Christmas gifts

 Shopping List

FRCL 174 Holly Swirls

Stampendous Aged Scarlet &Aged Ivory

embossing powders

(From Frantage range)

Detail Gold embossing powder

Stampendous Boss Gloss

Sakura gold & red metallic pens

1" holly punch

Buttons

S/A pearls (all 3 sizes)

Burgundy & ivory organza ribbon

S/A Pearl flourish border   

Crystal Stickles

Ivory card

Gold paper

All available from:-

www.woodware.co.uk

All supplies &

paper mache letters available from

Japonica

22 The Parade

Exmouth

EX8 1RW

01395 271739

Our theme this week is Christmas gifts &..........I got carried away again!! My main aim was  "Noel" which I have been itching to do for a while now. The letters start life just dull brown paper & then......!    I started  by embossing some strips of Holly Flourish & one of the messages which are included with the set. I used gold powder &  Iwater coloured with the Sakura pens. These were then torn & stuck onto the figures with a craft glue. Then I randomly embossed with the Aged Scarlet & Ivory powders. You'll find Stampendous Boss Gloss handy for this as it comes in a bottle with a felt applicator so it's perfect for covering large areas & getting into difficult places. After all the fronts  & sides were embossed (I just used gold paint for the backs) I just went mad with punched holly, ribbon, pearls, buttons, Stickles & the gorgeous new pearl flourish s/a border from Woodware. It's on display at Japonica if you want to take a closer look but only until my tree goes up at home! I just need to discourage Mr. Frosty from re-arranging the letters to form other words (he's been watching re runs of Faulty towers again!)

Here are some of the other things I've made as gift ideas.

I took a candle in a tin & removed the original labels. The top has been stamped with Stampendous Holly Basket (CRQ163) onto a circle of card. All colouring has been done with Sakura coloured pencils & I have embossed the whole image with Crystal embossing powder & embossed the edges of the top with Aged Hunter Green powder.  

The side of the tin has a strip of card which has been stamped with the Holly Swirl set & coloured & embossed in the same way. 

 Here we have a set of coasters. I die cut 4 large circles from Woodware's Chippies mount board, printed with holly & messages again & coloured with pencils & then enamelled with clear enamelling powder. For the last coat (I usually do 3) I used Crystal powder & I added a sprinkle of Aged Bronze powder which I also edged the coasters with too.

I really can't take the credit for this last one as we made the large bow with Fran Seiford at the Woodware Retailers Workshop day back in September but the smaller one was just begging to be finished so I chose the cute "Snowbird" from Stampendous which i featured in the blog a few weeks ago for "Cute Christmas". The embossing is done with Aged Marine this time.

That finally is the lot! I'm off for a lie down in a darkened room now!See you next time!

Black & White Christmas

Shopping List

Dream weaver stencils:-

Tree Line LG745

Celebrate Script LS90

Black embossing paste

Woodware Rhine stone border clear JL906

A5 white card blank

Silver pearl card (from 12" x 12" sheet) 

Zig glue pen

Crystal glitter

Corner rounder punch
All available from:-
www.woodware.co.uk
Your local Woodware stockist is:-
Japonica
22 The Parade
Exmouth
EX8 1RW
01395 271739

We  have a simple black & white theme this week but one of my favourites (I sound like Brucie!)  I have embossed the Dreamweaver "Tree Line" & "Celebrate Script" stencils onto white card using black embossing paste & left to dry. Next cut 2 strips of silver card & add to card blank at top & bottom. Layer both stencilled pieces onto black card & round relevant corners before attaching to card blank. "Frost" the trees using the glue pen & crystal glitter. Lastly add the gorgeous new embellishment border from Woodware to the silver strips.

Here's how the folks at Dreamweaver describe Stencilling with metal stencils & pastes.

Using Embossing Paste with Brass Stencils

This technique looks especially nice on dark card stock. It has a sharper edge to it than either dry or thermal embossing and, like dry embossing, it can also be stenciled with color. When iridescent powders are added to the regular embossing paste, the embossing almost has an "Indian sandpainted" look to it.

1. When using embossing paste on the brass stencils, you need to work quickly, because the paste sets up in 20-40 minutes and you don't want it to dry into the fine bridgework of the brass stencils.

2. Make sure you are working on a hard flat surface and the stencil needs to be flat against the surface, because, if it is bent, the paste will pull under the bridges and smear.

3. Tape out the edges well with removable tape.

4. Pick up the paste on the bottom of the metal palette knife and smooth over the stencil's cut out areas as if applying icing to a cake. Now the paste on the stencil is about 1/8"- 1/4" thick. At this point, scrape off the excess paste until all the holes are filled evenly and the stencil surface is smooth.

