Steampunk for the Girls! Friday 30th March

Hello!


Normally I would be saying thank goodness it's Friday, as it's one of my non-work days, but this week Friday signifies that  the end of my week off work is near and I have to go back to the office on Monday! Oh well, it's been a great week of crafting with a little bit of enjoying the sun in between, so I can't complain!


Steampunk - what is it? I think it has slightly different interpretations for all of us crafters. To me, it means something that life would have been like had we not experienced the technological revolution (Sam Poole put it really well on Create and Craft yesterday, but I'm going to have to re-check my recording for the exact words. However I remember thinking that were are on the same wavelength about it!). The Industrial Revolution really set the Victorians imagining the future in weird and wonderful ways and that's what Steampunk is all about..I wonder what the 22nd Century version of Steampunk will be looking back at us? I doubt it will be as interesting, as things progress so quickly now that there is little room for such vibrant imaginings....anyway I digress!


I'm very girly in my card-making, but in the way that I like cute images, ribbons, flowers and muted pinks and purples, browns, greens...I love 'distressed' and shabby chic, not hugely bright colours or lots of glitter. So this is probably why I prefer to embrace  the more feminine side to Steampunk and this is my take on it....

The background is a "That Special Touch of...' Mask (Cogs). I used dark cream card and put the mask through my Grand Calibur. I then shaded the edges and slightly 'into' the card all round with Vintage Photo distress ink. The greeting is from  Sam Poole's 'Inventor' Stamp set, stamped with Vintage Photo on to Kraft Card. The flower was made using the Spellbinders Floral Creations die set (all the flowers layered). I used the old book I got from a charity shop and distressed the edges of some of the layers. It's held together with a metallic brad.


The mannequin is chipboard from Craftwork Cards, bought in a pack at my lovely local craft shop, Out of the Blue (Chipping Sodbury). I covered it with paper from the book and distressed it with Vintage Photo.


I cut the Wings from the Fanciful Flight Spellbinders die set, using brown card which had been stamped with a Script stamp from Lilli of the Valley. The little toppers in the corners are the 'waste' from this die-cut.


To finish off and carry through the Steampunk theme, I added the clock, hanging from a brad which has the effect of a screw - both from Creative Expressions. Just to soften the card a little, I finished off with sheer ribbon.


I still believe (and this is only my opinion) that Steampunk is something that a lot of us crafters really enjoy playing with because there are no rules, no limits to the imagination...but in the end, it's just for us to enjoy...well, there is so much Steampunk craft stuff out there, but has anyone seen a Steampunk style card for sale commercially - even for men? I've never been commissioned to make one either.  I still occasionally look at cards in shops just to see what's about and it's not something I've seen...maybe us crafters are just a few years ahead of everyone else!


Thanks for stopping by!
Carole X

Troublemaker 2 - Thursday 29th March

Morning!


This is a variation on a previous post, in which the same stamp was used (and there is one more to come later in the week).


The stamp is 'Troublemaker'  by Kenny K (from Whimsy Stamps)  and I just love it because it's suitable for any pre-teen/early teen girl. This is an 8x8 card, which I first covered with black card and then matted and layered with bright the green polka dot from stash. The dark green  polka dot is Coredinations 'Tilly Dot' paper, which I sanded to raise the dots. I cut a strip for the centre of the card and added a strip of teal vintage ribbon.

I coloured the girl with Promarkers (colours listed below) and die cut on Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles, shading the edges with Faded Denim distress ink and adding a few flowers from stash.


To finish off I cut another strip from the Coredinations paper and punched the edge with a Martha Stewart Punch.I added a few co-ordinating diamantes. I also cut 2 shapes from Spellbinders Teardrop Circles and added a greeting. Final touches: a bow with a button from stash and a little hint of Cosmic Sparkle.


