Thank You Card

Hello Everybody.  I thought I would make a card with some of the goodies I was lucky enough to win over at Pixie's Playground.   As it happens one of the items was a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Thanks Words, and I also used one of the stamps which is a set by Wendy Cotterill - Up the Garden Path.


This is what I used for the card:

White 6 inch Square Card
White Stamping Card
Purple Card
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Wendy Cotterill Rubber Stamp Set
Nellie Snellen Border Die
Distress Inks Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves,  Picked Raspberry
Memento Ink Nautical Blue
Koi Water Brush
Pastel Turquoise Grosgrain Ribbon






Firstly I used the three colours of Distress Ink and inked randomly on the deboss side of the embossing folder by sweeping the ink pads over it to cover.  It is best to use the light colours first and try not to overlap too much so the pad doesn't get contaminated.  Light colours on a dark ink pad will not seriously affect them, but the other way round could.  I placed a piece of white card carefully in the folder and ran it through my embosser, and when removed the raised lettering was still white.   I decided to colour the lettering with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink using a water brush to cover just the letters accurately.  It took a little time but I like the result.  I then took a scrap of the white card and inked the stamp with the Peacock Feathers ink, and when stamped used a water brush to drag the ink from the outline to fill in the flower. To add some depth of colour I used a little more of the Peacock Feathers with a bit of Seedless Preserves and a little Memento Nautical Blue on the flower and also round the edges of the stamp to add depth.  I then did the same to the embossed card just round the edges.  I then mounted the embossed card on the purple card and added a strip of ribbon.  I made a bow with another piece and added this to the side and then mounted this on the card.  I mounted the stamped topper on purple card and then a piece of white.  At this stage I decided to cut the top of the card to just beyond the embossed layer and overlap the edge with the stamped topper.  I then used the Nellie Snellen Border Die on the back edge of the card, and decided in order to balance the design I would cut a piece off first before die cutting.

As this is a 'Thank You' Card, I would like to use this to say a big thank you to you all for taking the time to stop and look, and to my regular followers, and all those that take the time to comment, and such lovely comments too.  I would also like to wish you all a very Happy New Year, and here's to lots more creativity in 2014.

I am entering this card over at Pixie's Playground where we have to use snippets/scraps somewhere in the card.  I used snippets of white stamping card and purple card for the topper.

                                                                                  

Favourite Five Christmas Cards of 2013

                                          


Hi Everyone.  Debby over at A Scrapjourney has a challenge running to display your five favourite Christmas creations and she will choose a random winner.  So here are my five favourites with links to the original posts.

                                                                   
                                                             Final Snowflakes for 2013
                                                                                                                                      
                                        

                                                            Poinsettia and Snowflakes 

                                                                      White Christmas                                                                                                           

                                                              Pine Branch and Baubles

                                         Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Outline Version 2

Final Snowflakes for 2013

This is very sad.  This is the forgotten Christmas card which I came across when seeing what cards I had made this year.  I made it early on and it got separated from the rest, and as it is quite a pretty card I decided to post it.  Also I wish to include it in a challenge which will be my next post.

This card uses the Outline and Shadow Snowflake stamps from Chocolate Baroque, stamped on white card using Versamark Ink and the WOW Silver Sparkle EP, and then overstamped with Adirondack Tuxedo Black Ink.  To clarify, I used the Snowflake shadow first with the EP, and then overstamped with the Snowflake Outline using the Black.  The overstamping wasn't perfect, but as the stamps have a nice framed edge I managed to line it up fairly well.  When perfectly dry I used blending foam to add colour.  For this I used Distress Inks Fired Brick and Tumbled Glass and also some Adirondack Eggplant.  I cut a piece off an A5 Light Grey Pearl card to make it square, and the offcut  I used to make the border using a Nellie Snellen die.  I mounted the border on the background, which I cut down slightly, and then made a double bow with sheer lilac ribbon, the ends of which I wrapped round the background before attaching it to the card.  I finished with a sentiment mounted on a mat made with an XCut Oval die.

I hope you are all having a good Christmas Day and tucking into all that lovely festive food, and that you have some lovely new crafty stash to play with.  In case you are wondering if I have nothing better to do on Christmas Day, this was done in advance and just scheduled for today.

Merry Christmas

Well I have at last finished my Christmas cards and these will be the last two to display, I think.  I have managed to steer clear of snowflakes and baubles and I decided to use the Indigoblu Bare Forest for these two cards.

