Filigree Heart Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I have a simple CAS anniversary card today using the Spellbinders Pocket Full of Love heart and a The Crafter's Workshop stencil called Cactus Dahlia which I am using for the first time.

I cut a background from a snippet of white card and using the stencil I ink blended through it with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.  I placed it towards the top left hand side of the card and reaching just beyond the centre as it is a large stencil and I didn't want to cover the whole of the background with it, and I also inked up the edges with the same ink.  I cut a heart using a further snippet of white card and I embossed it with the same stencil to give it a bit of texture, and then I blended ink onto another snippet using Wilted Violet DI and cut the filigree heart.  I finished by adding a sentiment stamped in the Wilted Violet and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

Thank you for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 514 Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 831 Birthdays/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 78 Where we use our Never Befo're Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. and this is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.

Group of Cardmakers - Embossing with Dies

Hi all.  I am back today with the Group of Cardmakers, and the theme this time is Embossing with Dies.  I used a set of dies from Crealies called Squares with Small Square, and also a set of Square Frame It dies by Clarity Crafts which cut into the card, and also a snowflake die from Craft Emotions, but I will be embossing with these last two and not cutting them. 

I started by die cutting a topper using one of the Crealies dies, about 4" square, a new set being used for the first time, and backed this with a piece of red card just slightly larger.  I then moved on to embossing the snowflake and added the Versamark ink onto the raised parts of the die before running it through my machine and then embossed it with WOW Rich Gold Embossing Powder.  There are several videos on the Group of Cardmakers post which will explain how to do this, but personally I lay the die face down onto the card with the embossing mat beneath it and the plate on top, as well as any extra shims you might need.  I do it this way as you can then see where you are placing the die for more accuracy, but it is of course personal choice.  Another tip is to use an anti-static bag on the card, but if you do find there are stray bits of powder get a piece of card and drag it across to remove them leaving only the powder within the grooves of the pattern...I picked this up from Jennifer McGuire.  Unfortunately the embossing did crease the card around the snowflake in several places, probably down to my having the sandwich a bit too thick making too much pressure, so I cut it down quite close to the snowflake to remove this and then edged it with the gold Sharpie pen.

I then decided to emboss a pattern onto another piece of white card to fit around the snowflake using the Clarity Crafts set.  After embossing it I made the decision to use the side of the die which had the diamond pattern raised up and I went over the whole pattern with some Gold Perfect Pearls and then used the gold pen to very carefully bring out the pattern of the little diamonds.  I then highlighted the edges of it with the same pen.  I was going to add this straight onto the topper but then thought that maybe it would have more impact added onto red card, so I cut this a little smaller than the topper and embossed a larger frame onto it using the same Clarity set, and opted to use the raised embossed side rather than the debossed, and adhered it before adding the other layer, and finally the snowflake which I raised up on a piece of adhesive backed foam for a little more dimension.  I finished it off with a gold embossed sentiment.

I hope you managed to stick with that rather drawn out explanation...lol.  This card features several different ways of using this technique and it was fun to make.  A lot of you will see from the photo what I've done, but I hope that it's helpful to those newer crafters who may appreciate something more but I quite understand if you don't have the time or need to do so..sometimes that saying 'life is too short' does apply...lol.

I hope you will go visit the GoC post and see all the beautiful cards make by Loll, Christine and Susan, and there is a Linky at the bottom for you to share your interpretations of the technique and we would just love to see them.  Thank you for visiting me here today and I hope you'll come back again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 830 Something beginning with 'B'/Anything Goes.

Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - Aug. '25 Anything CAS Goes/Cute Animals.

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 94 Anything Christmas Goes.

Rudolph Days Challenge - Aug. '25 Anything Christmas Goes.

Cut It Up Challenge - Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 77 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S.  This is Week 4: 'A' = Anything Goes.

Snowy Northern Lights

Hi everybody.  I decided to do another Northern Lights card but this time a snowy one and I found this Impression Obsession stamp which I have had for ages called Wintery Day which I thought would work well.

