Necklace card and looming Xmas

Technical difficulties have prevented me from uploading photos for a while, so many thanks to Neil for sorting things out. The first card gives me a slightly weird feeling - I could have sworn that I've already uploaded this and written about it at length....anyway, it's a nice card. I used a 'necklace' theme and used up loads of bits. Living in a university town means that on any Saturday or Sunday morning one is guaranteed to find pieces of broken costume jewellery lying on the streets; cleaned, they can make good card elements, like the purple necklace in the first photo, which became the focus of the card. After that I just fiddled with layouts until I had one that I was happy with, and stuck everything down. The result is a pretty card that used up all kinds of scraps. Sadly the scan of the final card is a bit dark and rubbish, but you get the idea.

Ah, Xmas. Sigh. I've made quite a few cards, largely because I was supposed to be having a wrist operation in September. However the hospital had cleverly booked me in for an operation I'd already had, instead. Woo! Go NHS! Anyway, here are some cards - one using scraps of fabric and yarn, which always look nice; one pink girly angel one for a friend who likes that style; and one with 'snowballs' all over it for that touch of silly fun. No sophisticated techniques here, just assemblage really, but one of the things that I think is really undervalued in the culture of cardmaking is the mighty skill of sticking stuff to other stuff.
Merry whatever,
Jehanine x

New Hovel, Graduation, Ribbons, New Home

Hidely-ho, carddiddlyardmakers. This month I've made a couple of 'Welcome to Your New Home' cards; the first is for my best mate Neil, who's moving in just down the road. Hurrah! His new hovel is about eight minutes hobble from mine, which is excellent. As we were both big fans of the Simpsons back when it was good, he got this Flanders-themed card. It's just an image of Ned cut from my tv guide, stuck to a load of Flanders quotes (which continue inside and on the back), with some illusion yarn scraps stuck down with brads round the edge. Very simple, but the idea is to make Neil chuckle, as he's very stressed at the moment.

My niece Laura graduated from Hull with a 2:2 in Psychology - very impressive considering she's had her father's leukaemia to deal with in her final year. I made her a scroll card. Use any suitable paper scrap for the scroll - I had a bit with latin words on it, so it looked suitably scholarly. Then I nicked a bit of red and gold ribbon from my Xmas stash to tie it with. As the backing paper had gold swirls on it, I cut similar gold swirls down the edge, and added Laura's name in gold lettering. A very textural card which doesn't show up well in 2D, but there you are. Pleasantly posh in the flesh, I promise.
A word about ribbons. Hopefully you'll get plenty from birthday and Christmas presents; but if you're recycling clothes, there may well be good ribbon to save there too, along with buttons, zips etc. Also when buying new underwear, it often seems to come these days with long ribbons, as if you're going to hang it up. I can't imagine ever being the sort of person who hangs up underwear, so I cut it off, wash it and stick it in the ribbon bag before I ever wear the items. You may wish to erase this thought from your minds if ever I send you a card with ribbon on, but I promise it hasn't touched me anywhere it shouldn't.

The other Welcome to Your New Home card is for my brother, who has moved to a different part of New Zealand and bought a beach house, so he has a beach hut sort of card. Remember the Capital One vellum-type envelopes? They are here as the sea! Then some yellowy, glittery stuff that was part of packaging makes a good sandy beach. A friend had given me an old craft magazine that had a page of 'the ten best beach papers' on it, so I cut shapes from those to make the hut roofs and doors, the sun and message. If you have shaped scissors then you can make fake lace/edging easily - cut plain white paper up both sides and punch little holes in the middle (I use a Victorian awl - good for putting holes in belt buckles and so forth - but you can use any poky tool, eg a used biro, small hole punch).
That's all for now folks, much love,
Jehanine

'Collectable' cards, a handkerchief box, and a folded arch card

Strewth! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well shortly after my last post I was bereaved - my venerable cat Wittgenstein (Vicky) died in February, which stopped me in my tracks for a while. Then my next card was a High School Musical themed card, which was mainly composed of exhortations to the recipient to get his get his get his get his get his get his head in the game, and stickers. Recently there's been a huge spate of birthdays, though, so I'm back in business. I forgot to scan a couple of them (and they were reeeeely good!) but here are a few of the others.
The one on the left is an image lifted directly from another card. An oriental image handpainted onto transparent fabric, it was too good to cut up or throw away, and for once I broke my own rules and used it in its entirety. The other has some old butterfly cards that came with tea many years ago. People often hang on to these things in the hope that they'll be worth something in time, which may be true if you have a complete set in good condition. I decided to just use these though, as I only have a few, on a scrap of fabric. Pretty cards, both, I think.

