Why (most) men shouldn't make cards

And this is why most men shouldn't make cards. Click here for a great video tutorial on cardmaking for men! 

Making a journal

It’s a long one today. You have been warned.

I wanted to make a 6x6 scrapbook using the Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit that I may have mentioned that I love so much. But I couldn’t find any chipboard of the correct size, so I thought I’d have a practice run on a different sized journal first.

Here’s the finished journal – I wonder if a certain reader can guess who this is for? It’s someone who appreciates a handmade gift… someone who enjoys journaling… someone who already has some of my creations which co-ordinate very well with this… oh and the monogram is a bit of a clue, too! She will know who she is and I hope she likes it – but she will have to wait for it as I want to add it to my samples box for a while first.

I am now going to attempt to upload several pictures in one go. For me this is the blogging equivalent of juggling with a chainsaw, a flaming torch and a raw egg; and I can’t even juggle. Wish me luck…

For this project you will need:
• two pieces of 12x12 background paper of the same design
• two pieces of chipboard of the same size
• some co-ordinating cardstock
• some ribbon
• something to decorate the front of the scrapbook (if desired)
• some really strong tape, such as Sticky Strip

Yes, my instructions are vague because I prefer to work with what I have rather than scrabble around for something hard to find. I had two pieces of A5 chipboard so used those.

I will try to anticipate any questions:

Where do I find chipboard? Well you can buy it in art shops but personally I don’t see the point as you can use the backs of notepads. Or, as you’re covering it, it doesn’t have to be plain,  so you could use cereal boxes – tape two pieces together to strengthen it.

What’s Sticky Strip? It’s the tape that you’ll find at the back of the UK Stampin’ Up!® catalogue. It’s double-sided tape but soooooo much stronger. I wouldn’t use it for ordinary cardmaking but it’s perfect for boxes and for this project as you know it won’t let you down. It seems pricey at £5.50 but I have shopped around and it works out the same per centimetre as other tapes of its type; it’s just on a bigger roll.

What do you use to make the pages? Anything you like – I’ve used cardstock but you could equally use nice paper (plain or ruled) for journaling. You could even decorate all the pages to make a mini scrapbook. These are great for scrapbooking a special occasion when you have lots of pictures you want to use. Perfect, too, for brag books for grandparents.

Ok, here goes with the journal:

1. Cut your patterned paper about 2cm (or an inch if you prefer) larger than your chipboard, as shown. Tape your two pieces of chipboard on to the centre of the two pieces of paper and cut the corners as shown. These are the front and back of your journal.

2. Tape the edges of the chipboard and then fold the flaps in to seal. I like to make sure that flaps are in the same position on both covers. On this one it’s the top and bottom flaps (the long ones) that are at the top. I don’t think I’m making any sense, so let’s move swiftly on to step 3.

3. Now work out what size you want your pages to be. My journal is 21cm wide by 15cm tall, so I made my pages 19.5cm wide by 13.5cm tall. To bind the book so that it opens easily, you’ll need two of these nifty little thingies – mine are Bashful Blue. These are also 13.5cm tall (ie, the same height as your pages) and each has a 3cm flap punched with holes.

4. The right hand flap of one of the nifty little thingies is now attached to the cover of your journal – this is the back cover – and covered with a piece of co-ordinating cardstock; let’s call this the inside covering piece. This red piece measures 20cm wide by 14cm tall, ie 1cm smaller than the finished journal.

5. Now for the front cover. You can decorate your journal however you like but make sure anything which will leave unsightly edges is done before you attach the inside covering piece. Here I’ve cut a piece of Rose Red cardstock, decorated it with a strip of designer paper and scored it to go around the front cover.

6. Tape it all down and attach the second nifty little thingy so that the 3cm flap with the punched holes sticks out. Now attach the second inside covering piece to cover all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

7. Take your pages, which should be punched in the same positions as the 3cm flaps so that they all fit together (roughly, in my case). Thread a length of the ribbon down from the top, through one hole and back up through the other one. Tie a knot to complete. If you’re not confident about tying a neat knot –many people aren’t – you could have your knot at the back, where it won’t be seen so frequently.

8. Finally, add any finishing touches to the front cover and you’re done!

Stamps: Headline Alphabet (p66)
Cardstock: Rose Red, So Saffron, Bashful Blue
Paper: Cutie Pie (p73)
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: Round Tab Punch, ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon - Whisper White, chipboard

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Still playing!

Yes, I am still playing with my Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit, and I expect I will be doing so for some time as there is still lots left!

This little card is 9cm square and was made in minutes using the kit, which you can earn free with a £150 workshop.

