Steam Age

My Nephew-in-law loves trains, so I thought it would be fun to make him a train themed Birthday card. I went a bit to town given it is interactive and a shaker card too. I used the Tim Holtz stamps which were really good as you could circle the date on the ticket which was of course his birthday. This is my first attempt at either an interactive or a shaker card. I have a fair few projects on the go so haven't been making many cards - I am working on a crochet blanket that needs 195 pieces so that has been taking most of my craft time. 

Materials:

Card:
White CardSotck
Cream Cardstock
Black Cardstorck
Watercolour Paper

Stamps:
Stamper's Anonymous - On The Railroad

Inks:
Versafine - Onyx Black
Distress - Pine Needles
Distress - Vintage Photo
Distress - Fired Brick

Pens:
Sakura Stardust - Silver
Sakura Stardust - Brass

Extras:
Acetate
Hobbycraft Fun Foam
Die Cutting Machine
Circle Dies
White Card
5 pence piece
Table Sprinkles - Black
Stix2 - White Beads

Method:

1. Stamp the train onto watercolour paper using the versafine black ink and allow to dry before colouring using water pens with the distress inks (pine needles for the engine, fired brick for the cab and vintage photo for the track) when dry add the brass effects using the Sakura stardust pen

2. Stamp two sets of the track onto white cardstock using the versafine and allow to dry, then colour using water pens and the vintage photo, use the sakura stardust silver pen.

3. On the cream card stock print 2 tickets and circle the date of your choice.

4. Print the background of your choice (I chose an old map from 1855) TWICE

5. Matt the black Cardstock on to the card blank and then matt one of the backgrounds onto the black cardstock.

6. Using the same circle die cut a circle out of fun foam (you want the frame rather than the circle), trim the edges so that none pokes outside the edge of your background.

7. Using a circle die cut, cut a circle in the top right - align the cut background and the one on the card and draw around the circle - place the foam frame around this circle on the background on the card.

8. Stick acetate to the back of the background with the circle cut from it.

9. On the circle cut background layout your track which you have fussy cut and work out where to put the cut into the card so that the train will move along the track, make the cut smaller than the diameter of a 5 pence piece. Trace the cut onto the background on the card.

10. Place a 5 pence piece on the background on the card where the pencil marks from the cut are - create a foma frame to hold the 5 pence piece in the "track" - remember the frame will be bigger than the pencil cut as it has to fit the 5 pence - the top piece is smaller to hold the 5p in place.

11. Place fun foam at the corners.

12. Put the stamped tickets and some sprinkles into the circle foam frame on the card and put the 5 pence piece in it's track.

13. Overlay and match the top background gluing it in place

14. With a decoupage foam pad, stick this on top of the 5 pence piece and then adhere the train to the 5 decoupage pad.

Dancing Dragonflies

This is a submission for the Chocolate Baroque Challenge 11. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it!

Materials:

Card:

White Card Stock

Scrap Paper

Watercolour Paper

Inks:

Spectrum Noir Aquatints: Perfect primary

Stamps:

Chocolate Baroque - May AYOS

Ink:

Versamark
Memento Grape Jelly

Distress Picked Raspberry

Versafine Black Onyx

Pens:

Sakura stardust silver

Quilling Paper:

JJ Quilling Opal Green 3mm

Embossing Powder:

WOW Silver super fine

Method:

1) Load up the stamp with versafine black and stamp onto scrap paper, this is to be used as a template for husking the dragonfly wings.

2) Place pins around the "clear" dragon flies wings and husk using a triple wrap, do each wing individually using the opal green paper. Repeat this until you have done all the wings on all the dragonflies. (husking involves wrapping quilling paper around the pins to create a shape).

3) Once you have constructed all the wings, cut 1 and 3/4 inch strips of the opal green quilling paper and create S scrolls to fill the wings. 

4) Put all the quilled piece in a box, arranging the wings in the order on the stamp (so you don't get confused later)

5) Using versafine black load the AYOS May stamp and print onto white cardstock, once dry cut out the dotted background.

6) Get some watercolour paper and using the two blues from the perfrect primary aquatint range, apaint a background to look like water (I alternated and used water to blend), allow this to dry.

7) Once the watercoloured background is dry matt the cut out stamp on to it, colour in the background of the plain dragonflies using the silver sakura pen and start to mount the quilled dragonfly wings, I did all the wings and then added the scrolls. Make pegs (tight circles) for the bodies using the opal green.

8) Using versamark, load up the stamp and imprint onto the watercolour card and emboss using the silver powder.

9) Using water pens colour the embossed wings using the grape jelly and picked raspberry inks to colour the wings, cut them out.

10) Mount the embossed dragonflies at different heights using the decoupage foam and the quilling to create depth.

11) Use the grape jelly ink to create a border with the water pens.