Crafter's Companion Challenge November: Christmas / Winter

Hi all!

Here is my challenge entry for the Crafter's Companion Challenge November: Christmas / Winter.

I made a gift box for a Christmas present for my parents using numerous Crafter's Companion products.  The box measures 13" x 13" x 1 1/2".  Details of all products used are below the pictures.  I did the best I could but mirror card is hard to photograph!  I can't tell you what's inside in case my Mum reads this post!!!

I made the box using the Big Score A3 Scoring Board which is a fabulous product!  I used the new 16" x 16" Centura Pearl with it but unfortunately I cannot find this on their website at the moment.  I made the box lid and base using the 1 1/2" score lines and glued the flaps with Collall Tacky Glue.

I used the stunning Crafter's Companion Vintage A4 Embossing Snowflakes Folder (this looks like it's out of stock as I can't find it on the website) to emboss a sheet of matt silver card from my stash. I matted and layered this with Hunkydory Mirror Board - Silver and more Centura.  I used 3D foam under the base mirror card and under the Centura on the top layer.

I cut the largest  Spellbinders Shapeabilities Dimensional Snowflakes from Crafters Companion Fresh White - Luxury Double Sided Centura Pearl A4 Card.  I used this as the die is a cut, fold and tuck die so I wanted the same look on the folded pieces so I needed double sided.  After folding the relevant sections I then sprayed the whole snowflake with Crafters Companion Spray and Sparkle Pearl Diamond Glitter Varnish to give extra sparkle.  Using the tacky glue again I added some flat back pearls of differing sizes to the snowflake.  I adhered this to the mirror card in the middle with some more 3D foam.

I measured 1cm in from the edges of the lid and put a pencil dot on each 1cm all the way around.  I put tacky glue on the dots (no more than ten at a time so it wouldn't dry before I got to it) and then added a flat back pearl to each dot. I worked the whole way round - this only took 15 minutes and I think is well worth spending the time to do it.

I hope you like my box, I hope my parents do to at Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crafter's Companion October Challenge: Buttons or Bows

Crafter's Companion October Challenge: Buttons or Bows...I went for bows!

I made a bow for the box that I made with my new Big Score.  

This houses a poppy brooch made with cold porcelain paste from Craft-e-liza,

I used box base and box lid to make a simple box.  I made a poppy topper using the poppy digi stamp (which I resized) from Leann's Spectrum Noir Video Colouring Guide.  I coloured it with various Spectrum Noir pencils and blended with the blending solution.  I matted and layered using a spellbinders labels die and attached to the box with 3D foam.  I then edged the box with a red satin ribbon.

I made the brooch with the cold porcelain paste - this is my first go at using this medium.  I am pleased with how it has turned out as it's easier than it looks.  It's a lovely brooch for remembrance - I will be wearing it instead of a paper one this year, but of course, I'll still be putting some money in the collection tin.

Thanks for looking, I hope you like what I have made.

Spectrum Noir October Challenge: Use an embellishment

Here's my entry for the October Spectrum Noir Challenge.  

I have used a ribbon to embellish my design.  Everything needs embellishing but I think sometimes less is more, all I felt it needed was a ribbon.

I stamped a Sheena Douglass stamp: Floral Fantasy A5 Stamp Set - Violets onto the Crafter's Companion kraft card with Versamark.  I heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I used three purple tones and three green tones and my Spectrum Noir Pencils to colour the image.  I blended them by using the white over the,  top of each area as I coloured it.  I think I used 45,46 and 48 (greens from the nature set)  and 78, 80 and 82 (purples from the primaries set).

I used my perfect ayers tool to mat and layer on white card and Deep Purple Centura Pearl A4.  I used kraft card as the card base too which was an A4 sheet that I scored on my Ultimate Pro.  I added a purple satin ribbon as my embellishment as that was all I felt it needed.

Thanks for stopping by!

Clarity October Challenge: Seasons

Hi all!

Here's my contribution to the October Clarity Challenge.  I have chosen Autumn leaves as my inspiration for this candle.

I used a was a white IKEA pillar candle that cost about £1 and a glass IKEA candle dish which was about 30p.  

