Special Cards & Xmas Day Birthday

Today I share my Family Cards.

This first one is a Brusho background.

This second is also Brusho and

is the design that inspired a

simpler version for craft friends.

I actually made 4 of these, two in red.

Sadly time for photos ran out.

This card shown, is actually made for

someone who is sadly no longer with us.

This card below, is for my friend, Anne

who has her birthday on Christmas Day.

Had to take this to work to get a

decent photograph!

I loved this so much,

I didn't want to part with it unless I could get 

a good picture!

Background made using cut panels

of water-colour paper and 

Brusho in Rose Red & Lime Green

I mopped up the excess using the die cut

before die cutting the Wild Blooms (Memory Box)

I embossed all the panels using my

favourite folder, Secret Garden

and I added interest with a few die cut swirls.

I loved the folds of this design.

It was simple to create and one I

think I will use again.

Christmas Cards for Friends

Here are a selection of the cards,

that I made this year.

I didn't have an awful lot of time and I

will tell you the reason why in the New Year!

I needed quick, simple designs and as

always, fit the design to the recipient.

I got some excellent "free" stamps with a few

craft magazines and they proved a God send!

Some incorporate Tim Holtz dies

(above & below)

This one above, I made specifically for all the girls

at Queen Bee beauticians because it was an

idea I got from their Christmas window display

and the one below, I mass produced for

all my craft friends.

It is not as simple as it looks.

The background is Brusho with

Heavy Gesso through a Lace Stencil (TCW)

Then snowflakes with light modelling paste

through another stencil

painted with pearl paint

The Kraft card itself, was painted with pearl paint

and so was the die cut word snowflake.

I will share some more later & one of them (for my sister)

gave me the idea for this simple snowflake one.

Two Birthdays

I had two birthdays with a couple of days

of each other & a new background idea,

that I really wanted to try.

Result, two cards but different colours & images.

Both cards feature an image personal to the recipient.

 

First up, my card for Karin, featuring

one of her gorgeous photos from Iceland.

The colours on the card were selected to match

the blue in the photo.

 

Next up, my friend (& old work buddy) Kate.

With this one, I went with pink to match her

Labrador's tongue.

I always think of two things when I look at this photo.

First it reminds me of the test screen on television

of years gone by & second I wonder if Skye is in

fact blowing bubbles with some gum!!

 



 

Both card began the same, 2 squares of 140lb

watercolour paper and gesso added randomly.

Book text paper from a purpose bought cheap dictionary

added & then one card spritzed with Blue Magicals;

TiffanyLou's Blue

& the other Pink Magicals:

Cotton Candy Pink.

(Both from  LSG Sweet Treats set)

While the Magicals were still wet, I added Brusho,

Ost Blue to the Blue card & Rose Brusho on the pink one.

Both were well dried and then Golden Light Molding Paste

was put through a Tim Holtz Stencil, Blossom.

I love how the paste draws up some of the colour in random places.

I dragged Gold Drawing Ink over some sections.

Brusho & Drawing Ink both by Colourcraft Ltd.

Photos were die cut using the Maggie Holmes Polaroid die.

Birthday - Tim Holtz Thinlits Script.

 

Sadly the photograph does not show the glimmer

made by the magical sprays.

 



Latest Art Journal Spread - Craft Life

When I began creating this page, it was using

a colour scheme I had used for something else.

I had used 140lb watercolour paper to blot off

excess colour.

The only idea I had for the page was shimmer.

Lots of glorious pearlescent shimmer...

I totally love the gold/pink combination and

I used this as my starting point.

Sadly, as we all know, cameras do not pick

up shimmer very well. So I included two close up

shots because the gold on the velum heart shows quite well.

 

 

 I also wanted a close up of this gorgeous

digital bird I purchased.

Now a photograph of the complete double page spread.

 

The base of this began life as Dylusions sprays.

First I spritzed with White Linen and then added Lemon Zest

Tangerine dream and Cherry Pie.

