Tunnel cards 1 - Fish, a Mermaid and a Meadow

There are a number of different types of tunnel cards, but the cards featured today are based on a design from Craft Stamper magazine.

The method is fairly easy: cut two pieces of card the same size, and a piece of acetate the same height but 3cm narrower. Score two vertical lines in each piece of card: one 3cm in from the left edge and one 3cm in from the right edge. Similarly, score two vertical lines in the acetate 1.5cm in from the left and right edges. Fold all the edges in. The acetate sits between the two pieces of card, which form a "box" around the acetate. The front piece of card has an aperture cut into it. This gives three layers for decorating. Wait until after decorating to glue the edges together. Glue the acetate edges to the inside of the back piece of card. Glue the edges of the front piece of card around the edges of the back piece of card. PVA dries clear and provides a good, strong bond.

"Mermaid card"

The mermaid card uses a free image from the Graphics Fairy's blog for the front of the card, and the aperture was cut with a craft knife. Fish were stamped onto the front of the acetate using archival ink, and gel pens used to colour the back of the acetate. The back of the card has a piece of blue holographic card added to look like water, and more fish were stamped onto the holographic card and coloured as before.

"Fish card"

The aperture for the fish card was die-cut and a scene created in a similar way (it's a shame but the photo doesn't show the fish very well). This time, a Martha Stewart deep edge punch was used to create the "fronds" from different coloured scraps of card. A couple of extra fish were stamped onto acetate and cut out, then placed as if swimming into and out of the fronds.

"Meadow card"

The meadow card was created in a similar way, but the background was formed from cream card inked & stamped with distress inks, then the scene created with a sticker sheet. The sentiment is from docrafts and reads "Watch where you tread in life as true happiness can be found growing at our feet". These cards are great for using up those sheets of stickers you've had lying around for ages :)

Enjoy the Journey

For today, here's a card with some Tim Holtz' stamps and one of my own vintage images.

"Enjoy the Journey"

The background paper is from Docrafts' Persimmon range and the buttons from my button box (I like black buttons on masculine cards; they look like wheels). The map comes from a very old book owned by an ancestor of mine and titled "Goldsmiths Grammar of Geography". The book is held together with bits of sellotape (before you gasp with disgust, I just want to point out the tape was nothing to do with me - it was like that when I got it!!). It's obviously been well-read and well-loved and I really like it too. There are lots of fold-out pages with old maps, and I used a scan of one of the pages to make the background map for the card above.

"Map of the World" from "Goldsmiths Grammar of Geography"

The book has some fabulously non-PC line-drawings & descriptions of the "typical" peoples from different cultures and it  really makes you realise how arrogant our forebears were in their views of themselves and other countries. Here's how the authors saw themselves:

"British" from "Goldsmiths Grammar of Geography"

Hopefully, understanding and accepting each other's cultures will help to encourage peace. The internet is a wonderful thing.

Yes We Can Can

Here's another frame card using images from the Graphics Fairy:

"Dance To Your Own Tune"

There are two sets of can can dancers next to each other to make the line longer. The showgirl isn't interested in the can can (I love the way she looks the other way, and is leaning against the bar having just ordered another shot!). She prefers to wait for her own song to play.

The theatre is decoupaged from two layers to add some depth. The musicians in the orchestra pit have just their heads & instruments in the upper layer. The backgrounds from the circles & the stage curtains have also been removed in the upper layer.

The background is just some plain red card with barn door & dusty concord ink sponged on in "clouds" for atmosphere.

Bunch of Sunflowers

Monet is one of my favourite artists and this artwork was inspired by his painting "Bunch of Sunflowers". My own version has been inked entirely with distress inks and cut 'n' dry foam.

"Bunch of Sunflowers"

Opposites Attract

I was playing about with some Elegant Flourish die cuts one day, hoping for some inspiration when it occurred to me that the blue ones looked liked waves and the red ones looked like flames. This card was the result and it was entered for a Papercraft Inspirations challenge.

"Fire and Water"

The die has been used in three ways: a piece of cream card was passed through the machine to cut the whole die, leaving the negative shapes in the card. The die cuts were used as masks on the cream card, and the cut and inked card was mounted onto black card (which shows through the holes and also provides a frame). The positive, inked die cuts were also added and some letters cut from blue & red metallic, holographic card using Tim Holtz' Upon a Time strip die. The inside message would read "Opposites Attract".

Monday madness - and now for something completely different...

Just for a bit of fun, here's a pop-up steampunk card! It starts off quite dull, with a scene created by stamping & masking with some Creative Expressions stamps. Look closely and you'll see the bunting is a bit different, with shrink plastic embellishments made with the same stamp set:

"Engineer"

The fun bit is on the inside...

"Inventor"

Happy mad Monday :)

Back to School

After seeing the Graphics Fairy's latest upload, I couldn't resist making this quick back to school card with a little decoupage to give some depth into the room, and the addition of a couple of birds sneaking a peak over the little boy's shoulder, safe for the moment while the cat is busy in his bowl!

"Mulitplication is Vexation"