Monday 28 October 2013

bags of christmas !!

in preparation for Christmas, I have made a few gift bags ready for those little wrap ups. each of the bags was hand stamped with different designs, to suit a variety of people. I have also made coordinating tags, by cutting shapes from kraft cardstock, stamped with sentiments from the stampin up! set made for you and the matching stamped image (I placed these so part of the larger images or multiples of the smaller images were seen). I added accents of cosmic shimmer iridescent watercolour paints in various colours on a few of the bags to add a touch of Christmas sparkle. I fastened each of the bags with black or natural raffia (depending on the design) to finish... I'm sure anyone would be happy to find one of these filled with goodies under the tree !!
 
holly : owl occasions from stampin up! using a custom made ink pad using tim holtz distress re-inkers,  snowflake: imagination crafts stamped using manganese blue archival ink pad, candy cane: polar party from stampin up! stamped using vermillion archival
 
kanban clear stamps (couldn't see a set name)in tree designs in jet black and coffee archival ink pads
 
'u ...is for under the tree'
 
 
Mx
 
 

Sunday 27 October 2013

p,p,p... penguin!!!

stamps: penguin presents (st438),Christmas sentiment tags (set 32) both from lili of the valley
inks: memento (tuxedo black), letraset promarkers (various colours)
cardstock: pearlescent 6x4 card blank, craftwork cards digi cardstock
extras: bakers twines (lilac/ purple twist),liquid pearls (white opal)


 given the promarker competition for 'P's, I decided to make another Christmas card... i found this cute penguin with presents stamp from LOTV, which seemed perfect. I used my promarkers for the image, and to really go for the 'p' theme, I chose a purple colour scheme. I then cut the image out and layered it onto the backing paper using silicone for a 3D effect. the background was created to look like snow using the liquid pearls, for added texture. the twine was tied with the tags, in coordinating colours to add the sentiments and finish the design off. I tucked it under the matt before sticking to the card for that neat finish.
'give me a p... '
p is for penguin, presents, pearls, pearlescent& purple!!
 
http://ideastoinspire.blogspot.co.uk/p/challenge.html
'Anything goes'
 
Mx

Saturday 26 October 2013

a krafty car !!

 
stamps: nostalgia classic cars from docrafts papermania (by john byars), for my family from stampin up!
punch: chevron border punch from stampin up!
ink: archival (jet black)
cardstock: kraft & black, kraft 6x4 card blank
 
 I decided to make this card based around the sketch below. I chose a car stamp, to go with the chevrons in the design. I used a kraft card and a dark accent for the colour scheme, since brown was the colour challenge on ribbon girl, it seemed to fit  perfectly with the masculine feel. I kept the look clean and simple, (to add to the no fuss manly theme) by not distressing the edges.
'sketch 29'
 
'October colour challenge- brown'
 
Mx
 

flower power...

 
 
stamps: regarding dahlias, positively chevron, for my family all from stampin up!
inks: archival ink pads ( chrome yellow & cobalt)
card: craftwork cards digi cardstock & 6x6 card blank

I used just two ink pads to make this card, alternating between the colours for the stamp and matt for each layer to create a clean, bold look. the chevrons stamp makes a great background, and combining it with the line-work flower stamp adds to the clean look whilst giving the design some impact. I think that, sometimes, sticking to a simple layout and limited palette is best, to make the most of the images and the sentiment.
 I hope you agree !!
 
Mx

Friday 25 October 2013

blog take over!!


stamp: simply soft (hostess), for my family
paper: bobunny ambrosia collecton & we r memory keepers down boardwalk 6x6" paper pads, craftwork cards digi cardstock, 6x6" card blank, kraft cardstock (off cut)
inks: archival ink pad (coffee), tim holtz distress ink pad (evergreen bough)

 
so its mums birthday coming up and I decided to make her a card just from me. since I'm a bit indecisive,( meaning cards take a tiny bit longer than normal) a little mouse suggested I use a sketch to help with the plan for my card layout, and this is the one I chose.
 
starting with the sketch for my layout, I knew I had to chose a central design and some papers. I had the stamp in mind, so I picked the papers to complement the style of the design. as always I kept things simple, but this time I went for a bold colour combination of patterned papers to keep things fresh and a bit more interesting. The brown was used to stamp the outline and sentiment, then to edge the papers to bring the design together. the sentiment was edged in the teal to coordinate with the petals, and stand out from the craft. I chose to modify my layout, from that in the sketch, by rounding the corners (instead of cutting it with the banner points) so it mirrored the shape of the topper.
 