5. Immediately take off the tape and pick up the stencil from the paper--lifting it off in a straight up manner as much as possible. It is important to clean the stencil off immediately, so drop it into a pan of water until you have time to scrub it with a vegetable or nail brush. If there is a film or residue of paste on the stencil, use a rubber stamp cleaner that removes permanent inks. Apply it generously and scrub with a dry paper towel.
6. Set aside the paste project for 20-40 minutes and, when dry, put the cleaned stencil back in place and stencil with a variety of mediums.

Cute Christmas

Shopping List

Stampendous Cling Snowbird CRP169

Stampendous SSC1147 Tis The Season

Magenta Cling Snowflake Branch C35.077J

Crafty Edger +Scallop Shell cassette

Mica pearl flakes

Sakura pencils

Versafine Vintage Sepia inkpad

Stampendous Crystal embossing powder

Stampendous Detail Silver embossing powder

Versamark pad

Stardust Stickles  

Woodware Christmas Glitter brads

Silver organza ribbon

Silver pearl 12x12 card

2" label punch

Large corner rounder punch

A5 white card blank

All available from :-

www.woodware.co.uk

Your local stockist is:-

Japonica

22 the Parade

Exmouth

EX8 1RW

01395 231739

This week it's the turn of one of the new Christmas stamps from Stampendous- isn't he just adorable!! He's a "Snowbird" so I've dressed him as a robin- a little artistic licence is allowed!! I've stamped onto white card using Vintage Sepia and coloured with Sakura pencils. For the card background I've stamped all over using the Snowflake Branch and embossed using the Crystal powder for a twinkly, frosty effect. After rounding off all corners I have layered onto the silver card and gone mad with the gorgeous Pearl Mica flakes from the Frantage range. The border at the left of the card I've created using some white pearl paper with the Crafty Edger and the Scallop Shell cassette which always reminds me of snowflakes. I've added a length of silver organza ribbon and some Glitter snowflake brads. The greeting comes from "Tis the Season" which has some wonderful Christmas sentiments to suit any card- you'll be seeing a lot more of this set over the coming weeks!! I've simply stamped and embossed in silver onto a punched label and mounted this onto another silver card label finished with a silver ribbon tie. All that's left is now is to add some Stickles to  the berries and branches for that frosty look.

Here's a closer look at the Snowflake Branch background or call in to Japonica to see the real thing!

Candi Roses

It was my turn to demo at Japonica last Thursday (sorry I'm a bit late with this!) & my theme was Christmas Messages. I was using the Stampendous clear set "Tis the Season" which has so many great sentiments for the focal point of your card & to use for the insert too. The "roses" surrounding the verse were made from Candis. For those who aren't familiar with these they are small domed discs which come in a variety of colours, prints & finishes to be used as embellishments. I was watching a lady demo these at Taunton show recently & have taken her idea & run with it. They are very simple to make but look pretty & effective don't they?Simply punch a 1" circle of card to use as your base & squidge a large dollop of silicone onto the centre. Curl 2 Candis around a small stick & these form the centre of the rose. Next just take a Candi in one hand & twist using a pair of tweezers with the other. These form the petals so now simply build up the rose working from the centre out. There are no rules, just keep going until it looks right. I made the outer edge flatter by glueing the untwisted edge & tucking under the previous row. The background was stamped with Maganta's Snowflake branch & I've just added a few punched silver holly leaves & crystal glitter to finish. 

Here's a closer look at the flowers

Pop in to Japonica & take a closer look & I'll be happy to talk you through how to make the roses & I few other flowers that popped out of my imagination while I was on a roll!

November Sketch Challenge

Shopping List

Stampendous M178 Poppy Stems

FRCL 026 Francoise Alphabet

Versafine Onyx Black

 Stampendous Detail Clear embossing powder

Sakura Stardust & Gelly Glaze pens

3mm black & red pearls

Black with red polka dot organza ribbon.

Black 5"x 7" card blank

White & red card

All available from:-

www.woodware.co.uk

Your local Exmouth stockist is:-

Japonica 

22 The Parade

Exmouth

EX8 1RW

01395 271739

It's sketch challenge time again & I have stepped away from Christmas this week. As we are so close to Remembrance day & with young lives still being lost In Afghanistan almost daily I just needed to do this card. I have used an older stamp from Stampendous but it's stunningly simple & still available as a cling stamp. The main image has been printed with Versafine & embossed with clear powder. I have then water coloured using the Sakura pens. As you will see I have printed again onto the white layer & at the top of the red layer. The wording at the bottom of the white layer has been achieved using the Francoise Alphabet. I have simply added the polka dot ribbon & finished with the red & black pearls. 

Here's the original sketch so why not play along! Pop into Japonica to see my take on the sketch.