Kaisercraft - Postmarks

Kaisercraft stamps are not always my first choice but the latest lot I picked up at Simply Creative here in Cape Town are making me reach for them.  I stamped out this image a couple of times before realising the image is supposed to be a bit fuzzy and it was not my eyesight or the ink I was using !

The ink used for Postmarks was Versafine Vintage Sepia.  The background paper is from a large 12 x 12 pad called Alison made by Me & My Big Ideas.  I stamped on the paper with the Hero Art Old Letter Writing stamp also using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.  The layer of paper underneath (the scalloped edge which I hand cut) is also from the same paper pad.

Kaisercraft - Decorative Lamp

Wanting to do a quick, one layer card I reached for Kaisercraft's Clear Stamps Decorative Lamp image.  The inks used were Versafine Onyx Black for the image and Archival for the sentiment.  The sentiment is from the Stampin Up set called Kind & Caring Thoughts.

Penny Black - Dropping you a Line

When I popped into Simply Creative here in Cape Town the other day I came across some new Penny Black stamps designed by Mo Manning.  This one is called Dropping you a Line and I decided to stamp it onto watercolour paper using a blender pen and watercolour pencil crayons to colour it in.

Once I had finished the colouring in I cut out the top part of the image.  The 'sun ray' background was done with post it notes, 3 ink pads and a sponge.  I started with Hero Arts Soft Sand Shadow ink and moved the post it note around in a semi circle sponging at relatively even spaces.  Then came Momento Peanut Brittle and Momento Morocco.  I have found a tutorial for this technique here.  The frame around the image is from a Cuttlebug die which does not have a name on it.  The 2 flourishes either side are part of the same die.

The background on the card was made using a large Hero Arts stamp called Newspaper Background stamped with Momento Peanut Brittle ink.  I then used Antique Linen Distress ink sponged around the sides of the card.  The sentiment is from the Just Rite set called Just Because and after numerous tries I eventually managed to stamp it using Momento Rich Cocoa ink.  All the other inks did not give a clear image.  The sentiment was then die cut with the Stampin Up punch Word Window.

Cottage Cutz - Elegant Favor Box

I do enjoy the Cottage Cutz dies and this Elegant Favor Box is no exception.  You have to cut the die out 4 times and I learnt from the first run through that if it is not too easy to push out the card stock from all the holes then you need a shim the next time.

The snowman is from the Peachy Keen set PK 329 - Chill Baby Chill Snowman set and I stamped it with Momento ink on Copic card stock.  The Copics used for the red parts were R39 / R37 / R35; the nose was done with YR18 / YR16; the boots were E77 / E74 / E71; the hat was N8 / N6 / N4; for the waistcoat I used BG15 / BG13 / BG11 and the broom head was done with E51 / E50.

The sentiment is a Stampin Up one from a set called Sincere Salutations and I used the Go Kreate Concentric Tags #1 to die cut it.  The "snow" around the base of the box is from an EK Success border punch.

Clear Dollar - Filled with Cheer

Using the Tim Holtz In The Bag die I made this small bag out of 250g card stock.

The stocking image is from the Clear Dollar set called Filled with Cheer and I paper pieced the red part.  Behind the stocking is a Spellbinders Oval die.  The sentiment is from Peachy Keen's Chill Baby Chill Snowman set and it was punched out with a Stampin Up oval.

Peachy Keen - Lorie loves Skip

A while back I stamped, coloured, paper pieced and cut out the two elves in the Peachy Keen Lorie loves Skip stamp set.  The images are quite large which one has to take into account when putting a card together.

Starting with the dark blue background, this was embossed with the Cuttlebug folder called Pinking Stitch.  The lighter blue directly behind the image is a Couture Creations embossing folder called Waterfall and the white section is the Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder.  The image was coloured in using markers and pencil crayons (for the face and hair) with the pants being paper pieced.  The sentiment is from the Whimsy set called Holiday Ticket Sentiments and it is die cut using the Whimsy Ticket die.

Tag - Crafty Individuals Santa & Sleigh

Another tag made with the Go Kreate Concentric Tag #1 die.  The stamp is from Crafty Individuals CI254 Santa and Sleigh.  I ran the stamped image through the tag die and sponged the edges with Distress ink.

Peachy Keen - Girl Penguin

The background is Gina K Designs Fun Year Round set and it had been sitting on my desk for ages.  I thought it would make a different background for the Peachy Keen Girl Penguin die and stamp set.  The sentiment is from the Hero Arts Wishes Come True set.

