Purple Cambridge Carols

Another card using the Cambridge Carols Stamp set. This time I have coloured the image using several shades of purple. 

 I stamped  the  snowflakes on concorde crush card stock with frost white shimmer paint.

I may not be posting much for a while,  my Bigshot has died.  I use it almost everyday so  I'm feeling like I've had my right arm cut off.   Hubby has ordered some new internal organs for it, so hopefully it will make a full recovery after it's transplants. ..... Eagerly awaiting  the postman now.

Feeling of Christmas.

A simple card using a new stamp set from S.U for this Christmas called  

 Feeling of Christmas.

Watering can and Robin.

 I had some money given to me out for my birthday,   So Hubby took me to a  little craft shop in Farnborough another in Lyndhurst in the New Forest to spend my dosh.
 I found this this watering can and robin stamp in farnborough and the Sue Wilson  embossing folder in Lyndhurst.
I also found a lot more stuff  in the Lyndhurst shop that I bought but haven't made much with... yet.

Sharon and Terry's Wedding Card.

This card measures 8 x 6 inches , I made this one  a while a go for a friends who got married this yesterday.

I used a lily of the valley stamp for the image on this card. I coloured the image with Copic markers and then die cut the image using oval dies.

 The background was created  by using two deep border die by Sue Wilson and running one down each side of a piece of white card stock.

The flowers were purchased from Hobbycraft and the horseshoe die used was from a wedding set of dies by First Edition.



I chose purple and white for this card as they are Sharon's wedding colours.
I did make and decorate a box to house this card, but forgot to  take a photograph of it.

Quick Valentines Card

Just a quick post tonight, probably about as long as it took to make this card.  I left it kind of late to make my hubby's Valentines card this year. Ummm, like this morning while he was walking the dogs. So this had to be a very quick and easy card to make.

 I started with a blank red base card topped with a layer of black, then another layer of red glittery paper. 

The topper was a layer of black 2  1/2  x  3  1/2 inches and a white  top layer,  in which I punched out two hearts slightly overlapping. I  used fast fuse adhesive to stick a layer of acetate over the  back of the heart apertures.   
Then I attached a strip of glittery paper  to the underside of the acetate  ( so that's six layers in total) and stamped the sentiment.  
The last step was to stick the topper on to the card with  foam pads.

Blossoms Abound in pink

I love this Blushing Bride ink and card stock from S.U.  so I thought I would combine it  with my new favourite stamp set  Blossoms Abound. Okay so the stamp set is an old one but it's new to me. 

I have  also use  this new cotton ribbon in Blusing Bride on this card. I love how S.U do ribbons to  match their card stock. 

 I really do love this ribbon,  being cotton there is little slippage, meaning my bows are less likely to come undone.   May have to invest in some other colours now.

Boxed Chocolate Bear

The inspiration for this box for the Lindt chocolate bear came from the very talented Linda Parker. 
I am not entirely sure how Linda made her boxes but I think she has four acetate sides on her boxes and I think the lid and base on her boxes cap the acetate. I also think she has made a platform to raise the bear within the box.   But I wouldn't swear to that.  Sometimes it's hard to tell how something is made from a photo.

I decided to do my own version of this box.


 I started by  making the base and lid from  two squares 3" x 3" of  red card, I scored a line half an inch in,  all the way round each piece of card and folded on each score line. Then snipped and glued each corner  to form two shallow boxes. it is absolutely essential that both boxes finish up exactly the same size or your finished box will look warped and your acetate  won't fit properly.  
THE FINISHED BOXES  SHOULD  MEASURE  2"X 2"

Cut a piece of mirri board 2" x 3  1/2" .


At the top of the mirri board run a line of snail adhesive or double side tape close to the edge of the card (on the   shiny side.) 


Line up the edge of one of your shallow boxes with the edge of the mirri  card and adhere  (see photo)


Do the same at the bottom.

Using a glue dot adhere the bear to the centre of the  base.

To make the  hanger.
Cut a square  slightly short of  2" x 2"
on the reverse find the centre  and punch two small holes.
Thread   a length of elastic through the hole and tie in a not on the underside,  secure the ends  of the elastic with a little   snail adhesive.
Apply a stronger  adhesive  like fast fuse or red line double sided tape along two opposite edges  and place inside the top of the lid. 





