Pink and Purple and Flowers - Oh My!

I made this birthday card for a work colleague - she likes pink, purple, flowers, butterflies and bling, so I think I have got all those covered LOL.
I used an embossing folder for the pink base mat, the photo has 'dulled' the embossing a bit, it is more prominent IRL.  The purple circle mat, the white flourish and the white stem flowerhead are all done with Memory Box dies.  I used punches for the white scalloped circle (Woodware), the butterflies (Martha Stewart), the retro flowers (EK Success) and the fronds (Martha Stewart).  I also ran the flowers through the Big Shot in a dotty embossing folder and I did mean to curl the petals a bit, but forgot to do it before sticking them down and then it was too late :-)
The lace circle stamp is from Stampin' Up and the text is, I believe, a Tinchies stamp.
She was delighted with it :-)

Scrapology May card challenge

The Scrapology card challenge for May is to use old stash.  Well, I certainly have enough of that .... :-)

This card is made from scraps of Basic Grey 'Two Scoops'.  And it is pink ....... note to self - stay away from the pink side!

52 cards challenge - week 21

This weeks prompt is a sketch.  Believe it or not, both these cards came from the same sketch :-)


The birthday card is not, I have to say, one of my favourites ...... not just because it's pink LOL, it just didn't seem to 'flow'.  I used an embossed ATC blank, with a chalk ink pad swiped over, attached a scrap of ribbon, die cut banner and punched flower.  The base of the pink mat was scalloped with a border punch and I wrapped another piece of ribbon around mat and topper.  I punched out the sentiment tag and some butterflies.

Now the Christmas card, on the other hand, is one of my 'favouritest' ever!  Back to the white, aqua and silver for this one.  I embossed the mat with snowflakes and die-cut the branch and baubles.  The bauble is two Memory Box dies, with a plain base and intricately patterned top.  The first 'top' I cut out in white didn't quite work - I had it too close to the edge of the card and the edge just missed cutting.  So I put it to one side and cut another top plus a silver base.  Just on a whim, I tried overlapping the silver/white bauble with the mis-cut white top ..... wow ..... had to go with it :-)  Then I put it all together, with a bought sentiment banner, to see how I could make the baubles appear to be hanging.  Although I had a vague idea of using thread, I decided to try a very thin strip of the white card and I think this works very well.  I am definitely going to make some more of these!

Simple Dandelion Clock card

A couple of weeks ago, they were thowing out some card at work, a lovely linen-y effect card.  So I said nooooooooooooooo!!!  There were maybe 20 A4 sheets.  It takes a stamped impression beautifully, so I did a bit of experimenting.  Some of it has gone into 52 card challenge cards, but for this one I decided to stamp three dandelion clocks (Hero Arts, I think) onto the linen-effect mat, ink the edges, wrap some ribbon round and add a sentiment plus pearls.  The sentiment is a Tinchies stamp and I die-cut it with a Nestie deckle edge rectangle, then inked the edges.  Nice and simple :-)

Upcycled table - finished at last!

A while ago ..... nearly two years ago in fact .... some friends of ours bought a house and said if we wanted any of the 'junk' inside it, we were welcome to it :-)  There was a small table, with an awful peeling formica top, so I said I would take it away, do something with it and then give it back to them, all transformed.  I think they were happy about the first part, not so happy about getting it back ..... LOL.  The picture above, is the table after the removal of the formica and sanding down.

It may have taken a while for me to get around to it, but once I had started I remembered how I really like doing up furniture - I hadn't done any for years because our house is now, well, full!  So I have had a lot of fun with this table.  I started by turning it upside down and painting the base and legs with a cream oil eggshell paint, 3 coats, a day between each coat.  I should have used a primer first, then I would only have needed two coats of the eggshell.  Live and learn......
Then I started on the top.  Primer first, then a coat of emulsion in the same cream - a water-based paint rather than the oil-based, because of the finish I had in mind.  I wanted to cover the top in a Decopatch paper, cream with a gold crackle pattern.  Then ... disaster!  It looked awful and got worse as it dried - I have decopatched other projects with good results, but this just didn't work!  In the end, when it had dried, I decided it all had to come off, so I sprayed it with water and set to with a wallpaper scraper.  DS1 helped, bless him. 
I decided to do a proper crackle finish on the top, using acrylic paint and Paperartsy crackle glaze.  So I painted it with a coat of gold acrylic, allowed to dry, applied a coat of the glaze .... allowed to dry .... then painted over a cream acrylic.  The gold crackles appeared very fast and finally it started to look as though I might not have ruined it after all!  I also painted two wooden mouldings with the gold and adhered those onto the front and back using epoxy resin.

This is how it looks now, with a close up of the crackle effect:



I am very happy with it, if I only had the space I would keep it!  Can't wait to see the reaction when we hand it back........ :-)

52 cards challenge - week 20

I have caught up!  The prompt for week 20 is to take inspiration from the printed word, literature etc.

