Tuesday 17 December 2019

Deck the Halls

Hello blog friends!

I want to share with you a card that I made way back in 2018 for the Crafts Beautiful Christmas Special. I still have it and thought it would be nice to show it.

It uses an ingenious stencil by Clarity Stamp. The circular stencil is made up of two layers, the lower one has the images cut out and the top one has an aperture. You place the aperture over the image you wish to stencil and the rest of the disc masks any ink or medium from marking your work.

The stencil I used is the 7" Wheelie Bauble Stencil and I teamed it up with bright, zingy colours to create a fun background.


What you need...

Stencil: Wheelie Bauble Stencil 7" - ClarityStamp
Card stock: Teal; Stencil Card 7" x 7" (50 Sheets) - ClarityStamp; 
Paint: Fresh Lime, Bubblegum Pink, Post Box Red, Calypso Teal - Dylusions
Stencil brush
Christmas phrase stamp
Ink pad: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things
Ribbon; lime green
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of the stencil card to 11cm x 15cm and stencil baubles randomly over the surface using different colours and bauble shapes. Leave the centre of the bauble paler to give the illusion of light reflecting off the bauble.

2 Cover a 10.5cm x 14.5cm blank with teal card.

3 Trim the bauble card to 10cm x 14cm and mat centrally onto the blank.

4 Stamp the sentiment onto white card, trim and mat onto a slightly larger piece of teal card. Attach to the blank and finish with a lime green bow.

The sentiment I used is from the Festive Greetings stamp set by WPlus9, but any large font word(s) will work.

This card uses bright, modern colours, but you could use more traditional colours if you wish.

At the time of writing this blog the stencil is £5.99 and the stencil card is £7.98. Click here to take you to the ClarityStamp website.

I know most of you will now have finished your Christmas makes, but it never too early to start for next year.

I hope to be back soon with another couple of Christmas makes so watch this space.

Thank you for stopping by! x


Wednesday 11 December 2019

Christmas Snow Globe - Crafts Beautiful

Hello Blog friends!

I'd like to show you another card I did for my Masterclass tutorial in the Christmas Special of Crafts Beautiful.

I did a lovely snow globe shaker card featuring the iconic truck and tree, this was created with the Silhouette using a gorgeous image file by Lori Whitlock.



What you need...

Die cutting machine: Silhouette Cameo
Design Store image: A2 Snow Globe Shaker Card Christmas Pick-Up (#154936) - Lori Whitlock
Card stock: white, lime, aqua, red, grey, black, brown, glitter
Chipboard
Acetate
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Purchase the image and add to the Design Page. Ungroup the images, separate and cut out in the relevant colours.

2 Crease and fold the blank. Attach the back panel, globe panel, dotty circle and the hill.

3 Assemble the truck and attach to the blank.

4 Stick the globe apertures together and attach the sentiment.

5 Glue the acetate to the red circle and stick to the front of the globe aperture.

6 Place the snowflakes around the truck. Glue the globe aperture in place making sure there are no snowflakes trapped. Add a large snowflake to decorate.

I used a thin chipboard so had to cut several of the apertures. Depending on the thickness of the chipboard you will need to experiment on how many to cut. Just make sure the snowflakes can move around easy.

This complete file cost £1.31 which is great value. You could also cut the basic snow globe aperture and add your own image and shaker parts.

I hope you like this fun little card. The file also includes the envelope. I cut another little truck and stuck it to the front of the envelope.

Just before I go, I would like to mention a fantastic online card company called Paperless Post. I did do a post previously on this fab company (click here to read the post). 

I recently sent six thank you cards, I chose a gorgeous little card featuring Paddington Bear. As the thank you message was the same to all six recipients all I had to do was add their email addresses and they all were sent at the same time. 

There are hundreds of cards to choose from and all occasions, you can customise your greeting if you choose and most cards cost around six coins. You can purchase coins which are held in your account and these will not expire. Some features are free, others may cost one or two coins. Recipient response cards are also included so the recipient can acknowledge receipt of the card.

If you would like to have a look at Paperless Post then feel free to click here to take you to their website. Paperless Post is great if you need to send that last minute greeting.

Thank you so much for popping by. TTFN!


Wednesday 13 November 2019

Christmas Pud Wobble Card

Hello blog friends!

As you may know I have a monthly masterclass in Crafts Beautiful where I show a card using a particular technique or product. I came across some Wobble Springs by Hampton Art and thought they would be fun to use on a Christmas card.