Promarkers used:


Skin: Ivory, blush, baby pink (lips0
Hair: Cinnamon, Chestnut, Caramel, Ivory
Ice-cream: Cocoa, vanilla, baby pink
Hoodie: Turquoise, Marine, Soft Green, Silver
Jeans: Denim, Sky
Trainers: Ice Grey 2, Ice Grey 4, Silver
Grass: Leaf Green, Grass 




Thanks for stopping by and thanks for leaving comments, I very much appreciate them,
Carole X

Tres Chique - Wednesday 28th March

Morning!


From Venice to Paris today and another card using the Sam Poole Dressform Stamps and Indigo Blu Flitterglu and gilding flakes (yes I was having a 'play' at the weekend!

I started with a base layer of cream card and shaded the edges with Tea Dye distress ink; I also inked the greeting directly on to the card using distress ink. I inked the dress form stamp and the butterfly  with Flitterglu and also the butterfly, which is from Joanna Sheen's Classic Melody stamp set. I then let the gilding flakes (Winter Dawn) do their magic!


A piece of cream card was then die-cut with Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles and shaded with Tea Dye again. The dress form and  butterfly were cut out  and stuck to the die-cut with sticky pads. A piece of ribbon and a bow were added to the card and the dress form, before the die-cut was placed. To finish off I added Vintage Bakers Twine, three little dots of gold Cosmic Shimmer and I cut the smallest die from the Romantic Rectangles set and sewed around the edge before adding three little buttons.


The buttons and Stick Pins were white, so I coloured them with a caramel Promarker.


I have the week off this week, using up leave and told Tom I would be making cards to replenish the box he keeps at work for colleagues to buy from, as well as intending to get up to date with commissions...plus I have some more 'crafty' homework to do...it's already almost Wednesday and I have accomplished so little...but let's face it, I just can't make quick cards, it's not in my DNA :) !!!! Plus I still have a poorly hen to keep checking on!


Thanks for stopping by,
Carole X

Bella Venezia - Tuesday 27th March

Good Morning Friends,

Before anything else can I please say a big thank you for leaving comments, I really enjoy reading them, just as I enjoy following your blogs and leaving my comments there as well!

Today's card has a Venetian theme and probably well over due for me when I tell you that my father-in-law is Venetian and I have spent many a happy time there visiting family and enjoying the little places not generally on the tourist route! I have been going to this wonderful city for many years now and it really is very special to me, I'm a lucky girl!

Anyway, less dreaming  of holidays and back to the card...

The base layer for the card is printed from Debbi Moore's Shabby Chique Vintage Travel CD;I inked the edges with a mixture of Tea Dye and Tattered Rose distress inks to give it a vintage feel and stamped the gondola with Tea Dye. The stamp is also from Debbi Moore crafts, the Venice Collection. I just wanted a faint effect to make it look like it is almost part of the paper.

I also stamped the greeting with Tea Dye and die cut it using Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three, which I covered with some Nestabling to lift it with some sparkle, yet remain quite elegant. The main reason I set out to make this card was that I wanted to see how these Carnivale Masque stamps looked using Indigo Blu Flitterglu and Gilding Flakes. The stamp is again from Debbi Moore's Venice Collection. I stamped it with the flitterglu and gilded it with Yorkshire Dales flakes and was really pleased with the result. I just finished off with a few black diamantes and some sheer ribbon.

Now I have the hang of the flitterglu I am finding it quite easy and less messy to use! Phew!

Carole X

Fabulous Day! - Monday 26th March

Morning!


This card was inspired by a Creative Expressions demo on Create and Craft Saturday and an urge to dig into my stamp pad box and resurrect something I hadn't used in a while! 

There are a lot of elements to this card, so I'll describe as best I can....


Firstly I took a piece of cream card from the card stock that Sue Wilson brought to Create and Craft the last time she was on and I ran it through the Grand Calibur using a 'That Special Touch' (Creative Expressions) Mask, to emboss it. I then added three strips of mauve coloured ribbon and adhered it to the base card. I took a  Spellbinders Grand Oval Nesatability and cut and embossed from the same cream card. Leaving the die on the oval, I laid the Mask over the top and inked through using Milled Lavender distress ink to create a background.