I knew what I wanted to do for both cards - but didn't have a "Bah Humbug" stamp.  One google search later, I had found this lovely little stamp on Ebay, from a seller called Make your Mark who are based in York.  The stamp gives a lovely impression, and I decided to do a simple 9-patch card, with the centre circle raised up on foam.  A peel-off line frame to pull the scalloped-punched circles together and it was done.  I think I might use foam on all the circles next time I make it.
The second card doesn't have a specific sentiment as such, so an appropriate message for the occasion can be written inside.  The wonderful steampunk ruby slippers image is a Stampendous stamp, which I stamped/embossed with gold detail powder and then attempted to colour in .... something which I am not that good at, this is my second attempt and the tiny jewels along the soles are to hide where I went over the line LOL.  But they do look good!  I then die-cut the image using a Go Kreate die, then cut the mat using the next size up.  A happy discovery was that these sizes of the die go very nicely into a 6" card blank :-)  DH had previously laser-cut a whole selection of gears for me, so I inked some up in two shades of brown and attached those.  I am very pleased with it, despite the bad colouring LOL.
So I am now up to date with the challenge .... until tomorrow's prompt!

Dangerous Boy :-)

I have so many unfinished layouts .... this is one of them!  DH on his birthday last year, with a very appropriate pressie!
Started - and actually almost finished - at the ATDML retreat last month, but I needed to cut a title .... and do a little journalling ... and I didn't like the way the stamped gears looked on the punched circles.  The papers are from a Hot off the Press steampunk collection, mostly, with a cogs paper from Craft Creations and a scrap of cream/gold foiled paper which I think may be from them too.  I cut around the design in the corner of the background paper to slide the cogs strip behind it.
I robo-cut the title, the 'watch out' and 'dangerous' are cut using the 'Boys r gross' font .... I like a good font joke LOL.  Still wasn't happy with the stamped circles... but DH had laser cut me a whole selection of gears in different sizes from white card, so I inked some up and placed them over the circles - it has made all the difference!
A little bit of journalling along the top of the photo mat and it was finished at last.

52 cards challenge - week 19

The 52 cards challenge for week 19 - this week the prompt is to use texture.  Some time ago, I made a masterboard with inks, stamps and some texture paste.  Most of this got used on a layout, but I saved enough for a card and an ATC.
So, the birthday card is made with this remnant of the masterboard, I kept it simple as I didn't want to cover the texture too much, so I wrapped a ribbon around then stamped and die-cut the sentiment.
The Christmas card has three pennants die-cut from a linen effect cardstock and I added three felt Christmas trees.  The sentiment banner is from stash.

Five green bottles

The Scrapology May challenge is H for Hand stitched and this is my entry.
Last year, I was so taken with these Jubilee editions of Stones ginger wine that I bought five bottles (over the course of a few weeks!) for the express purpose of making a page with this title LOL.  They did take me a while to empty, mind......
I decided to try a 'spattery' page, I randomly sprayed some glimmer mist on a blue paper (Craft Creations) - and then couldn't think how to proceed, so left it for a few months!  At the crop last weekend, I was inspired by the scrapology sketch and so carried on where I had left off.....
I usd some border strip punches to make the zig-zag and chains, then adhered the doilies and stamped some splatters and 'wine glass' rings.  The journalling is done on half of a Stamps Away journalling block.  I stamped and punched out my title and then the fun began..... pricking all the holes for the stitching and then the stitching itself - with thanks to Scrappy Sarah for the white thread!  It took ages........
It's a bit different for me, but I like it :-)

52 cards challenge - week 18

The prompt for week 18 was to use pale pink, buttons and tags.  I do struggle with putting tags on cards, it never seems to come out right :-(  However, a while ago I did buy - and put away unused - a tag die.... now seemed a good time to drag it out of the drawer!
The 'blank' card will have an appropriate sentiment added later, at the base of the tag.  I used the die for the tag and cut it out of an experimental piece of distress inked card which I found lurking in a box.  The band at the base of the tag is cut out of a pale pink paper from the scraps box and I die-cut the doily lace border from that too.  I can't remember the name of the paper range, but it included the black & pink spot paper, so I used that for the central strip. The flowers are bought die-cuts, which I wouldn't normally buy, but they were on sale at half price a while ago.... I knew they would come in useful :-)  I sewed a button to the centre of each one.
I applied the same design to the Christmas card.  The dreaded Papermania Mistletoe Kisses pack came out again - it's the only pink festive paper I have!! - and the pack also includes some tags, so I used one of those instead of cutting one.  The hole was too large for an eyelet, so I attached a bow at the top.  The snowflakes are die-cut and sewing the buttons on proved to be a nightmare - the thread kept catching on all the little arms of the snowflake and tangling up!  In the end, I just sewed the thread though the button holes, then stuck the thing to the snowflake with glossy accents!
I am quite pleased with the design of these and will definitely make some more along the same lines, so finally I have found a use for tags LOL.

