CI12 sneak peak

SP XMA EC S IAL !

CARDS

STYLISH SETTING

PAPERCRAFTS

GIFTS

DECS

PARTY IDEAS

ISSUE 12 WINTER

s a e d i t h g i r B for Christmas

using your free gift!

STUNNING CARDS

ADVENT CALENDAR

WIN! GEMINI

PRETTY GIFT WRAP From the craft experts

DIE-CUTTING MACHINE & DIES

MAKE THIS...

Fab Festive wreath

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DIE-CUTTING

Festive fancies Using this issue's free dies, Jo McKelvey shows you how to make the most of intricate shapes by creating a stunning collection of fancy, festive cards

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DIE-CUTTING

If you're new to card making it's worth knowing that diecutting is one of its mostused techniques. The diecutting you'll do when you're crafting is simply a scaled down version of what was practised for years in larger scale manufacturing. It's used to cut out specific and often intricate shapes in paper, card, fabric, acetate and more using the combined pressure of two rollers. Most card makers will have a die-cutting machine among their crafting tools. These range from small,

simple options that fit in a drawer, to larger machines that double-up as printers and embossing machines.

This month, our expert designer, Jo McKelvey, has created a range of beautiful seasonal die-cut makes cut from textured linen card and enhanced with subtle colourways. A wonderful collection, it really proves how effective die-cutting can be when used in the simplest of ways. With a dab of glitter here, and a silky ribbon there, they're sure to enchant you.

White and te cards embell xtured i are a shments made i match n heav en!

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Jo McKelvey London-based papercraft designer and top craft blog ger, Jo McKelvey thinks crafting is the best kind of therapy – and we'd have to agree with her !

YOU WILL NEED Your free die set Papers from the Snowy Day s collection on your free CD Centura Pearl Card: A3 Snow White – Hint of Gol d& A4 Black A4 White Linen Textured Card Printable Light Card Acetate Sara Signature Contemporary Christmas Collection Seasonal Sentiment Die Die’sire Essentials Circles & Scalloped Circles nesting dies Sheena Douglass Perfect Partners Festive Fancies Christmas Ivy die Downton Abbey Ornate Ova l Frame die Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad s – Stormy Sky, Shaded Lila c, Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass, Pumice Stone & Seedless Preserve Spray & Sparkle Glitter Varnish – Pearl Diamond Stampendous Fran-táge Glitter Pieces Ribbon & pearls Collall All-Purpose Glue, Tacky Glue & 3D Glue Gel 3D foam pads TOOLS The Ultimate Pro Die-cutting machine PC & printer

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DIGI

STAMPING

A colourful Christmas Leann Chivers shows you how to create these bright and beautiful Christmas designs using Spectrum Noir pens and your free digi stamps

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crafterscompanion.co.uk

DIGI Your free digi stamps are so easy to use. Simply print them onto a sheet of Sheena Douglass White Stamping Card and you are ready to add your choice of colour. I’ve opted for brights to match the papers in the Happy Holidays collection, also on your free CD, but you could colour them in any shades you like.

Leann Chivers Leann has been Creative Development Manager for Crafter’s Companion for six years and loves delivering craft workshops and demos so she can share her skills and passion for papercraft!

SKILL LEVEL

STAMPING

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YOU WILL NEED

Digi stamps and pa pers from the Happy Ho lidays collection on your free CD Sheena Douglass Wh ite Stamping Card Neenah Classic Cr est card – Solar White Printable Light Ca rd Matt black & Kraft card Oval MDF plaque Spectrum Noir pe ns Spectrum Noir Cle ar Sparkle pen Die’sire Essentials Oval, Scalloped Oval & Cir cle nesting dies Ribbon & gems Gold liquid pearls Glitter glue Collall All-Purpose Glue, Tacky Glue & 3D Glu e Gel

TOOLS Hole punch The Ultimate Pro The Boxer Board scoreboard PC & printer

your Using digi free mps sta 1 When colouring with alcohol markers you’ll need to print your digis onto stamping card so that the colours don’t bleed

2 You can resize your digis to fit your project using Word or an editing program

3 Many of your digi designs can be used for other occasions, as well as for festive designs

4 Using Word or an editing program, place your digi stamps onto a digi backing paper for a paper-pieced look

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MINS

Deer HOW TO MAKE

Make a 7x7in white card base from Neenah card and die-cut a circle aperture using the largest die from the Die’sire Essentials set.

