The Inventor

Hi and welcome to my blog  :)  This is a canvass I created several months ago as one of my samples for Sheena Douglass, to launch her Time Traveller Perfect Partners collection.  I love Steampunk and mixed media so this project was right up my street!  I used stamps and dies from the collection; Pebeo Dyna paints; Pebeo Texture Pastes, gilding waxes; SN Aquablend Markers and various inks. 

    

I took a large stretched canvass and painted it with black Gesso.  I used the waste from die cutting the cogs for later use as a stencil, and applied some black texture paste.    

While that was drying I stamped the Steampunk Gentleman onto white card in grey Versafine ink, it looked more like a sketch in grey.  I coloured it with Aquablend Markers.  Then I embossed a piece of black card in a frame folder and used gilding waxes to make it look like a vintage metal photo frame.  I added acetate as glass and glued them all together.

I die cut lots of cogs, pipes and clocks.  I cut them from black card and Kraft card, then coloured them with gilding waxes for a metallic finish.  I then stamped all the die cuts with black Stazon.

I die cut a balloon ship from Kraft card and coloured it with Aquablend markers and Dyna paints, then stamped over it in grey Versafine ink.  

Back to the canvass.  I sponged Dyna acrylic paints all over it to highlight the textures of the paste cogs and the canvass itself.  These paints look amazing on a black background. 

I dribbled copper paint from the top of the canvass and let it run freely, to add more texture and a distressed look.  I like to create layers of background, especially on mixed media pieces.  

Now that I was happy with the background I started adding the embellishments and focal pieces.  I placed all the die cuts  where I wanted them on the canvass and attached them with dimensional glue.  I even used the waste circles from die cutting the cogs as screws and rivets.  

I really loved making this piece, using two of my favourites - Steampunk and Mixed Media  :)  Thanks for popping by today, I hope to see you here again soon!

Vintage Valentine

Hi there and welcome to my blog.  Today I am sharing another '15 minute card' with you.  This is appearing on the CBDT blog from today.  I have used stamps from the CB set Punky Hearts and a sentiment from an old CB words set.  I have also used Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Vintage Photo, Festive Berries and Tea Dye; Sepia Versafine ink;  Copper embossing powder.

I started by creating a background panel using white card, and blended the DI's all over.  I then stamped a heart image onto another piece of white card and heat embossed with the Copper powder.  I cut the heart out, and coloured it in red using a DI, water and a brush.  I coloured the fixings with a gold pen.  

Next I went back to my background panel and blended Walnut Stain DI around the edges.  I then stamped some distressed hearts randomly all over and attached the heart with dimensional glue.  I added a sentiment and attached the panel to the base card.
 

I really enjoyed making this quick card, not least because it features one of my favourite Steampunk stamps.  I wanted to create a design that would suit a man or a woman, so I used warm vintage colours, but I think it would look good in bright bold colours too.  And it's not just a Valentines card, it could be a birthday or miss you card too.  Thank you for popping by today, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope you'll visit again soon  :)  

A Simple Thank You

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas!  I have another couple of cards being featured in the CBDT blog's' 15 minute cards spot'.  The first one here is shown as a Thank You card, but it could just as easily be a birthday or get well soon card.  I chose neutral tones for a change and embellished it with natural materials.  

I have only used two stamps for this card, one is a beautiful single bloom from the CB Fancy Flowers set, the other is a sentiment from a very old CB words set.  I have also used an embossing folder, white gesso, Sepia Versafine ink, water colour pencils and Distress Ink.
I cut a piece of Kraft card to size and embossed it in a frame folder, but it would work with a full pattern folder and stamping an image on a separate panel then attaching it to the embossed panel.  
  

I dry brushed white gesso over the embossed panel, sanded back the pattern, and stamped the flower in the centre.  I then coloured and painted the image.  To complete the panel I blended DI around the edges.

I added a strip of hessian, cord and a hessian bow to the panel then layered it onto black card before attaching it to the base card.

I stamped a Thank You sentiment onto a small panel of Kraft card, blended ink around the edges and matted it onto black card before attaching to the card with dimensional glue.  

A very simple but stylish card for lots of occasions.  Thank you for visiting my blog, I hope to see you here again soon  :)

Merry Christmas Cards

Hello there, I hope you are all still having a great Festive Season!  Welcome to my blog, I have a few more Christmas cards to share with you today.  These are all made with dies, printed papers and embossing folders.  Most of the dies, papers and embossing papers are from Sheena Douglass and Crafters Companion, and I have added Distress Inks, stencils, paint  and glitter.  

These are all diorama cards which I love making for special occasions and for special people  :)  I made them by taking two pieces of card the same height as the front panel, scoring them at equal increments ( say 1/4 ") 3 or 4 times and attaching them to the front and back panels with red liner tape.  The whole diorama is attached to the embossed base card with wet glue.

Thank you for visiting today, hope you enjoyed this post and come back soon  :)

Ruby Poinsettias

Hi everyone, and a slightly belated Merry Christmas to you all!  Today I have another Christmas card to share with you.  I love Poinsettias, and I use them every year in my card designs one way or another  :)  This year nearly all my card designs used die cuts, printed papers or embossing folders as I was VERY behind!  ;)  For this card I have used Sheena Douglass and Spellbinders Poinsettia dies, Sheena Douglass Ivy die; a Crafters Companion sentiment die and small bauble die; a bauble die from my stash; Crafters Companion Traditional Christmas paper; pearlised card; Gold and Red Brilliance Inks.

I used a piece of the printed paper for the back ground, and blended red BI around the edges.  I then matted it onto a piece of red card and then onto the base card.  I die cut all the flowers, leaves, baubles and sentiment out of pearlised card and stencilled the BI's through the dies.  

I assembled the Poinsettias in 3D layers, then attached all the die cuts to the card with dimensional glue.  This is a simple card to make, the only thing that takes any time is the die cutting.  I love to make some of my cards in traditional colours and some in contemporary colours, this one ticks the traditional box  :)  

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today, I'd love to see you here again soon  :)  

Punky Possibilities

Hello everyone, I have another Steampunk card for you today.  This is one of several cards which I created for the Chocolate Baroque DT blog 15 minute cards spot.  All the cards featured only take 15 minutes to make, which was quite a challenge for me but an enjoyable one  :)   For this card I have used CB stamp sets - Steampunk Butterfly and Punky Flowers; Distress Inks - Hickory Smoke, Mustard Seed, Fossilised Amber, Salty Ocean, and Broken China.  I also used Versafine ink to stamp with - Smokey Grey.

I stamped the Butterfly and a large flower directly onto a white base card.  I then put some DI inks  onto my glass mat to use as a pallet for water colouring the images.

One of the things I love about these stamps is the amount of detail in them.  I love painting and colouring, and CB stamps tick all the boxes for me.  I just added water to the inks with a fine paint brush.

I completed the design with a stamped sentiment and blended ink around the edges to create some light and dark contrast.  

I surprised myself by actually making a card in under 15 minutes, and I really enjoyed the challenge  :)  I love these colours they are so bright and cheerful, I think this card would suit all sorts of occasions.  Thank you for visiting my blog, hope to see you again soon  :)  

Frosty Trees

Hello again, I'm sharing another 15 minute card I made for the Chocolate Baroque DT blog.  This is a really quick and easy card that will have a multitude of uses!  :)  I have used stamps from CB's Design a Tree Orchard and Words of Inspiration sets; Versamark ink, white embossing powder, Opal embossing powder, glitter.    

I took a piece of navy card and stamped the tree twice with Versamark ink.  I embossed the images with white embossing powder.  I dragged the ink pad around the edges of the panel and embossed with Opal powder.  I stamped a sentiment in Opal powder as well.  I then added glitter to the trees to give them a frosty effect.  I used a Versamark pen to ground the trees and added some slopes to the foreground, then embossed those with white powder. 
      

I completed this design by matting the focal panel onto silver mirror card and layering onto a white base card.  

This is a simple design that will make a lovely Christmas card, or a winter birthday card.  Thank you for popping in today, I hope you enjoyed this post and come back soon  :)