Thursday 29 April 2021

Love Ya!

Hello there!

I'm back with another cute cactus card. I had a lovely time looking through the Silhouette store and came across some images of adorable cacti. I picked some that had lovely bold outlines, perfect for painting in. Rather than cut the outline from black card, I cut it from black vinyl and attached it to a piece of mixed media card. I used Catherine Pooler dye inks to paint the design.



What you need...

Digital image: 
Cactus with Hearts by Angele Kamp (#270153) - Silhouette

Font:
Funtasia by RVST (#313670)

Card stock:
Mixed Media Pad (A4) - Faber-Castell
White

Ink pads:
Aquatini - Catherine Pooler
Lime Rickey
Party Dress

Vinyl:
Midnight - Cricut

Patterned paper:
Sn@p Teal Chevron/Mini Dot - Simple Stories

Extras:
Adhesives

Tools:
Silhouette Cameo

What you do...

1 Load the image onto the Design Studio and re-size to approximately 2⅛"x 4" (6.5cm x 10cm).

2 Type out the wording, change the font to Funtasia and re-size to 66.42pt. 

3 Place the vinyl onto the cutting mat, send the image to the Silhouette, set the material to Vinyl,Matte and adjust the blade if necessary and cut.

4 Remove the image and stick onto a piece of multi media card and fussy cut out. Smoosh some inks onto a multi media mat and with a wet brush paint the cactus, hearts and pot. Allow to dry.

5 Create a mini slimline blank 3⅛"x 6¼" (8cm x 15.5cm). Mat a 1⅝" (4cm) deep piece of chevron paper across the bottom and add a narrow strip of vinyl along the top edge. 

6 Stick the lettering to the chevron paper and the cactus above.

These inks were a joy to paint with. I was debating whether to do the cactus in watercolours, but I thought I would try inks for a change. I'm glad I did play around with the inks.

There are a few cacti in this set and they are all adorable, so I think I will have to make a few more cards like this and play with some more inks/mediums.

I love the crisp, clean look that vinyl gives to images and as it is plastic it's great for painting within the lines. Wording also works well with vinyl, again for the crisp lines and you don't have to worry about applying glue and making a mess. I would think that you can cut vinyl with a manual die cutting machine, I might have to experiment.

Well, I am going to sign off now. I do have another couple of cactus themed cards to share,so I'll be back soon. Take care and thanks for stopping by.


Monday 26 April 2021

Looking Sharp

Hi there!

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well. 

I mentioned in my last post that I have been making a few cactus themed cards lately. The card I want to show you today is a mix of stamping, ink blending and Nuvo Glimmer Paste. So, without further ado, let's get to it.



What you need...

Stamps:
Multi-step Cacti Stamps- Reverse Confetti
Stuck on You (ST-18-42) - Avery Elle

Dies:
Multi-step Cacti Dies - Reverse Confetti

Stencil:
Square Extraordinaire - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:
Honeysuckle - Concord & 9th
Parsley
Sea Glass
Sprout
Walnut Stain - Tim Holtz Distress
Carved Pumpkin
Onyx Black - Versafine

Glimmer paste:
Moonstone - Nuvo

Card stock:
White

Extras:
Black/white Washi
Adhesives

Tools:
Big Shot - Sizzix
Stamping platform - MISTI
Media spatulas - Nuvo

What you do...

1 Create a top fold white blank 4¼"x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) and place the stencil onto the blank, securing with some low tack tape. Blend the Sea Glass ink within the stencil so it is darker at the top and fading to wards the bottom. Allow to dry.

2 Spread the Moonstone paste over the blended area, allow to dry. (Remove the stencil immediately and place in a bowl of water or wash, along with the spatula). 

3 Stamp the solid parts of  the three cacti onto white card along with the flower. Over stamp the detail with black ink.

4 Stamp the outlines of three pots. Blend some of the Walnut Stain and Carved Pumpkin together to create a terracotta colour, add some water and paint the pots.

