A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Tuesday, 20 May 2025

CAS Square with a Bird and a Rectangular Variation


The Paper Players want a clean and simple card with things that fly.  My Time to Craft wants a square card.  And Try It on Tuesday wants to keep it simple - my card is both CAS in design and simple to make.


This is definitely simple to make as the image requires very little colouring after stamping it.  I used alcohol markers to add the colour.  I trimmed the panel with a hemstitch square die and layered it over red cs.

While I had the stamp and the red cs out, I made a regular A2 version of it. 

I coloured this one with Tombow markers to see how they compared to the alcohol markers in the first one, trimmed it with a pierced dot rectangle die, and added to a red A2 card base.
 

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Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Impression Obsession bird, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - 4.5" square
Accessories - alcohol markers, Spellbinders hemstitch square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Impression Obsession bird, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Tombow markers, Sizzix pierced dot rectangle die

Saturday, 17 May 2025

A Nutcracker

The new Peace on Earth mood board is full of nutcrackers.  I didn't have any nutcracker stamps or dies so I found a digital stamp to make this card.


It's coloured with coloured pencils that pick up the colours in the dp background featuring metallic holly leaves.

There's lots of other ideas from our Peace on Earth design team showing how they were inspired by the nutcrackers on the mood board.  We'd love to see your cards - and if like me, you don't have any nutcracker stamps or dies, feel free to make an anything Christmas card.










Supplies:
Stamps - TerevelaDesign digital nutcracker stamp, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs, red with green metallic holly leaves dp
Size - 6x3.25"
Accessories - coloured pencils, sentiment banner die

Thursday, 15 May 2025

Glittered Ornament and Jingle Bells

First up, a very CAS card.  My Time to Craft Christmas wants to see glitter.  I used a technique I saw on SCS for using up glitter.  It's also for the Try It On Tuesday Challenge to keep it simple.

I covered a piece of packing tape with a Christmas glitter blend I have (but had never used!). Added a top layer of tape and die cut the ornament. I "hung" it on my centre panel and popped that panel up on fun foam on the card base, and added a sentiment.

I used some of my hammered cs - it adds some nice texture to a very CAS card.  Since I've had it for a couple of years but haven't used any of it yet (and had never used the Christmas glitter mix that I've had for at least 10 years!!!), I'm linking it up at the NBUS Challenge and the Neglected Stuff Challenge.

Now on to my second card for today.  The Jingle Belles Challenge is asking for jingle bells, the ABC Christmas Challenge is "j for jingle bells", and the Double D Challenge wants us to use designer paper.


I die cut the bells twice and glued them together for more dimension.  Added them to some starry designer paper.  Stamped and fussy cut the sentiment and added it.  

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Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Dylusions sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx black
Paper - white and gold cs, decorative paper
Size - A2
Accessories - Lil Inker bell dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders ornament die and long rectangle die, Christmas glitter mix, packing tape, gold thread, gold embossing powder, sentiment strip die, fun foam

Monday, 12 May 2025

Designer Paper Christmas and Wildflower Birthday

I'm trying to make sure I make at least two cards a month using up some of my stash of designer paper.  The latest Double D challenge is "Designer Paper" so it prompted me to get this one made.  It's also for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Red and Green".


I used some old Graphic 45 dp that has images for the 12 Days of Christmas. The 12 drummers drumming panel is mostly red and green so I added it to a card base and then to make it more interesting, I die cut the snowflake / music die in dark red (and twice more in scrap cs, so that glued together they have some substance and dimension) and also the Joy sentiment die.

Seize the Birthday wants to see "Flowers", AAA Birthday is anything birthday, and Triple B is always any combination of Birds, Blooms, Butterflies" - I've got blooms and butterflies today.


The image is stamped and watercoloured. The tiny butterflies are die cut from a scrap of smooshed cs.

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Supplies for card 1:
Paper - cream and red cs, Graphic 45 dp
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - SSS Jingle Snowflakes die, Spellbinders Joy die

Supplies:
Stamps - Indigo Blu wildflowers, SU sentiment
Ink - Versafine Smokey Grey
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, SU sentiment punch, Poppy Stamps Butterfly Sprinkles dies
 

Friday, 9 May 2025

Primary Red, CAS Sympathy

Shopping our Stash wants red as the primary colour on a card.


I stamped the cat image, die cut the Merry Christmas frame out of red cs and layered it over the image, then trimmed the panel to leave a border outside of the red frame, and then bordered all of that with more red.

Simply Clean and Simple have "Flower" as their theme.  I made a sympathy card to have on hand.


I die cut a circle out of scrap paper for a mask, laid it over my card base, stamped the flowers in purple and then sponged over the whole circle. I die cut the flower three times and glued them together, then very lightly sponged it with lavender. 

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Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - red and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SSS Holiday Frame

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Elements of Style, Great Impressions sentiment
Ink - Distress Dusty Concord and Milled Lavender
Paper - white linen cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Alexandra Renke flower die, Spellbinders circle die


Tuesday, 6 May 2025

Seasonal Cardinals / Blue and Yellow Birthday

The Inkspirational challenge wants "Seasonal" - cards based on occasions and images specific to the season.  I went with a winter card, that could be used for Christmas.  It's got holly, snow, and cardinals, plus a seasonal sentiment.


It's stamped and watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched square, and glitter added to all the snow on top of the fence.

As a break from Christmas cards, I needed to make a birthday card.  It's for Color Hues "Blue and Yellow" (one of my favourite colour combinations).  It's also for AAA Birthday (anything birthday).

I smooshed two pieces of mixed media cs, one in blues and one in yellows. I stamped some subtle text about happiness on the yellow piece, and stamped some silhouette wildflowers on the blue piece. I bordered the blue piece with a piece of corrugated card, tearing one of the edges for more interest. And finished off with a sentiment cut out with a stitched tag die.

 









Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, glitter, Lil Inker stitched square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta Floral Silhouettes, Savvy Stamps sentiment, PaperArtsy happiness text
Ink - various Distress Oxide blues and yellows; Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - mixed media, white cs, corrugated card
Size - A2
Accessories - stitched tag die