I stamped the scene onto a snippet of white card using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and then cut the piece down so that there was a white border on the top and two sides, leaving the bottom which obviously is the snow in the foreground.  I then masked it on all four sides making sure to completely mask the foreground snow too.  I then started on the sky.  I had looked at some photos on line and liked this particular sky so decided to make something similar. I started with Adirondack Sunshine Yellow blended just behind the treeline in the centre and then worked my way up using Distress Inks in Twisted Citron, then a bit of Adirondack Stonewashed and then Chipped Sapphire DI and at the very top some Black Soot DI.  I introduced some of the Chipped Sapphire in between the green here and there and I also tried to feather the blue into the green a little towards the right hand side.  I then got out a 5" x 7" card base and used a Sheena Douglass Embossing Folder called Frosty Ice Border, another I have had for a very long time, and used it directly onto the card and it left just a bit of an impression where it didn't quite cover, so I cut the card back a bit. 

I finished by cutting the bottom portion of the snowy scene back in the foreground, and layered it onto a snippet of black card.  I then realised I had left the foreground snow brilliant white, and as it is supposed to be a night scene I added the masking back on and using the bit of blue/black ink that was left on the brush I darkened the foreground.   I then cut a black sentiment from another snippet and also added the stars and a bit of snow on the branches of the lefthand tree.  

Before I finish I would just like to tell you that our Group of Seven Cardmakers has been rebranded to reflect the fact that we are now a smaller group of designers, and as we missed last month's post it was belatedly added yesterday, and our next post will go up as usual on 28th August so I hope you will go and take a look at the beautiful Northern Lights cards from the team with several videos and other tips for doing this lovely technique and I hope you feel inspired to give it a try.  It will show an earlier card I posted here.  

Thank you for dropping by today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No 513 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. '25 Flowers/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Aug. '25 Birds, Bees and Butterflies/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 830 Something Beginning with 'B'/Anything Goes.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - No. 175 Include a Tree.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 94 Anything Goes.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. and this is Week 3: 'E' = Embossing.

Love Hearts

Hi everybody,   I have an anniverary card today using a heart die from Crafter's Companion called Love Hearts which I got a good few months ago but being used for the first time.  

I cut the heart from a snippet of white card cut to it a 6" square card and I found a snippet of pink holographic card which I have had in my stash for years and just a fraction larger than the white top layer.  I then found a snippet of light grey card to mount that on to, and then I found another smaller snippet of the same grey card and I die cut the central heart from this and then fussy cut round it to fit inside the original heart.  I finished by stamping a sentiment onto it using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and heart embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and then added it over the heart, and as I had a few hearts which came out of the die cut heart using the grey card I added these to the top right and bottom left corners.  A fairly straight forward card and a bit different using the pink and grey colours.  It was supposed to be for the Color Hues Challenge but I just missed the closing date...drat!!

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 512 Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 829 Animals/Anything Goes.

Cut It Up Challenge - No. 336 Add a Sentiment.

NBUS Challenge - No 77 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - Aug. '25 Anything CAS Goes/Cute Animals.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S.  This is Week 2 - 'D' = Dies.

Northern Lights Technique

Hi all.  I decided to try to make a card featuring the Northern Lights and I looked at lots of photos to get an idea of colours and then set about replicating it.  There are also lots of YouTube videos which I looked at, and also Loll and Susan have recently put up their versions which are all beautiful, and they have both mentioned videos which you could look at.  I also used three different tree stamps..two from a Stampscapes set and one from a set by Chocolate Baroque.  Two out of three of the tree stamps are being used for the first time.

I started with the green and pink colours in the sky for which I used Distress Inks in Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet.  The Twisted Citron is a small ink cube and building up the colour took quite a long time and that was one of the reasons I added the Mowed Lawn which I have in a normal sized ink pad and which made it a bit faster, though I did want to keep the colour as light as I could.  I then added in the Chipped Sapphire DI which is another ink cube and I filled in the gaps and around the outside edges, and darkened it up with Black Soot DI which I added to the bottom section too.  Unfortunately I have managed to create a bit of brown between the green and pink because I accidentally laid one over the other and it has made the join a bit muddy, but apart from that it went quite well.

I finished it off by adding the different trees across the bottom at different heights for a bit of variation using my Misti so that I could stamp them several times, and I used Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.  I also added some Posca Pen stars and finished with a birthday sentiment using Hero Arts Unicorn White Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  It does have a slightly grey look but I didn't want it to be a stark white so I think that works OK.

Thank you for visiting me today and I will be posting more frequently again.  I have had rather a long break as our son came to visit from Australia for three weeks which was lovely, so cardmaking was suspended, and I always find it hard to get myself revved up again which is silly as I do enjoy being creative, but once I start I am generally fine and the mojo mostly works..lol.  

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. '25 Flowers/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Aug. '25 Birds, Bees and Butterflies/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 829 Animals/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 498 Birthdays.

