Well, Who Knew – Making A Gif is Just So Easy

Posted on October 10, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

My blogging pal the ever helpful and really talented Boomdeeadda read the post ‘You’ve Got Mail’ and asked if I’d ever thought of turning Orlando’s photos into a gif. I hadn’t, but as she gave me a link and said it was really easy, I thought I’d have a go.

What we have is just a really fast animation of some of the photos you saw in the previous post – but it has taught me what is required….. so next time the feline Brad Pitt [read the comments in the last post] feels camera ready we’ll give it a shot!

Thanks Boomdee – who knew it was so straight forward!

gif creator: The Contented Crafter

Thanks must also go to markingourterritory.wordpress.com where delightful gifs and how-to instructions are clearly given. Thanks to Boomdee for passing this info on.

You’ve Got Mail!

Posted on October 10, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

I wasn’t going to write a post today – I’m still nursing this lap top gently along – but this was all too funny and cute for words and I just had to share it.

A wee packet arrived with the courier this morning and as I cut open the plastic delivery bag a scattering and tinkling windfall ran across the table …. in their careful handling of our post the deliverers had inadvertently caused the tissue paper wrap to tear and all the little extras my fabulous supplier had put into my parcel were released……

which caused this to happen:

“Hullo Mama – whatja got there then?”

I’ve got this:

This pretty package contains my ordered supplies – those gorgeous flowers and the beaded ribbon and the pile of pretties on the table are all the little extras that Louise from Retail Girl – my supplier also found on the kiwi website Trademe – puts in. This is my third order from her and every time her parcel arrives it is like Christmas morning!

These are the goodies I ordered – mostly coloured half pearls and blingy ribbon sliders [the pearls fit in the sliders] for all the gift bags and other secret things I am making for Christmas presents. 🙂

I was sitting admiring all my little extras – those pretty flowers have clips attached so you can wear them in your hair………..

….when I heard a thunk, which sounded to my finely tuned ears suspiciously like a cat arriving on a table top.

“Ooops, really I don’t know what happened – I was there …..”

“…..and now I’m here …..”

“But now I’m here, I’ll just have a wee look shall I?”

“Very interesting….”

“But what’s this?”

“I’ve got it ……..”

“Ooops!”

“Did I kill it?”

“I’ll just sit here and look out the window for a bit…..”

“……….and you can admire your pretties ………”

“……….and admire how very handsome I am too!”

Ain’t he though!

Thanks for stopping by today, I love that you did!

PS If you hit the link to retail Girl and get an error message, just hit the ‘home’ button and that will take you to Louise’s site.

More Gift Bags

Posted on October 8, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

When my lap top started playing up I retaliated by leaving it alone to sulk and put all the extra time I found I suddenly had into solving the mystery of making gift bags.

The original batch were posted about here

Once the mystery is solved you can get creative – but not without inspiration from others!

I remembered having seen a picture on Pinterest of some newsprint bags with doilies, and I set about making my own version. Here they are all waiting about on the other work bench for whatever happens to them next:

They are so pretty!

The doilies are cut from the die that you can see in one of the open storage cases in my previous post on storing dies.

You know how I love to re-purpose items? In solving the problem of how to keep the bags closed I came up with the somewhat ingenious idea of using bobby pins – decorated and be-ribboned ………. which, of course, then becomes an added extra for the gift inside. [Smiles smugly to self!]

With the trials all completed I set about making up the original order [remember YD asked for some for her Christmas packaging]

Here they are

Close-up – so pretty!

I imagine that when I get my gift on Christmas morning it will maybe look like this:

By then I will have forgotten about them and may well say something like – ‘Oooh, that’s a pretty bag!’ [Don’t judge – it will probably happen just like that!]

And when I look inside the bag I will find this:

Oooh, so excited! I wonder what will be inside that tiny box……..?

🙂

Well, that’s the gift bag saga done and dusted – now I really must get back to the art journal!

Thanks for dropping by today – love that you did!

Elephants

Posted on October 8, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

I’m re-blogging this beautiful post about the plight of the elephants – we should all be concerned and aware and active in protecting these wonderful creatures! Thank you for viewing!

Elephants.

Storing Dies – Solving a Paper Crafter’s Dilemma

Posted on October 5, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

I love dies! They are a great tool, but there are so many on the market you can go bonkers and end up with a storage dilemma!

