Black and Gold

Happy Monday,

Today's card is, to my mind, a beautiful use of Mirror Card and a wonderful antidote to the pinks and creams of the weekend!  When Wendy was videoing with me on last Monday she said that it was disappointing that Mirror card seems to have fallen out of favour however we both felt that this card shows what can be achieved by using it in the filigree style.

I wanted to post this creation today to show the difference that can be achieved from the same die as I used a couple of times last week, firstly on Sue's card from Tuesday and my mothers day card from Friday.  Today I teamed it with black to give a dramatically strong and masculine anniversary card.

This was a commission for a friend who needed a card for her first anniversary for her boyfriend (he's a bit of an old romantic!)



I felt that the Black and gold made it a nice masculine feel however the filigree gave a romantic edge to what can be a difficult commission.

The topper is simply made from 2 hearts one cut from bronze glitter card the other from black cardstock.  I wrapped this with organza ribon and added a hand cut tag gold embossed with the sentiment.  I had to ad a hatpin as Wendy has just completed a new beautiful set and these filigree and black ones hit the mark.





My Friend loved it, here's hoping you do too!

Enjoy...

Mothers Day...

Happy Mothers Day to all mums,


This is the gift I made for my Mum today...

It is based on the simple premise of die cutting hearts with felt then hand-stitching them together using contrasting embroidery thread in blanket stitch.  Now although I thought this was simple I started it before valentines day (not usually that organised!)  However I am glad I did, I had to teach myself to blanket stitch for a start, thank you you tube.

I cut the hearts using a sizzix Bigz heart die as this cuts felt beautifully and the die cuts 3 different sizes in each pass. Once almolst stitched together I stuffed the hearts with the contents of an old pillow (the same one I used for the Pin Cushion box's I made back in February)

This was an organic process and so I learnt at the end I really should of stitched in the ribbon loops during the process rather than attaching them at the back.  To neaten the back I stitched each ribbon loop on with a button.

Finally I decorated each heart individually using buttons, bows and felt cut letters to spell out MUM before threading them onto a pink gingham ribbon (Ebay bargain) for hanging.

I have popped in a pic of the box I made for this from yesterdays sneak peak in case you missed it. I will Let you know if she liked it!

Enjoy your breakfasts in bed mums!

Something Different Sneak Peak

Happy Saturday!












Today's something different is a sneak peak for tomorrows Mothers Day presentation.  Firstly this is the box I made to contain the gift... The box is made in the same manner as my Wendy House box (thanks Heather for the name) that I demoed last year.  Click HERE to see the original post and HERE to see the tutorial.

The gift itself is made using these hearts that I die cut using a Sizzix heart die in felt and hand stitched in embroidery thread in contrasting colours.

What I have done with the hearts and how I have decorated them will have to wait until tomorrow as my Mum checks the blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

For today,

Enjoy...

Mothers Day Card...

Happy Friday,

Today I am showing the mothers day card I have made for my Mum.  Now she looks at my blog so just in case she see's this I have left the gift (handmade again) is not shown until Sunday maybe a sneak peek tomorrow.

This card was made to showcase the rose which I made using the petals cut with the peony die form yesterdays card and box tutorial.  I used the same petals however I put them together differently.  If you would like a tutorial on making the rose just let me know and I will see what Wendy (Magic Hands) and I can do!

The centre panel of the card is made with Spellbinders A2 filigree delight however the one thing that sometimes frustrates me on this die is that it cuts a beautiful filigree it also cuts the whole shape out.  Now I  have always wondered what it would look like if the shape didn't cut out.  Therefore I set myself the challenge of working out how to do this.

As you can, hopefully, see from the card I managed to work it out, the centre section is cut and embossed however only the filigree is cut in the centre panel of an A5 piece of card.  I'll share how to do this in a couple of weeks as I have an idea for this technique for Easter so patience guys (although I am sure you can all work out how to do this.

After this I simply cut a panel out of each layer, there are 6!, so that the rose fits and layered these up using foam tape.






The sentiment, what else but Happy Mothers Day, is on a hand-cut banner which I shaped and mounted in the aperture behind the rose and finishing in the front.

I hope my mum, and you guys, like it!

Enjoy...

Finally The Box Tutorial!

Happy Thursday,






Finally here is the tutorial for the filigree box using Spellbinders Gold Elements one die for the peony card.  I have added a few pictures to this post to remind you of the card and box and also to show this in a different colour as by the time  I made the tut i was all out of the deep violet card I used! lol


This version is made in the same 300gsm cardstock (from my LIDL stash) in Warm Pink and a Blush Pink.  I have tried to keep to the idea of 2 complimentary colours as this softens the finished project.





 Here is the finished article, next week the peony and card tutorial.

...and here is the video tutorial.

As you will see if you watch the quality is not great we will work on that however with Wendy working as magic hands keep an eye for for her, and the laughter.


Finally I have added a picture of the original as that seemed the favourite colour combo!

Enjoy...

For a Mum...

Happy Wednesday,

Today's card is a commission for a friend and although it looks like a mothers day card it isn't!  This card was for a friends mums birthday last week.  He wanted something clean and crisp but beautiful, I hope that this matched the brief!