As I don't have any A6 cards at the moment, I used my square white cards cut down.  I stamped the image on to green and red card using Versamark Ink, and then heat embossed with WOW Sparkling Snow Embossing Glitter. I then used a Cuttlebug folder which I think is probably not available now, but which has a selection of Christmas greetings.  I picked out one of the greetings and embossed one of each colour and then mounted each on to white card.  I then highlighted the writing by using a white Sakura pen on one, and a silver Sakura pen on the other.  I  decided the white writing might look better with a hint of silver, so I overlaid it with the silver to give a glittery highlight.  Unfortunately the green card which has only the silver doesn't show up very well in the photo.  As the Bare Forest stamp is framed I cut the card just beyond the frame to give it a layered look when mounted on the base card.

With these last two Christmas cards I would like to send my best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a  healthy and prosperous New Year.

I have entered the red version of the card in the challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop as I have used some snippets/scraps of white and red card.

I am also entering the challenge over at Simon Says Monday Challenge which asks for a stamped image.

Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Outline

Hi All.  I'm afraid my Christmas stamp box does not contain much, other than a few baubles, a tree, a deer, some wintry trees which I haven't used because they didn't speak of Christmas to me, but perhaps they may come out, and these two stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  The other I have used quite a lot, and this one is having it's first outing.  I have made two cards with it and thought I would show them both on this post because the techniques used make them look, in a way, like totally different stamps.

Version 1

This card uses the heat resistant acetate heat embossed using WOW Black Twinkle EP, and coloured using Promarkers.  Unfortunately I only have a few Promarkers and some of the colours I thought looked a bit pale when applied to the acetate, but actually they seem to show up better than I thought they would. The colours I used were Ruby Red, Forest Green, Amethyst, Bright Orange and Indigo Blue.  The snowflake on the right hand side was originally green and I put some red over the top because I didn't like having two greens next to one another, and this makes it look a bit reddy brown.  I think some of the other colours might have been ok if I had been patient and waited for the colour to dry and just added more layers.  I finished by coating the back of the acetate with Sky Blue and made it look mottled by just adding some more until it puddled a bit.  I finished the card with a white mat edged with a Nellies Scallop Border Die and added a  piece of bluey green card to the top and bottom of my usual square white card.  I finished the card with silver sentiment.

Version 2

On the second card I stamped and heat embossed the image with Papermania Seafoam White EP and then used various inks randomly over the top, and finished by filling the snowflake in with one of the inks.  On both cards I only used part of the stamp and on this card I didn't get the best stamping result, but I decided that I would colour it and see how it looked, and when finished I decide that although the stamping fades out in places it actually works ok.

 The inks that I used were Adirondack Dye Inks in Sunshine Yellow, Lettuce and Bottle, and  Walnut Stain and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  I used the Bottle with a little water and a brush to fill in the snowflakes.  I usually smear a little ink from the pad onto my glass mat and sometimes I us a water brush, but this time as I wanted a nice fine line I used a Royal and Langnickel brush.  I finished the card by mounting onto Gold Mirri and cut a Memory Box Snowflake Corner from the Mirri card and mounted these on a square white card finished with a gold sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and hope you all have a good weekend.

I am entering this card over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop  as I have used some snippets/scraps of white card and Mirri card.

Blue and Silver Snowflakes

Hi Everybody.  I'm afraid that 'S' word has reared it's ugly head again ..... yes more snowflakes!   I saw there were a couple of challenges that this card fitted into - the first over at Less is More where they are asking for a metallic element and one other colour.  The other is Addicted to CAS where the challenge is just snowflakes.

For this card I have used:    White Square Card,
                                                 Peacock Feather Distress Ink
                                                 Versamark Ink
                                                 WOW Silver EP
                                                 Creative Expressions Arctic Pearl EP
                                                 White Stamping Card
                                                 Silver Mirri Card
                                                 Free Kaisercraft Sentiment Stamp
                                                 Free Hot Off the Press Snowflake Stamp
                                                 Metal Snowflake Stencil
                                                 Blending Foam

