Vintage Christmas

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These are the Christmas cards I made for 2014.  They were all made using papers and card printed from the Crafter's Companion Vintage Christmas CD Rom, and coordinating embossing folders.  I started with white 7" square cards and blended a little Distress ink around the edges.  I cut the backing papers to fit the front of the cards and leave a small border, and edged the papers with ink.   I used a Quickie Glue pen to add glitter highlights.  I printed some card with the patterns that coordinate with the embossing folders then embossed them through a machine.  On one of the cards I embossed a piece of kraft card and added glitter highlights to that as well.  All the panels were die cut, and the printed ones had gilding wax added to the raised images.  Distress Ink was blended around the edges.  I cut ribbons from other pieces of backing papers, and wrapped them around the panels. The toppers, focal embellishments and sentiment panels were printed and cut out, glittered  and added to the card fronts.  I love the vintage old fashioned  feel to this set, it reminds me of my gran's old Christmas decorations!  I was very behind with my Christmas cards this year and using this set from Crafter's Companion enabled me to get them all done in time! 

Contemporary Christmas Canvass

This is another entry to the Chocolate Baroque challenge  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/, a canvass this time.   The stamps used are from CB Christmas Flourish set; the inks used are Brilliance Pearlescent Jade and Purple and Versafine Blue Lagoon.  I made the colours for the background by mixing acrylic paints titanium white, phthalo blue and rose madder. I also used texture paste, sparkle paste, Starry Night stickles;Treasure Silver gilding wax; Midnight Teal Obsidian embossing powder; ribbons; papers from the Artylicious CD Rom; gems.  The canvass was already coated with gesso, so I added some texture paste through a stencil and left it to dry.  I mixed some pink paint and started in  a top corner, adding more red to deepen the shade and blue to graduate into purple, making it really dark  as it gets to the other side.  When the canvass was dry I mixed some more paint and stamped a corner image in the top and bottom corners on one side.  I then stamped a tree image 3 times along the bottom of the canvass in Jade ink and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder to help define them and add texture.  I rubbed silver gilding wax over the texture paste  area, then added Cosmic Shimmer Silver Pearl sparkle paste through the same stencil.  While that was drying I stamped the large holly swirl image from the set onto heat resistant acetate, using Versafine ink and then heat embossed it with coloured powder.  I added stickles to the berries on all the holly swirl images, and tiny gems on top.  I put larger gems on the tree tops, and cut out the embossed image from the acetate.  I stamped some Christmas text randomly over the canvass in jade ink, then I wrapped strips of ribbon, lace and fibre around the canvass, securing them with double sided tape.  Next I used dimensional glue to attach the acetate topper to the ribbons.  I die cut some flowers of various sizes out of papers from the Season's Greetings CD rom, edged the petals with purple ink, then layered them up.  I attached the flowers to the canvass with dimensional glue and added gems to their centres.  A Christmas canvass in contemporary colours that I really enjoyed making!    

Summer Thistles

This is a card I've made for the latest Chocolate Baroque challenge  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  using their chosen colour pallet. The stamps used are from the CB Thistle Butterfly set.  I have used Distress Inks Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, and Dusty Concord; Versafine ink Blue Lagoon; Cosmic Shimmer mister spray Purple Violet; H2O paints  Luv-u-Pink, Moonbeams, Mediterranean Blue, Courageous Rose, and Twilight; Starry night Stickles, white acrylic paint and a white watercolour pencil.  I took some smooth white card and blended the DIs, then I sprayed it with the Cosmic Shimmer mist.  When it was dry I stamped the large image from the set centrally on the panel using Versafine ink.  I then stamped the smaller thistle image several times along the bottom of the panel.  I used a brush and some water to faux bleach the stamped images, then coloured them with H2O paints.  They give the images a lovely pearlescent sheen.  The thistle stamens looked a bit dull so I added dots of Moonbeams paint and Stickles.  I drew around the outline of the images with a white watercolour pencil, and added white dots to the butterflies with acrylic paint to make them pop.   I stamped a separate butterfly on white card, heat embossed and coloured it as before.  Then I cut it out and shaped it.  I layered the panel onto some purple card and attached the butterfly with dimensional glue.  It reminds me of a hot, hazy, summers evening, and I think this design is a good worker card.     