The image was stamped from Sam Poole's Vintage Dressforms set. I stamped with Perfect  Medium and heat embossed with black embossing powder to raise it and give it a gloss. I then used a damp paint brush and Milled Lavender ink  to colour the image before cutting it out.


The greetings were stamped from the same set, cut out using Spellbinders Labels Four Small and shaded with Milled Lavender.


The Wings....I wanted to give the card I very feminine but slightly 'Steam Punky' feel: A packet of Fantasy Film was something I bought ages ago, used a couple of times and put in my box of stamp pads. The 'thing' with creating cards for commissions is that you don't often get the chance to make cards that take a really long time and to make these wings consisted of:


Using PaperArtsy's mini Dragonfly stamp, I inked it up with Stazon and laid two layers of Fantasy Film (Krista's Eyes) over the top, pressing in slightly. On top of this I put a piece of baking parchment. I had already pre-heated my iron to medium and ironed the film for about 20 seconds, giving it time to form. I then cut out the wings.


Okay, it doesn't really take long and isn't even that much of a faff and I'm glad I did it, because the end result is quite beautiful!


I attached the wings to the back of the dress form and attached  the stamped image to the Oval and the card. I finished off with a double bow.


Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment, I love to read them!


Carole X

It's My Party! Sunday 25th March

Good afternoon...and another warm and sunny one it is too!


Lilli of the Valley is one of my favourite stamp design companies - apart from producing such cute and endearing images, the stamps are also top quality. Today's card is the stamp entitled 'It's My Party' and I love it! I recently saw a post  on the LOTV blog where this stamp had been made into a 'Keep Out' sign for a child's door - brilliant idea!

I stamped on to Neneh card and used the following to colour:


Promarkers: Ivory, blush - skin
                    Caramel, shale, ivory - hair
Flexmarkers: Wild orchid,  soft mauve, pink pearl - dress, parcel, boots


The 6x6 card was matted and layered with paper and card from stock and I used a Martha Stewart punch to add another layer of mauve glitter card. The image was die cut using a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangle and the edges were shaded with Milled Lavender distress ink. I added these two layers across a ribbon added to the card and left to hang over the edges. I used some flowers I had in my stash box (having made an attempt to tidy my craft room yesterday, I am making an effort to use some items that have been in the box a long time!) and used little purple diamantes in the centre. I finished of with a bow and typed sentiment cut into a Spellbinders Heart Circles die, with edges shaded in Milled Lavender....and of course, a little dusting of Cosmic Sparkle was needed here!


I think the sentiment was really hard on this one...it would really have to be the right person to send it to I think!


Enjoy your Sunday!
Carole X

Off to Hogwarts! Saturday 24th March

Good afternoon friends,


I hope the weather is as beautiful with you as it is here today! We did our weekly shop in Tetbury, strolled to one of our favourite little coffee shops (Hortensia), bought some plants in the market and have just got home via the bird farm to pick up some food for our hens (Buffy seems much improved by the way!).


So before I finish tidying the craft room and get out in the garden, here is a quick card to share with you today. I had been looking for ideas for a Harry Potter style card for a young fan's birthday for a while, when I cam upon these digital stamps available from http://www.tiddlyinks.com/


They are a Wizard and a Wizardette and what is great is that the boy Wizard comes with and without specs! I really liked the images and because they also come in png format, they can be easily manipulated.

I forgot to write down the colours of Promarkers I used as I was really just playing for the first time...I do intend to create a more 'magical' card, hopefully sometime next week and I will add the full details.


Having printed the images and coloured with Promarkers, I roughly tore the paper around the edges and very slightly inked with black soot distress ink. I matted and layered a square card with black-silver-black card and topped with the images. The flourishes and book of spells are cut using the Cricut, Storybook and Paper Doll Dress up respectively and the greeting is printed and cut using Spellbinders Labels Four Small. This greeting isn't the one being used on the final card. I also added a potion bottle from Tim Holz's miniature bottle collection and filled it with red glitter, although thanks to my bad photo it's hidden behind the label!


Back soon and have a great weekend!
Carole X