The Wobble Spring is basically a plastic spring element where you attach one side to you card and the other side to the back of the motif you want to wobble around.

I decided a Christmas pud would be really effective, so I searched through the Silhouette Design Store and came across the perfect pud.



What you need...

Mini Wobble Springs: Hampton Art
Digital image: Christmas Pudding (35849) Sarah Hurley - Silhouette
Digital font: Christmas Carol (237838) Carina Gardner - Silhouette
Card stock: browns, cream, green, red
Patterned paper: green dotty
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut the out the pudding and the lettering using your Silhouette. Assemble the pudding using red gems for the berries.

2 Cover the top 9.5cm of a 10.5cm x 14.5cm white blank with green dotty paper and add a 0.5cm strip of red card underneath.

3 Stick the lettering at the bottom of the blank, use a red gem above the 'i'.

4 Attach the Wobble Spring to the back of the pudding and then to the top of the blank. 

Ta da! A fun card made in minutes. These Wobble Springs would work really well with cute characters such as a Santa, Rudolph or an angel. A bauble would look good too.

I have another couple of makes from my masterclasses to show you, so I'll post them soon. Thank you for popping by. TTFN!


Thursday 31 October 2019

Halloween Bags - Cricut®

Happy Halloween!

I recently made a couple of Halloween bags for the children of our friends. I purchased a batch of white cotton bags a while ago and they are perfect for using the Cricut® Iron-On.

For Harry I chose a cute cartoon skull and for Martha a cute cartoon pumpkin. The font is called 'A Frightful Affair' and is perfect for a bold Halloween look.



What you need...

Cricut® images: Skull #M8944B9A (from the All Hallows Eve cartridge); Jack-O-Lantern with Leaf on Vine #MFA97F5F (from the DJ Inkers - Celebrate All Year Long cartridge)
Cricut® font: A Frightful Affair
Cricut® Iron On: Glitter Black
Bags: white cotton

What you do...

1 Add the image to your Design Space and re-size to suit. 

2 Add a text box to the Design Space, type out the name and change the font.

3 Send the images to cut, making sure you select the Iron-On cut and mirror the images, especially the wording.

4 Weed the waste Iron-On from the around the images. Following the Iron-On instructions, position and fix the image to the bag.

5 Fill the bag with goodies and enjoy!

Hope you like these spooky makes. I'll be back soon with some Christmas makes I did for my Masterclass in Crafts Beautiful.

TTFN! 


Saturday 28 September 2019

Cute Pumpkin - Crafts Beautiful October 2019

Hello blog friends!

I would like to share with you a cute moveable pumpkin card that I created for the current issue (October 2019) of Crafts Beautiful.

I have a monthly masterclass in Crafts Beautiful showing different techniques from gilding right through to kinetic cards.

For this issue I decided to come up with an adorable pumpkin so that when you pull his stalk, his arms wave up and down.



The beauty of this design is all of the items needed you will most likely have in your craft stash.

You can find the template for this cute little guy on the Crafts Beautiful website, click here to take you to the template download page.

The mechanism works by cutting out two of the tabs and two arms and then connecting them to the stalk with brads. Cut out another main body piece in white and fix to the back with foam tape making sure you leave gaps for the arms and enough room for the mechanism to work. A small top fold card blank in fixed to the back to allow the little guy to stand up.

If you don't want a moveable card, just make him up without the mechanism.

I hope you like this cute little dude and thank you for popping by. TTFN!


Friday 6 September 2019

Old Gull

Hi blog friends!

Well, it is getting close to my fave time of year....Autumn with its leaves, colours, woodland walks and of course Halloween, then Winter with its cosy nights in front of the fire, hot choc and Christmas!

I am so behind this year on starting my Christmas cards. I'm having my art room redone and I've moved into my husband's office which is no where near as big as my room. This means I have half of my stuff in his office and half in another room - it's a pain in the butt. I should be back in my room soon, so I'll post some pics up.

I want to show you another card I did with the seagull stamp set. This one is a bit simpler than the one in the last post.



What you need...

Card stock: white
Stamps: Seaside Seagulls (CS-200) - My Favorite Things; Picture It - Avery Elle; Bird Assortment - Inkadinkado
Ink pads: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things
Copic markers; BG000 Pale Aqua, C-1 Cool Grey 1, C-4 Cool Grey 4, Y13 Lemon Yellow, Y18 Lightning Yellow
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp two seagulls facing each other onto white card with three waves underneath and colour in.

2 Stamp the speech bubble and sentiment above one of the gulls.

3 Trim to 11cm square and mat onto a 12cm square white blank.

There. Quick and simple.