Here's a bit of recent scavenging: I bought a few handkerchiefs (I've always preferred them to tissues - much softer on the nose, more environmentally-friendly and agreeably old-fashioned) and saved a silver frame and a few bits of silver card from the packaging.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart, and the very next day you...no hang on....last Christmas, my best mate Neil gave me some recycled dark gold arch cards from eco-crafts, and I've finally got round to making some glorious cards with them. Two of them I forgot to scan - one was floaty images of Victorian women, and on another I used up all my pink and flowery scraps, and it looked surprisingly good. The final one, however, I remembered to scan. I used an oriental-type paper and a cat motif. On the left is the front with the 'doors' folded and tied with blue ribbon. The inside almost refused to scan, for reasons best known to itself. I had several goes, and hopefully the odd image on the right is sufficient to give you an idea of the inside of the card. I did little more than cut shapes and paste them in, but the end result is very striking and much prettier than the photos suggest.
Happy creating, all!
Much love,
Jehanine x

Wallpaper, Christmas, and free stencils

Hi all,
One thing I forgot to mention in the last post was to check out your local charity shop. Check the sale rail for unsellable clothes that might be great for craft, but also see if they sell reject wallpaper rolls. My local one does, for 25p each! That's lots of paper. Here's a pic of a few that I picked out - the pink one with gold sparkles is especially useful.
Right, Christmas looms, as do Yule, Kwanza and, well, every culture/religion's winter festival. It's a Festfest, basically, and that means lots of cards for the people you aren't emailing. The card on the right is made entirely from some crackers that were pulled last year, and some of the box that they came in. So it's all co-ordinated and looks quite traditional. One for a respectable friend, I think. If you don't use environmentally-unfriendly things like crackers, you probably know someone who does - ask for their waste, and make them a card as a thank you.
The next card is a design I came up with when my cat attacked my Christmas tree. The person I'm sending it to has a feisty marmalade cat, hence the colouring; the trimmings actually came from a crafter who said rather shamefacedly that she kept buying things but never got round to using them. Thankfully she gave quite a few bits to me rather than throwing them out. If you see what looks like a corporate-made embellishment or paper, that's where I probably got it from. I thought these bits were a nice way to finish a card that is otherwise made of scrap. It tends to get a giggle from cat-lovers - I know lots of those. If you aren't good at drawing shapes then I'd suggest using the shapes from Christmas junk mail as guides - for instance one gets loads of Santa, reindeer and sleigh images, and plenty of stars too. Cut them out and simply draw round them. Or check the internet for copyright-free images to download; there are quite a few sites offering free stencils. This one is utterly brilliant and if I ever become rich and whimsical I shall send them wads of cash: http://www.spraypaintstencils.com/ . Really, a great crafting resource.
Love to all,
Jehanine x

Backing Papers

I was delighted to get this IFAW mailing through the post - look at that expanse of usable paper! It's a soft green with stars on it. Inside there was also a nice piece of red glossy paper. TIP: always *open* your junk mail - it might not look promising, but there may well be craft treasure hidden inside! Keep all the bits of plain white paper of a decent size, too. I can't believe how much people pay for backing papers that they could make themselves easily and uniquely with scrap paper.
As I had some plain white paper (left over from the minutes of a Vegan Organic Network meeting!) I decided to make them into fancy backing paper for a couple of cards I wanted to make. You will need: a flat waterproof surface. I'm using a tile, but a plate or platter is fine. Water-based paint of some kind - the colours from a child's painting set are fine, as are some felt tips. Lots of bits of card and paper. Glue. Scissors.
I started with some backing card, with a co-ordinating colour torn across and placed over a half (readers of previous posts may recognise Virginmedia and Capital One bits used there)! Always remember TIP: tearing *towards* you exposes the fibres of the paper - tearing away from you conceals them. Now get those bits of white paper ready and shaped to fit roughly over the top of the backings you've made.
Paint watery stripes of colour on the tile. Do the next bit quickly - don't let the paint dry on the tile! Drizzle water on it if it does. Put the bits of white paper over the paint to soak up the colour. Make as many as you like/need, then leave them to dry. I have to say, they look pretty darn funky, don't they? Wash the tile clean.
I then tore the papers round the edges TIP: tear them just before they're completely dry. the tearing will be more accurate. Tear them into whatever patterns/shapes you like. I've done a backing, then made a diamond stuck on co-ordinating card scrap, stuck on with 3D foam for texture. I don't think that the photo does them justice, but I'm sure that you can see that what we have is better than the VON minutes, Virginmedia and Capital One mailings, and various bits of scrap that we started with.
Then it was time to personalise the cards. Caroline wears a lot of red and other bold colours, so she gets the red one. The red/gold ribbon came off a bottle of something nice, if I remember rightly. Janet is more delicate and wears light blues and aquas, so she gets a silvery approach. I also made Janet's asymmetric, and the two cards have a very different feel, despite using the same techniques. Oh, and the cost of making the cards came out as ninepence each! You can also marble paper easily, if you have oil-based paint rather than water-based. Just drizzle a few bits into a bowl of water, and let the paper catch the resulting swirls from the surface.
I really enjoyed this. There's nothing my inner child likes more than sloshing paint about and dipping stuff in it. It was so much more fun than going to the shops to *buy* papers, made from virgin forest and designed by someone else. Make it yourself, and it's unique! More environmentally-friendly too, of course.
Lots of love, until next time,
jehanine x

