marksymondsroofing - Blog Tonic

3 Different Cards All From 1 Bundle Of Craft Supplies

2023-06-15T17:01:04+01:00

Card 1 - Thinking Of You

Step 1

You will need… The red pens, glitter, nuvo drops and blue and yellow card from the bundle, plus the thinking of you dies

Step 2

Take the red Nuvo alcohol pens and draw some wavy lines on your background (10 x 13 cm white card) using the chisel end to easily get a wider line, and using the fine tip to refine anything.

Step 3

Use the Jewel drops to add some accents above and below the section of red waves.

Step 4

And for an extra special touch, sprinkle them with some yellow glitter while they’re wet.

Step 5

Die-cut the decorative thinking of you strip die from the yellow glitter card.

Step 6

Use your guillotine to trim down the border, to only have the middle section.

Step 7

Add this to your card, then die-cut the thinking of you intricate die twice from blue and once from white, and the bubble from vellum too.

Step 8

Stack the 2 blue die-cuts on top of each other, then shadow with the white, and stick this shadowed sentiment onto the vellum bubble.

Step 9

Then simply add your finished panel to your card blank (10.5 cm x 13.5 cm)

Step 10

The finished card with the main supplies used.

Card 2 - Birthday Wishes

Step 1

You will need… the red crackle paste, yellow glacier paste and glitter from the main bundle, and the golden stars from the supporting bundle, plus the birthday wishes sentiment die too.

Step 2

Take your crackle paste and a spatula and spread it onto a piece of a5 card as shown, you want about a 1mm thickness of product on your card to achieve a decent crackle.

Step 3

Repeat with glacier paste, but in the other 2 corners, deliberately letting the two pastes mix a little as you swipe the glacier paste on.

Step 4

For an added touch, while everything is wet, sprinkle in some glitter and golden star confetti.

Step 5

Once dry, brush off the excess using the nuvo surface sweep, and you’ll be left with a gorgeous crackle and sparkle background like this.

Step 6

Trim your background down to 10 x 13 cm

Step 7

Then die-cut the birthday wishes sentiment twice from blue and ones from white.

Step 8

Stack the 2 blue die-cuts together, but this time add the white die-cut on top, to show the blue shadow underneath.

Step 9

Adhere your sentiment, then simply add your finished panel to your card blank (10.5 cm x 13.5 cm)

Step 10

Finished card with main products used.

Card 3 - Blank Card

Step 1

You will need, the blue and yellow card and the red crackle paste from the bundle, plus the decorative die set.

Step 2

Die-cut a selection of the 2 different designs from the blue and yellow card…

Step 3

I also cut a few from red card, and used the red crackle paste to add some crackle too them, just tap the product on, a thin layer should result in a crazing effect…

Step 4

…Like so

Step 5

Then simply layer up the pieces, and add them haphazardly to your white card panel (10x13 cm) once happy, glue everything in place

Step 6

Then flip the card over and trim off the excess from the back.

Step 7

And simply add it to your card blank (10.5 cm x 13.5 cm)

Step 8

Finished card with main products used.

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How To Construct The Terrific Triple Tower Showcase

2023-06-15T16:00:03+01:00

The Terrific Triple Towers Showcase is a such a versatile die set which enables you to create 3 initial towers, the Windmill, the Lighthouse and the Helter Skelter, however there are plenty more towers/structures you can create with this set, just get your imagination going and the list will be endless :D The towers are straightforward to assemble, but for a helping hand, here’s a photographic step by step on how I constructed my Windmill.

Step 1

Die-cut 6 of the larger sides and 2 bases from your base colour. Pre fold all the scored glue tabs.

Step 2

Adhere one piece to each side of the first hexagon base piece as shown.

Step 3

Flip over, and add the second base, to really hold those bottom glue tabs in place.

Step 4

Die-cut and layer up your decoration for the bottom layer, and adhere them onto the sides.

Step 5

Use the long side glue tabs to build the base.

Step 6

Then move onto the tiny glue tabs at the top…

Step 7

Tiny pegs are very helpful to hold these in place as they dry.

Step 8

Die-cut 6 of the side pieces for the top of the box...

Step 9

Decide on your decoration, die-cut and layer as before…

Step 10

Glue all of your side panels together with the long glue tabs as shown, then add to your decoration too.

Step 11

Finally glue the last side.

Step 12

Repeat the process from steps 6 and 7 for the top and bottom tiny tabs of this top section of the windmill body.

Step 13

For the top of the windmill, cut 3 of each of the 2 pieces depicted above.

Step 14

Glue the 3 with the hexagonal piece together like so…

Step 15

Then use the remaining glue tabs to form it into this shape…

Step 16

…It looks like this from the other side.

Step 17

For the next section down of the top lid piece, you’ll need to glue together the other 3 pieces shown in Step 13 together like shown.

Step 18

And once you adhere that final side, I'll look like this. Leave these 2 pieces to dry while we make the sails.

Step 19

I wanted to have vellum in my sails, so I cut 8 of the sail pieces, 2 for each of the sails, plus a piece a gold pearl vellum per sail too.

Step 20

Adhere one sail to the vellum, then trim off the excess.

Step 21

Flip it over and stick the other sale to the back, just to make them nice and sturdy.

Step 22

Repeat this for all 4 sails.

Step 23

Begin attaching the sails together, we want them to all be at 90 degrees to each other, the grid lines on your glass mat help tremendously with this.

Step 24

Add the last sail and leave to dry...

Step 25

To hold the sails onto the windmill, we need 2 of these die set, pre fold all the score lines for easier assembly...

Step 26

... Then add glue to the tiny triangular glue tabs...

Step 27

And bring the pieces together like so.

Step 28

You can now use a brad to attach the sails to this black piece...

Step 29

... Opening up the legs of the brad inside like so to secure them into place, then should still be able to spin...

Step 30

Back to the lid portion, add some red liner tape to those top curved tabs...

Step 31

... Then add to top piece like so.

Step 32

Finally you can add the sails, using the 2 remaining glue tabs on that black hexagonal 3D piece.

Step 33

Finally we need a nice neat base, so die-cut 2 of these pieces, and pre fold all the score lines...

Step 34

... Twist the 2 pieces round and adhere together like so...

Step 35

... Then use the tiny triangular glue tabs to bring up the sides...

Step 36

... Add glue to this section, and tuck it under so it sticks to the base ...

Step 37

... So you end up with a piece like this once all the pieces are tucked under.

Step 38

Add some glue into the centre, and place the base inside.

Step 39

Now you can decide where you want to adhere the piece, you can make the whole bottom piece whole, as shown...

Step 40

... Or you can stick the lid to the top half and have the box opening in the centre ...

Step 41

You’ve also got plenty of extra dies to add windows and doors to the windmill too :D

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A festive Showcase review of the Christmas Tree Decoration

2022-07-07T16:00:02+01:00

This month’s Showcase die set creates a couple of different three dimensional Christmas Trees, and you assemble it in the same way as the previously released Family Tree die set, so if you loved that one, you’re going to love these 2 new tree shapes too! And although they’re designed as Christmas trees, you could definitely just make them winter trees or woodland trees too, so they’re not just for Christmas :D And they’re also not just for decoration too, you can still utilise the main tree panels on your cards as well! I’ve done a matching card for each of my three dimensional trees, and you can see they even work on small cards too.

Both trees have the ability to be intricate, solid, or you can combine the 2 and have the intricate detail on top of the solid. And you can mix up what you cut the pieces from too! For my icy tree, I cut the solid pieces from vellum, and I used lots of Nuvo to decorate the blue intricate die-cuts as well :D Or for a simpler look, your textured craft perfect card looks fabulous! Tonic have such a fab selection of green tones in the range so if you end up making a whole forest, they can all be different variations of green :D The new Sea Salt Green from the Spring Meadow colour trend would be fabulous for a silver spruce!

In the die set, not only do we get the die for the 2 different trees, we also get a tonne of elements to decorate the trees with, a sentiment that has a backing piece that’ll hang perfectly on the tree, some tiny delicate sentiments and even some presents that could be tree decorations or that we could stack under the tree too :D I love that they’ve also included a couple of tag dies too, so if you loved the concept of the family tree, where you could add photos of family members hanging on the branches, you can do the same with this set, and you could even mix and match the sets too.

I think these trees will make the perfect decorations for your Christmas table, or why not even make a few to decorate your craft room! Don’t forget to share your makes on the Tonic Facebook page, or with the hashtag #showtonic so we can see what creations you’ve made :D Christine xxx

Take a closer look at our latest Showcase the 3D Christmas Tree Decoration Die Set

An exciting review of the Festive Craft Town Tonic craft kit

2022-06-20T16:42:30+01:00

Who’s excited for the first Christmas kit for 2022! I look forward to the Christmas kits every year, and this gorgeous Festive Town kit has not disappointed! :D I love how versatile the die set it, as it allows you create a whole mix of different houses to create a gorgeous Christmassy road, a single house, a house shaped gift tag, or even using the extra dies in the set to create cards without a house in sight too! :D

Not only do you get the stunning Festive town dies in this kit, you’re also getting an A7 stamp set with a selection of sentiments and a few icon stamps which are the perfect addition to your cards! And of course we can’t forget the wonderful selection of Craft Perfect and Nuvo goodies too! Initially I wondered how the colour scheme would work with the Festive Town theme, but as I started cutting I was pleasantly surprised with the results and I must remember this colour scheme for future Christmas projects as I thoroughly enjoyed it! :D

We’re getting a couple of staple items in this month’s kit; a full pack of 7”x7” cards and envelopes, a roll of 6mm tissue tape and even an embossing pen too! And I run through lots of details about all of the items in the kit in my Un-Boxing video :D For those of you who love your Nuvo, like me, we’re getting a lovely selection as always, perfect for creating a snowfall background, whether that’s my Nuvo drop squish method, a splattering of Aqua Shimmer or even heat embossing with your Nuvo embossing pen and the Shimmering Pearl Embossing powder! There’s plenty of ways to create the perfect setting for your little houses So grab your pen and paper and jot down your ideas as you watch Tonic’s Official un-boxing video, that way you’ll be rareing to get crafting as soon as your kit arrives :D Have fun! And don’t forget to use the hashtag #showtonic so we can see all your wonderful creations :D Christine xxx

Take a closer look at the Festive Craft Town Tonic Craft Kit

Craft a Bureau Bloom Box filled with motivational flash cards

2022-04-20T16:00:04+01:00

The lovely Sophie from Tonic requested a cute little project for this month’s kit, creating one of the gorgeous Bureau Bloom boxes from the kit (with a little CRaFTi twist) with a selection of flashcards inside that you could pin to your notice board or on the fridge too :D So here’s what I created :D I’ve done a detailed construction as I’ve changed the way the box goes together

Step 1

Die-cut 4 of the large panels from your chosen colour of card, you can also use the fab debossing star die on the skinny sides of the box too, and add your 3 mm red liner tape to the glue tabs as well.

