Creative Cardmaking issue 18

What a packed issue we have in store for you this month – there really is something for all tastes, skill levels and styles! Even the free papers cover a wide selection of occasions.

There are three different collections for you this month, all from the gorgeous NitWit Collections.

The Quilty Pleasures range is bang on-trend and the patchwork feel means the papers are perfect for a variety of makes. Jo Kill has made good use of them and produced some beautiful cards, starting on page 39.

Marie Hampson was inspired by the other two collections – Noah’s Ark and Bear Necessities, which are part of the brand new range of printed papers now available in the UK through Personal Impressions.

Elsewhere in the magazine we have ‘1 Product, 6 Ideas’ from Missy Neal using the new Martha Stewart glitter sets on page 35, delightful punch art cards by Kirsty Maluga in the beginner’s technique class on page 56, Hero Arts stamping with Debi Potter on page 71 and an exquisite exploding box in the shape of a carousel by Sarah Youde on page 31.

If you love the look of vintage-style cards turn to page 54, where Terrie Bailey treats us to some delightful examples.

For fans of Spellbinders dies, Paula Baughan demonstrates some great ways to incorporate them into stamped cards on page 49. And for those of you that would like to use photos in projects, Creative Cardmaking photographer Rachel Burgess gives us an expert guide to this technique on page 59.

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We’re in full bloom this month with a selection of floral designs in both the projects and the papers.

Different flowers traditionally have different meanings but one thing stays the same – you can’t help but smile when you receive them. So take inspiration from nature and include flowers galore on your card designs, guaranteed to make someone’s day.

To help you along your way with your flora-inspired cardmaking, Craftwork Cards has supplied Creative Cardmaking readers with designs from their beautiful Blossom Collection. Rich colours and elaborate patterns combine to produce stunning results and Julie Hickey shows us some fabulous examples of how to use your free papers on page 39.

Continuing the floral theme, Missy Neal goes crazy for Prima Flowers on page 20, introducing us to their new collections and illustrating some breathtaking examples of how to include them in your designs. Jo Kill explains how to create your own flowers using the divine Utopia collection from Kaisercraft on page 26 and Paula Baughan produces pretty cards using Nellie’s Choice punch-and-emboss sets in the 1 product, 6 ideas feature on page 35.

The Technique of the Month this issue is using fabric in the form of the funky Riley Blake fat quarter bundles. Kirsty Wiseman shows us a number of ways to incorporate these great swatches into our designs on page 31

Our Expert Guide on page 59 shows you how to use Silkies in a number of different ways and our Simply Stamping feature this month highlights the adorable designs of the Gorjuss Girls on page 71. If you love using templates then Sharon Armstrong comes up with the goods on page 66 with a fun selection for you.

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In a bid to bring some sunshine to our lives, this month’s Creative Cardmaking is packed full of bright, summery projects that are certain to put a smile on your face! From the fun and funky floral template-based projects on page 23 to Kirsty Wiseman’s beachcombing cards on page 66, there really is something for everyone in this issue.

Our technique of the month is designs using acetate. Karen Watson displays some stunning examples by incorporating modern fairy stamps into her cards – turn to page 31 to discover some of her magical makes!

The 1 product, 6 ideas feature, by Jo Kill on page 35, shows us how to get the most out of a single paper pad and, following on with a paper pack theme, Dyan Reaveley produces an eclectic set using the nostalgic On the Boardwalk collection from Graphic 45 on page 26.

Furthermore, to suit all levels of cardmaking skill, we have a beginners’ class on shaker cards by Su Pennick on page 56 and an expert guide on making your own embellishments on page 59 from Creative Cardmaking favourite, Angie Parkins. The Simply Stamping feature this month is by Jayne Nestoreko who introduces us to her new Patchwork Polly range of stamps on page 71.

Don’t forget about our free papers either which, this month, is provided by The Papertrail Company. Featuring bold, fun designs from their Chloe Rose and Cheeky Monkey collections, we’re sure you’ll love them as much as us. Jayne Bentley shows us a huge array of projects made using the free papers starting on page 39, including bunting, shaped cards and mini books. Remember to send us in your cards made using the free papers as we offer a prize for every one that’s published.

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We all know how hard it can be coming up with different ideas when creating cards for men – we tend to go back to the same theme time and time again. As a result, this month we have decided to inspire you with a magazine dedicated to masculine makes!

