foiling

Sending Holiday Cheer

More time spent in my craft room these past few days. Hubby has been away, I have not been at work very much – and the weather has been a little dreary – to say the least.

Here is a card I created using an older product suite from Pinkfresh Studio:

The frame image was gold heat foiled, then coloured using the matching layering stencils. I chose to go with varying tones of red and blue using Pinkfresh Studio inks.

Once this was ink blended, I used the matching die to cut it out, then also cut another two so I could layer it up for more stability and dimension.

The sentiment was also gold foiled, then die cut, again layering a couple more times.

I wanted to try the ink with an embossing folder again, I haven’t had much luck with this in the past, so I thought I’d give it another go after seeing many people have success.

I used a Spellbinders embossing folder, inked the flatter or ‘bottom’ of the folder with a light blue ink, and ran it through my machine……..love how it turned out. A subtle background colour to the more vibrant colours of the images.

The background panel was adhered to the card base, the image frame and sentiment then attached.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Hand Stamped Sentiments – photo inspiration – I was inspired by the baubles and foliage

CYHTP – embossing folder – option of thanks not taken

Fab ‘n’ Funky – Christmas

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

Sparkles Forum Christmas – Christmas and Poinsettia

12 Months of Christmas Link-up – anything goes Christmas

Christmas Village Shaker

Hello everyone. I was able to create a shaker card using an older product suite from Pinkfresh Studio:

I first stamped in black then clear heat embossed the image. I find that no matter what black ink I use – and I have several – and if I just heat set the ink, I still get some bleeding around the outlines. The heat embossing solved that problem for me.

I then used the layering stencils to colour on the image, different colours on each stencil to get more variety, but I wanted a bright little village so used the brighter colour tones.

Once coloured, I used a notched fram3e die to cut it down a little, then hunted out my Toni Studios shaker pouches – stored ‘safely’ but found none-the-less.

I created the pouch, added some colours of sequins which I felt matched some of the colours of the image, sealed the pouch, then attached to a white card base.

The sentiment is gold foiling.

These Tonic pouches really do make shaker cards so very easy – the hardest part was selecting which colours of sequins to use.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Mix It Up – anything goes – option of CAS not taken

Addicted To Stamps & More – Christmas

12 Months of Christmas Link-Up – anything goes Christmas

A Cat Christmas

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Sue J is hosting, and she has chosen the theme of

A Cute Christmas

Here is my card:

After my sojourn into CAS cards the past few days, I went all mixed media for this one – a little messy crafting.

The blue card base was created by using glitter stencil paste through a Simon hurley snowflake stencil. This was put aside to dry, then I created a panel with mica sprays, some water droplets, some dribbling of water, let that dry, then used the same snowflake stencil and the same glitter paste on top. As the paste is translucent, it gave some shimmer and shine, whilst also allowing the background colour of both panels to shine through.

To frame the red panel I cut it down so it would exactly into a black die cut tag frame from AALL & Create, cut out of a black shimmer card stock.

The main cat image – more cats there than I actually have – but only just…….is also from AALL & Create, pre-die cut, added with 3D foam, then the foiled sentiment added to the top of that.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations following our ‘cute Christmas’ theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and critters

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

12 Months of Christmas Link-Up – Christmas – option of ‘sleigh it’ not taken

Creative Artiste – anything goes mixed media

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Elf Christmas Cheer

I have another card created as I was inspired by the current challenge at Festive Friday and the list they provide, of which you have to use at least three items mentioned to create your card:

I used the Hero Arts die ‘Peeking Elf‘ and cut it out of white to use as a base layer. I then used red and green for the clothing, a light brown for the hair, and a blush card stock for the face. The die cuts the image out complete, but does have little snippy bits for you to cut so you can layer the image together, almost like paper-piecing.

The eyes were black gems. also from Spellbinders.

Once he was created, I took a piece of gold shiny card stock from Spellbinders, die cut with a stitched rec tangle die, and used one of their embossing folders, added the peeking elf to one side, then added a gold foiled sentiment.

The gold embossed panel was adhered to the card base with 3D foam – a couple of little pieces for underneath the hands – and the card was done.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Festive Friday – Christmas Colours, Elf, embossing folder,

Making Spirits Bright

I had chance to paly with a new product yesterday, and created this card – and two more……

I used the colours for the current Color Hues Challenge – Teal and Silver – and the die from Pocket Full Of Happiness – now stocked in one of our UK stores – the Folk Snowflake Background.

This is such a versatile die – you can certainly use any colours to create this, and you can paper-piece – which I did here – or use additional dies to create a more dimensional look.

The first step was to die cut the plate three times – teal, matt silver, and then some silver glitter card stock.

I then created a 5 inch square card base by cutting down a 5×7 inch card base, then added a piece of double sided sticky sheet to the card base, then attached the teal background.

The glitter and matt silver pieces were then inlaid back into their spaces – thank goodness each of the pieces are able to be pieced anywhere. I couldn’t begin to think how long this would have taken me if the shapes were all of a different size…

The sentiment is a silver foiled strip, and I thought the jaunty angle on each end was a whimsical touch.

