Perching Bird - Free Book Folding Pattern

I first came across book folding a few months ago and although some of the designs looked good, I wasn't really inspired by it.  Then recently I found a website where you could create your own patterns and as I love to do my own thing, I decided to have a go.

Using one of the punches in CraftArtist 2 Professional, I generated the following image, which I then converted into a book folding pattern with the help of the online software.

And here's the finished item:

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, especially as a first attempt. Needless to say I've generated quite a few more patterns, which I hope to be able to share soon.  In the meantime download the Perching Bird book fold pattern here.

CAS Sympathy Card

Sadly, I've had to make a couple of sympathy cards recently.  I've never made one before but I wanted them to be simple and tasteful.  After poring over my stamps for ages, I finally decided to use a die cut and chose the English Rose die by Tattered Lace.

I used linen-textured card for the card blank to add a little bit of interest without domineering the card and then used the die to cut the rose design from plain white card, which I went over a couple times with a clear Spectrum Sparkle pen. This gave a nice, subtle sheen that added some interest to the die cut.  I also had some My Craft Studio sentiment strips that I bought a long time ago and promptly forgot, so I chose the "With Sympathy" sentiment and cut a strip the same width as the card blank.  The die cut was glued in the centre of the card, with the sentiment strip below.  The card was finished off with three aurora borealis-style sequins, which are clear but have a pink or slightly green tinge depending on how they catch the light.