I hope you like this little make. Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you soon!


Monday 12 August 2019

Hey, Gullfriend!

Hello blog friends!

I hope you are all keeping well. I have a cute, funny card to share with you today. It features images from the Seaside Seagulls stamp set by My Favorite Things.



What you need...

Card stock: white
Stamps: Seaside Seagulls (CS-200) - My Favorite Things
Dies: Nested Small Square - Gina K
Ink pads: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things; Sea Breeze - VersaMagic
Copic markers; C-1 Cool Grey 1, C-4 Cool Grey 4, E42 Sand White, E44 Clay, Y13 Lemon Yellow, Y18 Lightning Yellow
Masking paper
Gems; clear
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Die cut the largest square in white card. Mask off the faux stitching and a section at the bottom. 

2 Stamp three clouds in the top section and mask. Apply the Sea Breeze ink to cover the area. Remove the masks.

3 Stamp some waves and the sentiment.

4 Stamp the seagull, colour and cut out.

5 Create a 10.5cm x 14.5cm top fold blank. Add the square panel to the top and a sentiment at the bottom. Add the seagull to the bottom right of the square panel with foam pads. Finish with a gem on each cloud.

There you have it! A clean, simple and fresh card. Living near the sea I know for a fact that seagulls DO love chips (and ice-cream).

I did this card for a friend's birthday and she loved it. I hope you love it too.

Thanks for popping by and I'll be back soon! x


Thursday 25 July 2019

Paperless Post

Hello blog friends!

My post today is something a little bit different from my usual fare. 

I was approached by the Community Manager of Anagram Interactive to try products from a company called Paperless Post who specialise in online greetings. They offer designs from well known designers and life style companies such as Kate Spade New York, Oscar de la Renta and Rifle Paper Co.

I know my blog posts are usually about hand made cards but we all experience a time when we either forget someone's birthday or simply don't have the time to sit down and create. 

This is where Paperless Post comes in. You can send anything from greetings cards to flyers all of which are fully customisable. You also have the options of adding and envelope, with or without a liner, plus you can also send reply cards. The site is easy to navigate, there are hundreds of designs and combinations to choose from. 

After registering with Paperless Post you purchase 'coins' - in the UK you can buy 25 coins for £8.00 up to 1000 coins for £90.00. 

I decided to send a card to a friend just to say hello.

I chose a cute nature design called Hello Friend (Christian Robinson) by Red Cap Cards. This cost 2 coins.


After I selected my chosen card, I clicked on the customise button which tool me to the next stage. This is where I selected a backdrop. I chose Coldpress - Charterhouse a simple green backdrop to compliment the colours on the card  - 1 coin.


I then edited the text. There are several fonts to choose from and you can alter the size, format and colour. I selected Bodoni Black.

The next stage is choosing my envelope and liner. I selected an envelope in Burnt Caramel and the liner in Airy Dots - Charterhouse - envelope 1 coin - liner 1 coin.


The stamp and postmark stage is next. A free stamp is provided or you can choose a different one. I selected the Paperless Post Black Stamp and the Paperless Post Watermark. Stamp 1 coin - watermark free.

I then changed the design of the reply card. I selected a torn edged effect Papier D'armenie - 1 coin.


The last thing to do was to add the recipient and send. It is as simple as that. The total cost of the card was 7 coins. I also created a BBQ invite, which again was simple to create.

All along the way they keep you up to date on how many coins you have spent for each card. After completion of your card the total amount of coins spent will be per card sent to each recipient. My BBQ card cost 7 coins, if I had sent the invite to 5 people it would cost me a total of 35. You can add as many recipients as you like.

Mr friends who received the BBQ have already responded using the reply card.

I will definitely be using Paperless Post in the future, it will be especially handy to send cards at the last minute or for those far away in another country where you can't always guarantee that they will get a postal card. Plus it also makes sending a personal email much nicer.

The hardest thing I found about the site was which design and colour scheme to choose. Your coins will not expire, so you don't have a time limit on creating and sending your greetings.

Please pop in and check out PaperlessPost by clicking on this link https://www.paperlesspost.com. You won't be disappointed. 


Wednesday 3 July 2019

Thanks a Latte

Hello blog friends!

It has been some time since I last posted. We've been on holiday, had a few classic car rallies and I've been busy with magazine work. I've been doing Christmas stuff since May and the last half of the year is always extra busy as we have a couple of extra issues to get out, so that means tighter deadlines.

