trees coming into leaf and many blossom trees in colour already.  The Azaleas out the front of my craft room are starting to bloom and it is really nice to look out there from my new sewing table.

So over on SplitCoastStampers our Miss Lynn has thrown out the challenge on the Mix It Up Challenge for everyone to take the plunge and have a go at TeaBag Folding.  Well Miss Lynn I started my cardmaking efforts with TeaBag Folding so this is bringing back lots of fun memories.

Tea Bag Folding is generally done with 2 inch squares, but I wanted to make something a little smaller so used one inch squares.  Just to be the different person I am.
So what do you think of this little scene for Christmas, could be a bit welcoming??

 

 

 

 

Such a cute little cat sitting in front of that decorated front door, I have been thinking about this door and dreaming about it for so long, I think as long as I have had the Madison Window Die and my friend Julie got me this little cat die.  I am so in love with my dies…

Ok so I used a scrap of paper to chalk the lines on the base card to make it appear like weatherboards.  My Maddison Window Die cut twice and the top and bottom shaping cut off, these were placed on a white piece of cardstock to give the appearance of a door.  A very pretty antique looking brad made a great door handle.

And my Tea Bag Folding wreath to hang on the dooor!!! This was fairly fiddly with such small papers, but I am happy with the results.
Now a pic of some regular size wreaths made the same way.

 

 

 

Wrap your eyes around that Miss Lynn and make sure you tell me what a clever little vegemite I am.  See Ted is getting a peek in there, he was mightily impressed too!!!  Gotta love a fan like Ted. 🙂

Tools List

Memory Box Small Maddison Window
Quickutz Cat Die
Stamp-It Australia stamp Christmas Down
Fiskars Border Punch Grass
Thanks for calling in to check on Ted’s activities, he loves your comments by the way!!

Lauren 🙂

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Star Album

I just wanted to make another item for the Mix It Up Challenge this week since I am hosting and I wanted to keep the girls interested and making things!

Each section has Australian scenery stamps with an oval opening with a star aperture behind with a feature stamp.

star album

No embellishments, only stamping and punching to create texture and interest.  Tied with a ribbon.

one part of a scene

and the rest of the scene

Here is the full image of the album again. This is for decorative purposes only, it is not an album for photos.  Part of my annual Australia Day decorations for next year.

star album

Have a great day, I will be back tomorrow with a tutorial for wire and bead dragonflies.

Hugs Lauren ♥♥

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