5 Die cut the cacti, pots and flower and assemble. Attach to the card blank overlapping the Moonstone section.

6 Add a strip of Washi across the base of the blank and add the sentiment above, towards the right.

I had such fun making this little cutey. It was great building up the cacti. You can add as much or little detail as you wish to each cactus.

I do have some more cacti themed cards, these are slightly different in that they are created using the Silhouette Cameo, so stay tuned for those.

I am going to enter this card into the Crafty Creations Challenge #420 - Anything Goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

I am also going to enter it into the Creative Finger Challenge #206 - Anything Goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon!


Tuesday 20 April 2021

Floral Heart

Good afternoon!

I hope you are enjoying the lovely spring weather. I popped out this morning to get my annual tomato plants ready to put in the greenhouse. I also picked up a sweet yellow pepper plant and a hot chilli pepper plant. 

I think everyone else had the same idea, as the garden centre was packed. The garden centre had a really good system in place and luckily everyone practiced social distancing and wore their masks. 

Talking of garden centres and plants, I have an adorable little card to share with you that has a floral theme. This is created by using a stunning stamp set by Concord & 9th. I did do a card back in October (click here to take you to the post) that used this stamp set, but I did it as a new home card and with a different colour scheme.

I do believe that this stamp set is still available at Seven Hills Crafts and Bumbleberry Papercrafts (click on the shop name to link you to the product).



What you need...

Stamps: 
Floral Print Silhouette Stamp Set - Concord & 9th

Dies: 
Halftone Hearts - Altenew
Additional Circles - Waffle Flower

Ink pads:
Onyx Black - Versafine
Grapefruit - Concord & 9th
Sprout

Embellishments:
Droplets Crystal Clear Hearts - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Card stock: 
White

Tools:
Big Shot  - Sizzix
Stamping Platform - MISTI

Extras:
Foam sheets
Adhesives


What you do...

1 Use a stamp positioning tool to stamp the first layer of the floral image with black ink. Next, line up the flower section and stamp in Grapefruit. Line up the foliage layer and stamp in Sprout ink.

Die cut the stamped panel with a circle die (approx. 3⅜" or 8.5cm diameter). Die cut the fourth largest heart from the centre of the circle. 

3 Die cut the the fifth largest heart from within the larger heart.

4 From a piece of foam sheet, die cut a slightly smaller circle than the stamped section; then cut the larger heart from the centre of it, making sure it lines up. Glue the printed circle onto the foam.

5 Die cut the smaller heart from a foam sheet and glue the printed heart to it.

6 Create a 4¼" x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) white blank and adhere the stamped circle panel at the top. Add the smaller heart to the centre of the larger one.

7 Stamp the sentiment underneath and finish with some heart droplets.

I love this stamp set, I think it's so elegant. I think a colour scheme where the flowers are stamped in red with bright green foliage would make a wonderful and different Christmas card.

I have been having an obsession with making cacti themed cards lately, so I'm looking forward to sharing those with you soon.

Thank you for popping by, take care and keep safe!


Wednesday 14 April 2021

Goth Rainbow

Hello there!

I am back with something a little bit different. You may or may not know that I am a heavily tattooed, pierced, always wears black Goth (I do not possess any coloured clothing, apart from one little dress that has skulls and roses on it) and I'm proud to be one.

Well, a lot of people who know me are always surprised that I do such bright and colourful cards. I do love colour, especially lime green and shades of aqua/teal - just not on me.

I am so loving all the rainbows and bright colour schemes that is around at the moment in the card making world and I truly hope that these will never go out of favour. However, I did wonder what a rainbow would look like if it was Goth.

To all those closet Goth rainbows out there, I have made a card just for you...


What you need...

Stamps:
Rainbow Wishes - Concord & 9th

Dies:
Clouds - Paper Smooches

Ink pad:
Obsidian Amalgam  - Gina K

Card stock:
Black
White

Embellishments:
Silver Mix Pearls - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Extras:
Rub-on lettering
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 6.5" x 4.5". Stamp the arches of the rainbow in black ink, alternating between solid and patterned arches.