Spritzing them this way turned them pastel

(an idea I gleaned from Joggles)

I then used water & more white linen to

do the ghost technique using the Rosetta

& Love Post Stencils by C/Workshop.

Once dry I spritzed with Heidi Swapp Colorshine

GOLD! Yummy!

I added light molding paste through the Love

Post stencil. I also drew them hearts lightly on velum and cut out.

I added the Winged Heart TH die & the bird.

The paste soaked up colour from underneath.

I coloured the back of the velum hearts with Gelato

Champagne Gold and once on the page

spritzed with Gold.

Other products used;

Silk Acrylic Glazes.

Donna Downey stamp

Lime Citron Stamp - Amour

Love stamp - Hero arts

Crafty Secrets Bird Notes stamps

Galaxy Gold ink

LSG Magicals Cotton Candy Pink

Primary elements Rose Gold

Words are all "found Poetry"

from a purpose bought dictionary.



It's All About Weddings!

I really have neglected my poor little blog.

To be honest, I have been so very busy making

wedding invitations for my friends, Claire & Craig.

Once they were done, I needed a total break from

crafting!!!

Anyway, I am back today to share

this card made for my sister & hubby.

Yesterday was their Wedding Anniversary.

 

I am really into Gold/Pink combinations right

now & so this card was born.

 

 

Today, my colleague, Andy married his lovely

girlfriend, Rachel. So, I made

then this card, using the same palette.

 

Materials list;

140lb watercolour paper

Lindys Starburst Sprays;

Cape Cod Coral & Clam Bake Beige

Heidi Swapp Colour Shine - Gold

TCW Stencil Cathedral of Love

design by Rebekah Meir

Memory Box die -Blushing Bouquet

Tim Holtz - Mini Hearts

Love - Maggie Holmes - Open Book

Gold Stickers - Jen Hadfield Home Made

Stamps;

Love Defined - Tim Holtz

Congrautlations - Dina Wakley

Paper Strip - Prima

Velum pieces - Papermania

Sequins - from my stash

Deeper pink on heart - Cherry Pie Dylusions

 

links to products where possible.

Thank you for dropping by.



Handmade Book

Warning - Photo heavy!

 

I handmade a small notebook for my sister.

Its purpose, so she could note what we did on holiday.

I made the pages using shaving foam & distress reinkers.

I did one side Milled Lavender,

let it dry well & then turned over

& repeated with Victorian Velvet.

I used PaperArtsy Stamps,

Finnabair stamps,

Donna Downey empowered word stamps,

Baroque Swirl stamp is by Inkylicious

I then stitched the book together using dental floss.

Here is the finished piece.

 

Front Cover

Lower portion coloured with Silks

Inside front cover

some of the decorated pages

inside back cover

Back cover

 

I tried to keep the book simple so that my sister had room to write.

She said the shaving foam made the paper lovely & silky, smooth to write on.

Card Share

I made this card to give my sister, Tracy. I saved her birthday money until I went up on holiday.

She saved mine for when I got there and we went out for some retail therapy.

 

I also made her a hand stitched minibook to jot down things about

our week, however having just upgraded to Windows 10, I have not yet got the

pictures back on my computer. (I sensibly moved everything to my portable hard drive) 

 

For the card I used Tim Holtz tissue, Luminarte Silks, Texture Paste,

Tim Holtz Stamps & stencils. Artful Mosaic- original by Michelle Ward,

Finnabair Butterflies.

Two Art Journal Pages

I wanted to create a page in my journal

made up of recycled materials.

Here is a photo of a few of those items.

Tea bag paper, fruit tea from inside

100% Kraft napkin & balsa wood.

 

 

Here's what I came up with.

I used even more recycled bits such as;

eggshells, labels, cut off pieces of hessian

and grass heads from outdoors.

 

The eggshells were adhered on top of

the tea bag papers and then while the gel medium was

still wet, I added the dried fruit tea from inside the bags.

The hessian was offcuts from some Wedding Invitations

I adhered them to make a square to place my grasses.