From cards for sporty teenagers to retirement cards, there is something for everyone this issue.

The papers this month are also masculine-themed with images well-suited to a variety of styles. You’ll find beer labels, postcards, money, travel tickets and gardening so there’s bound to be something to suit all tastes and interests. Turn to page 39 for the start of eight pages packed full of ideas using your papers.

We have introduced a new Expert Guide section to Creative Cardmaking, starting on page 59 with a guide to creating your own stamps by Rachel Burgess.

There is a fantastic reader offer on page 27 where you can buy the templates and CD-ROM as used in Jayne Bentley’s fabulous makes on page 23 at a discounted price. We also have an extra giveaway on page 18 and you can win a complete set of envelope templates from Payper Box that have been used in Sandy Pearcey’s delightful projects.

The new range of clear stamps from La Pashe is the focus of this issue’s Simply Stamping on page 71, and Lynn Robinson-Hunter puts the Artylicious CD-ROM through its paces for the 1 Product, 6 Ideas feature on page 35.

Elsewhere, Judith Hannington uses Kaisercraft’s James Bond-inspired Shaken Not Stirred collection on page 53 to create cards good enough for 007 himself.

If you want your cards to stand out even further, try incorporating zips into your designs, as Angie Parkins demonstrates on page 67.

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With the long dark days of winter firmly behind us, we can gain inspiration from the season of new beginnings for our crafting, and that’s what we’ve provided for you this month.

We have a selection of projects covering occasions such as new babies, weddings, engagements and general romance – and what better set of free papers to complement these themes than the Popcorn the Bear Romance collection? Not only are there background papers, toppers, borders, pyramage and invertage sheets, but also two die-cut decoupage sheets containing images of the adorable Popcorn character. To see examples of what you can make using these fantastic papers, turn to page 39.

There is a great selection of techniques for you to try out this issue such as die-cutting with Sizzix on page 35, and iris folding in the Beginner’s Technique Class on page 56.

As always we have a dedicated Simply Stamping section and this month Paula Baughan introduces us to The Greeting Farm range of stamps on page 71. Continuing the stamping theme on page 49 is Darkroom Door’s Rachel Greig, who shows us how to get the most from photo stamps.

If you like more dimensional work, turn to page 53 where Julie Hickey has created an adorable new baby gift set using a birdhouse template.

Book publisher David & Charles has allowed us to take an extract from the wonderful Paper Sculpt Sensation book by Marion Elliot, and on page 63 Marion demonstrates, with the help of templates, how to create a treasured keepsake gift box containing paper booties.

Creative Cardmaking issue 13

We can’t believe it’s been a whole year since we first launched Creative Cardmaking!

A lot has happened in the past year and we have seen a huge number of inspiring projects and new techniques covered throughout all the issues. We hope you all feel like you have gained lots of new skills and have enjoyed the wide variety of papers we have included each month.

This coming year we have lots more new and exciting things in store and we can’t wait to show you them all.

Inside this jam-packed issue there are numerous different techniques for you to try.

Turn to page 56 for the beginner’s guide to alcohol inks by Dyan Reaveley, and check out page 31 for this issue’s monthly theme, which is parchment craft, by registered Pergamano teachers Tina Cox and Jenny Eggleton.

There is also the Simply Stamping section on page 63, where Karen Watson introduces us to the Nikki range of rubber stamps.

If you have been considering venturing into the world of digital crafting, Jo Prior’s feature on page 48 is a definite must-read.

You can learn how to incorporate scents into your cards by turning to page 27, and if you love the shabby chic look, Terrie Bailey’s cards on page 68 will be just perfect.

There are eight pages full of ideas on how to use your Debbi Moore free papers, starting on page 39, and if you like what you see there is a superb offer on the full CD on page 38.

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You may have noticed that Creative Cardmaking has had a bit of a facelift! We thought it was about time we freshened things up for you, the readers, so we have made a few changes to the magazine based on all your feedback.

The main thing you wanted to see was more ideas using the free papers, so you will now find that there are eight pages full of inspiration wrapped around the free papers, starting on page 39. This month, Kirsty Wiseman makes the most of the free ‘Let them eat cake’ paper collection, which features lots of bright colours and bold patterns such as dots, stripes and paisleys, combined with cute cupcake and birthday cake images to help you create great cards suitable for all ages.