2 Die cut two clouds and fix at the ends of the arches.

3 Stamps some raindrops in black ink under each cloud and a heart under the smallest arch.

4 Apply the lettering around the top left of the largest arch. Add some silver pearls to decorate.

5 Mat onto a black 5" x 7" blank.

I had to go large with this card to fit the rainbow in as this is quite a large stamp set. I love the fact that you can mix and match the arches.

I do have some smaller rainbow stamp sets, so I might have to make them Goth too.

This was just a bit of silly, but I hope I have done those Goth rainbows (and Goths) proud!

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon with another brightly coloured make.


Friday 9 April 2021

Sparkly Hello

Hello there!

As promised I'm back the second of three cards made using the Moonstone Glimmer paste by Nuvo. The card is very similar to the Hey! Friend card but it uses a different colour scheme and sentiments. Well, without further ado...



What you need...

Stamps: 
Loads of Hello ST-21-11 - Avery Elle

Dies:
Loads of Hello D-21-11 - Avery Elle

Stencil:
Rectangle Trio - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:
Picked Raspberry - Tim Holtz Distress Oxide
Tumbled Glass
Wilted Violet
Onyx Black - Versafine

Glimmer paste:
Nuvo Moonstone - Tonic Studios

Card stock:
White

Embellishments:
Crystal Confetti - The Stamp Market

Extras:
Adhesives
Die cutting machine - Sizzix
Blending brushes - Picket Fence
Nuvo Media Spatulas - Tonic Studios

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 10.5cm x 13.5cm, place the stencil towards the top and secure in place with low tack tape.

2 Start at the top of the stencil and blend Picked Raspberry ink, Tumbled Glass followed by  the Wilted Violet. Allow the ink to dry.

3 Using a spatula, spread some of the Moonstone paste evenly over the stencil. Scrape away the excess and place back in the pot. Remove the stencil. Put the lid back on the pot and wash the stencil and spatula immediately. Allow the paste to dry.

4 Stamp the 'hello' and 'just a note to say' with black ink. Die cut the 'hello' and die cut again twice more in white card. Stack the die cuts lining up each layer. Trim the 'just a note to say'.

5 Create an 11cm x 14cm top fold blank and attach the stencilled panel onto it either with foam tape or some layers of scrap card stock. Attach the 'hello' with the 'just a note to say' above, to the left. Finish with some of the Crystal Confetti.

And there we have it. Another super sparkly card. I have one more in this set which again uses a different colour scheme and wording.

I am going to enter this card into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you so much for popping by, take care and I'll be back soon.


Sunday 4 April 2021

Carrot Bunny

Hello and Happy Easter!

I'm back with another cute bunny card. This one uses quite a lot of die cuts and features the Carrot Bunny die set by Sizzix as part of their new 2021 Chapter 1  release. I decided to cut a Polaroid frame using an old die from Paper Smooches to make it look like a cute photo.

The background of the photo is a piece of pale pool card with some subtle blending at the top and the main background of the card is stamped in black ink using the Dainty Swiss Dots stamp by Altenew.



What you need...

Dies:
Carrot Bunny by Tim Holtz (665213) - Sizzix Thinlits
Heartfelt by Tim Holtz (660233) - Sizzix Bigz
Polaroid - Paper Smooches

Stamps:
Dainty Swiss Dots - Altenew
Happy Happy Happy - Lawn Fawn
Happy Happy Happy Add-on 

Ink:
Garden Patina Make Art - Wendy Vecchi
Obsidian Amalgam - Gina K

Card stock:
Black
Burnt Orange
Green
Lime
Orange
Pale Pink
Pool
White

Embellishments:
Black cord

Extras:
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Die cut the bunny from white card, his eyes/nose/mouth from black and his cheeks/ears from pale pink. Cut the main carrot from burnt orange and orange card and the foliage from green and lime. Assemble the bunny and the carrot.

2 Die cut the Polaroid frame from black, white and pool card. Blend the Garden Patina ink across the top of the pool section.

3 Attach the bunny to the pool panel at an angle so it overlaps the bottom edge. Trim away the excess. Layer the black frame onto the white one and stick onto a piece of white card, trim away any excess. Attach the bunny panel into the frame.