Print backing paper from the Happy Holidays collection onto Printable Light Card and cut a 6½x6½in square. Cut a slightly larger square of Kraft card and die-cut circle apertures from the centre of both pieces. Layer together and stick to the front of your card.

Resize and print the wreath digi stamp (you can do this in Word).

Colour with Spectrum Noir pens and cut out, as shown. Print the deer digi onto white stamping card and colour.

Trim to fit the aperture and stick.

Print the sentiment from your CD and cut out. Make two paper ribbons from coordinating paper then stick the wreath, ribbons and sentiment in place using 3D glue gel. Add tiny clear gems to decorate.

r e v Costar crafterscompanion.co.uk

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DIGI

STAMPING

SKILL LEVEL

35

MINS

Festive plaque HOW TO MAKE

Print two coordinating backing papers from your free CD onto Printable Light Card. Cover an A5 oval MDF plaque with one paper, attaching using Tacky glue. Cut a slightly smaller oval of your second paper and glue into place using AllPurpose glue.

Print the parcel digi stamp three times in different sizes (you can resize in Word) onto white stamping card. Colour using Spectrum Noir pens (we used CR11, 7 and 8). Cut out and set aside.

Using Word (or an editing program) and your free CD, place the digi sentiment inside the frame and print onto Neenah card. Place the bow digi stamp onto a digi backing paper and print onto Printable Light Card. Cut both out and stick to the plaque using 3D glue gel, as shown.

Use 3D glue gel to stick the three parcels to your plaque.

Decorate with glitter glue and red gems. Add a ribbon loop for hanging, securing with a bow at the back.

Make t with yohuese plaques to decor r children ate the tree 20

‘Make your own découpage by printing your digi multiple times then colouring, cutting out and layering up’ LEANN CHIVERS, DESIGNER

SKILL LEVEL

30

MINS

Trio of bells HOW TO MAKE

Make a 6x6in card base from white Neenah card. Print two coordinating backing papers from your free CD. Cut squares to fit the front of your card, as shown. Mat onto black card and stick to your card base.

Cut a 4¼x4¼in square of white stamping card, mat onto black card and attach to the card front at an angle using 3D glue gel. Print a sentiment from the CD. Die-cut into an oval and mat onto a black die-cut scalloped oval.

Stick to the card front using 3D glue gel.

Print the bells digi four times onto Neenah card and colour with Spectrum Noir pens. Cut out the pieces to create your own découpage and glue into place using 3D glue gel. Add red gems to finish.

crafterscompanion.co.uk

STAMPING

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A winter's tale Designer Sheena Douglass created this issue's stunning free stamp set. Here, she shows you how to create winter scenes with plenty of festive wow factor

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STAMPING

SKILL LEVEL

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40

MINS

Frosty snowman HOW TO MAKE Fold an A4 piece of white stamping card in half then trim to make a 15x15cm (6x6in) square card base. Cut a 14x14cm (5½x5½in) square of black card and stick to the front.

To create your background, cut a 13x13cm (5x5in) piece of stamping card and apply Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks with Cut-N-Dry Foam randomly over the card. Cover it and blend well.

Mix silver AquaTints with water in a misting bottle (⅓ AquaTints to ⅔ water). Shake well then spritz over your background. Leave to dry.

Once dry, randomly stamp the holly from your free stamp set over the background using Dusty Concord Distress Ink. Edge the panel with silver gilding wax using your finger to apply. Stick to the card front. Cut a 7x11cm (2¾x4¼in) tag from white stamping card.

Punch a hole at the top. Stamp the snowman and a sentiment from your free stamp set using black archival ink.

Colour the snowman with AquaBlend pencils then blend the colours with a damp paintbrush. Apply Faded Jeans Distress Ink lightly around the edge of the tag using Cut-NDry Foam then edge with silver gilding wax.

Tie a piece of ribbon to the tag. Stick the tag to the card front using foam pads and add gems to finish.

crafterscompanion.co.uk

STAMPING

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Sheena Douglass igner Well-known artist and des of ade dec a Sheena has and papercraft experience dies her own line of stamps, . ers fold g sin bos and em nning Sheena created the stu tion lec col mp Christmas sta she en Wh ue. iss this h free wit s run a een isn't designing, Sh TV! on ts sen pre and s workshop

YOU WILL NEED

SKILL LEVEL

50

MINS

Thinking of you HOW TO MAKE Cut a 10.5x21cm (4⅛x8¼in) piece of Sheena stamping card and score at 9.5cm (3¾in) and 11.5cm (4½in) along the long edge.