The Clarity stamp that I used was the small detailed one from Repositionable Leaf Set 1.  I stamped it in Versamark onto vellum which I had randomly coloured with a blending tool and distress inks: Barn Door, Wild Honey, Crushed Olive and Forest Green.  I then embossed with gold embossing powder.  I cut them all out and sprayed the reverse with Stick and Spray from Crafter's Companion.  I then attached them all to the candle facing different directions like they are falling from the tree.

I used alcohol inks in autumnal colours and gold to colour the glass dish.  I had some crushed glass pieces from IKEA but they were silver and did not coordinate.  I put some in a tin and shook them up with a few drops of caramel alcohol ink.  I then placed them around the edge of the candle and dish to coordinate.

I hope you like what I have made.  

Please feel free to leave me a comment.   

Thanks for looking!

So pleased!

Really pleased that I got 'Card of the Month' at Crafter's Companion's challenge for August!  I will be back in the next few days with more of what I have been up to recently.  I've got pics I just need to write up the posts!
Thanks for stopping by, see you soon!

September Crafter's Companion Challenge: Autumn

Here is my entry into the September Crafter's Companion Challenge: Autumn.

I used these Crafter's Companion products:

Sheena Douglass A Little Bit Sketchy Stamp Set - Autumn Leaves

Collall 3D Glue Gel

Pebeo Studio Acrylic 40 x 20ml Tubes

Luminarte Radiant Rain Pourables in oranges, browns and greens 

(no link as not on Crafter's Companion website at the moment)

Sheena's paint fusion brushes 

(no link as not on Crafter's Companion website at the moment)

The wreath was one I picked up from Ebay.  I wrapped some brown check gingham ribbon (from my stash) around the wreath and secured it on the back.  I then made a paper ribbon from some mustard coloured handmade paper ribbon (also from my stash).  I used the 3D glue gel to secure it at the top of the wreath. 

I made some backgrounds by sponging different colours of the pourables onto some mustard and green cardstock.  I dried this with my heatgun and then used Versamark to stamp and emboss the Sheena stamps with Cosmic Shimmer copper detail embossing powder.  I then spent some time cutting these out carefully.  I arranged the leaves and glued them onto the wreath to give them dimension with the 3D glue gel.  

I made the acorns out of Martha Stewart paper clay and a Martha Stewart acorn mould the day before and left them to dry.  I painted these with Pebeo acrylic paints and the paint fusion brushes - I love these brushes.

I hope that you like my wreath, I enjoyed making it!

Any comments will be well received - I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.

Many thanks and happy crafting!

Felt Beach Hut Bunting

Hi all,
Tonight I am posting the beach hut bunting that I made out of felt for my sister.  I made it as a present to take to her in Canada to remind her of home!

 I used felt from Corrine Lapierre's Multibuy Pack of 3 x 5 9 Inch Felt Sheets with FREE Beach Huts Pattern in the 'Summer' option  with white added from another kit.  The felt is such lovely quality as it's wool felt - not like the cheap stuff at all.  You get the pattern free with the felt which is a good deal.  I re-sized the pattern on my scanner to 85% and 75% with the full sized one in the middle and the smallest at either end.  On the smallest ones I just created one plank down the middle of the hut rather than the two on the larger ones.

This is my first go with felt and I really enjoyed it!  Good to sit in front of the telly and do as it isn't messy like papercrafting and you can do it on a lap tray.

Thanks for stopping by!

August's Crafter's Companion Challenge - All About School

So, cutting it fine to enter, but here's my entry for the August Challenge at Crafter's Companion - All About School.  I have made a set of three pencil pots which I have photographed with a few of my crafting items in.  They will however, be on my desk at school from Tuesday (I am a Teacher!)

I used this month's download: 'Crafting With Kids' from the Crafter's Companion website.  I printed it off onto Crafters Companion Satin Finish Printer Paper.  (I used the paper rather than Neenah card as paper is much easier to use to wrap the tins.)  It was all printed at 100% apart from the three words on the third tin which I copied and pasted into Word to make them bigger. 

