foiling

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.

The final addition was the sentiment, layered a couple of times for stability, then gold gems added to the centre of the poinsettia.

A lot of die cutting, but that is actually my favourite way to create.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and critters

A Cut Above – anything goes with die cuts

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

Christmas (Or Not) Bingo – column O – no stamping – free – pearls/gems/enamel dots

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Thanks For Everything

Hallo. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Pamela is the host, and she has chosen the theme of ‘colouring‘. Here is my card:

For the floral images, I decided to colour them using ink blending. This die and embossing set is from Altenew, and I think it was part of a virtual event. I must have ‘filed’ it somewhere safe, because I cannot find it again at this point….

I first used the die set to cut the images out, but taped them back into the card it had been cut from to make ink blending easier. I then used the matching stencils to colour each of the images, using some shading and certain places for added dimension.

I then placed the die cut in the matching embossing folder and ran it through my machine – this certainly adds even more dimension and detail.

The background panel is using Spellbinders ‘sage’ card stock and also ran through an embossing folder.

The final touches were to add the gems for the centre of the flowers, then a gold foiled sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations following our theme – there is a lot of scope to be able to include colouring on your projects. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun – use stencils – option of Halloween related not taken

CYHTP – embossing folder – option of pumpkins or orange not taken

Ellibelle’s Corner Garden Party – anything in or from the garden

Beautiful Blossoms – florals

Harvest Thanks

This card was firstly inspired by the current challenge at Inspiration Station. I was looking at the colours with the basket full of harvest goodies.

I took the opportunity to raid my stash of pre-prepared papers and card from ink smooshing and spraying and spritzing, using Brushos – generally from one of my play sessions.

I found the orange piece and die cut some pumpkins using a die set from The Greetery. I also found a piece of yellow card from playing with some mica sprays – the smaller pumpkins were die cut from that. The sheaves of wheat were die cut from more mellow orange and yellow pieces.

The basket is also from The Greetery – ever used – and that was just from some plain light brown/Kraft card stock – letting the other elements shine.

The background panel was created using a piece of paper I had gel printed on – I was obviously playing with some light green or lime inks and paints, and that piece was cut down to an A2 size panel, then a Spellbinders pumpkin embossing folder used on it, after which I took some bright ink and lightly blended over the top – catching the details subtly in some areas.

Now all my elements were ready, I glued the background panel onto the card base, played around with the layout, then added some 3D foam pieces to the back of the basket, inserted the sheaves of wheat, then stuck down.

The pumpkins were added with a mixture of 3D foam and glue.

The sentiment is gold foiled – again from a previous crafting and foiling session – black strip to make it stand out amongst all that colour.

I had fun creating this card – so many mediums I have previously played with, creating a stash I forget to turn to – but I was also inspired by one of my Design Team buddies who had recently produced a card using stuff in her ‘bit box’ – and so reminded me I had a stash of papers and pieces of card from all my sessions playing with inks and paints and gel plates etc… I really must remember I have them….

I shall be entering the following challenges:

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Inspiration Station – photo inspiration

Creative Artiste Mixed Media – anything goes mixed media

Tic Tac Toe – middle row – thanks sentiment – free – Kraft card stock

Ellibelle’s Corner – Garden Party – anything in or from the garden

Snow & Wreath

Hello everyone. I have a card to share that I have been procrastinating over for the past few days. I finally managed to decide on how I wanted the wreath to look:

The starting point for my card was the top row of the current challenge at Tic Tac Toe – wreath – foliage/leaves – stencil.

The background is using a Simon Hurley stencil received from a recent virtual event, and also using his Unicorn Horn Lunar Paste. Whilst this panel was drying, I searched through the CML app for foliage, branches, leaves, poinsettia and holly, and picked out three or four of the Spellbinders die sets I have.

I used a few shades of green for the foliage, a brown for the branch dies, red for the poinsettia layers, and I used silver glitter card for the holly leaves. Once all die cut, and the back panel was dry, I created a circle frame using some nesting circle dies and stuck that down, so I had something to follow when arranging all the elemnts.

The branches and leaves were glued down – just the tips so there was movement and dimension, then the poinsettias attached with a little circle of 3D foam, the holly leaves added lastly.

Silver gems were glued to the centre of the flowers, then the silver foiled sentiment from Lawn Fawn – stacked a couple of times – was glued down to the bottom of the card.