Hogwarts Acceptance Letter

Happy Christmas Eve!!!

Another non-card making post today as thankfully my Christmas related cards are all done. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for presents! I never really feel in a Christmas present sorting mood until work had finished for the holidays so that never leaves me much time. 

Luckily a trip to the shops yesterday was very fruitful, last night I finished making my own version of Mrs Weasley's clock (for a Harry Potter loving friend) and the sewing machine is now busy making a Hogwarts Acceptance Letter for the same friend- hope she loves them as much as I do!

I used a blank 12x12 piece of mdf, painted it matt black and then used Indigo Blu Flitter Glu and foil to do the numbers, distressed edges and the hands. I then printed small pictures of each member of the family and glued those to the hands. 

It's not quite as magical as Mrs Weasley's but it really works!

This is my other creation, a Harry Potter Hogwarts Acceptance Letter, word by word true to the original in the Philosophers Stone but personalised for my friend. I plan to frame it so she can hang it somewhere in her home. 

I tried a practice run a while ago and it worked really well.

Merry Christmas!

I am entering the clock into a new challenge blog I have just found:-
Crafting for all Seasons 'anything but a card'

It's nearly here...

The Christmas holidays have finally arrived (YAY!) and I've already made myself a new years resolution! The Christmas crafting goodies will not be going away this year as I plan to make Christmas cards all year round (trying to make 14 cards in one night after a long day at work including a nativity play was not a great idea!)

I haven't been able to post as much as I would like during November & December but I hope to make up for it now. Today's post is of 3 different advent calendars I've made- 2 using a 'House of Zandra' template I modified and 1 using a fab-u-lous wooden tree from the MDF man!

For the first two, I used the House of Zandra 'crafty drawers' template but made 2 of each piece so that rather than having 12 drawers, I had 24 (enough for a proper advent calendar). For the first one, I made half of the pieces in red card & half in green so that I could mix & match when I put the drawers together. The second one was made completely in lilac. It was a really easy template to use and rather than cutting all the pieces by hand, I measured each of the template pieces and then used my paper trimmer (I may spend some time making up all of the shapes into my Cricut craft room to make it even quicker next time). I put all of the pieces together with super sticky tape arranging the drawers into a red, green, red patten for the first one. I then used some 12x12 paper to decorate each panel before adding the mirror card numbers (cut using my cricut) & the decorations (Dawn Bibby stocking peel-offs using the waste to fill in and add the colour, peel-off snowflakes & mirror card snowflakes cut using the cricut).

The tree came about after I spotted the small star shaped pots in my local Carole's Crafts shop- they were having a 50% off everything sale so the pack of 24 pots was only £2.50 (bargain!). I have had them since the start of the year and wanted to make some kind of advent calendar with them. I was originally planning to mount them onto a circular shape to make a wreath but when I saw the 3d wooden tree from The MDF Man at the Lincoln Sincerely Yours show I knew it was perfect. I had taken the pots with me hoping to find a wooden circle but this was even better- the mdf tree was just £4 too!

I painted the pieces of the tree with a flat green paint and then sponged it with a metallic green paint over the top to add texture. I then attached the pots to the tree with a hot glue gun, putting 3 on each side (I did this with the tree put together to make sure that I didn't get any pots too close together). I then used the lids of the pots as a template to draw the star shape onto 3 different patterned papers to insert into the lids so that the goodies inside can't be seen. I used peel-off numbers in black to number each pot. I then finished the tree by simply adding some red mirror card candi as decorations.

I am entering the advent calendars into a new challenge blog I have just found:-
Crafting for all Seasons 'anything but a card'

winter cheer

Here's another SWALK card made using the digi stamps from the Crafters Companion cd-rom. I coloured this one a while ago so the hair isn't quite as good as it could be but I'm really happy with how the card turned out. Considering I coloured the image a while ago, it all matches really well.