As I had die cut three whole background panels – I was able to create a couple more cards, just by changing the background panel and the inset pieces around:

Is there such a thing as a three-fer? Well, there is now…

I shall be entering the following challenges:

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

A Cut Above – anything goes with a die cut

Color Hues – teal and silver

Craft Rocket – Christmas/Winter

Happy Winter Birthday

Hello again. A cold snap here in the UK means more crafty time – though I don’t really need an excuse at the moment – I seem to have recovered my mojo after my short break away in Tenerife. I wanted to create a birthday card for a change, but I still used some Christmas products:

The background panel was created using a light grey piece of card, and then using the Pinkfresh Studio cover plate ‘Stitched Pinwheels‘. I also used a Pinkfresh Studio frame die to cut the small white shape, used the Pinwheel plate again – thinking about the continuity of the pattern, and where I wanted to place it on the card front – thank goodness that worked….

I then die cut items from several Spellbinders die sets – the bird (Love Note Bird), then the branch and foliage from other die sets. I wanted the bird to stand out, so I chose bright colours for him/her, then the rest of the card elements are quite muted and neutral.

Once die cut, I attached the grey panel flat to the card base, used 3D foam to raise the white die cut, glued the bird to the white shape – though I did add a couple more die cut feet as they seems quite fragile – then attached the silver foiled sentiment with 3D foam.

I then played with the foliage, gluing them down one-by-one until I was happy with the placement and with the fullness.

As per usual, I added some extra embellishment, this time with silver sequins. I haven’t used sequins in a while, but I like how you can tuck them underneath layers so they are just peeping out.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Seize The Birthday – birthday – option to use Christmas supplies taken

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with a critter

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and critters

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Poinsettia Season’s Greetings

Hello again. It is time for the new challenge at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas‘. Here is my card:

I wanted a dramatic and different look for this die card, with a lot of dimension.

The background panel is a piece of black shimmery card stock, and dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder.

The main image is a Pinkfresh Studio die and layering stencil set, and as the background was black and dramatic, I also went with a different colour scheme.

The layering stencils were ink blended using Pinkfresh Studio inks, then die cut with the macthing die set. I added a couple more layers to the flower image, then attached to the black embossed panel.

I also added gold gems to the centre of the flowers as they are my favourite embellishments to use, and there is rarely a card I make without some sort of gem or jewel around it somewhere. I feel they add a certain interest and detail which doesn’t take over the card.

The sentiment is gold foiled.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations following our Christmas theme.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

As You Like It – favourite embellishment – gems/jewels/enamel dots

Stencil Fun – stencils – option to use some gold taken

Craft Rocket – Christmas/Winter

Triple B – birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Beautiful Blossoms – florals – optional mood board

Build Me A Snowman

Hello again. Caz is hosting the new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, and she has chosen the theme of:

Build Me A Snowman

Here is my card:

I wanted to try out the die set from The Greetery I had for a while, and finally managed to obtain a few of the honeycomb additions.

The snowman was die cut and assembled, then the honeycomb added. I used small black gems for the eyes. These honeycomb elements are fun, but I definitely have to hand this to the recipient…….

The background blue was embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder, the silver foiled panel was created by using a background toner panel – I think from Picket Fence Studio, but I may be wrong there. It’s the first time I’ve used the toner panels with my Gina K Fuse machine – how quick and easy is that? I did have to watch one of her YouTube videos just to make sure I had the correct heat setting, but I did play with several panels on this machine and therefore have a few on hand for future projects.

I cut the snowflake foiled panel with a Pinkfresh Studio die, and cut the centre out – the snowman kinda got lost without die cutting that centre out.

No sentiment, I think it’s pretty clear what time of year this is meant for….

I hope you can come and join us with your projects following our theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps & More – die cuts and/or stencils

12 Months of Christmas Link-Up – Christmas – option of sleigh not taken

Christmas Bingo – column O – no stamping – free – gems

Love To Craft – anything goes

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge – W and/or X

Hello again. The ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the letters ‘W’ and ‘X’, Fabiola is hosting, and the Christmas themes are:

W is for Wings and/or X is for X-stitch – any stitching

Here is my card for the theme of ‘wings’:

The birds were created first, and by using the ‘Birdie Friends in Winter’ combo. The birds were die cut, then ink blended using the matching layering stencils. Two of the birds have hats already, but I also die cut and ink blended another couple so I could clothe all of them with those cute hats.

The background panel was put through an embossing folder and attached to a card base.

The five scalloped pieces were die cut then ink blended with a couple of pink tones – I thought these pinks would be good for the background of each bird – allowing the blue and red on the birds to stand out.

These pieces were attached to the background in a jaunty fashion, the birds attached with thin 3D foam, a gold foiled sentiment added, and some gold gems also placed around and about.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with a critter

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and critters

Sparkles Forum Christmas Challenge – Christmas and festive wear

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Crafts Galore – anything goes

Greetings For This Holiday Season

I have another card to share after being in my craft room for a few hours yesterday – can you tell hubby has been away for a few days? Lots of crafty play time…..

I used quite a few Spellbinder products to create this card, but the skates are from Memory Box.

The card itself is a larger 5×7 inch as I knew I wanted to get more on it than usual.

For the colour scheme, I wanted a teal for the skates, and red for the cardinal and flowers, so I searched through my colour cubes to see what background colour would work with those colours. There were serval darker options, but I wanted a lighter background,

The background panel is a piece of sage card stock, cut slightly smaller that the card base to add a white border, bringing in some of the white on the other elements. This panel was then embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder.

I then set to die cutting all the things

The memory box skates were die cut using teal, white, and silver card stock, then layered together. I stitched red twine through the holes for the laces, then set them aside.

The sled was die cut in silver and white, then glued together, before turning to the flowers, foliage and the bird.

I used a combination of glue, 3D foam, and small pieces of spare card to attach all the elements, playing with the arrangement a few times.