We’ve also made a few visual changes to make the magazine easier to navigate. For starters, we’ve colour-coded the different sections. For instance, in the contents page you will notice that the Beginner’s Technique Class (which this month is resist work) is boxed in a salmon pink colour and the feature itself has a strip of the same colour down the outside edges to make it easier to identify. There is also a stamp mark on the regular features showing you what they are. We hope you like the changes!

This month we have featured a large array of techniques and styles so there is something to suit all tastes. For instance, Dyan Reaveley teaches us all about grungeboard in the Technique of the Month on page 31, but if a more off-the-page style is your thing then you’ll absolutely love Judith Hannington’s fruity feature on page 48.

We also have a ‘1 Product, 6 Ideas’ feature on page 35 using an embossing board, and adorable stamped cards from PartiCraft in the How To Use section on page 59. If you are interested in stamping turn to page 70 where the gorgeous Thomas Kincade stamps are used to best effect, and we have the answer to creating cards for those awkward teenage years with Kirsty Maluga’s rock star designs on page 67.

Creative Cardmaking issue 11

After months of preparation and build up, Christmas is finally over! After a good rest and time to recharge the batteries, we can now look forward to everything 2010 will bring us.

I’ve decided not to make any New Year’s resolutions this time as I never stick to them anyway! Instead I’m simply going to make an effort to try out new things – whether that is new craft techniques, food I’ve never had before or places I’ve always wanted to visit but never got around to.

To kick-start my new approach, there are plenty of projects inside this issue for me to try. For instance, I’ve never made a Jacob’s ladder before so I will definitely be giving Melissa Andrews’ friendship design on page 45 a go. I’m also going to dig out my crackle paints and reproduce Dyan Reaveley’s feature on page 39 as I absolutely love the ‘4 Reasons’ accordian card she has created.

As well as these innovative projects, we have pocket cards on page 49 by Jackie Huckstepp, a ProMarker lesson from Dawn Wheeler on page 59 and gorgeous paper flower cards by Judith Hannington on page 63, amongst many others.

There are two different paper collections for you this month – the first is Love Fool, and you will find quick and easy ideas for using these papers on page 12; the other is Floral Flutter and there is a gorgeous thank you gift set on page 16 making the most of these designs. Remember to send in your creations made using the papers and we will give a prize to every reader whose work is published.

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The nights have really drawn in now, causing us to retreat to our craft rooms more in an attempt to escape the cold weather outside! The good news about being locked away in our own little craft world is that some of us have more or less completed our Christmas cards, but the bad news (for our bank balances anyway) is that now we want to try out lots of new materials and techniques.

For instance, on page 39 this month, Amanda Bateman and Craig Dougan show us how to create a watercoloured card from any photo. For those of us who’ve never been able to draw, the idea that we can take absolutely any photograph and turn it into a watercoloured masterpiece gets us champing at the bit to give it a go!

For all you stampers out there, turn to page 67 where Judith Hannington is let loose on a bottle of household bleach, with stunning results. Die-cutting fans should turn to page 54 where Sarah-Charlotte Peace from Ellison shows us some funky party invites made using the new Big Shot Express, and if you are looking for something that little bit different you can turn to page 31 for Amber Martin’s unusual family birthday cards and page 63 where you will find gorgeous circle cards.

The free papers this issue have been designed so that you can make all sorts of winter themed cards – from last-minute Christmas cards and party invites to general seasonal cards. For some great ideas on how to use the papers turn to page 12 for quick  and easy examples, or to page 16 for more advanced projects.

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Issue 9 is available from 30th October. And what a treat we have in store for you this month!

The adorable Cute Companions visit us again, and this time they are all kitted out for Christmas. Not only are the free papers this issue a great selection of the new Winter Tales collection, but we also have six pages jam-packed with projects showing ways to use them. As always with Creative Cardmaking, you will find the quick and easy cards using your free papers on page 12, and the more in-depth creations on page 16.

Those of you who have been enviously organised this year and have already made all your Christmas cards may be keen to get started on creating the thank you cards you will want to send in return for the lovely gifts you and your family receive over the festive season. The craft stores have provided a great source of inspiration for a whole variety of seasonal thank you cards, starting with a stylish holly design on page 22 by Jobo Crafts.

The Christmas period is also the party season, so if you want to hold a festive get-together then we also have eye-catching party invitations from Karen Lines on page 31, using the Walnut Hollow Creative Metal range, and shrink plastic embellished treats from Zoe Pierson on page 48.