I use lots of Spellbinders and I love the dies that Memory Box, Poppy Stamp, Couture Creations and My Favorite Things put out. I have some Sizzix too, but not many. I find the size and thickness of those other Tim Holtz dies too problematic to store, so though I have a couple I no longer buy them.

The dies I do buy are thin. They may be thin, but they are weighty.

When I first starting using dies, about six or seven years ago now, I kept them in their packets in a small box. I kept buying more dies [all paper crafters know it is addictive!] and they graduated to a large shoe box or two, where they got all muddled up and I spent more time hunting for what I wanted then actually die-cutting.

About two years ago they found themselves being fitted onto magnetic sheets and being stored in a purpose built plastic case. Which the growing number of them soon out-grew. This solution was also problematic – the cases are pricey and the specially shaped magnetic sheets are also pricey. The cases hold a finite amount of dies and do not hold the larger ones at all [Spellbinders ‘Grands’ for example.]

Their next home was an apartment building of 3 hard cover large ring binders, still attached to their magnetic sheets and each sheet individually encased in a plastic sleeve.

That seemed to work better than any of the previous scenarios, but the weight of the combined dies in each folder made for two problems.

1: hoisting the folders down from their storage shelf and back up again [I’m short and leaning over the work bench and reaching up to the shelf with weighty things can be fraught in a crowded working space – if you drop a folder it breaks stuff!]

2: the weight was tearing the plastic sheets away from the binding holes, making the folders unstable and searching for items more difficult.

There was still also the issue of searching through weighty pages of dies to find the one I was looking for.

Then a couple of weeks ago someone in my local Freecycle group advertised 30 new, empty DVD cases to give away.

I was on the phone like a shot!

When I got to the house to collect the cases the lovely man asked me how many I wanted. “All of them” I said – meaning ‘all thirty.’ and explained what I wanted to do with them. He swooped up two boxes and carried them to the car. When I got home I discovered I had ninety new, empty DVD cases.

Ninety!

Here’s a shot of about forty of them:

All beautifully and tidily lined up, labelled and categorised. Every Virgo’s dream 🙂

Some of the fronts even have a picture of the contents, others just a list.

Open one up and take your pick – this is a selection of my favourite embellishment type dies::

This is a Sizzix set of stamps and dies – most recently used in the making of the ‘Box to Book’ project:

No more hunting through pages of heavy dies – now a quick peruse down the spines and Hola! there is the one I want to use!

I love my little mannequin posed there – he ever so slightly reminds me of C-3PO out of Star Wars ….. Perhaps I should paint him – is it silver or gold, I can’t remember – what do you think?

There is now one remaining large folder housing the aforementioned ‘Grand’s’ and a couple of extra long lace edge dies from Couture Creations. Not a problem with just six pages to sort through.

The remaining DVD cases are now being utilised to store acrylic and unmounted rubber stamps – still in progress.

And there we are my friends, one less dilemma in the creative space 🙂 It is working really well and is encouraging me to use my dies more often as they are so easily accessible!

Thanks for dropping by today, I love that you did!

When Aged Laptops Go Bad……Make Gift Bags!

Posted on October 3, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

It’s been 9 days since I last posted – and I’ve also been missing out on some of my bloggie friends doings – due to a lap top that has decided to stage a ‘go slow’. I was even stopped from leaving comments on some blogs I did read by my [former] flat and shiny pal!

I went shopping with YD and priced new computers – its not in the budget, but I can’t imagine life without access to the blog-o-sphere, email or ‘Words with Friends’ on Facebook!

As always happens to me when I go shopping, we ended up looking at something that resembled a small space craft before we realised we had some how gone well beyond our brief and needed to regroup! Now I know what I need and am waiting for the ‘pre-Christmas’ sales to start.

Having told my flat and shiny former pal what is on the cards, today is a good day, and she hasn’t stopped altogether – yet……. so here’s hoping. I’m hitting ‘save draft’ at the end of every sentence just in case.

I wrote a post about a week ago and lost the whole thing when flat and shiny had a major fit and shut down completely and unexpectedly and left me all high and dry….. so I went into the play room and got on with my latest project.