Storage

The trouble with found objects, recycled and reused bits and bobs is that they don't come with boxes to store them in! The problem is usually easy to remedy, though.
However careful we are to buy only environmentally-friendly packaged food, there are usually a few items that can't be had without glass or plastic jars. Instead of putting them straight into the recycling, get into the habit of thinking, can I craft with this, or use it to store craft items?
I'm a big fan of sojasun vegan desserts (the lemon one tastes like cheesecake). The glass jars (on the left in the photo; sorry it's blurry, my arms are rubbish) come with a little cap that is *very* reusable, and I keep loads of these with drawing pins, sequins, tags and all kinds of other stuff in. The jar on the right had Butler's sugar hearts in it; it has four compartments and so is ideal for keeping different colours of gems, sequins etc in. You almost certainly have similar items in your kitchen from time to time.
Larger items can be kept in shoeboxes or other cardboard boxes; if you work in an office or have a friend who does, get them to keep suitable containers for you. If you have a friend who works in a warehouse, they may be able to get hold of fantastic containers, even big wooden boxes, for you - and it's all other people's waste.
What if you need an actual piece of furniture to keep your craft stuff in - a chest of drawers, a filing cabinet, or a desk? Your best bet, both for the environment and your pocket, is freecycle. It's a genius idea - basically people give away items they no longer need or want, to people who do need or want them. Fantastic! you can find your local freecycle group here if you live in the UK: http://uk.freecycle.org/ . If you don't have a local group - start one! A word of warning, though - some groups are so busy that you can get hundreds or thousands of emails per day, so it might be worth signing up with the Daily Digest option. Personally I've got rid of all kinds of odd things, from some bottles of Diet Pepsi to an exercise ball, and I've received all sorts of useful things - most recently a 21" TV! Try it to clear your own clutter and get the things you could really do with.
What if you need something even larger - a new flat?! My books and craft bits are taking over! If anyone has the solution to this (apart from ridiculous ideas like getting rid of books, craft stuff etc), then please let me know....
Happy storing!
Jehanine x

Happy Homosexual Birthday!

Hi all,
The marketing of craft equipment often disgusts me. Men like beer, golf and football, and cards in brown or black, whereas we women like everything to be bright pink and think of nothing but shoes or bags. This is rubbish, and if your social circle reflects those stereotypes then I suggest you get out more and experience the rich diversity of humanity!
Papercraft Inspirations magazine often gives away great free gifts, and the last issue was no exception - 10 plastic craft templates. One was a woman and one was a man, and in the magazine they suggested that you make a lovely wedding card with them holding hands. Well, maybe I will, but in the meantime I had a birthday card to make for a gay friend. No problem - I used the man template twice, on a pink background (remember those Beatjuice flyers?) and finished with a peeloff and a few silver stars. This is the answer - subvert!
A film I can't recommend enough is Yes Men. One of their greatest subversive acts was to buy Barbie and GI Joe dolls, swap the voiceboxes, and place them back in the shops. So when the children opened their presents, they found GI Joe saying, 'I just love shopping with my girlfriends!' and Barbie saying, 'I leave dead men where I go'. The kids loved it - children are perceptive and have a sense of humour - and it was a peaceful and original way of making a point about toy marketing. I'm not saying I do the same, but I make unconventional cards with pride! Love to all,
Jehanine x

Materials for Ethical Cardmaking

Obviously you want to buy as little as possible - well good news, you may not need to buy anything at all! The only essentials are scissors, glue and an old knackered table or smooth durable mat of some kind. If you buy anything, make it the Kreate-a-lope envelope template from www.eco-craft.co.uk/index as you can then make envelopes from junk mail - it's so great to find a use for them instead of just sticking them straight in the recycling! Follow the instructions and then neaten the edges with scissors before gluing (I'm planning an article devoted to glue soon....maybe I should get out more...) As you can see from the envelope in the photo, adding a little embellishment makes your creation stand out from the dull uniformity of mass-produced envelopes.
Ok, so where do you get cards and things to decorate them with? Here are some ideas: use, and ask your neighbours and friends to keep and hand over, leftover wallpaper rolls (cheaper than special papers) , that card that comes with a new shirt, used greetings cards, empty cereal boxes, any plain card they have, junk mail with interesting images, jazzy clothes in any condition (a ripped silver miniskirt made stars and moons for a year for me!) any old children's paints or craft items, beercans (yes really! I'll be doing a section on beercan embossing soon), torn books or books with missing pages, gold/silver/coloured foil inserts from chocolate bars, cigarette packets and so on......it can really be all be turned to good use. If you like, or you're an experienced cardmaker who doesn't think that eco-friendly projects will be any good, then buy some cards and matching envelopes from www.eco-craft.co.uk . I don't work for them, honestly - I'm just impressed with their products.
Right - my next post will be on project ideas, probably fabric used with beercan embossing. Just ask if you have any questions. Take care, best wishes,
Jehanine