How to stick things on straight

I’m currently making a batch of wedding invitations and my friend was so impressed with my getting things straight method I thought I would share it!

This is what I’m making – 85 of them and they have to be identical! It’s actually a very simple card, but one which looks rubbish if you make it wonky. (Wonky has its place – maybe I’ll do a post on the merits of wonkiness another time!)
I didn’t want to draw guidelines on 85 card blanks – because that would mean having to erase 85 guidelines and because even with a great pencil, a great rubber and faint lines you are always going to risk nasty smudges.

And my method is so much easier than that.

You only need a sheet of plain paper, a ruler and a pencil.

You need to draw a straight line near the bottom of the paper – that’s where you line up the bottom of your card blank. Then draw a line where you want to stick your hearts (or whatever else) on straight.

Then I position my ruler along the top line – the level where the hearts go. I know where the centre of the card is by the measurements on the ruler – my middle point is on the 7cm mark.

So that’s where I place my middle heart – I use little foam pads for a 3d effect.

And my other hearts are placed at 2cm intervals – so there is one at 1cm, 3cm, 5cm, 7cm, 9cm, 11cm and 13cm. All you have to do is hold the ruler in place and you can see where you have to stick! (To make sure your card blank lies nice and flat wait until you’ve done the sticking before you fold it.)

So, I hope someone somewhere in the whole wide internet world finds that useful! Please leave me a comment if you do, or if you have another (better?) technique.

30 days of creativity – day 14 – a wedding card

 It’s that time of year – wedding season!

I love this stamp from Lili of the Valley – the two children remind me of my daughter and her best friend.

I coloured the image with promarkers, and drew faux stitching around the edges. I couldn’t resist adding the paper doily as a lacy background. The bunting is also stamped and hand coloured.

The words are hand stamped, and I love these tiny wooden heart buttons.

30 days of creativity – day 5 – festive wedding couple

I love to get card commissions which are a little bit tricky!

The request was for an acceptance card for a Christmas wedding. I did not have a suitable rubber or digi stamp, so i decided to draw my own! The customer described them as a broad and bearded man, and a slim lady with ginger hair.

So I started to draw. These are my first two rejected attempts.

And this is what I finished with…

(I’m quite happy to share, so right click and save the jpeg if you like and make your own handmade card.)

Then all there was left to do was to colour it in with the promarkers, add a bit of glitter and make it into a card.

I was rather pleased with it, and my drawing confidence is now on the up!

 

Applique meets Sampler, they fall in love and live Happily Ever After

This is something I made a few months ago, for a friend who was renewing her wedding vows after ten years of marriage. The re-wedding was today, so I can finally show off my applique version of a sampler.

The large heart has the two wedding dates embroidered around it, while the two small ones feature the names and birthdates of the couple’s two children.

It is mounted onto canvas, and embellished with little buttons and ric rac. Because everyone loves little buttons and ric rac!!

I really loved making this, it felt like a real honour to be trusted with such a special piece of memory keeping. I’d like to wish Holly and Mark many more years of happiness and love.