Be Merry

Hello everyone. I wanted a little messy play today, so created this mixed media card:

There are times when I do want to get my fingers dirty, and times when I don’t mind waiting for things to dry. This card took me a couple of days to create for that reason – drying time.

I started with the background panel and applied some white gesso. I then used a couple of Distress Sprays – Peeled Paint and Weathered Wood, also adding extra water and let them flow around. Not to cover every inch of the background, just to add some colour.

I dried this with the heat gun, then took some Nuvo Glacier paste and a spatula and smeared it around. No rhyme or reason, and leaving some chunkier areas. I also used a snowflake stencil and applied some ink through that for the larger background snowflake, another stencil and added some gold and some silver glitter paste dots. Mores mearing with glitter paste on top of all this, then more splatters of teal ink.

Whilst this panel was drying I turned to the die cuts. The poinsettia leaves were cut using purple card stock, and several layered together to give a fuller flower, then silver glitter paste spread across the leaves for shimmer and shine.

The leaves are actually a snow flake die – the large Snowflake Card Creator. The leaves are actually a snowflake die – the large snowflake card creator from Spellbinders/Bibi Cameron. This die was used on a dark teal card stock, then some glitter paste dragged across the whole thing whilst before the die cut was removed.

To create the finished panel – which I did the following day, allowing everything to dry fully – I added the large snowflake to the top left corner with collage medium. The poinsettia leaves were plumped and shaped a little, then added with collage medium again. When the glue had dried, I cut the snowflake arms which were sticking off the edge.

The final touches were some gold glitter to the centre of the flower, and a foiled sentiment from Lawn Fawn.

I created a few more panels using most of the same products and colours, just slight variations:

As you all probably know by now, I don’t have a particular style for my cards. I’ll have a go at most things – but I do gravitate towards die cutting and perhaps embossing folders more than anything else – these were fun…. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks – Christmas

52 Christmas Card Throwdown – Christmas and sparkle

Tuesday Taggers – sparkle

Addicted to Stamps and More – make your mark

Creative Artiste Mixed Media – anything goes mixed media

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

MAWTT – sparkle

Gingerbread Collage

Hello once again. Using the Waffle Flower ‘Gingerbread Collage‘ stencil, I created this card:

I first used the collage die then placed the die cut on my sticky mat. Each stencil was used, and Pinkfresh Studio inks. I decided to use tones of brown with a teal contrast colour, and a pink background for each portion.

Once ink blended, I added a matching brown panel behind, then attached to a white A2 card base.

I can see that this could be one of my batch-making cards – an enjoyable process and quite quick to put together.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Jingle Belles Rock – Christmas Feast – holiday sweets and treats

Krafty Chicks – Christmas

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

Creative Inspiration – anything goes

Die Cut Divas – any holiday in the year

12 Months Of Christmas – anything goes Christmas – option of ‘stitched up’ not taken

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

Hello everyone. I am back from a few nights in gloriously sunny Tenerife – hubby and I decided to have a short break away. Fabulous time – but back from 24 degree temperatures to the UK forecast saying a little snow on the way here….

Here is a card I created using some products from several companies:

The background panel – cut slightly smaller than the A2 card base – was hot foiled using a Lawn Fawn hot foil plate and Spellbinders rainbow stripe foil. I liked the variety of the colours for the snowflakes. This was adhered flat to the card base.

The dies are from Spellbinders ‘Merry Mug‘ die set. I used Pinkfresh Studio gold glitter card stock for the stars, and the other die cuts using card from my stash from Heffy Doodle, Pink Frog, and some unbranded.

The mug was die cut from two different shades of teal to create a darker piece behind, and the front panel raised with low 3D foam pieces so I could tuck things down.

The candy cane from white glitter card stock, then the red pieces adhered on top – that was a challenge, getting the red to stick to the glitter – patience is not my forte….

I flued the mug flat to the foiled piece, then played around with the other elements, adding the marshmallows and the chocolate pieces haphazardly into the top of the mug.

The last thing to be added was the foiled sentiment – I chose a black strip foiled with silver for a striking contrast.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Jungle Belles Rock – Christmas Feast – sweets and treats

MAWTT – Sparkle

Crafty Calendar – anything goes

Craft Rocket – Christmas and/or Winter

Sparkles Forum Christmas – Christmas and snowflakes

Inspiration Station – photo inspiration – inspired by the hot decadent drink

Love To Craft – anything goes

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – Christmas anything goes

Wishing You A beautiful Day

Hello everyone. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘Q‘ and the theme this time round is:

‘Quick and Easy’

Here is my card:

I rarely do what I consider this to be – a Clean and Simple card. I tend to always like layers and dimension, but I do think this is enough. It doesn’t need anything more.

I glued a black A2 sized panel onto a card base. then cut a slightly smaller piece of white card.

Onto this I placed the Gina K Designs ‘Masked Oval Stencil‘ – the outer part, leaving the oval free. I then ink blended a green and a blue – Pinkfresh Studio inks – nice and gently, and softly (I am a heavy handed blender!), and not quite getting them to meet in the middle – or very little meeting anyway.

Once that was dry, I stamped the Gina K designs image, and then the sentiment.

This was then glued down onto the black panel.

I hope you can come and join us with you ‘quick and easy’ makes. xx

Thanks So Much

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Dawn has chosen the theme of:

Add Texture

Here is my card:

I used a couple of die sets from Spellbinders to create the floral elements. One way to add texture is to layer things up – there are lots of layers on these floral and leaf images.

The second way I added texture was by using an embossing folder.

The background panel was created using a deep purple card stock, then I took a piece of white cut down slightly, then another piece of the purple and ran them through my die-cutting machine at the same time – one piece of top of the other. That way, both pieces are embossed, and the pattern runs continuously across both pieces.

