"Faux Postages" is French and means fake postage stamps. They look great on cards and layouts! Here's what you need:

• white paper


• printable transparencies or transparent paper


• stamps and ink pads


• ruler


• cutter


• cutting mat


• kleenex


• my template (free download) - click here :)

The procedure:

1. Print page 1 or page 3 on your white paper. Page 1 is for blank postage stamps, page 3 has the common German value "55" printed on each stamp.
   
   


2. Print page 2 on a transparency because that's what you'll turn into your stencil. If you don't have that option, some plain paper will do.
   
   


3. Using a ruler and a cutter, cut out one of the grey rectangles (image 1). Crop the rest of the sheet.
   
   
   


4. Place it accurately on your stamp template and color your stamp's background (image 2 & 3).
   
   
   
   


5. Using some scratch paper and a kleenex, you can easily clean the stencil - in case you printed it on a transpareny (image 4).
   
   


6. When the background has dried, you can use the stencil to stamp the stamp's motive (image 5).
   
   


7. Let it dry (image 6).
   
   


8. Crop the faux postages using a ruler, or do it freehand or with scalloped scissors -whatever you prefer (image 7).
   
   


9. Great! (image 8).
   
   


10. Now you can create a card (image 9). As you can see, I decided to stamp the stamps' value on the corners. You might add little words instead (Love, Friend, Fun, Hug...). Have fun!
    
    


11. If you do, please let me know - I'd love to see your creations!
    
    Thanks for reading!
    
    
    www.anke-art.de
    

Punched Flower Tutorial

I have had lots of requests to show how I make my flowers, so here’s how I do it. I must say that I first got the idea off the mega talented Deb, so this is my version - there is probably a very much easier and simpler way to do it but this works for me :)

I use various flower punches but these are my current favourites and what I used to make these flowers McGill, Stampin Up and EK Success

You will also need card (not too thick) in one or two colours and / or a scrap piece of designer paper (reasonably heavy weight if possible), a scroll or text stamp, chalk or dye ink pad, a dauber or sponge to apply the ink, 6mm and 3mm embossing tools, a pair of scissors and an embossing mat – my favourite is an off- cut of vinyl flooring, it has just the perfect “give” for embossing paper and prevents wrinkled edges – honest.

Punch out the largest size and stamp a scroll pattern/text on the front with a matching ink

Ink the edges of the flower and cut into the centre (not all the way through)

Using the 3mm embossing tool emboss a centre line on each petal (front of flower)

Flip flower over and using the 6mm embossing tool emboss around the edge of each petal, then move into the centre but don’t emboss over the line you had previously embossed

Flip the flower back over (face up) and apply pressure with the embossing tool to the centre of the flower, making small circular movements to help cup the flower and lift the petals

For extra “movement” curl the petals over your finger

Your flower should look like this

Repeat this twice more, just ink the edges of the DP layer and emboss as before

Now although I love these Tibetan spacers they are the very devil to fix to the flower due to the curve. Soooo, to get rid of all your stress, take a hammer and a piece of wood, place the spacer on the wood face down and give the spacer a good few wallops to flatten it. Aaah that feels much better!

See the difference – so much easier to fix with a brad now.

And there you have it, a pretty flower that matches your card perfectly. :)


Thanks for looking,

Decorated Maya Road Tin

You will need:

~empty Maya Road tin

~foam

~some sort of flourish stamp (or you can draw your flourishes freehand)

~Stazon ink

~floss

~needle

~glue dots

~flowers,buttons,brads, ribbon, Stickles to decorate





1. Open the tin. Position some foam under the cover.2.Stamp the flourishes in the corner of the clear window (or draw some freehand).

3. Using a needle or some other tool, poke holes following the pattern of the flourishes.

4. With some thread and needle, stitch the pattern. To end the thread I put a little glue dot on the back. You can tie a knot to end off, if you wish.5. Once the stitching is done, you can embellish with flowers, buttons, brads, ribbon, etc.This is my finished tin. I added Stickles to the flowers and used Liquid Pearls to decorate.I also added a bow to the handle.

Am I A Scrap Addict?

TRI SHUTTER CARD WITH GIFT BOX
by Vicki Hook
(this box is my original design, the card is not)
___________________________
Edited to add:
Just a note - the card I've shown here WILL fit in an A2 envelope (it's 4" x 5 1/2" when folded). I only created the box to allow for bulky or frilly embellishments on the front.

Also, the two 1 1/2" score lines on the card aren't functional folding lines. They simply give you a line to cut on.

Hope this clears up any confusion!

Have a great day!
Vicki
____________________________

Box
1. Cut cardstock to 7 3/8” x 10 5/8”.

2. Score at 3/4” on all four sides. (With a Scor-pal, one way to do this is to place the left edge of the cardstock on the 3 1/2” line and score at 4 1/4”.)

3. With the long side of the cardstock across the top of the Scor-Pal, score at 4 7/8”. (Place the left edge of the cardstock on the 1 1/2” line and score at 6 3/8” which is marked by a dot on the Scor-Pal.)

4. Flip the cardstock around so the other short side is clear to the left and the other long side across the top. Score at 5”. The distance between the step 4 and 5 score lines should be 3/4".

5. Use a 1” circle punch to cut a 1/2 circle notch out of the edge so you’ll know this is the lid of the box (lid should be 1/8” larger than the box bottom). See diagram below for score lines and placement of the notch. Click on the diagram if you need a larger view.


6. Before assembling the box, I used my Scor-bug to make 3 rows of “piercing” on the lid of the box. It may also be easier to add any other embellishments at this time, depending on your plan. See next two pictures for Scor-bug use:
Place cardstock anywhere on the Scor-pal (I did mine face down so on top will look more like bumps than piercing, or mountains as opposed to valleys). Place the Scor-bug at the bottom score line, applying slight pressure to make sure you're in a groove of the Scor-Pal, and run the bug up to the top score line. Now you have a row of little bumps on the bottom of the cardstock that will help keep the cardstock in place. You can tell by sliding the cardstock slightly back and forth whether or not the bumps are lined up with a groove or not. Then I did another line 1/2" over, and another one 1/2" over from that. Do as many lines as you want.
Mine look like this on the bottom of the cardstock.


7. Cut on the vertical score lines in to the 3/4” line that goes across the top and bottom. (See the blue lines in the diagram up at step 5.) This creates tabs that you will adhere to the inside of the box when you fold it up. For the center tabs, I adhered them to the inside of the lid, as opposed to the box bottom.

8. Embellish the box as desired.




Card
1. Cut cardstock to 5 1/2” x 12”.

2. With a short end across the top of the Scor-pal, score at 1 1/2” from each long side. (Two score lines total.)

3. Now with a long side across the top, score at 2”, 4”, 8”, and 10”.

4. Using a craft knife or paper trimmer, cut on the 1 1/2” score lines from the 2” line to the 10”. (See the blue lines in the diagram below. Again, click on the diagram for a larger view.)


5. Look at the picture below to see the mountain/valley folds of your Tri Shutter Card:


6. Here are the measurements I used for cutting decorative paper for the sections on the card and how many of each:
(2) 1 1/4” x 3 3/4”
(4) 1 1/4” x 1 3/4”
(2) 1 3/4” x 5 1/4”
(1) 2 1/4” x 3 3/4”
(2) 2 1/4” x 1 3/4”

7. Embellish the rest as desired!






If you get a chance, stop by and visit me at my blog some day: Angel Stamper 2
Have a great week!