I made a fun little card for some dear friends, so this is what I want to show you today.



What you need...

Cardstock: Kraft, white

Stamps: Cool Beans ST-17-43 - Avery Elle; Breakfast Club - The Alley Way Stamps; Shadows - Paper Smooches

Dies: Cool Beans Ellements D1743 - Avery Elle, 3 Nested Squares Small 18009 - Gina K; Stitched - Paper Smooches

Ink pads: Smokey Gray, Vintage Sepia - Versafine; Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Copics: E23 Hazelnut, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E27 Milk Chocolate, E29 Burnt Umber, B0000 Pale Celestine, B000 Porcelain Blue, R24 Prawn, R27 Cadmium Red, R29 Lipstick Red

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp the cup, labek, large heart, a double and a single coffee bean in black ink onto white card and colour in.

2 Die cut the stamped images.

3 Die cut the largest of the stitched squares in white card. Stamp a shadow in Smokey Gray at the lower right corner and a coffee stain at the lower left and upper right in Vintage Sepia. Stamp the sentiment in black in the upper left corner.

4 Assemble the coffee cup and fix to the lower right over the shadow, place the coffee beans around the base. 

5 Die cut two stitched lines approximately 1cm and 2cm up from the bottom of an 11cm x 13cm top fold Kraft blank. Fix the coffee panel above.

6 Finish with two coffee stains at the lower right corner.

And there you have it, a perfect card for coffee lovers. Sadly The Alley Way Stamps is no longer in business, so this stamp set is no longer available. You could draw in some coffee stains or dip the base of a small glass or espresso cup into brown ink and 'stamp' the stains.

John & Peter were thrilled with the card as I was thrilled with the handmade chocolates they got me for my birthday.

Well, that's me for now. I will try and post again soon, thanks for stopping by! 


Friday 17 May 2019

Mwaahaahahaaa!

Hello blog friends!

I hope you are all well! I have a great ghoulish card to share with you today. It's very clean, simple and cute. Plus it's perfect to send to a male recipient.



What you need...

Stamps: Ghoulfriends, Shadows - Paper Smooches
Ink pad: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things; Smokey Gray - Versafine
Cardstock: white, shades of lime green
Gems: black
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp a ghoul in the bottom right corner of a 10.5cm x 14.5cm white blank in black ink and stamp the shadow in Smokey Gray ink. 

2 Stamp another ghoul at the left about half way up the blank and another at the top right.

3 Add a 2cm deep strip of lime card across the middle ghoul so half of him is peeking over the top.

4 Add a 3cm deep strip of paler lime card across the top ghoul just his eyes are peeping over.

5 Stamp the sentiment above the lower ghoul and add gems to each of the eyes. Place a few gems on the green strips.

And there you have it. simple, quick and easy. Ghouls and monster aren't just for Halloween.

Thank you for stopping by and I'll be back soon with another cute make. TTFN!


Tuesday 30 April 2019

You're So Sweet - Crafts Beautiful May 2019

Hello blog friends!

It's been a while since I shared with you one of my projects from Crafts Beautiful. This month (May 2019 issue) my masterclass shows you how to do resist stamping using white embossing powder and some fruity, zesty inks along with a cute stamp set featuring citrus fruits.


This month's issue comes with an exclusive free gift from docrafts which contains layering stamps, papers, card blanks and die-cut sheets. On the Crafts Beautiful website there are some projects that I did using the free gift.





This issue is jam packed with some beautiful projects and there are some great makes from my favourite talented designers Tracey Daykin-Jones, Keren Baker and Cathie Shuttleworth.

Of course there are lots of other crafts featured such as sewing, cross stitch and brush lettering. There is also the usual features, hints, tips and how to's.

There are lots more to be found on the Crafts Beautiful website, click here to take you to the home page. If you wish to download any of the templates or free papers you will need to sign up, but it is free.

I hope you like my makes and thank you so much for popping by. Until next time!


Thursday 18 April 2019

Fishy Wishes

Hello blog friends!

I do hope that the weather where you are is as bright and sunny as it is here. It's so lovely to see all the plants and trees bursting open with colour.

Talking of colour, I have a fab colourful card with a fishy theme to show you. One of my favourite stamp sets is the That Bites by Avery Elle. I just find the faces of the fish so comical and the images lend themselves to male cards very well.



What you need...

