Saturday 29 March 2014

something for spring ...

stamps: vivid vases, Madison avenue, teeny tiny sentiments from stampin up!
inks: tim holtz (picked raspberry & peacock feathers) ink pads, memento (tuxedo black) ink pad, promarkers
cardstock: craftwork cards digi cardstock plus 6x4" card blank
dies: finishing touches edgelits, stylish stripes embossing folder from stamping up! & sizzix using the big shot
 
   I cut the cardblank with a decorative edge die to reveal the inside, where I placed an embossed panel of card. I inked the front of the card with pink, then  stamped a repeat pattern with the block to create a background to place on the front of the card. for the topper, I stamped the image onto cardstock, (I chose not to ink the attached message, replacing this with a separate mothers day sentiment). the image was coloured using promarkers, then cut to shape and a matt inked in pink to edge the topper. I stuck this to the front of the card, carefully lining it up and only adding tape to the overlap so it didn't attach to the inside too!! I  edged the paper piece inside with a line of pink using a fine tipped promarker (you could matt and layer for a similar effect). the finishing touch was two inked pieces of card, which I shaped into banners and layered onto the embossed card inside. this adds interest and a pop of colour to the inside of the card and completes the chosen sketch. I think it makes for a nice bright card that could work equally well for a birthday or thankyou if you swap the sentiment!!
 
open view

 
 
Mx

Monday 17 March 2014

mother's day !!

 
stamps: flower arranging from LOTV and wonderful mother from stampin up!
inks: promarkers, memento (tuxedo black) tim holtz distress ink pads (worn lipstick)
cardstock: 6x4 card blank, craftwork cards digi cardstock.
punches: x-cut corner rounder

I inked my card blank and added a matt with 2 rounded corners. I stamped the LOTV image using the memento ink pad and coloured it using promarkers. I then added the sentiment in the top corner. for the inside of the card, I cut another matt to fit rounding 2 of the corners to match the front. I inked the edges using the same tim holtz ink pad, then stamped the sentiment in the centre. I think it makes a sweet and simple card for mothers day!!

inside

mother's day
Mx
 
... underneath is my sisters card and her explanation of it x

blog takeover !!!!!


 
stamps: for my family, papillon potpourri, peaceful petals and so very grateful all from stampin up!
inks: promarkers, tim holtz distress ink pads (tumbled glass and shabby shutters), archival (aquamarine) and  memento (tuxedo black)
punches/ dies: bitty butterfly punch, bitty banners framelit, finishing touches and adorning accents edgelits all from stampin up! and a scallop circle framelit from sizzix (all used with the big shot)
cardstock: 5x5 card blank, petal fresh 8x8" paper pad from LOTV & nit wit and craftwork cards digi cardstock.

i'm not a really a crafter, so it normally takes an age to make a super simple card. this time, I was determined to do something that was pretty for mum and showed a bit more of the effort that went into it !! I chose the paper and matched my inks and promarkers to it. the card blank was inked with the blue outside and the green inside. I then die cut the edge to reveal a strip of the green from the front. I die cut another strip inked in green to create a border for the paper. the topper was stamped with the flower and coloured using the promarkers, then die cut into a scalloped circle. I stamped 'mum' in the bottom corner. I also stamped 2 butterflies onto cardstock then used the punch to cut them out. one butterfly was added to the front on a foam pad. the other butterfly was stuck inside along with the sentiments, one of which was stamped onto card and die cut into a banner shape, the other was stamped directly onto the card. it still took quite a while to do the card but i'm pretty pleased with it !!
 
inside

butterfly kisses
Ax

Tuesday 11 March 2014

50 cheers !!

stamps: abc-123 sketch alphabet & numbers, distressed dots, for my family & teen tiny sentiments from stampin up!, cheers bear from lili of the valley
inks: archival ink (chrome yellow), tim holtz distress ink pad ( faded jeans & squeezed lemonade), memento ink pad (tuxedo black), promarkers
cardstock: craftwork cards digi cardstock, 6x6" card blank
extras: ribbon
 
