Internet gift wrap

It is DH's birthday and part of his birthday gift is a 1 day art course which I booked online.  The problem was how to package it so I printed out the course details, found an A4 patterned paper (I would have used gift wrap paper but could not find any in my stash) and, laying down the patterned paper first then the sheet I had printed out, proceeded to roll it up.

I then walked around the house trying to remember if we had any elastic bands - you get rid of so many items when you move countries  most of which you find you need months later.  Eventually, I decided to go the string route and topped it with a large Ellison Tags Scallop die complete with a Lili of the Valley Set 61 Quotables Celebrate sentiment.  The tag I found in my stash and suspect it was one I had experimented on using Distress inks.

Inkylicious - Daydreamer

All the stamps on this card are from an Inkylicious set called Daydreamer.  I found that Versafine Onyx Black ink worked better for me than Archival on the main image.  I still had to touch up a little with a black marker as the card stock is slightly corrugated.

The photo corners are from an old EK Success punch,

Stampin Up - Petal Cone die

You may be wondering just who will be the recipient of this Easter treat.  Well, Misty is a horse I have befriended and, on Easter morning, I thought I would pop some chopped up carrots into a bag, insert into the cone and hang it on his stable door waiting for his carer to give to him.  Misty loves carrots and I know his carer will be delighted.

The Stampin Up Petal Cone die was cut from orange card stock with 2 of the scalloped half circles (in the same die) being cut in green.  The stamp is a Peachy Keen one called Easter Patch and I used markers to colour it in.  The handle is an orange pipe cleaner with the label being from the Go Kreate set Concentric Tags #1.  I distress inked the pointy tip of the cone using Black Soot to make out as if the "carrot" had just been pulled from the ground.

Inkylicious - Bird on a Wire

This is a Hero Arts card with score lines top and bottom.  The dies are from the Spellbinders set Resplendent Rectangles with the orange paper being a scrap from a Creative Memories pack.

The Inkylicious stamp Bird on a Wire was purchased at a recent craft show here in the UK and I will say it was not a good idea to stamp it onto watercolour paper.  I think a smoother surface would do the stamp more justice.  I coloured the birds in using Distress Ink and a blender pen.  The sentiment is one from Gina K Designs Purr-fectly Delightful.

Lavinia - Tree Godess Luna

This card is so far out of my comfort zone, I am amazed the concept appealed to me !  On a recent trip to a UK craft show I sought out the Lavinia Stamps stand.  This is a company I have watched online for quite a while wondering whether or not to buy.  What sold me was the product called SceneScapes which are backgrounds like the one used on this card.  There are beautiful designs and when I looked at the range (which I bought quite a few to try out) I could see just how they complemented the stamps, so I bought a few stamps as well.

I did have a problem with stamping out this image and eventually used a rocker type acrylic block plus Versafine Onyx black ink.  It did not stamp well and I needed to go over the image with a black marker.  Afterwards I looked online and someone suggested stamping on top of a ream of paper - will try that next time.  The birds were from an Inkylicious set called Daydreamer and the flowers inked up in Archival Berry Purple were from a Stamps Away set Pilkington Floral Silhouette.  The sentiment is from Flourishes Kids at Play.

I liked having the topper all prepared - it makes it a lot easier and silhouette stamps are a favourite of mine so I am looking forward to trying more out in the future.

Flourishes - Gerbera Daisies

Yet another in the series of small (75 x 65mm) cards.  This time I used the Flourishes image from the set Gerbera Daisies coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and a blender pen.  The leaves are from a Martha Stewart punch and the sentiment is Hero Arts Mini Messages.

Marianne D - Silhouette Couple

I have a number of different shape card packs which I tend to forget about.  This is one I bought at The Craft Barn here in England and it is about 150 x 150mm in size.

The recipe for this card is simple :  2 Spellbinders Circles, 1 Cuttlebug embossing folder, 1 Silhouette Couple to which you add a sentiment from Hero Arts Everyday Sayings.  Creating this card has reminded me to go into my stash and try to use up my large drawer full of blank cards.  Need to start to get my supplies down to a manageable level before we move again !

