Glitz Craft - Puppy stencil

This photo is not the best but as we are moving house (again) I have already packed the card so cannot take a better picture.

The background paper is Creative Memories and the stencil, Glitz Craft Puppy, was stencilled using Distress Ink Vintage Photo and a stencil brush.  I also bought this stencil at the craft show I recently attended and I was amazed at the amount and variety of stencils available.  Perhaps the next time I use a stencil I will try the glitter frosting paste which I bought last year but have not used.

Impression Obsession - Two Horses H1950

At a recent craft show I found a company selling a small selection of Impression Obsession stamps and dies.  I was thrilled as I just love their stamps and did not know they made dies.  This stamp is called Two Horses but my name for it is Misty and Hal named after two very special horses I know.

I stamped the image with Archival Potting Soil and lightly coloured in the sunflowers, butterfly and right hand side horse using Stampin Up watercolour crayons.  The sentiment is from the Hero Arts set Thank You Sayings.

Tonic - Verso Strip Die Set - Royal Shrub

In January this year I went to a craft fair and sat down at the Tonic make 'n take table.  As I am rather slow at making a card and do not like being rushed I opted to cut all the bits and pieces out and take them home to use.

The part used on this card is from the Verso Strip - Royal Shrub die set.  I teamed it up with background paper from my Creative Memories stash and added a sentiment from a Cuttlebug die set. The cats are from the Cheery Lynn Designs die called Meow Meow.

Peachy Keen - Valentine Cupids

Better late than never with this Valentine's day card which was all made up in time, I have just been too busy to post it.  I saw the idea for this card on Pinterest and have been back to find it so I could give the person credit but cannot seem to locate it.

The card stock size is 12" x 6", scored at 3" and 9".  I then decorated the 2 front sections with heart paper from my stash and, using the largest Spellbinders Heart, positioned and taped the die, cutting side up (very important) onto the card stock where the mouse image ended up.  In other words, the inside of the card.  I then ran it through the Bigshot and was a little disappointed at ending up with an indentation on the inside of the card.  Once I had die cut the heart for the image I realised the indentation helped a lot with the exact placement of the heart inside the card.

The Peachy Keen image Valentine Cupids was stamped onto watercolour paper using black Archival ink and coloured in with a paintbrush and  Distress Inks Victorian Velvet, Iced Spruce and Picked Raspberry (for the bow).  The sentiment is from the same Peachy Keen set and was die cut using MFT First Place Award Ribbon.

Impression Obsession - Northern Lighthouse

I used an Impression Obsession stamp H1292 - Northern Lighthouse on an Inkylicious Visions - watercolour ready to go coloured background.  The sentiment is from the Crafty Secrets set called Seaside stamped in StazOn Stone Gray.

Apologies for the photo but could not find a place indoors to photograph without shadows.  Just too cold and damp to venture into the garden !

MFT - Let's Toast

Going through some of my dies the other day I found the MFT (My Favourite Things) die called Let's Toast.  This die set includes a label which slots over the neck of a wine bottle and various dies of glasses plus you can also buy a stamp set with sentiments.

I find it better to die cut the label out of fairly thick card stock otherwise the score line just below the cut out circle can sometimes cut right through.  The background paper is from my Creative Memories stash, the sentiment is from the Let's Toast stamp set and it was die cut using Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles.  To finish off I decorated the label with a wine glass.

Hobby Art - Coastal Scene-it

Another Inkylicious Visions Watercolour background.  On it I stamped a couple of images from a set by Hobby Art - Coastal Scene-it.  The one cliff did have an additional part to it which I blocked off with a small post-it note.  I coloured the cliffs in with a Marvy Le Plume Gray marker and added the sentiment which is also from Hobby Art, the stamp set is By the Sea.  The white card stock used for the sentiment was a bit bright so I toned it down by using 2 Spellbinders Ovals from their Classic Ovals large and small sets to create a rim on the edge of the white oval.  Cut the smaller of the two first, then the larger one.  I use masking tape to hold the die in place.  One could place both dies together on a magnetic sheet - just thought of that option !

Penny Black - Eat Cake

This card was made for a 9 year old friend of ours.  I used an image from the Penny Black Eat Cake stamp set with Archival Black ink.  To colour the image in I used a variety of Stampin Up watercolour crayons, different makes of markers, Distress Inks, a blender pen plus a paint brush and water.

Spellbinders Deckled Edge Rectangles frame the image and I matted it on a couple of scrap pieces I had laying around.  The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set called Classic Messages.  Not sure where I got the card from but I think it might be from a selection of Stampin Up ones I purchased on eBay years ago.

Inkylicious - Dancing in the Rain

At a craft show nearly a year ago I popped by the Inkylicious stand and bought a couple of packets of preprinted backgrounds from them.  When I was tidying up the craft room recently I came across them and decided to use a couple.  This one is from Inkylicious - Visions - Watercolour.

I decided to keep the card simple and added a stamp from Inkylicious called Dancing in the Rain, stamped with Archival Black ink.  The sentiment is from the same set.  I gave the girl a hill to stand on and used an Inkylicious border stencil with Worn Lipstick Distress ink.

