Happy Birthday for my man

Here's a birthday card I made for my partner last week. I made it pretty much the same way as my mothers day card, but with more masculine stamps and inks :-)

I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Challenge; Happy Birthday.

I started by using the Creative Expressions chevron stencil with broken china distress ink. the background was then distressed with broken china and old paper with a gradient. I used a die cut from the Lovely labels set from Clearly Besotted Stamps to use as a mask and then started stamping cogs (free stamps from a magazine) with different colours, adding second generation stamping to add dimension.

A sentiment from Clearly Besotted Stamps 'Say it in Style' was stamped in the middle with three colour co ordinated sequins to match the cogs.

Belated Mothers Day

Belated mothers day!

Its been busy around here lately so I haven't had much time for blogging or crafting. Although mothers day gave me the the 'excuse' to spend some quality time on some special cards for a couple of special ladies :-)

I was inspired by Virginia's post here (from her card blog called Yes Virginia) to make a silhouetted sentiment with colourful flowers as the main focal point. What's not to like for mother day, eh? I didn't want to copy Virginia's card completely so I started by choosing some suitable flower stamps and matching colours (memento dew drop ink pads). I used stamps from Indigo Blue Freebird and Kaisercraft Madame Boutique stamp sets. I added a light background using the Creative Expressions Ivy background mask with old paper Distress Ink. 

 The silhouette for the sentiment was made using a die cut from the Clearly Besotted Stamps Lovely Labels die which was stuck in place with a little washi tape (good ol' washi!). the sentiment was from the lovely labels stamps that match the dies. The card was finished off with some sequins (any excuse really!)

I have entered the above card into the Virginia's View Challenge: Stencils. I had actually made this card before I saw this challenge but thought it would fit nicely :-)

This second Mother days card (for the mother-in-law) I had a bit of fun with. I haven't tried the vintage chic look for a while so thought this would be the perfect chance. I had a few card toppers and papers piling up that came from some card magazines. The card toppers were made by Kaisercraft and the floral paper was from the Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  

I started by cutting the floral paper to size and distressing the edges with vintage photo. The lace piece was added and then the paper was attached tot he card blank with foam pads. 

The card toppers were added next and then I used the opposite side of the floral paper to stamp the sentiment 'mum' from the Dovercraft urban stamps collection. The paper was distressed and the opposite edges curled. the sentiment was then added onto the card and some pearls were added as subtle bling.

All round I think it turned out OK :-)

Elegant Butterflies

Yay finally got as chance to play with my new elegant butterfly and lovely labels stamp and die sets from Clearly Besotted Stamps. With just a quick card made the other night I already have many ideas lined up with the use of these sets.

I'm entering this card into the Clearly Besotted Challenge. The theme of this months challenge is 'In Flight' and since I LOVE butterflies and recently got new butterfly stamps and dies....you see where I'm going this!

 I started by using some tiny butterflies in coordinating colours to make a background on card stock. This background was then die cut using a frame die. I loved how these frame dies make a lovely 'embossed edge' around the frame. The middle oval was then die cut and a sentiment with a couple of butterflies stamped on top. The frame and sentiment were layered onto the blank card using small foam pads.

 I die cut all the butterfly shapes and inked up my corresponding stamps with two inks. One colour in the middle or main bit of the butterfly and another colour for the edges of the wings. I really liked this effect.

The finished butterflies were then layered onto the card using foam pads (again!) I added a bit of bling with some small green gems to the two larger butterflies.

I am very happy with the way this card turned out and hope other people like it :-)

Ink Pad Guides and FREE downloads!

Here is what I've finally come up with to use as my ink pad guides. I has struggling to check ink pad colours against each other from their case alone as the stamped image always seems to come out a slightly different colour to me. Looking at the ink colour on paper is always much better.

Please excuse the horrible photo quality!

The first one is a simple generic guide that I wrote my own titles into so that I could add to it as I went along

The second guide I found using google search, it isn't one I made so I will not share it. As you can see, my distress ink stash leaves much to be desired.

The last one is my memento dew drop guide, which is basically the same as the generic guide but with all the ink pad names applied already.  

So here are the downloads and I hope they may be of some use to others :-)

Ink pad guide here

Dew drop Ink pad guide here

1st birthday with bling

So I got asked to make a birthday card for a first birthday with lots of leopard print, sparkly bits and I was told the inspiration was big fat gypsy wedding. Its not my usual style but thought the challenge sounded like fun!

I stamped a pink leopard print patten onto vellum and overlay a lighter pink paper. a couple of ribbons create a central point to the card. The sentiment and name are stamped at the top and some colour coordinated sequins are added for 'bling' 

This was actually quite an enjoyable card to make, coming out of my comfort zone :-)

Granddads Birthday

Not sure if its just me, but I struggle with making masculine cards, especially for older gentleman. Anyhow, I wanted an excuse to use my new birthday numbers stamp set from Clearly Besotted Stamps and think this used them quite well.