I coloured the digi image with Spectrum Noirs & Promarkers and highlighted aspects such as the bow on the basket with stickles and the pearl necklace with perfect pearls. I used a Kanban mat as a stencil to cut the topper into an unusual shape and then added a pre-cut gold mirror card mat. The backing paper is from a new Papermania 6x6 paper pack and the tartan pattern matched perfectly so I just trimmed it down slightly and matted it onto a 6x6 card blank. I attached the topper and then used another paper sheet from the same 6x6 pad to cut out the poinsettia, stars & holly images that I decoupaged onto the card. I used a little more stickles and perfect pearls to add a highlight, including the freehand squiggles at the bottom.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creative Inspirations 'traditional christmas colours'
Creative Card Crew 'holly or poinsettia'
Songbird Challenges 'merry christmas'
Stampin' for the Weekend 'red'
Totally Gorjuss 'special Christmas'

the cats miaow

I'm back! It's been an absolutely manic few weeks at work and with a load of craft shows (where I've bought lits of new things) & craft fairs (where I've managed to sell a few bits too) I've not been making as much as I'd like! BUT, I've finally made another SWALK card today and have also managed to use up a bit of some Kanban papers that have been in my stash for years (no exaggeration!). Not sure what's wrong with me- I don't tend to do actually using stuff!!!

This was a really quick card to make- I started with a sheet of A4 white card that I folded into an A5 card blank. I then added the metallic Kanban paper, leaving just a small white border. The main image topper was a pre-coloured one from the SWALK cd and I again created the message myself using the verse writer function. I inked the edges of the toppers using 'dusty concord' distress ink and then mounted them onto a dull gold mirror board.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'feminine with a sentiment'
Cutie Pie Challenge Blog 'cute card for a special friend'

purr-fect couple

It's been a seriously manic couple of weeks that seem to have flown by so quickly. I know there will be no let up for a while yet though so just a quick post.

My SWALK cd-rom has been getting some serious work recently! Here's another card made using the pre-coloured toppers, they are more subtle than my own colouring style but I really like the designs. This card is for a slightly unusual wedding card.

I started with an 8x8 white card blank onto which I mounted a Kanban metallic paper, leaving a small white border. I chose a grey pinstripe pattern to mount the toppers onto to echo the idea of a mans wedding suit and then added these to the card. I finished it with 2 groups of 3 gems in opposite corners.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creatalicious 'wedding'
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges 'add a sentiment'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I've been busy colouring this week, using some images from a cd-rom that I've had for a while but have recently re-discovered. I love it when you've forgotten exactly why you bought something and then look through it again and get that whole "ooooooo" again!

Anyway, this is another Christmas card using the Crafters Companion SWALK images.

I started by printing the image at the 4 to a page size, and then coloured it with a mix of promarkers & spectrum noirs. I used a Sakura glitter pen to highlight the snowflakes and then 'white opal' perfect pearls for the small snow blobs. I'm not yet an owner of any die-cutting shapes so I had to cut these out by hand- I used some Kanban mats as the stencil for the patterned paper and coloured image. I didn't have a stencil for the mirror layer so I used the same stencil as the topper and then just cut a little away from the pencil line to create the mat. The tree design paper is from a Dovecraft 'Merry & Bright' 6x6 paper pad which was a bargain last January! The card blank is from Craftwork Cards and already has the fancy edge that matches my chosen mat shape. To add a little extra interest to the plain white base card, I used a snowflake mask and 'picked raspberry' distress ink to stencil the snowflake design.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Polkadoodles 'xmas'
Papertake Weekly 'oh Christmas Tree'
Creative Inspirations 'anything goes'
Graph'It 'alternative xmas colours'
Crafty Catz 'spots & stripes'

snowflake kisses

This is my most recent card, and the start of a bit of a SWALK marathon. Last Christmas, I bought a Crafters Companion triple cd-rom featuring the SWALK images as digis to colour myself and 'Pawfect Pals' themed toppers. This is one of the digi designs that I have coloured myself.

I coloured my digi image with both Spectrum Noirs & Promarkers and added the snow using 'white opal' perfect pearls. I used a Kanban mat as a template to cut the topper into the decorative shape and then mounted it onto a purple mirror card mat that I also hand cut. I cut a larger mat (again using a Kanban mat as a stencil) from a pre-glittered DCWV paper. I wanted to layer the 3 parts onto a Craftwork Cards card blank that has the same shape to the edge as my toppers but I found that it looked a little plain. I therefore, decided to stamp some small snowflakes using a Versamark ink and to use a mix of lilac & blue mica powders to dust over the ink. This has given the base card a subtle sheen.

I also rubbed the versamark ink onto the edge of the card and dusted this with the lilac mica powders too.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Graph'It 'xmas blues & purples'
Daring Cardmakers 'digital'

art deco- red & black

I know that the run up to Christmas is going to be absolutely manic for me both at work and at home, so I'm trying to make the most of half term this week by making as many cards as I can. Over the next couple of months there are nativity plays, pantomimes & everything Christmassy at work and then various shows (so I can buy lots of new goodies) & craft fairs (so I can hopefully sell a few bits & bobs too)!