 Cut a strip of acetate  6   3/4"  x  3  1/2" 

 Score at  1/4" and fold this edge over firmly. 

Place acetate back on score board and score at
2   1/8" then  at 4  1/8 then again at 6   2/8" 

The final width of the side panels and flaps  should measure...in order


First flap  1/4 "

First  panel   2    1/8 " 

The front  panel should be  2" wide 

 The third panel should measure  2   1/8 "

 Last flap 1/4" 




Apply a strip of strong double sided tape down the  inside edge of each 1/4"  flap.

Wrap the flap around the back of the mirri card and press firmly to attach the the flap to the back of the mirri  card.
repeat on the other side... you may need to insert something like an ultra thin steel rule or something similar to prevent the mirri card crushing when you apply pressure to the second flap.
I think I used a thin bamboo kebab stick.

I decorated the  inside top of this box with some Christmas paper and a little sponging.

Traveler Meets World Map 2

Okay,  so I am going to be really boring now and post the train version of my Traveller  meets World Map. I have to say I found this train very difficult to colour without losing the  definition. I think it took five or six attempts before I got one I was happy with. I found I got the best results colouring in with Copic markers rather than my SU markers. 

For the steam I used a white gel pen.


The stamp sets used were all from Stampin' up:
Traveler  for the train,
World Map,
Age awareness,  for the sentiments,

An unknown brand 
Small foliage stamp to stamp trees.


Card stock:
Hello Honey,
whisper white,
Brocade blue

Ink,
Summer sun,  But you could use Hello Honey or Crushed Curry 
Bashful Blue,
Old Olive,

Additional Tools
Sponge daubers,
black embossing powder,
heat tool, 

A selection of green and grey  Copic Markers 
and white gel pen for the train and grass.
A selection of beige and brown markers for  gravel and track.

And here's a shot of the insert.  again the sentiments are from the Age awareness stamp set. 

Work of Art

As usual I left making my father's day cards to last possible minute. I was somewhat lacking in imagination and this was about all I could come up with.
Inspired by a card I made  similar to this a few years ago, but then I used the tiny ink spot pads to swipe the colour onto my card this new brushstroke  stamp certainly made this easier and the ink has been more evenly distributed. 

The new brushstroke stamp will be available to the general public next month when Stampin up launch the new  2014 -15 catalogue . It comes from a new set called Work of Art it contains  11 different stamps  brushstrokes, a distressed looking heart, and a circle plus a few  sentiments stamps.

I stamped the circle stamps  and onto the envelope in the same colours  as on this card to look like traffic lights.The motorcycle stamp has long since been retired but I couldn't resist using it as both my dad and my step father like motor bikes.

Wetlands Card.

Here we have another card I have CASED from the very talented Brenda Keenan.
Brenda  has made a video on the making of this card and you can see it on You Tube.

I stamped a bit more greenery on mine to hide a couple of  ink spots that were not meant  to be there.
I must admit this took me about three attempts  as I kept putting my inky fingers in just the wrong place or I smudged  the greeting and I ruined the whole thing. But I persevered until I ended up with one that was acceptable.

 If you have the Wetlands stamp set from Stampin' Up have a go at this one.
You  need five ink pads:  soft sky,  old olive, pacific point, crumb cake and black Stazon.
Sponge or sponge daubers.
Whisper white, pacific point and crumb cake card stock.
Markers  in crumb cake and soft suede to colour the birds.(Brenda used just the crumb cake marker but I added a few dots of soft suede  in the darker areas.)
The wetland stamp set,
and some linen thread.
Post it notes for masking or a sheet of  paper and the two way glue pen.
I used a white gel pen to add white under carriages  and highlights on the birds.

Sweet Cake

 Two different cards one stamp set.
This is the Sweet Cake Stamp set from S.U
The first was created by stamping the image in Wisteria Wonder  then stamping the image again using  pretty in pink ink,  cutting out the just the pink cake   image.
Then colouring  over the cherry and over the pink cake base using  a chocolate chip marker pen.

