French Braid and Mistletoe

Hi everybody.  I have another card using the Spellbinders French Braid die set, and a leaf and berries embossing folder from Crafter's Inspiration Magazine No. 6, and a mistletoe stamp from Creative Stamping Magazine No. 138 a fairly recent one and using this stamp for the first time. 

I started with a snippet of white card which I used to emboss the mistletoe as the background for the card, and then I used some snippets of gold mirri and green plaid paper some of which I used on this card here, plus some striped pieces which I didn't use last time to make the braided topper.  After I had stuck the pieces in place I decided to cut it down a bit as this EF is only 6" x 4" and the proportions of the French Braid Topper were a bit too big.  I then stamped the mistletoe using some Versafine Olympia Green ink and coloured it with a couple of different green alcohol pens, and I searched out a Tattered Lace Bow which came with a wreath die which I got with a magazine several years ago, and I cut it twice from another white snippet to make it more substantial, and coloured it with a couple of red alcohol pens.  I finished by mounting the pieces onto a 7" x 5" card, and I stupidly took the photo without the sentiment, which I have now added using a die and another snippet of gold card.  I also added some Clear Wink of Stella onto the bow, and some Glossy Accents on the mistletoe berries.  

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 59 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 75 Anything Christmas Goes.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Nov. 9th - Anything Goes/Coffee, Cocoa, Warm Drinks.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 493 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

NBUS Challenge - No. 68 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 2: Dies.

Glittered Poppy Heart

Hi all.  I have something different today, for me anyway, as I used some glitter on this Indigoblu Poppy Heart stamped on acetate.  This Painting on Acetate technique is being used this time over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers, and so I thought I would go out of my comfort zone and give it a try.  I have made the photo larger than normal as it was a really dull day and I had to take the photo so the card could be posted, and making it larger does make the detail better I think.

I found a piece of embossable acetate and using my stamp positioner and Black Stazon Ink I stamped the poppy heart onto it and then heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I went through my cupboards and found some freebie packets of glitter which came with a plastic tray eons ago and which have never been used, and now is it's their time to shine..lol.  I used my Pinflair Bookbinding Glue which I do use as my go to glue, and started with one of the flowers and a pink and purple colour of glitter on the reverse side from the heat embossing which will be the front when mounted on the card.  I thought I would leave it until it was dry to check that the glue would go clear, which it did, and so I carried on, bit by bit filling in all the flowers using the purple near the centres and the pink over the rest, and then added some green on the leaves.  I decided to colour the little flowers and a couple of poppy seed heads and also the centres of the poppies with alcohol pens.  The blue flowers show up well, but the centres of the poppies and the two poppy heads which are in an orangy brown colour do not show up clearly in the photo.  The glitter is not in pots but in little plastic bags which once opened are difficult to close again, and my patience level with the glitter had definitely been reached, and I felt three opened bags with glitter leaking everywhere was probably sufficient..lol.  

I cut a piece of white card to fit this 5" x 7" card blank and cut the heart aperture using the largest die from a set by Sweet Dixie, and also stamped the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then fixed the glittered piece behind it using red double sided tape around the edge of the aperture and cut off the excess to make it neater and put the card together.

I needed an anniversary card and this is a very pretty stamp which I haven't used for a very long time, but perhaps a more simple design might have been better, but contrary to everything I have said, I was pleased with the result which does look much better in real life, and I am glad I gave this technique a try.  Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 805 Magic of the Season/Anything Goes.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Nov. '24 Christmas/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Nov. '24 Anything Goes/Make it Magical.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 480 Die Cuts and/or Stencils ( I have a die cut aperture..hope this fulfils the theme).

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - No. 22 Anything Floral Goes/Optional Mood Board.

Triple B Challenge - Nov. '24 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (one, two or all three...mine is Blooms.

NBUS Challenge - No. 68 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff...i.e. the glitter.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This Weeks is November Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.  

Fragmented Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I am having another go at the fragmented card design that I did here, but using a square piece in the diamond shape position as the centre, and decided to use a piece of paper from a magazine quite a long time ago and I am not sure which one now, and also I used an embossing folder called Dotty Heart by Leonie Pujol.  I also cut a couple of hearts from a very old die set by Nellie Snellen call Multi Frame Hearts, and a stitched square from a set bought a long time ago from The Works.  

I cut a piece of white card to build up the fragmented piece onto and placed the white stitched square in the middle.  I then cut some 1/4" white strips and worked out the shapes of the pieces to be added (two from the pink patterned paper and two from the Dotty Hearts embossing folder cut from white card).  It was a lot simpler which is why I decided to give this one a try as the pieces have two straight edges and when stuck down only need trimming around the edges.  I placed the piece before adding the strips over the top and then I decided to die cut two of the scalloped hearts from the leftover piece of the Dotty Hearts and ink blended them in pink using Adirondack Pink Sherbet Ink, and then I added them over the central square.  I finished the card by adding a sentiment using Versafine Crimson Red with a layer of Satin Red over the top to brighten it a bit stamped in my stamp positioner of course, and then cut it into a fancy shape and added it over the hearts backed with a piece of foam for dimension.