I was also lucky enough to win a £100 Create & Craft voucher in a Pinterest competition, so I'm doing my best to spend it (suprisingly not that difficult!) and this card uses 2 of the new things I've ordered.

I started with a decoupage topper from the Papermania 'Art Deco' Ultimate Die Cut & Paper pack, which I mounted on to some bright red mirror board from Creata (one of my freebies!). I then took a sheet of black A4 card and folded it to make the base card. I attached the layered topper to the corner of the card and added the 3 Hobby House gems to the corner. I completed the card by adding the paper bow to the corner which is from Craftwork Cards Paper Bows pad (another C&C freebie). The bows are all white/gold & black- so I coloured it with Barn Door & Festive Berries distress ink to match the card better. I attached it to the card and then edged it with 'xmas red' stickles.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creative Card Crew 'sun, moon & stars'
Paper Shelter '2 colours'
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'anything goes'

Blue Christmas

Last Christmas, I got a bargain paper pack from Dovecraft called 'Merry & Bright'- all of the papers are pink & turquoise with Christmas prints- I love them! This is the first card I've really made using them though...

I started by colouring the 'Dressy Ebony' digi stamp from The Greeting Farm which is one of the Twilight themed images I got last week (she is very much Alice). I coloured her using a range of spectrum noirs (skin & hair) and Promarkers (clothes). I added glitter to her shoes, dress & hair flower. I carefully trimmed the image leaving a small white border. I used a Kanban mat as a template to cut out the pink snowflake paper to mat the character onto and then mounted that onto a snowflake embossed turquoise mirror card (new from Creata). I chose a piece of 'Merry & Bright' paper from the 8x8 pack and trimmed it slightly to mat onto the 8x8 square card. I then used 3 chipboard trees (that have been in my stash for years) to pick out the design of the backing paper.

I am much happier with the way my hair turned out on this image too

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Crafting Muskateers 'Christmas'
The Greeting Farm 'Christmas'
Songbird 'Blue Hawaii'

New Grandparents

A friend of mine at work, has just become a grandma/nan for the first time so I've made a card for her this weekend that we can all sign for her and her husband. Her daughter had a little girl, so I've gone a little pink mad!

I started with an 8x8 white square card as I wanted it to be large enough for 15 people to sign. I then chose the topper (from a Lili of the Valley pre-coloured topper set) and the word/message topper (from Kanban). As the word topper had the scalloped edge, I decided to make each corner of the other aspects all different so I used a scallop corner on the other topper before mounting it onto silver mirror card to match the Kanban topper. I then chose 2 pink patterned papers from the Papermania pastel spots & stripes 6x6 paper pack and again, gave them 2 slightly different size of rounded corner. I layered the papers on to the base card, and then added the toppers using double sided tape for the word one and foam pads for the image. I then chose 2 heart buttons for the white spaces and added the peel-off message.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Love to Create 'pink'
Papertake Weekly '2 by 2' (2 toppers, 2 papers, 2 buttons)
Stampin' for the Weekend 'anything goes'
Catch the Bug 'think pink'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'
Totally Gorjuss 'wings & things' (the word topper talks about angels- hope this is enough to fit the theme)

on top of the world...

I just had to make the most of the sunny weather this weekend to get some cross stitch done as I'm desperate to finish my Hogwarts crest that I started back in July but it's so detailed, I can only do it in perfect daylight and that's hard to come by most of the time right now! That means that I've only had time for 1 card, but I think it's a goodie...

It's another really simple card made using 'Gorjuss' products from DoCrafts that I've had for ages. I started with an 8x8 white card blank onto which I matted some striped 'gorjuss' paper. I took a sheet of blue 6x6 paper (also from the gorjuss range) and stamped the image using just a black memento ink. I also stamped the message which is from the same stamp set. I used a stencil to trace the stars onto double sided adhesive sheet and then cut them out with non-stick scissors! I added these stars to the card and then used gilding flakes over the top of them. When I went to mount the topper onto the stripe paper, it needed something to make it stand out so I added a layer of black mirror card which I distressed the edges of using sandpaper. I rubbed in a circular motion giving the loopy edge to the distressing.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Papertake Weekly 'anything goes'
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'anything goes'
Crafty Catz 'anything goes'
Totally Gorjuss 'stars'
Catch the Bug 'anything goes'

How to break a heart

This week, I ordered some new digi stamps from The Greeting Farm. I have one of their rubber stamp images 'skater Ian' but this is the first time I've ordered digis from them. I saw them used on a card on Pinterest and had to get them!

