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 :-)

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!

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 :-)

Cards of 2013

Since I hardly posted anything last year I though I would make a reminiscent post. So here is the first post of what I've been up to in 2013 (in no particular order!)

This card was for my cousin Ben who turned 17 so I tried to make it 'cool'. I die cut 3 circles out of card stock and embossed it with a chevron pattern. I used a range of distress inks to make a rainbow effect then stamped starts from 7gypsies stamp stamp set. The sentiment from wow embossing stamps set 'everyday sentiments', die cut on a tag from sizzix and distress the edges to match the card background. I did later die cut the letters B E N and put them into the circles but didn't take a photo of that :-)

A few cards made for friends and family. I used the free papers that come with a magazine for the flowers and butterflies. the grey papers are actually the inside of business envelopes. I saw on another blog about using the envelopes because of the different patterns available. I do like recycling!

 A Christmas card I made for a friend to give to his wife. he wanted to get her a very personalised card to make the biggest impression and I hope I fulfilled that for him. I embossed the die cut letter and snowflake in sliver and one snowflake in glitter. The red background was stamped from a Dovercraft stamp and distressed. lastly a tag was die cut out of craft card, distressed and stamped.

 My end of term card for my sister in law, who also happens to be our child minder. Not much to say, just reverse embossed the red card stock, distressed, die cut snowflakes and a sentiment. Simples!

 A birthday card for my boss at work. This was also my first play with the clearly besotted stamps leaves and die cut set. I love them!!! The die cutters are very good and cut like butter. My die cuts just fell out!
The butterfly is from sizzix which was coloured using distress inks and embossed with glitter. the sentiment and fancy swirl is from the wow everyday sentiments set. below is a close up of the butterfly.

Christmas cards

So its been a busy year, going back to work, moving jobs, Leo turning one in the summer. Ive wanted to post but I find the longer I leave it, the harder it is, so this year im determined to gain more confidence and post regularly.

Anyway, ive been picking up with lots of christmas cards for close family and friends.

 Ive seen a few cards with stamped wreaths so this is my take on it. Ive used the clearly bessotted stamp leaf design and then embossed a bow from another stamp set (sorry cant remember which)

This snowflake design was a simple quick one I mass produced. The snowflake was die cut and used in another project, then the sillouette was torn and put on top of some festive paper from me 2 you decoupage set (i think!)

The reindeer template was a free gift in a magazine which I embossed onto melz stampz digi paper, inked up using distress inks, used sticklers to define the reindeer, die cut the red letters and finished off with a bow, brad and sequins.

Wow, thats a mouthful!

This one was my favourite and a few were done for the closest family. I stamped the red background from urban stamps, dovercraft, which I thought work well enough on its own without having to add a sentiment. I heat embossed in gold the same stamp on red card but then used this to die cutthe poinsettia leaves to give some texture. A couple of plain green leaves were also die cut to complete the piontsettia.

I aslo added a bit of greenery from the holiday greenery die by sizzix. All the green die cuts we inked on the edges with pine needles distress ink and the red with fired brick just to add some dimension.

Ill hopefully post a few from last year to catch up on what has been missed soon  :-)

Hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and new year 

Rachael x