Wednesday 28 March 2018

Celebrate

One of my son's friends was getting married recently,
which of course means, having a card to go with a gift.
I don't often make wedding cards, so for inspiration I looked at Pinterest.



As luck would have it, I had recently acquired a 'bow tie' die
which was just what was needed for this card.



As the die has little polka dot holes in it,  I cut coloured paper to fit in behind each one.


'celebrate' is also a die,
I just wish that it was all connected instead of being in four parts
as it would have made centreing it much easier!
The white front of the card is glitter paper, matted onto black shimmer card,
then on lime/yellow shimmer and finally a blue shimmer.
It was all put onto a white card.

Dies
Crafts 4 U : Bow Tie
Crafts 4 U : Stitched Rectangles 
Paper Smooches : Birthday Words

 Happy Crafting!


Monday 26 March 2018

Effloresce!

It was my aunt's 86th birthday last week,
 and although I knew I would be having morning tea with her a couple of days later,
 I always think it's lovely to receive something in the mail on your special day.




I stamped the design in 'jet black' Archival Ink
and coloured it with pencils.

I went around the edges with 'broken china' Distress Ink to give it a border,
and adhered it to folded A5 white card.

Stamps
Aall & Create - #43

I popped an insert inside with a stamped birthday sentiment
as I always think it adds a touch of class.

My aunt was treated to a high tea by her family
and from what I heard, had a wonderful day!

Happy Crafting!
  


Saturday 24 March 2018

Dragon Wishes

Good morning,
following on from yesterday's post ......



..... who wouldn't like this cute dragon bringing you birthday wishes?

Starting with the background, I smooshed white card through a mix of
'broken china', 'wilted violet' and 'twisted citron'  Distress Oxide inks.

While this was drying, I set to work colouring the dragon using co-ordinating
Kaisercraft pencils in 'seabreeze', 'peacock', 'lavender' and 'violet',
finishing off with a silver metallic on the claws.
To blend the colours I used Gamsol with a paper stump.

I stamped the sentiment in 'jet black' Archival Ink,
added a piece of washi tape across the bottom
and popped the dragon onto foam dimensionals.
Although you can't see it, I added Wink of Stella to the wings for extra shimmer.
A black mat and folded card .... and it's finished!

Stamps
Eclectic Images - Dragon Please
Stampendous - Birthday Wish


Challenge


Friday 23 March 2018

The day we celebrate you ...

March seems to be a very popular month for birthdays,
but any excuse to make a card is fine with me!



I started by stamping and colouring this sweet little girl,
then fussy cut her and popped her onto foam dimensionals.

If you look at past blog posts, you will have noticed that I've been having fun
making backgrounds from smooshing card through Distress Oxide inks.
This background is a leftover piece of card that was sitting on my desk 
waiting for the perfect stamp (or in this case, girl),
to come along.

I stamped the quote, layered the background onto a black mat 
and attached it to a folded white card.

The sweet little girl almost looks like she is standing in front of a painting
in an art gallery - I wonder what she's thinking?

Stamps
Stampendous - Birthday Wish
Santoro - Little Heart (No. 57)
I'll be back again soon with another card from another birthday .....

Happy Crafting!
   

Thursday 22 March 2018

Congratulations

Gosh, March is certainly a busy month, 
what with birthdays and engagements etc.,
and it isn't the end of the month yet!

 #1 son recently announced his engagement 
so I put my thinking cap on and created this ...



I used the same die cut and embossing folder as a couple of posts ago
 mounting it on foam tape to give it some height with the glitter card behind.



I cut the couple from black card along with congratulations
and glued them into place.

The card looked a little bare on the top, so to give it some balance
and another splash of colour, I die cut some butterflies from the glitter card.

I was reasonably happy with how it turned out, although my DH thought the couple were too dark.  I'm not sure what other colour would have worked and as I was running out of time, 
I left it as you see it.

Materials
Crafts 4 U : Die Cut & Emboss Ornate Heart
Crafts 4 U : Romantic Die
Stampin' Up! : Butterflies Embosslits
Paper Roses : Congratulations Die 
Glitter Card
Knight White Smooth Card

Thanks for looking and if you would like to leave a comment, please do!

Happy Crafting!
  



Monday 19 March 2018

Early Morning


Today I'm back with my third project
as part of the Catchy Crafts Creative Team.



Cut a piece of ivory card 120mm x 120mm and starting with'fossilized amber', blend over the entire card.  Next blend 'spiced marmalade' through the sunbeam stencil and continue over the 'fossilized amber'.  Starting at the bottom and working your way up, blend 'worn lipstick' until it merges with the 'spiced marmalade'.  Again starting at the bottom, blend 'fired brick' about a quarter of the way up until you're happy with the depth of colour.  Finish with a final layer of 'fossilized amber', blending all the colours seamlessly.