Penny Black - Flower Festival

It is not too often I reach for a flower stamp even though I do have quite a few.  When I was looking through the The Penny Black blog I noticed a great card from guest designer, Therese Calvird, on 29 December 2014.  Her instructions on video were good so I thought I would case her card using a stamp from the Penny Black Flower Festival set.

The image was stamped multiple times with Momento Tuxedo Black ink onto a gloss card stock.  I then used Copics YR000 / YR00 / YR01 for the petals, T3 and T1 for the flower centres and G94 / G82 / G21 for the stems and leaves.  The sentiment is from the Kaszazz stamp called Greetings and it was also stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black ink.  The oval die cuts are from Spellbinders and the topper was matted onto a light green card stock and then onto the card using Stampin Up Stampin' Dimensionals.

Mulberry Wood - Sleding by Rubber Stamp Set

This is a cute Christmas stamp which I have not yet used.  The card is from DH.  He asked if I could stamp the image for him onto watercolour card stock.  He then used watercolour paints to colour it in.  The end result is better than I could have done.

Not quite sure whether to hide the stamps or commission him to colour in more images !!

Happy Holidays and best wishes for a great 2015.

Tonic Balloon Weight Keepsake Box Die

I have been really busy in my craft room scrapbooking Xmas gifts.  Need to scrapbook 40 pages in all by the 25th and I am only just under half way there !  The upside is the pages are 8" x 8" which does make it a little easier.  Couple that together with larger photo's and it is relatively easy.

The other day on a visit to a local craft store I spied this Tonic die which I convinced DH to buy as a Xmas gift for me.  The die was not the easiest to cut out - I needed to use the Big Shot Pro and seem to have a bit of uneven pressure on the rollers.  Had to do a bit of hand trimming to finish it off.  Also struggled with the underneath part as it did not make sense.  Usually I am good at fathoming things out but this seemed to defy logic.  I think I need to try it again.  The Spellbinders scalloped and classic ovals with the Marianne D Rudolph die were used on corresponding sides to cover over an experiment which did not work out.

The idea of this box is that you cut out all four sides with a Tonic die (none of my extensive die collection worked) to get a lantern effect.  Then pop in a battery tea light, attach to a balloon and send off into the sky.  Not something I would do so I will stick to using it as a treat box.

Marianne D - Skates

The background paper on this card is Bo BunnyFather Christmas Stripe.  The sentiment is die cut using a Stampin Up oval punch but I cannot remember where the sentiment came from.  I did it a long time ago and popped it into my stash without writing on the back which stamp I used.

The die cut is from a Marianne D die called Skates

Glitz Craft - Santa Sleigh

I bought myself this stencil at a craft show earlier this year and decided to test it out on a scrap piece of paper.  This is only a part of the stencil - there is a village scene, stars and moon as well.

The stencil was inked using Distress Black Soot and my trusty Dream Weaver stencil brushes.  For a first attempt I was quite pleased.

Memory Box - Glowing Candles

Having bought this die in the earlier part of the year at a craft show I did not remember it until I was searching through my die stash.  I think I have found my quick and easy mass produced Christmas card !!

The die is Glowing Candles from Memory Box used with a Tim Holtz Sizzix embossing folder called Distressed Frame.  I did have to trim the card as the frame is a bit smaller than the cards I have.

Distress Ink on Foliage

This is a plain and simple card where I picked a fern out of the garden and inked it up with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.  I picked up the fern placing it on a scrap piece of paper and lay the green and white leaf design paper on top of the fern gently pressing down.

I have tried the same technique with a feather and other leaves but it ended up a bit messy.  I think the fern gave the effect I was looking for and it also has given me an idea to use it on the Gelli plate.

Art Impressions - Up, Up and Away

This is a stamp I have had for a long time and never used.  I do love Art Impressions stamps as they are so different.

The background to this card is from a Stampin Up Designer Series pad called Welcome Neighbour.  I stamped the Art Impressions Up, Up and Away stamp onto watercolour paper and coloured it in using an aqua painter and Distress inks.  The sentiment is a Lili of the Valley one from the set called Sentiment tags.

Stampendous - Snowy Postcard

This type of stamp makes it easy to turn out multiple cards in a short space of time.

The gold paper background is part of offcuts I bought from a printing shop.  I did experiment with different types of ink with this stamp and found the best to be StazOn Grey. The gold paper was then matted onto a cream card stock and fixed to a dark green card.

CutterPillar Pro trimmer - review

It is extremely rare I will mention a specific product let alone do a review on one but this trimmer has to be the exception.

On my recent international move I decided to leave all my trimmers behind (they were old) and buy a new one in the UK.  I went for a well known brand and have been really disappointed with the poor cuts.  I have had my eye on the CutterPillar Pro for quite a while but was put off by the price tag until I realised I would probably buy numerous trimmers before ending up with the CutterPillar, so why not get it now.