Stamps: Happy Everything (p65)
Cardstock: Brocade Blue
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit (p16),

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Tiny and quick

Aren’t these colours gorgeous? A tiny card made in minutes using the Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit, which you can earn free with a £150 workshop.

All I used was a small strip of Designer Series paper from the kit, a self-adhesive border strip, a self-adhesive flower, layered with a decorated self-adhesive circle, popped up for dimension. It took barely any time at all!

The card is part of the Love Notes set – you get 20 small cards (3in square); 10 each of Whisper White and Very Vanilla, plus matching envelopes.

Accessories: Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit (p16), Love Notes (p78)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Simply Scrappin' makes it so easy!

Oooooooh, I am LOVING this Simply Scrappin’® kit! And, as you can see, you can use it for more than just scrapbooking.

I earned it free when I hosted my own workshop last month. I actually reached Level 2 but decided to stick with a Level 1 hostess set because I’d had my eye on this kit for some time. And it’s simply gorgeous!

All the cardstock is textured, which is lovely, and you get loads: eight sheets of cardstock, six sheets of Designer Series paper and six sheets of self-adhesive die cuts.

It’s perfect for scrapbooking but equally perfect for making really fast cards – I made three in about 10 minutes. I would have been quicker but I couldn’t bear to cut into the textured cardstock just so had to go hunting for some Old Olive.

I’ll show you some more cards made with the kit in the next few days and, when I’ve found the perfect picture, I’ll make a scrapbooking page, too.

If you want to earn this set for free by holding a workshop or a catalogue party in your home, please email me.

Stamps: *gasp* none!
Cardstock: Old Olive
Accessories: Home Again Simply Scrappin’® kit (p16), 3/8” Grosgrain Ribbon – Old Olive.

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Popping in and out...

The children are off school now so I won't be around so much this week as I'll be spending some family time. I'll try to post a couple of times though if I can.

More little cards

I love little cards, as you may have noticed. Here’s a group of little cards I made a while ago – now I realise why I’ve completely run out of Lavender Lace cardstock. Must put it on my next order.

The holes are made using the paper piercing technique. Stampin’ Up! sells the perfect tools for this technique in the Crafters’ Tool Kit (p85). The best piece of equipment is the paper piercing template, which is made of thick plastic and has rows of perfectly lined-up holes for you to follow. You lay it over your project and then pierce through the holes – you can even do zig-zags. The template also features larger holes for perfect eyelet setting.

Stamps: Birthday Best (p34)
Cardstock: Gable Green, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Stampin’ Write® markers, Crafters’ Tool Kit (p85)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Lovely Lilac

This is another of the cards we made at the Mother and Daughter event. It’s not a very good picture I’m afraid as I seem to have taken it at a funny angle. The strip is actually quite a lot higher up than it appears on this photo – how strange.

Stamps: Little Pieces (p53), Sincere Salutations (p61)
Cardstock: Lovely Lilac, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Lovely Lilac
Accessories: ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon – Tempting Turquoise (p86)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

Small and bright

Here’s one of the cards we made at the Mother and Daughter event. It’s a small card – 9cm square – and very simple, although quite effective I think. The flower stems were hand-drawn; I tried them straight and wavy and think I prefer the wavy lines. I love the way the Black Gingham ribbon really lifts projects, and goes with just about everything.

Stamps: Little Pieces (p53)
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Passion
Accessories: Black gingham ribbon (p86)

All products by Stampin' Up! Please email me to order a catalogue, or click the picture of the catalogue on the right to view it online.

April special offer

It’s April Fools’ Day but this month’s special offer from Stampin’ Up! is no joke… for the whole of April you can buy either of the Simply Sent™ kits at 10% off.

Simply Sent™ kits are perfect for new stampers or for stamping on the go. They make a lovely gift, too - perfect for encouraging your friends to take up rubber stamping!

They contain everything you need to make a collection of gorgeous cards... stamps, cardstock, embellishments, adhesives – even step-by-step instructions. And, to make like a little easier for beginner stampers, the stamps are die-cut, so no trimming is required before you mount them.

I don’t have one of these kits myself but I have it on good authority that the pictures in the catalogue don’t do them justice. And, of course, once you’ve used up the supplies you’ll still have the inks and stamps to make many more projects.

The kits usually retail at £49.95 each but, for April only, you can buy them for £44.96 each. See page 75 of the catalogue (click the catalogue cover on the right for the online version) to see the full kits. Please email me (there's a link in "About me") if you want to find out more. 

And I'm sorry there's no card sample today - normal service should be resumed tomorrow!