Tag - Slice - Farm Life

I have an idea in mind to make a tag box and have made a start on a few of the tags.  The tag is the largest of the Go Kreate Concentric Tag #1 die set with the background paper being from Creative Memories.

The red gloves are from the Slice Farm Life set and I edged them with the Kaisercraft Clear Stamps Lace image in black.

Cottage Cutz - Tree of Nature

Another Cottage Cutz die which I recently acquired is this Tree of Nature set.  It was fun to assemble and took no time at all to die cut the tree and leaves in white, colour them in with markers and then cut out the flowers using different coloured pink scraps.

I did not centre the die correctly when I adhered it so I had to trim the sides of the card to match up.  Then I decided the card was too narrow so set about "widening" it with the pink insert which looked a bit bare so I used the Martha Stewart Rainbow Drops edge punch to finish it off.  The sentiment is from a SU set.

Inkadinkado - Friendly Advice

I needed a plain card in a hurry the other day and remembered I had a stamp set with this cute saying on.

The sentiment is die cut using Spellbinders Labels 9 and the border punch is a Martha Stewart one called Garden Trellis.

Cottage Cutz - Happy Wedding Day

This Happy Wedding Day die by Cottage Cutz makes for a fun card.  I was even thinking about using it for friend's 25th Wedding Anniversary by popping in silver 25 into the back window.

The background paper is from an old pad I had laying around and I used the Sizzix Framelits die called Tags Rounded to frame the car.  The sentiment is a Stampin Up one called Itty Bitty Banners and it is die cut using the Stampin Up Bitty Banners die set.

Card Sketches

Still not able to craft properly with my shoulder.  Hoping the weekend and an injection into the tendon will help.

If I hit a bit of a craft block I tend to go hunting for a sketch to help kick start the creative juices.  Out of all the different sites I love Page Maps and use them often.

Hope to see you next week with some creations.

Envelopes Templates

Still having a major issue with my shoulder.  I can now move it a little but nowhere near enough to craft.

Looking through the envelope templates around and found a treasure trove over at Mel Stampz blog and even though it is quite a few years old there are a lot of really interesting templates. 

Templates

Apologies for no post today.  I have injured my shoulder and am not supposed to be on the computer let alone at my craft desk.  Fortunately, I am relatively ambidextrous but it is still quite frustrating to not be able to craft.

Looking through the sites I found templates from Mirkwood Designs - there are lots of free designs and they look quite simple to access.  Can't wait to have my shoulder improve so I can try some of them.

Peachy Keen - Skip the Elf

Peachy Keen dies Skip the Elf and Igloo matching up with the relevant stamps make it easy to put together a quick card.

The sentiment is from Go Kreate and I added glitter glue to the letters.  For the igloo I used blue pastel chalk along the lines and for the elf I paper pieced his shorts and coloured in the rest of him using a variety of markers.  For his face I used SU Blush Blossom crayon and a blender pen.  His rosy cheeks are a dab of chalk on each cheek.

Cottage Cutz - Festive Deer

At a recent craft evening I made up a number of Cottage Cutz dies making it easy to assemble cards when needed.  The sentiment is from Lily of the Valley die cut with Spellbinders Pinking Circles.  The background paper is from my stash and it is edged with a SU border punch.

Cottage Cutz - Baby Buggy

This cute baby buggy from Cottage Cutz is easy to assemble.  The main buggy is sponged using Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy and on the pink frills I used Spun Sugar.  The little face is a three quarter inch circle, the stamp is from the Peachy Keen set called Wide Eyes Kids Face Assortment and the hair is part of a small Stampin Up punch.  The blush on the cheeks is a dab of chalk.

The circles used are cut from the 2 largest Spellbinders Large and Small Circle set.  The die behind the circles is Circles from Marianne D.  The background paper is from a pad called Mini-Paper Collection by FabScraps.

Peachy Keen - Snowmany Thanks

Digging through my Xmas stamp stash I came across this dear snowman from Peachy Keen.  It is one of those that is easy to cut out and requires minimal colouring.  I paper pieced the waistcoat and band on the hat and the rest of the image was coloured in using markers.  The blush on the cheeks is done with pearlescent chalk.

The background circles are from a Go Kreate die and the sentiment is die cut using a SU punch.

Sizzix - Stocking die

This is another quick and simple card.  Cut die, emboss, add a couple of squares as gifts and top off with a bow.  The background paper is from Creative Memories.

