Technique Tuesday Faux-Chalkboard challenge

Gosh, Wednesday already - where's the week gone?  I saw this challenge at Technique Tuesday a little while ago and thought it'd be really fun to join in and Mynette has done a great little technique video for everyone.

I started off stamping a sentiment from Loving Sentiments by Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque) in Versamark ink onto black cardstock and then embossing with white detail e/p (BTW use an antistatic bag unless you want white dots all over the place!!!  lol).  Mynette recommends re-stamping in white ink over your embossed image to create a shadow...........I have done this but think it makes your eyes go a bit funny but perhaps needed to get the shadow a bit closer - however as I used a rubber stamp (as opposed to a clear one) I don't think I did too bad!  I then stamped a floral element from my Meadow Breeze stamp set (Inkylicious) using Stampin Up white ink.  I then cut out and matted using Spellbinders beaded and scalloped ovals.  This was made up into an easel card.  

 

The stopper was again stamped and embossed with white e/p and die cut using the beaded ovals.  I finished off with a white bow.

Thanks for dropping by.  Not sure what the weather is doing as it started off nicely but we've got some really angry looking black clouds coming over - typical for the first day of Glastonbury!!!

Magic Card

Hello everyone.  Well although it's pretty chilly and very breezy we have, at last, got blue skies and sunshine......long may it continue.

We are still slogging on with the new bathroom and ensuite but I managed to get away for a bit of play time. 

I found a brilliant card design by the very talented Marianne Skjelstad and you can find her tutorial here. 


I really thought it was such a pretty design I couldn't wait to have a go and as it's my friend Barbara's birthday soon I made it with her in mind. 

Not sure why it's called a "magic" card but from what I understand Marianne's son was showing her some magic tricks to do with paper folding and this idea came to her.........

I'm not going to list exactly the sizes and method as you can find that in the tutorial but I have used my Martha Stewart edge punch and card/paper from my stash.  The image is a lovely digi stamp called "Noon" by Sara Burrier and has been coloured with Flexmarkers, Glamour Dust added to her wings and then fussy cut and popped up on Pinflair Glue Gel.  The sentiment on the front is from my Heartfelt Creations Heartfelt Expressions stamp set stamped in Sweet Plum Memento ink.  Inside the card the ovals and scalloped ovals have been die cut with Spellbinders Nesties.  The sentiment on the inside of the card is from Elusive Images and the actual greeting was computer generated.  Flowers, pins and pearls from stash and I've added Liquid Pearls to the centre of the flowers on the front of the card.

I was really pleased with the way this card turned out and hope Barbara will like it.

Thanks for dropping by - don't forget to come by tomorrow for our latest challenge over at Addicted to CAS.

Less is More - One Layer Week 115

Hi everyone - well today hasn't given us the nice weather they forecast.......it's been raining all day!  Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Over at Less is More there's a new challenge which is:

This week we have a fun challenge for you.

It must be 

ONE LAYER

(If you're unsure of our rules for this, just look at the Glossary at the top of the blog)

The subject of your cards this time should be inspired by

A FILM

Any film will do, but preferably one that most people will have heard of.

We'd obviously like you to tell us the title of your film and not keep us guessing.

I definitely had a head-scratching moment (or couple of hours.....) as nothing immediately sprung to mind as I didn't seem to have anything that matched the films I thought of.  So decided to turn it on it's head and find a stamp and then look for the film!  Hope this isn't cheating Chrissie & Jen????

I've used Paris Postcard from Elusive Images for my card and the image was stamped with a mixture of Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant and Melon Mambo SU inks directly onto a white linen card base.  I've also used the same inks for the sentiment. 

And the film???  Well it's An American in Paris - a 1951 American musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner. The music is by George Gershwin, with lyrics by his brother Ira, with additional music by Saul Chaplin, the music director. 

I couldn't figure out how to add a link for the American.  Note to self "must do better.......".  Will try to come up with another card later in the week but am on wallpaper stripping and tile ripping duties at the moment - so will be glad of a break.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for popping by.

Less is More - Colour Challenge

This week's challenge over at Less is More is a colour challenge and Chrissie & Jen have chosen:

 

For this month our colour choice is 

LIME & BLACK

We are delighted to have a new sponsor, 

Stephanie 

from 

Clearly Besotted Stamps

Lime is a very vibrant colour and I must admit I had to hunt around a bit to see if I had any card in this colour but wanted to join in this challenge to be in the running for a prize from the uber talented Stephanie..........gorgeous stamps and dies.

