Black Lace

Something a bit different for today,a sample I made for the C&C VIP event.
The central part of the card was stamped and embossed using a black embossing powder with several different sizes of stamps from the same set. I stamped one of  the images on to red card and cut out and mounted onto the card with 3D foam. This made this part the focal point and made the card less flat looking,not keen on flat cards as you can tell from other cards on my blog.
I love any lacy looking stamps,I think it takes me back to my beginning in craft when I started to learn how to make pillow lace.With all the vintage feel to cards including Steampunk,lace has become very popular but it's not the same as hand made lace.It takes time and patience but the result is so worth while.I used to say I always had more patience to do lace than with the girls lol.......
The stamps came from a My Minds Eye kit if I remember right.
 I'm working through my samples for Sheena's next show on 9th February,she's keeping the DT very busy and there's rumours of another show very soon after.
So I think I need as much sleep as I can get.
Goodnight

Be Happy

Just a quick post tonight, this card was made using a wording stamp from Sheena's 4DD and some papers I had left from the VIP event on C&C.They seemed to fit together with the bee theme on both.Of course Spellbinders dies helped with the bonding.
Don't forget Kay(Hougie) is on C&C at 9am tomorrow (31st).I've just spent the afternoon with Kay making another sample for the show.
I believe she has some products from Andy's Crafts on the show also.

Always

For this card I used some salt and Luminarte daubers, a technique I've only used a few times before.It was one of those tidy up days,does not happen very often I can tell you. I came across a pot of salt, brought for this technique but put to one side to be done later.Then hidden behind different products  as other cards were made.
So I gave it a go, covered a piece of card with the luminartes in several colours allowing them to blend. Spraying with a fine mist of water to help this Sprinkled on the salt and left to dry.
Once dry I rubbed off the salt,and then cut up the card in 3 pieces and matted on to black card.
The flowers came from another piece of card which I just blended some of the daubers on.Stamping the flowers in Versafine and cutting out to then mount on the card.The sentiment came from one of the wording plates which I stamped onto a Spellbinders basic oval die-cut shape.
I'm coming to the end of the cards I did for Sheena for the 4 day deal, so I'm debating what to show you next as I have a catalogue of samples from some time ago which I never used. If you know my work and want to see anything particular let me know, Right I'm off to finish something for Kay which you'll see on Thursday at 9am on C&C. Then to start playing with Sheena's new stamps now they are all prepared any ready to be used.

The Best Thing

When I made this card I thought it could be used as an unusual wedding card.  The wording seemed very apt and flowers will always work.
I stamped the wording on to some Lacy patterned paper with Coffee Archival ink and also the flowers. Cutting the flowers out was easy for the larger ones but the smaller ones I had to leave a white edge so they stood out on the Kraft card. Both lots of flowers were mounted on to Kraft card which was then matted on to scalloped edge white card. I added a piece lace ribbon across the centre.
New stamps have arrived so I'm now off to have a play,the show they're on is on Create & Craft on the 8th February,so it will be the middle of next week for I can do any sneak peeks.
Happy Crafting.

Always Flowers

I'm so happy that my scheduled posts appeared on the right days,I will definitely be doing this again. Oh dear that means I've no excuse for there not being a new post for you everyday.
Well I'm just back from the Craft4Crafters show at Westpoint Exeter,and we didn't get snowed in.Actually saw some green grass down there which we hadn't seen in a while.It was cool,but at least there was some sunshine.
There was a lot of laughter of course,always is working with Kay.It was the first show of the year for us,so it took a while to get back into the swing of it.  We had Andy of Andy's Crafts with us Friday afternoon to demo,this was his first show after his first appearance on Create & Craft. Kay will be selling his products at the shows,so come and have a look, when you come to us at this years shows.
Today's card was made using Sheena's stamps from the 4 Day Deal and Shaded Lilac Distress ink.
Around the edge of the card I stamped the different flowers in ink using Aurora Crystal embossing powder.Stamped and cut out several different sizes of flowers which then I painted with the ink.
I used Spellbinders large labels for the greeting which I edged with the ink.Placed the flowers on and used adhesive pearls for their centres.
Back to work tomorrow, have several projects to do ,will let you know in future posts what I'm up to.
Happy Crafting.