The whole page was coloured with LSG Starbursts;

Cape Cod Coral/ Clam Bake Beige

Gelatos; Cinnamon / Ice Chai & Coffee

The Moth images were stamped onto the Kraft napkin

I used Paper Artsy word stamps

The tag was from a set of recycled bags.

Title was die cut with Memory Box Urban alpha

cut from the balsa wood.

I was inspired to use eggshells by

French Mixed Media Artist;

Frédérique Curtil

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For my next page I wanted to

incorporate lots of layers.

I also wanted to use image transfer.

My transfer was made from this photo

I took in Feb 2008 at Howden Minster.

I changed it to B&W.

However, the transfer came out blue

& I was thrilled because it matched

my chosen background colours!

 



 

Here is what I created.

My layers consist of Masking Tape,

Washi Tape,

Gel Medium resist with stencil

Dried Flowers

Die Cuts; Tim Holtz / Memory Box

Stamping - Nathalie Kalbach

Coloured using LSG Starbursts;

Whale Watch Blue / Sea Grass Green

Silks & Primary Elements

My focal Image of the Howden Angel

Crafty Individuals Butterfly Girl

Stamped on tissue & adhered to page.

My wording at top Indigoblu

Angel Definition at bottom.

 



Happy Birthday to my sister, Tracy

Today it is my sister's birthday!

I made her card quite simple as she

is not fond of fussy designs.

I forgot all about this letterpress plate

until I saw an image on Pinterest!

I have since done a craft supplies re shuffle!!

So annoying not knowing where things are so you forget them.

 

 

Inside I used a piece cut off from the front.

 

On the back I used the same colour for the

dragonfly.

 

 

Letterpress & plate-floral

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Thinlits Celebrate

& Mixed Media

Dragonfly/Happy/With love stamps;

free cover images

ribbon from £ shop

Butterfly - Anitas

Spiro die

LSG Starbursts Whale Watch Blue

 

I have two art journal pages almost complete

however the heat has made me shattered & I slept

nearly all day yesterday!



Kim's 40th Birthday

This was made for a colleague who turned 40 last month.

I stamped & embossed the two Kaisercraft stamped designs

using LSG angel Wings Gold.

I then sprayed the panel with Dylusions;

Lemon Zest/Tangerine Dream

Cherry Pie/ Pomegranate Seed

Once dry I added White Linen &

some Picket Fence Distress stains.

I re-stamped the butterfly design over

the embossed one with Hero Arts Cuppa Joe.

Then stamped the swirl.

Die cut two pieces of watercolour paper with Tim Holtz

Mixed media die - Harlequin & coloured

using LSG Starbursts;

Cape Cod Coral/ Salt Water Taffy

Coloured some small white flowers at same time.

Added a cut out butterfly.

I almost have two art journal pages to share but have

been working on a few things at once,

getting nowhere fast!!



Father's Day

I chose to use a photograph as the focal

image for the card.

I took this picture at Plants+ in Northumberland

the weekend of my sister's birthday.

Dad bought some of these, almost black Fuchsias.

I stamped a panel of watercolour paper

with Darkroom Door large grid stamp.

I then stamped Fuchsias on each side

(Darkroom Door Art De Fleur Vol.1)

I stamped them again onto card

coloured them with Inktense Pencils

& once the photo was in place, I layered

them so overlap the image.

Page 5 of my Art Journal

The idea for this page actually came to

me as I was waking up last Sunday morning!

I'm not sure where it came from or what it meant

but I knew I just had to go with it!

I wanted vivid colour against black

& I wanted the Tim Holtz Doily stencil.

I painted a paper doily black & then

stencilled Bird in the Window Stencil Girl

I added the border stamping using StazOn

& painted the stamped Tim Holtz flower.

The shape of the paper in the centre does

come from a doodle I did a week or so

ago when we had no computers at work.



 

Other Materials used;

Watercolour paper

Dylusion's paint-

Fresh Lime/ Black Marble

White Linen/ Postbox Red

(both red & green mixed with black for darker shades)

Posca White Paint Pen

Border Stamps from a set

I bought while in France.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

It was my train buddy, Martin's birthday

mid week and I made him this card.