Firstly I stamped the sentiment using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, and while it was still wet I heat embossed it with the Arctic Pearl EP.  The drying time of DI's is always a bit longer than other water based inks so provided you do it fairly quickly it works well.   I then coloured in the stamp using the Peacock Feather DI, and I added a very little Seedless Preserves DI to act as a shadow - I hope Less is More will allow me this as this was the very smallest amount of another colour.  I  used a  rectangle of white card, and using the snowflake stencil, I carefully inked through it using blending foam with the Peacock Feathers DI, and again a very little Seedless Preserves DI, and whilst wet I heat embossed using the Arctic Pearl EP.  This gives a nice finish as it has mica in it and gives a lovely sheen.  I then randomly stamped the Hot Off The Press Snowflake with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with WOW Silver EP.  I mounted this on Silver Mirri card and then mounted that on the base card.  In the photo the blue on the panel looks as though it is a different colour than the sentiment.  The Arctic Pearl EP was used on both but obviously only on the outside edge of the sentiment.  In real life the difference is much less visible.

Indigoblu Christmas

Hi All.  Here I am again, two posts in two days, I'm not sure I will be able to keep up this frantic pace!
I made this card using the Indigoblu Large Snowflake stamp.  I obviously have something about snowflakes  as they tend to figure largely in my cards this year.  The other main item on this card was a metal snowflake stencil, which I acquired recently via a friend.  I think we tend to forget about metal stencils in these days of the more modern versions, but they can still have their place.  I also used a couple of stamps from a set which I got with a magazine before last Christmas, they are called Enchanted Christmas by Hot Off The Press, and I have found them very useful.

On my white square base card I stamped two of the Hot off the Press freebie stamps using Versamark Ink and WOW Silver EP.   I then took a piece of white card, and using the metal stencil and  Distress Inks in Peacock Feather and Tumbled Glass, and Nautical Blue Memento Dye Ink, and a small piece of blending foam, I made a random pattern with the stencil, and then used the inks to colour the remaining areas of white card.  I mounted this onto dark blue card.  Onto white card I stamped with Versamark Ink, heat embossed using WOW Sparkling Snow EP, and then cut round the snowflake shape. I inked with a slightly watered down Peacock Feather DI to keep the colour a bit paler, and highlighted the edges with the Nautical Blue Memento.  Using a Versamark Pen I made a round shape in the centre and heat embossed with WOW Silver EP.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and for all the lovely comments I have received.  Your continuing interest is much appreciated.  Hope you all have a good weekend.

I am entering the challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop which requires us to use snippets/scraps of card or paper, and I used some small snippets of dark blue and white card for the background and the snowflake.  There is a special challenge running at the moment as well as the usual weekly one, and this is my 3rd and final card.

I am also entering this card over at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge which asks you to make your own background.

Vintage Stamping Challenges, sponsored by Flonzcraft, has a challenge running this month to use Cold and Frosty Colours, and as it doesn't have to be a vintage design I am entering this.

Black and White Anniversary.

Hello everybody.  I have interrupted Christmas card making as I have two Anniversaries this month to make cards for, and no, I haven't finished my Christmas cards yet.  I'm afraid, as usual, I started rather late and will be making and posting right up to the last possible date.

For this card I used:   Square White Card Blank, White Stamping Card, Chocolate Baroque Bold Snowflake Shadow Stamp, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Kimmy-luvs, Nellie's Border Die, Versamark Ink, WOW Black Twinkle EP, WOW Silver EP, Silver Mirri Card and a Silver Sentiment.

 

I decided that as this is a December Anniversary I could get away with using the Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Shadow stamp.  I really love this stamp because it heat embosses so beautifully, so I stamped it using Versamark Ink and heat embossed using the Black Twinkle EP. (unfortunately this doesn't show up on the photo very well).  I then used the Kimmy-luvs Embossing Folder  with some white card - I managed to make it wider by matching the pattern and running it through my machine again, luckily it worked quite well.  In my stash I found a nice little heart stamp which I got free with Craft Stamper magazine, and using snippets of white card I heat embossed  with the Silver EP making two of them as you can see.  I also used a scrap/snippet of Silver Mirri card and die cut the Nellie's Border Die, luckily it fitted almost perfectly.  I made the card up by cutting both the background pieces in half, mounted them on the white base card and covered the  join with the silver border.  I then added the two hearts and finished with the sentiment.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop where you have to use snippets/scraps, and as I used some small snippets of white card and silver mirri card.  This is for the weekly challenge and my 2nd entry into the special challenge.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge   - Make Your Own Background
Less is More  - Sparkle

White Christmas

Hi to everyone.  May I start off by saying Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends in The States, and hope you have a great time.  It's just as well we don't celebrate it here because I don't think I could find the time to make all those extra cards.