Fold to create a book shape.

Cut two 9x18cm (3½x7in) and two 10x18cm (4x10in) strips of thin white card. Use your scoreboard to score all of the strips lengthways at 1.5cm (½in) intervals. Concertina all of the strips and then slot one 9cm (3½in) and 10cm (4in) strip together and glue the flaps at the back. Repeat with the remaining strips then join them all together to form a box.

Mist an A4 piece of Sheena stamping card with water and then blend green and blue AquaTints over it (from the Pastels set) using a flat brush. Blend well. Leave to dry.

Stamp over your background using the holly stamp from your free set with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Cut this card into: four

9x10cm (3½x4in) panels; two 10x1.7cm (4x⅔in) strips; two 10x1.5cm (4x½in) strips and two 9x1.5cm (3½x½in) strips.

Attach two 19cm (7½in) pieces of ribbon to the front and the back of the book using Red Liner Tape. Glue the four panels and two 1.7cm (⅔in) wide strips to the book cover to decorate it.

Glue the box you created in step 2 to the inside-right panel of the card then decorate it with the remaining 1.5cm (½in) wide strips.

Add faux stitching to the front of the card with a black fineliner pen. Stamp the sentiment from your free stamp set and two birds onto stamping card. Mat and layer up the sentiment as shown, adding shading with the AquaTint inks. Stick to the card.

Colour the birds and cut them out. Stick one to the card front using 3D glue gel and one inside. Place a gift in the box and tie closed.

crafterscompanion.co.uk

Your free Sheena Douglass stamp set Sheena Douglass White Stamping Card Black & thin white card Sheena Douglass Decorative Stencil – Distress Grid Spectrum AquaBlend pencils – Sapphire, Red Berry, Pine Green & Bison Spectrum Noir AquaTints – Silver & Pastels set Misting bottle Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads – Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Evergreen Bough, Blueprint Sketch, Peacock Feather, Pine Needle, Festive Berries, Gathered Twigs Ranger Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam or similar Black & brown archival ink pads Pebeo Gilding Wax – Silver Pebeo Drawing Gum (or similar masking fluid) White acrylic paint Ribbon & gems Glitter Collall Tacky Glue & 3D Glue Gel Foam Pads Red Liner Tape TOOLS Hole punch Paintbrush The Big Score scoreboard

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PAPER

FOLDING

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A vintage Christmas Papercraft expert Fiona Clayton shows you how to fold unique vintage style Christmas decorations to adorn your home and tree

Wouldn’t it be lovely to recreate those cosy Christmases of times gone by? What better way is there than making your own vintage style decorations using these simple ideas and the gorgeous paper designs included on your free CD! Fiona shares some simple paper-folding techniques that you can use to craft your very own vintage Christmas. Turn over to get started...

PAPER

FOLDING

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Fiona Clayton Fiona Clayton has her dream job as Creative Developme nt Officer and TV Guest Presen ter for Crafter’s Companion. Sin ce she discovered papercraft in 2009 she spends her spare time creating in her craft den !

YOU WILL NEED Threaders Christmas pap ers from your free CD Satin Finish Printer Paper Ribbon & twine Buttons & beads Wreath base Plastic drinking straws (for flying saucer decoration) Red Liner Tape Collall All Purpose Glue, Tacky Glue & 3D Glue Gel TOOLS PC & printer

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ADVENT

CALENDAR

Festive pockets Count down to Christmas with this cute Advent calendar. By Marie Jones

Marie Jones Marie has been papercrafting for 12 years and consquent ly her craft stash shoe box has expanded into a whole room of crafting goodies! She love s stamping and die-cutting.

YOU WILL NEED

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Deck The Halls papers and elements from your free CD Printable Light Card Centura Pearl Card: A3 Snow White – Hint of Gol d& A4 Old Gold Die’sire Classiques 1” Die s– Contemporary Numbers & Punctuation Set Pinboard measuring 40x60cm (153/4x231/2in) Board pins Ribbon & baker’s twine Mini clothes pegs Collall All-Purpose Glue & 3D Glue Gel TOOLS The Big Score scoreboard Die-cutting machine Pinking shears PC & printer