An ATC Newbie...

Hey!

Hope you've had (or having) a fabby weekend wherever you are! This weekend has been a real wake-up call to autumn. It's been soooooooooo gusty that the multi-coloured leaves have been dancing away all day long! That combined with seeing kids conker picking has really got me in the autumnal spirit - roll on the homemade soup! (no pun intended btw!)

Anyways I digress! We've FINALLY unpacked all my crafting stash this weekend WOO HOO!! So tonight I plan on making a card. Yup, I'm actually gonna sit down and craft and I can't wait! OK so it's 24 hours too late for World Card Making Day but I guess there's always next year eh?

So obviously I can't post what I've not made yet, but I can show you some ATCs I made recently for a PTI swap over on the PTI Blog. Wanted to post 'em for ages but wanted to wait for my ATC to be shown on the PTI Blog first.Now I've never made an ATC before but it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be! In fact it was a kinda fun challenge to make something on such a small scale (uses up less of my precious PTI stash too ;D) and it was so cool to be able to arrange all my identical ATCs so I could get a pic of them all together!

For anyone who is interested in seeing everyone's ATCs then check out the PTI Blog. I felt so lucky to be a part of a swap with such talented stampers - honestly, I'll probably never use the amazing ATCs I received in return on a card as they're just too pretty to part with! If anyone is interested in participating in a future PTI ATC swap then keep tabs on the PTI Blog...deets will be popping up soon!

Anyways I'm off to start cooking a curry (though not too spicy!) and then sit down and start stamping (though not before washing up, ironing and planning my lesson for tomorrow - eek!)

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

A Tutorial...

Hey!

Well the PC has been set up and plugged in so I'm pleased to say that I can now surf blogland at home and hopefully leave comments on your wonderful blogs to let you know I popped by!

As Chris had to focus on the PC, not a single box containing crafting goodies has been unpacked yet but fortunately I managed to get a little crafty before we boxed up and moved out ;D.

Here's a card I made for a past challenge on the PTI Blog that I forgot to post up here (the challenge was to use our favourite colour - mine being green of course!)This card was made with my little (or not so little now as he towers above me) brother's bday in mind - it's another 'couch surprise card'. I was gonna give him my PTI August GSS entry but as it won, I couldn't bare to part with it LOL! I'd had a few request on how I made it so as I was making this one, I figured I'd show you all how easy peasey it is to make! It makes a fab card for just about anyone !

So without further ado, how to make a 'couch surprise card' (apologies for blurry pics and the crafting chaos in the background btw!)

Step 1
Stamp out your couch and colour (I used a circle nestie to stamp inside and promarkers to colour with directly onto Kraft card - I love colouring onto Kraft! I also added some detail with a white gel pen)
Then using a craft knife, cut across the top of the cushions you'd sit on (this is where the money slides out!)
Step 2
Now to make the pocket that will hold the money. I decided to use vellum as it's thinner than PTI cardstock so will slide easily in and out of the slit in the couch.
I figured it's easier to show you the template I created with the measurements written by the side (in centimetres). It's easy if you start with a piece 14cm x 4.25cm and alter to recreate the following pic. After cutting this out, score down the 1cm flaps and across where the narrow strip meets the wide part.

Step 3
Fold the side tabs inwards first, then stick them to the narrow strip. I do it this way so the back of my pocket remains a smooth piece of vellum without any risk of glue or folded tabs making it get stuck!
As you can see on the pic, the tabs are glued inside the pocket rather than wrapped around the outer sides so the back is tab free (gosh I hope that makes sense!) Step 4
I then stamped my cushion onto cardstock and cut a thin piece of card slightly narrower than the cushion. Apply some thin sticky tape to the top of the reverse side of the cushion and attach the card. The reason I apply it to the top of the cushion is so the cushion sits nicely on the sofa and overhangs on the slit in the sofa.
The strip of card is then stuck to my vellum pocket (the card adds more stability for when the pocket is pulled and pushed - vellum will tend to crumple!)After creating the pocket, test it in the sofa to make sure it moves freely and nothing catches!Step 5
Next, prepare the card blank BUT DON'T STICK IT TOGETHER YET (go on, ask me how I know LOL!) You need a card blank and another layer on top - I've picked kraft as a base and New Leaf as the layer here (scrummy!) but you can choose whatever the occasion suits! Plan where you want the sofa to be, and using a pencil, draw around the circle (or whatever shape your sofa is on!) remember you need enough room for the pocket to hide so portrait is the best orientation for this kinda card!Step 6
Using a craft knife, cut a large gap to ensure your pocket will fit nicely behind this layer. Leave enough of a border to stick down your sofa though. I love that I don't have to be too accurate with this and as no-one sees it, it doesn't matter if it's a little messy!
Step 7
Stick the sofa onto the card, threading the pocket through the gap you've just cut out.
Step 8
Decorate the rest of the front panel (I've wrapped coordinating vellum around the bottom half; drawn around the sofa circle with a white gel pen using the nestie it was cut with; cut another circle with the a sentiment on and added some yummy enchanted evening ribbon) Then add plenty of 3-D foam around the edges of the card, though not in the middle as this will prevent your pocket from working!

Step 9
Put your treat into the pocket (I went with a £10 note but it depends on just how generous you're feeling ;D) and place the pocket back into the sofa.
Then attach the layer to your base card

Step 10

Ta Dah! Couch surprise card complete!

Card with sliding tab down...
...pillow picked up to find a nice treat down the back of the sofa!
Card Recipe
(All PTI Unless Stated)
Stamps: On My Couch, Star Prints
Ink: Memento Black, Fresh Snow
Cardstock: Kraft (from stash), New Leaf, Enchanted Evening, Pure Poppy
Accessories: Enchanted Evening Satin Ribbon, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Promarkers, Vellum (from Stash) and a £10 note LOL!

So there ya go - a couch surprise card in 10 easy step! This card totally justifies the purchase of the On My Couch stamp set for me, I did wonder if I'd ever use it but I ADORE it!

I hope somebody found my tutorial kinda interesting or useful....obviously you can alter some of the dimensions for your own requirements! If you do have a go I'd love to see the results!

Oh and btw, my brother (Dan) liked his card (well the money in it anyways!) and even offered to give it me back as he thought I'd given him my winning GSS entry - bless! I soon corrected him though; that special card takes pride of place in a box somewhere at the moment LOL!

Thanks soooooooo much for stopping by and not totally giving up on my blog with it's lack of posts!

Catch ya later!
Aimes
x

Complete Chaos...

Hello...? Anyone still visiting here...?

Do you remember little ol' me...? Y'know that gal that makes cards and has an unhealthy obsession with PTI products...!? LOL!

Sooooooooooooo sorry that I'm still stuck in the chaos of moving, we're at the unpacking stage now so hopefully not too long until I have my crafting stash on hand to keep me sane - my fingers have been itching to stamp for so long!

Although I've not been crafting and uploading I have been visiting all your wonderful blogs using work computers (which is totally allowed after working hours btw!) whilst the computer at home remains unpacked. Work computers let me admire your creations but won't let me comment so I can assure you I've visited your blog if you think I haven't, hopefully I'll be able to comment again soon when the PC is set up at home.

Today, a new challenge on the PTI blog has given me the perfect chance to go rooting through boxes to find some PTI stash to play with! Just to prove how much of a task it was to root out my PTI stash amongst the chaos I'm living in, I took a few pics of it for a giggle ...
This isn't all my crafting stash - honest! Chris contributes his fair share of musical instruments which are far more bulkier than my CD Cased PTI stamp sets LOL!
My work-in-progress, floor-to-ceiling, craft stash cupboard...this is just one door but I've got 3 to try and cram my stuff into! Those white drawers are a fab purchase from Ikea - they hold lots of PTI cardstock, plenty of room to expand as I've only filled one drawer so far ;D
OK so this is my stuff that has to somehow fit in the other cupboards...might have to get my thinking cap on for that logistical nightmare LOL!

So I hope you can appreciate how dangerous it was to retrieve a small handful of PTI stash...one avalanche of boxes and I'd be a gonna! LOL!

Anyways I digress, back to the PTI challenge ...the new challenge is to make a birthday card (easy peasey hey?) but my personal challenge was to come up with something I was happy with using only one stamp set, some off cuts of PTI dp and a selection of inks as this was all I could safely get my hands on!
To make matters even more complicated - we have no PC set up to surf on and no wireless broadband yet so I'm on a tiny laptop with a 3G stick in and unable to edit my pics on Picnik as Linux on the laptop won't allow it so you can see my awful photography skills in full glory LOL! Gosh I didn't realise how much I relied on technology!!!

Anyways the deets for this card are on the PTI blog. I'd really love it if you popped across to the PTI blog and checked out the challenge and would love it more if you played along - there's a chance to win some PTI goodies for one lucky entry within Europe (Worldwide entries are welcome for fun too of course!)

Lastly, before I love ya and leave ya, I've been nominated for a blog award! Thanks to Dawn for nominating me - cheers hun! Please go and check out Dawn's blog if you haven't already, she has some amazing creations and is well on her way to becoming a fully fledged PTI addict too ;DI have to reveal 5 things that I'm addicted to for this blog award so here goes...

1. Cardmaking (well it goes without saying really!)
2. Papertrey Ink (thanks to both Kate and Steph, my bank manager and I have a deteriorating relationship now ;D)
3. Chocolate (I like it in all forms; frozen, melted, liquid - so long as it's chocolatey, it hits the spot!)
4. Shoes - I own way too many pairs and have a problem walking past the shoe shop Office without popping in to just see what's in stock....
5. Music - I can't go a day without listening to my music! I love all forms - it's my kinda therapy for everything in life!

Now I'll pass this award on when I have slightly more time on my hands I promise! Just gotta tackle another box to unpack before I hit the sack for tonight so I hope to catch up with y'all soon....

Catch ya later!

Aimes
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