Blog give away

No it's not me giving away candy but if you visit Katrina's Crafty Blog http://cornishkat.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/200th-post-blog-candy.html?m=1 and leave a comment you could win her fantastic goodie bag. Congratulations Katrina on your 200th blog post and your achievements so far this year - keep up the good work.

What do you do when its hot in July?

Well as all crafters know when the thermometer reaches SCORCHIO we make Christmas cards, what else would we do? As I was lucky enough to win a £10 prize with Lilli of the Valley I decided to get instant gratification and used it to buy some of their new digi stamps and this image was one of them. I thought this scene would be fun to colour in and I wasn't wrong but I needed to look at Vixx card on the Lilli of the Valley World web page which she had made with this image to know exactly where the snow ended and the car began - thank you Vixx.

what I used:

Lilli of the Valley Snow Shovel digi stamp - £2.99 instant download 

Lilli of the Valley Christmas Grungy Messages Black digi stamps  - £3.99 instant download

NitWit Festive Trimmings paper pad

Le Crea multi die flower 004 (large Poinsettia)

Marianne Poinsettia dies (small Poinsettia)

Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Berry Sprig die

Tim Holtz distress inks - Ripe Persimmon, Fossilized Amber, Vintage Photo

This card is 6" x 6" and I made my digi image 9cm from side to side and the digi sentiment 3.2cm from side to side.

I cut the Poinsettia from white card and then thoroughly wet the card with a water brush, I then applied the Ripe Persimmon and Fossilized Amber inks with the water brush and allowed the colours to run into each other. I repeated this process a couple of times allowing the card to dry in between each colouring until the required depth of colour was achieved. I then dotted red water colour pen down the middle of the flower petals and blended this with the water colour brush. When the card was finally dry it was too bright so I toned it down by dry rubbing (very lightly) some Vintage Photo distress ink over the top.

If I want to make snow flakes and not see the stamped outline I blob some Liquid Pearls over the stamped flake and then either leave it to dry pearly or as I have done with this card cover it with Dazzle Dust glitter and allow it to dry.
Once again I used fabulous ribbons bought from Brenda Exeter.

 

I always find that when I make Christmas cards in the summer the colours are altogether brighter than when I do them in the winter months and I think if I had been making this card later in the year the Poinsettia would have been much redder and darker. The Berry Sprig die is a recent acquisition of mine, I just love it and have used it in the past as a solid colour for a funky leaf on a card but I love the way that colouring it has made it stand out for this card - definitely a must have die.
Now that I`m in a Chritmassy mood I think I will try and get some more done this week (whilst its hot and sunny).

 

 

 

 



Tags take less time

Yesterday when I had finished making a card I had a bit of time to spare and as my craft stuff was still spread all about my craft room I decided to make a tag. I love making tags but for me they are always an after thought when I have`nt much time to spare yet they are just as pretty as any card and easier to store (note to self - must make more tags).

 

what I used:

LC Designs Wavy Butterflies and Cats stamp set - £6 including 3 sentiment stamps

Joanna Sheen Essentials With Love die

Tattered Lace Essentials Circles dies

Woodware daisy punch

Tonic small daisy boot punch

small hole punches

 

 

I already had the LC stamp out so I simply masked off the house and flowers part of the stamp as I wanted a smaller image.

The ribbons and background papers are from my stash. That's another reason to do more tags - it uses up small stash bits.

The sentiment die was too big to fit onto the tag so I cut out the Love part and used that.

For the flower middles I used dots made with the hole punches and bevelled them but I almost used gems which I think would have looked good too.

 

 

 

 

Too hot to craft

I have been meaning to do so much this week and nothing has been done because of the scorching heat. I love the sun shine but I swear that I (along with most of England) have been melting and just haven`t had the energy to do anything much. I was so glad not to be at work in the school kitchens this week as the temperature yesterday got up to 55 degrees and that is just too damn hot. Today it is a little more bearable with the odd cloud hiding the sun and I have been in my crafty lair making up for lost time. I have used a LC Designs backing paper on this card which is not as yet on sale so here you get a sneak peek.

what I used:

LC Designs Wavy Butterfly Cats - £6 including 3 sentiment stamps

Rebecca`s Really Useful Sentiments Female stamp set - £6

Alla Prima 6" x 6" paper stack

LC Designs sentiment backing paper (to be released at the end of July)

Creative Expressions Sue Wilson Berry Sprig die

fancy flower and butterfly dies (don't know the names of them)

 



Brenda Exeter had a ribbon sale on Face Book the other week and I managed to bag a few bargains and I was so glad to be able to use one of the ribbons on my card. This is what was in the bag of loveliness that I got from Brenda and I`m just itching to use them all.

Feeling Lucky

I couldn't believe my luck today when I saw that I had won a £10 voucher for entering one of my cards in a Lily of the Valey competition. My good friend Marianne Fisher had given me some fantastic advice the other week when I was feeling a bit lost and one of the things she recommended was do more competitions. This was my first time at entering one of my own creations as I never think I have time or I see the beautiful cards other people have entered and I just don't think mine are good enough. Wining this prize has given me a boost to my confidence (even though the winner is picked at random) and I think I have the competition bug so from now on I will be sharing with you any thing I make and enter into a competition. This is my winning entry and its a card I made a couple of years ago for Stuart as he is always pottering about in the garden and at the time he was growing some carrots which that year were beautifully sweet.

