Tuesday 28 May 2013

Best Dad in the World Card & Papers

This week, the docrafts Creativity Club have part 2 of my ‘All Tooled Up Father’s Day' printables collection available to members to download. My Dad is due to go in for a back operation today, so I used a selection of them to create this card to wish him luck…


I used a Papermania recycled A6 Kraft card blank as a base them added a series of layered die-cut shapes (mounted onto card for strength). The top rectangle was created by running the distressed cream paper through my die-cutting machine with a lovely little dotted embossing folder I found in my craft bag!

  

I created a distressed effect by dragging a Papermania brown die ink across all the edges, then assembled the pieces onto the card using Stick it 3D foam pads for dimension. To finish, I wound some Papermania string around the card, then used a blob of silicone glue to attach the 
sentiment on the top.


I loved creating this collection of papers – it was a refreshing change to design something out if my comfort zone. The initial sketch were done when my kids were zooming around at a soft play – all the other Mums were gossiping or reading their kindles, I was sketching from a box of mixed nuts and bolts! I had a few funny looks! Here are the initial sketches…


I scanned them into my pc and worked them up before converting some of them into 
paper designs in illustrator using this colour palette...




I used last week’s blue collection to make this digital card layout...

  
I would love to hear your comments - it is such a help when designing papers to hear 
other people's opinions. Thank you for looking! 

                     Jill x

Sunday 19 May 2013

Fordson Super Dexta Sugar Paste Challenge!

My lovely husband has an interesting hobby - he spends most weekends in the autumn (a few are creeping in in the spring now as well!), ploughing up farmer's fields, along with many others, the aim being to win a trophy!

It may sound a little mad to many of you - these boys go out regardless of weather - but I have to say, after having a little dabble pre-kids, I do get it. It is exhausting but the sense of satisfaction at the end puts you on a high! There is an extraordinary sense of community, support and encouragement from the fellow ploughmen (and women), and at the end of the day, these colourful characters are helping to preserve a tradition, which would soon otherwise be lost.

To celebrate this, I set myself the challenge to create my hubby's Fordson Super Dexta and plough in sugar paste as the centre-piece of his birthday day (45, bless him!). It had me up late but I loved every minute of it...I used the modelling tools from the Little Venice Cake Company which were fabulous when constructing the tractor and plough! I also used their Deep Circle Cutters to create the wheels.

 
I made a few mistakes along the way - I was too eager to get going with the model that I tried to use a liquid food colour to get the blue. After using nearly half the bottle, the resulting sugar paste hasn't dried quite as I would have liked it, but it worked (note to self - concentrated colour next time!)
 
 
I also forgot to take off the plastic wrap from the cake board in my haste to get on with things!
 
 
I would also have covered the board with a square of textured sugar paste before
I put the cake on; it would have been so much easier!
 
 
However, I was pretty pleased with the overall effect, and every cake made is another
lesson learned for next time!
 
I used the following Little Venice Cake Company piping nozzles...
 
No. 22 To achieve the ploughed earth effect.
No. 47 To achieve the wooden fence effect.
No. 233 To achieve the stubble effect.
 
 
I find that it's the little details that you add to the cake that give it it's character. In this case, my hubby's faithful lunchbox, sighting poles and match contestant number (his age) that did the trick!
 

I made a plaque from two layers of sugar paste to add my message (although the writing could have been better, I did this very late at night with tired eyes!).
 
 
 
 
The girls added their own touch at the end - some personalised trophies and plaques!
The cake itself was a gluten free chocolate sponge with chocolate frosting, buttercream and sugar paste used to fill and decorate it. Every slice is filled to the brim with calories, but it did taste good!
 
 
Jum was really chuffed with it which made all the work worthwhile! A rough guess would say it took about 15-18 hours in total (this includes a lot of washing up time too!).
 

Adding the candles actually brought the tractor to life!


The sad bit...!
 

...and there it was, going, going, gone!
 
I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. It would be lovely to hear what you think!
 
Jill x
 
 
 
 

Sunday 12 May 2013

Love, laugh, Live - using docrafts Creativity Club Chevron printables for scrapbooking

I haven't had much time for crafting this week (I have been absorbed every spare second making a 3D sugar paste tractor for my hubby's birthday cake!), but I couldn't resist making a quick digital scrapbook layout (8 x 8") using a combination of last week's and this week's Creativity Club Chevron and background downloads.

I designed these papers as a multi-use collection which could be utilized for masculine cards (Father's Day is coming soon!), as well as feminine designs. Although the colour palette includes pinks, the overall feel of strong linear design is perfect for all whole host of cards and scrapbook layouts.

Chevron & Backgrounds Colour Palette
 
I created the large chevron design with the thought that you could chop sections out to create bold design statements. Here is the digital layout I came up with...it features my two little honeys having a ball jumping off walls at a glorious country park we have nearby!


Photo of my girls was taken by the lovely Louise Jolley
http://www.louisejolleyphotography.com/
 
The layout is pretty simple, just layering up of the elements, and could easily be
adapted to make a birthday or greetings card.

Thank you for looking. Any comments would be much appreciated!
 
Jill x
 
Visit www.docrafts.co.uk to find out
more about the Creativity Club
 

Saturday 4 May 2013

If you love sweets, you may like this...!

Phew, it's been a while since I had a chance to blog - we have just been on a fabulous family holiday to the gorgeous Center Parcs, and now we are back, have just had the chance to take a few piccies of the card I made in a few hours I snatched just before we went away! It's made using last week's docrafts Creativity Club printables 'Candy Love' which I designed after an inspiring trip to the sweet shop (what an excuse to sample the goods before sketching!).

 
 
To create the depth, I used silicone glue and slighty twisted the top layer of the decoupage bag to create a more 3D impression...
 
 
I added somePapermania ribbon and Vintage Notes Lace Borders to the mix for effect...
 
 
 
...and to finish, some craft twine to tie the bag.
Thanks for looking!
 
Jill x
 
 

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