Today's card is, guess what, another Christmas card.  I decided that, as I had never made one before, I would go for all white.  To make the card I used: Square White Card Blank, Heat Resistant Acetate, WOW Embossing Powder Sparkling Snow, Versamark Ink, Chocolate Baroque Bold Snowflake Shadow Stamp, Nellie's Scallop Border Die, Chocolate Baroque Poinsettia Stamp, White Parchment, Sakura Silver Gel Pen and a Silver Sentiment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                   

I started by stamping with the Snowflake Shadow onto heat resistant acetate with Versamark Ink and heat embossing with the WOW EP Sparkling Snow.  I haven't used the embossable acetate before, and although it will take heat I think I got a little too close with the heat gun and it did wrinkle a bit, but apart from that I thought the results were fine.  I stuck this to the base card, but because of the wrinkling it was a bit troublesome to glue flat, but I decided to go with it.  I then made the border with the Scallop Border Die, running it through twice to make a decorative strip, and glued that in place.  I stamped and heat embossed the Poinsettia twice onto the parchment using the same WOW EP as before, cut them out and layered them up.  I used a Sakura Silver Gel Pen to highlight the centre of the flower and finished with a silver sentiment.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Stamping for Pleasure Rudolph Day
Pixie's Crafty Workshop because I used some snippets/scraps of parchment for my Poinsettia. 
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Pine Branch and Baubles

Another week is ending which is another week nearer to Christmas, and my Christmas cards are progressing very slowly, so here's another one.  This card may well be replicated to speed things up as it is quite a quick card to make.

For this card I used:

A6 White Base Card
Dark Green Card
Kaisercraft Christmas Papers
Memory Box Pine Needle Border Die
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Holly Ribbons
Freebie Bauble Stamp
Versamark Ink
WOW EP - Metallic Gold, Metallic Gold
Sparkle and Clear Gloss
Distress Ink - Red Brick
Gold Sentiment and Border                                                       
                                                                      

I embossed the white card with the Holly Ribbons embossing folder, then cut and embossed the green card with the Pine Needle Die, and adhered these to the white base card.  I selected two different patterns from the Kaisercraft paper pad and on the first I stamped and heat embossed the bauble stamp twice with the WOW Metallic Gold Sparkle EP, and cut them out.  I then used the bauble stamp as a template and cut another bauble from the second DP, covered it in Versamark Ink, and heat embossed with the WOW Clear Gloss EP.  I then stamped and heat embossed three of the bauble tops with the WOW Metallic Gold EP and added some Red Brick Distress Ink to the spaces to match the baubles.  After assembling them I hung them from the pine branch using the gold border strip.  Lastly I added the sentiment.

I am entering this over at  Stamping Sensations where the challenge for this month is Christmas.

Koi Carp and Water Lilies

Hi everyone.  Today's card is a birthday card which I made for a friend.  I do however have to apologise to her because I 've only just realised that I forgot to put a sentiment on the front.   Luckily I did put an insert inside with 'On Your Special Day', so Happy Birthday, Marilyn.

For the card I used a set of stamps which have already had an outing on here.  It is a set by Sheena Douglass called A Little Bit Oriental.  There is a large Koi, which I used last time, and a smaller Koi which I stamped twice for this card, together with the floating Lilies and the second largest Water Lily, used three times.  The other two stamps used were a couple of the ripple effects.

I began by selecting my usual square card in cream - as you can probably see this is my favourite shape at the moment.  I decided to back the focal layer with a dark blue which I obviously did at a later stage.  I then took a piece of white stamping card and covered this, using the acrylic block technique, with three colours of ink, namely Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and Memento Nautical Blue.  I then took some snippets/scraps of white card and using Memento Tuxedo Black stamped out the two Koi and the three Water Lilies and coloured them with Promarkers in a selection of about six colours.  I only have a pack of eleven colours with a blender so I don't have a great deal of choice. but I manage.  I then returned to the background after decided where I would place the Koi and Water Lilies and then stamped the water ripples in Memento Nautical Blue.  I decided when placing  the Koi that it might be quite fun to have one fish with it's head out of the water so I cut that one down and placed the Water Lilies around it.  I then, as mentioned earlier, mounted this on dark blue card, and then mounted that on my cream base card.

Thank you to everyone who stops by, and hope you all have a good week. 

