A touch of the Orient

I`m here again today with another of the samples that I have made with the Crafters Companion "create a card" dies which are launched on Hochanda on Friday with Leann Chivers. These dies are called scenic village and almost straight away I thought it reminded me of Willow pattern china and that was my inspiration.

 

what was used:

Crafters Companion, Die`sire, Create a Card, Scenic Village

Crafters Companion, Catitudes, Oriental Additions dies

Crafters Companion, Shabby Chic, Graceful Edge dies

Crafters Companion, Catitudes 8" x 8" paper pad

Crafters Companion, Centura pearl trends cardstock

15cm x 24cm white base card

white card

Tim Holtz distress inks - broken china & mowed lawn

black Versa Fine ink pad

5mm wide green satin ribbon

sentiment made using Serif Craft Artist graphics program

 

This is not a card for the faint hearted as it requires quite a bit of thought about how to place the dies, this picture does not do it justice as it looks more vibrant in real life.

 

The card is made of two parts, the back or base card and the top.

The top section of the card was made first with the ornate graceful edge die and edge part of the same die being lined up and placed on white card with enough space in between for the topper and backing paper to sit and then they were cut out and the edges trimmed to size.

 

The Catitudes backing paper was cut with the graceful edge edge die and then trimmed down to size.

 

 

The base card is then made as a simple side fold card which peeps out below the bottom of the top card but does not show above the ornate top of the top card.

I cut a curve at the bottom of the base card (cut whilst the card is folded) to look like screen feet and coloured  it with broken china distress ink.

 

From here on the card is simple matting and layering and well worth the effort in the end.

 

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The weather has taken a turn for the worse and yesterday we had a months rain in 24 hours. thankfully the rain has stopped now and its just windy so the little birds and bees can get back to finding food again. My chimney was leaking last year because the cowling on top had slipped but eventually it blew off completely and yesterday was a good test of the chimney which now appears to be dry again.

Stuart washed all his shuttle trays and little plant pots that sit in them on Sunday and left them outside to dry but the pots are scattered all over the garden now with the wind and I will have to go and round them up today before they blow away.  

I was working in the cat shop yesterday and thought it would be quiet with the weather being so bad but instead it was very busy and the time just flew by. I`m back in the cat shop today so I hope its busy again as I love to meet and chat to the customers and occasionally put the world to rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can see beautiful colours

I`m sorry its been a while since I last blogged but I have been doing top secret stuff for Crafters Companion - 15 makes in about 10 days. I was sent three "create a card" dies to play with and this is the first card that I made with them. I don't think I would have bought the dies for myself but now that I have used them and can see how useful they will be I might have to purchase a few more in the range.

what was used: 

Crafters Companion, Die`sire, Create a  Card, Love is in the Air dies
Crafters Companion Happy Birthday dies
Crafters Companion, Centura Pearl white with a hint of silver card
Crafters Companion, Sheena stamping card
blue card
Spectrum Aqua pens - red violet & yellow
Tim Holtz distress oxide ink - faded jeans
15cm x 15cm white base card
small hole punch
ring binder hole punch
small heart punch
5mm wide pink satin ribbon

To make the background paper you need to cut the Sheena stamping card to a manageable size and using the Spectrum Aqua pens colour about 1cm along the bottom of the card with each colour. Turn the card over, take a flat brush and thoroughly wet this side and then turn the card back over and wet the other side whilst dragging the colour along the card (you can add more colour if you feel it is necessary but once the card is wet this is a bit tricky). Allow the card to thoroughly dry.

This ombre card is also used for the 3D pink flowers which come as a separate die and also the small hearts.

Once the heart shape is cut from the Centura pearl card simply sponge the faded jeans distress oxide ink along the edge and allow to dry thoroughly (I heat dried my inked shape with a heat gun as I was told that this would set the distress oxide ink).

I cut away the petals of the flowers that I would be replacing with die cuts.

This is not an easy peasy card to make as the ombre background can be fiddly however now that I have done it on this card I cant stop doing it on other makes - it is very satisfying. You can always use a ready made ombre backing paper if making your own is a bit of a faff.

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As I have mentioned I have 15 of these samples to share and my problem now is deciding which ones to chose. I think the dies are launched on Hochanda later this week, probably Friday or Saturday and I can`t wait to see the rest of the dies in this collection.