Step 2

Then to add some extra interest to the textured craft perfect, I’ve used some Raspberry Smoothie ink to stamp on some detail with the stamps included in the kit :D The Raspberry Smoothie ink gives the perfect watermark effect to the Raspberry textured Craft Perfect cardstock.

Step 3

For my alternate lid I have cut 4 of the lid piece (I switched it up with different colours but you can definitely do them all from white too) And I’ve also cut all the decorative panels from Ice Rink Card too.

Step 4

To make the Ice Rink die-cuts stand out on the white lid, I used the 2 pink Nuvo Alcohol pens from the kit to add an ombre of colour to the intricate panels.

Step 5

And instead of using the debossing dies on the skinny sides, I’ve used the Enchanting Pink Nuvo Drop from the kit to add Nuvo Drops and also a line of Nuvo Drop too for a different look.

Step 6

For my version of the lid and base, you want to snip off the pieces shown to the right to give the main pieces on the left.

Step 7

And you want to stick them together like so.

Step 8

You can then use your Glide Folder to pre-crease all the score lines.

Step 9

and then simply assemble the lid and base using the glue tabs, overlapping the 2 side pieces like so.

Step 10

to give you these :D You want to make use you’re Nuvo drops are dry before assembling too.

Step 11

Stick all the side panels together and pre-fold all the long score lines on the main body of the box, the secure with the final glue tab to give a tube.

Step 12

Add the base to the end of the tube, I decided not to glue it, but you can glue it depending on what gift your putting inside :D For the closure I took 2 lengths of the 3mm ribbon and tied one to each of the holes on the base.

Step 13

I then threaded those ribbons through to holes on the lid, and tied the 2 ends together into a bow on top of the box :D And then I simply added a little tag tucking it under where the 2 sides overlap.

Step 14

The flash cards inside can be whatever you want. I decided to stick with the dies from the kit, but you could maximise the size by measuring the completed box and creating your own rectangles :D I think you could also use these flash cards as bookmarks, or you could write verses on them to personalise them to the recipient too :D There’s lots of scope for creating these.

Hope you enjoyed this little project :D Check out my Un-Boxing video for some more ideas including an alternate construction for the box, and some card making ideas and Nuvo inspiration too as well as a detailed look at the kit :D Christine xxx

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How to craft a 3D Typewriter using the Terrific Typewriter Die Set

2022-03-28T00:00:02+01:00

I could not believe it when I saw this Typewriter die set! What an ingenious bit of papercraft engineering! And the fact that it has a kinetic element too just blew me away! You can actually make the paper roll in and out and leave it whatever length you like too so the message can keep on going as the recipient pulls the paper out, then even better, they can roll the paper back in too :D I’ve made mine for my craft room as décor, so I left my paper blank, but you could have so much fun add a secret message, and you even have space in the back to add a gift too :D Hope this SBS construction was helpful! Christine xxx

Step 1

For the main body of the typewriter, you’ll need all the pieces shown.

Step 2

and you’ll need to attach them to give this shaped net of the box.

Step 3

You’ll then need all your decorative pieces as shown.

Step 4

add them all while the typewriter is flat like this so they adhere well, and pay particular attention to way up I’ve put pieces, that way everything is the right way up when it all comes together.

Step 5

You have 2 choices for the keyboard, for this one I chose the stamped design, but the die-set comes with the debossing die which looks fab too.

Step 6

I stuck the turquoise piece flat to the stamped image, trimmed around the edge to remove the excess, then added it to the typewriter with 3D foam, again note which way up I added this.

Step 7

You’ll need the pieces above to create the inner and outer ‘spindles’ for the mechanism to roll the paper in and out, notice the piece on the far right, we can discard this.

Step 8

For the inner spindle, you want it to be complete, and you also want to add a strip of red liner tape to add the paper onto too.

Step 9

For the paper, cut a piece to 8.5 cm wide, and this can be any length you like, I’ve kept it the longest dimension of the A4 and it still winds in perfectly, it also means you could add a longer hidden message too if you wanted too.

Step 10

For the outer spindle, this will basically be the place for the paper to wind into and be protected from whatever other gift you might want to put inside, but before we add this to the main body, let’s make the handles for the inner spindle.

Step 11

For the 2 handles you’ll need the pieces shown.

Step 12

and you’ll need to stick each pair together like this :D I’ve also made use of one of the gems off an old Nuvo product too.

Step 13

Little pegs/clips held tremendously when constructing these.

Step 14

You’ll end up with 2 handles like this.

Step 15

Now we can go back to the main construction, use the glue tabs to get your typewriter to this stage, leaving those last 2 glue tabs on each side un-stuck while we add the mechanism.

Step 16

place the inner spindle with paper attached through the top slot ready.

Step 17

Then attach the outer spindle inside the typewriter as shown.

Step 18

You can now place the inner spindle inside and feed the ends through the hole on either side.

Step 19

like so, and once this in place you can secure those final glue tabs too.

Step 20

To attach the handles, you’ll need 4 of the hexagon ‘washers’, I’ve added tape to the back of them all to make it easier.

Step 21

Add a washer as shown, and secure the glue tabs to it, then take a second washer and glue it over the top to secure those glue tabs.

Step 22

like so, you can then adhere the 2 handles that we made in steps 11-14 onto these washers.

Step 23

To help the back of the ‘gift box’ to stay shut, you can add the tabs to both parts of the typewriter and then use some 3mm Craft Perfect ribbon to secure.

Step 24

For that final bit of decoration, use the dies from the die set to create lots of flowers adding some coordinating nuvo drops in the centres.

Step 25

And finish the typewriter by adding these all over.

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How to papercraft a 3D Camera using the Picture Perfect Die Set

2022-03-23T16:32:54+00:00

I’d been hoping Tonic would make a 3D camera gift box for quite some time, and they did not disappoint!! I LOVE how this box looks assembled, and I’ve made mine as an ornament for my craft room! :D Hope this SBS construction is helpful :D Christine

Step 1

Die-cut the main pieces for the camera, and use the decorative front panel to guide where you need to cut the circle in the largest piece

Step 2

to give you this piece, that you can then proceed to decorate with whichever combination of panels you like.

Step 3

For the top of the camera, you need the piece with all the glue tabs, and you’ll need to cut the small hexagon out of the end shown, so that the button (bottom right die-cut) has somewhere to attach to.

Step 4

You can then use wet glue to stick the button together to give.

Step 5

this, and to secure this, instead of adding glue/tape to the button tabs, add it behind the hexagon aperture and secure the button

Step 6

like this :D If you have any excess adhesive showing you can add anti-static powder to stop it being sticky.

Step 7

Now we need these pieces for the lens of the camera, and you’ll see instead of adding tape to the multiple glue tabs on the long pieces, I’ve added it to the back of the 2 circles.

Step 8

Remove the backing off the tape on one circle and push it inside the tube so that the adhesive is towards the tabs. Then simply press the tabs down, I recommend sticking opposites first to get it level.

Step 9

then you can push them all in like this, and you can now add the second circle covered in adhesive over this.

Step 10

And you can add your extra decoration. See instructions inside packaging for alternative lens.

Step 11

Now we need to add the lens to the body of the camera, I recommend using some foam tape for this, as I think it makes the front look neater. Again we’re going with the method of adding the adhesive to the perimeter of the aperture rather than all the little tabs, but this time we’re splaying the tabs outwards as shown to hold the lens in place.

Step 12

Your lens will now be perfectly attached, and again if you have any exposed adhesive on the inside, just use your anti-static tool to remove the stickiness.

Step 13

For the back of the camera, you’ll need to cut a rectangle out of the back panel, so that you can access the inside. You want to keep this rectangle as it’ll be the back door, and you’ll also need the hinge die-cut too so enable you to attach it again.

Step 14

Add the hinge at the bottom of the aperture as shown, then simply replace the rectangle back into the aperture securing it to the top of the hinge

Step 15

We can now start the main assembly, you need to top of the camera from steps 3-6, the main body piece which we can now add the back panel too, and you’ll also need to die-cut the bottom piece too.

Step 16

Pre-fold all the score lines to help with assembly, and you’ll see the main shape come together and you can start to stick it all together with the glue tabs, incorporating the top of the camera.

Step 17

For this side seams, I stuck the front panel over the back to give a neater finish :D It also means you can stick all the decorative panels onto that main front piece too.

Step 18

Then once the main body is put together, you can add on the base with the remaining glue tabs.

