Purple Classics

This is a card I made for one of my daughters who started a new job recently.  She is an Assistant Designer at a book publishers so I wanted to design a card that reflects her new role and is personal to her.  One of her favourite colours is purple so the colour scheme was an easy choice.  The stamps I have used are Sheena Douglass' 'A Little Bit Magical - Knowledge' set; the Mona Lisa is from the Tim Holtz collection; the word 'Create' is from Paper Parachute; an embossing folder from Sheena's 'A Taste of India' collection; Distress Inks, H2os, gilding wax have also been used.  The background panel started as a piece of white card onto which I blended 3 colours of DIs before embossing it in the folder.  I added gold gilding wax to highlight the raised pattern.  On another piece of white card I stamped some books, a quill and ink bottle, the word and the Mona Lisa in black ink then heat embossed with black EP.  I fussy cut the images out then painted them with the inks and some gold H2o paint, except for the Mona Lisa.  I blended the same inks all over the panel, added black ink around the edges, then triple heat embossed with clear EP to give a glazed effect.  I made a tag for the word and edged it in black.  I threaded some coordinating fibres through the tag.  Then I took some pink hessian ribbon and stained it with the inks to tone in with the card.  I attached this to the background panel, then matted that onto black card and layered it onto the base card.  The other images were attached as embellishments with dimensional glue.  I am really pleased with this design - and so was my daughter!  I think it will make a good worker card too, for many occassions and male and female cards too

Poppies and Brushos

Another birthday card that I made recently for one of my daughters.  She loves the colour purple and I love red poppies so I decided to use black card and Dyna paints, giving the flowers a 'two-tone' effect.  I also wanted to play with my Brushos again as they make lovely backgrounds amongst other things!  So for this design I have used Sheena Douglass Perfect Partners Poppy dies, Pebeo Dyna paints, black Brusho crystals,Gold Brilliance ink, and other die cuts from my stash.  The base card is white, and I have sponged around the edges with Red Blue and Gold Dyna paints.  Taking a piece of watercolour card I spritzed water lightly over the card and sprinkled the brusho crystals over the wet patches.  The great thing about Brushos is you cannot predict exactly what pattern they will make, as they spread randomly across the wet card.  I only used one colour of Brusho, but each colour is made up of component coloured crystals which separate beautifully as they spread.  When dry I used large nesting dies to cut the background panel and a black matting layer, then with the die still on the background panel I added some gold ink around the inner edges.  I made a smaller panel in the same way for the sentiment.  Next I die cut all the flowers, stems and leaves out of black card and embossed them.  I painted the flower petals with Red Blue and the leaves and stems in Green Gold.  I used Gold paint on the embossed highlights on the petals, and left the flower centres black.  I attached the background panel to the black mat and then to the base card.  I did the same with the smaller panel.  I attached the flowers, stems and leaves with dimensional glue to the large panel.  I used dies to cut the sentiment out of black card and added gold gilding wax, then attached them to the panel and then to the card.  I really love the contrast of the black with the 'two-tone' zingy  Dyna paints in this design.  I think this is a very cheerful card that could be used for different occassions.

Birthday Hearts and Flowers

This is a card I made as a commission for a friend.  The only brief I had was that the recipient was 18, her name and that she liked the colour 'Sky Blue'.  This is an adaptation of a couple of designs I have done before with some personalisation added.  I have used 'Fluttering Hearts' stamp set by Chocolate Baroque, the Orchid set from Sheena Douglass' 'Little Bit Sketchy' series, a Crafters Companion embossing folder, Brilliance inks, Pebeo Dyna paints and glitter.  The base card is white and I stamped a corner floral image in each of the corners using sky blue ink then heat embossed them with clear powder.  I then painted the flowers, and edged the card with blue ink.  On another piece of white card I randomly stamped a heart image in silver ink, and a sentiment in blue.  I then embossed it in the folder and die cut it.  Keeping the die on the card I blended some blue ink around the the edges, then I removed the die and lightly brushed the very edges of the panel with silver ink.  I attached the panel to the base card.  On another piece of white card I stamped a bird and hearts image, and heat embossed in the same way.  I painted the image then fussy cut it out.  I added glitter, then attached the image to the card with dimensional glue.  Using a piece of sky blue card I die cut the personalised greeting and name, then sprayed the letters with 'Stick and Spray' and added glitter.  When they were dry I attached them to the card.  This is a very pretty design which could be used for several occassions in different colourways.  

Birthday Harvest

This is a lovely card that I made recently for a very good friend, using a technique that I learnt a few months ago.  This is Paint Fusion by Sheena Douglass, it's a mixture of traditional Folk art and stamping.  Ever since I first tried Paint Fusion I have wanted to produce artwork with the berries, and thanks to my daughter who bought the stamps and die set for my birthday I have.  This is my first attempt and I am very pleased with it.  I have used the Brambles perfect partners stamp and die set from Sheena, Pebeo Deco Matt acrylic paints, Kraft Card, Gesso paint, shrink plastic and other bits and pieces.  The background panel is a piece of Kraft card painted with a thin layer of Gesso, leaving most of the edges without paint.  When dry I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink on a piece of cut and dry foam to give a distressed look to the edges.  I then dragged the sponge down the panel a little way to give the effect of weathered wood.  This was repeated along the top and bottom edges.  Using the ink I stamped the leaves several times onto the panel.  I then painted them over the stamped images using the Paint Fusion technique, with my brush double loaded in green and white paint.  I die cut and embossed a sprig of leaves, then painted them in the same way. To create the berries I stamped them between the leaves, then putting some bright pink paint on my thumb I "printed" the base of each berry.  Next I used the rubber on the end of a pencil to "stamp" the individual cells of the berries in purple paint, some of the cells are solid and some are letting the pink underneath show through.  I used white paint to add highlights to the berries.  I watered down the green paint and added a hint of the pink to make a slightly browny-green for the stalks and the veins on the leaves.  I stamped the bramble corner image from Sheena's 'A Little Bit Magical Honesty' set in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in gold powder.  I stamped a sentiment onto white shrink plastic in sepia ink, cut it out and shrunk it.  I die cut another another sentiment from Kraft card and inked the edges of the letters.  The base card is white and I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo ink.  I attached the background panel to the base card, then added the die cut leaves to the panel with dimensional glue.  I also attached a sprig of die cut berries that were painted as before.  Both sentiments were attached with wet glue to complete the card.  This is a good 'worker' card that can be used for different occasions, male or female.   