I started by choosing some masculine colours and stamping a numbers background on card stock. This numbers background was then die cut out but then I decided to distress the negative space with the same colours and then die cut slightly larger to make a frame. The numbers and frame were then attached tot he blank card using foam pads for dimension. As these elements were quite striking I opted to use a simple sentiment underneath in black archival ink.

We bought my granddad a new pen to replace the last pen I brought for him over 5 years ago. Unfortunately, about a year ago the barrel broke on the pen but the repair costs would be about the same as a new pen. We then wrapped the pen in some paper Leo decorated, which I think my granddad appreciated. Its nice to get the little one involved and i think it looks better than store brought wrapping paper sometimes :-)

Clearly Besotted Challange

So here's my entry for the clearly besotted challenge that I made up quickly, almost forgetting the deadline!

I love the look of using die negative spaces so thought using that negative space to show the colours for this challenge would be good.

For once I am actually really pleased with the way this card turned out. It was a quick turn around card but I had a plan in my head and it all came together nicely. I started by using a blending tool to blend the ink pad colours onto some card stock. On another piece of card stock, I die cut the leaves (which are from clearly besotted stamps). The die cut negative space was then stuck to the coloured card stock using foam pads. 

With the left over colours card stock, I punched out some flower shapes and arranged them with a little coloured pearl on each one. A simple sentiment (from clearly besotted stamps) was added in black archival ink and the whole piece was stuck to the card blank using foam pads.

Baby

I went to see my friends new baby boy, Oliver, who is only just over 2 weeks old! Its amazing to be reminded how tiny newborns are compared to an 18 month old!

I made them a framed baby gift, which they said they loved. I managed to find out the birth details and also checked a photo that she had posted on Facebook of their nursery to make the theme and colours match the room (I sound a bit like a stalker there!). 

There is something about a personalized gift which makes it mean so much more sometimes.

 I also made a card, obviously. The stamped background was made using memento London fog and archival aqua marine and viridian using a free stamp from a magazine. I then die cut the letters out of this card stock and inlaid them back into the gaps onto the black card to try out that 'inlaid die' effect. I'm not particularly fond of this card but I suppose I've still got a lot to learn.

I'm currently still working on my own ink pad guide template which will be shared soon with a FREE downloadable document!

Many thanks

Got a couple of thank you's to share. 

After stashing up on the new dew drop ink pads, I desperately wanted to have a play so I tried out stamping my own floral design. It was quite enjoyable, although I think it could have been better so will most likely try again in the future. The lulu lavender coloured flowers were added for a pop of colour. 

I stamped the sentiment from clearly besotted stamps ( I know, I'm addicted!) in London fog (memento ink pad) on vellum. I coloured in some clear pearls with pro markers to match the ink pads. The finishing touch was a vertical strip of washi tape in grey to balance out the sentiment. The floral card stock was then attached to the blank card using foam pads for dimension.

This is a little late but I made some thank you notes for gifts received for Leo at Christmas. I partially embossed purple card stock with a chevron pattern from Embossibilities, die cut a speech bubble from Xcut out of cereal box card ( I like to recycle!) and stamped a sentiment from wow embossing powders sentiment set. the leaf was stamped and die cut from clearly besotted stamps. 3 little gold stickels dots were added to the speech bubble for a bit of sparkle.

I wrote a simple thank you message on the back of the note... and that was that!

Simon says stamp challenge

Hi there!

Its my mother-in-laws' birthday tomorrow so I got the chance to try out a few new things. I hadn't embossed onto vellum before and I hadn't coloured in a stamp with markers before either.

I got the layout idea from heathers card here. I love the colours she uses and she has such a lovely eye for design.

So this weeks Simon says stamp challenge was to include twine, which I happened to have a bit lying around. It also matched the colour scheme on the card perfectly.

 I started off by stamping the background stamp from the Cardmaking and papercraft magazine in white ink and heat embossing with clear powder. Distress inks were use to layer up the background image and then promarkers were used to highlight the floral details. matching twine was attached and the piece stuck on with raised foam pads for dimension.

The card was finished off with the heat embossed sentiment from clearly besotted stamps and a couple of colour coordinating pearls from my minds eye.

More ink pads and Leo drawing

Some more ink pads were delivered. The collection is starting to look a bit more substantial now, even if 60% of it is dew drops! (Saves space anyway)

Im really happy with these new colours, except the new sprout seems a bit lighter than expected but Ill work with that :-)

I have a decent range of greens now ( will have to update the ink pad collection with all the new dew drops soon) as I use green quite a lot.

Now for a bit of Leo...

Who can say no to this face?

Well, he went into his craft box, pulled out his coloured pencils box and handed them to me. Who am I to stop him if he has the crafting bug eh?

He enjoys his crafting more and more now. Im sure yesterday he drew a square on purpose! Can 17 month olds do that?!? Im a proud mommy either way :-)

Baby personalised frame

I had noticed about a year ago how popular personalised frames had become and have recently got a few more to make as they make such great gifts.

The preference was for a girly design and ladybirds to be included. I tried to keep it clean and simple to focus on the details. 3 ladybirds have been cut out and stuck on using foam dots to add a little dimension. Just to finish off, I decided to add some plain gems for a little added extra.