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My First Advent Calendar

This is a lovely project that I recently made for my youngest grandson, who was a year old in October.  I have never made an Advent Calendar before, I love decorating MDF and wooden home decor products so I thought I'd have a go.  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, and my grandson loves it!  The Advent Calendar is from Hobbycraft, as are the papers used to decorate the drawers,and the wooden numbers.   I have used acrylic paints - blue, red, silver and white; Brilliance inks sky blue and rocket red; assorted stamps from Crafters Companion, Sheena Douglass, Inky Doodles and some free stamps that came with a magazine.  I also used snowflake dies from Xcut and Memory Box with pearlescent papers.  I used Pro Markers to colour some images and silver gilding wax to finish off the drawers.  So to begin with I painted the whole thing with a couple of coats of white Gesso, to seal the MDF and give a smooth base to work on.  I then painted the house white and  the roof blue.  I painted the chimney red and put 'cement' seams on in white paint, giving the impression of bricks.  I painted the drawers white and blue alternately.  Next I cut the Christmas papers to fit the front of the drawers.  I stuck them on with Pinflair Book Binder glue, and painted the handles with silver acrylic paint.  I edged the drawers with silver gilding wax.  Lastly I put the wooden numbers on to the drawers.  I stamped some reindeer images onto smooth white card using blue ink and heat embossed them with clear powder, then cut them out.  I did the same with the other images, colouring the gingerbread men and Father Christmas images with Pro markers.  I stamped some border images onto the back of the house in blue and red Brilliance ink.  I die cut several snowflake shapes of various sizes out of glitter and pearlescent papers.  I then added all the stamped images and snowflakes to decorate and embellish the house.  I absolutely loved making this project, and I will certainly be making more!

Good News!

I have been lucky enough to make the top three in the Chocolate Baroque Challenge!!  I am so excited!  My winning entry is the 'Gothic Tag', which I entered for challenge number 4.  I am having difficulty loading the badge onto my blog, so this post will have to do for now.  I have been away for a few weeks but I have several projects to add so watch this space!! 

The Missing Card Mystery

This is a card I made for a young friend who started his first job recently.  I was a bit late with the card so these stamps and the sentiment were perfect!  I have used these images for a 'New Job' card before, but I've used a few different techniques and colours for this one.  The stamps used are from Sheena Douglass's a little bit sketchy range 'Mystery Author', 'Ageing Beautifully and 'I Say', plus a 'Congratulations' stamp by Chocolate Baroque.  The inks used are Distress Inks - Black Soot, Broken China, Dusty Concorde, and Versafine Black Onyx.  The base card is plain white card that I have edged with Dusty Concorde.  The background panel is smooth white card onto which I have blended three DI's.  Then I flicked drops of water over the panel and blotted it with paper towel.  This is faux bleaching.  When dry I over stamped the bleached areas with images of 'Ink blots' using blue ink.  I then stamped some text and a question mark using the same inks randomly over the panel.  I blended black soot around the edges of the panel and matted it on to black card.  Next I stamped the typewriter and sentiment onto smooth white card in black ink, then heat embossed them with black powder.  I stamped and embossed the magnifying glass in the same way onto acetate, and the question mark onto a piece of the background card.   I stamped a small sentiment onto the typewriter paper.  Then I die cut the sentiment and edged the panel with black ink, cut the question mark out in a circle, and cut the magnifying  glass out of the acetate.   I faux bleached the question mark and edged the circle with black ink.   I water coloured the typewriter with DI.  I layered the background panel onto the base card, and attached the sentiment and embellishments with dimensional glue. 

New Home Chic

This is a lovely card I made as a 'New Home' card.  I am still really into the vintage/shabby chic style and wanted to use it in my design featuring the key to a new home and the start of a new chapter in life.   The stamps I have used are from Chocolate Baroque's 'Key to my Dreams', and 'Mini Scripts sets.  The inks used are Stormy Skies, Broken China, Dusty Concord and black Soot DI's.  I started by creating the background panel, blending the blue and purple inks on to smooth white card, and shaped the panel by die cutting.  I then splattered water randomly all over the panel and blotted it with kitchen paper, as a faux -  bleaching effect.  Next I stamped some script randomly over the panel in Broken China  ink, and then stamped a crackle pattern around the edge in second generation black ink.  I embossed a key pattern on to the panel using a folder through a machine, then blended black ink around the edges.  I had decided to make a shaped card so I used a coordinating blue card and die cut it the same shape as the panel.   Then I did the same with another piece of blue card, making the front and back.I stamped the same script randomly over the front blue panel and edged with black ink.  I scored the back blue panel  about 1cm from the top, folding it both ways to make a hinge for the card.  I attached the front to the back with some strong double sided tape,then I attached the background panel to the front of the card.   Using the same coloured card as the background I stamped the key and the lock images in black ink and heat embossed them with black powder.  Next I cut them out and shaped them with a ball tool, then attached them to the card with dimensional glue.  I had already threaded some fibres through the top of the key.  I had also already made the flowers for a previous project but not used them, ( Autumn Butterfly) and they were perfect for this card.  They are made from individual die cut flowers that I have stamped and layered up, using a self adhesive pearl for the centers. I attached them with dimensional glue.  I then cut the sentiment out of the same card as the background using dies, and edged the words in black.  I attached them with strong glue to the card. This is a lovely design and I think it would be suitable as an 18th or 21st birthday card as well, for male or female.       