I ordered 8 different digis, 7 of them Twilight in style. This is the first card I've made using them (there will be lots!!!)

I started by colouring the 3 digi images (Edward, Bella & Jacob- not their proper digi stamp names) with a huge range of spectrum noirs & promarkers! I tried a new hair colouring technique that was showcased on the Graph'It blog and even though it's not perfect, I think it looks better than my previous attempts!

When I had coloured the digi stamps, I carefully cut them out (they are quite simple) and then started to put the card together. I decided to make an easel card as the characters didn't seem to quite fit onto a landscape A5 card and I didn't want to use an 8x8 card for this project. I used a DCWV 12x12 paper from the 'Immortal Love' stack to create the stopper and to provide a background for the characters. The stopper is pre-designed & glittered...

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Smudgy Antics 'broken heart'

Penny's Paper Crafting Challenges 'easel card'

Stampin' for the Weekend 'fairies & fantasy'

Polkadoodles 'more than 1 fold'

Spot & Stripe Christmas

The second card I made this weekend was a Christmas one using Papermania 'festive spots & stripes' and a pre-coloured 'Lili of the Valley' topper.

I started with a 6x6 white card blank, to which I attached a pre-cut patterned paper shape from the 'spots & stripes' range. I then took a Lili of the Valley topper and mounted it onto red mirror card. I then added stitching detail to both the topper and the patterned paper shape using a black promarker. I mounted the topper onto the card with double sided tape. The topper had a bow design on the 'tree' so I decided to add a real ribbon to it instead and then added the buttons to the right edge of the card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
The Pink Elephant 'dots & stripes'
The Paper Shelter 'stitching'
Cute Card Thursday 'ribbons'
Totally Gorjuss 'traditional christmas colours'

Autumnal Oak

This weekend there don't seem to have been enough daylight hours for me to do everything I want to! I love winter and the dark nights but there are lots of jobs I want to do that require daylight and it's just gone too soon at the minute. My Hogwarts crest cross stitch is not going to be finished any time soon!

Anyway, no cross stitch but plenty of card making. Here's my first card made this weekend

I've been busy on Pinterest looking for some winter themed art for an activity with the kids at work and that partly led to the inspiration for this card. It combines lots of different techniques and products.

I started with a 6x6 white card blank. I inked the edges with 'spiced marmalade' distress ink and then added 'gathered twigs' to some edges. I trimmed a piece of DCWV autumn leaf paper to fit the card and then mounted it with double sided tape. I stamped my Sheena Douglass 'majestic oak' stamp with a brown memento ink onto some plain white cardstock. I then brayered the background using 'squeezed lemonade', 'spiced marmalade' & 'barn door' distress inks. The stamp is simply the branches of the tree so I used a mix of promarkers (named) and spectrum noirs (numbered) to add the leaves. I worked on a small area at a time as I wanted the alcohol inks to blend. I put down my lightest colour GB1 down first and then added dots of GB6, GB10, OR2, Crimson & Burnt Orange. I used the GB1 ink to blend the colours in. It looked a little odd at the beginning but after sitting for a while, blended well. I then mounted my tree onto some brown mirror card and added it to the card.

Here's a close up of the tree so that you can see the blending now it has settled

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Love to Create 'autumn colours'
Creative Inspirations 'favourite stamp brand' (Sheena Douglass)
Crafty Little Fairies 'autumn colours'
Graph'It 'autumn colours'

Footie Fan

I only managed to make 2 cards this weekend and as my first one took quite a while (find it here) this one was super quick.

I started by inking the edges of an 8x8 white card blank using 'mown grass/lawn' distress ink. I then chose the main topper, which is a pre-coloured image from Lili of the Valley. The topper measured 12cm and the card was 20cm so I cut the grass paper (DCWV boyhood stack) to 15cm sqaure and the football paper (SMIRK 'for him') to 18cm square. I mounted the papers onto the card using double sided tape and then attached the topper with 3d foam.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Cutie Pie 'cute boys card'
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges '2 or more patterned papers'

Truly, Madly, Deeply- Songbird Challenge Blog DT call

When I saw that the Songbird Challenge Blog was looking for some new DT members, I knew that I had to give it a go. I love music and I love crafting so it's a blog I love! Here's the card that I've made for the DT call... (I've even managed to sneak a song title into it)

This card reflects my crafting style in many different ways. It has a broadly CAS style, includes stamping & colouring, has a little bit of sparkle and isn't your run of the mill design. It also has a technique that I'd not tried before today. I love to try out new things & always have a wide range of crafting projects on the go (at the moment it's cards, scrapbooking, cross stitch (picture & phone cover), wax crayon melting & shoe decoration)!

