Double Day...Red Sparkle, Red Christmas...

Happy Friday,

I thought I would offer a double day today with a card form the Indian Ocean collection and a christmas card just scroll down!

Im back at the Crafting for Christmas show today at the NEC on stand F53, pop by and say hi if you are around!

I stared todays card by cutting the indian ocean collection border down the side of a piece of bright white foundation card 4 times to make the pattern as shown.

Next I embossed the other side of the card using the fantails embossing folder highlighting the embossing with pearl lustre metallic gilding polish.

Next I cut the Mauritius die in white card and backed it with ruby foundation card covered with adhesive sheet.  I added iced snow to the background and the back of the die cut.  I then added cape daisies in ruby and white cutting extra of the centres which I shaded with scarlet woman colour cloud blending ink.  I added these over the bold scroll die cuts again shaded with more of the colour cloud.

A sentiment from my fern frames set, stamped in white embossing powder on a tag cut with the centre die and finished.

Next A christmas card made using waste pieces of rich red foundation card.  The background is made using a piece of bright white card which I had cut the Rose leaf and holly spray dies from the christmas rose die set.

I added this over rich red card and mounted some leftover circles over the centre.  Next I added the filigree snowflake die cut over the top finishing with then Scripted Happy Christmas.

I added polar white twinkles around the edges to add some sparkle and a strip of off white ribbon, bow, teen and pearl embellishment to finish!



The winners of this weeks card giveaways are:

Monday - Granny Sue
Tuesday - Wendy Maughan
Just email your addresses to Lockers @ Live.co.uk and Ill post them out to you!  There will be 2 more chances to win next week so keep your eyes peeled!

Enjoy...

Foil seychelles...

Happy Thursday,

I hope you enjoyed yesterdays shows as much as I did!  Today I am demonstrating at the `hobby crafts show at the NEC on the Art of Craft stand.  Im there today and tomorrow so if you are going to the show why not pop by ands say hello!

Todays card was a demo I got to show the techniques from but didn't manage to make the complete card so Thought I would show it today.














I stared by making the background with the tin foil technique with a little change.  I spray glued the kitchen foil to a piece of foundation card then embossed it with the fantails embossing folder.  Next I added graphite gilding polish over the top which takes the shine off and makes the background look like old metal or pewter.



















Next I cut the indian ocean background into a piece of graphite pearl foundation card using die 1 and 2 in the set.  This makes the frame as shown once backed with icicle pearl card.

Next I cut the outline and detail die from the seychelles i graphite and backed it in the white again.  I repeated this to make 2 of the shapes and glued them together rotated them to make a square shape as shown.

Next I cut the centres form the Maldives and seychelles in white and graphite and foam mounted these in the centre.  I finished with an 8mm pearl in the centre and a messy bow with white seam binding.

Finally a few layers of graphite and icicle to emphasise the Art Deco feel of this card.


I will announce the winners form this weeks card giveaways tomorrow.


Enjoy.

Double Maldives win..

Happy Wednesday,



Another sample from todays shows and a second chance to win!  To win this card simply comment below and Ill pick one at random to receive the card!

This is one of the planned demos for today when the shows at 9am, 12pm, 4pm and last chance at 7pm.  This card is made with the Maldives die and there is a clever trick with this die as the pattern in the centre is made by overlapping the die, tune in to see how.

A few more shots for this card

Enjoy...

Show days and Win...

Happy Tuesday,

Firstly if you would like to win today's card simply leave a comment and I will select one comment at random to be sent the card!

This is another demo card form the One Day Special which features the Indian Ocean collection which to me has a beautiful Art Deco feel.

Today's card, made in the foundation Pearl Card, to me really says Art Deco.  I started by cutting the Indian Ocean border die across a piece of icicle pearl foundation card.  The die slots back in which allows you to continue the pattern as long as you want.  I matted and layered this onto a piece of the copper pearl and icicle pearl card.

Next for the centre element I cut the Noble double pierced circles set B in alternating Copper and icicle mounting them behind and above the border strip.  I then cut one of the Indian Ocean tags ( from the Tag Duo set) in copper backed in icicle and icicle backed in copper and rooted them before mounting them above the circles.

I cut the scripted Thankyou die in icicle and copper and shadow mounted them before adding across the centre.  Finally I added 8mm white pearls on the border strip and added the whole piece to an embossed panel of the copper pearl card.  I used the cross stitch A4 embossing folder which I really feel compliments the shapes and lines of the Art Deco style.

No flowers and bows so a little different for me but I love the simplicity of allowing the dies and card to speak for themselves.

Enjoy...

Blue Monday Deco...

Happy Monday,

First I must admit that I forgot to mention in yesterdays post that the idea of Framing the card was Mrs Duck's!  I thought I had typed that but it was missing and so sorry I don't want to claim an idea form anyone else!