Here is a better view of the ladybirds dimension. I printed off the main image including the ladybirds and added more on top. I think it looks good this way for that 3D effect. The biggest pain with this project was the mount. The mount that came with the frame was too small for my design so I use a scalpel to hand cut the mount bigger. That took at least an hour as its the first time I had attempted such a thing, although I think it turned out satisfactory.

I've got a few more to do in the next month so stay tuned!

New Ink pads :-)

Yay! I bought some new ink pads. As I have a limited budget, I opted for the Memento dew drops which are cheap but still a good make. I already had three dew drop ink pads so I knew they were of good quality. The best way to bulk up my ink pad stash!

These were stamped using the flower part of a sympathy rubber stamp from Docrafts. I noticed that the Angel pink came out a lot lighter than expected, as well as the Morocco and Denube blue. 

Watch this space for cards made with these colours :-)

You & Me

Finally had a chance to play with my new Clearly besotted stamps sets. Here are a couple of Valentines cards I managed to make with them.

 Using the geometric style II die I made a mask and used distress inks fired brick and broken china to colour the arrows. Using the same inks, I inked up the you & me stamp from the say it in style set and cut it out and stuck on with foam pads. 

 Three gems from Dovercraft finish it off and adhered to a pearlescent red card stock.

 I did the same same thing here with the you & me stamp as the last card but added another sentiment underneath from the same set. A couple more gems from Dovercraft. This time I used some red glitter card stock ( from fizzy moon, Dovercraft) to frame the card. I noticed lately how glitter card stock seems to be coming into fashion so there might be some more showing up on this blog soon :-)

I really like how these turned out. I didn't want to make the traditional romantic cards this year, but something different and I think it has been achieved

Ink pad guide

I decided I wanted to make a visual guide to the stock of ink pads as I was struggling to make a colour palette or scheme with the limited amount of ink I have.

Well here it is and I think it really helps to see all the colours together on card next to each other so I can instantly see what colour look good together.

unfortunately the white ink pad got contaminated by the purple before it (that stuff is hard to rub off!) but its just white so I'm not particularly bothered.

I used the new geometric style II stamps from Clearly Besotted Stamps to stamp the colours, choosing a different stamp to differentiate between distress ink pads (the circles). Any excuse to use these new stamps! The distress markers were just scribbled on (seeing as they can be used for stamping)

Oh and here is a quick photo of our little monster last weekend discovering muddy puddles for the first time. The best thing to do on a cold wet day!

My biggest craft need at the moment is more ink pads. I think dew drops are the way to go for me!

Cards of 2013 part 2

I did actually make a lot of cards last year ( for my standards) and learnt a lot over the year. 

Apologies for the poor quality photos. Most were taken on my phone quickly before sealing them in the envelope!

This was for the birth of a friends baby but I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make this card up as a framed photo for the babies room but thought if I put it on the card, they can see it first and decide if they like it or want alterations. Needless to say they liked it :-)

A pretty girly card for a pretty girly girl. I was unsure what to do at the time but thought I would keep the colours minimalistic and go for white on white with a pop of colour from the butterflies and sentiment. The embossed card came from a set.

An end of term thank you card to my sister in law who is also our child minder. They had recently been to France so that was the inspiration for this card. The sentiments have glitter embossed on them but it doesn't show up in the photo.

Birthday card for a good friend who loves purple so I used some free papers that came with a magazine. I stamped the floral design with silver ink which shimers in the light but the photo does it no justice. The purple feathers were stamps I made from erasers :-)

A card for my friends on their wedding. Their theme was vintage and traditional so I tried to capture that in this card. The stamped sentiment is from a free set from a magazine. the flowers were die cut using Sizzix dies out of cardstock I had stamped and distressed. the stamps were from 7gypsies. the punched leaves were distressed on the ends with old paper distress ink. The embossed and distressed strip is a Sizzix folder. I added a vintage button to the flower for a final touch. I found it in my grans button tin she gave me. I love these buttons as I remember looking at them from a young age but its lovely to see them come out of the box and be appreciated.

A card to my partner on our tenth anniversary together. Had a lot of fun with embossing on this one. I thought the clocks added a nice touch. I had used stencils for the first time on this card so went a bit mental. one clock is from the Prima Paris theme set while the others are from a free set with a Docrafts magazine.the cherish stamp is from the Prima Rondelle collection set. The sweet memories stamp is from the Dovercraft urban stamps sentiment set. the floral stamp is from Tim Holtz floral scroll.

Birthday card for granny olive. I partially embossed the card, die cut letters and die cut a heart out of the front of the card. The grey floral stamp is from Tim Holtz, the dots from my minds eye and the flower dies from Sizzix and Britannia dies. The embossing folder is from Sizzix.

A simple batch birthday card I made when using sequins for the first time. The paper is a free digi from Melz Stamps, the birthday stamp is from Dovercraft, partially stamped, die cut letter from Tim Holtz 'letter block' and the sequins are off Amazon :-)

As you can see I've tried out so many different techniques last year and cant wait for what this year brings :-)