Crafty Secrets - Feeling Yucky

Another small card (65 x 75mm) using an image and sentiment from Crafty Secrets Feeling Yucky set. The image was coloured in using Stampin Up Barely Banana marker and Tombow 992, 912 and 977 markers.

I forgot just how much fun doing the small cards can be.  It also gives me the opportunity to go through my stamps and dies and to use the smaller ones.

Flourishes - Sunflowers - small card

This small 75 x 65mm card was another one of my quick and easy ones.  I used an image from the Flourishes Sunflowers set, stamped onto watercolour paper with black Archival ink and coloured in using watercolour pencils and an aqua painter.

Tonic Studio Indulgence dies

Another card which I cannot take credit for.  When I went to a craft fair a couple of weeks ago Tonic Studios were giving a free make 'n take.  This was a first for me and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of trying out a die company I had not used before.

The base lattice of this card is Tonic Studio Indulgence Round Window Boudoir Square Base with the bronze and bodice bits being a separate die called Indulgence Round - Basque.

The dies cut really well and this card was quick and easy to assemble.  It was so way out of my comfort zone in design but such fun to make.

Flourishes - Kids at Play

This small 74 x 65mm card is for the card envelope box I posted last week.  I thought I would keep it simple and stamped Flourishes Kids at Play in Black Archival ink adding to the design by extending it to the edges of the card.

Joy Crafts - Butterfly Border

Prior to moving to the UK I had not heard of Joy Crafts dies.  I first saw this beautiful Butterfly Border at a craft show and knew it would be ideal for a quick card.  Think I will be getting a lot of use out of this one.

The sentiment is from a Gina K Designs set called Lovely Labels 2 stamped in Berry Purple Archival ink and punched with a Stampin Up oval.  The paper used is from my stash - I cut up a lot of 12 x 12 sheets into card toppers before we moved and did not note down where I took them from.  The upside is it is really easy to get my hands on a large variety of papers all cut to size in one packet.  Should have thought of that years ago !

Card Holder Box - Stampin Up

The design of this project is not one I can take credit for as I went to a Stampin Up class the other week and this card holder box was one of the projects we did.  As we ran out of time I just took the pieces home and assembled it slightly deviating from the original sample.

This project uses the Stampin Up envelope punch board and 3 pieces of card stock measuring 5¼" x 5¼", 2 of the same  colour and one of a contrasting colour.  The flower decoration on the front is a Marianne D die called Ovals coloured with Weathered Wood and Victorian Velvet Distress ink.  The sentiment is from the Flourishes sets Taglines and Medallion Motif stamped in Cobalt Archival ink.  On the original box a pipe cleaner was used for the handle but I chose to twist a couple of pieces of pink raffia I had left over from another project.  The small envelopes in the inside measure 82 x 72 mm.

Memory Box - Meadow Bird

I also have a lot of cardstock which now needs to be used before I go out and buy more (just simply do not have the space for anymore !).  This card was made using Hero Arts cardstock with a Memory Box die called Meadow Bird and a Stampin Up Cogs Extra Large punch for the gear shape decoration.

A simple card using dies and punches which I tend to forget about sometimes.

Memory Box - Prim Poppy

With having had to reorganise my craft storage area using a lot of plastic crates which have ended up being quite heavy I have decided to change my way of thinking when it comes to planning a card.  I usually start with an image and then try to match it up with background paper and the card.  This time I started with the card (and do I have lots of those - did not realise just how many until I had to pack them all up), chose the background paper and then went for the topper.  I have done about 10 cards altogether which makes it easier for me to unpack the crates only once and chose the paper.  I certainly do not have to enrol in a gym here as will get plenty of weight lifting doing my craft !

The background paper to this card has come from an old 6 x 6 pad made by Fresh Print called Blueberry Swatch book.  The poppy is a Memory Box die called Prim Poppy with the sentiment being a Hero Arts one from the set called Remember.  It was stamped using Archival Cobalt ink and die cut with Sizzix Ovals.

Marij Rahder - Suzy 2

After not being able to craft for so long it was a bit of a challenge as to what to start with.  Seeing we are currently living on a farm with lots of horses I thought a horse stamp would be appropriate.

