Eastern Moments

Hi everybody.  There has not been much posting lately as hubby and I have been away for over a couple of weeks up in Northumberland and I did manage to keep some commenting going, but I do apologise if I missed visiting a few people, and I did post up a couple of cards.  We went there for the first time about eight years ago, and have always wanted to return.  It is a nature lover's paradise, and we did enjoy it but the weather was very changeable with some rather cold winds a lot of the time, so relaxing on the beach or sitting enjoying the view somewhere was not the order of the day...lol, but that is the nature of holidays in the UK and it is quite far north, in fact we did get into Scotland.  We have been back for a few days but I have found it difficult to get myself into gear since but have managed to make this card using a magazine from Hunkydory...Premier Magazine No. 22 Eastern Moments, which I bought whilst away and this is the first time I have used this bamboo and flowers embossing folder and the bird die.  There are also a set of stamps and some papers and toppers which came with it too.  

I decided to make this a monochromatic card using a couple of shades of blue ink so I used a piece of white card and embossed the bamboo background and very lightly ink blended over the top using Salty Ocean Distress Ink.  I decided to just have a strip of it so cut it down a bit to fit this 6" square card.  I then die cut the bird and coloured it with the Salty Ocean DI plus a bit of Chipped Sapphire DI and I also used the same ink on the sentiment and just went round the edges of it with a bit of the Salty Ocean that was left on the brush just to take the whiteness off it.   Just a simple card really just to get me started again. 

Before I go here are a few photos.  Hubby is a keen photographer...there were quite a few to choose from..lol.

 

      Beadnell, where we stayed.

      Dunstanburgh Castle

     Budle Bay.. a favourite spot to see a sunset.

     Bamburgh Castle..late in the day as the sun was setting.

     The causeway to Holy Island.

     Holy Island from St. Mary's Church, the Priory ruin and the Castle.              

Jean Hardy who owns Crafty Individuals who many of you will know, often stays in Bamburgh, and whilst on Holy Island and sitting in a tea shop who should pass by but Jean (or her double) with her partner Malcolm.  I checked on Facebook and she had been staying there for a couple of days at that time so I'm sure it was her..what a coincidence!  Thought I might see her whilst walking around, but sadly not.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge - No. 64 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Stripes and/or Checks.
Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - Anything Goes/Use A Heart (congratulations on your 1st Anniversary).
Allsorts Challenge - Week 790 Flowers/Anything Goes.

Triple B Challenge - July '24 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (use one or all).

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 263 Nature.

This month over at Group of Seven Cardmakers they are showcasing the Monochromatic design element, and I am joining in with this card.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set for herself but anyone can join in.  This is Week 3: 'E' for Embossing Wet/Dry

Sail Away

Hi everybody.  It's hubby's birthday and I made him a card with a little yacht die bought at The Range a long time ago but never used and having seen a card in this sort of style on Pinterest, which I now can't find at all, I thought that the die would work as a substitute 'A' in the 'Happy'.  I decided to add the background using a stencil by Sweet Dixie called Splash.

                              

I started with a piece of white card cut to fit a 5" x 7" card and ink blended through the stencil with a brush using Salty Ocean Distress Ink.  I decided to add a horizon line..it is there but doesn't really show in the photo, and then darkened the stencilling on the bottom half before adding the white die cut letters which I double layered.  I also double layered the yacht, but before doing so I coloured the hull of the boat using a red alcohol pen.  I finished by adding the 'birthday' stamped with Versafine Majestic Blue Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then added the little birds and some ripples under the hull of the boat using a Docrafts set of permanent markers in a blue which was similar to the ink for the sentiment, and I also added a bit of white gel pen for the tops of the waves.  I also shaded under the letters and the boat with one of my Lyra Pencils and also went over the letters and the boat with a Wink of Stella Clear Pen.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge - No. 64 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 262 Summer.

Stencil Fun Challenge - July '24 Anything Goes/Shades of Blue. 

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. which is a challenge she has set herself but has said that anyone is welcome to join in.  This is Week 2: Dies.

Embossed Heart Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I know this follows hot on the heels of the last which was also an anniversary card but today is our 42nd anniversary so this had to be the day for showing this card which I made for hubby.  I used a Lil'Iinkers heart word die and a Sheena Douglass Texture Embossing Folder called Distress.   I also used my set of Sweet Dixie Heart Dies. 