 

 As you can imagine I didn`t get much me time last week and it was half term too but I was really glad for that because I certainly needed the time to get my samples completed. My darling cats R&R brought some unwanted guests home (fleas) and with the hot weather we were all scratching in no time. A visit to the vets on Thursday saw the fleas running, or should that be hopping, and the cooler weather now means that our itches are a lot calmer. Of course fleas are a bit of a problem now as they like so many pests are becoming tolerant to pesticides. Its a shame that pests grow tolerant to pesticides whilst our little friends the Bees are being killed off by them. Talking of Bees it seems we have wild bees in the roof and in the electric box outside. I did need to go do a meter reading but decided not to disturb the bees as they do need all the help they can get and I don't think they live that long any way.

 

I`ll be sharing more of these samples with you this week so I really hope you like them.

 

 

 

Bring on the bling

I thought I`d show you this card which I made for Crafters Companion to promote their luxury cardstock which is just the most fantastic quality card but as you can see here it can be a bit blingy. The zip on the card was a necklace which I spotted whilst working in the cat shop and thought "I could do something with that"so 50p later I had my starting point for this project.

 

 

what was used:

Crafters Companion just for you words edge`able die

Crafters Companion luxury card stock - red and gold

Crafters Companion English garden grand floral dies

Crafters Companion opulent flourishes foil transfers

Crafters Companion gold foil

Crafters Companion Catitudes delicate floral embossing folder

Daisy punches

hole punches

mat black card

6" x 6" white base card

cheap plastic zip necklace

 

If you knew me you would know that I do not do bling either in my crafting or in real life so this card was challenging but I thought if its going to be showey lets really go for it (I could have made it even more blingy as there is a glitter card included in the luxury card stock pack).

 

Its really simple to make and the only points to note are to cut the word die once in the red card and once in the gold card and then put the gold letters onto the red die cut, also if you are using a glue it must be a water based glue such as Collal Tacky Glue because any other kind will bond with the shiny card and pull the colour off or leave a mark.

 

Good luck with finding another zip necklace but I`m sure you could improvise with a chain or something.

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I`m working at the cat shop this morning and it`s amazing what you can find in charity shops that can be turned into craft items. I mentioned on a previous post that I wanted to turn tea cups into pin cushions and of course the cups have come from the cat shop (I haven't even started that project yet). I remember my Mum going into charity shops looking for crochet patterns and I would stand outside as I didn't want anyone to see me in a charity shop, how times have changed because today you can`t get me out of them.

 I can`t wait for Friday when Crafters Inspiration comes into the shops, I haven't done a feature in this edition but I have seen the freebies that come with it and can`t wait to get playing with them.

 

 

 

And now for something a bit different

This is my final blog project for this week and once again it features one of the new Little Claire stamps which are launched on Hochanda at 11 this morning. This is a MDF heart plaque and I loved it so much that I didn't want to send it back to Little Claire.

 

 

what you will need:

LC Designs Hedgehog dinkie stamp

MDF heart

cream emulsion paint

black Versa Fine ink pad

black fine tip pen

5mm yellow and blue satin ribbon

 

Prepare the MDF heart by painting it with cream emulsion paint, when it is completely dry, stamp the image using a black Versa Fine ink pad and using the ink pad carefully colour the sides of the plaque.

Punch out a circle in a piece of copy paper and keep the punched out circle for later, place the hole over the Dandelion and colour the circle with yellow pastel chalks.

Make a mask for the Hedgehog from a post it note, stuck it over the Hedgehog and colour in the grass area (you can not use distress inks on emulsion paint as the pigment will just disappear).

Make some cloud shaped masks, stick them on the sky area, stick the punched out circle over the Dandelion and colour the sky.

Remove the masks, colour in the Hedgehog, stamp the sentiment and attach the ribbons.

 

If you wish to set the colours on the plaque you could spray it with mat varnish (must be spray varnish) or hair spray.

 

 

I loved the subtle colours on this plaque and the image is so cute I really must get round to making myself one now that the original has gone off to be sown on TV.

 

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I haven't done any crafting for a couple of days and I`m getting withdrawal symptoms so it`s perhaps as well that I`m doing my day job today (dinner lady). I will have to remember to record the Little Claire shows on TV and try to find time to watch them this weekend. It was my Birthday last Saturday and my friend took me shopping on Monday to celebrate. My friend is not a crafter but came in every craft shop with me and then waited patiently whilst I got over excited at the things on the shelves and then did 6 laps of the shop just to make sure I hadn't missed any thing. So I have some new stuff to play with (mostly paper) and I have to decide next week weather to play with my new things or clean the house, which has been neglected since Easter - no contest, housework will still be waiting when I`ve finished playing.