Cottage Cutz - Baby Cradle

The baby release from Cottage Cutz is just darling and was exactly what I needed to create more baby cards.

Starting with the cradle I have a tip for lining the pieces up - even though the made up version is bigger than that shown on the Cottage Cutz packaging, you can get a better idea of how to line the legs up if you put your one on top of the picture.  This I will do next time as my cradle legs are just slightly skew !

The cradle was placed onto a Marianne D die Scalloped Circle and then matted onto a Go Kreate die called Wavy Frame #1.  The panda is from the Inkadinkado set Baby Animals and the sentiment is a SU stamp from Itty Bitty Banners die cut with SU Framelits - Bitty Banners.

Cottage Cutz - Whimsical Tree

Yes, it is time to start with the Xmas cards again.  I do enjoy making them and thought I would start out with an easy one.

Whimsical Tree is a simple die to assemble and behind the holes in the tree part of the die I put some gold glitter paper and the red bits are holes filled with Stickles.  The papers were edged with Distress Inks, matted onto a Sizzix Oval die and placed onto a piece of Xmas paper I had over from last year.

Flippin Men - Golf (again)

When DH wants a golf card I instinctively reach for this image from Flippin Men.  In the past I have struggled to get a crisp image no matter what ink I used but since putting the stamp on a rock-a-block and using Versafine Onyx black ink it has made it easier.

This time I stamped onto watercolour paper and used a blender pen plus a selection of Marvy le Plume, SU, Distress and Momento markers to colour the image in.  The golf bag is a Kaszazz stamp called Golf clubs large, the white fence is Picket Fence Border from Cottage Cutz, and the stamp behind the fence is from a Penny Black set.  I found the sentiment in Sheena Douglass's set called Cheers and it was die cut onto the largest of MFT Die-namics Cloud Trio die.

MFT Die-namics - Let's Toast

When popping over to friends it has become the norm to arrive with a bottle of wine (or two).  When I saw this Let's Toast die and stamp set combo from MFT I knew it would be well used.

I cut the die out with a piece of card stock from my stash and die cut the cute wine glass that also comes with the set.  I then cut the wine glass out a second time using a burgundy coloured paper and trimmed the "wine" part which I adhered to the glass.  The sentiment is also from the same set and I used Spellbinders dies to frame it.

Whimsy - Silver Fairy

It is a bit daunting using an image such as the Whimsy Silver Fairy.  There have been so many beautiful cards made with this stamp, most of them works of art.  I rather like to keep my cards plain and simple so opted for a more uncluttered look for this card.

The fairy was coloured in using Copics and die cut with Sizzix ovals.  The wings were overlaid with vellum.  The green frame is a Memory Box die called Twirling Vine Frame.  I had already made the flowers so I cannot remember from which dies they were cut but I think it might have been Marianne D.  The background paper is from Creative Memories.

Bookmarks 3

This is the last of the bookmarks I made.  Again they are stamped with various Inkadinkado stamps.  Really quick and easy to make and I am loving having extra bookmarks.

Paper Artsy - HP1208 London Bus

Masculine cards are always difficult for me to create.  When I tried this Paper Artsy London Bus stamp I thought it could do with a bit of a background so, after making a mask of the bus, I used a Dreamweaver stencil called Bare Trees and sponged it with Distress Ink.  Then I thought it looked a bit boring and was going to toss the image but came up with the idea of cutting it into four and matting it onto black card stock.

The paper behind the black card stock is from Creative Memories and I swiped a white ink pad around the edges.  The sentiment is from an unnamed set.

Dreamweaver Stencil - Baby Carriage

I started off with the Dreamweaver Stencil for the baby carriage and the card sort of went on from there.  The sentiment is from a Cuttlebug alphabet die, the card stock which the stencil is on was die cut using Spellbinders classic and scalloped rectangles.  I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder underneath and edged card stock with Distress Ink.

The little panda is from an Inkadinkado set called Baby Animals and the nest die it is seated on is from BossKut.

Bookmarks 2

A couple more bookmarks using Inkadinado images on the left hand side one and Flourishes stamps on the right hand side one.

I am loving searching through my stamps to put onto the bookmarks.  It is like discovering them all over again !

Hero Arts - London Background

Whilst using this Hero Arts London Background stamp recently I did not stamp the first image to my satisfaction.  Instead of tossing it I kept the part which was acceptable and die cut it using a Spellbinders circle.  This was matted onto another circle and placed on a Creative Memories piece of striped paper cut out using the Spellbinders Deckle edge long rectangles.