Design Team Project from Joan McAlpine

Each week one of our Design Team will be making a project to share with you. We look forward to seeing what you do with the ideas. Here is our very first project from DT member, Joan. Hope you all enjoy having a go at making this different card shape, which is a versatile card shape that can be used for any kind of card, not just Christmas cards.

Diorama Card Christmas Card with Molly Blooms Stamps

Materials:

Piece of Double Sided Design Paper (DSP) – A4 size

Molly Bloom stamps:

    Merry Christmas MB-0198C

    Sleigh MB-0260K

    Presents MB-0042K

    Reindeer MB-0259H

Fine glitter

Glossy accents

Mounting foam

Rich Cocoa Memento ink

White cardstock

Diorama Template:

Instructions:

Cut the DSP using the diorama template and glue together to make a box with flaps. This forms the basis for your scene.

The side flaps can be any width - paper size permitting, but flaps need reinforcing with additional paper so it stands well

The depth of the box is half (4cm) of the top measurement for the top of the box (8cm).

Stamp images (2 Reindeer, 2 Presents, 2 Sleighs) onto white cardstock and colour in, using your favourite markers e.g. Copics, Promarkers etc.

Cut out images and layer (layered reindeer saddles, red and beige present, holly and heart, middle girls hat and jacket) with mounting foam to create the scene as shown in the photo.

Add string for reigns, and red pearl or glitter for Rudolph's nose

Add fine glitter using glossy accents to snowlflakes, hat trims etc to finish.

Using the diorama template you can make a different and fun Christmas card using any Christmas stamps in your stash.

Gentle reminder – Christmas Day is 7 weeks today !

News Flash and Sneak Peek

Newsflash .............

Due to popular demand, we've changed our workshop timetable for this coming Saturday to hold a canvas class. This is the canvas which has been on display at both Paperific and the Sandown Picture to Page show a few weeks ago.

Some sneaky peeks here ...

This canvas is LOADED with all sorts of exciting elements, some of which you'll learn to make yourself with the material that are supplied. There are lots of new techniques to learn and practice and a wide range of products will be used through out the day. I had my doubts as to whether we could do it in a day, but with careful planning I think we can .. just.

The workshop will run for a FULL day on Saturday, starting at an earlier time of 10.00 am. Be prepared to learn lots, and have lots of fun along the way.

There will be scope to change your colour scheme if you wish and the chance to let your imagination follow it's own path. Be quick to enrol though - it's this Saturday. You can sign up for it via this link to our  website  .www.CraftersCupboard.com.au   by clicking on the Workshops and Classes tab at the top of the page.

I'm looking forward to it already.

Jennifer

Tags, Tags and more Tags

Hello again crafters

A busy couple of weeks in the Cupboard with lots going on - firstly the wonderful canvas class detailed in my last post and then - tags !

We had a couple of sessions on making tags - and not just any tags either. Lots of techniques learnt in these creations and lots of experimenting with different products too including spraying paint mist with the wonderful Paper Artsy Fresco Chalk Finish paints. A simple recipe in a spritzer bottle and we turn paint into a lovely spray mist - a fabulous alternative to the stronger tones of some other spray mist products out there on the market today. Great for spraying and altering all those wonderful little flowers that we have for sale on our website from Prima as the paint takes to the fabric in the flowers just as well as Dylusions, Glimmer Mists, Perfect Pearls etc

So, without much more ado, here are some photos of the finished tags. It never ceases to amaze me how we can start out looking at the same example for inspiration and once everyone has been given the same materials to play with, but the licence to go down their own path of creativity in terms of colour and layout, how the end results always look so different.

Work in progress...

The end results were amazing and I know the creators were absolutely delighted with their efforts. One participant told me she couldn't believe she'd done hers as it was her first experience in altering and creating in the altered art/mixed media space.

Well done to Kate, Naomi, Charmaine, Keryn and Anne - they are all superb !! Have a look everyone - comments much appreciated by the artists ! 

A great range of colour schemes and layouts. Those Prima flowers certainly come up well after a good spraying with colour and everyone really enjoyed using lots of different Treasure Gold colours to alter the embellishments and metal for shading and texture - not to mention creating a few interesting 'gadget embellishments' of their own along the way. It's amazing what you can do with a bottle cap !!

Til next time


Jennifer

Canvas Workshop - The Results

So much happening in the Cupboard and time for an update on our Canvas Workshop. We had a great bunch of ladies who had a wonderful time creating fabulous scrapbook canvas's and here they are hard at work.