I have some glitter washi tape which I bought quite a while back at The Range and decided to cut the heart word die with this using the dark grey/black colour, so I stuck it to a piece of card and cut the words out and added them to the heart die cut.  I had been having a play with a technique I have used a couple of times before using embossing powders enclosed within a piece of baking parchment and heated up and then using a pouncing motion keeping the heat tool moving over the top of the parchment you get the most lovely swirly pattern.  I used some glitter EPs in red, silver and white and it was quite thin so I put one of the heart dies over the top and followed the shape cutting with some scissors.  Little bits do fall off but it has a fairly good heart shape.  I finished by adding some silver Pebeo wax over the surface texture of the background dry embossing before adding it to a white square card, and then I added the word heart and the heat embossed heart over the top.  I decided not to add any more words on the front as I think that the heart words say it all.    

If you would like more information on the embossed pouncing technique, you will find a video by Marian Emberson here.  Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenge:

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

Allsorts Challenge - Week 787 Way to Grow/Anything Goes.

Lots of Hearts

Hi everyone.  I have an anniversary card today featuring Creative Expressions Entwined Hearts, and a heart die from the Sue Wilson Heart of Hearts die set, and the little hearts was the smallest die from Sweet Dixie set.  I also used a stencil from a set bought at The Range quite a while ago.

                                    

I started with a piece of card 51/2" square and decided to use three colours for the background stencilling - Distress Inks in Shaded Lilac, Scattered Straw and also an Adirondack ink called Pink Sherbet.  When adding random inks I often pick three places around the card for each colour which is what I did...the third area of Shaded Lilac is under the central heart.  I then cut the piece up into 8 pieces, vertically and  horizontally, and also from corner to corner, and I glued all the pieces down onto another piece of card the same size.  I cut out the very middle of the heart design of the Entwined Hearts which is part of a larger heart, and which just cuts into the card, so I fussy cut it out, a bit fiddly but it worked OK.  I then cut a larger similar shaped heart using a die which came with the Heart of Hearts set and coloured it with the pink ink and added it behind the ornate smaller heart.  I cut the tiny hearts using the smallest die from a set of nested hearts by Sweet Dixie, and I coloured them to match whatever colour was behind them and it worked out quite well with no two colours the same next to each other - alternate pink and yellow, with two opposite corners with the lilac, placing them on the cut lines, and etched a line down the centre of each glueing just the centre of each heart to the card so that it would curve up for more dimension.  Finally I cut a strip of card for the sentiment and placed it across the central heart.  I found the Pink Sherbet was too pale so I used Picked Raspberry DI and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 787 Way to Grow/anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes (my favourite thing are die cutting and stencils.

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

 

Sunflower and Honey Bees

Hi everyone.  I have a card today made using a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Honey Bee and this is the first time I have used it although I have had it for quite a while.  The card is for someone who is very fond of sunflowers and so I thought this would be appropriate, albeit it has the honey bees on it, and I also decided to use the honeycomb as a background.

                                         

I stamped the sunflower onto a piece of white card and stamped it using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and watercoloured it with Distress Inks in Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade for the petals and I used some on the bees too, and I coloured the centre with some Black Soot, but thought that it would look better in a brown so then went over it with Brushed Corduroy.  I then cut it out leaving a small white margin around the edges which made it easier to cut around the bee.  I then stamped the background honeycomb twice using Vintage Photo DI and added some Brushed Corduroy DI to fill it in.  I also went over the bees on the honeycomb using a fine Black Micron Pen to darken then up and then added the Mustard Seed on the stripes and a bit of shading on the wings with a pencil before adding some Clear Wink of Stella to them. As an afterthought I also added a touch of Spiced Marmalade to the yellow stripes.  I finished with the sentiment stamped with the Nocturne Ink and heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and I ink blended around the honeycomb background with some Tumbled Glass DI.  

I had been watching a Jennifer McGuire video where she showed a way of raising up an image using a strip of card scored with three lines, about a quarter of an inch apart, and then a flat section and three lines the other side, and creased with a mountain fold each side of the centre and then a valley and a mountain on each side which should give you a concertina effect and you just attach the flat area to the back of the image you want to give dimension to, and the very bottom panel of the concertina section on either side to the surface you are attaching it to.  It works well and it just presses flat in an envelope and pops back up when taken out, so I did this to the flower and you can see it sits well proud of the card.  You can of course adapt the size to fit whatever you like.  I would post the link but I think it was part of a video and I can't seem to find it again now.  If I do find it I will add the link in.....further to this Val at Aquarius found me the link to Jennifer McGuire's video, and if you scroll down you will find it in the comments.  The actual style of 'pop up' I used comes at about 15.50 mts.  Thank you Val!