Back to today and its the start of the cards I have made for this weeks shows with the amazing Art Deco inspired die range from Sue Wilson for Creative Expressions.  I thought I would start with a simple blue card ( It being Blue Monday of course) and although this card may not look simple it's not as complicated as some I have to show you lol

I stared by cutting the outline detail die form the Indian Ocean background in bright white foundation card.  Next I cut the next detail section in cobalt card and mounted these together to create the background.  The main element may look complex but is relatively simple I will be demoing this card over the period of the One Day Special ( Starts Tomorrow at8pm and continues Wednesday at 9am, 12pm, 4pm and last chance at 7pm)

To make this I cut the Mauritius die three times using the outer detail and inner dies ( numbers 1, 2 and 3) in cobalt, Iris and periwinkle foundation card and backed them with bright white.  I then cut each die cut down the centre and rejoined the different colours to make 3 shapes.  I simple mounted these over each other, rotating the orientation each time, and added it to the front of the card.

Using the centre of the die cuts i made a couple of tags by punching a hole in them and threading them with thin satin ribbon from my stash and stamping the sentiment the top tag.

Finally I added some flowers made using the Cape Daisies and the centres as the smaller flowers.  Snow White microbeads in the centre and finished.

Tune in to the shows If you would like to see how this, and many others, are made.

Enjoy...

Start the deco...

Happy Thursday,

art deco

noun

1.

a style of decorative art developed originally in the 1920s with a revival in the 1960s, marked chiefly by geometric motifs, curvilinear forms, sharply defined outlines and often bold colours.

I thought I should start today by giving a dictionary definition of Art Deco, the reason is that I felt the indian ocean collection was the very deco and I wanted too make sure that my feeling is correct!  Im glad to say I was lol

I thought I would share this demo card from jy shows with the indian ocean collection on Hochanda starting at 8pm next tuesday.  I really felt that whilst dark this was the perfect deco style card the demo is planned for this card to nee made in the pearl card so tune in to see how this was made and in a different colour!

I started by cutting the indian ocean corner ( one of the 2 different corners in the set) into a piece of cocoa foundation card at each corner.  I backed this with chestnutscard and adde players of kraft card and more cocoa and chestnut ( a real autumnal range)

Next I cut three of the corners with the outside die and backed these with craft card.  I then made a frame of circles using the double pierced circles set A and B and placed the 4 corners around the frames.  I find it amazing that the square corners work on a circle it really is art deco.

I cut 4 of the other corners in the set and backed these in chestnut, i mounted the four together into a square and added black pearl in the centre.

I mounted the square in the centre of the frame over a shaker section I made with acetate and nebula ice ( part of the glitter jewels range)  This adds a shine to the card.

I know its a little dark but would work in any colour and makes a great mens card not a flower in sight!

Enjoy...

Purple & Blue Wednesday...

Happy Wednesday,

I thought I would make a change and go with a blue card lol ok that's not much of a change for me to be honest lol but this is with purple and pixie powders so its a little different.


Today I am running my regular monthly workshop at Crafty Corner in Breedon Priory  .  Its going to be a day with the pixies in the Indian ocean lol a bit like today's card.


I stared by making a pixie powder background using m,midnight blue and purple violet mixed which gives this rich colour and the stunning mica shrine.  I took a print from the water clout card with a piece of vellum which I used for the flowers.

I cut the detail and outline using the Mauritius die set form the watercolour pixie paper.  I backed this with double sided adhesive and added white opaque microbeads over the top to fill the gaps.  I cut another of the outlines using white card which I cut in half to make a drop shadow behind.  I repeated the process with the other detail die in the set and foam mounted this in the centre.

Next I made a spare of the cape daisies ( I love these so much I have bought a second set!) in the velum, shaped them and added the centres in  pair and microbeads in the very middle.

For the foliage I letterpressed the bold scroll dies using perfect medium and then cut them out.  This leaves the debossed area with perfect medium allowing me to fill it with detail white embossing powder its a lot easier to show this so I will demo this technique on my Hochanda shows next week.

Finally I frames the card as shown and added matts a layers of amethyst and white and finished.


Enjoy...

Blue Monday...

Happy Monday,

As I have such a fondness for Blue I thought it might make sense to have the occasional Blue Monday featuring a card with my favourite colours.

Todays card is also a snake peak for my shows next Tuesday on Hochanda where I will be premiering the recent die release from Sue Wilson for Creative Expressions.  Todays card uses some of the dies I have on the show.

I stated by cutting the Indian Ocean collection border strip across the bottom of a piece of icicle pearl foundation card.  I then used the outline die to cut just the bottom edge ( I will be demoing this technique on the shows next week)  Next I matted this onto a piece off cobalt foundation card again using the outline die to cut the shape.  Next I added a couple of strips of self adhesive pearls and mounted the panel onto an embossed background made using the pinpoint cross stitch embossing folder ( really one of my faves especially with the art deco Indian Ocean range)


I cut the Mauritius die in colblt using dies 1, 2 and 3 in  the set in cobalt and backed with more of the icicle pearl card studding 3mm white pearls where they seemed to fit.