I have decided, as this uses a few snippets, to enter the challenge over at Pixies Crafty Workshop.

Flourish Heart Anniversary

Hi to you all.  First I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has left such lovely comments, and welcome to my new followers.

Today's post is an Anniversary Card .  The stamp I used for this card was from a set of flourishes and swirls from  Crafty Individuals.  This card was a bit fiddly to make but I had seen something similar a while ago and it stuck in my mind, so thought I would give it a try.  Unfortunately, I can't remember where, otherwise I would give them a mention.

I started by making the heart using a Nellie Snellen Multi-Frame Die Set.  After cutting and embossing it, I stamped one of the flourishes using Archival Ink in Jet Black.  I then heat embossed with WOW Clear EP, coloured using Fired Brick Distress Ink and then added a few more flourishes using second generation ink.  The next step was to place the flourishes on the background, which I did by making some faint pencil marks where the heart was to sit and then stamping the flourishes with black ink and overlapping the pencil marks.  I did try to match up with the flourish pattern on the red heart but this was only partially successful as this consisted of holding the heart in place, hovering with the stamp and moving the heart away as I stamped.  I think I would need to find a better method another time.  I used a little of the Fired Brick Distress Ink on the background, glued the heart in place and then mat and layered the white on to black and then silver mirri, and then that was placed on a white card approximately 6 inches square.  Finally I added the sentiments.

I am entering this card in the Addicted to CAS Challenge .

Poinsettia and Snowflakes

Today I'm back to Christmas again, so thought I would feature that lovely Memory Box Snowflake Corner Die which I was lucky enough to win last week.  The stamps are from Chocolate Baroque - the first is the Poinsettia which I don't think is available any more, and the second is the Snowflake Shadow.  This is approximately 6 inches square and is good on it's own or as a background.

 

This was quite a quick card as I already had a piece of the background from the last time I used the stamp, so I mounted this on a piece of Gold Mirri Card which I stuck onto a piece of red card measuring 6 x 4 inch when folded.  I used the same red card for the Poinsettia, which I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Red Glitz EP, and for the centre I used a Gold Uni-ball Pen.  I have to admit I did make the flower a bit smaller by cutting out the central part and adding some bits of the outside petals behind in order to keep the flower a bit smaller.  The background is so pretty I didn't want to cover too much of it.  I also coloured the background in a little with a gold and silver pen which I dont think shows up all that well in the photo.  Lastly I used the Memory Box Snowflake Corner Die but used as flourishes.  I cut three from the Gold Mirri Card, and the one in the middle I cut down a little.  The sentiment which I stamped and heat embossed with WOW Gold EP, is from a freebie set which came with a magazine.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look today.

I've decided to enter this card in a challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.
Stamping Sensations have a Christmas challenge so I am entering that too.

 

The Art of Chess

Hi Everyone.  I notice I now have two more new followers, so thank you for that.

Today's card has a chess theme and is a set of stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  I used this set on my very first post, but that was a more elaborate card.  This is a much more straightforward version as I am entering it in the latest challenge at Less is More, which is to produce a card with a dark background but with a splash of colour(s).   I am also going in for the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, which is Anything Goes, and finally Pixie's Crafty Workshop, because that asks you to use snippets/scraps of paper or card, and the chess pieces were made from leftover pieces of card.

This lovely set of stamps has various chess pieces in differing sizes and styles and I selected a few of these to make a nice grouping on the card.  Next I found some nice bright colours of card to add my splash of colour.  There is a background stamp, and I used the top half of this as a backdrop on the black 31/2 inch square mat, which was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.  I then stamped each of the chess pieces as above, heat embossed with the Clear Gloss EP, and attached to the mat.  Finally, having placed the mat on the A6 black card, I finished it off with a sentiment heat embossed with White EP.

Unfortunately, as you can see black card is very unforgiving, and even after using some talc brushed on to lessen the static, I still managed to get a few stray white flecks of EP.  I am something of a perfectionist, but sometimes I have to tell myself to take a step back and accept that if it is 75 to 80 percent as you would like it that this is probably about as good as it gets, for me anyway. 

Birthday with Bags of Style

Hi there everyone.  Firstly I would like to say thank you for all the lovely comments I have received and thank you to my new followers - in fact the first three followers - thank you so much.

Anyway, on to today's post, which is a birthday card I have made using a set of stamps from Creative Expressions called Bags of Style, which consists of four handbags, a border and corner and some sentiments.  They stamp beautifully and are large enough to colour, emboss or use paper piecing techniques on, which makes them an extremely versatile and useful set of stamps.

