Saturday 28 January 2017

Happy New Home

Hello again, do you ever have to just sketch an idea for a card that pops into your head? Well, I was so grateful I keep a pen and notepad by my bed as the other night I woke with the following design rattling around my head. I knew if I didn't commit it to paper, I'd have forgotton by morning.


For some reason I've wanted to make a 'new home' card for a while....

...I'd also wanted to use the fish coming out of a jar from Jar of Love. It seemed a tad symbolic; I remember exactly how I felt after I moved into my own home over 6 years ago after staying with friends for a few months. I couldn't believe just how much space I had after carting most of my belongings around in the car.


It struck me that by using the Swirly Scribbles Thinlit dies I could create the effect of the sea and sun. I love the freshness of the colours and, silly as it seems, that the little fish are no longer cooped up in that tiny jar.  It really was a match made in heaven! All it needs now is a recipient with a new home of their own.




Saturday 21 January 2017

Quick Tip no 1

Hello again, Just a very quick tip which is why I'm posting twice this weekend. Do you ever want to use a basic die shape - circle, square, oval etc but not have the whole image stamped within that shape? Well, this morning that is exactly the effect I wanted. Could I just get straight on and do it?

The effect I wanted, isn't it cute

Oh no, it took me a while thinking exactly what to do! In the end I had to stamp my image and get the die, in this case a circle, so I could visualise it. This is so easy though in reality, I must have had brain freeze this morning.

Once you've stamped your image and chosen the die that best fits, fussy cut around the part you want to stand out of your shape. in this case the balloon was the obvious part to me. Then, slip the die through with the balloon on top of the die so that it isn't cut. This takes a little adjusting to get it exactly where you want. Once you're happy with the placement, run through your die cutter. See image below,


I think the finished cut looks rather effective. I hope you like it too. Now on to turn this into a card. Keep an eye out, this little elphant might just make an appearance again.

Be My Valentine

Hello again, goodness 2017 is already off to a flying start. With Valentines Day on 14th February and Mother's Day hot on the heels in March, the 26th to be precise there are plenty of opportunities to get creative. I also have a family birthday, the day before Valentines Day when my eldest, my son Adam, will be 27.

For today though, I thought I'd best concentrate on Valentines Day cards. I don't know about you, but I much prefer clean simple lines - even humorous - but most definitely not soppy and slushy.

For today's card I took inspiration from Becky at Scrappin and Stampin in GJ after I found her card on Pinterest, so thank you Becky, I hope you like what I've done with your original idea.

Becky's Card

For my card I used Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake and Whisper White. My card base was Cherry Cobbler; red, the colour of love...
                           ...and passion, desire, strength and power! 


I used Crumb Cake on the splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge and randomly placed on the upper part of a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I then wrapped some Linen thread around and tied a bow.


For the next step I used 2 of the heart stamps from Hello Love, now discontinued. I managed to fussy cut both hearts (I'm really not a lover of having to fussy cut!), sticking one directly onto the white card while the other was raised slightly by using a couple of dimensionals.


A very simple sentiment, with love - not by Stampin Up - balanced the card. I also thought that 3 of the soft gold sequins from Fancy Frost Sequins would add just a little understated bling. As I'm sure you know, whenever adding embellishments like sequins, pearls or gems it's better to use an odd number, just like you would when putting plants in the garden.

The inside of the card and envelope had a little decoration




Saturday 14 January 2017

All things Floral

Hello, it's back to normality after the excesses for Xmas and the new year. You would think after using a particular stamp set and corresponding dies to create wedding stationery for a friend I'd want a break from seeing it again for a while, wouldn't you?

The problem is that it is so versatile that after just a few days away, it found its way back on to my craft table. I really think that the Floral Phrases bundle is my favourite of the annual catalogue at the moment. It just looks so elegant and is perfect for so many occasions.


This is really quick and effective, so handy if you need a card in a hurry and I confess, CASE'd from Dianne Keough. I started by using sponge daubers to put colour onto a piece of white card in diagonal lines. A very light touch is needed when using the daubers. Remember, more colour can be built up but once on the paper, it's there to stay; you can't remove it if you have added too much. I then took another piece of card and used the Detailed Floral Thinlit dies. Once mounted, you get a very soft coloured effect showing through the pattern. A sentiment was stamped in the white space, bakers twine wrapped around with a bow and then it was put onto the base card.






Saturday 7 January 2017

The Best Is Yet To Come...

Hello, I was talking to a friend about where she gets her ideas from recently. We concluded that Pinterest can kickstart the process, as can everyday objects.

For me, with this card, inspiration struck while I was watching The 50 Greatest Harry Potter moments. The Sorting Hat scene came up from the first film and I just knew in an instant that I had to make a HP themed card. Quite handy really as my youngest daughter is HP mad...


I was really lucky that I had the Boo To You framelits, which has a witches hat amongst the dies, sadly now discontinued. I also bought the Star of Light bundle from this years Autum/Winter catalogue. The swirl and stars are perfect for creating the illusion of a little magic.


After a little research, I watercoloured that hat using a combination of Early Espresso, Chocolate Chip and Soft Suede, building up the colour.


The flourish, stars and sentiment were stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder, giving a reasonably subtle effect. To bring out the gold, I mounted the Early Espresso onto Gold Foil. The card was completed with a flourish to the inside and also on the envelope.