I used three empty dog food tins which had the ring pull openers on them.  This means that there isn't a sharp edge like you get using a can opener!  I cut the papers to 9.8cm wide.  (An A4 sheet is big enough to get two strips to cover two tins.)  I wrapped Crafters Companion Red Liner Tape 6mm around the top and bottom of the tin and then went over it with a glue stick (this allows you some play to move the paper if needed.  It's then permanent when the glue stick dries.)  I covered all three tins like this with two different papers.

On the first tin I used the red spotty paper ribbon and the alphabet paper ribbon. I cut these out and then cut the red spotty one in half length ways.  I glued them onto the tin with the red spotty paper ribbon framing the alphabet one. 

On the second tin I made a rosette using Tim Holtz's 'Decorative Strip' die from Sizzix.  I used the other half of the stripy and dotty ribbon paper that I covered the tin in.  I then used a spotty purple button to finish it off with.  I tied some embroidery thread through the button before I stuck it down as I don't like to use buttons without thread through them as I always think it looks unfinished!  I used Collall 3D Glue Gel to stick the rosette together and onto the tin.

On the third tin I used the wide paper ribbon made up of six thin strips. I cut it into three so each section had two colours on it.  I wrapped these around the tin, evenly spacing them.  I mounted the words onto white with a 1/16" border using my Perfect Layer rulers.  I then stuck these onto the middle of each paper ribbon on the tin again using the Collall Glue Gel.

Finished!  

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you like them, if you do please feel free to leave a comment!

August's Clarity Challenge - Feminine

Hi all!  Not feeling overly inspired today being jet lagged post my return flight from Canada after going to see my sister who lives out there.  Nevertheless, I have attempted the Clarity Challenge this afternoon.  'Feminine' is the theme and I don't think I have any particularly feminine themed stamps from Clarity (although I have many other Clarity stamps!) I decided to use the  Love Is In The Air Clear Stamp Kit.

I used Theuva card and distress reinkers to make the background using the shaving foam technique that Barbara has demoed recently on her blog.  I used the Mountains and Hills Mask and the Moons Masks to section off the areas before applying the shaving foam.  I then stamped the little girl and the hearts foliage in black archival.  I added a couple of swallows from Remountable Birdhouse Garden Set Of Clear Stamps.

I matted and layered onto matt black card and then pink centura pearl.  I thought the pink gave it a more feminine edge!  I used my perfect layers to mat and layer - I love these tools and wouldn't be without them now - perfect everytime!

More Clarity Stencils

Hi all,

Here's a quick card that I made for my sister using the beautiful Chrysanthemum Stencil.

I used the 7x7 Gelli card and taped the stencil on with low tack masking tape.  I then used the Clarity stencil brushes and two distress inks: Fired Brick and Squeezed Lemonade.  I used the Fired Brick working out from the corner and working more heavily in the corner.  I worked to the middle of the flower and then introduced the Squeezed Lemonade from the outer edge of the petals and slightly over the middle area.  This gave a tonal effect to the flower.

I matted the piece after slightly trimming it down onto some matching glitter card.  I then layered it onto a white card blank.  I finally added white organza ribbon to the spine of the card.

Really pleased...

Really pleased...I made top 3 at the Crafter's Companion July Challenge! This was for the card in the post below.
For the other winners click here!  Congratulations to the others and everyone who took part.  I am currently thinking about what I will do for their August challenge!
I will be back later today with some new cards!  Bye for now!

Crafter's Companion July Challenge - 'Show off your sentiments'

Hi all, here's what I have made for the Crafter's Companion July Challenge -  'Show off your sentiments'.  It's the first time that I have entered their challenge but definitely won't be the last as I use so many of their wonderful products!
This is the best I could get the photo to look as mirror card is hard to photograph.  You can see some of the shine though, so you can see it's mirror card.  I did mat the sentiment onto the same mirror card as the embossing was done on, however you can't make it out that well!

I am pleased with the result as I challenged myself to use something different to what I would usually do - use mirror card.  I was inspired to do so from catching C&C the other day.  The Spellbinders lady: Kim Hupke did it with an embossing folder and it made the mirror card look stunning by sanding the emboss revealing the white underneath.  It makes such a difference as to my taste mirror card is a bit intense but for me this technique really worked.

