Troublemaker Tutorial - 12th March\

Hello friends on another Monday morning....but wasn't it a wonderful Spring weekend? My husband couldn't understand why I chose to spend most of it indoors crafting, but I do have a deadline for quite a few cards by the end of this week! I spend most of today on one special card...the Wonderland theme, but I can't share it here for a week or so..that's if I figure out how to photograph it!


The card I am sharing today is made using  Kenny K's 'Troublemaker' stamp from Whimsy Stamps- hope you like it! At the end, I have also added a little tutorial (the first on my blog) about matting stamps, because a few friends have asked me about it lately.

My base layer for this 8x8 card is purple paper from stash, I matted and layered this with coredinations paper, embossed with an M-Bossability and sanded to bring out a turquoise core.


I stamped the image on  Neneh card and as I wanted something for her to be leaning against, I matted her and stamped a wall from Creative Expressions Tatty Button 'worker stamps' behind her. I coloured her with Promarkers, Flexmarkers and shaded the background with Faded Denim distress ink.


The flowers were all cut from the Spellbinders Floral Creations set and the greeting was also die cut using the Peony die. I also stamped greeting tickets using Sam Poole's  Celebration Tickets stamps with Perfect Medium and embossed these in black and white. I finished off with some lace and purple satin ribbon.


Quick Tutorial


I'm adding this mostly because a couple of friends, have asked me to and because I thought it would be fun from time to time...so here you are, I know you never post messages but I also know you visit! Because you tell me!


1. First of all stamp the image that you want to be in the foreground of your design twice - once on the card you are using for the design and once on paper, preferably something like a Post it note, which is a  bit tacky on the reverse.

2. Cut out the post it note image as above and place it directly on top of the original image.
3. Take you background stamp (in this case the wall), place where you want it and stamp over the original masked image. The mask will prevent the background being stamped across the main image, which will now look like it's in the foreground.

This is a really easy effect to create once you have practiced it a few times, but if you still aren't confident, you can always stamp the background and cut out your foreground and matt and layer her in front...two ways with different effects!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carole X

Plain & Simple - 23rd February

Hello Bloggers!


Today's card is a simple design, which I think would work for birthdays or 'just because' days! I just started with some yellow coredinations card stock adhered to a 6x6  blank. I sanded it lightly, but it doesn't show in the photo. I matted and layered this with some card from stash (desert blooms pad) and then cut the two largest dies from the Spellbinders Heart Squares set. The flower was cut using the Anemone die, out of wool felt, which is really soft and easy to cut. The card is completed with a button from my button box and  tied with bakers twine. A nice simple card for those times we are all in a hurry.

I'm not going to be posting on Friday, we have some family staying over night  and I haven't had time to schedule any more posts...so hope to be back on Saturday!

Thanks for stopping by,

Carole X

Birthday Bubbles - 19th February

Good Morning Bloggers!


It's a gorgeous Sunday morning here...I was up early to let our hens out into the garden and they've been clucking happily (and quietly) to themselves ever since! Normally, I try and schedule a week's worth of posts and just revisit to 'tweak'. It's really the only way when I have to go to work and have time to actually make the cards.


Yesterday we went into Bristol for a meander in the lovely Clifton area (it was wet and dreary yesterday- shame) and one of the shops we went into was a sic-fi comic store. I used to be a bit of a nerd about sci-fi (I know it's hard to believe) and I still like it, but less. But I am envious of all these people who make a living from comic art, because from Manga to Marvel, I think it's amazing. Anyway, I digress! This store actually now has an art and crafts section, I kid you not. It consists of books for knitting and crocheting monsters and robots, but I was taken with a little book called 'Steampunk Softies' with patterns and instructions to created little Steampunk miniatures. I bought it....so watch this space, especially as I have yet to create a proper steampunk card!


Today's card is far from Steampunk...it's fun and cute, I made it for a commission and I was really pleased with it!

I began with an 8x8 card blank which I covered with blue and white dotty paper printed from do crafts digital designer  and slightly distressed the edges with the merest hint of weathered wood distress ink.


I then embossed a smaller square of coredinations card with a floral mat from 'That Special Touch' and lightly sanded it. I printed the images from digital designer Tulip and Friends (Tulip and Hot Diggity Dog) and die cut it with Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangles. Again I shaded the edges with Weathered Wood distress ink. I made the rosette from the same base paper and cut the birds and flower with Spellbinders dies from the Cuckoo Clock set. The greeting was printed and cut with Spellbinders  Lacey Ovals die. The border circles were made using a Martha Stewart punch. I then finished it off with a little touch of Cosmic Twinkles and my favourite  final touch, ribbons and buttons!


Have a great Sunday and see you tomorrow,
Carole X

Cuckoo! 16th February

Morning!


Today's card was a bit of fun with a vintage 'Country' Style. I bought this  Spellbinders die from Polkadoodles at the NEC last year and I confess, I had had my eyes on it for a while. It is fun to use and very effective, besides it's effect can change dramatically depending on the type of effect you want and the colours you choose.


With this card I was going for a kind of whimsical 'homespun' look....