 

 

 

New from old

Well hello again, Here is another of the new stamps from Little Claire which is due to be launched on Hochanda tomorrow. This card is made with bits and bobs that I have had in my stash box for ages.

 

I have used backing papers which I printed out ages ago onto watercolour paper, I love to experiment with my printer and will have a go at printing onto most papers and even fabric. The flowers are some silk flowers that dropped off an arrangement that I used to have in my old house and the only thing apart from the stamp that you could actually buy is the doily which was made on my Brother Scan n Cut using a file I purchased from the Digital Craft Emporium. I love it when a project can be made from things that you have lying around as it then becomes cheap to make and it frees up room in the stash box.

 

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I am working at the cat shop this morning and I hope the sun is still shining when I get back home because I have housework to do and I feel more like doing it when the sun is out.

Those cards we dont want to make

Hello again and as promised here is another sneak peek at a sample card I have made for the Little Claire Hochanda show this Friday. Sympathy cards are not something that any crafter would want to make however they are needed and this stamp is a really nice one without being too sentimental.

 

what was used:

LC Designs With Sympathy stamp

Marianne flourish die

small hole punch

Hunkydorey cream frame

Crafters Companion Opulent Flourishes foil transfer

Crafters Companion pink foil

6" x 6" cream base card

Crafters Companion Centura Metallics card

deep plum linen card

1.5cm wide beige satin ribbon

1cm wide plum satin ribbon

4 cream mulberry flowers - 1 larger than the others

black Versa Mark ink pad

black Stazon ink pad

 

Another really simple card to make and even the foiling is simple with these foil transfers from Crafters Companion. I used the transfers on linen card and the glue didn't quite stick in some places but I think this gave the effect of being very vintage and on such a fussy card it just isn't noticeable.

 

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Today I have to call and see a friend and thank her for the beautiful Birthday gift she gave me and then I am off the cat shop for the afternoon. It was beautiful and sunny this morning and I was thinking about getting my legs out and putting on a skirt but the wind has gotten up and the clouds have come over so I guess its back to the jeans and jumper again.

 

 

 

 

 

Is thare life outside of my craft room?

Well hello crafty peeps, I hope you all had a good May Day weekend, I was working and yesterday I kept thinking it was Saturday, today I think its Monday so I`m totally confused. I have been really busy lately doing secret stuff for Crafters Inspiration magazine but that wont be on sale until August so its a long time till I can share that with you.

Here is a card I have made for the Little Claire Hochanda show which will be on the tellybox on Friday 5/5/17. Little Claire have a lot of new stamps to launch in these shows and I hope to be sharing with you this week some of the samples I have made with them. 

 

what was used:

LC Designs "to the happy couple" stamp (not sure if it is called this)

Marianne swirly Rose flower die

Marianne swirly flourish dies

6" x 6" cream linen card base

gold mirri card

Kanban cream and gold foil card

brown card

red mulberry paper

3 x red paper rose buds

2cm wide cream/organza fancy ribbon

red heart button & gold thread

black Versa Fine ink pad

gold ink pad

 

This is a really simple card to make and although I used my Brother Scan n Cut machine to make the heart aperture it would work equally well using nesting heart dies or even nesting dies of other shapes. I wanted the image to look like an old wedding photo so I used sepia tones to colour it.

 

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I have been so busy crafting lately that I haven't been out of my craft room too much and poor Stew (or lucky Stew depending on how you see it) hasn't seen much of me the last couple of weeks. He had his big 70th Birthday last week and it was my Birthday on Saturday so I escaped my craft room and we went out for a nice meal with some friends. I am thinking about my next crafty project and I have a plan to turn some old teacups/mugs into pin cushions for the Lincolnshire Trust For Cats open day in September and I will share them with you if they turn out well - fingers crossed.

The sun is shining and it looks like its going to be a beautiful day today so I might go and help Stu pot up some plants. Did I mention that a few weeks ago it was warm and I sowed some peas and carrots and then it turned cold and a bit frosty and I thought oh well that's my seeds lost - not so because I had a look on Friday and they are growing well, so well that I will have to put some canes in for the peas to climb up.