Thank you for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Pumpkins.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 804 Anything Goes/Cute and/or Cuddly.

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween Colours/Papers.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge which she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 4: Anything Goes.  

Snowglobe Winter Scene

Hi all.  This snowglobe came as a freebie with PaperCrafter Magazine issue 112, and it must be a few years ago, and I realised that I had never used it.  I also used an image from a Creative Stamping Magazine Issue 90 called Winter Wonderland and also a Simon Says Stamp Snowfall stencil.  

I started with the snowglobe itself and I cut it in white.  It did have some little birds attached to the inner edge but I decided to cut them off.  I found some silver foil in my stash which has a sticky back and I liked the textured surface which I thought suited the globe, so I cut the globe again from this and very slowly and carefully applied it over the white one having first cut off the birds from this.  I then die cut a circle from white card, and also an acetate circle, and cut them both to fit.  I added the acetate circle to the back of the globe and then using Memento Teal Zeal Ink I stamped and heat embossed the image onto the circle of white card and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I decided to use some Wink of Stella to highlight the snowy scene and then glued it together.  The globe does have 'Merry Christmas' embossed into the surface, and I used a blue fine line pen to highlight the letters but unfortunately it didn't seem to want to dry on the surface of the foil, so I rubbed it off and luckily it did get ingrained into the surface and seemed to make the letters clearer to read.

I made the background using the Snowfall stencil which I ran through my machine and embossed it on a piece of white card.  I then placed the stencil back over and using Versamark I added WOW Sparkling Snow EP and heat set it.  I didn't worry about lining it back up as I thought it would just add to the snowy look of it.  I finished by adding the background onto the 6" white card, and then stuck the globe over that.

I did think about adding some white microbeads for some snow inside the globe, but to be honest the edge of the globe is so thin that I couldn't see how I could make a good enough cut of the foam tape which would have been far to wide as it was, and just adding them inside as the globe is now would not have given the beads enough room to move around inside, so decided to leave it.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.  

   

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 74 Anything Goes/Inspiration Board.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn Colours.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Christmas.

NBUS Challenge - No. 67 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Bee Nice

Hi all.  Bees are nice and very necessary for pollination and of course the yummy honey they produce.  I have lots of papers which I had with a magazine quite a while ago and had not been used, and I have seen this fragmented card technique a lot lately so thought I would combine the two.  The magazine was the first in a series called Diary of an Edwardian Lady and also has quite a few stamps, a few dies and an embossing folder, and it hasn't been used very often, in fact the little added bees were having their first flight...lol.

I started with the papers choosing two different ones from the pack which I thought went together well, and I decided on a 6" square card and the central piece a hexagon for a slightly different look, cut from a snippet of green card.  I have seen several versions on Pinterest using a hexagon and just a single piece for the background, and this card by Di on her blog here using snippets in two different patterns, for which she used a die, made me decide to try a version from scratch, and thought that by placing the hexagon on the piece of card and laying down the strips temporarily I would be able to take the edge of one of the papers and mark the shape with a pencil, adding a bit on for safety.  This is basically what I did but I didn't want the different pieces to overlap one another so there was a lot of extra pencilling and cutting to get the shapes butted up but still covered by the green 1/4" strips..these were snippets too.  After finally cutting all the pieces I put the card together, and I decided to add a second green hexagon over the top from another snippet of green card, and before placing it I added the sentiment heat embossing it with WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder.  I then decided to stamp and cut out two of the little bees to embellish it and I also used snippets of white card for this.  I stamped them with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and coloured them with my alcohol pens ( you should use Memento with alcohol pens but as this was minimal colouring it was OK) and added some Clear Wink of Stella Pen on the wings for a bit of sparkle.   I then added a little foam square on the back of each to give them a bit of dimension.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the challenge but can see the worth of buying a die to do this as it was very time consuming and I nearly gave up several times, but having spent a lot of time on it I was determined to finish it.  I think that if I could make templates for the shapes for this card with the hexagon in the middle so that it simplified the marking and cutting it would be easier, but for a different shape and position of the centre, and a rectangle not a square, it would mean starting from scratch again and frankly life is too short for it to be worth the effort.  The only way I would do another from scratch is if it was just one piece of patterned paper with the shaped centre and added strips over the top. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No, 491 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  (All the green card and some white for the little bees were snippets).

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween Colours/Papers.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 802 Anything Goes/Magical, Myths and/or Legend.

