About Me

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Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
I have been crafting since May 2008, when in desperation to find an unusual birthday card for my Mum, I gave up looking in the shops and decided to have a go at making my own. I soon realised that crafting is addictive and I haven't brought a card since. In 2011 I completed my certificate in papercrafting as a result of the work I did as part of the course I started entering challenges on line and in magazines. I applied for design teams and also started making samples for Ooh La La Creations for their shows on Create and Craft. I have now completed my Diploma in professional crafting and most recently been runner up in the Papercrafter of the Year 2013 a competition run by Papercraft essentials magazine, I don't have a particular style I like to use elements from lots of styles and techniques, although I do love all things vintage. In 2014 I started to move more towards scrapbooking to take care of the huge family archive of photographs that were stored in my attic. I have continued cardmaking and Scrapbooking through 2015 and 2016 but have also become interested in off the page projects. I hope to be able focus on these in the future.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Recycle and help a Charity

Hi everyone the title of this post is the same as the header I used on a poster that I put in the kitchen and common room at work just before Christmas. Having spent the last 2 years challenging myself to complete first my certificate in papercraft and them My diploma in professional crafting I needed something new for 2013. So I asked colleagues to bring in old greetings cards wrapping paper, tags and ribbon and I have undertaken to make on average 100 cards per month for donation to various charities throughout the year. I couldn't have asked for a better response, work colleague have donated not just the Christmas cards they would normally throw away, but birthday cards, ribbon and various other bits and pieces I can use to meet my challenge.

Whilst the original plan was just to give the cards to charity shops in our local area to sell, I have been overwhelmed by the number of my colleagues who have asked that I take batches into work and they will buy them so that I can donate the money to local charities who don't have the luxury of a shop front to sell them in.

So having gone through all the cards and trimmed various, images, greetings, and verses from them to reuse (I now have a bag the size of a wheelie bin full of usable bits for crafting) I have also raided my stash for various free gifts of paper pads from magazines that can also be used and I have now started creating the cards.

Here is the first.

I cut the central image off the card using an x-cut oval die and used stickles iridescent glitter glue around the edge. Whilst that dried I cut a piece of glittered vellum paper to fit an A5 card blank and rounded the corners. I cut the large snowflake and flourish from plain white card using Memory box dies and the smaller snowflake flowers were cut using a Marianne die. 


I stuck the vellum down using double sided tape in the centre so it woud be hidden by the oval panel and then used pinflair glue gel to add the panel to add depth. The flourishes and snowflakes were then added. The piece of net behind the flowers is actually part of one of those plastic net bags that chocolate coins come in at Christmas, which I had saved as I always scatter the coins on a table under a small Christmas tree every year for people to help themselves to during the festivities.


So that's the first one made I will regularly be updating my blog with my progress and will let you know how the charity donations go.

I am entering this card into the following challenges,

http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/   - Animals I hope the little glittered stag counts.

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  recycle something or use something that was free - the topper and the plastic net are both recycled.

http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Christmas in January

http://crimbo-crackers.blogspot.co.uk/ - White on White

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk - Anything Goes

5 comments:

  1. Wow Alli this is fabulous and oh so pretty, what a wonderful idea and so generous I hope you raise loads and loads
    Happy Crafting
    xxx

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  2. Beautifully done White on white card, Thanks for Playing along with us this time at ABC Christmas Challenge, hugs Samantha :0)

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  3. A lovely card Alli - and what a great challenge you have set yourself.

    Kath x

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  4. Beatiful card. So pretty with all of the sparkle. Thanks for playing at ABC Christmas.
    Carissa

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  5. What a worthwhile thing to be doing. You would never guess that the card had been made from recycled pieces from other cards - thanks you so much for entering both of my CHNC challenges - hope to see you again soon - and don't forget that my CHNC challenge extra challenges will always be anything goes for Christmas, so you can enter as many of your cards there as you like - I look forward to seeing more of them and wish you well in this worthwhile project x

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