Here’s what my desk looks like – its three photos moving right to left along the length

YD asked me to make some gift bags – I’ve never made them before and thought it would be pretty straight forward – but it ain’t! The first half dozen all have sloping bottoms because I still don’t know how they make ’em without adding a little extra paper across the bottom… Anyhow, I eventually worked out that I needed to seal the base with an extra strip of paper and once that was sorted I raced ahead and produced about 20 bags – here is a small assortment of some that are finished:

This is one for a bloke – no ribbons here, but some lovely jute which has been in my stash since the 70’s when we all made hanging macrame coffee tables 🙂

I used a pretty old paper collection from ‘My Mind’s Eye’ called ‘Damask’, Martha Stewart punches for the top trims and loads of organza ribbon.

I’ll show the rest when they are finished!

Thanks for coming by – love that you did! 🙂

Another Card For Kerry!

Posted on September 21, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

Hello there!

ED looked at the previous post, ‘A Card For Kerry’ – “It’s very nice,” she said “but it’s supposed to be blues and purples…”

Nothing happened inside my head indicating information previously given and momentarily forgotten – nope, just a big black hole. “Oh!” I responded helpfully……….. I always have a slight feeling of panic when this happens – as it seems to do so with alarming regularity – am I losing it – already?

But no, I just wasn’t fully present and some information just went in one ear and out the other – I’m not dotty, I’m just becoming an air-head!

As it happened, I was hoping to for the opportunity to make another, similar card – and here was that very opportunity. Quite serendipitous really [this appears to be the word of the week]. Now, do you suppose I did the wrong colour deliberately ……?

Any how, I wanted to make a variation on the theme, using the same techniques I would utilise if I was creating a similar lay-out in my art journal.

I didn’t document the process this time – you’ve seen it once and any way I was much too involved with the creation of this little world to stop and get the camera out.

Here is the front of the card – it is so full of layers and textures that the camera doesn’t always pick up so I’ve included some detail shots. The house is not brick this time – the reverse of my embossing folder does a wood effect – so we have a blue wooden house 🙂

Blue House Card – front

Not everything has been hand created this time, some of the flowers are from my stash and may be Petaloo or Prima – apologies, I can’t quite remember. The larger blue and purple flowers are cut from coloured card stock, inked and layered up. The very small punched flowers, and the strip along the top of the card, are courtesy of some old inked and sprayed wallpaper that has lived in my stash for years. The ‘glass’ in the window is recycled rigid plastic packaging.

Blue House Card – detail

Right at the end, when everything was finished, I went back in and sprinkled a bit of glitter around – just for a wee touch of sparkle – the reality isn’t quite as glumpy as this close-up shot of the butterfly would have you believe …..

Blue House Card – detail

And here is the inside:

Inside the Blue House Card

The cut-out shapes have been finished with water soluble charcoal shadowing; the side table was some left over exterior wall [wooden this time] as is the lamp – and the book spines on the table ….. no waste! The floor rug is also a piece of the same coloured wallpaper that contributed to the small punched flowers on the front..

The chair is a Poppy Stamp die and stamp, which has been coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink pens, as has the girl and cat. The banner is once again made from the discards when the windows are die cut.

The mirror is made from a lightly textured silver paper glued to a slightly larger piece of hand cut black card and has a coat of ‘Glossy Accents’ painted over it. The mirror frame is made from the same paper but has some ‘Crackle Accents’ over it and a light rubbing of ‘Pumice Stone’ Distress ink to finish.

Blue House Card, inside – right

The window blind and side drapes are cut from paper doilies, another stash inhabitant for many years – I’m not that thrilled with them, must have another try at some stage…….

Blue House Card, inside – left

Blue House Card – inside detail

Blue House Card – inside detail

And finally, because there is no room inside to write a nice Birthday Greeting to the recipient – the back of the card:

I hope you enjoyed that little visit to the Blue House! I just hope I’ve got the colours right this time!

Thanks for coming by today, I am always happy to know you have been 🙂

A Card For Kerry

Posted on September 16, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

Hi all!

You may remember this card – I made it for my ED’s birthday back in March

ED’s sister-in-law liked it very much and has asked that I make something similar for her.

I had the camera sitting on my desk, so pretty much was able to document the process step by step – ergo if you want to know how I make a card, read on! 🙂

I used 2 A4 pieces of white card stock, one folded in half made the card base, the second went to the die machine and was put to work making all the add ons. I think all the dies I used – with one exception – are Memory Box dies and I also used a Martha Stewart punch.