NBUS Challenge - No. 67 Where we us our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 2: D = Dies. (Just the hexagon shape in the centre, actually doubled up so cut twice).

Turtley Terrific

Hi everybody.  This is a card for a terrific couple Chris and Marianne who have just completed a journey around the globe which has taken more than four years in a small motorhome which they call Trudy, and whose adventures we have been following via there Youtube channel.  Since their return they have had various meet ups so that anyone who has been following them and would like to meet them in person could do so, and they were having one not that far away from where we live so we thought it would be lovely to meet them. 

This card with a turtle is significant in that not long after they set off from Ironbridge in Shropshire the pandemic struck and they were in Turkey for more than a year until things began to open up again and they were able to continue their expedition.  They did a lot of travelling round Turkey in that time and they met a lady who with her son was trying to protect the turtles that nested on a local beach.  She had given up her job and every day went up and down the beach picking up rubbish, marking the nests and putting up signs and was trying to alert the locals to the plight of the turtles as unfortunately some locals and tourists were driving their cars right onto the beach and lots of the nests were damaged and the baby turtles were being killed, as well as the mother turtles as they laid their eggs at night, and also the loggerhead turtles are considered to be vulnerable and the green turtles endangered, so they need all the help they can get.  Chris and Marianne decided to set up a charity funding page to help raise money to set this lady up with an observation centre on the beach, so she could invite the local children along to teach them about the turtles and also general conservation of the beach area including plants which grow there, and they have now raised more than £40,000 which is amazing and the local authorities have got on board with it and no driving on the beach is now allowed.

I stamped the Pink Ink turtle using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and coloured with a few Distress Inks including Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint.  I then cut it out, and turned my attention to the background.  I used Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Crushed Olive and Mustard Seed applied with blending brushes.  I also used my finger and dabbed some water on it, along the bottom and then some bits further up to remove some ink then applied a bit more of the green and brown and blue over it and also added some first and second generation stamped underwater foliage using the green, and coloured some but not all of it.  I finally used a fan brush to make a few smaller white marks, more at the top of the piece to give the impression of light shining through the water.  I finished by adding it to a 7" square card and then added the turtle using Glue Gel.  

P.S.  We have since been to the get together and found them to be just as lovely a couple as we thought they would be and she loved the card, and kept touching the turtle which has lots dimension with the glue gel used behind it.  Marianne sends out an online weekly newsletter to subscribers, and much to my surprise considering we were only there yesterday, it was included in this week's copy with a lovely thank you.  Their website is called Tread the Globe and they have links to their Facebook, Instagram and Youtube on there.  If anyone would like to see the work done by Seher out in Turkiye here is the link to DEKAFOK and there is a link for donations there too if anyone feels inclined.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Oct '24 Anything Goes/Autumn Colours.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 802 Anything Goes/Magical, Myths and/or Legend.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add Some Texture.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in with.  This is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.  

Autumn is here

Hi everyone.  A more autumnal card today using a Lavinia stencil called Laurel and using the Stencil Monoprint technique which is the theme of this month's Group of Seven Cardmakers, and also featuring a leaf print which I made using a real leaf.

I started with the background and the stencil monoprint which means that you ink the stencil itself rather than inking through it, which in this case meant the leaves were inked but if inking through the leaves would have been white and the surroundings coloured.  I decided to ink it up with a set of Lyra Aqua Brush Markers and a couple of different greens.  When I had got ink over the whole stencil I spritzed it with water and turned it over onto a piece of white card with a piece of kitchen towel over the top to mop up any leakage from under the sides of the stencil which helps to get a clearer print.  I was happy with the coverage, there were a few areas where it could have done with a bit more water but fine, and I cut it down to fit a 5" x 7" card.  

I then turned my attention to the leaf.  I had collected several leaves when out on a recent walk, and I decided to experiment with inking the leaf to get a print.  The leaf was still green and I wanted a more autumnal look, so I used the same Lyra Pens and used a green, orange and red pen to give the look I wanted.  I then spritzed it and placed it down onto another piece of white card and again put a piece of kitchen towel over it and rubbed it well.  It actually was a better print than I expected but there were some gaps.  I wanted to cut it out so I placed the leaf back down and pencilled around the shape and fussy cut it out and finished by ink blending over the areas where the ink coverage was a bit thin using Mowed Lawn, Ripe Persimmon and Walnut Stain Distress ink applied with a brush, and glued it down over the leaf background cutting it to fit as it was a large leaf.  I finished the card with the sentiment stamped using Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink and placed it over the leaf for a different look, and the background being less busy it shows up better.

Thank you for coming to visit my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 801 Falling Leaves/Anything Goes.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Autumn Magic.

We Love to Create Challenge - No. 9 Anything Goes.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 292 Celebrate.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself and has said that anyone can join in.  This is Week 5: Stencils.