The e-Bay seller in the UK told me I would not be disappointed and, wow, she was not wrong.  It cuts beautifully, even on the narrowest of trims.  The trimmer is backlit making it easier to see in dull lighting - I cannot tell you how many times I have messed up with my other trimmer.  The cherry on the top for me was to be able to buy the metric version.

All in all, the CutterPillar Pro is the best trimmer I have ever had and I think it will even outlast me.  It is definitely well worth the outlay.

Patchwork Christmas Card

I was browsing through Pinterest for Christmas card ideas and came across this one from Scrap Happens.  I thought it would be one I could mass produce but after taking so long to match up the little squares, I think not !  Sometimes colour co-ordination can just be too hard.

The scalloped edged red card was purchased in a pack from Hobby Craft, UK.  The embossing folder is a Cuttlebug one and the three quarter inch squares are from an old Creative Memories punch.  For the sentiment I used two Britannia Dies word sets numbers 041 and 042.

Tote bag using fabric markers and paint

I was looking for an alternate idea to gift bags and recently saw a pack of 5 Natural Cotton Tote bags on sale.  I have done a workshop on fabric painting and thought I could have a go at decorating the bags.

After washing and ironing them (use a steam iron and water spray on the bag which is not quite dry) I looked for a suitable image.  What one can do is take a stamped image on photocopy paper and enlarge to get the size you want.  Pop it on a lightbox and, with the bag on the top, you can trace the image using a soft pencil.  In this instance I took a photo of a puma, used the photocopy selection on Photoshop and ended up with a suitable outline.

I then outlined the image with a black Sharpies Stained Fabric Marker and painted the larger areas using black Dylon fabric paint.  After leaving the ink to dry for a day I heat set the image by ironing on the reverse side for 5 minutes.  The iron must be on the no steam setting at a fairly high temperature.

I do intend trying out acrylic paints which I believe work well as long as they are not applied too thickly.  I have done a number of these bags with images taken from the internet.  Simple outline images work well.

Gift box using One Sheet Box technique

For the one sheet box technique I went onto Splitcoast Stampers to have a look at the tutorial and get the scoring measurements.  I did adapt the measurements as my sheet of card stock was a slightly  different size.  I would recommend you use a sheet of normal printer paper first to practice on.

All the paper used was from my stash.  On the pink background I used a Martha Stewart border punch Doily Lace Edge.  The apron is a die from Marianne D called Apron and the ribbon used is a Stampin Up one.  On the reverse side of the box I used MFT Gift Card Pocket Vertical, inserted a Hero Arts Long & Cute tag and embellished the outside with a sentiment from Lili of the Valley die cut with a Spellbinders Circle.

When using the box as a gift I intend popping in 2 small glass jars with either homemade spice mixes or jams.

Whiff of Joy - Snowburst

I recently picked up this Whiff of Joy Snowburst die in an online sale.  My first try at it was a bit frustrating but I persevered with a slightly thicker card stock, plenty of masking tape to hold the die down and multiple runs at varying angles through the Big Shot.

Adhering these delicate dies are always a problem for me so I stuck double sided tape (small pieces) to the larger areas and used a glue pen for the rest.  The flowers are from a Marianne D die called Poinsettia.  The sentiment is MFT Stitched Stockings in Archival Cobalt ink die cut using MFT Fishtail Flags Stax.

Card Box - Cottage Cutz Baby Cradle

Recently I had the opportunity to make up a few thank you cards for a friend who is pregnant.  After making the cards (see separate post) I needed a box or container to pop them into.  I purpose made this box measuring the envelopes and amount of space required for the cards and, using the Scor-it, just did a simple box (closed on 3 sides) out of a sheet of 12 x 12 card stock from My Mind's Eye.

The decoration is from dies by Cottage Cutz - Baby Cradle and Stork Banner, sponged with Distress inks Tea Dye, Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo. The tab at the top was made using a 1" Stampin up Circle punch.

Thank you card

I made 5 of these cards to go into a gift box for a friend who is having a baby.  When looking for a design I went for a simple card with a touch of softness.

The sentiment is a Cuttlebug one and was die cut using Stampin Up Apricot Appeal card stock.  The ribbon is also Apricot Appeal and it was threaded through a Marianne D Ribbon 1 die.  The die cut behind that is from MFT and is called Bookmark Duo.

Hero Arts - Timely Bird

Apologies for not posting for a while but we moved house, again.  Hopefully, this will be the last move for a while !

On a recent shopping trip up to Camden in London we bought a some items from an Asian store and they came wrapped in a really interesting couple of sheets of handmade tissue paper.  I decided to experiment with it and used 3 colours of Carole's Craft Shimmer Magic spray misters for the background.  I then used Versafine Onyx Black ink for the Hero Arts Timely Bird stamp and wrapped the tissue paper around a square piece of card stock.

The black die cut is from Go Kreate 6 x 6 Frame Wavy #1 and the decoration at the top of the card is a Marianne D Anjas Vintage Decoration die out of CM Storybox Everyday paper.  With still being a little upside down in the craft room I could only find a blue lid to photograph the card on, not sure it was the right thing to do !!

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.