I stamped the greeting in cherry cobbler ink using the stamp-a-ma jig to  get  the greeting in the right place.
I used a quickie glue pen over the white area s of the cake topping and applied  Dazzling Diamond glitter.
When all this was done and dry I glued the cupcake onto of the  Wisteria Wonder image I had stamped earlier. 
Then added some layers of cherry cobbler, crushed concord  card and Wisteria Wonder DSP for the background and mounted onto Whisper white card stock.

The chocolate & vanilla version  was done in the same manner , but this time I stamped the the first image using Versamark ink pad and heat embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder onto Close to Cocoa card stock and cut out the embossed image.

I stamped the image again using a Chocolate Chip ink pad this time on to Vanilla card stock.
Added the greeting and stuck the second image on top of the first embossed one.
Then placed the  image on top of a layer of Vanilla card stock which I had embossed.
 Then mounted onto a layer of Close to Cocoa card stock Finally mounting  all the layers onto an Early Espresso  base card with a  little Chocolate chip grosgrain  tied in a knot.

Mini Milk Cartons

At long last the school summer holidays have arrived.
I know I am ready for the break and my house is definitely in need of my time and way over due for a  spring/summer clean & de-clutter.  ( I can hear my hubby's voice in my head saying that'll be the day and laughing his head off )
If you remember last year one week into the  summer holidays I fell down the stairs and injured my ankle ending up in plaster and out of action for the following six weeks. 
The previous Easter I injured my shoulder and was out of action for that holiday.
So I am going to be more careful this year. 

Being the first day of the holiday and sunny I thought I'd start with the washing. Three hours later the white washing was hanging on the line and drying  really well in the glorious sunshine.       
Half an hour later I had to bring it all in an wash it all over again. 
The starling s picked  today to attack the cherry tree. The result was my glowing white laundry was covered in cherry juice and  bird poop. It's been a very frustrating day,  a three steps forward and two steps back kind of day. Not my idea of the perfect way to start the holidays. I am hoping tomorrow will be a better  more productive day. 
I am banning myself from crafting until I have completed my  housework.

Anyway  my gift to my seventeen children this year were these mini milk cartons.
The girls had the pretty in pink cartons decorated with the stippled blossom stamp set on to a band of whisper white card and wrapped around the carton. I added a little tag bearing their name.
The inks used were;  pretty in pink, regal rose, lucky limeade, and old olive .

The boys had the  real red cartons decorated with  1 1/2" strip of  SU Halloween DSP  (discontinued). I really don't like spiders but I have to say I think this paper is really cool. I wish I had bought two packs of it now.
The boys loved them too, maybe because they knew they were full of sweets though. ha ha.
The Skull and cross bones tag is from  one of last years Halloween stamp set call monster munchies ..... I think.

Mini scrapbookpage

This is my mini scrapbook page using a stamp set from the new mini catalogue coming out on Tuesday.It's called Open Sea. and is a lovely stamp set for the men in your life.                            Here I have decorated my page with three of the stamps in the set, there is  a lovely stamp of a ship which I didn't use as I didn't have room for it  on this page.   

I have a passion for vintage looking scrapbook pages so this stamp set works well with my style of scrapbooking. I just wish I had more time for scrapbooking. 

  I do wish I had printed  off his name rather write it and added a title but in my rush to get this finished for  Saturday these things got left off. This page has now become the property of stampin' up.

Perhaps I will  do it again but with the missing elements.                         

 I used a photo of my grandfather's brother Harry, who  spent many years in the navy as my focal point. I used very vanilla, early expresso and crumb cake card stock along with  some DPS in crumb cake . I gold embossed the edges of the card  dark stock and daubed the edges of the DSP and lighter card stock.

Serene Snowflakes card

A very simple card using the serene Snowflakes stamp set from stampin up and Whisper white card stock, Marina mist ribbon and ink

I really don't think you need me to waffle on to explain how I made this one, but if you do email me and I will happily email you back the instructions.

Oh , I did add some small sparklies and a touch of dazzling diamonds to this card but they don't show up very well in this photo.

Creative Elements in Pumpkin pie

 Here I have used the  new Creative Elements stamp set from S.U.  I used the flower with pumpkin pie ink and stamped the background.  Then  I stamped the very vanilla card stock  with the same stamp and ink then using a blender pen  dragged some of the ink from the outline to fill in the petals. I added some grosgrain and assembled the card.