I started with a 6 inch square white card.  I stamped the border and corner stamp four times on some white stamping card with Versamark Ink, embossed with WOW Gold EP, and cut them out.  Luckily these fitted nicely on my base card.  Often I start off with a rough starting plan which evolves as I go along, and I decided after doing the frame that I would keep the colours to gold, black and white.  I next cut a 4 inch  diameter circle from black card using an X-Cut Die and using a Spellbinders Shapeabilities Die D-Lites Medallion Three I cut the pattern in the centre. To add a little extra interest I used a mask from That Special Touch called Chicken Wire, which actually has more the look of a trellis or harlequin design, and embossed it using my Grand Calibur.

I stamped one of the handbags onto white card using Memento Tuxedo Black Dye Ink and coloured it using a Promarker in Cool Grey and a Uni-ball Gold Pigment Pen, and then I covered it completely with  Versamark Ink and double embossed it with WOW Clear EP to give it a lovely shine.  I was going to add a piece of Mirri Card under the mat but then decided to use a softer tone and found this creamy yellow which I thought went better.  To finish I heat embossed the sentiment in WOW Gold EP.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and I hope you are enjoying your weekend.
  

Chocolate Baroque - Snowflake Shadow

Hello, and here we are at the start of another week and with only a few days left in October.  I haven't been doing very well with Christmas card making, so I thought today I would channel my efforts in that direction. 

I recently bought a couple of stamps from Chocolate Baroque from a range called Big Bold Backgrounds. They lend themselves to all sorts of stamping and embossing effects, and being 6 inches square make quick cards quite achievable.

I noticed that Less is More are running a challenge at the moment to make a card using string or twine and Stamping For Pleasure have a Rudolph Day Challenge which runs until the end of the month, so I thought I would enter this card in both challenges.

At Less is More they require a simple card with just one layer, and on this occasion with the use of string or twine.  I began with an A6 white card.  I then stamped the Snowflake Shadow using Memento Dye Ink in Lady Bug onto white stamping card.  I cut this down into two equal pieces and  attached a piece of white card in the centre to attach the twine to.  I noticed that one of the cards demonstrated used a lovely flat knot, so I thought I would give it  a try.  Lastly I added a sentiment.

A Little Bit Floral - Dahlia

Hi there.  I was asked by a friend to make a card for a lady's 90th birthday, and as the Dahlia is a good Autumn flower - believe it or not I have actually seen some still in flower - and having a rather nice Sheena Douglass Dahlia stamp from a set called A Little Bit Floral.  I decided that was the one to use.  You will see from previous posts that I am a big fan of Sheena's stamps, as they make a good centrepiece little else is needed.                                                                                                                                

For this card I used:

Peachy Pink Pearlescent Card (A4 folded)
Pink Glitter Card
Floral Paper 
Peachy Pink Vellum with a good weight
White Stamping Card
Promarker Pens in Rose Pink, Ruby Red,
Lime Green and Forest Green
Memento Dye Ink -London Fog
Versamark Ink
WOW Silver Embossing Powder
Stamps:  A Little Bit Floral - Dahlia and Docrafts Sentiment
and Numbers 
Xcut Oval Nesting Dies
Nellie's Border Dies
Freebie Embossing Folder with Flowers and Butterflies                
Pinflair Glue Gel
Bone Folder

I started by stamping the Dahlia flower twice, and  the bud and leaves on white card using Memento London Fog and coloured with the Promarkers.  The flower consists of three layers.   As a tip for very mean crafters like myself, for the bottom layer I cut the very centre of the flower and a few small leaves off one image to use as the very top layer, and for the middle layer I used the second image with the outside leaves cut away, so that when layered the cut away piece on the base layer doesn't show at all, which means you don't have to stamp a third image.  I layered the base card with the floral paper and the glitter card which I edged with the Nellies Border Dies, and then cut the vellum with the Xcut Oval Die and embossed it; but unfortunately this doesn't show up in the photo.  I stuck the vellum to the glitter card using Pinflair Glue Gel in the centre so that it can't be seen when the flower is layered on top. The flower was also layered using the Glue Gel and  I curved the flower with a bone folder prior to assembly to give it some shape.   Finally I stamped the sentiment on some of the peachy pink card using Versamark and heat embossed with Silver EP, and using one of the Xcut Oval dies to cut it out, stuck it in place with Glue Gel.

