OLW32 - ages, part 2 ...

... I've had another go at my niece's 10th birthday card.  I like the one I made earlier, but it is a bit small and subtle.  I think that when you go into double figures you need to be loud and proud about it.  So I had a bit of a think and came up with another age card for this week's OLW challenge of ages being hosted by Jennifer at Styles Ink.

Stamps:  Elusive Images - Big Flowers;  Hobby Art - Happy Birthday
Inks:  Memento - Rose Bud; Distress - Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar
Pens:  Promarkers - various
Accessories:  Ribbon from stash

This time the card is anything but subtle!!!  It's A5 in size.  I found some number templates which I over stamped with these wonderful flowers, designed by Glenda Waterworth, and coloured the flowers with Promarkers.  I found these lovely ribbons in my ribbon box and they matched the colour of the flowers.  I added some interest to the card by inking the edges with Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar.  Finally, using my stamp-a-ma-jig (Stampin' Up!) I positioned the birthday greeting.  Result - really pleased with this card.  I think it's suitably big and bright for a 10th birthday!

I know I went into my craft room to make Christmas cards, but this idea wouldn't budge - so I had to make it.  Christmas cards tomorrow!!!

Treat boxes ....

... or goodie bags - those were the instructions for the challenge set at Creative Card Crew - they want to see all those little boxes and bags into which we store surprises!! 

So I made some for fun - and to try out a template for a box that I got from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  This is a really simple rubber band box - but has so many uses!  I printed the template onto the back of my card and then printed the paper on the other side.  The papers were designed by Glenda Waterworth and come from her double CD set - Season's Greetings.  I have a hard time selecting my favourite design, but the holly leaves are close to the top!!  As these are Christmas Treat Boxes I added a little bling by using Martha Stewart Glitters.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Around Christmastime; Template - Rubber band box
Papers: Artylicious - Season's Greetings
Glitter: Martha Stewart - Garnet, Onyx
Inks:  Brilliance - Pearlescent Ivy, Rocket Red, Graphite Black
Embossing Powder:  Stampendous - Detail Clear

I think I may put these under the tree for some special young people!!

And now that I've finished that challenge - I really better get on with the ironing.  I think the pile is now about 3 feet high!!  Have I mentioned that I hate ironing?  I think I may have.  Oh well, it's no good I really will have to get it done - if only so that I've got some ironed tops!!  It's such a shame that such mundane things drag us away from crafting :))) 

After that I have to prepare for Scouts this evening.  I'm not sure how many will come tonight - it's still very cold here, although not too much snow.  We'll see - we've a fun evening in store.  See you tomorrow.

Been shopping ...

... over at Claire's place - the stamps are so lovely.  My order has been placed and now I'll have to wait a bit for them to arrive.  In the meantime, I can do some homework on my course with Glenda and also make a few more Christmas cards.

Not only have I been shopping for me, but Jonathan and I went out with our darling daughter Kathryn to buy a coat.  Who would know that it would be so difficult!!  We took Kathryn into every shop at our Retail Park and she hated everything she saw. Then we went into Top Shop and she saw an animal print coat - and fell in love!!!  After that nothing was acceptable.  However, we're rather good a negotiations and we left the park with two coats (much cheaper than the animal print one she'd seen) a sensible black one for school and a grey animal print for fun.  It was so much easier when I could simply buy clothes for her. 

That's all for this evening - I'm off downstairs to get a coffee and settle down to watch the TV - a bit of catching up to do this evening.  I'll be back tomorrow with a few more cards.

OLW27 - Christmas kindness ....

... and a Give-away, is how Susan introduced her OLW challenge at Simplicity, this week.  Susan has received an email from Rhonda Schmidkunz (part of group who make cards for inmates at North Dakota Penitentiary).  Rhonda's group usually made layered cards, but the rules changed and now only one-layer cards are allowed - so Rhonda asked for Susan's help.  Thus, the OLW challenge this week is to:

"Make a December Holiday card that meets the North Dakota State Penitentiary rules for cards, as follows:

• No metal (brads, wire, etc.)
• No gemstones or pearls
• Limited glitter
• Flock, ribbon, embossing, and punched shapes are okay"

I think many of the girls in the States will be sending their cards to Rhonda to forward to the Penitentiary, but my card would not get there in time to be included, but it will form part of my Christmas collection for 2010.

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! - Contempo Christmas;  Papermania - Filigree Christmas Tree; Waltzingmouse Stamps - Text-It
Inks:  Versamark; Memento - Cottage Ivy; Distress - Pine Needles
Embossing Powder:  Stampendous - Detail Clear, Detail White

I've been doing a course on stamping techniques, run by Glenda Waterworth, on the My Creative Classroom site.  We've been learning about the versatility of using Versamark and resist techniques.  I'd done this technique a long time ago and sort of forgotten it.  But it's great for getting some detail into one layer cards!! 

On my card I stamped a background of green Christmas text using the Text-It set.  I'd already put on the main greeting using Versamark and embossing with Detail White.  I then rubbed my anti-static pad (but missed a bit, as can be seen by the slight glow around the bottom of the tree) over the card.  I used Versamark on the big Christmas tree and this time embossed with Clear Detail.  The final bit was to use a direct to paper technique; I used dark green pine needles distress ink, which also brought out the texture in the card.  Finally, I wiped the excess ink off the Christmas Tree and Greeting - to reveal text under the tree!!  Very pretty!!  Click on the picture to see the detail.

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out.  That's all for this evening - I'll be back tomorrow.

MCC homework ...

... my tone-on-tone green card is now complete!!!  You may recall that I posted some tone-on-tone backgrounds which I'd done as part of my MCC course homework.  I've already made cards with the other backgrounds, but was struggling at bit with the green one.  Then today I knew what to do.