'sts#6'
 
I know its probably not quite up to mouse's standards, but never the less i'm still quite proud of myself .. hope you like it too!!
Ax
craftylilmouse&co

Friday 18 October 2013

two of a kind !!


stamps: lili of the valley- james-snow angel, wishing you set from stampin up!
inks: memento (tuxedo black), archival ink pad( sepia/ jet black), promarkers (various), tim holtz distress ink pads (spun sugar/ festive berries)
extras: craftwork cards digi cardstock, white/ kraft 6x4 card blank, glossy accents, glamour dust/stampendous fun flock

inside


inside

i've done two versions of this card, one using traditional colours and the other using a softer, more feminine palette. I simply coloured the image with promarkers, then matched the colour with distress ink for the edge of the matt. I layered them onto different card bases and stamped the sentiments to co-ordinate with the colour scheme. the traditional one got some flock for texture, and the girly one got some glitter accents for that Christmas feel.
I think the overall look is simple and effective, making the most of the image... a perfect example of how the colour can create a complete transformation !!
 
'lovely lili challenge'- anything goes with LOTV

'anything goes'
 
Mx

Sunday 13 October 2013

sneaky peek!!


 
as you all know I am doing the tim holtz creative chemistry 102, although I cant share any of the content with you I thought I would show you this project I made mixing up a few new techniques.
(coloured crackled, stamping resist, brayered stains)
 
I added a stamped sentiment in coffee archival using the wacky wishes set from stampin up!
 
 
Mx

simple spooks!!

 
stamps: wacky wishes, jack of all trades & positively chevron from stamping up!
inks: archival ink pad (jet black), tim holtz distress (seedless preserves, spiced marmalade & shabby shutters)
cardstock: black plus a 6x4 card blank, craftwork cards digi cardstock
 
well I thought I would do the fab Friday challenge, even though I don't have the stampin up! ink pads I think I did a pretty good job at matching up the colour palette with the distress line.
I kept the card quite simple, keeping the pumpkin as the main focal point. the background was inked with distress then stamped using the large chevron pattern. I added the happy halloween in black to tie it in with the card and matt.
 
 keeping things simple, by letting the colours and patterns pop, gives the card a more funky, grown up edge for Halloween.
 

 
Mx

Thursday 10 October 2013

winter wishes ...


stamp: lili of the valley ice skating (ST341)
inks: memento(tuxedo black), letraset promarkers( various), tim holtz distress (brushed corduroy)
papers: first edition paper silent night 8x8 pad, craftwork cards digi cardstock, a4 sheet of 300gsm card, silver miri card, acetate
dies/punches: scallop edge border punch, labels collection framelits from stampin up!
extras: liquid pearls (bisque), stickles(diamond)

had a busy week this week, visited the great northern paper craft extravaganza (treated myself to lots of new goodies) and then started on the tim holtz creative chemistry 102 online course, giving me plenty to do. so I decided to give myself a little challenge for this post, by entering 4 competitions using one card... and here it is!!
 
 
i started by ticking 2 of the boxes by colouring this lovely christmas stamp from LOTV with my promarkers, which needed a snow fall theme. mounting them on an acetate fronted card fulfilled the transparency brief on the ABC Christmas challenge. the foiled wintery paper and miri card matt, (die cut to match the smaller stamp layer)added the shine and sparkle needed for the ribbon girl challenge. i also put some glittered accents on the girls hat and booties for extra sparkle... a Christmas must have for me as you may have guessed by now!! 
 
'anything goes'
 
'snow is falling'
 
't is for transparent'

'make is sparkly'
 
 i think this makes for a lovely grown up feeling card, perfect for sending Christmas wishes to a couple... i hope you would agree
Mx

Wednesday 2 October 2013

'tea'rific !!



inside

stamps: morning cup & wonderful mother from stamping up
inks: tim holtz distress ink pads (tumbled glass& broken china), memento (tuxedo black)& promarkers
extras: craftwork cards digi cardstock, 6x4 card blank & white ribbon

i've worked with the squares template for the fab friday challenge. I thought that the morning cup stamp set would work well for this, and since my mum loves tea ... It seemed like the perfect card to make for her birthday!! I chose an image for 3 squares and a sentiment for the other one (but of course you could use a fourth image instead). I stuck to a limited colour palette, using muted tones for the images, with shades of blue. the background was stamped using a larger image from the set, used again on the inside of the card to coordinate. I finished it off with the ribbon bow in the space beneath the squares (but you could pop your message here as an alternative).

fab Friday challenge blog
Mx