Wonderful day

Hope that's what we are having at the show today.Hopefully my posts have been appearing at the right time,never scheduled before.If it works I may use it again while I'm away at shows.
Paper piecing today and more fussy cutting with my trusty pair of micro-tip Fiskars scissors.
This is fun and easy to do if you have a matching set of papers,use a fairly plain one for the base and more decorative for the flowers.I used adhesive pearls for the flower centres but  you could use glitter or glitter glue.
Back to normal tomorrow,I may have some photos from the show I may not, please check back and see.
Happy Crafting.

Black and White

A simple card here if you don't mind a bit of fussy cutting.
I stamped the full leaf stem onto black card and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer True White embossing powder.
The flowers I did separately, cut them out and added to the stem on the card with 3D foam.
Embossed the sentiment and cut out using an oval die adding a faux layer in white.
I love black and white cards so striking.
Happy crafting

With Love

More shrink plastic here, with the other set of flowers stamps from Sheena. Couldn't stop shrinking stamped images after making yesterdays sample,only needed three for this one though.I daren't count the flowers on the hanging
The leaf stamp on the bottom layer is actually on the sentiment sheet, I love this, great for building backgrounds or just for filling gaps. Of course Spellbinders came into use for the heart,and then I stamped the wording in coffee Archival ink.
This card could be used as an alternative to the usual red,black and white for Valentines.

Shrink Plastic Flowers

This sample Sheena has already posted on her blog just before the launch of the 4 Day deal.
I knew when I first saw these stamps they would be great for shrink plastic. I'll admit that I haven't played with this product for a few years which meant I had to go shopping.
The base is a piece of grungeboard from one of the board book sets from Ranger. I found some decorative paper from my stash attached to the grungeboard with Cosmic glue. Inked around the edge with Brushed Corduroy, then stamped some of the branches on with Archival Coffee.I used a watered down H2O to colour the leaves as I forgot to emboss the branches and didn't want to lose the detail.

Now to the shrink plastic,the sort I brought needed to be sanded,which I did in a cross- hatch pattern. I stamped with Versafine and carefully coloured with Spectrums. Once cut out which was easy to do because of the design,I heated them,using a  pokey tool to hold them and Sheena's hairdryer shaped heat tool. Before they cooled down I shaped them to give a more flower like shape.The layers were glued together with Pinflair glue and left to dry overnight.Before adding the flowers I stamped the wording in Archival Coffee.

Hopefully this has posted at the right time,if not sorry....
Happy Crafting

A Friend is......

Love the colour of this one, Shaded Lilac Distress ink one of the last releases of colours from Ranger. I used this for some of my Christmas cards it's such a pretty colour.
The background was made using oneof my favourite techniques with distress inks, the "bleaching" out of colour. Starting out by covering a piece of card with Distress ink,then mist a stamp with water, stamp on to the background  then wait for a couple of seconds before blotting with kitchen roll.This will remove the ink ,leaving an image of the stamp.I then over stamp with the same image in the same colour as the base. Making sure the base is completely dry,I then ink around the edge of the card,same colour but then cover with Aurora Crystal embossing powder hwich will cling to the Distress ink. After heating the edge will be slightly darker but lovely and sparkly.Like yesterday I cut the topper with a Spellbinders die and left it in the die to ink,giving a white edge.After stamping the greeting in Versafine,I stamped the leaf onto Centura Pearl and cut it out.The flower was stamped with the distress ink, the top layer embossed with the Aurora crystal as well to match with the background.
That's it for today,I'm not certain if I will have any internet connection for the next few days so for the first time ever I'm going to schedule some posts. I'm sorry it doesn't work,I will be back on Sunday evening,so they will be another one then if it doesn't work.
Kay( Hougie) and I are off to Exeter tomorrow for the Craft4Crafters show at Westpoint, so if your in the area come and say hello. I know Kay has some new products because we have no plan how to set up the stand yet!!!! So come and see how we got on.
Happy Crafting.

Rain,no it's snowing

Have you been watching C&C ? Two shows completed many more to go. I now don't think these samples will make it,so my blog will be the only place to see them.
There are two stamp plates with just wording but serious wording......they can be easily used on their own.Great if you are showing off your background techniques or want a quick card.
This one was was very apt for last year,we seemed to have plenty of it.
I started out by covering a piece of card with Stormy Sky Distress ink, then stamped the rain drops in the same colour over the top.The topper I die-cut first and inked the card while still in the die ,which give it a white edge. Then stamped over the top with the wording using archival ink, stamped out the image again and just cut out the umbrella to 3D on the topper.After a bit of rummaging I found the umbrella charm which I brought from Hobby House a while ago, which I felt just added to the card.
Lets hope we don't have as much rain this year and have a proper t-shirt Summer.
Happy Crafting.