Here's what I used from Crafter's Companion:

White 8 x 8 card blank

Vintage Christmas Collection A4 Embossing Folder - Softly Falling (Background embossing)

Sheena Douglass 5” x 7” Festive Embossing Folders - Ornamental Snowflakes (Foreground embossing)

Ebosser (To emboss my folders and cut the snowflakes.  Crafter's Companion don't have it in stock at the moment though)

Coredinations Sand It Gadget Tool and Coredinations Dust Buddy - cleaning cloth (To sand off the top of the mirror card and then wipe up the mess!)

Spray and Sparkle Pearl Diamond Glitter Varnish (To spray the snowflakes)

Vintage Christmas Collection A6 Sentimentals Rubber Stamp Set - Let It Snow (Let It Snow sentiment Stamp)

Sheena Douglass White Stamping Card A4 - Pack of 60 (I stamped the sentiment on this and also cut the snowflakes from it.)

Darice Embossing Powder - Silver (To heat emboss the sentiment)

Collall TACKY GLUE 100ml - Quick drying glue (To stick the pearls on the snowflakes)

Collall ALL-PURPOSE GLUE - 100ml (To glue my mats and layers)

In addition I used blue mirror card, silver matt card, white pearls in 3mm and 4mm sizes and Spellbinders Cut, Fold and Tuck Snowflakes.

Sanding the embossed snowflakes after embossing the mirror card is not difficult.  You just have to go lightly to start with. Make sure you are working on a flat surface - not over the edge of your mat - and hold the card flat/.  Use the block in a circular motion and you should be fine.

I hope you all like what I've made.  Thanks for stopping by!

Clarity Card using my favourite stamp!

I made this card for my Dad's birthday the other week.  His and my Aunt's birthday are a day apart.  I made her a very different one though as they have different tastes - my Dad isn't into Sue Wilson flowers!

It only took a few minutes to make but I think it looks effective.  The stencil brushes are wonderful, I love using them.  I'm also in love with this stamp, I love the fairy tale feel to it.

I used the following Clarity products:
Abstract Squares 2 Stencil, Boy and Birds Stamp (which currently comes with a free rooftops mask worth £3), Word Chain Set 3 Stamps, Cardpack for 6x6 Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate and their wonderful Stencil Brushes.
I used Adirondack ink pads in Meadow, Stonewashed and Butterscotch and Black Archival.

I taped the stencil with low tack masking tape onto the Gelli Plate card - it is the perfect size for the stencils as it's made to fit them.  I then used three different brushes to put the colours into the background for the sky and grass.  After lifting the stencil up I stamped the boy and words into place.  I then mounted onto black card (which I gutted first) and an 8" x 8" card blank.  

I hope you like it.  I'll be back with another one tomorrow!

12 x 12 Canvas Layout

Hi all!

Well, the last term at school has been mega busy and I've not stopped, hence no blogging!  I now have the summer off so I will be back regularly blogging!

I have just got back from a brilliant Clarity Stamp retreat in Crowborough with the lovely Barbara Gray.  There are more people going again in a week though, so I will hold off posting what we did until then as it wouldn't be fair to spoil it for the next cohort.

Today I am blogging a canvas that I did for a friend at work and his wife who have just had beautiful baby Esme.

I made the flowers and title using Centura Pearl.  The flower and leaf dies were from Tattered Lace and the letters are from a Cuttlebug alphabet.  The canvas was pink when I bought it so no need for painting - I got it from Hobbycraft years ago but it had just sat in my stash along with the three different papers that I used here which are Basic Grey Lilykate collection and are a few years old.  I used my Martha Stewart circle cutter to cut the circle for the middle piece and the Martha Stewart Circle Border Punch system with the doily punch cartridge that it came with.  I stitched through all of the buttons and knotted each one at the back with embroidery thread before sticking them on with silicone glue.  (I always think projects look unfinished when buttons are put on without being stitched.)
I was pleased with the end result and my colleague was really chuffed when I gave it to him.  I hope you all like it too.

I will be back tomorrow with more crafty bits to share!

Thanks for stopping by!

MDF Seaside Plaque with Sheena Douglass' Stamps

Hi everyone!

I'm off away to a conference for a couple of days so quickly sharing something this morning that I made at a Sheena workshop a little while ago - I hadn't blogged it and I thought I should share.

