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 :-)

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 :-)

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!

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!