I managed to get the Tattered Lace T-Bar slider card die set for a very good price on ebay, so thought I’d try it out. Then I realised why it was cheap. The instructions on the packaging are not very helpful so I searched on youtube for a video. The Tattered Lace video was even less help as the demonstrator cuts part of the card the wrong way round and it doesn’t work, interestingly the video stops short of revealing this fact. There are, however, some other more helpful videos on youtube from crafters who had similar difficulties. So I cut all the pieces from scrap card and managed to sort it and here’s my end result. An interesting card which is a bit different, I probably won’t be making loads of these but I made this card for my sister who is also an avid card maker like me and I always try to give her something more unusual. For details of the other dies I used just click on the pictures as usual.

I’ve made lots of these parcel keepsake cards for the arrival of new baby girls, baby boys and twins but they can also be a good way of marking a milestone birthday for someone special. This one was made in the recipients favourite colours and includes details of star sign, lucky charm (made from shrink plastic), birth stone etc plus; then and now photoraphs. For details of dies etc used just click on the individual pictures.

Make someone feel extra special on their birthday by giving them a ‘WOW’ factor handmade card. These are 2 examples of accordion cards made using Tattered lace accordion card dies, one for the ladies and one for the men. The great thing about these cards is that you can add as many sections as you want. I did find that I needed to double cut the base sections to give the cards more strength and substance. I cut off the connecting tabs on the sections glued to the back to make assembly easier. Another top tip, would be to assemble in 2 stages. I join the main sections together first and only join the internal sections after I have added the embellishments as it’s a lot easier to do with the card flat on your work surface. Once full assembled these cards will not lie flat so adding details can be tricky. For the ladies’ version I made a simple box for the card. For the men’s version I made a box envelope from a bought envelope using the method shown in Tutorial 8 (you will need to have subscribed to the newsletter to get the passwords to access this).

Buying some sets of dies demands a significant investment. When buying expensive die sets I like to play around to make sure I can get the most from them. I have a couple of panorama die sets and have found, by trial and error, that I can change the size to make larger cards. These are 2 examples of just that. The die set as it comes (the Tattered Lace Large Panorama set), makes an A5 card. I have managed to make 8″ x 8″ cards by cutting the inner panels in 2 stages. Stage 1 cutting the left side with tabs but stopping before the tabs on the right side. Then carefully measuring and re-placing the die to cut the right side. All pieces needed to be shortened in height, but it’s important to measure and trim exactly the same amount from the top and bottom of each piece accurately to ensure the tabs and slots line up properly. I used shop bought 8 x 8 card blanks to mount the panorama on so the cards would stand well and be more stable than just having a flat back. I used 300gsm card for all sections of the base cards and I reinforced the top and bottom edges of the front and inner panels with strips of card to stiffen them. These two cards were commissions and the design elements were appropriate for the recipients. The Man’s 50th birthday card was also made to look like the recipient, with specific details of clothing etc made to match his own. The Lady’s 30th card included the recipients favourite things using all sorts of dies and stamps from my stash chopped, snipped and coloured to replicate them. These cards are labours of love which took hours of experimenting, planning and preparation and are not suitable projects for beginners but were well worth the effort. For details of dies ect used, just click on the pictures.

Special Birthdays for those special ladies in your life demand a special card. I love making shadow box cards. They give you more scope to add dimension to your cards without the risk of the elements getting squashed. This version includes red roses, the favourite flower of the recipient. I used Tonic shadow box dies for the base card and Spellbinders rose creation dies for the internal flowers. I made a box envelope for this card from a standard C5 envelope as shown in tutorial 8 (you will need to be a subsciber to access this).

More cards added to the galleries for Extra Special Wedding Cards and General Wedding Cards. Three weddings and three very different cards, all made to meet specific requirements for the weddings concerned. One of them was my 2nd only Gay Wedding Card which was an 8″ x 8″ gate fold card mirroring the matching outfits worn by the happy couple. The next is a Pop Up Box Card which included coloured flowers to match the wedding theme and photos of the happy couple. The last one was made to match the wedding invitation in a boho style.

Some of these pictures have been in the galleries for a while now but haven’t featured in a post so you may not have spotted them and some are new to the galleries. Interctive, Pop Up and Accordion cards are often a popular choice for people wanting something a bit different for a special birthday. These can be qite invloved to make and use lots of different dies. If you want to know which ones have been used for each card, just click on the individual images and all will be revealed. There are more photographs from different angles and close-ups in the Ladies ages and Ladies Extra Special galleries.

Fab fun cards for special ladies and men. The central element of these cards is suspended with nylon thread sandwiched between the mats and layers, allowing it to spin when the card is opened. The backgrounds for both of these cards was created by inking through stencils with distress inks, simple, quick and really effective. The cenrtal feature is stamped on one card and die cut on the other. For details of stamps, dies etc used to make these cards, just click on the individual pictures.

Scenic Christmas cards are always a popular choice and here is my version for this year. Because they were for special people, they are large cards made using 8″ x 8″ bracket card blanks. I used a variety of dies to create these, for more details, click on the actual images. I made 2 versions, one is flat so less likely to be damaged in the post and the other has a lovely 3D bow for those being hand delivered.