From black card and using the Dies, cut two sets of 'lavender stems' 
and various birds from the 'birdcage' die.  When I was happy with the arrangement, they were glued into place.



Mat the card front onto another piece of ivory, then a black mat and finally onto a folded ivory card.

Materials
Distress Oxide Inks - fossilized amber; spiced marmalade; worn lipstick; fired brick
Crafts 4 U - Die Cuts : Lavender Stems; Birdcage with Birds
Stencil - unknown
Card - Ivory; Black
Other - ZIG 2-way glue; double-sided tape; blending tools

To see what the other Creative Team members have been doing, please go to:


 
 and leave them a message.


I'll be back again before you know it, so until then ....

Happy Crafting!
  

Wednesday 14 March 2018

Love Bird


Today I would like to share with you
my second Craft Team project for Catchy Crafts.




I haven't come across a die like this one before, 
as it embosses and cuts at the same time - so easy!




After cutting and embossing this lovely heart, I mounted it onto gold glitter card
with foam tape to add more depth.
The glitter card was adhered to the folded card base with double-sided tape.




I painted the wooden bird and feather with 'Emperor's Gold' acrylic glaze
and once that had dried, I spritzed Cadence Shake & Gilt for added shimmer.

I arranged the flowers, feather and bird and once I was happy with the placement,
I glued them into place with Glossy Accents. 

Materials Used
Crafts 4 U - Die Cut and Emboss Ornate Heart
Crafts 4 U - Wooden Embellishments "Feathers"
Crafts 4 U - Glitter Card
Little Birdie Flowers - 'Argyle Lemon'
Cadence Shake & Gilt - 'Altin - Gold'
Silks Acrylic Glaze - 'Emperor's Gold'

Ivory card; foam tape; double-sided tape; glossy accents; cuttlebug

 You can find this card along with the other Creative Team members' projects at


Happy Crafting!
 

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Framed Elegance

I was recently offered a spot on the
Catchy Crafts Creative Team 
which I was most excited about, especially when a lovely box of goodies 
turned up at my door.

  "Framed Elegance" 
is the first of my projects to be published.
The thought behind this project, was to create a modern version
of a miniature portrait from 100 years ago. 

 


I cut the Medallion Frame from black card and again from bronze glitter paper, 
taking out the centre from the black, 
which allowed the glitter frame to sit snug within the black card. 


A narrow glitter border was added before adhering to another black mat.



I stamped up 'Les Chateaux de la Loire', coloured in the elegant girl,
cutting an oval shape around her [again with the Medallion Frame]
which allows her to sit perfectly within the glitter frame.


A smidgen of a co-ordinating Gelly Roll pen adds some shimmer to her bodice and tiara.

Materials
Crafts 4 U - Medallion Frame #10183
Crafts 4 U - Glitter Card
 
Stamps
Carabelle Studio - Les Chateaux de la Loire
 
You can see what the other Creative Team members have been creating here.

You can find all the materials to re-create this card at
Catchy Crafts
located in Hornsby, NSW
or go to the website www.catchycrafts.com.au

 Happy Crafting!
 

Saturday 3 March 2018

Something Fishy


And now for something completely different - FISH!
If you are wondering why this is completely different, 
I think these are the only fish stamps I own and when a challenge or swap 
involves fish, these two are the star attractions.



For the background, I started by smooshing white cardstock through Distress Oxide inks
in 'peeled paint' and 'broken china' which had been spritzed with water.
I'm quite intrigued by the unique patterns that this method creates.

I cut it down to an 8cm x 8cm square
and then decided I'd make concertina sides 
and an outside frame to match the background.




The fish are done in a similar way to the background, 
using 'worn lipstick' and 'fired brick', but this time using gloss cardstock.
Initially it looks a bit chalky but once I buffed it with a tissue, the colour really pops!
(I watched a youtube yesterday by Jennifer McGuire using this method.)

 Stamps
Designs by Ryn - Koi Fish Set

Challenge


 Happy Crafting!
 

Thursday 1 March 2018

From All of Us


One of my good friends recently had a special birthday,
so the girls took her out to dinner to help celebrate this happy event.
Of course, a card was in order ......


but in this instance, it was a book card.


It did take a little while to make ....


and I followed the rule of "measure twice - cut once" 
[actually, I think I may have measured more than twice, but it worked!]


The birthday sentiment fits perfectly within the frame.
 


Of course, there needs to be somewhere to write a personal message.

As this card was obviously not going to fit in an envelope, 
I made a box from pink card and tied it with a pretty ribbon.

As it turned out, the gift (which another girl organised) was tucked into a 
co-ordinating little bag of similar colours - perfect!

We all enjoyed a celebratory dinner together at a very nice french restaurant.

Paper
49 and Market - Scents of Nature

 Happy Crafting!