It is such a pity there are no more Marij Rahder stamp sets around, I just love her quirky images.  The horse and the fence are separate stamps from the same set and I just made a mask of the horse (with a post-it note) to stamp the fence in the background.  I used Momento Tuxedo Black ink on Copic paper which I bought from 7 Kids College Fund.  My Copic colouring in is very rusty so I decided just to stick to just browns for the horse.  The images were die cut with Go Create Plain Ovals using Antique Linen Distress ink sponged along the sides.  Not sure of the background paper as I cut a whole lot into card size before we moved and did not note down where they came from.

The sentiment is from the Gina K Designs Purr-fectly Delightful stamp set and was die cut with a Whimsy Notables 2 die.  Have a great week.

Kaszazz - Snowy Reindeer Large

The second of my cards today.  This Kaszazz Snowy Reindeer Large 1199J stamp (Kaszazz is an Australian company) was coloured in using an aqua brush and Black Soot Distress Ink.  The horns are a combination of LuminArte Cinnamon Brown and Burnt Umber.  The headband is Pumpkin Spica Glitter pen with the balls also being painted in LuminArte Poppy Red, Ginger Peach, Deep Coral and Orange Peel.

The background paper is Bo Bunny Father Christmas Stripe.  The sentiment is a Hero Art one called Holiday Sayings die cut using Whimsy Notables 2.  On the left hand side I have used MFT die Fishtail Flag Stax to cut 3 pieces which were decorated with a few snowflakes from my stash.

Peachy Keen's Country Bumpkin Mooey Christmas

I know it is after Xmas but I have finally managed to get 2 cards downloaded onto my computer.  Been having problems with my usually trustworthy photo editing program.

This delightful image from Peachy Keen's Country Bumpkin Mooey Christmas was mailed and as it was made back in October I am unable to remember how I coloured it in - sorry.  The sentiment is from the Hero Art set called Wishes Come True and it was die cut using Whimsy Bottle Cap with a Spellbinders Circle.

The good news is that all my craft boxes have been unpacked and everything survived the international move.  My new craft room has been set up and I am looking forward to getting back to creating.  Just have to deal with my first winter in the northern hemisphere !

Cottage Cutz Holiday Sleigh die

A simple red and gold Christmas card.  The sleigh by Cottage Cutz is an easy one to die cut and it has some solid parts from an adhesive perspective, something which I always look at when purchasing a new die.  I do have a Xyron but end up with more tacky stuff on me than on the die cut.  Must be doing something wrong !!

The sentiment is an unknown one for me and I still have no access to my stamps.  Our container has yet to be delivered so I am without my craft supplies for a while longer.

Peachy Keen - Skatin' By

I'm back after moving countries - what a mission !  All my craft goodies are still to be shipped and we are hoping to have them in the UK by the beginning of December.  Just as well I made a lot of Xmas cards in advance and bought them over in my suitcase.  I even bought an ink pad and sentiments for the inside but forgot to pack an acrylic block.  Oh well, I was looking for an excuse to find a craft store and now I have it !

This Peachy Keen Skatin' By penguin was coloured in with Smooches and cut out.  He was mounted on 2 Spellbinders Pinking Circles and then on 2 Spellbinders Classic Circles.  The background paper is from my stash and the sentiment is a Hobby Art one called Christmas Greetings.

Looking forward to spending my first Northern Hemisphere Christmas.  Hope it snows !!

Fun 'n' Flair - Snowmany Wishes

This cute snowman comes in a set complete with sentiments to fit in the board.  The image was coloured in using markers.

Cottage Cutz - Build-a-Poinsettia

No, I have not dropped off the planet but I have been very busy with our upcoming overseas move.  I had no idea things could get this stressful !!

Here is another Xmas card made using Cottage Cutz Build-a-Poinsettia die.  The background is a scrap free from a magazine and on the petals of the flower I did a little bit of Stickles Xmas Red to give it a bit of a festive look.  The sentiment is Hero Art Holiday Cheer in Archival Crimson ink die cut with Spellbinders Resplendant Rectangles.

Cottage Cutz - Carousel Silhouette

In the midst of creating my Xmas cards I realised I needed a birthday card and that I had given all the cards I have made away.  With moving overseas next month I donated all my cards and projects to the local children's hospital charity store (along with half the stuff in the kitchen cupboards - everyone needs an overseas move once in a lifetime to make you realise just how much junk one collects).

