Saturday 31 December 2016

Happy New Year

Hello, as we approach the end of 2016, a brand new year full of possibilities is about to start, I don't know about you, but I always associate fireworks with 1st of January and I have a couple of seemingly unlikely stamp sets that will give a lovely effect.

The first one is my Xmas favourite, Star of Light and the other is the small round stamp from Balloon Celebrations. I did this technique on a first birthday card. The brief was "fireworks" as the little girl arrived on the 5th November. Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of the finished card.

The ink technique I want to show you is called Joseph's Coat. First of all I "splodged" random blocks of colour onto white card using my inkpads and sponge daubers. The next step is to stamp an image using Versamark, then heat emboss it using clear gloss embossing powder.

Splodging - a great technical term - ink over the paper and embossing
powder on a Versamak stamped image

Once heated it (obviously) goes clear. I hope you can see it on the picture below. At this stage I tend to go very carefully, stamping and embossing a little at a time, repeating as required to build up the image as I find it quite difficult to see.

Once heated the embossing powder melts to a clear finish

For the next stage you really need to be quite brave and not mind inky fingers! Certainly not a task to undertake prior to attending an important event.















This works best with a dark ink sponged over the entire paper quite liberally. All of the colours need covering well. Again it's best to keep going over the paper, building up the colour bit by bit. It can take a while to complete, particularly if you have used bright colours.

The final step to this technique is to take a piece of kitchen roll and buff the paper. The dark ink doesn't adhere to the embossed images leaving splashes of colour behind, all ready to use on a card base.




Tuesday 27 December 2016

Merry Christmouse to one and all

Hello, it's Christmas Day and while I'm waiting for lunch to cook I thought I'd have a little play with the Merry Mice stamp set. My son pointed out that if they were real mice, I'd run a mile, which is probably quite true. These are so cute that I can't choose a favourite.


This set is from the Autumn/Winter catalogue and will be discontinued on 3rd January. At the moment it's still available and has been reduced in price, so if you want it and at a bargain price, please be quick as you only have a few days to place your order.


I chose to use a pastel palette, inspiration taken from the colours of the Fancy Frost Sequins, certainly not the usual colour choice for Christmas.


First of all I stamped the image onto watercolour paper and coloured the mouse in using the inkpads and a blender pen. For the sky, I used Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise and Night of Navy, this time using an Aqua Painter to get a soft wash. Tip Top Taupe completed the ground.

I then chose an oval die to cut out the mouse and mounted it onto a slightly larger oval in Sweet Sugarplum from the latest In colour range.


 Once again the Softly Falling embossing folder came into use - perfect for this time of year. The Merry Christmouse sentiment was stamped directly onto the white card before it was mounted onto the base card. After I'd added the ovals it struck me that a die cut star wouldn't look out of place. It also balances the sentiment.


One of the Starlight Thinlit dies was cut from White Glimmer paper for added sparkle. I think you can just about see the sparkle on the photo. And finally the card was completed with the addition of some sequins for a little bling. Louise, who I see at Coffee and Cards sessions would be proud of me! She loves to add bling to her cards, you can never have too much apparently.



 As always, a little decoration inside the card and on the envelope to make it stand out from the crowd






Friday 23 December 2016

How many Xmas cards do I need??

Hello, thanks for stopping by. I can't believe on Christmas Eve I'm still making cards for the holiday season. I am really enjoying making them so I've started on my stash for 2017; how's that for forward planning? No getting caught off guard this next year for me.

This time I'm sharing a shaker card. Susan of Craftyduckydoodah showed me this easy way of making them at one of her Coffee and Card sessions. I've used mainly SU products although I confess the church stamp is one I've had for several years and is not made by Stampin Up. I chose Night of Navy and White with silver accents for a fresh look.


 I've used dies from several sets to create the bauble card so my shopping list might seem excessive this time. Those of you that know me, are aware I like to get value for money so this time, in my defence, I was trying to think outside the box. The bauble is actually just a round die with the top taken from the Delicate Ornament Thinlits. The bow is from Everyday Jar Thinlit dies although I could have used the bow as well as the sentiment fromWonderful Wreath Framelits. The Softly Falling embossing folder added some texture and just made the whole scene feel a little more Wintry



The band of Silver Glimmer Paper and die cut sentiment complete the look. Please look out for other cards based on the bauble theme; I intend to make a variety of them.










Sunday 18 December 2016

Men Going Global

Hello, do you find it more difficult to make cards for men? I certainly do! I'm lucky in that when I first discovered SU through a Coffee and Cards group, the stamp set used that afternoon was Going Global; it was one of the first SU stamp sets I ever bought and seems such a long time ago now.


I chose to use light colours and Pool Party and Crumb Cake seemed to tick the right boxes. I teamed them up with some balsa wood, bought from my local model shop. I know that might appear to be an odd choice, but using a thin gauge balsa definitely adds to the effect and it can be coloured using the inkpads and a sponge or dauber. It cuts very easily and can even go through the Big Shot too.

I decided to use the compass from the set as the feature whilst by using the same colour ink as cardstock, the Ursa Major constellation formed a quite subtle background.


I didn't want a "fussy" card so put a band of Mint Macaron ribbon around and then wound some Linen Thread around my fingers before placing behind the compass. To complete the look I used a simple sentiment and 3 Perfect Accents, strategically placed. Did you know that the White Perfect Accents can be coloured using Promarkers? This makes them so handy to keep in stock!



Sunday 11 December 2016

From Circles to Baubles

Hello again, Christmas is rapidly approaching isn't it. I hope preparations are well in hand, unlike mine this year. Its going to be a last minute rush again. Will I never learn.

The card I'm sharing today is made to look like a bauble, using a circle I confess, the image I coloured in is not SU, it's by Penny Black - and so like my cat, Star. I haven't put the tree up this year as she has a habit of climbing up curtains, plants etc. I can imagine I'd come home to a real Star on top of the tree each evening.


I'm not going to write a set of instructions today. There are many tutorials on You Tube for shaker cards that can be followed and indeed, several different ways of making them. I love this style of card, they look more complicated than they actually are but one piece of advice I will give is add the flakes before sealing...
 ...I'm sure you can guess what I've done in the past.!




Sunday 4 December 2016

From the Herd for a Little Monkey

Hello, goodness hasn't this year just flown by. It seems like it was only yesterday that I was anticipating the arrival of my first grandchild, yet now I'm making her first birthday card! Emily arrived on the 7th Dec, her mum, my eldest daughter Abigail, delivered her on her own whilst her partner was downstairs watching football. I'm sure it wasn't planned that way, but you know how the best laid plans can go awry!


As soon as I saw a retired stamp set called From the Herd, I knew I had to get it. I'm not sure what it is about this set but I love it... and it can still be found on various selling sites. I have the Hardwood background stamp that goes perfectly with this set

At this point I must thank Connie Lindsey as I CASE'd her design that I found on Pinterest, tweaking it just a little to suit. Cutting out the animals is a little fiddly but well worth it in the end. I did try to isolate each animal in turn to stamp directly onto the card, however it became obvious that it would take me far longer to complete; I will need to brush up on my skills in the future.