Stamps:  Waltzingmouse Stamps - Nutcracker Sweet, Seasons of Love - Tags, Very Vintage Labels No 4; Stampin' Up! - Baroque
Inks:  Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress - Dusty Concord, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters
Pens:  Promarkers - Prussian, Bluebell, Lilac, Primrose, Lemon, Almond, Cinnamon, Tan; Sakura Stardust - Golden Star #703, Copper #705
Spellbinders:  Labels 4, Labels 10
Card:  Green card from stash, Gold mirri card, Mondi IQ 160gsm white paper

As you know, I'm rather keen on Waltzingmouse Stamps - designed by the very talented Claire Brennan.  Last month Claire released the Nutcracker Sweet set - which is forming a large part of my Christmas 2010 collection.  I've already stamped and coloured a number of the Nutcracker and St Nicholas images as toppers for my cards, and I remembered that one of the St Nicholas stamps was coloured purple - which works so well with green.

I used Distress inks to tint the edge of the St Nicholas image and leave a crisp white border around the image.  To make the gold matting layer I used the same die that I used to cut out the image, only this time I drew around the outside of the die and then cut out the shape.  This gives a smaller border than using the next sized die up - that sounds sort of complicated, but I hope you know what I mean!  The greeting was made using Labels 4 (a set I don't use often enough), adding a border from Very Vintage Labels No 4 and the actual words come from Seasons of Love.  I added some sparkle to the card by using Sakura Stardust pens to colour the belt, staff and clasp.  Afterall you have to have some sparkle on Christmas cards.

I'm so pleased to have finished that lot of homework.  Glenda's course has been brilliant - she has given us all so many tips and I've learnt loads.  However, I do have a backlog of homework to do :))  But as it's crafting it's more like play!!

I managed to get into Chester this morning and get my shopping done early, which was fortunate, as the weather this afternoon has been awful.  Rain, rain and more rain!  And it's still pouring now and blowing a gale too. 

Well that's all for today.  I'll be back again tomorrow with a few more cards. 

Catching up with homework ....

... for my on-line class with Glenda Waterworth.  Last week's lesson was about types of backgrounds and how to create them.  And I hadn't done any of the homework until this evening!!  So I've had a very quick play - I've done two tags using the direct to paper method, and two brayered backgrounds.  I found that the tags needed to be much more matte in finish - but I'm reasonably pleased with the result - not sure what I'm going to do with them though.

As for the brayer technique - I did try using a brayer for my daughter's birthday card, and it wasn't totally successful.  However, this time I used some Big and Juicy ink pads (wonderful stuff) and some glossy card.  And it worked like a dream.  I love the finish that I got.  I added some black peel offs to complete the exercise - I'm really pleased with the result and will be making some cards with them both.

 

I've also been busy today working on my entry for the October Blog Hop with Waltzingmouse Stamps - check back on 17th October - that's when it goes live!

A dull start ...

... to the day.  I'm sure the weatherman on TV last night said that it'd be a nice day!!  Well, there's time yet.  This is going to be a quick post as I've got to get ready for our Scout adventure this evening.  We're taking them out to a local castle to do some cooking.  So I'm really, really hoping that the weatherman was right.  I don't fancy rain!!

For a change I'm showing you a card that I made just because I could.  This was the first time I tried out the bleaching technique.  The image is by Glenda Waterworth - Elusive Images - the set is called Texture Blocks.  It's a set of six stamps with some really lovely images. 

I stamped the image, using Versamark and silver embossing powder, onto some green card from my stash.  Next I dipped my paint brush into some bleach - boy did it smell - and applied carefully.  I was amazed as the bleach dried to watch the colour fade from the card.  As it was my first attempt - I kept the bleaching to a minimum, but was really pleased with the effect. 

I am pleased to say that the card was sold earlier this year in a fund raising event for our Scout Group. 

That's all for today - I think I'd better try and do some housework, otherwise we're going to end up living in a pit!!  :) 

Crafting lessons ...

... and homework sessions; that's what I've been up to this morning. Glenda Waterworth of Graphicus, is running a Rubber Stamping 101: Back to Basics on My Creative Classroom.  The first lesson was on Wednesday night, where Glenda went over inkpads, cardstock, getting a good impression and care of your stamps.  It was really good. 

So the homework bit involved making ink swatches (which I'd already started) but I finished last night, testing out the differences between various black inks, misting inks and stamped images and finally producing a floral card.  So all the homework's done, apart from the floral card which I'll do later this week.  I think it's a great course - go have a look.

I decided to combine the misting exercise with one of the challenges that I've found.  The Creative Card Crew do a weekly challenge, and this weeks it's flowers, lots of them!  So, I've had fun with flowers.  I really like this stamp, but haven't used it much.  I think is absolutely perfect for the challenge.  So I inked it up using the Kaleidocolor pad and stamped onto watercolour paper, which I then misted to get the colours to run.  I was very pleased with the effect; I dried it with a heat gun.  I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to position the black overstamp.  I then used the flowers round the face to stamp randomly around the card.  I coloured some of these flowers with the Kaleidacolor inks.  I used nesties to cut out the image and mount it on a softly coloured background.  Finally, I added a number of punched flowers from my stash along with a greeting - Just because!!

Stamp:  Funstamps - Flower Face
Inks:  Kaleidacolor - Luau; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Spellbinders Nesties:  Scalloped ovals; Plain ovals
Flowers:  From my stash
Greeting:  Craftwork Cards

That's all for now.  I might not be able to post tomorrow as I'll be getting ready for my Stampin' Up! party which should be good fun.  Will be back soon.