I started by inking my card blank in blue, along with some papers to use as matching matts. I then created the background paper by inking the whole sheet yellow, then randomly stamping the '50' around the page. the second backing paper was made using the same yellow, but this time with the dots background stamp onto the white cardstock. I then stamped my image, for the topper, and coloured him using coordinating promarkers. I cut the dotty paper and topper into tag shapes and matted them onto blue inked cardstock. I then punched holes at the top to thread some ribbon through to complete the tag effect. these were then placed onto the card, following the sketch. the first was stuck using double sided and the other raised on foam pads. the final step was to stamp the sentiment onto the dotty tag, in line with the topper, using the edge of the block to make the alignment easier.
 
 
 
 
 
Mx

Monday 10 March 2014

perfectly pearly !!

 
stamps: express yourself from stampin up!
inks: archival ink pad (coffee)
papers: 5 x 7 cream card blank, cream card stock, pearl cardstock (cream) embossed patterned cardstock (sorry about the lack of suppliers but these were all from my stash!!)
punches: pansy punch from stampin up! 
other: pearl brad

I used the sketch as inspiration for the layout of this anniversary card. since it is their year of the pearl, I kept the colour scheme very neutral, playing with different patterns and textures to create interest. the matts were cut by laying a ruler on the edge of the card, with the sheet of paper in position beneath on the card blank, the corners were then marked and the paper trimmed to create the angled layers. this was repeated with each of my chosen papers. the band was stamped with the sentiment before cutting it to size and layering it onto the card. I used the flower punch to cut several layers out of pearl paper. the edges were curled to give it dimension and a brad was added to the centre to secure it all in place. I think this makes for a very sophisticated card, perfect for the occasion.  
Freshly made sketch #126
Mx

Saturday 8 March 2014

floral fancy !!


stamps: emma walkies from lili of the valley, teeny tiny sentiments from stampin up!
inks: memento (tuxedo black) ink pad, tim holtz (brushed corduroy) ink pad, promarkers
cardstock: craftwork cards digi cardstock, 6x6" pearl card blank plus cardstock, petal fresh 8x8" paper pad from LOTV & nit wit
dies: ornate label #3 framelit from sizzix, large paper doily sizzlits by stampin up!from sizzix plus the big shot machine to cut them out
extra: papermania adhesive crochet borders, liquid pearls (white opal), paper flowers

I made this card for a special birthday, so I thought it would be good to use the crafty bingo challenge as inspiration for the embellishments. I found some floral paper, which I cut to fit on the pearl card blank. I edged this with brown ink to finish it off. I also die cut a matt for the stamped image and inked the edges. I matched my promarkers to the paper to colour the image. the doily was die cut from pearlescent paper and layered onto the card. I used the adhesive border and flowers as extra special touches to complete the design. the final step was to use the liquid pearls to create the centre of the flowers.

 
 
 
 
Mx

Saturday 1 March 2014

summer lanterns ...


stamps: happy congratulations from stampin' up!, stitches clear stamps from hot off the press
inks: archival ink pad (jet black, deep purple, chrome yellow, venetian orange, magenta hue, aqua marine)
cardstock: craftwork cards digi cardstock, black 4x6" card blank plus black card

I cut a matt to create the topper. this was stamped with the outline of the main image in black. I then used various colours with the block shape to complete the image, (the stamp-a-ma-jig is useful to help line this up, it wont look perfect as the block is a different size to the outline, but it will give you more control over the final effect.) I matted this onto black to give it definition. for the background, I cut a second matt to fit the card blank and  scattered the block image all over in the same colours. by using the stamp on its second and third print, the effect is much softer which I think works well for backgrounds. I stamped a congratulations sentiment at the bottom of this matt. the stitched line stamped beneath the sentiment, (stamped in two halves, one either side of the 'g' to create that gap) adds the finishing touch to complete the sketch.
 
case this sketch #66
 
Mx