I started with a square of black card that I had cut from an A4 sheet to 19cm. I used my Inkadinkado circle stamping gear and my new 'Halloween' stamps to create the skull design around the card. I stamped using Indigo Blu 'Flitterglu' so that I could use my gilding flakes on them. This is the first time I've used the Flitterglu even though I've had it for a while. It worked brilliantly.



I then stamped the goblet (from Sheena Douglass' 'a little bit magical' stamps) onto card using a memento ink (so I could Promarker it) and onto acetate using stazon. I used 3 green promarkers to create the liquid inside the glass on the card version and then painted silver stencil paint onto the back of the acetate goblet so that when I layered them together, it looked more like a realistic glass. I stamped the potions bottles onto card and again coloured them with a range of promarkers before adding glossy accents to the glass areas. I attached the goblet & bottles to the black card with double sided tape and then stamped the 3 word sets to look as if they were coming out of the goblet. I stamped them in a Versamark ink and then used silver & green mica powders to colour them.

I am entering this card into the following challenges (as well as the DT call):-
Songbird Challenge Blog 'DT call'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'
Love to Create 'Clean & Simple'
Creative Inspirations 'Clean & Simple'
Graph' It 'no characters'

Quoth the Raven

I always love to buy Halloween themed papers (esp. DCWV) but here in the UK we rarely give cards for Halloween. This means that I have lots of beautiful papers I rarely use and only one friend that would really appreciate a card of a gothic style. When I saw the Graph'It challenge for this week, it gave me a great excuse to use them.

I again started with an 8x8 white card blank. I cut down a piece of DCWV 'Midnight Spell' 8x8 paper to fit the card and then stamped around the edge of it with my Imkadinkado gears system and a new branch stamp from a set called 'Halloween'. I stamped with a versamark ink and then embossed it with a black glitter embossing powder. It is difficult to see in the photograph but in real life adds an extra dimension because the printed paper is flat black. I chose a Saturated Canary digi stamp and coloured it using my promarkers. I trimmed it leaving a small white border and mounted this onto the card. I used a star punch with some black glitter paper to make the embellishments for the card and then wrapped some black & white bakers twine around the edge of the card, adding the skull bead.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Smudgy Antics 'embellishments'
Creative Inspirations 'anything goes'
Paper Shelter 'sun, moon or stars'
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'anything goes'
Cute Card Thursday 'hip to be square'
Graph'It 'Halloween colours'
Daring Cardmakers 'signature style' (8x8 square card, CAS, stars)

Abbey Road

A while ago I bought a bargain My Minds Eye kit valued at £20 for just a fiver! This is the first card I've made using the kit which contained 12x12 papers, die-cuts, brads, chipboard embellishments & ribbon. I've used a few of the elements to make this card perfect for a little boy.

It was a very quick card to make, starting with an 8x8 white card blank. I cut a square of My Minds Eye 'Abbey Road' patterned paper, removing the zig-zag edge and attached this onto the card. I chose 2 tree die-cuts from the kit and attached these to the card with 3d foam. The car, van & traffic lights are all self-adhesive chipboard embellishments but they were not very sticky so I added my own double sided tape to attach them securely. I chose 3 brads to add an extra decorative element but did not want the backs to be seen on the inside of my card so I cut off the 'legs' and attached the brad tops with 3d foam pads.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Papertake Weekly 'child's play'
Crafty Catz 'men/boys'
Stampin' for the Weekend 'back to school' (this card would be perfect for a vehicle loving boy I have in my new class)
Polkadoodles 'one for the boys'

Inspired by Pinterest

Over the Summer, I may not have been doing much crafting but I have discovered the fabulous world of Pinterest. I've spent hours finding all manner of both school and crafting ideas that I'm hoping to use soon. This card is inspired by one of the first ideas I saw using a page from a book and some tippex. I tried printing a digi image straight onto the book page which worked well but when I wanted to blank out the skin colours, I didn't really have anything that would work so I've kind of cheated to make my card below...