Step 19

I think the Black Gloss mirror card from Craft Perfect makes the perfect LCD screen, and those speech bubble sentiments just finish it off nicely.

Step 20

As an extra design feature, why not add a neck strap. I used the Craft Perfect 9mm black ribbon for this, add some red liner tape to each end of your chosen length and fold it over to make it nice and strong.

Step 21

then use your craft pick to make a hole and add a silver brad to each end

Step 22

To attach it to the camera body, I picked the second full diamond down in my decorative panels and poked a hole on each side

Step 23

Then I just splayed the brad legs on the inside to secure it in place.

Step 24

And there you have your finished camera with neck strap :D BUT you can also add a concertina inside if you’d like as well.

Step 25

For the simplest concertina, die-cut 6 of the scored triangle pieces, and 4 of the scored rectangles (you can multiply this up if you want to).

Step 26

Add one of the gussets between 2 of the rectangles as shown, making sure the scores on the rectangles are at the bottom.

Step 27

Then add one to the other side too to make one concertina pocket.

Step 28

keep adding to this with all the pieces you can to give this little concertina. To add this to your camera, simply stick one rectangle to the inside of the camera door that we added in step 14 :D You will want to make sure you’ve added you neck strap before you add this in though.

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How to make a card looks incredibly Delicious with Stamp Club

2022-02-25T16:00:01+00:00

This month’s Stamp Club is perfect for all the ice cream fanatics you know :D It’s a fantastically versatile set of stamps and dies which enables you to create entirely die-cut cards too despite it being a stamp club, so I thought I’d show you a completely die-cut card for today’s blog post

Step 1

Die-cut all your elements from white card, I used all the pieces above, plus I added the wafer later on too :D I like to cut everything from white and use my Nuvo Alcohol pens to add colour, but equally you can cut everything from coloured card too

Step 2

Add colour to your die-cuts, I decided to go for some Neapolitan ice cream, so I coloured one pink, one cream and one brown for chocolate :D And I also used the stamp as a guide to help me add my own detail in with the pens

Step 3

I then coloured the 3 sauces in corresponding colours too, however, I think these would look fab cut from a specialty Craft Perfect cardstock too

Step 4

Next I coloured the dish, I used the lightest blue and grey from the Nuvo Alcohol pen range, and tried to make it look as though it was white ceramic

Step 5

So now we have all our coloured elements

Step 6

we can have a dry run for the layout of the banana split, this also helps me decide what colour I want to colour my die-cut sentiment

Step 7

and I decided on red to balance the cherry

Step 8

As an extra step I wanted to make the cherry and the sauce look shiny, so I took my Nuvo Clear Mark ink pad and my Nuvo Clear embossing powder

Step 9

and all you do is squish the ink pad onto your coloured elements (or you can do this with coloured card pieces too), add your clear powder, and heat set :D For a smoother look you can add 2-3 layers of clear embossing if you want

Step 10

I then arranged all the elements again and secured them with foam tape so they were one whole topper, and hovered it above my card panel to get it in the centre

Step 11

And for the finishing touches I added that red sentiment, and a scattering of sequins

I hope you enjoyed this totally die-cut banana split card using this months Delicious Desserts Stamp Club :D Christine

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A review of the Designer's Choice Fantasy Floral Frame

2022-02-10T16:00:07+00:00

This cute dinky A6 Designer’s Choice might seem small, but it’s packed with versatility :D In this blog post I’ll run through a few ideas of ways to use this small but mighty Fantasy Floral Frame die set :D

Firstly a nice idea is to create a matching gift tag to go with your card, and I think the rectangle die in this set is a lovely size for a large gift tag :D Then for the matching card you can simply add the floral frame around it, and add it to your desired size of card.

I love to use intricate dies to create that faux embossed look on the background of your card, and the floral frame section of this Designer’s Choice die works fabulously for this! And to save card you can just use small bits to cut the areas you want rather than having to cut the whole frame multiple times :D

Another old favourite is to create a shaker card! There are multiple ways you could use this set to create a shaker, but I thought I’d show you the smallest shaker you can make, however I think the full frame on the next card example would also make a fabulous shaker too :D

What about using all those ‘waste’ arches for pieces you’ve cut for other cards? Gather them all up and use them to create an overall background pattern for your card :D And this card also shows you how you can use that gorgeous floral frame as an anchor point for your sentiment too :D

Why not repeat that gorgeous little arch shape, this is a fantastic way to stretch a small die into working for a larger or in this case longer card :D Imagine 4 of these in a grid configuration on a square card, or how about 4 of the first project I showed matted onto a really large card, splitting the die set down into smaller elements gives endless design possibilities :D

You get a design to go in the centre of the arch, but why not switch it up, here I’ve used a portion of that outside floral frame, but think about other detailed dies you have in your stash too :D

And what about using that largest ‘bubble’ die in the set to create your own shaped cards! This size would also make a fantastic oversized gift tag too :D

And speaking of shaped cards, simply score the front section in half parallel to the hinge and create your own shaped easel card too :D

I hope you enjoyed this plethora of ideas of ways to use this month’s fabulous Designer’s Choice die set :D Check out my Up Close video to hear all of this (and possibly more) in verbal form too :D Christine xxx

Take a look at our latest Designer's Choice

Create & craft positive energy using this months wildflower stamp club

2022-01-28T16:00:08+00:00

The Wildflower florals in this month’s stamp club are so versatile and will mix really nicely with a few of the previous Stamp Clubs too. You can create really feminine pretty cards with this set, or you can keep it simple which gives a slightly more masculine feel to your cards, and here’s a step by step for an easy messy watercolour card with some fussy cutting.

Step 1

Stamp out the main image (using your Hybrid Black Shadow ink), grab a couple of green Aqua flows, some water and a paint brush

Step 2

Add some water onto your stamped image, just randomly, and then squeeze in some of your aqua flows.

Step 3

Use your paint brush and more water as desired to move the colour around

Step 4

and while you have ink on your paint brush, add some dainty splatters around the edges too.

Step 5

While your background is drying stamp out another image and a butterfly and use your Nuvo Alcohol Pens to colour them in.

Step 6

Use the coordinating die to cut out your butterfly, and cut the interior frame shaped die from some white pearl card.

Step 7

For a little bit of decoupage, fussy cut out the main 5 flowers from the frame image, these are the easiest to fussy cut and are the largest so they stand out nicely too.

Step 8

To give your background that frame look, add the pearl white piece back in the centre of the stamped image, and then add your fussy cut flowers with some 3D foam.

Step 9

Choose and stamp out your sentiment

Step 10

I love to use a fine black pen to add my own border too

Step 11

then simply snip out your sentiment, and add it to the centre of your card along with that die-cut butterfly too.

Hope you liked this simple card, I think it’d look fab with some extra Nuvo accents too, perhaps a scattering of gems or sequins, or what about some Nuvo Glitter drop dots in the centres of those gorgeous daisy flowers :D Christine xxx

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Follow these simple steps to craft this Happy Birthday cake card

2022-01-21T17:15:46+00:00

The Tea, Cocktails and Cake die sets are so versatile and can be used for a whole plethora of occasions, but I’ve kept it simple for this step by step, giving you a couple of tips of how to snip into your die-cuts so you can layer them to give the lit flame on the candle, or help the writing within the cake design stand out nicely.

Step 1

Chose the dies you want to use on your card, this’ll depend on your favourite size of card, as you can add more cake layers on a larger card. Then pick a colour scheme, I’ve gone for Blues, Red and Holo Waves :D For this card, you’ll need all the die-cuts shown above

Step 2

Firstly, let’s add the lit flame to the candle. You can do this 2 ways, but my favourite way is to snip the red flame off, and add the red candle to the whole Holo Waves (flame coloured) die-cut, but feel free to try it the other way round too.

Step 3

Then for the cake, we have a decent contrast between the 2 blues, but to tie the colour of the candles into the rest of the card, die-cut another large cake tier from red and snip out the happy birthday as shown.

Step 4

Then we can layer up the 2 blues and the red happy birthday to give this effect :D It also kind of gives the feel that the words were written in a different colour of icing to the main cake decoration too.

Step 5

Once I layered up the 2 tiers of the cake (I chose largest and smallest) and added the stand and candles, I felt like it needed a simple background, so I grabbed the stamp set from Issue 2 of the Official Tonic Magazine along with 2 Distress Oxides that matched my card colours.

Step 6

I then stamped a few of the tiny balloons in the red and blue around where the cake will sit, and of course I had to add some ink splattering in both colours too, just water down a little ink and use a fine paint brush to add the splatter.

Step 7

Once the background was dry, I added my completed cake, and I added it on foam tape to give a little dimension.

Step 8

And there you have your finished card, just simply add your panel to your card blank. Panel size is 10 x 13 cm and card blank is 10.5 cm x 13.5 cm.

Hope you liked this quick and simple card!

Christine xxx

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Share the love & adventure with someone with this simple card make

2022-01-07T16:57:27+00:00

These sentimental frames are fantastic! And can be used for so many projects too from Memory Books, to Home Décor to just simple cards too :D There were some fabulous samples on the shows when these launched on Create & Craft, but for this blog post, I thought I’d do a relatively simple card focusing mainly on the Adventure die set :D

Step 1

Die-cut the full die from white card and black glitter card

Step 2

then use your scissors to snip them both out just leaving the film strips. I also pinched some elements from one of the other sets and die-cut the word love from some scraps of the same card.

Step 3

As a focal design I chose one of the heart designs, the tiny heart and I picked the largest trellis design too. I cut the hearts from 2 different tones of pink and the trellis from white, and I tore away two sides so I could utilise this on my card too.

