Look what I've had published in Pen & Paper Circle 4 - My Vintage Christmas Card!

Have you got your copy of the Pen & Paper Circle 4 yet? If so then you'll see that I've had this card published in there - does a little happy dance! If you missed ordering this issue then keep an eye on our Facebook page and the store as occasionally one or two issues become available (and when I say one or two I literally mean one or two). Issue 5 is now available to order, but you'll need to be quick as orders are only being taken until 7th October.

Thanks for stopping by today

Claire x

PS. Thanks to everyone who commented on my Faux Metal Box and left comments suggesting I try either coke cans or metal tape. I did try coke tins, but it didn't give me quite the finish I wanted and then I found the panel wasn't quite big enough to cover the box :( The tape would've been fine but again it wasn't quite wide enough for the box. Hence me using foil! I will be doing a tutorial on the kitchen foil technique for those of you who either emailed or asked via Facebook. x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Sweet Sixteen Handbag Card

My niece has her 16th Birthday in a few weeks, so when I saw the challenge from Polka Doodles this week was for BIG NUMBERS, I thought I'd use my DT sample as an excuse to make her card and be slightly more organised. :D

Now whilst this is a card, it's actually going to be a bit of a mini scrapbook for her. I've left the inside of the card blank as I want to put a couple of pictures of her as a baby/toddler and then as the beautiful princess she has turned into (I'm hoping to get a couple of good shots of her in her prom dress) and add a little journalling. Anyway, here's the card....

I printed the papers from the Sugarplum Daisy CD onto heavy weight cardstock before printing the Elegant Bag box template from the Paper Boutique Vol 1 CD over the top of it. I cut two of the bag shaped pieces out, and then cut the handle off of one of them and the fold lines off of both of them. I then scored along where the handle meets the main body of the bag and folded it over to create the front flap on the bag. To make the base I simply cut a rectangle of card that measured 4" x 5.5". I then scored the card on the shortest edge at 1" intervals and folded to make an M shape. This was then glued to both the front and back of the card base.

The handle is made from a piece of craft wire and some pearls, which has been glued into place in the crease of the flap. I made the ruffle edging by attaching some masking tape to paper and then running it through the printer (I used one of the papers from the Sugarplum Daisy CD). I then simply pleated it to give a ruffle effect, brushed the reverse with some talcum powder to stop it sticking in the wrong places and attached it to the card.

The card is held closed by means of a strip of magnetic tape under the front flap. As you can see from my picture there is plenty of room inside for me to either write a simple message or as I plan to do add a couple of pictures and some journalling.

The keychain sentiment has been made from the digi alphabet and numeral set on the CD from the new Pen & Paper Circle Magazine. Simply use your graphics programme to arrange the letters and then print onto card, colour over the letters with a Promarker, fussy cut out and then add a couple of coats of Glossy Accents to give it dimension. Once dry, it's been added to a length of chain and attached to the bag.

The gorgeous little butterfly clasp has been cut using one of the butterflies from set LR0158 by Marianne Design (I've cut a few of the other butterflies from the set to add to the inside of the card once everything is in place). I've then added Stickles and folded the wings before placing one on top of the other and attaching to the bag. To finish I've added some ribbon that has been coloured with Promarkers.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope the Easter Bunny is very generous to you this weekend. Enjoy the break.

Claire x

Materials:
Sugarplum Daisy
Paper Boutique Vol 1
LR0158 Marianne Design
Pen & Paper Circle Magazine Issue 2
Stickles
Glossy Accents
Craft Wire
Beads
Chain

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Paper Play - Shaped Cards
Crafts & Me - Butterflies & Bows
Divas By Design - Anything Goes
Flutter By Wednesdays - Open
Whimsy Stamps - Ribbon
Just Keep On Creating - Anything goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Don't forget!!!!

Oh get me posting on a Saturday!! Bet you're all wondering what the occasion is?? Well I just thought I'd give you all the heads up for tomorrow (Sunday19th February) at 9am and 2pm when Nikky Hall from Polka Doodles will be on Create & Craft launching her new CD. I'm sure you're all going to love it - I know I do!! I was lucky enough to get to use it to make a couple of samples for the show and I'll be honest if I hadn't had such a mare of a week, I'd have happily made loads of samples as there is just so many gorgeous papers, images and templates, I had inspiration overload!!!

Anyway, if you fancy a peek of what I did, pop back here over the next few days and I'll blog my samples.

Oh and I almost forgot - the second edition of The Pen & Paper Circle has gone on sale this week too! The first edition was a complete sell out and it's looking like this one will be too, so if you want to grab a copy do it now, cos once it's gone, it's gone.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a fab weekend.

Claire xxx