Snowflake The Winter Dragon

 

     When is tree shaped treat box not a tree shaped treat box?......When it's a dragon of course!

   The new Charles Treat Box from John Next Door makes a great gift box, but when I started to make one it fell over on my desk and looked just like a dragon's head with perfect spikey teeth. Not very Christmassy?  it is if you like dragons....a dragon is for all seasons......a table decoration with a difference. Make in another colour scheme for Halloween, a special gift or just for fun.

     

     I made a dragon in plain card as a prototype, no point in wasting the good stuff to start with, it meant I could fold and chop it around until it looked right without a worry.

     The body is made from the main part of last years Hexacracker with two hexagons for end caps.

     For the tail I made the treat box into a triangular shaped tree and glued it to the hexabody, making sure that the spines of one edge were pointing upwards and lined up with the peak of one edge on the body.

     With the remaining tree from making the tail I folded it in half and glued the spinney edge. Cutting the tree in half I discarded the folded part and glued the spine along the ridge of the body in line with the tail spines.

     For the head I made the box as a tree but left one side open, the inside of this flap was lined with some marbled effect wallpaper and the spinney edges were folded inward to form the lower row of teeth. To stop the jaw flapping about I glue the largest tooth at the back of the mouth to the corresponding tooth on the upper jaw, the mouth stays open but doesn't drop too low.

     The head was glued onto the body to be higher than the tail, then a spine was added to the head, made in the same way as the main body spine but shorter and glued in the middle to line up with the rest of the spines.

     Wings were made from one tree shape each, the bottom edge was cut with the box die to get a spikey edge, then scored and pleated to give folds. These were glued onto the body at an angle to give a nice sweeping wing that stands up. Wing tips can be glued together so it can be hung up, but you will need to find the centre of balance for your own dragon as it will vary depending on card and embellishments added.

     All that remained were the legs, what better way to stand firm than using four trees. Three tree tops for each leg were cut, I only cut the top part that I would need rather than wasting card. The little trees were cut with an angle to the base so that Snowflake would stand level, having the slightly shorter edge on the inside as well as a flat side to glue to the body.

     Once the dragon was built it was time to cover it in snowflakes and gems for added sparkle and some large blue pearls for eyes. Using a patterned pearl card made it much easier to incorporate sparkle and shine, embossing would have made it harder to assemble and painting might have made it soggy.

     It may sound complicated but it's not really, pick up some inexpensive card and have a play. Dies should be versatile giving value for money, it's NOT just what it says on the packet, it can be so much more.

I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Anything BUT A Card

Try It On Tuesday - Fantasy

Creative Crafting Uncles - #44 Animals

Peace On Earth - #47 Photo (Snowflakes)

Christmas With The Cuties - #73 Something Snowy

Die Cutting Divas - Anything Goes

The Holly & Ivy - #147 Anything Christmas

Fab 'n' Funky - #579 Wings or Scales

Wild Flower Gnome in the Spotlight

     A new month means a new challenge at The Paper Funday, an Anything Goes papercraft challenge with an optional twist.

     For this card I have used a SheepSki design called Wild Flower Gnome. I chose to make a simple card with the spotlight method.

     Two copies of the image were printed at the same time, making sure they were the exactly the same size. One image was kept for the base layer and one was cut with a circle die to give two spotlights.

     Using alcohol markers I coloured the two discs and added a little gold pen to the flower centres. For the mat layer I used the same marker as the disc background on a piece of white card, only the outer edge was coloured which gave me the perfect colour match.

     I mounted the discs onto the background before layering up, just incase it went wrong I would only need another background layer. To give wiggle room to the discs I added a little PVA glue to the foam tape when I was lining them up, you get a few seconds to move them around.

     Once the discs were added I layered up the card, I felt it was a little too bare so I added a small greeting to the bottom corner. Inside is still blank so it can be made to suit the occasion when it's needed.

     If you haven't visited The Paper Funday yet then please do, there's lots of inspiration over there from my creative team mates.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Di's Digi Designs - Die Cuts/Punches

Pammie's Inky Pinkies - #2335 Anything Goes

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends - #213 Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations - Garden Delights