These were adhered down, the the floral elements added, extra little flowers and leaves placed where I thought they were needed.

For more texture, I added Pinkfresh gems to the centre of some of the flowers.

The foiled sentiment was added at the end.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations highlighting and featured texture. xx

Water Colour Poinsettias

Hello. ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the letters ‘W’ and ‘X’. We want to see your Christmas creations with the following themes:

W is for Water colouring, X is for Xylophone

Here is my card for the water colouring theme:

The poinsettia image is from Pinkfresh Studio – the Poinsettia Frame collection – and I chose to heat emboss the image. There are matching items for this set – a hot foil plate, a stencil set for colouring, as well as the matching die.

Once the image was gold heat embossed, I broke out my Zig markers and water coloured them. I don’t do much water colouring, I don’t actually enjoy the process, but I actually have fun with this image and the Zigs – I forget how they are really good to colour with.

Once the image was coloured, I let it dry, then used the matching die to cut out the frame.

I chose a deep purple card panel, and dry embossed with a Spellbinders embossing folder, then placed the frame on that with 3D foam.

The foiled sentiment was added to the centre, and then I played with glossy accents – using that on each berry, and the centre of the flowers.

I thought the centre needed more, so I also added some Pinkfresh Studio gold gems.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas creations following one or both of our themes. xx

Inlaid Bauble

Hello there. I have had more time to play with some Concord & 9th products:

This die set is the ‘Ornament Inlay Die’ and I created lots of colour variations. As I was die cutting from lots of different colours of card stock, and generally having a good time playing – I just went with it:

I started by taking an A2 piece of card and laying down a double-sided sticky sheet. I pulled back the protective sheet then adhered the outer piece from the die cut. All the other little pieces I kept in piles of colours. Then I began to piece them all back in where I thought the colours would work.

Once inlaid, I then used my Teflon bone folder to burnish them all, making sure they were good and stuck down.

Here are some other colour ways:

I must be in a mood to be fiddly – loving these inlay dies from Concord & 9th.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Everybody Art Challenge – silver and/or gold with red or blue

MAWTT – Sparkle

Die Cut Divas – any holiday in the year

12 Months Of Christmas – anything goes Christmas – option of stitched up not taken

Love To Craft – anything goes

Poinsettia Collage

Hello there. I have been playing with a collage stencil from Waffle Flower Crafts:

Following the colour choices for the current Color Throwdown Challenge, I made a couple of variations.

The first card, I used all the stencils, including the background for each tile. Using Pinkfresh Studio inks, I stencilled the background with a medium grey, then used the orange, red, and green on the next layers. I cut apart the collage tiles, and chose the images I wanted for the card.

The background panel was cut down and then dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder. The images were then laid out and attached with 3D foam pieces, before adding the foiled sentiment. The final touches were some red pearls in the centre of the flowers.

For the second card, I didn’t use the background stencil, only the three layers for the leaves and the flowers, and I also used the same three colours of inks.

I die cut the background collage die several more times and layered them together with the stencilled piece, instead of using 3D foam pieces.

The white card base, a red panel showing around the edge and through the holes of the collage die, and glued together.

I added more of the red pearls – the centre of the flowers, the red berries on the holly, and a few more for good luck……

Personally, I think I prefer the stencilling without the grey background – but that may be the colour choices I made. I will play around with colours a little more – loving the collage stencils – and perhaps post some more variations.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – orange, moss, cranberry

Beautiful Blossoms – florals

Addicted To Stamps – die cuts and stencils

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Polkadoodle – anything goes

Aud Sentiments – glitter and/or Christmas and a sentiment

Christmas (or not) Bingo – column O – stencilling, free, pearls

Love To Craft – anything goes

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Peace On Earth

Hi there. Another creation to share using the ‘found’ Tim Holtz ephemera:

This is another 5×7 inch card base, with a Kraft piece on top, the edges distressed with some brown Distress Ink.

I also used some Tim Holtz papers, distressing that edge too, and adhered to the card base.

I took another of the Tim Holtz base board pieces, distressed the edge with brown, the used a Tim Holtz stencil to put some glitter paste through parts of the leaves I wanted. Then added the sparkle paste around the edges of the base board.

I used a couple of the sentiment strips from Tim Holtz ephemera pack distressed the edges again with brown, then glued them both down.

Using a snowflake stencil, I mixed some sparkle paste and brown Distress Ink and created some ‘dirty’ snowflakes which would show through the aperture. The poinsettia image was glued down, and then the baseboard added.

The sentiment board – also distressed with brown ink – was glued with collage medium, and the final touch was the bell image – glued to the top of the aperture.

Another creation which was a lot of fun, out of my comfort zone – but I went with it.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge – anything goes mixed media

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Ellibelle’s Corner – anything goes

Winter Wonderland

Hello. I have ‘found’ some Tim Holtz ephemera packs I bought either last year or the year before and had a play:

I started by taking a piece of Kraft card stock measuring 5×7 inches, and blended Distress Ink ‘Candied Apple‘ over the whole panel.

Using a Spellbinders embossing folder, I ran that panel through, then distressed the surface with a sandpaper block.

The brown ribbon was placed across, stuck down the the back of the panel, and then the panel adhered to a 5×7 inch card base.

The ephemera pieces were laid out and played with until I was happy with the scene it created, and a red striped Tim Holtz paper placed behind the aperture. The images were glued onto the paper – measured and placed according to the base board panel – then the base board panel was distressed slightly with a brown Distress Ink, then adhered with Distress Collage Medium.

The deer was added after that was stuck down, then some more collage medium added to the top and bottom of the base board aperture, then mica flakes scattered there.

The sentiment board was distressed a little with some brown Distress Ink, then also glued down with collage medium.