I die cut the Memory Box Orchard Tree Frame using lime and black card.  I then folded some A4 white pearlescent card to make an A5 card blank and again die cut the frame in the front of the card.  I then took the outline of the tree from the lime die cut and placed inside the white aperture and then took all the negative shapes from the black die cut and added them to the lime tree - thus making up the whole image.  All the pieces were adhered at the back so nothing fell out and another piece of card attached so you can't see the "workings" of the card.  I die cut a Spellbinders bonsai tree out of the lime card.  The sentiment is from the Elusive Images Birthday Words set, stamped in Memento Pear Tree and die cut using Spellbinders Ornamental Tags Two.  I've added three lime pearls (although not sure the colour really shows up) and some tiny diamante gems through the tree to look like stars.

Thanks so much for popping in.  I won't be around for the next few days as I am going on a 3 day workshop tomorrow, have a Parish Council meeting tomorrow night and our monthly craft club on Wednesday night.......think I'm going to need a holiday after all that!!!  lol

Less is More - Week 52 - Sketch

This week's challenge over at Less Is More is

For our challenge this week we have a SKETCH and we have a few basic ground rules.

We would like the card to be

• rectangular
• in landscape orientation
• with the band remaining in a vertical position 

As it's a very simple sketch,  we would like it to remain as is without any rotation of either the card or the vertical band.

 

For my card I have used my Tall Trees stamp set by Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque).  I started off stamping half the tree onto black card with Versamark and heat embossed it with white detail e/p.  I then stamped the whole image onto my white DL card in black Versafine ink and heat embossed it using clear e/p.  I then placed the image on the black card over the one on the white DL card and made sure it matched up before sticking down.  The sentiment is from my Sincere Salutations which is a Stampin Up set - this was also heat embossed with clear e/p.

Thanks for dropping by.

Club samples - Awning cards and resist techniques

Just to prove that Anne and I really do mean we've been busy making samples for our club night (!!!) we really aren't telling porkies........ lol  Here are some samples of awning cards that we did with the girls.  For instructions and digi stamps pop over to see the delightful Carmen at Beyond the Fringe Crafts - thanks Carmen, the girls really enjoyed making these.

The second photo shows samples of the resist technique using both chalks (couple on beach SU set) and inks with a Versamark inkpad.  The inked examples have been done on coated cardstock.  The Paris card used the Paris Postcard stamp set from Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque) and the floral card was made using a negative floral stamp which, I think, is buried under a heap on my craft table at the moment and I can't remember what make it is!!!

All ribbons and embellishments are from my stash.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - Week 21 - Sketch

This week the LIM Divas have asked us to follow a sketch which they've posted on their blog - pop over to have a look and maybe join in.  I've taken a white 8"x8" card blank and cut a piece of pearl card to go across the centre.  I then used my nesties "Blossom" to cut three apertures in this piece of card.  This was put through my Joy using a Creative Expressions embossing folder.  On the three die cuts I stamped images from a stamp set by Elusive Images (now Chocolate Baroque) using Stampin Up inkpads in co-ordinating colours.  I used shaker tape to place the piece of card on the base and then photo glue on the stamped die cuts (so I could wiggle them around a bit if needed).  The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set.  I added some Diamond Stickles to highlight areas on the stamping.

Happy crafting.

Less is More - Week 11 Acetate

This week the LIMettes have been challenged to make a CAS card incorporating acetate.  There are some great DT cards on their blog so pop over to have a look.

For my card I have stamped a butterfly from an Elusive Images set called Patchwork Butterfly (they are now Chocolate Baroque) onto the acetate using Versamark ink and then heat embossed the image using detail silver e/p.  On the back I have used alcohol inks to add the colour and then cut out the butterfly.  The flower stamp is by Hero Arts and called Real Dill.  The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set called Flight of the Butterfly.  I then used silicone glue to add some dimension to the butterfly.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - One layer challenge

This week the 2nd challenge over at Less is More is "one Layer". This new website certainly makes you look at card making in a totally different light.  They have got a super tutorial on their website for this challenge on using your computer for the sentiments and it's brilliant.

I have actually made two cards for the challenge; one using the computer generated sentiment and the other using an aperture to stamp into.

For the first one I have used the same sentiment that was in the tutorial - If friends were flowers I'd pick you - and I omitted the L in the word flowers so I could use a stem of the flower for the L.  In this instance I have used a Stampin Up stamp "Love" as the stem of the flower and the head of a sunflower from a Papermania set.  The word "flowers" was printed as an outline image and I then used a Quickie glue pen and Art Glitter Monochromatic Brown to fill in.

On the second card I placed a nesties die on my card and passed it through my die cutting machine using the embossing plates so it just embossed but didn't cut the square.  I then used the same nestie to cut a square out of a piece of card which was then placed over the embossed square and taped down.  I used Distress Inks to colour inside the square and then I stamped a flower spray from a set I bought from Local King Rubber Stamps in Canada.  This was clear embossed.  The sentiment was also stamped in the same colour Distress Ink as the floral spray and clear embossed.  This was from a set called Birthday Words from Elusive Images - it comes as a one line stamp so I masked off the "come true" and stamped the first part above the main image and then masked the first part which allowed me to stamp the last two words under the image.  I think by embossing the square first it makes the image stand out more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Punch out your sentiment

This week's challenge over at Die Cut Dreams is "Punch our your Sentiment".  I was lucky to be in their Top 3 for last week's challenge so would like to take this opportunity to thank them very much.