I made up a spare of cape daises by cutting them in cobalt card and softening the edges and adding shading using a mini smoothie and white clouds colour cloud blending ink ( this works really well for toning down colour and making things look more realistic)

I used the smaller centre die twice in the middle of each flower and added white microbeads in the very middle.  Don't you just love the way these give a realistic centre! I added these to a bow made of tulle and leaves cut with the laced edged foliage die.

Finally a couple of stick pins a few layers of icicle and cobalt and finished.  very Blue but also very me!


Enjoy...

Aqua and Silver...

Happy Thursday,

A simple looking card today in Aqua, Silver and White which I think may be my christmas co,our scheme this year!  I love the crisp contrast if these colours especially when you add a little touch of grey.

I am demonstrating today at Sharons Card Craft in Swanley ( not Swankey as I mistyped yesterday lol)

















I stared by cutting the outside die in the seychelles set into a pice of aqua foundation card.  I then simply cut each subsequent die in a further layer starting with white with dies 2 and 3, Aqua with dies 4 and 5 finishing with a layer of grey with the last die(smallest) in the set.

I added a few stick on crystals in the corner and centre and a large crystal embellishment with bow at the corner.  All the crystals are from the always and forever range from Craft Consortium.









Next I cut the layers down to a rectangle apart from the  top layer in away.  Here I used the amazing new striped swirl edger die using the insert for the dots and one edge on each well er edge I guess lol.

Finally I added straight stripes of white, aqua and grey to offset the detail on the edges. a simple frame of white with a few layers of the col,our and a simple but hopefully effective card is born!


Enjoy...

Mauritius in blue...

Happy Wednesday,

Well what a busy set of shows yesterday Im sorry the villages sold out so quickly Ill let everyone know as soon as they are back in stock!

back to today and I thought It would be a nice change of pace to show another card made with the new die release form Sue Wilson for Creative Expressions.  This is using the stunning new Indian Ocean collection Background which I used on this card as the background over the embossed panel ( made using the pinpoint circles embossing folder covered with pearl lustre metallic gilding polish)

I cut the Mauritius die in cobalt, aqua and baby blue foundation card and back each one with white.  I cut the 2 lighter shades inhale and matched the 2 pieces together.  Next I mounted these on top of each other rotated to make a square.  I cut the cobalt die cut in half and out it back together to make a square which I added on the top.


















I simply added three of the doodled flowers which IO shaped with my ball toll adding the centres using self adhesive pearls and dots of frosted sky PVA dimensional glue.  A spare of ribbon from my stats and finished ( with a few mats and layers of course)







I will be demoing this card and many others at Sharon's Card Craft in swanky tomorrow and at Crafty Company in Fleetwood this Saturday!


Enjoy...

Ginger Corners...

Happy Thursday,

A change of colour scheme for today;s card however it was made using the other 2 dies in the set i used yesterday, theres one for value a soft pastel and a strong masculine card just from the corner and border set from the Indian Ocean collection.

I started this card by cutting the square edged corner die 4 times in ginger foundation card.  I then matted this using the outline die, in Kraft card and mounted them together to form the Art Deco squire in the centre finished with an 8mm black pearl.  There are 2 corners in the set and this one, just like the border dei, makes a different shape when they are mounted together.

For the corners I simply reversed the process and cut the detail in Kraft and the backing in ginger.


to make up the card I used the double pierced square dies ( the original set or Set A as it has been nicknamed)  to take the frames in ginger and Kraft.  I mounted the corners at the edge of the square kraft frame.  I cut the corners off the square so that the detail of the die cut corners comes to the fore!

I made up the card as shown (8"x8") using foundation card in black to offset the kraft and ginger adding a black ribbon bow from my stash!


Enjoy...

for Julia...

Happy Wednesday,

Another sample from the new dies release designed by Sue Wilson for Creative Expressions and I have to admit this is my favourite card so far.  This card was inspired by the fabulous Julia Watts as `i made it whilst watching her on Hochanda.  Julia was demonstrating how to make a background with a border strip and my only thought was how nice the Indian Ocean border would look as a background!  Therefore this is a tribute to julia and all she has taught me!

I will be demonstrating this technique on Hochanda in November when I bring you the bundles of this realise and Im sure this will be one of the first demo's!

I simply cut the border, without the outline cutting die, down a piece of coconut white foundation card.  I then added this to a piece of Iris foundation card covered with a double sided sticky sheet.  I added diamond snow in the gaps to cover the adhesive with a crystal at each junction.  I love the way that when cut this way an art deco flower appears from nowhere.

I cut each of the dies in the maldives die she in white and backed these with the iris and from moon ted them up finishing with a stamped centre with my Birthday Seasons clear stamp set.  I added diamond snow over the sentiment to balance the background.

To highlight the centrepiece I cut the cape daisies each in iris and white, shaped them with my ball tool and offset these to make the flowers.  With the bold scroll I cut these in white and iris using the letterpress technique, with cornflower archival ink, on the deboss section to add some more texture before mounting these around the main element.

A frame made using the double pierced background dies and layers of iris and white to finish.  I loved making this card and am so thankful to Julia for the technique!


Enjoy...