Step 4

I then did a test run with the layout, and took a photo with my phone so I could refer back to it later

Step 5

After doing the test run I decided I wanted the filmstrip to be solid, there are a few ways that you can do this using the dies in the set, but in the end I opted for sticking it to some light grey card

Step 6

and trimming around it, undercutting so the edges of the filmstrip remained see-through

Step 7

Then I checked I liked it, and I did

Step 8

So I began adding my other elements. I actually snipped into the filmstrip so I could nestle the heart in

Step 9

I also added that ripped up trellis to a couple of areas in the background, as well as the fall away pieces, and the smaller pink hearts too

Step 10

I added the love sentiment which I supplemented with a Dymo word ‘Birthday’ so the sentiment reads ‘Birthday Love’

Step 11

Here we have the finished 5x7 card! You could also replicate this on the front of memory book 2 as well

Hope you liked this simple layered up die-cut card, but there are numerous possibilities with these Sentimental Frames! They’re the kind of die set that’ll keep you busy for ages :D :D Christine xxx

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Create a simple colourful background for your card using aqua flows

2021-12-20T17:19:51+00:00

The gorgeous header dies come with a fab floral design and a couple of sentiments to pick from in each set, and I think these are the perfect dies for quick and easy cards, and for using up those inky Nuvo backgrounds! It’s always fun to have a day experimenting with your Nuvo stash, and these dies make it so easy to turn them into finished cards in no time :D :D Below are a couple of step by steps for some simple cards with simple Nuvo backgrounds

Step 1

Pick some aqua flows, aqua shimmers and/or glitter markers too and grab your easy clean mat. Then simply scribble the colours onto the mat, and give a couple of light spritzes of water too.

Step 2

And simply take your piece of card and squish it into the ink! You can easily get multiple backgrounds from this ink, and you can dry your inky card and pick up extra ink to give you some visual texture too.

Step 3

Once your background is dry, grab a stencil and an old sponge, then for this background, we’re using Nuvo Dream Drops to stencil the design, This gives a subtle result, but as you tilt the card you can see that gorgeous shimmer

Step 4

Nice subtle design

Step 5

and if you have extra Dream Drops out, add a couple of spritzes of water, mix with an old brush and splatter it on

Step 6

Now comes the time of the die-cuts! Pick one of the header sets and for this card, cut one sentiment and 2 of the florals.

Step 7

For an extra pop of colour, add some pearl card behind the leaves of the florals, and snip around the perimeter so just the leaves are coloured.

Step 8

Then simply add everything to you card panel

Step 9

and for a final touch, bring back in your Dream Drops and add some extra Nuvo Drop accents

For the second card, we’re using similar Nuvo products, but mixing up the application a little

Step 1

Choose your aqua flows again, and an aqua shimmer too, but for this background we’re going directly onto the card, so we’re skipping the glitter marker this time

Step 2

Make sure your aqua flows are nice a juicy by gently squeezing the barrels, then apply them in a diagonal fashion to your piece of white card.

Step 3

This time we’re stencilling with an old classic, the Nuvo Embellishment Mousse! You can apply Nuvo Mousse in a 3D fashion, but for this background we’re using an old piece of sponge and applying it thinly through the stencil

Step 4

And again if you have excess product, add a little water, mix it up and splatter on with a paint brush.

Step 5

It’s time to choose your dies again, I wanted to do this card in a landscape orientation, so I chose one sentiment and one floral for this one

Step 6

and I wanted the sunflower to have a solid middle so I also backed it with some luxury card too.

Step 7

Then simply add your die-cuts to your background, as the luxury card was only in one place on this card, I decided to add a couple of thin strips of the card above and below the sentiment too

Step 8

then for a final touch, pick a coordinating Nuvo drop, and add a few little drop accents.

And here you have the 2 finished cards, just using these fab dies on top of an inky background really makes an impact and it a great way to use up your experimental backgrounds too! So have fun playing with all your Nuvo goodies! :D Christine

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How to use panel dies from 3D die sets to make a decorative card

2021-12-13T23:55:04+00:00

The Oriental Sky Lights Boxes as so well engineered and have a fantastic hidden area detail inside the boxes and a fabulous domed exterior too. For the launch on Create & Craft I actually used the spout and handle from the Tonic Tea pot to create an Aladdin’s Lamp, and I made the square version into a snake charmers basket too, so they’re a nice versatile base for some creative ideas too :D And speaking of that, the gorgeous decorative panels are also fabulous for cards too! So seeing as you get the construction details inside the package, I thought I’d show you a couple of quick and easy card ideas that you could use to accompany your Oriental Skylight Gift

Step 1

For the simple backgrounds of the cards, die-cut one of the decorative panels from a piece of scrap card and use this as a stencil

Step 2

like so, simply moving it around the card… I like this random style, but you can certainly line it up to create a more linear uniform effect too if you’d prefer.

Step 3

For some sparkle I took the Strawberry Bonbon Glitter Marker, scribbled it onto my glass matt, added some water and splattered it onto my background with a fine paint brush

Step 4

this gives a lovely subtle sparkle across the card. The smaller the paintbrush, the smaller the splatter.

Step 5

For the decorative ‘toppers’ for the cards I die-cut the pieces above, using a darker pink tone for the intricate detail and a lighter pink for the solid backing pieces.

Step 6

To add some extra interest I decided to paper piece the flowers from the design with Holo Waves cardstock, and the Nuvo Embellishment Tool works great for placing the tiny pieces.

Step 7

This is the fabulous result you get :D I repeated this for one of the rectangle panels too.

Step 8

Add your ‘toppers’ to your backgrounds, I added the curved topper to the upper portion of the card, and for the rectangles, I stuck the two plain ones flat to the background, and raised up the paper pieced one with 3D foam in the centre, this gives the illusion that it’s a larger decorative panel.

Step 9

There are also small stitched rectangles in the die sets, and I used one of them to stamp my sub-sentiment into (from the Simple Sentiments set 3796E)

Step 10

and I teamed this up with the classic Thanks Sentiment Strip die to complete my sentiments

Step 11

Finally I added a scattering of sequins and added some White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops to the centres

Hope you enjoyed these quick and simple card ideas, I think transferring the stencilling and paper pieced panels onto a complete Oriental Sky Light Box would look fantastic too :D :D Christine xxx

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How to make a card with a gorgeous stained glass window effect

2021-12-10T23:55:08+00:00

There are 3 gorgeous designs for these fab Stained Glass double layer dies there’s Entwined Embellishment, Delicate Decoration and Exquisite Mosaic :D And mentioning the word Mosaic, these dies are a similar concept to the Mosaic dies from a couple of years ago, Orchid Meadow and Gates of Atlantis, so if you loved those you’re going to love these as they have that same dual layered design! And they’re perfect for your paper piecing too! So for my step by step I chose to use the gorgeous Entwined Embellishment, and I just had to do a smidgen of paper piecing too

Step 1

So the first step is to decide on which die set to use

Step 2

Once you’ve decided, the next step is to decide on your colour scheme! I decided to go for Miami Mint for the back panel, Water Sprite for the bottom detail and Smooth White for the top detail, then later we’ll add the Copper Mine as an accent colour

Step 3

Allocate your dies to your pieces of card, and die-cut, making sure to use the outside edge on all 3 pieces so they all line up perfectly for a neat finish.

Step 4

So, the next step is to die-cut the Copper Mine for the paper piecing, and for this you have 2 options, you can use the bottom detail layer OR the top detail layer. For my card I decided to cut the bottom detail layer, so when you add the white detail on top you’ll see Water Sprite and Copper Mine showing through (see photo in step 6)

Step 5

Start adding your Copper Mine pieces into your Water Sprite layer that you’ve backed with the solid Miami Mint rectangle, you can add in as many pieces as you like, but make sure to leave some of that gorgeous Miami Mint showing through too

Step 6

And Voila! Just stick your white top detail layer on top to give your finished panel! And you can see what I mean about piecing into the bottom layer, but there’s nothing to stop you adding some pieces from the top layer too, maybe even bring that Miami Mint back up to the top

Step 7

Pick a sentiment to add to your card, I went for Best Wishes and I shadowed a white die-cut with the Copper Mine to bring in that accent colour again, and to help it stand out I added it onto a ripped vellum rectangle with some white gel pen faux stitching

Step 8

And there you have your finished card! I also think this would look fabulous embellished with a few Dragon Scales Dream Drops too, to go with that iridescent finish of the Water Sprite cardstock

Hope you liked this clean and simple paper pieced card! I do like my small cards, but if you prefer to make larger cards these dies are very versatile with their separate cutting edge so you can easily multiply up the design, or combine the designs together to make a larger element! I particularly love adding them end to end on a DL card :D Christine

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An easy step by step on how to die cut and craft a paper Tamari Ball

2021-12-08T23:55:04+00:00

The Moroccan Lanterns are so fun to make, and I love that you have the 2 versions, both are able to be hung, but one design has a flat base to stand on too. However the lantern with the rounded base can actually be used to create these adorable Tamari Balls, And the top and bottom domes of the lantern are different sizes which gives you 2 options for the Tamari Balls too :D I’m actually going to make some of both sizes for my Christmas tree this year and treat them as baubles :D In the step by step I show how to make the smaller version, but if you skip to Step 15, you’ll see a size comparison between the two

Step 1

To create the top half of the Tamari Ball you’ll need 3 of the ‘propeller looking’ pieces and 6 decorative panels. This would be the same if you’re making the larger size too, the step by step will work for both sizes

Step 2

Add red liner tape as shown, and when you’re attaching the panels use plenty of tape and butt it right up to the edges, these pieces will be curved and we want them to stay well stuck down.

Step 3

Gently mould your pieces into a slight curve and begin sticking them together in the centre as shown.