I started by folding a sheet of A4 white hammered PMD cardstock in half to create the card blank.  The centre section has been cut / embossed using a selection of Spellbinders Gold Ovals dies which have also debossed parts of the shape.  I die cut some ovals and then used more of the gold ovals to cut and shaped these.

I layered each piece in a dark pink cardstock and layered them up centrally with foam tape.

The sentiment is stamped in a matching dew drop ink on the same cardstock using a stamp from DoCrafts Love Notes range and I love the intricate way the word is made of the differing patterns.

I have decorated the front with a sprinkling of butterflies cut with Spellbinders Les Papillions 2 each with a pearl in the centre and the wings shaped to look as if they are in flight.


Finally I wrapped matching Pink and White ribbon around the centre and tied it in a bow to one side.  I added a few of Wendy's hatpins that matched and used one to secure the sentiment panel in place.






 I love the crisp white and pink and the way that monochrome doesn't have to be masculine or just black and white.


Enjoy...

Cream Snow?!?

Happy Tuesday!,

Today's post is short I'm afraid as Wendy and I (Wendy acting as my Magic Hands) have spent all evening making the video tutorials for the card and box from the weekend.  These are currently saving and uploading (as they have been edited but left some of the laughter in)  they will go live, starting with the box, on Thursday.  The flower and card will go live next week.

back to today the chosen recipient for this weeks your card is Snowqueen62, sue was picked randomly from last weeks comments and here is the card I made for her...

This is a small, yet delicate, card made with spellbinders A2 Filigree delight.  I made this card for Sue (The Snow Queen) as her blog shows some lovely die cut cards and I hoped she will appreciate it.

As I said Sue has her own blog which looks new as she has only posted three cards so far however I think if we all visit her then she might upload more!  To visit Sue's blog click HERE

The card is made in Cream and a rich cream card and is studded with bronze gems, I didn't add a sentiment as it would cover too much of the embossing and the gems.

As usual if you send me you address to lockers@live.co.uk Sue then I will post the card to you.


I hope you all, and especially Sue,

Enjoy...

Monday Monday...

Happy Monday,

I feel like I have started every post recently with a big thank you and a comment on how I was blown away by your comments however I couldn't let today go without saying how amazed I was by the reaction to yesterdays card.  I was literally shocked by how lovely all the comments were, so thank you all.

Now back to today and it should be your card however yesterday I was so busy prepping tutorials that I just didn't have time to make something however I did pick out the recipient so it will go live tomorrow.  Therefore todays card is one from the vaults I made a couple of weeks ago.

I haven't shown it before as quite a few commentators have said they are not keen on big bows so I wanted to alter the card to show it with, and without, the big bow and let you decide.

Firstly with the bow...








And secondly without, my preference, in this case is for the bow as I feel it lacks something without.

I used a shimmer paper form DoCrafts for the background which has been cut and embossed with a section from Spellbinders Gold Elements one.  Close up the areas that have been debossed have a beautiful shine to them.  I tried to balance this with a mate cut with spellbinders border dies (cant find the die so cant remember which one)  Finally the sentiment section is cut with Gold Ovals which juts emboss so I drew around the die and hand cut the oval as well as adding some inking in the centre section.

The sentiment is from Crafters Companion.

let me know which you prefer!

Enjoy...

Finally The Card...

Happy Sunday,

I would firstly like to thank you all for the brilliant comments yesterday from the box I mad for this card.  I was blown away by the reaction to this one, as I am sure you all know when you like something it really is scary to see what other people think, will they agree with you or have you made a dud!

Todays post and card is to show what was inside yesterdays box and was the reason for making it.

Firstly here is the opening of the box with the card popping out!  As you can more clearly see the box is a hinged fold witch protects, and hopefully showcases the card and the flower.

The card is made again using Spellbinders Gold Elements one Corner however this was cut in a darker shade (I really hope everyone's monitors show the colours properly as the two shades of lilac are really complimentary)  This was matted onto white then the original box lilac and finally a white hand cut card blank (sizes to follow on the tutorial)

I made the flower using the lighter shade using the Sizzix Peony die which I cut 5 times to get enough petals.  The die gives you the star shaped based, leaves and 5 different petals.  I shaded the petals with purple distress ink before shaping them using a ball tool.  Next I simply started layering them as per the instructions.

Finally i added a few pieces of distressed ribbon and a couple of Wendy's beautiful hatpins.

I loved making this and the finished result, here's hoping you do too!

Enjoy...

Lilac Dreams Different Saturday...

Happy Saturday,


I'm posting this project with some trepidation as I really love this one and I'm genuinely not sure whether you will all like it!  This box, yes I know another box, stared from the necessity to have a box that fitted and matched the card I had made.  The card started with a Sizzix peony die however I want to highlight the card tomorrow so today all you get is the box!











The box is made, primarily, with Spellbinders Gold Elements One die corner.  This die is cut into the two half's of the top to give a filigree section and a sneak peak as to what is inside.