It's always a bit worrying when making a card for someone else to give that they will be happy with the finished result, but flowers are usually a safe option.  Luckily Judith who asked me to make the card was pleased with the result, and hopefully the lady whose 90th birthday it is will like it too. 

Koi Carp

Hi there fellow card enthusiasts.  Today I am highlighting a card I have made using a lovely Koi Carp from a series of stamps by Sheena Douglass called A Little Bit Oriental.

This is a good sized stamp and amply fills a 6 inch square card, so I decided to keep it quite simple.  I saw this background of circles representing bubbles used by a lady called Miranda who is a design team member for Designs by Ryn so decided to give it a try.

To do this I cut templates from paper using three different sized nesting dies from Xcut making sure to leave plenty of space round the circle to cover the card.  I used them randomly to make a nice shape using a mixture of Adirondack ink in Stonewashed and Memento London Fog just to darken the blue a little.  As my templates were a little flimsy I used the appropriate sized die to cover the edges of the paper and sponged the colour through.  I then layered this on some black card.  I stamped the Koi on a separate piece of card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink, coloured it with Promarkers, cut it out, applied it to the background with Pinflair Glue Gel to make it stand out a bit, and lastly added a sentiment.

It's not a technique I have used very often but I hope you agree it makes a simple but effective backdrop to the lovely Carp.

Thank you for looking at my blog today.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Christmas Snowflake

Today we are back to Christmas again.  I have used a stamp from Indigoblu called Large Snowflake.  The card was constructed in a very similar way to the Poinsettia previously posted here, in that I used the stamp to make the background as well.

 A 6 inch square white card was layered with black card on which I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Gold EP using just the flourishy edge of the stamp.  The snowflake was heat embossed on white card with WOW Gold Sparkle EP - this has a really lovely glittery finish and unlike glitter once heat set does not shed at all.

The gem in the centre was made using Cosmic Shimmer glue painted with a black Promarker.  This technique is quite simple to do.  The Cosmic Shimmer glue keeps it's shape very well and after making one or two it gets easier.  I make them on a craft sheet and they take an hour or two to dry.  You could apply straight on to the project but I'm not brave enough for that!  You could also make them shinier with Glossy Accents or something similar.  

Love Bench - Anniversary

Hi there.  Today I thought I would  highlight an anniversary card for a change.  On this card I used a stamp made by a company called Deep Red, and a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder called Kimmy-Luvs which I bought quite a long time ago and may not now be readily available.

I started with a white 6 inch square card, and then embossed a piece of white card with the embossing folder.  Adirondack dye inks in Stonewashed and Pink Sherbet and a touch of Tumbled Glass Distress ink were applied randomly to the raised surface and then this embossed card was cut into four banner shaped pieces of equal width.  I then stamped the Deep Red image straight on to the base card with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Silver EP, and using the Tumbled Glass and Pink Sherbet inks plus a little Memento dye ink in London Fog coloured in the image using a water brush.  I framed the image with the embossed banners and finished with a sentiment.  I hope you are enjoying your weekend and thanks for visiting my blog today.

Christmas Starts Here - Poinsettia

Hello to all those people who have visited here and those that have left some lovely comments which I really appreciate.

I've decided that now we are in to October I really ought to think about making some Christmas cards and this first offering is a stamp from Chocolate Baroque I actually bought a few weeks ago which I believe is not now available.  The colours are not the typical Christmas colours - especially the black - but it gives a good contrasting background to the gold and cream.

I used a gold pearlescent 51/4 inch square card on which I layered a 41/4 inch square piece of cream card.  The black card which is about 1/4 inch smaller all round was stamped randomly with the same poinsettia stamp using versamark ink and then heat embossed with WOW Gold EP.  The main image was stamped and embossed twice on to cream card using the same technique as for the background, but with just the central part of the flower for the top layer to give it a bit of dimension, and put together with Pinflair Glue Gel.  I finished by colouring the centre of the flower with a Signo Gold Pigment Pen and then added a sentiment.

Baby Quilt

Hi there.  Well, I hope everyone will forgive me for deviating from card making into the realms of sewing today.