Before using MDF you must gesso the background.  The Pebeo gesso (in the link) is fabulous quality and inexpensive.  This isn't a step that should be skipped as MDF sucks in your paints if you don't gesso first! It dries quickly and then you lightly sand it with very fine grade sandpaper.  Sheena showed us a technique that I had not used before which was using distress inks with Pebeo Studio Matt Gel Medium.  For the sky I used  faded jeans, the greenery was pine needles and I think it was tea dye for the sand.  I splodged the inks on my non stick craft sheet, squirted a bit of the gel next to them and made paints to create a light washed looking background. After stamping the puffin, beach and birds with staz on, I then used the technique again to paint them in.  These stamps are from  Sheena Douglass A Little Bit Scenic Stamp Set - Sea Scapes.  I then inked the edges of the plaque with faded jeans distress ink and cut and dry foam. 

The shells were made by applying Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze - Set 7 randomly to the reverse side of a piece of Centura Pearl card.  I dusted over with an anti-static bag and then stamped all of the shells from Sheena Douglass A Little Bit Scenic Stamp Set - Sea Shells with Versamark.  I then heat embossed with an antique gold embossing powder.  The shells were then cut out - this took a little while but I don't mind cutting out!  I added the shells in a formation I liked by playing with them before sticking them down with sillicone glue.

The plaque was finished by tying a ribbon through the holes to allow it to hang.

I really loved making this project as I love the seaside and I love MDF as I think papercraft is more than making cards and scrapbook pages.  Home Decor is a great way to show off your work.

As I said earlier, I made this at one of Sheena's workshops, so I'm certainly not taking credit for the design as it is of course the wonderful Sheena's!  The workshops are great fun and you always learn lots.  She will be doing more in November time so it's worth popping over to her website to find out more nearer the time - I think they will be announced in the summer.  

Thanks for looking and enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Second of two posts today!!!

I needed to make a Get Well Soon card for a family friend today so I got my Card-io Majestix stamps out.  I love this range of peg and accent stamps as they make simple stunning cards quickly.   

Here's what I made.

I used the Oriental Blossom Stamp Set which is a must have item from their range as it has the fabulous branch in it which can be used with loads of their other sets.  The large dragonfly is from their Dragonfly Garden Stamp Set and the cluster of smaller dragonflies are from their Mum's Garden Stamp Set.  You put the stamps on the end of the see through pegs.

I used an Espresso Adirondack ink pad to stamp out the branches first.  The arc of the branch stamps into a circle brilliantly.  I stamp it at 12 o'clock and then stamp either side of it without re-inking with second and third generation ink, then the same at 6 o'clock, 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock.   I then add in any extra branches where it looks like it needs it.  It's surprising how easy it stamps into a circle.  I only had to do it on a piece of scrap once the first time I used them to master the technique.  I then stamped the leaf first with Meadow Adirondack and then with Sage Versacolour around the edges of the wreath.  I stamped the two different flowers in between with Heliotrope and Amethyst Versacolour.  I stamped out the sentiment  using a Whispers purple brush nib pen for the ink so it would match the lining that I was going to do for the edge framing with the thin nib.  The dragonflies were stamped with Atlantic Versacolour.  I stamped out a similar design on the flap of my envelope.  

I then used Magenta Stickles glitter glue on the middles of the flowers stamped in Amethyst and Lavender Stickles on the middles of the flowers stamped in Heliotrope on both the card and envelope.  I finally used Star Dust Stickles on the wings of all the dragonflies.

I hope you like!  I'd urge anyone to give these little stamps a go as they are easy to use even for a beginner!

First of two posts today: Fleathering!

So, I have got a bit addicted to this technique and I showed a picture frame that I made with it a few posts ago.  Today I can show you what I have made with two of Sheena Douglass' brand new embossing folders from her India range.  It is currently the 4 Day Deal on C & C here.  If you get it though, you must add the matching 6 stamp sets too!

I have taken the technique further though using Pebeo Gilding Wax and  Luminarte Silks.  I used Sheena's technique which you can find on You Tube here.  It has now been viewed over 17,000 times!  Lots of Chemists are selling out of glycerine!  The tutorial for adding in the pages to make a book (like my first picture) can be found here.