52 cards challenge - week 17

The prompt for week 17 of the 52 cards challenge was to use scraps.  I certainly have plenty of those, in fact most of my cards are made from them LOL.  The photos are not terrific, I'm afraid, I was having trouble getting the light right in my little photo studio.
The birthday card was for my son's 25th birthday and is done from Bo Bunny 'Timepiece' scraps, with some bits of corrugated card and a mis-stamped ATC.  I covered the joing between papers with a ribbon, stamped the sentiment and attached a key charm.
The Christmas card has two peel-off line frames - one interrupted with the sentiment - around a piece of Craft Creations snowflake paper.  I adhered a mix of die-cut and punched snowflakes over the top.  Very simple and quick to do!

52 cards challenge - week 16

Week 16's prompt over at the 52 cards challenge was to use a negative die-cut, the part normally left behind when the required shape is taken away!
The birthday card is actually done with an EK Success punch - I had just bought it and wanted to try it out! - the shape is punched out of some embossed white cardstock and then laid over a blue patterned base, with a pearl in the centre.  I wrapped a ribbon around this assemblage and adhered to a navy card blank.  The sentiment is a peel-off, laid over a punched tag.
The Christmas card uses two negative die-cuts - Nestie labels 4 and labels 4 small - and I stamped a sentiment into the base paper.  Both the plain green and the snowflake paper are Basic Grey Wassail, I think.  I used a scalloped eyelet border punch on the snowflake paper and the gold mat, then wrapped a ribbon around the join.  A few punched out snowflakes to finish with :-)  It's a bit grungy, I think, so should be good for a 'male' Christmas card!

My sister's birthday card!

I can blog this now she has received it :-)
This card started off with a mistake ...... I had intended to make it into a tent card rather than a side folded one, but I got distracted while sticking the background paper on and I put it on with the pattern going the wrong way.  Not only that, but I didn't even notice until after I had stuck the brown ribbon on the 'base' of the tent card, so I couldn't move the paper around.  Oops!  So I turned it back around to a side fold and stuck another ribbon on the other side to balance it.
The flowers and frond clusters went on next (EK Success and MS punches respectively), I raised the larger ones up on 2mm foam pads, the smaller on 1mm, so I could slip the central motif underneath even though I didn't know what it was going to be at that point.
In my 'useful bits and pieces' drawer were some test impressions of this lovely lace doily stamp from Stampin Up, this one is done in a teal ink from Memento.  The sentiment was overstamped in black versafine, though I did have to go over it with a pen.  I die-cut two lace doily mats in brown and green, assembled the whole topper and placed it between and under the flowers.
The only disadvantage to the card is that the flowers are fairly dimensional, so it had to be posted at the large letter rate!   But my sister's worth it :-)

52 cards challenge week 15

Still catching up :-)  The prompt for week 15 of the challenge was to have the text as the main focus of the card.
For the birthday card I cut some yellow paper from a Jillybeans 6" paper pad, used an inverted corner punch and wrapped a ribbon around it.  The text stamp is from Woodware.  I put a pearl in each inverted corner and that was it!  I must do this one again :-)
The Christmas card was slightly more complicated - starting with the fact that the Memory Box stamp (which I bought because I thought it would make good square cards) actually isn't quite a true square.  I discovered that fact by trimming all edges equidistant from the text, then finding it wasn't square!  It also doesn't seem to stamp particularly well, but perhaps that was because I was embossing, I will have to try it with just ink.  It wasn't a cheap stamp either......
So having trimmed it to a square, I then matted onto gold and cut a further mat using a PATP punch from Martha Stewart - think it's called Flourish Lace.  I adhered everything to the backing paper (all papers are Basic Grey 'Wassail') and then saw the stray speck of embossing powder ....... well I wasn't going to throw all the work away, so I punched a snowflake to cover the error, then others to balance out the card.  The tiny gold snowflakes don't show up well in the photo, but they do look nice IRL :-)

52 cards Challenge - week 14

I am very behind on this, but am trying to catch up!  The prompt for week 14 of the 52 cards challenge was - hexagons.
The Christmas card has hexagons punched from silver cardstock, with punched snowflakes on top.  I ran the mat through the bigshot in a snowflake embossing folder and wrapped a ribbon around it before adhering to the navy card blank.  The sentiment banner is a from a pack bought at Ally Pally a few years ago.
For the birthday card I used papers from a truly awful 6" paper pad I had bought because it was only £1.99 and the cover illustrations looked OK...... one of the papers had roses on it so I die-cut hexagons from it to include a rose each.  The mat is one of the worst papers from the pad, which looks OK as a frame LOL and the main background paper is one of the least horrible ones!!!  I used two white flowers, inking the smaller one completely with some pink chalk ink, while the larger one was inked just around the petal tips.  The pearl swirl is from stash, bought years ago and never used.  The sentiment strips are die-cut pennants.
I have to say, despite the fact that the papers are not so great, I actually really like the way the card has turned out.  Just goes to show ....... :-)