Step 4

You’ll then have a half sphere piece ready that’ll look like this, and again you can manipulate the edges to curve as this will become a dome. The 216gsm Craft Perfect curve is a lovely weight for these domes.

Step 5

Take the backing off the glue tabs, and add glue too so an extra strong bond, and begin to assemble as shown

Step 6

keep going all the way around

Step 7

and you can even use tiny pegs to hold those outer glue tabs to make sure they hold nicely.

Step 8

Now we’re at this point, you’ll want to add ribbon at the top to hang the Tamari Ball by; I used some of the new Craft Perfect 9mm ribbon

Step 9

Simply make a loop and tie a knot at the bottom, then thread the top of the loop through the top hole.

Step 10

Repeat Steps 1-7 to create your second dome, and add some low profile 3D foam tape to the tabs (I find adding the 3D foam makes it nice and easy to assemble, but you may prefer to just use redliner tape)

Step 11

The only difference for this dome is, you’ll need to cut the small hexagon to go on the bottom to cover the hole… OR… if you wanted to add a tassel to the bottom you’d add it now in a similar fashion to the ribbon at the top.

Step 12

We’ve now got our 2 half domes ready to adhere together. And at this point you could put lavender or something inside to turn it into a Pomander, but just bear in mind you can’t use it as a gift box as you’ll most likely destroy it if you tried to open it once it’s stuck together

Step 13

I start by sticking one edge together and pinching it tightly to get a strong bond, then I remove the rest of the backing tape and line up all the other edges

Step 14

to give your finished Tamari Ball

Step 15

You can also go a step further and use more ribbon and tulle to decorate further, and here’s a size comparison of the 2 different sizes you can make from the 2 different domes.

Hope you enjoyed this in depth step by step for creating the Sphere/Tamari Ball/Bauble/Pomander from the Moroccan Lanterns dies :D Christine xxx

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How to make a cute double-sided gift box using card & twine

2021-11-29T23:59:08+00:00

I LOVE the way Tonic have been bringing out a few box die sets that have coordinating stamps! A this was the first set I got to work with :D There are technically 4 different boxes you can make with this set. There’s 2 different side types, and you can use a square or hexagonal base for them too, however I wanted to show you something a little different, so I chose to do a step by step for a 4 sided double ended box. I reckon you could easily adapt this to be 6 sided, or even use the other sides to create another variation too, so this is a nice versatile set, and having the stamp designs that coordinate amplifies the possibilities for different boxes too, as there’s already tonnes of panels to choose from in the die set too :D Hope you like this different take on the box! I also went a little arty by using Aqua Flows to add colour to my panels too

Step 1

Die-cut 2 of the larger side pieces (3 for the hexagonal box) from white card, these dies have a gorgeous debossed detail that impressing into the card as you cut it too.

Step 2

Die-cut another 2 of these pieces from white card again, but this time we only need that top portion, as we’ll join this to the glue tabs at the bottom of the piece in step 1

Step 3

Add some colour to your pieces; I decided to use a selection of blue and green Aqua Flows.

Step 4

Add a bit of splatter too, you can do this with the Aqua Flow itself, or squeeze some onto your glass matt and splatter with a regular paint brush.

Step 5

Once everything is dry, add your stamping, I used one of the main rectangle patterns on 3 of the sides

Step 6

then because I’m making this box double ended, I want the orientation to be landscape, so when decorating the 4th side with the sentiment I’m making sure the orientation will work.

Step 7

I also decided not to use the triangle designs, but to use a couple of the smaller floral designs to decorate any remaining areas.

Step 8

And I wanted the sentiment to stand out a little so I used a fine black pen to add a border around it to emulate the one on the main rectangle stamped design.

Step 9

Next step is to add your adhesive, and you can see in the photo above where I’ve added my red liner tape, I recommend adding the tape over the whole glue tab and snipping off the excess, this way it’ll go right to the points of glue tabs for a secure bond.

Step 10

Now before we assemble, we need to pre-fold everything, the majority of the folds are mountain folds, but you can see in the photo that the curved pieces are a valley fold.

Step 11

We now need to add the curved aspect to the other end of the box, simply use the existing glue tabs (that would usually be for the base) to add these sections.

Step 12

The adhere these 2 pieces together using the long glue tabs

Step 13

and finally the last long side too, and as these boxes have an even number of sides, you can fold the box flat to really get a nice bond.

Step 14

And here we have the double ended box

Step 15

And for a finishing touch, we can add ribbon or bakers twine to hold the box together like so.

Step 16

And there we have our double ended box with bakers twine on both ends

Hope you liked this different take on the box, I often forget to do this kind of box, but I’m sure it’s possible with a lot of different Tonic box dies, so have a look at your stash too and see what you can create :D Christine xxx

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How to Assemble a Stackable Gift Box With Christine Smith

2021-11-08T23:00:01+00:00

The Tiffin Boxes have a stacking ability, you can either stack the identical hexagonal shaped boxes ‘Tiers of Beauty’, or you can create almost a pyramid shaped box with the layers from ‘Glistening Pyramid’ both boxes look stunning and are so well engineered as they stack so snuggly together you can’t really believe you made it out of cardstock :D For this blog post I’ve done a simple construction for a one layered hexagonal box, but the principal is the same for both sets, however with the ‘Glistening Pyramid’ you have the extra step of adding the sides to the bases first before you start construction

Step 1

For the main base of the box, you’ll need one of the main hexagonal die-cuts, plus your chosen decorative panels.

Step 2

Stick your panels to the base, I did alternating panels where every other one had mirror card behind it

Step 3

Before we start assembling, make sure to pre-fold all the score lines, this makes the box come together so easily.

Step 4

Simply bring the sides together as shown butting the cut edge of one side up to the score of the next.

Step 5

You’ll then see your box take shape… but we have some top flaps to deal with, if you look at the photo you can see how I’ve oriented mine, I found this looked the neatest, and all you have to do is put a tiny dab of glue at the corners to hold everything together

Step 6

I also like to add tiny pegs to help everything dry exactly where I want it, especially when I’m using luxury or mirror cardstock

Step 7

For the lid, you’ll need two of the main pieces (they almost look like propellers) plus an optional handle (I didn’t use mine in the end) and your decorative panels too.

Step 8

Firstly stick the two lid pieces together rotating them so one fits in the gaps of the other. If you’re using luxury or mirror card, you might want to use double sided tape rather than wet glue as it can be visible, however I knew I was going to cover mine with a decorative panel

Step 9

Add all of your decorative panels while your lid is flat

Step 10

then pre-fold all the score lines to make construction easier

Step 11

Adhere all the sloping sides to create your domed lid shape then

Step 12

add tiny dabs of glue to those remaining little glue tabs, and use a peg to hold them together while the glue dries.

Step 13

You’ll now need to die-cut 2 of the pieces shown above, this creates the foot of the box.

Step 14

Finally it’s time to add the foot of the box; the instructions tell you how to flip the glue tabs outwards so you get the perfect placement and your boxes will stack perfectly on top of each other

Step 15

but if you’re doing a single box like this, it is possible to attach it like this if you’d rather :D I think it’d look nice if you added a hexagon die-cut from your stash into the centre there as well, that would make the foot nice a sturdy. Or alternatively you don’t need to add the foot at all, as it’s mostly to help them stack

Step 16

And now you have your finished box :D And the great thing with the ‘Tiers of Beauty’ set is that you can add more boxes to the stack if you decide to which is fab

Hope you found this basic step by step helpful :D These Tiffin Boxes are so much fun to create and you can have hours of fun thinking up different ideas of how to use them :D Christine xxx

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Find Out How to Craft a Celebration Gift Box With Christine Smith

2021-11-04T15:21:53+00:00

The Deco Gift Box is fascinating to make, it’s so clever the way to top slots into the bottom so easily and it’s so simple to assemble too, so I’ve done a step by step to show you just how simple it is :D

Step 1

Firstly let’s make the top of the box; these are the basic pieces you’ll need…

Step 2

…plus the decorative panels too.

Step 3

Rotate one of the main blue pieces and stick them together to make the net for the top, then simply add your decorative panels too to give something that looks like this.

Step 4

We now need to build the lid, and you’ll notice the main panels don’t have glue tabs (so we can use it differently for the top and bottom) so we need to add those, and in this case they also add a little gusset to the box…

Step 5

… here’s how you add them, stick one side on first, right up to point where the 2 sides meet the top…

Step 6

…then pull the next side round and adhere as shown

Step 7

Repeat for the other 3 joins and you’ll have the lid portion of your box

Step 8

For the base of the box you’ll need these basic pieces shown, and you’ll notice that they have slits cut into the triangle sides, this die comes in the set and has excess metal so you know exactly how to line it up.

Step 9

You’ll also want to add your decorative panels when it’s flat too

Step 10

For the top of the box we added a small gusset, but for the base, we’re adding some locking mechanisms instead. You get all 4 dies in the set so you only have to cut each one once. I’ve laid them out in the correct orientation on the photo, but you should also have this instruction in your packaging

Step 11

Once you’ve stuck them on, lining up the notches (again the instructions in the packaging are great for that part!) you can push the 2 sides without pieces on in…

Step 12

…then push the other 2 sides in and lock the pieces together as shown, this will hold the base of the box together and keep your gift inside.

Step 13

To add extra decoration to the top of the box, I cut a triangle from blue card and used some of Tonic’s new 9mm grey ribbon to tie a bow on top, and then I stuck this on with 3D foam…

Step 14

…like so :D This is just one way to decorate the top, you get different die options, and you can cut them twice to fill the whole square too to give a different look.

Step 15

Then you can simply slot the top of the box into the bottom, to give your completed box, it really is a fascinating box and so simple to construct too.