NBUS Challenge - No. 77 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.DE.A.S. and this is Week 1: 'I' = Inking/Color Mediums

A Special Birthday Card

Hi everybody.  Today I'm showing the card I made for hubby's birthday which was actually yesterday.  I am using a set of dies from Globleland featuring a frame of books and which also has an open book which I have amalgamated into the frame and which I am using for the first time.  I am also using a set of dies from Spellbinders called Balloons and Birthday Wishes and which I am also using for the first time.  I have also used paper from a pad bought from The Range, and an embossing folder from Creative Expressions which I have had for ages.

I started with a piece of blue card and embossed it using the folder and cut it to fit a 6" square card, and then I cut the book frame from silver mirri card and I removed a section of the books from the bottom of the frame and then backed this with a piece of lighter blue card and added the open book to the gap at the bottom of the frame raised up a little with a piece of  3D foam tape behind it and added this to the card.  I then die cut the balloons from white card and the strings from the same card as I used for the embossed background.  I found an appropriate piece of paper from the pad which has the look of alcohol inking in shades of blue and I used different parts of the sheet to get a variety of looks for the four balloons and cut and adhered them to the white ones.  I then heat embossed them using Versamark and WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and did this twice to build up the shine, and I added a string to each and added them one at a time using bits of the foam tape behind them to make a nice bunch and cut the string to fit behind the frame at the bottom.  I finished by adding the birthday sentiment in white which I cut twice to give it more rigidity...there are a set of sentiment plates which you can add then onto, but this time I just added them without, and then finished with the white numbers on the balloon. 

On the face of it seems a very straight forward card, but I had left it rather late making it as I at first was not sure what to do but I settled on the book frame because he does love to read and I thought the balloons and sentiment sat over it nicely and were a fun look.  I had put it together and was adding the sentiment and somehow glue go spattered onto it and the air was blue, but luckily I wiped it off immediately and it didn't mark..phew!!  Our son wanted to do something special for this milestone birthday and so has arranged a lovely venue and we have some family and friends coming along in a week's time to have a lovely lunch.  It is a very old manor house with a barn in the grounds which we have the use of, and we have someone to cater, so all we need is a nice day so we can sit outside in the grounds and enjoy the lovely surroundings, and Stewart has now arrived from Australia and is here until the end of the month which is great. 

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 827 For A Child/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Emboss It.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/In The Sky.

NBUS Challenge - No. 76 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Two Little Wrens

Hi all.  I have made an anniversary card for my hubby featuring a die of a little wren which came with Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady Magazine Box Kit No. 1.  I cut two sitting on a leafy branch and placed them over a slatted heart die from Craft Addictions being used for the first time, although I have had it for a while...tut tut! It was our 43rd on Thursday, and I can't believe that we've been married that long..maybe hubby might think differently..lol.     

I cut the heart which can be used just to cut into the card but also cut out with the added outer die..it also has a stitched frame which impresses the pattern but doesn't cut but can be added to the mix.  I also added a piece of red card behind the slats.  I then cut the birds twice, once from red and again from white and shaded the red one a little with a red alcohol marker, and the white one with pencil though this doesn't show in the photo really, and also cut the branch and some leaves from the red card..all using snippets.  I added the heart to a 6" square white card, just a little above the centre, and arranged the birds on the branch and added the leaves.  I then decided to add a couple of clusters of little white hearts each side of the central heart and finished with a red sentiment using a mixture of Versafine Satin Red and Crimson.  I used my stamp positioner and just added each colour until I was happy that it went with the red card I used.

Just as an aside.  The Craft Addictions Hearts die set (it has two duplicate heart sets) which I got soon after they started doing dies and I found that some of the metal pieces that hold the dies together were impossible to totally remove as they were in a curve at the top and bottom of the die which made them impossible to get at with the pliers I have, and I cannot used the stitched aspect of the die because the little bits of metal leave marks/holes in the paper after running it through my machine.  I just wondered if anyone else had problems and has managed to remove these with snips/pliers and could recommend some that would work.  I believe that since this first run they have rectified the problem which is good.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

CAS on Friday Challenge - No. 312 Botanical (the birds are on a leafy branch..hope this counts).

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - July'25 Anything CAS Goes/Beachy.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 509 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  (I have used snippets of white and red card throughout).

Cut It Up Challenge - No. 333 Critters.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 827 For A Child/Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge No. 76 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Color Hues Challenge - No. 113 Red and White.