As you can tell from this picture the opening of this box is a diagonal opening with a hinge at the corner meaning that the box flips open.  It is hard to explain how this box actually works and holds a card however it should become clearer when I show the card tomorrow!






The next picture shows the box closed with a ribbon tie to keep the contents safe.







The wonderful Wendy has agreed to film a tutorial on this one for me tomorrow so there will be a video tut for those who want it next week.




Till tomorrow, Enjoy...

Is it Really Friday?!?

Happy Friday,

I can't believe that it's Friday already!  I've been so busy working this week that I completely lost track of days and was writing this, initially, for Wednesday.  That would of been a little daft as that was 2 days ago and I made three cards  (thanx Nancy, on the subject of Wacky Wednesday did anyone else spot the not -deliberate mistake??, Nancy popped in the shop yesterday to tell me about it as despite looking I couldn't spot it!!

Back to today a simple card that  I'm just not sure about maybe the colours are just too bright, let me know what you think!?!


Enjoy...

A little more gentle...

Happy Thursday,

After the die cutting marathons of the last couple of days, especially Tuesdays card for Mrs D, I thought I should present something a little gentler today.  This card I think of as a rhapsody in lilac as it seems, to me at least, that the lilac highlights shine from the card.

I stared with the rose fabric paper from First Edition Floral Pavilion and mounted this in two panels across an A4 piece of card stock.  To maker the card stand with the weight I was putting on the front I zig zagged the fold so that it also gives the front piece a nice floating feel and stands straight.

The back panel of the card is softened up by the addition of a piece of parchment (or vellum found it in my scraps box) embossed with a criss cross pattern.  As usual I studded the centres with pearls before adhering over the patterned paper.

The main element was made by embossing a piece of lilac cardstock (from my LIDL Stash) with an old Boofle patchwork folder from DoCrafst before distressing.

Enjoy...

Wacky Wednesday

Happy Wednesday,

I thought I would be a little wacky today and present three for one today.  These three cards started exactly the same.  I saw the background paper on a flick through the Neroli pack from First edition and pulled it out.  I decided it would look best as a square so cut it to 12cm x 12cm however I found that I had cut 4 squares the same when I had finished.  This led me to thinking could I make different cards from the same paper cut, initially at least, to the same size.  Here is the result.








The first card is a simple mounting job onto white card with a die cut strip, using Spellbinders Curved borders die and a simple sentiment...













The second card I made the 12 x 12 pieced into a frame and cut the centre section into a smaller square.  I mounted both of these onto white card and foam mounted them at different levels.  I simply added a corner die cut from white card using Spellbinders Gold elements one and placed it over the corner.  Finally a butterfly, again spellbinders, and a hand cut sentiment banner.

Finally i mounted the piece i had cut the butterfly from for card two onto white card and die cut a white butterfly to place in the aperture. This was double mounted onto another of the squares of Neroli paper and added to a card front, with a little foam tape...






All in all a happy hour or so playing with three looks form the same dies and basic elements, and a few pearls!


Enjoy...

A Card in the Pond...

Happy Your Card Tuesday,

Now when I got home from work yesterday I picked out comment no 5 as the recipient of a card made especially for them.  I asked my last customer of the day to give me a number between 1 and 14 she chose number 5, as it happens this one is heading to the Duck Pond as comment no 5 was Mrs Duck!  I have to admit that Mrs Duck is a good friend however I promise this was a random choice!

I wanted to make something with a die range that I knew Mrs D was playing with so I chose the Sue Wilson dies as I know Mrs D is trying some of these out! However I used a different set than her last post which features the embroidered striplet die (that I really want but will have to wait for)  To see Mrs Ducks blog click HERE she has the most beautiful card featured today
( well it's still  Monday as I am writing this but only just!!!).

I decided to try making the die into a stand alone filigree card so doubled over some white PMD cardstock and cut the die on the edge to create a fold card.  This took a few passes through the machine at different angles and with card shims however the end result is well worth the effort.  I cut the card down so that the pattern goes off the edge.

Next I cut a simple piece of plain cardstock and embossed it using a dots embossing folder to back the central element which is cut using 2 dies from Spellbinders Curved borders one in black.  I cut one edge and marked lightly in pencil where the die came up to on the long edge of the card.  The next cut was made by placing the die against the line I had drawn.  This technique gave me a balanced piece that is, hopefully a mirror image.  Finally I added a simple ellipse with the sentiment which really means what it says Friends like you are far too few, which applies to all my lovely blog mates! ...

As usual Mrs D if you email me on, well you know the address, I will post this out to the middle of England for you!

Enjoy...

Monday Quickie! lol

Happy Monday Al!

It was after midnight when I emerged form my craft room last night and still hadn't posted Id, once again, completely forgotten the time!  Therefore Your card will be tomorrow and I will randomly pick who its made for from Today's comments (to speed things up for me)

This card is made using 2 colours of cardstock and one die (yes only ONE! lol)  I simply cut Spellbinders Gilded Gate three times from a square of white PMD hammered card.  Next I mounted one of the die cuts onto Teal card for the mirror image panel on the bottom right.

A few layers of teal and white, a banner stamped with Versamark and detail white embossing powder and complete.

Enjoy...