 

The image is a photo I took at Alnwick Castle.

I made the speech bubbles in Silhouette Studio

The fries & coke are from a free stamp set by DoCraft.

Art Journal & Cards

First up is my third art journal entry.

This has taken many weeks to complete.

Firstly because I am working on wedding invitations

for friends and secondly because I wanted a

really worn background.

The background is designed to look like very shabby walls

with old peeling paper.

I used the peeled paint technique using Vaseline

layers of paint, followed by more Vaseline

& more paint. I think in total I applied about

9 layers until I was happy!

I used some free paper that came in a craft mag

a few years ago. It is gorgeous roses by Raspberry Road.

I wanted that to be in the very background and built my "peeled"

layers over the top.

I also added a bit of tinted texture paste

to give the walls a crumbling look.

To finish I added the roses but I feel they

do not do the piece justice. I have not got them aged

enough despite 6 coats of white paint to tone down

the colours!!

The quote reads;

It was June and the world smelled of roses.

The sunshine was like powdered gold

over the grassy hillside.

by Maud Hart Lovelace - 1892 - 1980

 Other Materials used;

French Book text

Dylusions Paints;

Bubblegum Pink & White Linen

Fresh Lime.

Waltzing Mouse Stamps - (previously loved)

Gelatos in green & pink for roses.

------------------

Next are two cards that were "lost"

I took the photos prior to going to stay

with my sister for Easter.

When I got home I could not find them anywhere.

It then became apparent they were on the camera

& not on the SD Card in the camera.

After a few weeks of searching for the cable

(been so busy with wedding invites in between)

I finally got my photos!





 This features my two favourite rabbits - Alice Palace

Background stamped with a previously loved

script stamp and then finger painted with

Tim Holtz distress paint;

Peacock Feathers, Squeezed Lemonade

& Mermaid Lagoon.

Stencilled with TH Blossom and picket fence.

Rabbits coloured Antique Linen & Sq. Lemonade

with touches of Wild Honey

& a touch of clear Wink of Stella.

Finally, I splashed the card

with Heidi Swapp Gold Colour shine.

-------------------------------

This final card is a free stamp set

with a magazine & a touch of water colouring

using my Derwent Inktense Pencils.

 



My New Favourite Colour (s)

Over the weekend, I got a chance

to make something quick for myself!

Its official.....

I am in love with Twisted Citron!!!

 

I have two mini notebooks.

One for lists of my stash & my "wants" list.

The other for my desk at work.

I decided to decorate both books.

I haven't taken a photo of the work book yet.

Below is my stash book.

 

Front Cover

Back Cover

 

Front Cover Materials

New Distress Ink Twisted Citron

New Abandoned Coral

Squeezed Lemonade

Tim Holtz Stencils;

Doily/ Dot Fade

Prima Stencil #569457

 

Back Cover Materials

New Dylusions Fresh Lime Paint

Squeezed Lemonade

Tim Holtz Stencils;

Gothic / Dot Fade

Free Cover Stamp Craft Stamper

July 2015 - Elizabeth Borer design

 

Stamps used on both sides of book

Donna Downey / Unity Stamp Co.;

Empowered Words

Create To Breathe

 

 

Birthday Wishes for Lorraine

Today is my colleague Lorraine's birthday.

I managed to get a card made in between

creating the Wedding Invitations so that everyone

at work could sign it for her.

I'm pleased because I got chance to play

with my new toys!

 

Materials used;

Memory Box Grid Stencil

NEW Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink

New Tim Holtz Flower Garden Stamps

Water coloured with Derwent Pencils

Memory Box Butterflies Die

Sentiment from a free cover kit.

 

I am SO into flowers right now. They seem

to be my favourite image.

Art Journal page coming soon

& it features shabby wallpaper style

& old fashioned Tea Roses.

 

Very proud of the Water Coloured

Christening card in the post below.

Had some very favourable comments.