In the first picture I have made a finished book.  The second and third pictures show you the piece of 'fleather' that I have made and is awaiting being made into a book!  I need to buy some material to line it with later in the week.  

In Sheena's online tutorial she just uses distress inks to colour the Kraft Card and they therefore look very brown and leathery.  This is like the frame that I made a few posts ago.  What I have made goes a step further with paints and gilding wax.  The Distress Ink that I  used on both was Dusty Concord.  I then painted the images in with the Luminarte Silks.  After painting (the silks dry very quickly), I used Pebeo silver gilding wax to rub over.  You need the tiniest bit on your finger, I tap off the excess on my craft sheet and go back to it as needed.  After gilding I sprayed with Crafter's Companion Spray and Shine.  I love this product for getting a shiny finish: it takes seconds and no brush strokes - fabulous!

I got to use these two folders as a sneeky peek.  I cannot wait for my order to arrive from C&C so I can play with all of the other products.  

If you've been watching her today on C & C you will have seen her using glycerine to brayer onto embossing folders, emboss in the E Bosser and then use embossing powder over the glycerine.  It looked amazing and is one of her new techniques that I will be trying when my order arrives!

I hope you like what I have made.  Thanks for looking!

Decorative floral heart

I'm really pleased with this one and it hardly took any time at all!

I got the rattan heart from Hobbycraft a few weeks back - it only cost about 80p in a mulibuy.  The flowers were made with a collection of Tattered Lace dies that were a Pick of the Day a month or so back on C&C.  You can find the whole collection here on the Tattered Lace website.  

I cut the leaves from the Lavish Blooms Leaves set - they were the inside waste from two of the leaf dies.  I cut these from pale green cardstock that I had in my stash.  

I used pale yellow Centura pearl to cut the smallest die from the Lily set four times and the straight stamens from the stamen set twice.  This was enough to make the two smaller flowers.  To make each of the smaller flowers I used Sue Wilson's technique that you can find on the Creative Expressions site here.  Each one had just two layers so I just slit into the middle with the first layer and cut one petal out of the second layer.  I used Cosmic Shimmer Glue as it dries clear and quickly so you only have to hold for a few seconds.  As I rolled the stamens I put a small dollop of glue every few centimetres along the base to hold it together.  I then assembled the flowers.

To make the large flowers I used pale pink Centura Pearl cardstock.  I cut and embossed the filigree die from the Lavish Blooms Poppy four times as this one has four layers.  Using the same technique, I cut into the first one, cut one petal out of the second one, two petals out of the third and three petals out of the forth.  You have to be careful to line these ones up properly when gluing as the filigree is so detailed, this isn't tricky to do though!  I assembled the layers and glued a pearl into the middle of the completed flower.

I tied a messy bow to the loop at the top of the heart with some pale yellow organza ribbon that I had in my stash to match the yellow flowers.  I then glued the flowers on with silicone glue.  I glued the smaller yellow ones first and then the larger pink one to get some dimension with  the yellow ones behind.  I then tucked in the leaves where they looked right to frame the flowers - I just pushed them into the silicone glue.

I'm pleased with the look of this one and it was quick and easy to make eventhough it looks more complicated.  I often use inks with flowers but i felt that with the Centura this looked cleaner and more elegant plain.  I think it would make a great little inexpensive gift for a loved one.

Thanks for stopping by...please say 'Hi'!  

Another animal card - I love these stamps!

Here is my third creation with Sam Poole's animal stamps.  For this one I have used Nutkin Squirrel.

The base of my card is made from Centura Pearl brown cardstock.  I stamped Sam's Feathers A6 Rubber Stamp with Versamark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder on a piece of Centura Pearl hint of gold card stock.  At the same time I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed that too.  I stuck this on the brown card.  I then cut the largest die from Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator: Branching Out from some green pearlised cardstock that I had in my stash.  I layered this onto the feathers piece.  I used another piece of brown card to emboss with the tree bark embossing folder shown on my previous post with Hoot the Owl which I used gold gilding wax on.  I layered this on top of the die cut piece.  