Embossed frame card

This was a quick little card to make Just punching an oval of the paisley petals designer paper and sticking it in the centre of the embossed card.
The embossing was done with  a new mini embossing folder from S.U. there are two different folders in the pack.
The finished card is only 3" X 3" I have made more of this style of  card and i will be posting them a little later. I don't have the time right now, I am just about to go out to dinner. We haven't been out anywhere for so long  I have forgotten how to walk in heels. So I am now off to practise walking  in my heels before we  go out.

Nancy's Steam Punk Day.

Nancy  (of Nancyz crafts) held a steam punk themed craft event yesterday in conjunction with the Bead Base. 
I went along to have a go as I love the steam punk look.
 Nancy demonstrated making the background paper using torn strips of paper taken from old books pasting them onto card and then painting over them with gesso.
Once the paint was dry we used sponge and ink to obtain the aged/distressed look.
 I have only tried using gesso once and the result was a disaster. So it was great to try this and get a good result.
We then stamped over the  paint and added some embellishments.
Nancy had pre cut some flower shapes from an old dictionary, our task was to add the colour and assemble the flowers. I think we all made at least four in different colours.

I wasn't completely happy with the colour of my red flower, it was a bit wishy washy,  so when I got home I sprizted it with a stronger red pearly finish stuff that I can't remember the name of, I don't use  it often as I find it a bit too messy and the sprayer clogs up and I spend too much good crafting time in the bathroom washing out the tube and the nozzle  and then cleaning the sink.
But having said that, it  does come in the most beautiful rich colours that are irresistible, so sometimes it's worth the mess. 
I also added  a bit more bling  and some gold embossing when I got home.

During our 15 minute lunch break I paid my first visit to the Bead Base, I have walked passed that place a few times and  never had any desire to go in. I guess I thought there would be nothing in there I wanted .

 OMG!!! was I wrong,  I loved the charms and ended up buying a bag of them. The clock face used on the above tag is just one of the many they sell.

I then paid a visit to Nancy's shop and spent a bit more on bits and bobs before Hubby came and picked me up.

All in all  it was a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Thanks Nancy.

Jelly Bean Cone

Here is a little project that made me late for school one day last week.

I woke up with this idea in my head and just had to try it before I forgot it.

I rushed off to my craftroom and began drawing up my cone template. 

Having finished my template and checking it was going work, I realised I had about 2 minutes to get to work. Fortunately I only live a few minutes from where I work so I wasn't that late.

later in the day I cut  loads of cones and began Stampin them with the jelly beans using the jelly bean stamp in the Something Sweet stamp set from S.U.with  Ruby Red, Old Olive,Elegant Eggplant , Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie ink pads.

I started by inking up the stamp in ruby red ink and stamping  the cone three times without

 re inking the stamp, which I think adds more tones and depth to the project.

 I repeated this process with the olive the pumpkin ink.

The yellow I only stamped once as the colour is to pale to  do 2nd generation stamping,  but the purple I stamped  three or four times without re inking and the results were pleasing each time.

Sometimes I stamped onto my work pad  before stamping my project just to get rid of the excess ink from the stamp.

 I glued two layers of tissue paper to the back with a glue stick.

When the glue had dried I applied strong double sided tape along the edge marked score line  matched up the pointed end and stuck the two edges together.

Then trimmed  the tissue paper into shape.

I then made a second white cone , slightly shorter and placed it inside to neaten up the inside.

 I then filled each one with jelly beans, tied each one with a ribbon, labelled them and gave them to the children as an end of year, happy holiday gift.

They loved them.

Marina Mist and Baja Breeze card stock and inks were used along with Stampin' up s Little ones stamp set.

I stamped the pram in Basic grey ink, I am not a great lover of black out lines.

I personally think the black is too strong and makes the image look like it has just fallen out of a childrens colouring book. But that's my preference you may disagree.

I then used the stamp and write markers to colour in the pram. A little matting and layering, a piece of ribbon, a greeting and hey presto!! another card finished.

I like the simplicity of this one.

Margi 's card

Margi 's card was an experiment with hot foiling on dark cardstock which was slightly textured.

This was the result. As anyone who follows the stars will know, I am a bit late posting this, as Leo birthdays are in the summer.

I found some wonderful Zodiac clip art on the internet and used the "Leo the lion" for Margi's card.

I hope she liked it .