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

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - June '24 Fabulous Florals/Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - June '24 Anything Goes/Mood Board.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - My Favourite Things (sunflowers and bees - I love honey!)
Allsorts Challenge - Week 786 Blooms, Bees and Butterflies.
NBUS Challenge - No. 63 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 has said that anyone is welcome to join in.  This is Week 4: Anything Goes.

Simply Sweet

Hi everybody.  I have a card today using an embossing folder by Crafter's Companion called Simply Sweet which I got as a prize, and this is it's first outing.   I also used a little bird which came with a die set I also won but quite a while ago and it's a Marianne Creatable die set called Petra's Square with Bird and Nest, and I have used the frame die before but not the little bird.

I started by embossing the folder using a piece of mid blue card and I highlighted the design using a Brilliance Moonlight White Ink by running the pad across the embossing but not pressing down too hard.  It works better I think doing lots of passes up and down and side to side in order to build the colour up without transferring the ink to the background.  I then dried it with my heat tool and cut it down a little as the edges were not very neat, and added it to a 5" x 7"white card.  I then cut the little bird three times and put two of them together and with the third I cut out the wing and the head to add over the top for a bit of dimension.  I coloured the main piece all over and the wing and head separately as I wasn't totally sure I would use the extra pieces, but in the end I decided to do so.  I put it together using a bit of Pinflair Glue gel to attach these pieces.  I finished by stamping the sentiment onto a strip of white card using Versafine Majestic Blue Ink heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and placed it across the card just below the opening of the birdcage and then placed the bird right on the edge of the strip to finish.

Thank you for coming to visit me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

AAA Colourful Challenge - Colourboard No 5.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 62 Cute.
Triple B Challenge - June'24 Using one or more Birds, Butterflies and Blooms.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Emboss It.

NBUS Challenge - No. 63 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 3 'E' for Embossing Powder/Folders.

Peony Border Tri-fold

Hi everyone.  I have a tri-fold card today, the first time I have attempted one and may well be my last..lol.  I say this as I did have quite a few ups and downs with it, but I got there in the end.   I used a set of stamps and dies from Indigoblu which came free with a recent magazine - Mixed Media Box Kit 8 used for the first time here, and I dry embossed using a set of leaf dies bought in a sale at Craft Stash by Cardmaking Magic which unfortunately are not now available.  I watched a video by Jennifer Mcguire and I was taken with the look of the shaped front and you will find the video here.

You need two cards of the same size and mine are 5 3/4" square.  I decided where I was going to stamp the peonies on the front of the card and stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and then coloured the flowers using my alcohol pens.  I used my stamp positioner and decided to reink the stamp using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink which gave it a bit more punch.  I was going to use the corresponding die to partially cut around the outer edge of the flower stamping but I just could not get it to cut using my Sizzix Big Shot Plus machine, and it seemed impossible to get the sandwich right and I tried endless combinations but to no avail.  I think the fact that I had to set the top plate back so that it would only cut the first bit of the die made it more difficult.  I gave up and die cut around the flower with some small decoupage scissors, and to tidy the back of the front panel up as the pens do bleed through the card a bit, I die cut the whole die shape out, this time no problem in cutting it, and added it behind the flowers and it left a bit of a white border around the flowers..there were just a few areas where it wasn't even as I had cut it by hand, so I just tidied it up a bit with my decoupage scissors.  I finished the front by adding a sentiment from the set using the Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  The second card is glued together back to front with the first, and on what has become the under layer to the flowers I decided to add some leaves using a die and dry embossing it on the panel.  It is not a square die, actually 5" x 7", and there was a bit of a gap on the inside edge so I decided to cut around the leaves at the edge, and then I added a strip of white card under the leaves to give a nicely finished edge.  I then added a piece of paper as an insert for the sentiment on the base of the card which when closed is hidden behind the leaf layer, and the card was done.  

I found it a bit fiddly to make so I don't think I will be doing this again in a hurry.  Jennifer makes it look like a breeze, but mine felt more of a tornado..stress levels were definitely up...lol.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - June '24 Fabulous Florals/Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - June '24 Mood Board/Anything Goes.
Triple B Challenge- Use one of more of Birds, Butterflies & Blooms.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Bright and Cheerful.
Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - No. 17 Anything Floral Goes/Mood Board.
NBUS Challenge - No. 63 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 invites anyone to join in with.  This is June Week 2: Dies/Die Cuts.