Thursday 28 March 2013

Around the World


Shopping List
Peel offs Safari Silhouette 1 & 2 in  black
(92830 & 92831)
Woodware Crumpled Newsprint Kraft paper
Colorbox Queue Pumpkin Patch & Rose Petals 
Leonie Em Maidenhair Fern punch
Card Candi Tiger
Magenta 12 x 12 paper Emotions- Energy
All available from:-
Your local Exmouth stockist is:-
Japonica
22 The Parade
Exmouth
EX8 1RW
01395 271739

 It will soon be time to start thinking of holidays again (if you aren't already!) & to get us in the mood our theme this week is Around the World. Now before we go any further I have a confession to make! I cheated! The stepper card I'm using this week I bought at a recent craft show already cut & scored for me. Why re-invent the wheel when it's all done for you?! Of course a stepper card is very easy to produce from a sheet of A4 card using your bone folder &  craft knife & if you've not come across one before just e mail me & I'll gladly send you a template. 
I used the direct to paper technique to produce the background for the peel offs using a mix of the 2 Queue sets to give that "Sunrise over the Serengeti" effect. I have used the Pumpkin Patch set to sponge the card blank & to age the Crumpled Newsprint paper which I have torn & used as  background for my peel off pieces. To enhance the various areas of the stepper card I have punch some "branches" using the ever versatile Maidenhair Fern punch ( you may remember I used it in the Shining Silver theme a few weeks ago where it looked very different) & the Magenta paper. Just to add some finishing touches to our safari theme I have added some Candis which come in some great animal prints.     


Here's a similar design which I made for my uncle to cheer him up on his recent spell in hospital.

Friday 22 March 2013

Lavender & Lace


Shopping List
Stampendous CRP188 Garden Gal 
SSCL1123 Fairy Queen
Versafine Imperial Purple
Colorbox Misty Meadow
Sakura pencils
Self adhesive lace
Crocheted flowers
S/A pearls
Feathers
Lilac A5 card blank
Ivory & purple card
All available from:-
Your local stockist is:-
Japonica
22 The Parade
Exmouth
EX8 1RW
01395 271739
This lovely lady comes from Stampendous' new Spring stamp collection & I just knew I had to have it! Soo elegant & nostalgic & begging to be used for this week's theme (chosen by me before I saw this stamp I swear!) Lavender & Lace. I've stamped with Versafine onto a die cut oval of ivory card & coloured with Sakura coloured pencils. I've pleated the lace around the oval  which gives a charming frame to the print. The background has been printed using one of the delicate flower icons from the Stampendous "Fairy Queen" set softly sponged around the edges. Now simply layer the background onto dark purple card & attach to card blank before adding the printed image. Add some crocheted flowers,more lace, buttons, feathers & pearls to finish.  

Wednesday 20 March 2013

Easter Tree


Well we all have a Christmas tree why can't we have an Easter tree? I've had one of sorts for years & after this long, miserable winter we've just had it's nice to do something fun & pretty to welcome spring. You may spy the cupcakes (Mr. Frosty was heard to mutter "Don't know about about cupcakes but I can see a fruitcake!!" Charming!!) & recognised them as one of Jane Gill's big Singles stamps from a few years ago. Stamped onto shrink plastic & coloured lightly with coloured pencils they make a great decoration. Well I like my Easter tree, what do you think?  

Saturday 16 March 2013

Spring Blooms


Shopping List
FRCL226 Flower Medley
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue & Sunshine Yellow
Colorbox Queue  Misty Meadow
Felt brads
Blue organza ribbon
2" Label punch
8" x 8" card blank
Yellow & blue linen card
Light weight white card for stamping
All  available from:-
Your local stockist is:-
Japonica
22 The Parade
Exmouth
EX8 1RW
01395 271739

Hopefully spring is just around the corner so let's have some bright spring blooms this week from Francoise Read's new set of stamps Flower Medley. This set has just oodles of pretty flower shapes & the larger ones have a nice sentiment running through them. My outside layer has been softly sponged using the Misty Meadow set & then randomly stamped with some of the small flowers & the sentiment. This was then layered onto yellow & blue card  before attaching to the card blank. The inner layer was achieved in much the same way with some heavier sponging & larger flowers & don't forget to tie the ribbon before attaching to the card. Now stamp the largest flowers, twice yellow & twice blue before cutting out & giving a little sculpting. Attach a felt brad to the centre of each flower before securing to design with glue dots. The leaves have been stamped using the green pad from Misty Meadow. Punch a tag & print the sentiment in yellow & attach to the bow using narrow ribbon of the same colour. Happy spring!

Wednesday 6 March 2013

New pages to browse!

I've been busy updating my blog today & you'll find some new pages to browse if you just go to the left hand margin & look under all my links! Have a look!

Monday 4 March 2013

For a Special Mother- March Sketch Challenge


Shopping List
Stampendous SSC191 Thanks Mom
Colorbox Queue Misty Meadow
Detail white embossing powder
Liquid Pearls Lavender Lace & Hydrangea
Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender
White A5 hammer card blank
Lilac card
All available from:-
Your local Exmouth stockist is :-
Japonica 
22 The Parade
Exmouth
EX8 1RW
01395 271739
 Dies used in this design available from Japonica

It's time for the sketch challenge of the month & as we're so near to Mother's Day what better focus for our design this week. I have used one of my favourite Stampendous clear sets & quite an old one now but I often find myself reaching for it for all manner of reasons. As you can see it has some lovely wording plus a whole host of little elements to use for many occasions.

I began by embossing the strip at the bottom of the sketch with white embossing powder & then sponging with the Misty Meadow set before layering onto lilac card. I have used the flower corner at the top left hand corner of the set to stamp by turning it alternately to form a border. I also sponged around the edges of the card blank in soft green. The sentiment has been stamped onto a die cut oval using the Brilliance pad & then layered onto a lilac die cut piece. For this simple design simply add some Liquid Pearls & a die cut swirl to embellish

  
Here's a closer look at the flower border

Here's the original sketch why not play along. As always you can see my design on display at Japonica along with past weeks designs too. Why not pop in & take a closer look!