I like to make hand crafted cards. Here I will share tutorials, ideas and inspiration for creating cards.
Friday, 23 February 2024
Frame with Foiled Corners
Sunday, 13 February 2022
More Cards foiled using Kaleido
Sunday, 19 December 2021
Kaleido Foiling and Die Cutting Machine
This is not intended as a review of the Kaleido machine from Crafts Too but as I've had one for a few months I've decided it's time to post about how I'm getting on with it.
I still have (and use) my GoPress & Foil and I often use both machines in creating cards.
The Kaleido machine has been designed to make it easy to create foiled images or text from normal stamps - either rubber of acrylic/photopolimer. The machine is essentially a die cutting machine that has a heated roller. It works with a special stamping and stencilling mediums which when covered with toner reactive foil and passed through the rollers (when hot) transfer the foil where the medium has been used. The Kaleido can also be used to apply toner reactive foil to items printed on a laser printer (or photocopier) instead of using a laminator type machine such as a Minc foiling machine.
The mediums used for stamping and stencilling are easy to clean up and the kaleido stamping ink is applied to stamps as you would normal stamping ink. Ink comes in a bottle used to re-ink the pad as the ink dries out quite quickly even when the lid is put on the ink pad. The stencil medium is thicker and dries with a raised surface - similar to a gel medium or stencil paste but the "ink" can also be used with stencils applied with a sponge applicator or ink blending brush.
I've always used some ink stamping in my card making - mostly to create backgrounds, but I'm now looking at stamps in a whole new way and using some that I've had for years but never used.
I'm also finding that stamps that go with coordinating die sets have lots of possibilities - these flowers for example, are made using Dreamees stamp and die sets. I've stamped onto vellum with the Kaleido ink and then foiled before cutting out.
The Kaleido is also a die cutting machine - but if you are using it for die cutting it is best to have a separate set of plates to use when foiling so that they remain smooth and flat.
If you've read this far then your probably wondering what this machine looks like and how it's used - so here's the first video I've made using my Kaleido machine to create a foiled card.
Saturday, 27 March 2021
Blooming Friendship - Framed Sentiment Card
Blooming Friendship - Framed Sentiment Card
Couture Creations Products
Saturday, 13 March 2021
Blooming Friendship Cup Cake Card
Blooming Friendship Cup Cake Card
Couture Creations Products
Saturday, 27 February 2021
Diamond Panel Coffee Break Card
Diamond Panel Coffee Break Card
For this card I've started with a square card base 14.8cm square (cut down from an A5 card blank). This is just a little smaller than a 6" square card blank.
The front of the card base is folded in half to create the flap that the diamond is attached to. The diamond is really just a square mounted with its points on the fold line.
The decorative papers, stamp and die are from Couture Creations Blooming Friendship collection. I've also used some dark grey card and white card.
I've used the Floral Mosaic, stamped 4 times to create the impression of a mosaic tiled floor. It's very important that the square panel does not measure more from corner to corner (across the middle) than the height of your card base. For my card base (14.8cm square) I used a square of card 10.1cm square.
The panel is mounted on the card front, on the left side only, using foam pads. I've tucked some of the red flowers from the ephemera pack under the edges of the diamond and then added some of the blue flowers overlapping the panel.
In the centre of the diamond I've used the Coffee Break mini die (cut from dark grey card), mounted on a die cut white circle, matted onto a a circle cut from some dark grey card.
The inside of the card is also decorated with the patterned papers and has a sentiment cut from on of the papers using a circle die, matted onto a circle cut from white card.
Couture Creations Products
Saturday, 13 February 2021
Blooming Friendship Cards
Blooming Friendship Cards
Couture Creations Products:
Saturday, 30 January 2021
Foiled Christmas Crackers
You'll need to either use my Cracker Template or a Cracker die if you have one.
Download the template for the size card you have. You can then print onto thick paper. For the crackers, thick paper works better than card. The paper you print on will eventually be covered by patterned card or paper.
You will also need 5 paper clips to help hold things in place while card is shaped and glue dries.
I show you how to use the template, foil panels and assemble the cracker in my video. The instructions below will probably make more sense if you watch the video first.
Fold the printed template along the middle of the diamonds and then cut the grey diamonds out of the card.
With the paper folded along the bases of the grey triangles, cut the grey triangles out, cutting through both layers of the paper.
At the ends of each row of triangles cut in from the edges of the paper - this creates the overlap for gluing the cracker together.
If you are printing on A4 paper you will have some extra card at the right hand end - trim at this end so that the overall length is 11 inches This should give you 1 3/4" between the tips of the diamonds and the ends of the cracker - check that both ends are the same.
Next score lines along the tips of the diamonds you have cut out, and fold so that the back along these lines. This gives you the base for your cracker. It needs to be decorated before the edges are stuck together. For now just bring the edges together and hold them in place with paper clips so that the paper gets used to being curved - it will make the final assembly easier - see the video.
Cut pieces of coloured card or decorative papers to fit the edges and middle sections of the cracker. As printers vary, and you might be using a cracker die, it's best you check how wide these need to be on your cracker. If you are foiling these pieces then foil all of them before starting to stick them onto the cracker base - see video.
I've found it best to stick one of the short edges of each peace to the cracker base with double sided tape and use wet paper craft glue on other areas, leaving the other short edge, to about 1/2" from the edge, without glue. With the glue still wet curve the ends of the cracker together and smooth down the decorative paper. - Once the glue has grabbed add glue to the other end of the piece on both inside faces of the cracker base and the decorative paper. Slide the end stuck with double sided tape between the cracker base and the decorative paper and hold in place until the glue has grabbed. You can use paper clips on the cracker ends until the glue dries.
Here are some of the foil stamps I mention in my video - they are just suggestions for decorating the panels.



