Close up of pyramage

For this easel card I have used a stamp from the Elusive Images "Christmas Tweetings" stamp plate.  This was coloured using ProMarkers and then I put the image through my die cutter using three nesties to create my own style pyramage.  The first (largest) layer was put on a red mat using d/s tape; the second layer was added using foam tape and for the third and final layer I used a double layer of foam tape to raise it up.  The backing paper was from my stash and came, I think, from a Papermania set.  The sentiment is from a calendar set of stamps from Lili of the Valley and punched out using a Stampin Up circle punch and then layered onto red and gold mirri mats.  I then added some ribbon, gems and a variety of flowers which were punched out with SU punches.


Thanks for looking.

Retirement card

I suddenly remembered I had to make a retirement card and realised that I still had some bits and pieces left over from making the Thank You card yesterday.  I'm not saying I'm stingy LOL............ but it's a shame not to use them up.

The person I've made the card for is passionate about the garden so again I've used Stampin Up stamps for the main image which is stamped onto cream pearlescent card.  It's then layered onto mauve card edged with a MS punch and then onto the same cream card which has been put through my Big Shot with one of the new Papermania embossing folders and then layered onto green card.  The background paper is from Elusive Images and I made a border using silver mirri, mauve card and the background paper.  All of this was edged using the same MS punch.  A matching ribbon and paper flower & brad were added.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for looking.

Anniversary Card

It was my sister and brother-in-law's anniversary earlier this month so I didn't post a photo of their card just in case Val saw it before hand.

The main image is from Stamps Happen "How Do I Love Thee" stamped on acetate and the sentiment is from Butterfly Kisses "Anniversary Collage" which is part of a set. The card is from an Elusive Images pack and it was finished off with matching ribbon and gems.

It's been a while since I posted but I've been busy recycling Christmas cards that were sitting in my box - I hate throwing handmade cards and some nice shop bought ones away - so I've been up to my eyes. I didn't realise just how many I had but I have just finished making 80 recycled cards; just put in all the inserts and sorted out matching envelopes and now got to put them in cello bags. Then I will be able to get on with my "proper" Christmas cards!!!! lol Definitely think I will be making a start earlier next year.................... famous last words!

Shutter Card

I really should have been doing other things today but I really fancied having a go at a shutter card. I got the template from Jenny our Stampin Up demonstrator a while ago.

I used card and paper from my stash. The main image on the front, including the butterfly, is from an Elusive Images set and the others are unnamed cling stamps. I really enjoyed doing it until I realised I hadn't used double sided card to make the main card from!!!!!!! It then took me twice as long to find some matching paper and cut it exactly to match the front............ won't do that again in a hurry!!! lol

Anniversary Cards

I have two wedding anniversaries coming up next week and so have been busy making cards to mark the occasions. One is for our friends Angela and Stuart and the other is my sister Val and brother-in-law Jim. I am only posting one photo today as I know Val looks at my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise!!

For Angela & Stuart's card I stamped the image onto acetate, put it through my Xyron machine and added gold leaf to the back of the image. I coloured the flowers using Dufex brush markers. This was mounted on to copper mirri and two shades of orange card. The backing paper is from Elusive Images and I used my X-Cut border system with the scallop and heart dies to create a border which I backed with copper mirri. I ran a piece of ribbon through my printer to add "Happy Anniversary". Flowers were out of my stash and coloured to match the orange/copper theme; the sentiment is a Stampin Up stamp and cut out using SU punches. I added three "blobs" of copper Stickles to finish off the card.

Thanks for looking.

Wiper Card

I've just finished making my eldest nephew his birthday card which is known by the strange name of a "wiper card" presumably because the insert pops up when you pull each side of the card. It's a bit difficult to describe but I've taken another photo showing the workings inside - you can put two pop ups inside if you wish. I've used two Elusive Images Paris themeplates and for the greeting I used a Stampin Up set together with their oval and scalloped oval punches. I embossed both images and then watercoloured them, added a ribbon and the greeting. The card and paper is from my stash. The card folds perfectly flat for posting.

Paris Watercolour

I felt in the mood for some painting after the rigours of box making! So I have just finished this little watercolour using the Paris Themeplate from Elusive Images. I have also added some French text and a ticket on the side.

Eye Candy from Elusive Images

Have just seen the most amazing new themeplates released by Elusive Images. Click the link to go over and have a look. Will have to start saving my pennies for these two lovelies: