Cosmic Birthday

This design is perfect for children (and some adults!)  The main focal panel uses co-ordinations card which has been embossed in a machine.  The card is sanded back, then some glitter is added to the stars.  The panel is matted onto mirror card then attached to the base card. Some die - cut embellishments are glittered and added, some tiny stars are stamped onto the base card, then a greeting and number to finish. 

Pretty in Pink

This is a quick, easy but very elegant card to make.  The main focal panel is created using pearlescent card which has been embossed in a folder through a machine.  The central panel of the pattern is cut out. A thin black ribbon is tied in a bow then attached to the pink card, then black glossy card is used to mat the pink embossed artwork, showing through the central apperture.  The base card is Centura snow white and is stamped in pink with a swirl image to replicate the focal panel.  The panel is attached to the base card, two butterflies are stamped and heat embossed in black onto pink pearlescent card, and a greeting is added to complete the look.

Butterfly Friends

This is a lovely card for any occasion.  The main focal panel is created using co-ordinations card in a butterfly frame embossing folder.  The card and folder are put through an embossing/cutting machine so that the pattern becomes raised on the card.  Co-ordinations card is designed to allow you to sand the card revealing the core of the cardstock.  The pattern is sanded back, then th edges of the card are tinted with distress ink, catching some of the pattern which adds to the distressed, textured look.  The central square panel is cut out, then the panel is matted onto card of a contrasting colour which has been gutted (middle section removed leaving a frame).  The base card has been stamped with two colours of distress ink using a swirl image.  The outer front edge is given a scalloped edge using a Crafters Companion scoring plate.  The edges of the front of the card are tinted with both colours of distress ink.  The outer edge of the back of the card is then decorated to match the front.  Use copier paper or masking tape to protect the inside of the card, placing it about an inch or so from the edge before stamping.  Place the focal panel onto the base card but don't stick it down, mark with pencil where the corners of the aperture are.  A greeting is then stamped into the space, and the pencil marks removed.  The main panel can then be attached to the base card.  Two butterfly images are stamped and heat embossed in black onto co-ordinating coloured card, cut out and attached with dimentional glue to add more texture and movement.  The flowers are created from two pieces of card, one light one dark, which have been die cut.  The lighter card has text stamped on it.  The floral dies are of various sizes and are layered together to create a 3D flower.  A couple of die cut leaves finish the embellishment off. 

 

Purple Orient

This is a lovely fresh design using oriental influences.  The background is a panel of white card covered in a purple distress ink using a blending tool.  A floral stamp is spritzed with water and 'wet stamped' into the purple ink.  After a few seconds the wet image is blotted with kitchen towel, taking the ink off the card.  Repeat this all over the panel randomly.  The same image is then inked with the disress ink and stamped over the blotted images.  A piece of vellum is stamped and heat embossed with a bamboo image in purple powder, then attached to the background with 'invisi glue dots'.   The whole panel is then matted onto black card.   The same floral image is stamped in purple onto white card, heat embossed with clear powder, then coloured with H2O's.  The images are trimmed to make panels, and matted onto black card.  Black ribbon is placed down the center of the background panel, and the two focal panels are positioned on top giving the appearance of wall hangings.  The artwork is then attached to a base card. 

Dragonfly Dreams

This is a design by Kay Carly, who also designed the stamps used.  The main focal panel is stamped and heat embossed in black then painted with H2O's.  The image is cut out and matted onto black card, then cut out to leave a small black edge which makes the image pop out.  Another piece of black card is stamped with text and heat embossed in gold.  The background is a panel of cream card, that is first stamped with an outline stamp of bamboo leaves.  Then the images are overstamped with the matching solid bamboo leaves stamp.   The edges of the background are tinted with a paler ink.  Some text is stamped and heat embossed in gold onto a strip of vellum and attached  to the background with brads.  The panel is then matted onto black card, the black text panel is offset on top and the focal panel is offset on top of that using dimensional glue.  The base card is stamped around the edges with a bamboo image and the assembled panels attached.  A few pieces of cord have been attached before the focal panel was.

Rustic Leaves

This simple design uses deep and multi embossing techniquesas the focal points of the card.   Two stampboard tiles are inked with clear ink (versamark) and two or three layers of UTEE are melted onto the tiles.  Then two or three coloured embossing powders are added in the final layer, and an inked leaf image is stamped into the molten mixture.  The UTEE has developed a few holes here and there but that just adds to the rustic effect.  The tiles are mounted onto pieces of handmade paper with frayed edges, then attached to the base card.  A few paper punched leaves are added for embellishment. 

Blue Grass

This elegant design combines stamping, embossing and paper punching.  The central panel is created by stamping a floral image onto dark card and heat embossing with silver sparkle powder.  A silver Krylon pen is used along the edges to give the effect of layering.   The background panel is stamped repeatedly with an oriental grass image.  The focal panel is then attached to the background panel, which is in turn attached to the base card using brads.  Some paper punched flowers and text complete the card.

Midnight Snow.

This simple design features several techniques.  The background panel is dark card which has trees and snowflakes stamped onto it in two colours of interferance ink.  The images shine in varying degrees of brightness as the card is turned in the light.  The main focal embellishment is stamped and heat embossed using a mix of blue and white embossing powder to give a frosty look to the tree.  Some strips of printed vellum are attached to the background with a couple of dabs of glue, giving the appearance of snow drifts.  The frosty tree is cut out and attached to the panel with dimentional glue.  A couple of punched out trees are added to cover the glue spots used to attach the vellum.  Glitter is applied to the centre of the snowflakes.  Another slightly larger panel of white card is stamped with pine branches to create a frame.  Both panels are matted and layered onto the base card.

Snow White Tree

Black, white and silver always combine to make a stylish design.  The main focal image, in this case a Christmas tree, is stamped and heat embossed in white onto vellum.  The vellum is torn along the edges to add interest.  The background is created using a panel of black card which is stamped with snowflakes and a greeting in white and silver inks then  matted onto a layer of silver card.  The base card is stamped and heat embossed with snowflakes using clear ink and holographic embossing powder.  The vellum panel is attached with brads and a tag with a message on is threaded with silver thread and hung on the card.

 

Red Berries

This card is another variation of the "Deck the Halls" design.  Instead of stamping onto acetate, this time the focal image is stamped and heat embossed onto a panel of card.  The panel is then matted and layered with the papers and vellum strip with the greeting on.  The base card is stamped and heat embossed in the corners, and some liquid pearls are added to the focal image for a finishing touch.

Scarlet Holly

This card is created using the same focal stamp and greeting as the previous card, but printed papers have been used for the background instead of stamps as a variation on the design. 

Deck The Halls

This design is inspired by a technique by Sheena Douglass.  Using a piece of watercolour card cut to size a large corner stamp (in this case a Holly swirl) is stamped in two colours of distress ink all over the card.   Then water is spritzed over the stamped images, making the ink bleed and blend together.  A piece of acetate is stamped and heat embossed with a co-ordinating  focal image.  When the background is dry the acetate is attached to it with brads.  A greeting is stamped and heat embossed onto a piece of vellum which is wrapped around the focal panel and attached on the back.  The panel is then matted and layered onto the base card.

Fusible Snow

This design is another inspired by Barbara Gray, and involves using fusible fibres with stamped images.  The main focal image(in this case Christmas trees)stamp is placed face up on a firm surface and inked in a dark colour.  A small amount of fusible fibres are placed on top of the stamp, a piece of greaseproof or parchment paper is laid on top of them and ironed onto the stamp with a craft iron or dry iron.  The paper and fibres are removed from the stamp then the paper is removed from the fused fibres.  The image is stamped and melted into the fibres giving a beautiful effect.  The artwork is attached to the background panel which is then matted and layered onto the base card.  A couple of corner stamps finish the design.

Sparkly Baubles

This is another easy but effective card.  A printed backing paper is matted onto the base card.  A piece of vellum the same size is cut with deckle edge scissors or torn to leave a central panel of backing paper showing.  Some bauble peel offs are stuck onto the same cardstock as the layer card, and cut out.  They are decorated with glitter and micro beads to make them sparkle, then attached to the card in the central panel.  A greeting is added to complete the card.

Divine Light

This card is inspired by a Barbara Gray design.  The background is created using a brayer to add colour with a soft edge just to the top corners of the (glossy) card.  This gives the effect of a shaft of light which is the name Barbara gives this technique.  A Christmas tree is stamped and embossed onto the same piece of card and a star is added.  Some glitter is added to the tree and under the tree to give the impression of snow.  The focal panel is then matted onto mirror card.  The base card is decorated with a snowflake corner image which is stamped and heat embossed. The focal panel is attached, and a greeting completes the card.

'Twas the night.....

This card was inspired by a design by Carol formerly of Stamp Addicts.  The snowman is stamped first onto some white card, then a mask is placed over the image.  The text is then stamped over the snowman and mask.  When the ink is dry the mask is removed and the snowman coloured and glittered.  The main focal panel is trimmed to fit.  The backing paper is printed from a CD rom, and is matted onto the base card before adding the focal panel and a greeting.

Teal Tree

 

This is one of my favourites!  Again CD rom papers are used with a stamped image, glitter and peel offs to create a lovely Christmas card.  The tree is stamped and heat embossed to create the main focal panel, then glitter is added to decorate.  Two contrasting papers have been diagonally cut to fit the base card, a peel off border is used to cover the join.  The tree panel is matted and layered onto the card and a greeting added.

Green Tree Card

This card incorporates stamping and CD rom papers.  A Christmas tree was stamped and heat embossedwith gold powder on to green pearlescent card.  The papers are from an Artilicious Christmas CD rom.  The papers are matted and layered onto the base card, then the tree panel is attached with dimensional glue.  Glitter is used to decorate the tree, and liquid pearls and peel offs complete the look.

Ho! Ho!Ho!

 

This is another card design using an old CD and stamps.  A Christmas tree is stamped several times at various levels with brilliance ink onto the CD.  Some snowflakes are added in white brilliance ink.  Some glitter glue is added to the trees to emulate tinsel, and also dotted on the snowflakes.  A Father Christmas image is stamped and heat embossed using glitter embossing powder, then white glitter is added to further embellish him.  The disc is attached to the base card and a greeting is added.

Slim Christmas

Another simple Christmas card that is also good for batch making.  The background is a pearlescent paper which has been stamped with a large swirl pattern in gold brilliance ink.  The three focal images have been stamped and heat embossed onto pearlescent card, cut out and a little glitter added.

Sparkly Snowflakes

A simple Christmas card design that is good for batch making.  The main focal panel is dark card stamped with several snowflakes of various sizes using a light brilliance ink to make them shimmer.  One of the snowflakes is stamped onto a separate piece of card and heat embossed, as is the greeting.  The larger panel is matted and layered onto the base card first, then the snowflake panel is attached with dimensional glue or 3D foam and then the greeting.

Lakeside Trees.

These cards have been created with the same techniques as the previous cards using different stamps, and with the addition of a water reflection.   The reflection is stamped onto the card using the brayer. The stamp(in this case trees) is inked and  a clean brayer is rolled up the stamp taking the image onto the roller.     The image is then rolled onto the card, then the card is turned upside down.  The stamp is inked and stamped above the first image.  A piece of copier paper is scrunched up and then straightened out again, creating texture.  The brayer is inked and then rolled over the paper, taking on the pattern.  Then the brayer is rolled once over the the upside down trees creating the effect of water.  This technique is another that I have learnt from Barbara Gray.

A Misty Morning.

 These designs are again inspired by Barbara Gray and using her stamps and techniques.  It involves using a brayer, stamps and a multi- tonal ink pad to build a scene.  A circle is cut out of masking paper and placed on to a piece of white glossy card.  Then a brayer is used to colour the card, rolling over the masked circle, creating the sky.  The ink should be pale, so only a light loading of the brayer is needed.  A piece of copier paper is torn in a wavy line to create 'hill' shapes to use as a mask, then the sky is masked off leaving the hill shapes at the bottom of the card.  The brayer is loaded with more ink and rolled over the mask to create dark hills in the foreground.  The mask is moved along and the remaining ink on the brayer used to create a paler hill in the background. The hill mask is removed.   A large tree image is stamped in dark ink on to the card as if in the foreground, then it is turned on it's side, re-inked and stamped along the bottom edge as hedge rows.  A smaller tree image is stamped using second and third generation ink to create a woodland in the distance.  The circle mask is removed and an image of clouds across a sun or moon is stamped over the white circle left by the mask.  A flock of birds is stamped in the sky to complete the scene.

Leafy Tag Card

A simple Christmas card design that is good for batch making.  The main focal panel is dark card stamped with several snowflakes of various sizes using a light brilliance ink to make them shimmer.  One of the snowflakes is stamped onto a separate piece of card and heat embossed, as is the greeting.  The larger panel is matted and layered onto the base card first, then the snowflake panel is attached with dimensional glue or 3D foam and then the greeting.

Four Seasons

 

This card features a set of stamps that depict a year in the life of a tree, an image for each season.  The images were stamped onto stampboard to create 'tiles'.  The stamps are negative image stamps, meaning that the main focal image on each stamp is recessed into the rubber, so that it is actually the background that is stamped.  The inks used are chalk inks, and several colours have been blended directly onto the stamps.  This is a technique learnt from watching Carol who founded the Stamp Addicts company, a lot of my early cards were inspired by her designs and techniques.  The inks dry quickly and give a soft chalky effect to the images.  The tiles are then matted and layered onto one main panel.  Some text is stamped into a mixture of deep and multi embossing, and attached to a tag.  A couple of skeleton leaves and a greeting complete the card.

Autumn Glow

 

This card uses the same stamps as the last card, the leaf embellishment is made using the multi embossing technique, but by using different colours and another technique for the main focal image the card has an Autumnal feel.  The tree is stamped onto dark card with clear pigment ink, then several colours of pearlescent (mica) powders are brushed gently over the image with a dry brush, blending the powders in some places but leaving as single colours in others.  The powders give the image a beautiful sheen.  The large leaf is stamped and heat embossed with several colours of embossing powder then cut out.  The base card has been stamped randomly with another leaf image, and tiny leaves have been punched out of different papers and attached to the card.

Winter Anniversary

This card is another wintery frosty design.  The main focal panel is dark card with an image of a tree that has been stamped in clear pigment ink and heat embossed in silver detail powder.  The leaf embellishments are created with the multi embossing technique  used in the previous card.  The base card is stamped with leaves to create a border at the top and bottom of the card.  A greeting has been stamped and heat embossed to match the tree, then all panels are matted and layered onto the card.

Frosty Midwinter

This card depicts a frosty winter's night scene, with a lovely frosty leaf 3D embellishment.  The main focal panel is dark cardstock with a group of trees that has been stamped and heat embossed in a silvery blue powder.   The background paper is a paler shade than the panel.  Leaves have been randomly stamped in a darker contrasting ink, then trimmed to create a frame around the main panel.  The leaf embellishment is stamped using a solid silhouette image.  Using the same dark card as for the main panel, the leaf is stamped  with a clear embossing ink,  using plenty of ink.  Then  two or three different colours of embossing powder are sprinkled over the stamped image, taking care to keep the different colours to different areas of the image.  This is called multi embossing.  The image is heated to emboss and set it, the leaf is cut  out. The leaf is attached with dimensional glue or foam pads.

Autumn Sunset

Start by creating the main focal panel.  Three different coloured inks are blended onto white card, in this case to create a sunset with chalk inks.  The trees are stamped in sepia ink on top, then the panel is trimmed, matted and layered.  The leafy border and greeting are stamped and heat embossed onto pearlescent paper, trimmed, matted and layered.  Another leaf image is stamped and heat embossed onto the base card using gold ink and powder.  The panels are arranged and attached to the card, then a greeting peel-off was added.

Flowers, Pearls and Beads

This card uses a  pearlescent base card which already had the apertures cut in it.  On one diagonal the three squares have clear square peel-offs attached on the inside, so that the sticky side is face up through the apertures.  A couple of punched paper shapes are stuck onto the sticky surface then micro beads in contrasting colours are added.  Press the beads firmly onto the sticky side of the peel-off.  The other squares are decorated with punched flowers and small stamped images which have been added to the inside back cover of the card, so that they show through the apertures.  The front of the card has been stamped with a dotty image to create texture and interest, then a greeting and some liquid pearls to complete the effect.

Frosted Snowdrops

This card includes a bit of recycling, using an old CD!  The CD forms a lovely wintery background for the focal images of snowdrops.  It's simple to create, just put a couple of drops of different coloured paint onto the plain mirrored side of the disc, I used  opaque pearlescent  paint in blue and silver.  Then another disc is placed mirror side down onto the first, and the discs are rotated in opposite directions.  Carefully the discs are pulled apart and both will have a delicate pattern on them.  Leave them to dry.  The snowdrops were stamped and heat embossed onto white card, the leave coloured, then glitter was added.  The flowers were cut out and attached to one of the discs with foam pads or dimentional glue to create a 3D effect.  The disc has been mounted onto the base card and a greeting added.  The other disc can be used for another card.

Desert Sun

For this card I have used the same pyramid landscape scene stamp as in the last card, but by using different coloured paints I have created a hot desert focal image.  The background paper was created by stamping an Egyptian hieroglyphics image in sepia ink onto cream card, then blending two colours of dye inks to give a sandstone effect.  The front pyramid and palm tree were stamped again and painted onto another piece of card.  When dry the images were cut out and decoupaged onto the main focal panel.  The inspiration for this card was a design by Hazel of Horseshoe Crafts.

Egyptian Moonlight

H2O paints were used to create a moonlit scene for this card.  The pyramid landscape was stamped and heat embossed onto dark card, then coloured with the paints.  The focal panel was then matted onto silver mirror card and placed onto the base card, the corners were marked then a border was stamped.  The panel was attached to the card and a greeting added.

Hieroglyphs in UTEE

This card uses several techniques including stamping into UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel).  The background was created using cream card, stamping in black with a stone effect image, and colouring by blending two or three dye inks together.   The main focal image was created using UTEE powder and melting it directly onto a heat resistant mat. I usually use two layers of clear, then the third and last layer is made by sprinkling two or three coloured embossing powders on top.  This is then heated and stamped into whilst still hot.  The image can be coated in clear or coloured ink before stamping into the UTEE and this will help the stamp to release when the UTEE is cool.  A piece of blue card has been stamped with the same image in clear versamark ink to create a watermark effect, then the UTEE piece was trimmed and attached.  All the pieces were then matted and layered to finish the card.

Egyptian Scroll Card.

This simple design is easy to create.  The main focal image is stamped and heat embossed onto coloured card, using a glitter based embossing powder.  The image is left uncoloured, cut to size and matted and layered as before.  A neutral coloured piece of card is stamped with Hyroglyphs in sepia ink, cut rather wider than the focal panel and longer so that you can curl up the ends.  This makes it look like a piece of Egyptian parchment paper.  The base card has been stamped top and bottom with the same images as on the scroll, then all the pieces are matted and layered to complete the card.

Egyptian Splendour

Several techniques were used to make this card.  The main focal panel has the egyptian image stamped in pigment ink then heat embossed.  Parts of the image have been painted with pearlescent paints.  When dry the headress and robe trim were then covered with glitter rocks. The textured background was made from copier paper which was painted with H2O's, scrunched up while wet, then gently' un-scrunched' until almost flat then left to dry.  When completely dry clear pigment ink is dragged over the paper gently so that only the raised parts (peaks) get inked.  Embossing powder is sprinkled over the ink and heated.  This really emphasizes the texture of the piece, and adds more bling to compliment the glitter rocks.  The paper is then torn or cut to size and matted onto some contrasting cardstock cut slightly bigger than the textured piece to frame it.  The focal panel is then attached on top of the textured background, and a smaller panel is made in the same way for the greeting to go on.  The main cardstock has Egyptian Hyroglyphs stamped around the edges in a sepia coloured ink and then ink is smudged along the edges of the card to give it an aged look.