Flower Frame

 

Here's the first of my samples made for Sheena's 4 Day Deal on Create and Craft, which starts on Monday at 8am.

The theme is flowers,which are always popular,but these are so versatile.Great for lots of different techniques  and especially for me and my fussy cutting.

The frame used here was an inexpensive paper based one.I did the crackle effect Sheena shows in her paint fusion dvd.Then once dry I stamped over the top with memento and coloured the leaves with Spectrums.
Sitting comfortably,I proceeding with the mammoth task of stamping,colouring and then cutting out of the flowers and leaves. All of which I enjoy of course,I love the effect it gives,not keen on flat cards.
Sorry to embarrass my daughter yet again but I do like this photo,it was taken a few years ago.
It matched the frame so well.
I'm hoping to get these samples to Sheena but it depends on the weather.She already has some of them I've done but these few I will put on my blog first so at least they will be seen here if not on TV.

Two cards today.

A treat today two samples, tomorrow I will start on samples from Sheena's 4DD starting on Monday on C&C.
Both these cards are fairly simple to do, the Spellbinders and my favourite thing to do fussy cutting ( i love this name) just give the finishing look.
The images were stamped with memento and coloured with Spectrums.
On the waterlilies card, the flowers which I fussy cut were embossed on patterned paper in True White powder from Creative Expressions

In the second card I did a bit of masking to give the impression that  flowers are in the vase. The image was cut with a die and then a faux mat made. I cut one of the fancy doily shapes in half and placed them underneath at each end.Fussy cutting again for the flowers, these were embossed with clear embossing powder.

Can't wait for tomorrow to show you what I've made with Sheena's new stamps.
Happy Crafting.

Daisy

A snowy morning here,not looking forward to  working in my studio, it will be quite pretty and my heater will keep it warm, it's just the walk in between.
It's getting close to showing Sheena's new stamps and the cards I made with them but for now here is one more Stamp-It card.
This was a fairly quick card to make,very simple to colour with the Spectrums,just a couple of pens.Then die-cut with standard circles, matted on to a scalloped circle.I played with papers from the same paper pack so they all matched and built up the layers.The wording came from one of the stamp plates. At the moment I'm having fun playing with designs from Kay's new book, had chance to play will all sorts of techniques.What to do now?
Happy Crafting on a snowy day.

Lilies

It's getting to be  a routine  this week to post at this time of day,with a milky coffee in hand. My friends will at this moment be saying " you can't drink coffee", I've recently found I can, if it's very weak and full milk, semi of course.
The routine will change middle of next week though when Kay and I will be off to Westpoint,Exeter  for the Craft4Crafters show. I cannot wait my my first show of the season, meeting up with my crafting family.Catching up on all the gossip,especially as some have been to CHA this year.
Well for today's card it could be a sympathy or even wedding.Some of my friends just love lilies so it could be a birthday card.
The image again came from one of the Stamp-It plates.Stamped with Mememto, coloured with Spectrum Noirs.Die-cut with Spellbinders,the dies use were the basic oval,the mount to that being a faux cut one as I wanted a smaller frame.I used the ends from one of the tags for the decoration,the wording tag was from Fancy Tags No1.
The backing was a piece of Centura Pearl card embossed using a Couture Creations folder called Washed Away from Creative Expressions.Before mounting on a black card I sliced it up to give another dimension to the card.
Ok, room is now warm, I've finished samples for Sheena( did you see one of my samples on Sheena's blog,shrink plastic is all I'm saying).So now I'm doing a few samples for Kay(Hougie) to test ideas for her new book.
Happy Crafting.

Pink Flower ?

Morning all, here is another card from the Crafter's Companion Stamp-It show. This was the first one Imade from this show.
The flower,not good on plant names was stamped with Memento then coloured with several shades of pink Spectrum Noirs.
I die-cut the topper using the standard Octagon,the mount was Decoartive labels Twenty-Seven from Spellbinders. The ribbon came from my stash.The pearls were white but I coloured them with the Spectrums to match the flower.
A few more cards from the show  to see which should run up nicely to Sheena's next show on Monday,a 4 day deal.