Card stock: aqua, white
Stamps: That Bites - Avery Elle; Birthday Buddies - Paper Smooches
Copic: C1 Cool Grey 1, RV06 Cerise, YG13 Chartreuse, YR16 Apricot
Promarker: Purple
Ink pad: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things
Gel pens: Signo White UM-153 - Uni-ball, Glaze Clear #800 - Sakura
Dies: circle 8.5cm
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp the fish over white card with black ink and colour in. Stamp the angler fish, colour in and cut out. Colour over the eyes with the clear glaze pen.

2 Die cut a circle in the centre of aqua card 12cm square.

3 Trim the fish panel to 10.5cm square and mat centrally onto a white blank 12.5cm square.

4 Mat the aqua panel onto the blank with foam tape.

5 Mount the angler fish at the lower left of the circle.

6 Stamp the sentiment in the top right and draw some bubbles with the white gel pen.

There you have it!  A bright, colourful card suitable for anyone of any age. 

I did use this stamp set in a previous post where I masked off the fish and inked the background. This made an effective, yet simple card. Here is the link to that post https://cosmicstrawberry-colette.blogspot.com/2018/04/that-bites.html

Thank you for dropping by, I hope you all have a lovely Easter! 


Saturday 30 March 2019

Monster Hugs

Hello blog friends!

Happy Saturday to you all. It is a bright, sunny Spring morning here.

I would like to show you a card I made for a male friend. I purchased a cute monster themed set of stamps and couldn't wait to use them.



What you need...

Card stock: white
Stamps: More Monsters (CS-222) - My Favorite Things
Ink pads: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things; Mermaid, Celery, Fizz - Avery Elle
Patterned paper: Daily Details 12" x 12" (Spooktacular Collection) - Bella Blvd
Dies: circles
Flat back pearls: black
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp the monsters onto white card in the coloured inks, then stamp the faces onto the monsters in black ink.

2 Cut a strip of spotty paper 6.5cm x 10.5cm and die cut three circles across it. Back each circle with a monster.

3 Fix the paper strip to a white landscape blank, leaving enough space at the bottom for the sentiment.

4 Stamp the sentiment and some stars in the lower right corner and add black pearls to each of the eyes.

This stamp set is so cute, each monster has his own unique face that you can over stamp. The faces would look good stamped onto pumpkin motifs. There is also a die set available to go with the stamps.

I think monster cards are fun to give to adult males rather than the generic car, sport and golf cards. Men are all big kids at heart. I've done a monster card for my husband's birthday, so I'll share that with you soon.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you like my little monster card. TTFN!


Sunday 17 March 2019

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Hello blog friends!

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all! I sketched, inked and coloured an Irish themed illustration for my dear friends June & Stephen. Stephen is Irish and I send him a card every year - it's tradition.

I wanted to incorporate the wonderful & magic things we associate with Ireland. I finally decided on doing a signpost directing you to things such as the 'End of the Rainbow', 'Leprechauns' and not let us forget the wonderful 'Guinness'. I kept the colours subtle and fresh.


Items I used...

Own illustration
Card stock; white digital
Copic markers: Pale Celestine B0000, Pale Porcelain Blue B000, Mignonette YG11, Chartreuse YG13, Lettuce Green YG09, Cool Greys C-0, C-1, C-2
Gems: clear
Adhesives

What I did...

After sketching out a rough illustration, I then re-did it in pencil. I then scanned it and re-drew it digitally following my original sketch in Photoshop. I added the sentiment at the bottom using a Photoshop font (FF Providence Sans Pro).

I printed it out onto digital cards stock. If you are using alcohol markers, a good tip here is to heat set the image with a heat gun. This helps to stop the ink smudging, though it is always best to test first as some card stock doesn't hold ink well for colouring with alcohol markers.

After colouring, I trimmed the illustration to 10cm x 14cm and matted it onto a white side fold 10.5cm x 14.5cm blank. I finished with three little gems in the top right corner to add that little bit of magic.

I received a text from June & Stephen to say they loved it. You are more than welcome my lovelies x

Hope you like this little make, I think it turned out quite cute.

On another note this blog post has taken me about four attempts as we now have a new 6 month old black kitten adopted from the RSPCA. She loves the laptop! I know it's not craft related but here is a sneaky pic....


I have to temporarily cover the keyboard as she puts me in Flight Mode, Caps Lock, enters gobbledeegook passwords and shuts me down!

She is adorable, but she is completely deaf, so it is hard to tell her no sometimes. If you use hand signals she thinks it's time to play. She has settled really well and we love her to bits. I missed having a cat so much after Bazoo died last November. We have always had black cats and it's great to have one around again.

Anyway, thank you for popping by, I have cute monster card for you next time. TTFN!