 

The stamp is Lily of the Valley - Vegetable Patch £4.50

Lily of the Valley sentiment stamp, although I cant see this one on their web page they have many more that would work just as well

the background papers are from my stash and I know the Sun Flower paper came as a freebie with a magazine. The spotty paper I thought was a Nit Wit paper but I can not find it in my collection of Nit Wit paper pads.

I tried to make the sentiment and the corner die cuts look like wood that had been out in the rain and had mouldy green on it and maybe even a bit of rust where nails might have once been.

 

Stuart really liked this card when I gave it to him and so I put it in a box frame and I now have it hung in my craft room, I have to say I really like it even better now that it has won me a prize.

 

Fairies on a Friday

 I wanted to make a fairy themed card using the new Wavy Fairies stamp from LC Designs and as fairies are special and shimmer I got out my trusty Cosmic Shimmer paints and painted onto black card because I think it makes the shimmer that much more intense.

 

 

what I used:

LC Designs Wavy Fairies stamp set - £6 including 3 sentiment stamps

Gold fine detail embossing powder

Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paint

Sue Wilson Delicate Daisies - open petals dies

Sue Wilson Delicate Daisies - complete petals dies

Nit Wit Antebellum 8" x 8 " paper pad

 

I used fine detail gold embossing powder for the stamped image and this makes it easier to paint with the Cosmic Shimmers too. The card is a bit shabby and I did this by distressing the edges of the papers and for the topper and the sentiments I used gold Liquid Pearls dabbed around the edge to make it look like it had been embossed too.

 

If you remember on Monday I received a delivery of Brushos and said I would share with you the fabulous creation I made with them - ah yes well it didn't quite go to plan.

This is what I ended up with and although it looks like a bit of a mess I think I might be able to use it for a Halloween card. I must work on my technique and look up a few tutorials on YouTube.

 

 

You know the old crafting adage "there`s no such thing as a mistake", well I`m going to prove that right by turning my failed attempt with my Brushos into a Halloween card.

Happy mail and a quick card

I managed half a day crafting this morning and I made this card before it was time for me to do an afternoon in the Lincolnshire Trust For Cats shop. This is a new stamp from LC Designs and its called Wavy Scotties - £6 for the set including 3 sentiment stamps.

 

Tomorrow I will be in my craft room again because I got some happy mail on Monday and I cant wait to get creative with these little babies, so watch this space because I will either have a card to share or a big colourful mess which I will also share.

 





 

Wavy Christmas Village

 

Hello its time for another LC Designs stamp challenge but this is to be the last one as the design team are to be disbanded. I have really enjoyed being part of the design team and over my 18months I have made some fantastic friends and gained so much experience. I would like to thank LC (Steve and Gill) for giving me this opportunity, I also want to thank all my past and present teamies for making the journey a very pleasant one and finally I want to thank all the people who took part in the LC challenges because without you I would have been out of a job.
The theme for this challenge is "anything goes" so that means a free hand to do whatever I want and as LC Designs have just launched a new range of wavy Christmas stamp sets I have chosen the Wavy Christmas Village Scene for my card which I hope inspires you to enter the challenge one last time.

The prize for this months challenge are here

I have used:
18.5cm x 7cm tent fold hammered white base card
LC Designs Way Village Scene stamp set £6.00 and it includes two sentiment stamps 
Liquid Pearls
7mm blue satin ribbon

This card although small has real impact but I have to apologise for the wonky looking photograph, I really must find a better way to take pictures of tent fold cards.
I prefer to colour my designs using water colours and I use a combination of watercolour pens and distress inks which I paint onto a palette using a water colour brush and then apply the colour or blend of colours to my design. When I want a wishy washy or faded colour I wet the card using a clean water colour brush and then apply the colour. I like my water colour technique and so I haven't ever bothered to buy alcohol pens and any way they are so expensive, but I have to say I do like some of the results I`ve seen from using them so perhaps one day I might have a go.

Mornings or Evenings

I know I`m a morning person these days as I`m usually up by 6am and in bed by 10pm but I can remember once it was the other way round when I was a teenager. I like it better being a morning person as I seem to get lots done when I first get up and am full of energy and ideas (even if I do it in my PJs). A case in point was this morning when I got up around 6 and went straight into my craft room and made this little card. So what are you an early bird or a night owl?

what I used:
LC Designs Wavy Christmas Log Cabin - £6 and it includes 3 sentiment stamps
LC Designs Dinkie Landscape Card - £1.99 for 20 and includes envelopes
small snowflake die and smaller punch
Hunkydorey snowflake stamps
Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass distress ink
pale blue chalk pastels to create the shading around the edge
1cm wide blue/green gingham ribbon
Glamour Dust glitter
red faceted gem