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Detailed layered card make with Christine Smith

2021-10-26T14:48:29+01:00

Both the Special Birthday Beautiful Banner and For You Elaborate Swirls are fantastic detailed Layering Die sets for your larger cards, however, they also work wonderfully for smaller cards too :D So I thought I’d run through one card idea with each set for you

Step 1

A quick card with ‘For You Elaborate Swirls’ Die-cut the pieces shown, I’ve used pearl mint, ivory, satin mint, white and vellum to cut my pieces.

Step 2

Trim a piece of white card to your favourite small card size (mine is 10x13 cm) and use the Ivory die-cut to start building your background, stick half on the card and shown, then trim the excess.

Step 3

Use the excess to fill in the other areas...

Step 4

…to give you a lovely full background like this

Step 5

Then add the pearl mint one over the top to build up the background even more.

Step 6

For your sentiment, layer the satin mint one with the ‘For You’ die cut out on top of a solid white one, this will allow us to add it to the card with 3D foam :D And matt this onto the larger vellum layer too

Step 7

Position the sentiment slightly more towards the top of your card panel, you can play around with the sentiment placement too so give a different look, and I think this card would look lovely with a butterfly or two as well!

Step 8

Now for a simple small card using ‘Special Birthday Beautiful Banner’ Firstly I’ve cut a few pieces, the large swirly shape from vellum, the main banner from white card and pink glitter card (make sure to keep the 2 fall away pieces from this cut) and the sentiments from deep pink.

Step 9

Now we want to make the whole white banner into an outline, so to do this you just cut the 3 sentiment dies into the solid banner piece, and from this you also get the 3 sentiments in white too which we will use as drop shadows later

Step 10

You’re not left with this…

Step 11

Add your solid glitter banner to your small card panel (10x13 cm) using 3D foam to give some dimension.

Step 12

Then I thought it’d be nice to soften some of the glitter that will show through later, so I decided to take that large swirly vellum die-cut and use portions of it behind the white banner outline.

Step 13

Repeat on the other side with the remaining piece and trim off any excess…

Step 14

You can then stick this on top of the pink glitter one to give this lovely subtle result.

Step 15

Now for the main sentiments, firstly I recessed the white die-cuts back in…

Step 16

…then I added the pink die-cuts shifting them slightly so the white acts as a drop shadow :D

Step 17

Do this for all 3 parts of the sentiment.

Step 18

Once I got to this stage I felt like the white background was too empty, if I hadn’t already stuck the banner to the panel I might have embossed a die into the background or even used an embossing folder, but in the end I decided to use one of the pattern dies from the set that had a selection of small flower fall away pieces in, and I cut it a couple of times from the glitter card and deep pink card too.

Step 19

Then I simply scattered them across the card focusing in those two empty corners

Step 20

And here you have your 2 cards, I think you’d get some fab results mixing up the sets too

Hope you enjoyed these quick and simple card ideas for smaller cards using Large Layering die sets :D Christine xxx

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How to make your very own flower box with Christine Smith

2021-10-20T15:55:01+01:00

This month’s kit creates a selection of dinky little flower topped boxes, and there are tonnes of iterations that you can make too, the die set includes 3 different base shapes as well as 3 different side heights so it’s the ultimate mix and match box set :D And the kit comes packed with all the Craft Perfect and Nuvo you’ll need to make some fantastic boxes, or cards too :D Check out my CRaFTi PoTeNTiAl channel for a full un-boxing with 4 sided box construction, and a separate card making video using dies from the kit too :D Christine xxx

Step 1

You’ll need these pieces for the box construction, and the photo indicates where I’ve added red liner tape too, however, you do get Nuvo Deluxe adhesive in the kit, and it’d work equally well.

Step 2

Take the backing off the red liner tape you added to the pentagon, and attach all the sides…

Step 3

… and you’ll be left with a piece like this.

Step 4

To make a nice strong base, add a second pentagon inside as shown.

Step 5

Now you need to decide on your decoration, I decided to stick the intricate panels straight onto the box base, but you can also back them with a solid piece, or just simply use a solid panel too, there are so many options.

Step 6

Add your panels as shown.

Step 7

Pre-fold all of the score lines, the top piece is a valley fold, the rest are mountains…

Step 8

…once everything is pre-folded, it’ll start to come together like this.

Step 9

Then you can simple remove the backing from the red liner tape on the side glue tabs and bring all the sides up and adhere them together…

Step 10

…to give your main box.

Step 11

For the lid, you’ll need two of the petal/leaf die-cuts. Then you’ll need to die-cut the pentagon from the centre of both. There’s multiple ways to do this, you can cut both separately orienting them as shown in the photo. You can stick both together, then die-cut the pentagon (to give Step 12), or the writing instructions in the kit say to use 3 of the die-cuts, so you have a few options :D

Step 12

Stick your lid pieces together so you have a full 6 petal flower. It doesn’t matter how many sides the bottom box has, the lid piece always has the 6 petals.

Step 13

Choose your decorations…

Step 14

…and adhere them to your lid.

Step 15

You can also manipulate the petals to give a bit of movement to the lid too, just gently curve them up or down :D

Step 16

Then simply add your lid over the top of the box we finished in Step 10.

Step 17

The 3mm width ribbon we get in the kit is perfect for tying your box together, and it can easily be coloured with the Nuvo Alcohol pens to get a coordinating colour if you’d like :D

Step 18

Finally thread your ribbon around the top, through the holes and finish with a bow.

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3 Fun & Creative Ways To Use Nuvo Glimmer Paste

2021-10-11T23:59:09+01:00

There are a multitude of different ways to use Nuvo’s fabulous Glimmer Paste, but I’ve narrowed it down to three of my favourites for this blog post :D Tonic has recently re-launched their Glimmer Paste with a new formulation that has a longer open time, this makes it much easier for you to clean off your tools and stencils without the paste drying rock hard onto them and also allows you to do techniques with more intricate placement of different colours through a stencils too :D and for the re-launch they’ve also updated the packaging so they’re now in octagonal pots rather than round, so if you still have some of the original pastes you’ll easily be able to tell them apart.

Below are photographic steps showing you 3 of my favourite Glimmer Paste uses, but I also show a few more and give you some more info about the new Glimmer Pastes in my Up Close video over on my CRaFTi PoTeNTiAl YouTube channel.

The Squishing Technique

Step 1

For this technique, you’ll need to choose a few colours of pastes, get 2 pieces of acetate, or card if you’d prefer, plus an optional addition of some Nuvo Confetti too

Step 2

To begin with add some dollops of Glimmer Paste to one piece of acetate making sure to space your colours out, or add them in a linear fashion to create a stripy design.

Step 3

Then simply take your second piece of acetate, place it on top and press down to squish all the pastes together into a solid piece, you can judge by feel how much to press to spread the paste out. Try not to press so hard that it all squishes out the edges though

Step 4

Then simply pull the pieces apart and you’ll get this cool textured effect, and you can enhance this even more by sprinkling in some Nuvo Confetti too if you want :D You have to peel the 2 pieces apart again as the acetate is a non-porous surface so the paste would have a hard time drying when sandwiched between the 2 pieces, but if you prefer the look of the paste in step 3, you can just use the smooth side of the acetate as the front

Step 5

Then simply use your dry piece behind an aperture on a card :D You can also cut an aperture in the front of the card blank as well and make it a window into the centre of the card if you want to as well.

The Splattering Technique

Step 1

For this technique you’ll need your chosen colour/s of Glimmer Paste, an old paint brush and water. Technically you shouldn’t add water to the paste as it’ll affect it’s properties, however if you don’t mind that some glitter might rub off this is a fun way to make your Glimmer Paste even more versatile

Step 2

Simply take a small blob of paste and mix it with some water (add a little at a time and use a palette knife to mix so you don’t wreck your brush) until it’s a consistency that you can splatter.

Step 3

Then simply load up your brush with your mixture and splatter

Step 4

You can add as much or as little as you like and use whatever colours you want too. I was going for a resist look to give a snowfall background so I went for the Moonstone

Step 5

Leave your background to completely dry, then simply ink blend over the top, you might want to rub over the paste with kitchen roll to clean off the ink when using the Moonstone for a resist effect, and play around with multiple colours if you like too, I just kept it simple

Step 6

Now you have a cool sparkly snowfall background, and I finished mine off with an adorable snowman from the Birthday Celebrations ‘Snow Much Fun’ release.

The Colour Meld Stencil Technique

Step 1

For this technique you’ll need a few colours of Glimmer Paste, a Nuvo Media Spatula and a stencil too. Using Glimmer Paste through a stencil is one of the easiest and most popular uses for this product, but I thought I’d show you how simple it is to meld 3 colours together as well.

Step 2

Firstly decide how you want to hold your stencil down, I usually just risk it and do nothing, but tape is a great option, or even better is the Tonic Magnetic Platform, it has really strong magnets that will hold everything in place perfectly for you :D Once you’ve secured your stencil, pick the lightest colour and apply it randomly through the stencil.

Step 3

move onto the next darkest colour filling in a few more of the gaps

Step 4

finally add your darkest colour (in this case black) you’ll want to be a little more sparing with this, then to get that melded effect, simply use the excess paste that’s on the stencil and go over the whole background a couple of times, this helps blend areas so it look less blocky

Step 5

and once you remove the stencil, you’ll get this gorgeous blended look of the 3 different colours

Step 6

Leave to dry and you can finish your card however you like, I decided to keep it simple with a Stamp Club Whale, but you could just use portions of the background or add it behind apertures for a less bold look too.