Look What I Caught!

This is a card that I made recently for my youngest grandson to give to his dad for his birthday.  The stamp is one that I've had for years and I love using it.  I have used it for children's cards and scrapbooking alike, it is so versatile.  I have used a Sheena Douglass embossing folder, my old stamp, some Pearl acrylic paints, Brilliance ink - Sky Blue, Pro Markers and some punched out creatures.  The base card is white and for once I have left it alone, except for some creatures punched out of pearlescent paper.  I then took a piece of white card and sponged the paints all over it.  When dry I cut a panel, smaller than the card front, and embossed it in the folder through a machine.  I used this folder as it looks like ripples of water.  On another piece of white card I stamped the little boy in black ink and heat embossed the image with black powder.  I then coloured the image with Pro Markers, and fussy cut it.  I blended black Distress Ink around the edges of the embossed panel then matted it onto black card.  I added a little silver gilding wax to the edges of the black card and layered it onto the base card.  I attached the boy with dimensional glue, then added clear glaze to the jam jar to make it look like glass.  I made a tag out of a piece of the sponged card and matted it onto black card, adding black ink and gilding wax to the edges as before.  Next I die cut letters from pearlescent papers and made up the sentiment, adding black ink to the edges of the letters to make them stand out.   I attached the sentiment to the tag, added a couple of buttons and punched out dragonflies.  I also attached dragonflies to the embossed panel and added glitter to all the wings.   I then threaded some ribbon through the tag and attached it to the card with dimensional glue.  I love this little card it's so versatile.  It could be used for a child's birthday or an adult's.   

Meadow Poppies

This is a card that I made recently for a dear friend's birthday.  The design is inspired by Sheena Douglass and her design team, with a few touches of my own.  The stamps used are bySheena Douglass, the embossing folder is one from the 'Textures' range by Crafter's Companion, the inks are all Distress inks and the corners are made with a Tattered Lace die.  The base card is white and I have cut a piece of Kraft card to size to cover the front.  I embossed the panel in the folder through a machine giving it a lovely Hessian texture, then blended ink around the edges to emphasize and distress it.  I attached it to the base card, then cut a smaller panel of white card for the focal design.  I blended three colours of DI onto the card; Scattered Straw, Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo.   When dry I stamped some meadow flowers repeatedly along the bottom edge of the panel, then I stamped the poppies a couple of times over the flowers.  I used water and a brush to faux bleach the flowers, stems and leaves of the poppies, dried them, then painted them with DI's; Fired Brick and Mowed Lawn.  I stamped the poppies onto a piece of scrap paper, cut them out and used this as a mask.  I then stamped some script randomly across the panel using the mask to protect the painted poppies, giving the effect that the script is behind the poppies.  I blended Walnut Stain DI around the edges to add depth, and attached the focal panel to the card.  I die cut two leafy corners from some dark brown Core'dinations card and attached them with wet glue.  Then I die cut a small panel from Kraft card, stamped a swirls across it using second generation ink, added a sentiment and some shading, and attached it to the  card with dimensional glue.  I love this card, I think it suits both male and female recipients, and is a great worker card suitable for lots of occasions.

Silver and White Elegance

This is a beautiful card that I made recently for a friend's daughter.  I love to use silver and white or gold and white for wedding cards, this design would suit a silver or golden anniversary as well.  Although I have only used two colours there are a lot of elements to this design which, when put together, give the card a wow factor.  I have used Centura Pearl card, silver mirror card, Sheena Douglass Ancient Arches embossing folder, Platinum Planet Brilliance ink, Creative Expressions swirl stamp, and several floral and foliage dies.  The base card is a white scalloped edge card and I stamped the swirl image along the edges.  I embossed a piece of Centura Pearl card in the folder through a machine, in fact I put it through twice as the panel was wider than the folder.  I matted the panel onto silver mirror card leaving a border, then layered it onto the base card.  Next I die cut lots of flowers, in various sizes and shapes, out of Centura Pearl card.   I glittered the edges of some of them, and inked the edges of the others.  I also die cut some foliage sprigs in pearl and mirror card, and some trailing ivy in pearl card, glittering the edges.  I then shaped the flowers with a ball tool, and assembled them in layers to make 3D flowers.  I added  a pearl to the centres, and arranged the flowers and foliage onto the card.  I attached them all with dimensional glue.  I then die cut the sentiment out of mirror card and attached it in the same way.  I added names to personalise the card by die cutting the letters, spraying them with 'Stick and Spray' then covering in glitter, and attached them with dimensional glue.