Oriental Delight

Here's today's post while I'm waiting for my craft room to warm up.
This was another card from yesterday's show,the stamp was from the Oriental Delights plate,from Stamp-It.
I stamped her with Memento,then coloured with Spectrum Noirs.The Spellbinders die used was Labels Four which was inked with Antique linen after cutting out.The purple mat below was embossed below with a dotty folder from Cuttlebug.The papers were from a 12x12  pad from American Crafts called Random.(Crate Paper).I distressed the pattern paper around the edge with scissors and then inked.
The flowers and fan I stamped ,coloured and embossed with clear powder,to give them another texture.
Hopefully my room is now a workable temperature.
More Stamp-It tomorrow.
Happy Crafting.

Australian Card

If anybody saw the show this morning with Sheena and Dean you will have heard the comments about this card.To be honest I didn't quite realise what I had done until Sheena notice it last night.

I think this is what happens when you do too much late night crafting..........

All I can say is that the stamps do come from AUSTRALIA............lol.

 

As for making the card without the blooper, the small blossom stamp was inked with memento then the image was multi stamped to form a branch, coloured with Spectrum Noirs in several shades of purple.

The edge of the card was inked with Tumbled Glass Distress ink to give the look of sky.

The lantern should have then been stamped the RIGHT WAY UP and coloured, also using the palest shade of grey around the outside to make it look 3D, (and to show off my mistake).

The ribbon was from Ribbonbox.

Well lets see if I'm awake today, more cards to do for next week. First I've got to make my way down the garden to my studio in the snow to put the heating on.

 

Dotty Card

This card was made using the Luscious Landscapes set from Stamp-It, which Crafters Companion have  on C&C tonight but Sheena will be demoing them on Monday. 

The image was stamped on acetate and on the back working with a dotty motion filled


 
The image was stamped on to acetate, then with Spectrum Noirs  the picture was filled in with dots of colour.Using a lighter colour first,then darker to give shading.
To make the frame I used labels Seventeen from Spellbinders.The flower is the Anemone and the swirl is from Jewel flowers and flourishes.
The papers are from American crafts called Sunny Side.
   At the moment I'm working on some new stamps from Sheena which will be on very soon.
Hope you enjoy tomorrow's shows.

Dreamy Daisies

I know it's not a daisy but if I remember right that is the plate it is on.

There are some new stamp sets being launched on C & C tonight, live from CHA.Guess I'll be glued to the laptop,my family will not let me near the TV for that long,5 live hours.

Sheena will be demoing these on Monday on C&C , live from Peterborough, not as glamorous as Anaheim but ......

There are 4 sets which give you a mixture of styles and ways to use them, for the show we used Spectrum Noirs but I'm itching to use other products on them.

I used the printable acetate to stamp the image of the poppy on, then coloured will a couple of shades of red and green.This was then mounted on to the back of the frame,cut out in black card using labels Twenty-Eight from Spellbinders.The papers were from Teresa Collins Vintage Finds.

The ribbon was from Creative Expressions.

There will be more samples to show you soon but not tonigh,t as you'll know what I'll be watching.

 

Reindeer Trio

Ok,more Christmas as promised. This was one of my favourite sets , with 3 sizes of reindeer there was one to fit whatever size topper I made. It also suited using my favourite Distress Inks,Brushed Corduroy this time.Of course the Spellbinders dies came out to cut the card blank, topper and poinsettia.

 

The paper came from a papermania 12 x 12 pack, all print designs were in red and white which I thought went well with the Kraft card

 

 

 

I made several versions of this card, managed to use the whole of the pad,it gave me about 70 cards.Wouldn't like to say how many die-cuts that was, my poor Big Shot.

More Christmas tomorrow.

Jayne's Christmas Stamps

After talking to a few of my blog followers I decided to post some of the Christmas cards I did for Jayne Nestorenko as I can't show some of the cards I been making recently.

The first ones I can probably show will be on Monday as Sheena is on Create and Craft then with a new range of stamps from Australia.

Back to this card, it was made using a stamp set called Winter Foligae accessories.Using several of the stamps I built up the image with Forest Moss Distress Ink.The white berries were made using a Versamark pen and Cosmic Shimmer True White embossing powder. The pine cones I stamped in Brushed Corduroy on a separate piece of card and cut them out.Added to the card using foam pads.The ribbon and decorative pins came Creative Expressions.

I have a few other cards to post which I'm afraid are Christmas but I also have some samples made for C & C for their VIP Event. 

Hope you you like this,it was one of my favourites.