Autumn Sunset

This is my second entry to the CB colour challenge http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  It is a variation of a previous post 'My First Canvass', but I have used different colours and stamps on this card.  The stamps used are from the CB sets Spinney Tree, Steampunk Butterfly and 'Words of Inspiration'.  The paints used are radiant rains Ginger Peach and Pink Grapefruit, cosmic shimmer Scarlet Mist shimmer mist, and crafty notions Jaffalicious spray.  The inks used are black Versafine and Blacksoot DI.  I started by making the main focal panel using a piece of smooth white card.  Starting in the center of the card I used a sponge to apply the Scarlet Mist, then moving outwards in a circular pattern I applied the Ginger Peach, Jaffalicious, and Pink Grapefruit.  All the colours used have a lot of mica in them so they shimmer on the card, which helps with the effect of a sunset.  When dry I stamped the tree centrally on the card using black Versafine ink then heat embossed with black powder.  The sunset then appears to shine through the tree.  Using a mask I created some hills along the bottom of the panel in black and heat embossed as before.  This 'grounds' the tree instead of leaving it' floating'.  Next I took a sentiment and stamped it randomly all over the panel in second generation black ink.  Then I took a corner image and stamped it in each corner, using clear Versamark ink and heat embossed the images with gold powder.  To finish the panel I blended some Blacksoot ink around the edges.  I took a smaller piece of card, coloured it as before then stamped and embossed the sentiment on to it.  I blended ink around the edges again and matted it on to black card.  The focal panel was matted onto gold mirror card, and layered onto a larger panel of coordinating patterned paper from the Artilicious 'Essence of Nature' CD Rom.  I layered this onto black card and attached the sentiment panel and some leaves with dimensional glue.  The leaves were punched out of the same patterned paper and glazed with glossy accents.  I love Autumn and all the rich colours, they feature a lot in my artwork!  This is a lovely design for male or female  Autumn birthdays, retirement etc.            

Gothic Floral Tag

This is another entry for the CB challenge blog http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/, using their chosen colour swatch as usual.  The stamps I have used are from 'Steampunk Butterfly', 'Mini Scripts', 'Spinney Tree', and 'Words of Inspiration' sets.  The inks used are Versamark, brilliance inks Pearl Poppy and Pearl Rust.  Paints used are radiant rains Ginger Peach and Pink Grapefruit, and acrylic paints.   I have also used Razzleberry embossing powder.  I was inspired to make this tag by the designs from Lesley and Judith on the CBDT.  Using white card I cut it into a large tag shape.  Then I mixed some acrylic paints, rose madder and titanium white and painted the whole tag.  When the paint was dry I applied the  radiant rains with a sponge over the lower two thirds of the tag, then around the top edges.  Next I took some of the mixed paint and applied it through a stencil in a few places to add texture.  When that was dry I stamped a large pattern image around the top edges of the tag in the Pearl Poppy brilliance ink.  I used Pearl Rust ink to stamp keys randomly all over the tag.  I used second generation  poppy ink to randomly stamp script over the tag.  I blended the ink around the edges of the whole tag.  Then I stamped several steampunk roses on to white card in Versamark ink and heat embossed the images with Razzleberry powder.   I painted the images with the radiant rains and cut them out.  I stamped a butterfly, embossed, painted and cut it out in the same way.  I attached the flowers and butterfly to the tag with dimensional glue, and added some coordinating fibres.  I wouldn't normally put these colours together but I love the result!  And that's the point of the challenge, to make you try something different and have lots of fun!