I stamped Nutkin with brown Versafine and used clear embossing powder to heat emboss.  I painted him using a mixture of two of the new  Cosmic Shimmer pearl, bronze and gold paints.  I used Sepia Glossy Accents to make a 3D eye and when dry I added a black dot for his pupil on the top with a black Sharpie pen.  I was really pleased with how this worked.  I used foam pads to raise him up before attaching him to the card.

I made the three acorns out of Martha Stewart White Clay and the  Martha Stewart Woodland Molds.  The link takes you to Oyster Stamps where the clay and molds are really good prices.  I much prefer to use the white clay for everything and paint it rather than mixing the coloured clays into the white as I feel that the effect is much better.  I painted the acorns with Pebeo acrylics when they were air dry.  When the paint was dry I used Crafters Companion Spray and Shine High Gloss Varnish  to make them shiny.  

I cut some leaves out of three colours of felt with Tim Holtz's Sizzix Bigz Die - Tattered Leaves.  This is a great die and you can also get a matching embossing folder to use if you are cutting them from paper which is great.  I stuck the leaves to the bottom right hand corner of the card and stuck two acorns on the top and the third in Nutkin's hand.  

I cut the sentiment out into a flag shape and used 3D foam to give some dimension.

I hope you like!  Thanks for stopping by and saying 'Hi!'

Sam Poole's fantastic new animal stamps!

I've been having great fun with these new stamps from Sam Poole.  They are very reminiscent of children's book characters.  Being a child at heart myself, I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them!  You can find them on Sam's website: Hoot the Owl, Nutkin the Squirrel and Mr Bear.  Those are the three I have used in the cards that I will post today and tomorrow.  There is also a rabbit, fox and mouse that I need to play with next!  I need to buy the fox at Ally Pally tomorrow!!!

Here's my first card made with Hoot the Owl.

I used some lovely textured gold cardstock that I had in my SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy)! I embossed a sheet of brown Centura Pearl cardstock with Sheena Douglass' woodgrain embossing folder.  I then used gold gilding wax to bring out the grain.  I overlaid a leaves mask onto the green cardstock which is one of the That Special Touch Masks.  I used a Versamark inkpad through the mask and then gilded the leaves.  I used Sheena Douglass' branch stamp over the top and then painted it in with Pebeo acrylic brown paint.  I stamped the Owl and the sentiment in brown Versafine and embossed with detail clear embossing powder.  I painted in the owl with the fabulous brand new Cosmic Shimmer Shimmer paints which are fabulous.  (I have several of the Luminarte silks and wanted to try the new Cosmic Shimmer ones to see how they compare.  I am VERY impressed as they seem to be just as good but are a lot cheaper which is great!)  I cut him out and stuck his feet flat on the branch and 3d foam on his upper body to give some dimension.  I mounted the owl and sentiment on brown Centura Pearl and then added another layer of the gold behind the owl again.  I matted this onto the woodgrain background and then added some grosgrain and ricrac ribbons.  I made an embellishment with a button, some baker's twine and some more ribbons.

Here's my next card made with Mr Bear.

I used Spellbinders Grand Labels One to make my card base and the frame.  I cut the base out of Centura Pearl Brown twice.  I then scored in an inch down one side of one of the pieces to make a flap.  I glued this flap down to the other piece to make the card base. I then made a frame out of mink Centura Pearl.  I cut another piece of stamping card the same size as the outer size of the frame.  I stamped the tree background onto this and again onto another piece of stamping card with brown Versafine.  I then embossed the line with detail clear embossing powder.  I did the same on another piece with Mr Bear. 

I used a couple of different brown H2O colours to paint in the trees, making the tree at the front darker for more definition. When dry, I cut out the front tree from the second piece of card.  I used luminarte silks to paint in the grass by dabbing together two different green shades to give texture.  I then painted in the sky with blues.  To create the moon, I punched a circle of Hint of Silver Centura Pearl cardstock and stuck it down.  I added the front tree over the background trees using 3d foam.    I added a little bit of colour to Mr Bear with Spectrum Noirs EB1 and EB2.  I cut him out and mounted him with thicker 3d foam than I used on the trees to make him stand out more.  I then added some stars using silver Stickles.  I added the mink frame that I had made using 3d foam again (I like my 3d foam to add dimension, it really makes a difference to having flat elements).  