I hope you enjoyed these 3 quick Glimmer Paste techniques, there’s tonnes more ways to use this product, and I’m sure once you start playing you’ll discover new applications and effects too :D Christine

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Christine Smith shows you a basic tutorial on the Heart Squeeze Box

2021-09-29T23:59:13+01:00

The heart squeeze box is such a fun and easy box to assemble :D I’ve done the step by step photos with the smaller box as they’re easier to photograph, but the process is exactly the same with the larger size too. You can decorate them as elaborately as you like with all the dies included but I’ve kept mine really simple just to show the construction :D Also you can cut all the pieces for the smaller box using A5 cutting plates :D Christine xxx

Step 1

Die-cut 2 of the main base piece, and add red liner tape as shown. Make sure to add the tape right up to the corners of the glue tabs as this will give a neater finish, just use a longer piece of tape and trim the excess off.

Step 2

Die-cut your chosen decorative panels (and tag). The 2 pieces that go either side of the large triangle are mirror images, so to decorate one side of the box you’ll need the large triangle and the two smaller ones. You do also have dies to decorate the semi-circles at the top of the box as well.

Step 3

Glue all of your decoration onto your main box pieces. Then once the glue is dry, pre-fold all the score lines, this will make it super easy to assemble.

Step 4

Stick the 2 main panels together using one of the side glue tabs.

Step 5

Fold one die-cut over the other and adhere the other side glue tab. It’s symmetrical so you can press it flat to do this.

Step 6

Turn it upside down, as we now need to secure the bottom of the box.

Step 7

Remove the backing from the tape for the 2 glue tabs and fold one square flap over.

Step 8

Add glue (or more tape if you’d rather) as shown to adhere down the second flap.

Step 9

Flip your box over, and test how it opens and closes, simply pinch the box at the top corners of the large triangle and it’ll pop open as shown. Depending how many layers you’ve added onto your box, you might need to tease the sides so they get used to the action of opening and closing the box.

Step 10

This is what the final box looks like when it’s closed, and you’ll notice there’s a small hole where the 2 lobes of the heart meet…

Step 11

You can use this hole to add your gift tag to your box, and the brand new 3mm satin ribbon from Craft Perfect is fantastic for this! :D

Have fun playing! Christine xxx

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Monstrously Fun Handcrafted Birthday Card With Christine Smith

2021-09-24T16:00:10+01:00

This month’s Stamp Club is so adorable! And even though they’re called little monsters I reckon you could use them for aliens too and they’ll be perfect for your Halloween projects too, cute Halloween :D They’re also so fun to colour and I thoroughly enjoyed using my new Nuvo alcohol pens to colour all 6 characters differently, I also think the new Nuvo Classic Coloured pencils would work fabulously too because you can add lots of texture to them :D For my step by step I thought I’d show you a different way of using the spotty background die to create a background, hope you like it!

To make today's card, you will need the following:

Little Monsters Stamp Club
White and Black Cardstock
Tonic Tangerine
Tonic Stamping Platform
Nuvo Black Shadow Ink Pad
Nuvo Alcohol Markers
Large Nuvo Blending Brushes
Green and Blue Water Reactive Inks
Athenian Blue Nuvo Glitter Marker
Tim Holtz Sheers
Chilli Red Craft Perfect Bakers Twine

Step 1

Stamp out your chosen monster.

Step 2

Colour in your monster.

Step 3

these are the colours I used.

Step 4

Use the coordinating dies to cut out your monster.

Step 5

Emboss the background spotty die into your panel of white card. Tangerine sandwich shown is green plate, green rubber mat, card, die cutting edge face down, white base plate.

Step 6

When you remove the die, you get this cool debossed/embossed effect.

Step 7

Messily colour your spots using colours that contrast with the monster, I used the same colours for the cake he’s holding so everything coordinates. If you were neater, this could be the final background.

Step 8

You can also add some ink blending over the spots, this disguises the messy colouring and makes the background subtler.

Step 9

Splash on some water to reveal the original colour of the spots in areas.

Step 10

For some extra detail, squish some Nuvo Glitter Marker (Athenian Blue) onto your glass cutting mat and...

Step 11

...you’ll get this gorgeous sparkly effect.

Step 12

Stamp out your sentiments and use your sheers (or long bladed scissors) to cut them into strips, then mat them onto black card and trim around again leaving a rough 1mm border around the perimeter.

Step 13

Stick your monster and sentiments onto your card panel as shown.

Step14

Add 3 strands of bakers twine around the card as shown, then take a smaller piece and thread it under the 3 strands.

Step 15

You can then use this strand to tie a little bow, it’s a cheats way to get a good bow

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Christine Smith shows you a basic tutorial on the Crystal Container

2021-09-20T23:55:02+01:00

I adore the versatility of the Crystal Containers! There are so many different options for main shape (square, pentagon and hexagon) side heights and tops too! And Tonic have put all of the side panels into one big die set, so you can get the side panel set and pick a base shape (or get all 3 :D) and create a multitude of different boxes.

For this step by step I’ve chosen the simplest box that you can make to get you started. This one is the flat top square box with the medium height sides and I walk through all the steps of how to alter the sides to give you the flat tope versions :D You can also do decorative top versions, and for those, follow the steps up to Step 9, then use the side panels as they are to get that fancy top :D

Step 1

Die-cut 2 of the base pieces and add tape as indicated in the photo.

Step 2

Twist one piece 180 degrees and stick the square pieces together to give you the main base piece as shown in the photo. You’ll also want to pre fold all of the score lines to make assembly easier.

Step 3

Begin adhering the base together, sticking the 4 small tabs as shown.

Step 4

Your piece will now look like this, and because we pre-folded the score lines you can see how it wants to come together.

Step 5

Take off the backing for the tape and fold one side in at a time as shown.

Step 6

You now have your base piece, but we need to add another element to this so that the lid will stay securely on, so die-cut 4 of the piece shown above, this makes a box section that sits inside the base.

Step 7

Stick these together as shown, making sure the remaining glue tab is aligned along the bottom.

Step 8

Fold the pieces around and secure the final glue tab to make it an open bottomed cube.

Step 9

Then simply use the remaining 4 glue tabs to adhere this into the base piece. If you want to neaten the inside, you can also cut an extra square of card to line the interior bottom.

Step 10

To make a flat topped box (as we are here) you need to amend the side panels. I’ve left the pieces that I’ve cut off above one of the sides so you can see where to trim. You’re basically just keeping the main side piece and snipping the top off to give you a glue tab so that you can adhere it into the lid.

Step 9

Repeat Steps 1-5 to create your flat lid, then follow the same principle as Steps 7-8 to make the lid sleeve.

Step 10

Just as we did in Step 8 adhere the box portion inside the lid using the remaining glue tabs (these are the ones we created ourselves).

Step 9

The sleeve piece of the lid (the longer one here) is slightly bigger than the one in the base so they will side over the top of each other and turquoise base piece will hold the lid securely in place.

Step 10

And there you have your finished flat top box :D You can follow these came instructions for all 3 side heights and all 3 base shapes to create your flat topped boxes :D

Have fun playing! Christine xxx

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How to construct the Christmas Shop Window with Christine Smith

2021-08-31T09:33:04+01:00

If you loved the original Seasonal Shop Windows, you’re going to love these Christmas ones :D There’s so many more different accessories to decorate the shop base with, and they’ll coordinate fabulously with the elements from the Seasonal set too :D And this new base is also different, it has a scalloped top to the arch and a different set of lower windows so there’s even more options when picking which dies to use :D Below I’ve done a detailed step by step of how to assemble the basic shop window; this will work exactly the same for the previous Seasonal set too!

Not only are all the pieces brilliant for the Shop Windows, they’re also great for using on your cards too :D And to show an example of that I’ve done a quick step by step of a card idea for you too :D Enjoy

Step 1

I’ve used different colours and types of card so you can easily identify which piece I’m talking about, but for yours you can cut everything from the same colour :D You will need 2 of the main piece, 2 of the interior window piece (you can add more or less as you like) with the windows cut in (again you can change this) and one base piece (if you want the base).

Step 2

Take one of main panels, and trim off the large arch section, and the three scalloped pieces too.

Step 3

You then want to adhere these to the un-professional side of your other main panel die-cut. As we fold the box you’ll be able to see both sides of the card, and I think this is the best way to hide the back of the card.

Step 4

Add adhesive as shown to these 3 pieces.

Step 5

The easiest way to assemble the main shop window base is to stick one side of your interior panel down first while the box is dismantled. As shown, make sure the professional side of your interior panels is facing forward.

Step 6

Then take the second panel and adhere one glue tab as shown too, again make sure the professional side is facing forward and you also want to make sure the bottoms are all level too.

Step 7

Now lay your piece out like this, and you can see the professional/pretty side of my pieces is facing up. Remove the backing from the tape of the two interior window pieces.

Step 8

Fold the front portion over, making sure the all the bottom edges are in line as you press it into place. Assembling it this was ensures that the box will fold flat, so if you wanted that to be an option or you wanted to put it inside a card you know it’ll fold completely flat and would then also fit inside an envelope too.

Step 9

You’ve now just got to secure that final glue tab, seen on the right hand side in the Step 7 photo to the back of the window and there you have it ready to fully decorate.

Step 10

If you want to be more of a decoration rather than a card, you can add the base. Add the adhesive to the tabs as shown in the photo.

Step 11

Then attach it one side at a time to the base of the window

Step 12

It will not fold flat now. But is now ready to be fully decorated with all the extra dies

Bonus Card Make!

Step 1

Cut a piece of white card to 10 x 13 cm for your main piece, another strip that is 10 cm wide, and use your scissors to cut a snow slope. Then die-cut three trees (grass and fern green), one delicate branchy tree (green mirror), 5 snowflakes (silver mirror), a lamp post (black), 2 sets of fairy lights (dark green), both semi-circle sentiments (black), and you’ll also need a scrap of yellow card too.

Step 2

You’ll need these for step 3, a light yellow marker and a glittery Nuvo crystal drop too.