Autumn's Eastern Promise

This card is another of my entries for the Chocolate Baroque colour challenge   http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/,  which I really enjoy playing along with as it makes me use colours and try out ideas that I may not usually try.  My inspiration for the colour scheme of this design came from a card by Debbie that I saw on the CB challenge blog, so I adapted it and created my design around it.  I already had the idea of  using the Peacock feather icons as leaves and the colour challenge colour swatch just screams Autumn, so the rest was easy (as they say).   The stamps I used are from the Peacock Parade, Christmas Flourish, and Spinney Design a Tree CB sets.   The inks I used are Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Squeezed Lemonade, Brushed Corduroy, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks, and Vintage Sepia Versafine.  I also used clear and gold detail embossing powders, and Peach glitter.   I started by creating the main background panel, blending the two lighter brown inks onto smooth white card adding a little Scattered Straw to warm it up.  I took one of the Christmas tree images and spritzed it with water, then stamped across the panel-leaving a gap between each stamping- and blotted the images( faux bleaching).  This tree image is made up of a Baroque type pattern so needn't look too Christmassy.  I then stamped the image again using Rusty Hinge ink, stamping between the faux bleached images.  I repeated this process to cover the panel.  I added orange glitter to the coloured trees to highlight them.  To complete it I edged the panel with Walnut Stain DI.  Next I took  a piece of white card and blended the yellow and orange inks together.   I stamped the large and small Peacock Feather images repeatedly onto the card and heat embossed them with clear powder.  I then cut them out and shaped them with a ball tool.  I stamped the Spinney Tree onto a strip of acetate using Sepia ink and heat embossed with gold detail powder.  I attached the acetate to the panel using very strong double sided tape, attaching it on the back of the panel.  I matted the panel onto yellow card having edged the mat with Walnut Stain.  I then layered it onto an orange base card, again edging it with DI.   I attached decorative ribbon to the panel using tape over the acetate.  Next I added the leaves in a cascading pattern down the card with a few on the tree, attaching them with dimensional glue.   I stamped a sentiment from the CB Words of Inspiration set using Sepia ink on orange card and heat embossed with clear powder.  I cut it into a tag shape, blended orange and yellow inks onto the tag and edged it with Walnut Stain.  I threaded some of the same ribbon through the top, shaped the tag then attached it to the card with tape.  I think this lovely design is a great 'worker' - it would work for several occasions and for either male or female cards.   

Peacock in the Sunset

This card is my first entry for the latest colour challenge with Chocolate Baroque http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ using the challenge colour swatch.  The stamps I have used are from CB Peacock Parade and Tangled Peacock sets.  The inks I have used are:- Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Brushed Corduroy, and Walnut stain DI's; Vintage Sepia Versafine; and Pearlescent Beige Brilliance.  I have also used some H2O paints as highlights here and there.  I started by creating the background for the main panels.  I blended the yellow and orange DI's onto smooth white card, adding a little of both the brown inks around the edges.  I took a large 'leaf' image and spritzed water onto it, then stamped randomly over the panel blotting each watery image with tissue giving a 'faux bleaching' effect.  Using the same image I then stamped it over the bleached ones, offsetting the images slightly.  Next I stamped a Peacock feather image randomly over the panel using the beige ink, which really 'pops' when the light hits it.  I then shaped the corners of the panel with a punch, and matted it on to dark brown card.  Next I created the central panel, blending the same inks as on the other panel.  I then stamped one of the Peacock images on to the panel using the sepia ink and heat embossed it in clear powder.  I used water and a brush to 'faux bleach' the body of the bird and some of the feathers.  I did the same to a few of the sun rays, then added colour to the bleached areas with H2O's.  I then edged the panel with Walnut Stain DI, punched the corners and matted it onto dark brown card.   The base card is cream textured card which I have edged with Walnut Stain ink, then stamped with  a small leaf image in the beige ink.  To assemble the card I layered the large panel onto the base card, then added some decorative ribbon.  I then layered the smaller panel on top with dimensional glue.  The sentiment is from the CB Words of Inspiration set and is stamped onto a piece of the same background card as the panels, in sepia ink and heat embossed with clear powder.  I then threaded some more ribbon through the sentiment tag and attached it to the card with dimensional glue.  I have always loved these Peacock stamps and I totally enjoyed creating this card!  I think this is a lovely design to suit various occasions  and for male and female cards.  