This card is another quick and easy one (all I seem to have time for these days) using the Cottage Cutz Carousel Silhouette die.  I have said many times before just how easy most of their dies are to assemble and I am planning to take some across with me in my suitcase, pieces already cut out, so I can still get some crafting done whilst waiting for the container to arrive.  I suspect I will need to de-stress with all that has to be done once we arrive.

The sentiment was one I had made in bulk a while back (planning ahead for the move) but forgot to write down which stamp set it is from.  Looks like it could be a Flourishes one.

Form-A-Lines - Christmas Kit 7 - Winter Scene

A simple scene from using gold thread for this Form-A-Lines pattern.

The sentiment is Hero Arts from the Merry Christmas Trees set inked in Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

Penny Black - A Bright Tomorrow

The wreath is from a Penny Black set A Bright Tomorrow and it is framed using Spellbinders Circles.  To colour in the wreath I used Momento markers, New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves and Distress markers Fired Bricks and Barn Door for the bow.

Background striped paper is a Bo Bunny one called Rejoice Strip.  Cannot recall which set the sentiment comes from, apologies.

Kaszazz Scarf Teddy with Penny Black Let it Snow

Another card using the Kaszazz image called Scarf Teddy.

The background is The Crafter's Workshop Mini Tile Texture done in Distress ink Bundled Sage
Sentiment Penny Black set called Let it Snow in Brilliance ink Pearlescent Thyme
Kaszazz Scarf Teddy large coloured in using

Scarf     Distress Stains - Bundled Sage and Fired Brick
Hat        Distress ink pad Festive Berries and Tombow marker Carmine (845)
Bear      Distress Stains - Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain
All the Distress Stains, ink pad and marker used with a paint brush and water to dilute

Peachy Keen - Skatin' By with snowflake background

Peachy Keen has such happy stamps and this little chap is no exception.  He was coloured in using Siren Smooch and Stampin Up Dusty Durango for the beak.  I have a whole lot of different colour Smooches and find them ideal for Christmas cards when a little extra sparkle is called for.

The background is Spellbinders Impressabilities Snowflake used as a stencil.  I sponged it with Distress ink Weathered Wood.  It is a quick and easy background and I think it complements the image.  The sentiment is from a Penny Black set called Let it Snow and punched with an old Fiskars squeeze punch which I see is no longer available.

Cottage Cutz Santa's Coat & Rack

This is a Cottage Cutz die - Santa's Coat & Rack - from last Christmas which I received too late to use.

I used scraps from my stash to cut it out and it was quick and easy to assemble.  The rest of the card is made up also with scraps from my considerable stash of paper.  The sentiment, I think, is from Lily of the Valley.  It has no name on the packet or the stamp set.  I used Spellbinders Pinking Circles to frame the sentiment.

Form-A-Lines Christmas Kit 7 - Carol Singers

Another Form-A-Lines card kit in which I used a multi colour thread for the carol singers.  The lamp was done in a silver thread with the 'light' stitched in gold.

The sentiment is from the Penny Black Christmas Cheer set inked in Brilliance Pearl Poppy.  The deckled edge to the topper was made using a Creative Memories cutter and blade.

Kaszazz Scarf Teddy large with Dreamweaver stencil Lace Border

In an effort to get a number of cards done in as shorter time as possible I stamped out a lot of this Kaszazz Scarf Teddy stamp.  I reckoned it would not take too much time to colour in and I could do them all on a sort of production line.  Once I had the cards laid out I choose different backgrounds and colour inks which make it quite easy to match them to the stamp when I coloured that in.

I used the following on this card :
Dreamweaver stencil Lace Border - Distress ink Weathered Wood
Sentiment is from Stampin Up Many Merry Messages using Distress marker Weathered Wood.
Stamp is Kaszazz Scarf Teddy Large 1861J

Coloured in as follows :
Scarf     Distress Stains - Weathered Wood and Fired Brick
Hat       Distress ink pad Festive Berries and Tombow marker Carmine (845)
Bear     Distress Stains - Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain
All the Distress Stains, ink pad and marker used with a paint brush and water to dilute.