Lots of embossing, altering, grunging, painting, gluing and several hours later here are the results.......Well done Anne, Bev and Joy.

I'll be back soon to update you on our tag classes before posting our very first Design Team Project


Jennifer

Canvas Workshop This Week !

Struggling with ideas for Christmas presents? 

We have a scrapbook canvas workshop running on Saturday  - the 19th October here in Berwick.

Check out the website for detail on the class but here's a piccy of how your canvas could look by the time you have finished. You'll get to play with lots of different texture and products through the day, learning some new techniques and producing your own unique canvas by the end of the class. Just bring your own photo, your lunch and your favourite tool kit !! Enrol via the website - it's going to be a fun day.

We have a whole range of exciting classes and workshops coming up - this is the first of many. I'll be previewing them here on the blog, but they are all up on the website for you to view as well so go 'have a look'. 

Cheers

Jennifer

What's happening in the Cupboard this week

Hello Everyone

Another busy time with the Picture to Page Show at the Sandown Racecourse here in Melbourne last week. It was a busy time for us all getting ready for the show, setting up and then 2 days of fun as we demonstrated our favourite products, showed off some new ones and met up with some of our existing customer base while also being discovered by lots of new people !

Top sellers as always were the wonderful PaperArtsty products - We had the new paint colours in stock and they went very quickly. Some lovely yummy colours, so have a look on the website. We don't have all the pics up yet as these colours weren't even on the Paper Artsy website a week ago - they are THAT new !!

JOFY stamps continue to fly out the door as fast as we get them in. We've added to the range with more Hot Picks and Lynne Perrella and Treasure Gold and Grunge Paste were flying too.

Lots of ladies queuing for Glitter Paste and watching Angus experiment with the new fluro colours and ladies were signing up for our series of courses, classes and workshops between now and Christmas. The Art Journaling course is particularly popular and not many places left.

I had a ball - made 3 tags over the two days, altering all sorts of bits and pieces along the way. Pictures to follow.

Our website has had a boost this week and has been moved to a super fast server. We hope you all appreciate the difference. It's grown very rapidly and had outpaced itself !!

And that's it from me for today - I'll be back soon with some pictures and news about our great Scrapbook Canvas class this Saturday. Still places left if you want to sign up and come along - a good chance to make a Christmas gift for someone special using one of your favourite photos.

Cheers everyone,
Jennifer

Exciting Stuff

9th October 2013

It's been a busy time in our 'cupboard' since I last posted. We've had a great Steampunk Clock workshop which was very popular and some fab clocks came out of that.

Olivia married Marco and their wedding was wonderful. We generously let her have a week off, and we did too as we had lots of overseas guests to catch up with & entertain. By the time we all got back to work, we realised that the next Picture to Page Craft Show at the Sandown Racecourse was coming up quickly.

So all hands to the pump to get in some exciting stock for the show, and for those who are going, you won't be disappointed !

We are delighted to announce we now have the new Paper Artsy Fresco Chalk Paint colours in stock. They arrived today and they are GORGEOUS. They are so new, they aren't even up on the Paper Artsy website yet ! Olivia is working hard as we speak to get them uploaded onto our website, and of course, we will have them at the show. I don't think they'll last long, but don't despair, we'll be ordering more soon. Here's a sneak peek, just after they came out of the box ...

We've got some more Paper Artsy stamps in to. The ever popular JOFY plates & Minis
plus a few other favourites and more of the Hot Picks range

But that's not all ......

We've also got the most gorgeous supply of mechanical elements in. For those of you who are Finnabair fans you won't be disappointed. We have a range of her Sunrise Sunset Mechanicals in as well as an extended range of other metal and flower embellishments from Prima - absolutely fabulous for all your mixed media/altered art projects. 

Best of all, we can't believe the prices. I had to check my sums several times. They are all very reasonably priced when compared to other brands. Here's a wee look ..

We've got more Glitter Paste and Stencils too and some new Saturated Canary stamps from their recent release along with some Molly Blooms which are so cute for Christmas cards. If you are coming to the Picture to Page Show this weekend here in Melbourne you won't be disappointed on our stand !

But that's not all ... we have also been working hard to put together a range of great classes and workshops between now and the end of the year, so check out the website for those. And to top it off, we finalised our design team of super talented ladies over the weekend. They will soon be up and running with a great serious of projects for you to try out - but more of that next time I post.

Until then, happy crafting. Give us a call if you need any help

Jennifer