Autumn Butterfly

This is my second design for the Chocolate Baroque Challenge http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ using their chosen colour swatch.  I decided to do a multi media canvass as I really enjoy creating artwork using various techniques, and canvass gives the work a great texture.  I used stamps from the Thistle Butterfly set by Chocolate Baroque, an oriental leaf embossing folder, some foliage dies and assorted Crealies floral dies.  I used several colours of acrylic paints:- Titanium White, Cerulean Blue Hue, Yellow Ochre, Brilliant Red, Burnt Sienna, white Gesso.  I also used several inks:- Stonewashed Adirondak, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Crafters Pigment ink Smoke Blue, Brilliance inks Pearlescent Beige and Rust.  I painted a couple of coats of white Gesso on to the canvass as a base.  Then I mixed some acrylic paint to make the two colours used as a base on the canvass.  Next I stamped the butterfly image from the set using Titanium White acrylic paint randomly over the canvass.  I then stamped the large  thistle and butterfly image on to white tissue paper in Stonewashed ink.  I tore a piece off and stuck it on to one side of the canvass with multi media gloss paste.  When dry the tissue turns opaque and the white butterfly underneath shows through.  I also covered the whole artwork with the paste to seal it and give it a sheen.  I then mixed some acrylic paint with clear texture paste and spread it on to the canvass through a stencil, TCW Mini Punchinella, in several places.  I used the honeycomb pattern in keeping with the natural, organic theme of the artwork.  I then edged the canvass with Vintage Sepia ink.  Next I stamped the butterfly image on to acetate in Smoke Blue pigment ink and heat embossed it with clear powder.  I then cut it out and added glitters on to the reverse side.  I attached it over one of the white butterflies using dimensional glue.  I coloured a piece of white card using Radiant Rains,  Ginger Peach and Sunburst, and Metallic Bronze Lumiere paint.  I sponged the colours on to the card to blend them.  I then cut leaves out of the card with dies, and edged them with Pearlescent Rust ink.  I cut various flower shapes out of two tones of blue card with dies, then stamped them with the butterfly image and a small leaf image using Moonlight White and Pearlescent Beige inks to add patterns to the petals. I used five petal shapes of different sizes to make a large layered flower and added glitter to the centre.  I attached a couple of skeleton leaves to the artwork and added the flower with dimensional glue.  I attached a couple of the die cut leaves and small flowers then mounted the canvass on to a piece of embossed white card that had been edged with blue ink.      

Eastern Tag Card

This is a card that I have designed as my first entry to the latest Chocolate Baroque Challenge  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/, using their chosen colour swatch.  I love these colours and they go together really well, although I don't think I've used them all together before.  The inks I've used are:- Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy and Rusty Hinge, Weathered Wood DI's; Sienna Ancient Page, Stonewashed Adirondak, and Moonlight White Brilliance Inks.  The stamps used are from CB Eastern Grasses.  I also used a Cuttlebug embossing folder - Oriental Screen, some fibres and ribbon, acetate, glitters and white embossing powder. The base card is white textured card.  Using a blending tool I added some Brushed Corduroy around the edges of the card.  The background panel is a piece of blue card on to which I stamped a small grass image in Sienna ink and a small bamboo leaf image in Stonewashed ink in a random pattern.  I also stamped the same images in Moonlight White ink.   I then embossed the panel in the folder through a machine, giving it texture.  I made the tag from a piece of smooth white stamping card on to which I blended several inks, Weathered Wood and Stonewashed towards the top of the tag, Brushed Corduroy and Rusty Hinge towards the bottom and then all round the edges.  I then stamped the same small leaf images as I used on the background panel on to the tag in Rusty Hinge and Stonewashed inks.  I stamped in first and second generation ink to give the illusion of grasses in a field. I stamped a sentiment in the bottom corner of the tag in Moonlight White ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I then took a piece of heat resistant acetate and stamped an image of Eastern Grasses panel on to it in Moonlight White ink, and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  Then I added some glitter as highlights.  I trimmed the acetate to size, with the embossed panel in the centre of a strip.  I put strips of extra strong double sided tape down each side of the tag and wrapped the acetate around the tag to form a dome effect.  I added ribbon and fibres in coordinating colours.  I matted the background panel on to pearlescent card then layered it on to the base card.  I then attached the tag with dimensional glue.  I used a foliage die to cut some sprigs from the blue card which I then tinted with Rusty Hinge and Moonlight White inks, then added them to the card.  I am really pleased with this result, and I think this design is a good 'worker' design, it would be suitable for many occasions, many age groups and both sexes.