I constructed the clock using Coredinations papers in blue and brown, which I then sanded to bring out the embossing. I started with a 6x6 card, layered with some card from stash. It's quite a deep blue with raised polka dots.


The clock was placed to one side and I printed the greeting on white card-stock, die cut using a die for the Spellbinders Ironworks Accents set and shaded with weathered wood distress ink. The card was edged with lace and the two butterfly buttons were the final touch.
What do you think?
Carole X

Little Bird - 7th February

Morning!

This is a Spellinders die - Bird Sanctuary - that I got late last year and have hardly had a chance to 'play with' - but I love it and I can see that it is one I will use more and more. I have a bird and cage with the Cricut, but whilst my little machine is something I use almost every time I craft, my Grand Calibur gets used every time and the difference is..you can emboss and it makes a big difference!

This is a 6x6 twisted easel: I used like paper with a faded floral pattern to cover the base and another lilac paper, this time with an embossed glittery floral design to the side. This was from my much used Desert Blooms pad and was just what I needed to make the background 'pop'. I cut and embossed the cage and small bird on to plum coredinations paper, which instead of sanding I sprayed lightly with Crafters Companion 'Spray and Sparkle' multicolour. I typed and printed the greeting and cut it using Labels Four Small. I also cut a faux die around it in the plum card. The greeting label and the edges of the whole card were coloured with a mixture of Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender distress inks.

The ribbon is gorgeous...its one of those double-sided silk ribbons, a dark and light colour. I got it locally in Out of the Blue, Chipping Sodbury

I really enjoyed making this card...hope you like it!

Carole Z

August 2011

Hi all, I have been busy these last few weeks trying to get some cards made for my cousin to try and sell at her fundraiser for Cancer Research in a few weeks and it's also been a busy time with family birthdays...and I'm also still determined to get my Christmas cards made!
 I am quite excited to read on her blog that my  'crafting idol' Sue Wilson is soon to bring out her first crafting DVD...oh wow! 

You know how much of a Promarker fan I am? Well Nikky Hall and Martyn Parker simply talked me into trying Letraset's new FlexMarkers on Create and Craft last week...can't wait for them to arrive and share with you my thoughts on them!


Here are a few of my cards to share with you so far...


The first one is my 'grunge bag'! I cut the shape for the bag using my Cricut Storybook cartridge, first on plain white card and then on Tim Holz/coredinations card (antique linen), I sanded it and then stamped the birds. I used brown polka dot paper from stash to cover the bottom of the bag. The 'thank you' was stamped on to a die from the Spellbinders Parisien accents set and the flowers were made from the anemone spellbinders die and flowers/leaves from cricut cartridges. They were curled, sanded and I added a hint of glitter. The card is finished off with a rusty wire handle. This card took a while but it was a joy to make!

This was a simple card made from acetate. I have to confess the paper was from my stash, but it was printed from one of my CDs...I will revisit when and add which one when I have found it!
The flowers and tags were made using punches and the card was finished off with a brad and some ribbon.

I am very fond of Tatty Button and how different colourways work so well. This was made using a deep fucshia coredinations card. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border and threaded matching silk ribbon through. Tatty was coloured with Promarkers (of course) and the flower was again made by stamping, colouring and cutting out several umberellas from Tatty's 'worker' stamp set.

A new House Mouse stamp to play with! They are just irresistible! Need I say he was coloured with Promarkers, after being stamped in to a deckled oval spellbinders die? The edges were accented with tea rose distress ink.I used a hole punch to make the circle for the easel card to rest on and decorated with polka dot ribbon and buttons from stash. 

This is Tatty Button's little mouse pal, Pip. Again stamped on a deckled oval die, which is inked very subtley at the edges with Spun Sugar distrss ink. I used paper from stash and polka dot ribbon in translucent brown finish it off, together with punched flowers and brads

One last card for now...my first from the Tatty Teddy, Me to You CD I just bought. I decided to buy this one for two reasons...I do like this little bear and I hope he will sell well at fairs, but its the first CD that has been made available that works properly on a MAC!!! You can access the files on most of the others, but I usually revert to my laptop for interaction...this one interacts all the way on my Mac..wonderful! This is one of the digistamp images, which I coloured...the image was printed on to Nenah white card and cut with the deckled oval die...just a simple, fun ca




Friday 26th August
More cards will be added in September; we've been on holiday - a 'staycation' which was absolutely fabulous.. London, Alfie Boe in Les Mis, Tracey Emin exhibition, followed by a host of other arty type trips closer to home: Oxford and the Ashmolean, Bath and the Holbourne (Peter Blake's Museum for Me exhibition was superb) and just exploring our Cotswold countryside. It's sometimes nice just to spend time in the beautiful surroundings on your 'doorstep' so to speak.

I have already started to think about some scrapbook pages from the holiday and will post them eventually! I came home to a lot of orders for cards, so that has put a temporary halt to my Christmas cards, just as I was getting into the swing of it. We have a holiday again in a few weeks, this time off to Italy, so I had better get moving!


It's going to be a card making day today as no work, but I am very excited about the POTW on Create and Craft, because it's Spellbinders! My Christmas present sorted! I am also excited about receiving Sue Wilson's DVD...can't wait!