Step 3

Begin to assemble the card as shown, Layer the yellow card behind the top of the lamp post and trim the excess off, add your trees to the card first, overlapping as you see fit, and adding that branchy tree in too, add your lamppost over the top along with the snow slope over that to ground everything, then add your fairy lights to either side of the lamp post. Then take the items from Step 2, and use them to colour the bulbs of the lights and add a glittery finish too.

Step 4

You can also use some of the glitter drops elsewhere on the card too along with a scattering of snowflakes too, then for the sentiment, use your scissors to snip the words Christmas and Wishes out of the 2 semi-circle pieces, mat onto white and cut into a rectangle then simply add to your card. Or alternatively you could pick a sentiment from your stash, I just wanted to show a way of just using what’s in the die set.

Hope you found the full step by step of how to assemble the Shop window helpful and I hope you liked a little bit of inspiration for a clean and simple card using a few of the dies too :D Christine xxx

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Fun and Festive hand made shaker card with Christine Smith

2021-08-21T12:00:00+01:00

I really enjoyed working with the Festive Mason Jar Dies, Stamps and Coordinating Shaker Blisters from Tonic when they launched on Create & Craft, and luckily I filmed one of my Up Close videos when I had my samples, so you’ll have that to refer too, as well as a step by step here to make a simple multi-chamber shaker card using the little tree die from the set :D If you’ve had any of Tonic’s Shaker Creators before you’ll know just how easy they are to put together, so I thought I’d give you some inspiration for a card that doesn’t use the jar :D Hopefully it’ll spark some ideas for how to use some of the other simple dies from the set too.

If you’re after an Up Close look at the Mason Jar Dies, Stamps and Shaker Blisters, check out my video, not only do I run through the Festive Mason Jars, I also show multiple ideas of how to use the set with and without the actual mason jar.

Step 1

Trim a piece of white card to 7.5 cm x 13.5 cm, pick some scraps of green card to back the 3 shaker trees, and die-cut the noel sentiment from gold and white, then just the outside die from red.

Step 2

Use the small tree die from the set to die-cut 3 apertures into your white panel, then back this with some acetate.

Step 3

Surround the apertures with 3D foam, to create 3 separate shaker wells. And pick what confetti you want to use, either coordinating or contrasting the colours of card use chose earlier.

Step 4

Remove the backing from the foam tape for the first well, add into your chosen confetti, and press the first piece of card on top, making sure to press firmly all the way around for a tight seal. For the second and third well, you’ll need to add glue on the 4th side, again to ensure a secure seal.

Step 5

Flip your panel back over and under-cut any of the excess card that you can see around the edges. Make sure not to cut into the foam tape though otherwise you’re confetti might escape.

Step 6

For some extra decoration, take a spool of Tonic’s new red spotty grosgrain ribbon and add it to the bottom edge of your panel.

Step 7

Add your die-cut and layered sentiment to the ribbon, using the white Noel as a slight drop shadow for the gold. Then cut a few strips of extra card, Red, Gold and Green.

Step 8

Adhere your shaker panel to your card blank (13.5 cm a 10.5 cm) then add the extra strips of coloured card where you think they’re needed to balance the card.

I hope you found these photographed steps easy to follow and it’ll help you to easily assemble the Magical Entwine box as well as the Enchanted Favour box as the general concept is the same :D And I hope you also liked seeing an examples of a card made with the decorative panels too, if you’ve watched any of my videos before you’ll know I LOVE to use panels from box die sets to create cards as it gives them such a unique look :D Happy Crafting! Christine aka CRaFTi PoTeNTiAl :D xxx

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Handmade gift box with entwined detail from Christine Smith

2021-08-13T23:00:05+01:00

There are 2 beautiful boxes in the Pandora’s box style, Magical Entwine which I’ll show you how to construct today and Enchanted Favour :D Both sets have some beautiful patterned panels to decorate the boxes, however if you want to adapt them to be used for Christmas there is also an extra die set, Festive Panels Add On, that gives you Christmas panels for both Pandora’s Boxes :D I used these festive panels to turn the Magical Entwine box into a mini Christmas tree for the Create and Craft shows, and I even used a spare Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive lid as the trunk for the tree, it’s the perfect scale and works so well :D But let’s get back to today’s post and a detailed step by step on how to construct the Magical Entwine box :D

Step 1

Chose a colour for the base of your box and cut 2 of each piece from the card (don’t forget, you can use a different colour for the top and bottom too :D) then add adhesive as shown above.

Step 2

Starting with the lid of the box… Pick 2 colours of card for your decorative panels, and cut 4 solid panels from one card and 4 detailed panels from the other (you can also cut the detail straight into the box itself, or just use one or other of the panels, they’re so versatile :D) I used Seafoam Green Iridescent Card and Pewter Grey Textured Card for my panels.

Step 3

Adhere the detailed die-cuts to the solid ones and allow to dry, then glue them onto the main box pieces.

Step 4

You’ll then have 2 pieces that look like this. Pre-fold all of the score lines to help when you come to construct it.

Step 5

Remove the backing from the red liner tape and adhere these 2 pieces together to give this fan shape.

Step 6

Repeat on the other seam, this time the whole piece will fold flat on top of itself.

Step 7

You’ve now got the lid for your box.

Step 8

Now for the base of the box… As we did in Step 2, pick your colours of card and die-cut the relevant panels (you don’t have to stick to the same colours either, mix it up and make the inside different too :D).

Step 9

Stick your detail and solid panels together, be careful not to use too much glue, especially when sticking onto mirror card. To avoid too much glue, simply tap the excess off on the back of your hand, or if you’d prefer, onto a piece of scrap paper or kitchen roll.

Step 10

Then adhere all 4 panels into your base pieces. I’ve stuck them to the outside, but you can also decorate the inside or both as well.

Step 11

Stick both base pieces together, the 2 large squares overlap and the little slots will line up with each other. Then pre-fold all of the score lines to help with assembly.

Step 12

Lay your base piece flat and stick down the remaining 2 glue tabs, simply pull them to the inside of the box, lay it decorated side down and glue them so the whole thing lays flat.

Step 13

Pick up your base piece and ease the corners to fold inwards like this.

Step 14

Take some bakers twine or ribbon and thread it through the holes around the top to hold the bottom of the box together, this will also help hold your gift inside too.

Step 15

Place the lid we made earlier over the top of the base piece as so, making sure the tabs on the same sides and the slits.

Step 16

Then simply lock the tabs into the slits to secure the lid to the base. This is also fab if you want to make it a hanging decoration as the base will stay attached to the lid.

Step 17

Finally, why not make a matching card to go with your box? Here I used the inside panel twice and I even used the word die ‘gift’ from the set as part of my sentiment too ‘You’re a True Gift’

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Create a Festive Snow Globe Shaker Card With Christine Smith

2021-08-09T15:25:05+01:00

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Tie dye greeting card make with Christine Smith

2021-07-30T15:58:36+01:00

I LOVE this month’s Stamp Club! It’s a similar concept to Stamp Club #5 Backgrounds and Borders with some fab stamps for creating your backgrounds and some lovely bold dies to add your sentiments, it’s such a fab concept, and really helps you turn your backgrounds into cards in no time :D AND the larger word dies in this month’s Stamp Club are all the same size, and you can actually spell more words from them too (see my CRaFTi PoTeNTiAl Up Close video for ideas)

For the step by step below, I had the idea to do a masking technique with the ‘Hello’ word die, however instead of just using masking paper or post-it notes, I decided to use Tonic’s Craft Perfect Adhesive Sheets, so when we’re done with the background we can add glitter :D Hope you like this idea!

What you will need

Stamp Club #11
Craft Perfect Double Sided Adhesive Sheets
Tonic Tangerine
Tim Holtz Sheers
Nuvo Large Blending Brushes
Distress Oxides (or any ink that blends and reacts with water)
White Card
Nuvo Pure Sheen Glitter

Step 1

Die-cut your chosen word from a piece of double sided adhesive. Then use a long bladed pair of scissors or alternatively a guillotine to trim it into a rectangle.

Step 2

Stick your word into the centre of your card panel (10x13 cm) remembering to add in the centre of any letters. You can also save the fall away letters for a similar style of card too.

Step 3

Pick three ink colours (I used Picked Raspberry, Broken China and Twisted Citron) and start blending one in the centre of the card in a circular shape, the Large Blending Brushes from Nuvo are fabulous for this!

Step 4

Then move on to the other colours, continuing in that circular fashion to make almost a dart board kind of effect. You can also ink blend in any way you like, diagonal or randomly would also look fab.

Step 5

Choose some of the gorgeous texture building stamps from the set and assign one to each colour of ink you’ve used. And simply add pattern to the corresponding colour so it’s tone on tone. The little dash stamp fits perfectly inside the letters

Step 6

Continue with the other patterns to add extra interest to your background.

Step 7

Once you’re happy, splatter on some water to your background, leave for 30 seconds and blot with kitchen roll, this gives a faux bleached splat effect that helps meld the whole background together

Step 8

Pick a colour of glitter that will contrast with your background, I went with Ice White, but you could also pick a colour of glitter too.

Step 9

Simply peel off the backing paper from the double sided adhesive sheet, and add your chosen glitter, burnishing it into the adhesive and tipping the excess back into the bottle.

Step 10

And you’re left with this gorgeous glittered word block.

Step 11

Finally mount your panel onto a white card blank and chose one of the scripty word dies to add underneath the ‘Hello’ if you want to

I hope you enjoyed this technique! You can also easily adapt this and use gilding flakes onto the adhesive as well for a more foiled look, and have a play with different colours of card and inks as well. Oxides onto black card would give this a galaxy feel :D Christine

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