4 Stamp the Dainty Swiss Dots onto white card with the Obsidian ink and trim to 4" x 5¼" (10cm x 13cm) and mat onto a 4¼"x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) blank covered with pool card.

5 Adhere the bunny panel centrally to the top of the blank. Add the carrot, tucking it under the bunny's arms. Die cut three small hearts in pale pink card and fix to the panel. Wrap and tie black cord around the base of the blank and tie in a bow at the right.

As Paper Smooches is sadly no longer trading, the Polaroid die is now unavailable, however there are some cute die sets by companies such as Sweet Pea Designs, Mama Elephant and Lawn Fawn. You could easily make your own by die cutting a square from a rectangle of card.

The Carrot Buuny die set also comes with a larger carrot so you can have two bunnies side by side holding it. So cute.

I am going to enter this card into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Well thank you as always for stopping by, I really appreciate it. I will be back soon with another card made using the Nuvo Glimmer paste. It is similar to the one I recently posted, but has different wording and colour scheme.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter!


Friday 2 April 2021

Easter Bun Buns

Hello there!

I can't believe Easter is upon us already, it only seems like yesterday it was Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I'll be starting Christmas projects for Crafts Beautiful and PaperCrafter soon - eep!

I would like to share with you today, a card I made for my mum. We were chatting on the phone as I made it, so I thought it only fair to post it to her. She loved it. 

This card is slightly different from the usual cutesy, pastel Easter cards and is a more fresh, modern, bold card.


What you need...

Stamps:
#51 - AALL & Create
Dainty Swiss Dots - Altenew
Bunny Hop - Newton's Nook

Dies:
Peek-a-boo Pets - Avery Elle
Heartfelt (660233) - Sizzix

Ink pads:
Mermaid Lagoon - Tim Holtz Distress
Tumbled Glass
Onyx Black - Versafine

Promarker:
Baby Pink

Embellishments:
Black pearl

Washi tape:
Black/white striped

Card stock:
White
Pale pink

Extras:
Masking Magic - Gina K
Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 3⅛"x 6¼" (8cm x 15.5cm) mask off 1½" (4.5cm) across the bottom.

2 Stamp the first bunny above the masking in black ink, stamp again onto masking paper and cut out. Apply the mask over the bunny.

3 Stamp the second bunny so he sits just over the first, stamp again on masking paper and cut out. Apply the mask over the bunny. 

4 Die cut a speech bubble from masking paper and position above the bunnies.

5 Blend the Tumbled Glass ink from the top of the card followed by the Mermaid Lagoon. When dry, stamp the Dainty Swiss Dots over the inked surface with black ink.

6 Remove the masks. Use the Baby Pink marker to add colour to the bunnies ears, nose and cheeks. Stamp a sentiment in the speech bubble.

7 Trim the panel to 2⅞" x 6" (7.5cm x 15cm). Add a strip of Washi tape across the base of the blank, under the inked section.

8 Die cut a small heart in pale pink card stock and add to the lower right, overlapping the Washi tape. Add some black pearls to decorate and mat onto a white 3⅛"x 6¼" (8cm x 15.5cm) blank.

As I have quite a lot of American products which are in imperial measurements, I am finding that by making my blanks/panels in inches they are more aesthetically pleasing and easier to work out. If I do use imperial measurements, I will always try to add the nearest measurements in centimeters.

I must admit I do prefer working in imperial anyway. It think this stems from being brought up by my grandparents. Even now, if I do any baking I work in pounds and ounces.

The stamp set with the bunnies unfortunately doesn't have a name. It is packed with the cutest images from the two bunnies, to a panda, racoon, elephant and a bear. It also has some fun sentiments and little add-ons such as party hats, presents and a balloon. The AALL Stamps all seem to just have numbers and not names

I hope you liked this 'different' Easter card. I have one more to share with you which also includes a cute bun bun, but uses mainly dies.

I am entering this make into the Crafty Creations Challenge #419 - Anything goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

I am also entering this make into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you for stopping by!