Just under three years ago I started this quilt with a certain small recipient in mind thinking that it would only take me a short while to make it as I had chosen something fairly straightforward.  A lovely friend, also called Pat, who is a very experienced  quilter, got me started, and I fully intended to have it done within a few weeks.  Unfortunately it proved a lot harder than I thought and it ended up being left in the bag until a few months ago when, after talking about quilting to someone else, I decided it was high time I finished it.  I got as far as the binding and with some further help from friend Pat it is finally finished.

   

Understandably the child who was to receive it is now not in need of a cot quilt and as a local community hospital is having a fete today, I decided to donate it to the raffle amd hopefully some other family will enjoy using it.

I only finished it yesterday and haven't had much time to enjoy the fruits of my labour, so I thought I would put it on here as a permanent reminder.

Georgian Lady

I thought today I would show you a card made from a stamp which came free with Craft Stamper.  It is a smaller version of a stamp made by Indigoblu.  The stamp is only about 2" square, but I think this illustrates how it is possible to fill a 6" card with just one stamp.

I stamped randomly round the edge of the white card with just the right hand edge of the stamp using a Versamark pad and then heat embossed with WOW Silver EP.  I then stamped the whole image on a piece of white card about  3" square using the same technique.  In order to get the embossed design around the main image I used some pencil lines to indicate where the topper would be placed on the card and then just inside of the marks stamped and heat embossed the right hand portion of the stamp around the square just overlapping a bit to get a continuous design and then mounted the image over it.  It was a bit fiddly to do but I think it works quite well.
Lastly I used two colours of Pan Pastel - Phthalo Green Tint and Red Oxide Tint to add a gentle colour to the background and main image, and then just added a small Anita's butterfly and sentiment.  Thank you so much for looking.

Vintage Flowers

Hi there.  Today's card is one I've made to enter the Simon Says Monday Challenge which is to stamp on
anything other than plain paper.

For this card I used:

Kraft Card
Adirondack Dye Ink Espresso, Cranberry, Bottle, Sunshine Yellow
Freebies:  Stencil, patterned paper
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder "Script"
Sheena Douglass Stamp "Fantasy Floral - Violet"
Chocolate Baroque Sentiment
Pastel Ribbon
                                                                             



I decided in order to get a vintage feel I would use the Kraft card.  I found a nice patterned paper which came free with a magazine ages ago and used part of the stencil, also from a magazine, to highlight round the edges of the paper using the Espresso Adirondack.  I used the Cuttlebug Script Embossing Folder towards the right hand side of the paper and then blended Espresso ink all round the edges using a blending tool and mounted this on the Kraft Card.
For the topper I used Espresso ink to stamp the violet but decided to change the colour of the flower from the normal purple colour to match in with the flowers on the paper for which I used the Cranberry, Bottle and Sunshine Yellow inks with a water brush.  This was also mounted on Kraft card.  The sentiment and the ribbon were stamped using Espresso ink, but unfortunately the ink on the ribbon smudged rather so the word "Joy" from the sentiment is not really legible but I think that perhaps it was a happy accident and adds to the vintage feel of the card.  Anyway, I hope you like it and will come back for a look another day.                                  
                                  







 

A Little Bit Floral - Lily

Today's card, as the title suggests, uses a floral set of stamps by Sheena Douglass and I am intending to enter it in the September Crafter's Companion Embossing Inspiration Challenge.

 I decided to go for a nice bright pink with the black for a good contrast.  On the black background I used the Cuttlebug embossing folder " Divine Swirls" in two opposite corners, and a large Nellie's corner die cut four times from black card to frame the pink topper.  The flowers and leaves were embossed with WOW gold EP and coloured with Cranberry, Sunshine Yellow and Lettuce Adirondack dye ink using a water brush.  This was mounted onto a white card roughly 6" square.  Thank you for stopping to take a look today.   

Opening Gambit

Hi Everyone, well here goes with my first blog post.  I thought the title was very apt as I made this card fairly recently for my husband's birthday using stamps with a chess theme from Chocolate Baroque. 
The background was made using the acrylic block technique with  Memento dye inks Sweet Plum, Teal Zeal and London Fog.  I randomly stamped part of one of the stamps with the chess board in Memento Tuxedo Black and mounted this on black card.

The main image was stamped with WOW white EP and framed with a die cut from silver mirri card.  The four small chess pieces were stamped with WOW silver EP and then coloured with Teal Zeal and London Fog ink using a water brush.  The two larger chess pieces were embossed with the white EP and frame the front of the card nicely.  This was quite an involved card for me but I was pleased with the result.  I hope you like it too.