The Contented Crafter

I embossed the house wall with my brick embossing folder than rubbed three different shades of reddy-browns in Tim Holtz stains over it. The die cut window was treated to some white acrylic paint and grey ink to shabby it up.

That done, I turned my attention to the inside. Wallpaper was added to both sides of the card and another window frame was fitted with some recycled plastic packaging fitted between the two frames to serve as glass, so we have a proper window:

The Contented Crafter

Next the architraves and floorboards were created. I used a Couture Creations Die at the top:

The Contented Crafter

I coloured the floor boards with water colour pencils and am really happy with the result!

Yay water colour pencils!

The next step was to create the cat and the girl – Benson and Kerry:

The Contented Crafter

They were stamped onto white card stock and coloured with alcohol ink pens:

The Contented Crafter

Then they were cut out – to you non-crafters this is called ‘fussy cutting’ and takes forever

The Contented Crafter

This is where I discovered I’d made an error with my calculations – the window was too far above the floor and the cat couldn’t see out the window – some creative thinking was called for:

The Contented Crafter

Puss sits on top of the pile of books so he can see out the window:

The Contented Crafter

I made the flower garden and forgot to photograph that process too – sorry!

Now we are getting to the finishing touches – ‘So, what’s all this for?’ you ask:

‘Well,’ I respond ‘You remember when I cut out the window from a die? Where the panes of glass go there are little square discards of white card. When cut in half they are just the right size for some banners….”

The Contented Crafter

Did you spot the window blind? Forgot to photograph that being made – and the presents?

All ready to go!

Here is the finished front:

The Contented Crafter

And finally, a few close ups for those of you who want a better look:

The Contented Crafter

If I ever make another one I think I’ll put a table in, with a cake or some flowers on – or a chair – the room looks a little bare to me ……

I hope you enjoyed that walk through my card making process.

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you are having a great week!

Go well!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Posted on September 15, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

I thought this was such a lovely poem from Anne over at My Dogablog that I had to share it. If you are not familiar with her blog Anne takes photos and tells stories with the help of the very happy and delightful Monty. Go check her out!

Be The Change …….

Posted on September 15, 2013 by thecontentedcrafter

Hello friends! If you have been following my posts you know that I have been busy taking a few courses and learning lots……. Yesterday was the day when I decided it was time to return to my journal and create a page just for me, by me and without following anybody else’s guide lines.

Happily, I discovered I had a few more tricks in my bag!

It was time to create a page using one of my favourite quotes; Gandhi’s ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. It’s an exhortation to stop blaming, stop whining, stop waiting for someone else to fix things and get on and do what you can do yourself ……

I started the double page spread with three colour washes – yellow, green and red. The colours were watered down 1:3 sploshed over and left to dry.

Next I die-cut a double run of lace from my couture creations die in white card stock and lay a length to the left and right side of the double page spread, inked it up with some ‘Aged Mahogany’ Distress Ink, glued it down and left that to dry.

An hour later I lay a piece of old lace curtain over the pages and spritzed a good coat of Dylusions white over everything. Peeling back the the lace revealed a rather gorgeous, soft dappled effect.

Then I got out the water colour pencils and started drawing – I wasn’t a hundred percent sure I knew what I was going to do – I had my quote and that was about it – oh and I had just found an old Fiskars template with big butterfly wings that had appealed to me – I knew I wanted to do something with that if I could …. I drew the left side first and after that the right side just kind of drew itself.

This is the water colour pencil drawing on the left side:

Image: Contented Crafter

On the right hand page, the template made the outline of her wings and I drew and doodled inside the shape. I edged the wings with a golden yellow Sakura gel pen – gotta have a little bling somewhere right? I liked that so much that when I had the quote all written out and mounted I edged that with the same pen……… if a little bling is good, a little more is even better!

This is the water colour pencil drawing on the right side:

paulinekingblog.wordpress.com

Finally the edges were treated to a light coat of gold paint, around the lace to define it a bit and top and bottom of the pages with a doodle or two, date stamped and voila, finito!

Please do note that the girl is wearing a rather fabulous pair of red gumboots [galoshes, wellingtons, rain boots – depending on where in the world you are] with a big red bow with polka dots on them, because I saw a pair in a store recently and really, really wanted to buy them despite the fact that my garden is the size of a postage stamp….. As I couldn’t justify the expense the gardening gal gets to wear them instead!