I used the leaf stamp from Sam's set: Woodland Seals to stamp into several molten layers of Cosmic Shimmer Ancient Copper Detail Emboss Powder.  I then used Golden Green Gilding Wax to rub over and bring out the leaf detail.  I made an embellishment with this, some baker's twine and some fab textured  handmade paper ribbons from my SABLE and a bit of Gold Tulle and stuck this on.

I hope that you like my creations and that you have a go at using these stamps as they are fabulous!  

I will be back tomorrow to blog my Nutkin Squirrel card when I get back from Ally Pally!

Thanks for stopping by...please say 'Hi!'

An Easter Tree!

I'm not really into fabric crafting, but I caught a Pinflair show on C&C before Christmas and ended up making some great Christmas baubles.  (Unfortunately these are now packed away for Christmas and I didn't photograph them, never mind... They will be back later in the year).  They have also brought out kits for Easter so I've had a go and am pleased with the result:

There are two types of decorations: Pastel Fabric Pinecones and Sequin Eggs.  The pinecone eggs make up really quickly - I sat and made them in front of the telly.  The smaller sequin ones take a bit longer and are a little bit more fiddly but not difficult.

I hope you like my Easter tree and that it inspires some of you to have a go!

I'll be back tomorrow with some cards that I have made using Sam Poole's new animal stamps that I am in love with!

Another post ... in the same day ... to catch up!!!

So here I am again, adding a few more recent pieces that I have been pleased with.  Here is a card that I made for my Sister's birthday using Sheena Douglass' Oriental stamps: here.  This was inspired by one of the video tutorials and involved stamping the cherry blossom stamps and embossing them on acetate then painting in the reverse using the Pebeo acrylics.  The background was made using Cut & Dry foam with Distress inks.  The coin was stamped into UTEE.  As I said, I cannot take credit for the general design as it's Sheena's but I was really pleased with how it came out as I had never used the acetate technique before!

Here's a thank you card that I made for my parents using Clarity Stamps.  The thank you stamp was from their New Designs Club a few months back but you can get it here now.  The Leafy Swirl stamps used for the background were an old classroom set and the Cat and Bird are from another classroom set.  

I stamped everything in Black Archival, matted and layered with black and burgundy card and used one of my favourites - an 8" scalloped card blank.  I die cut some flat flowers (a fussy 3D one wouldn't have worked with this design) and used an over sized brad in the middle.

I've also been fleathering!  Sheena Douglass is a genius to work out this technique with Glycerine.  You can see how to do it here.  It's been viewed over 16,000 times in a couple of months!  I used the technique to make this picture frame:

The picture frame was about 60p from IKEA which was a bargain!  I used Sheena's A4 Ivy Embossing Folder and Walnut Stain Distress Ink to create the technique. I then wrapped the frame in it using a strong PVA and red line tape to hold it down.  

I made the two corner embellishments using UTEE in my Melt Pot with Martha Stewart Antique Molds I gilded them with Pebeo Wax.  

I was really pleased with this frame, I just need to find an old sepia family photo to put in which I think would work well.

OK, I am off to play with some of Sam Poole's wonderful new woodland stamps now.  I'll be back tomorrow with some more creations!  I'm off work for two weeks so there will be quite a bit appearing.  I will then vow to blog at least once per week!  I hope you enjoy my ramblings!!!

Back on the blogging road!!!!

OK, so I didn't fulfill my New Year's Resolution in any way shape or form...never mind...that's what ends up happening with resolutions!

Anyway, here I am again.  I have taken photos of some of the things that I have done in the last few months and I'll put them on over the next few days, including a few tonight!

First of all is a card that I made to go with the Spellbinders blooms picture that I made using the same dies and cardstock (see details in the post below):

I used a scalloped 8" card blank and matted the piece onto glitter card.  With these blooms pieces I wanted to keep it clean and simple and so I didn't use inks on them. I wanted the leaves to have a bit of movement so I didn't fully glue them down.

Hi all, I have been very slack and not posted for ages.  So...New Year's resolution... blog at least twice a week!  Hopefully it'll last and I will post the new one tomorrow!
Happy New Year to everyone!