I bought a cheap copy of Twilight from a car boot (30p) as I knew I could use it when I finally get the Visible Image 'Edward' & 'Isabella' stamps (hopefully when I go to the NEC in November), but it came in handy for this card too. I said that I'd cheated slightly and that's because I printed my digi stamp onto plain card and onto a page from the book and then I paper pieced the skirt rather than working directly onto the book page. After I had coloured my image (using promarkers & spectrum noirs), I carefully cut around it and then drew around the image on another page from the book. I then used the tippex to highlight the edge so that my image would stand out when I stuck it on top. This meant that I didn't have to be too careful with the tippex as my image would cover any mess I made. I used a ruler to create a neat torn edge on the book page and then mounted this onto some dark red glitter card and then mounted that onto a dark red base card made from an A4 sheet. I finished the card by making some paper roses from 3 circles cut from 2 other pages of the book, cutting and spiral and then twisting it around my pokey tool. I secured each flower with some glue and added a dark red gem to the centre. I then dipped each flower into some glue and then dark red glitter to give them a glittery edge.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Catch the Bug 'anything goes'

Papertake Weekly 'anything goes'

Totally Gorjuss 'anything goes'

and

The Paper Shelter 'DT Call' (to see other examples of my colouring, click on either the 'digi stamps' or 'colouring' labels)

Krafty Christmas

I went to my local 'The Range' store last weekend to look at (and buy obviously) the new ranges from DoCrafts- I always know that I'm going to love their stuff. This is the first card I've made using my purchases from the 'Forever Friends Kraft Christmas' range.

This card took minutes to make in reality but I'm really happy with it. I started with a 6x6 white card blank which I mounted a dark blue stripe paper from the 'Ultimate Paper & Die-Cut Pack' onto. I then cut a piece of kraft card to a 12cm square and embossed it with a snowflake design. The embossing didn't come out as much as I would have liked so I carefully sanded it back and then rubbed it with a white ink to make the snowflakes stand out more. The topper came straight from the die-cut pack and I mounted that onto the card too. I finished the card by adding the 'Midnight Blue' Stickles dots into the opposite corners. This isn't a colour combo I've really used before but I'm loving it and can see I'll be using it more often.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Crafty Cardmakers 'snow & ice'

Here Come the Boys 'Blue Christmas in September'

Cutie Pie Challenge Blog 'Cute Christmas in September'

Creative Inspirations 'favourite colour combo'

Don't Blink...

I've been waiting patiently (or not) for the Melt Pot I ordered to arrive all the way from America since the start of August, and it's finally here. I've tried melting normal embossing powders in it but it doesn't seem to be working for me (anyone got any tips) and I've only got 1 colour of UTEE, so I've only been able to make one more Doctor Who card to add to my collection. The 'Weeping Angels' are my favourite Doctor Who monster though so I've been dying to make this card...

I made the angels first by melting Platinum UTEE in my Melt Pot and then pouring it into my Weeping Angel silicone mould (from Lakeland- meant to be for baking). When they were cool, I removed them from the mould and rubbed the top with a little gilding wax. The background of the card is made on an 8x8 white card blank and the scene is die-cut using an x-cut die set. I stamped the message 'Don't Blink' in a mixed font to match the Tardis & Dalek card I had made previously. The UTEE toppers are very light so I simply attached them to the card with red super sticky tape.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creative Card Crew 'things with wings'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

Work in Progress

It's amazing how 6 weeks off work seems to mean less crafting than when I'm at work 5 days a week and only have Sundays to play! But, I'm back at work now and so today has been a crafty day. Yesterday I decided to tidy my craft room (normally that ends in disaster but this time it worked out quite well) and I now have a 'Work in Progress' box for storing my printed digis that need colouring (rather than a table covered in things and no room to work!). I'm trying to colour at least 1 image per week and this is today's. As you'll see from the last photo, it's ridiculous how many colours I need to finish an image (+ flock & puffy white paint for snow!)

Winter Wishes

This is the first Christmas card I've made in 2013 and even though I absolutely love winter time, it does feel a bit odd making Christmas cards in the middle of summer! I'm really happy with this card though- it's a bit different to my usual style...

I started with the beautiful 'Lily of the Valley' topper and worked the rest of my card around it. It's a very simple topper with limited colours so I chose to go for the icy blues & greys colour scheme. I chose 2 matching DCWV papers that both had a hint of glitter and then 3 shades of cardstock from DCWV pastel mat-stack. I also used some Bazzil Bling silver cardstock to mount the topper onto.

I worked exclusively with odd cm sized squares so started by cutting all of my different cardstock. The striped square is cut to 19cm and used to mat the 8x8 base card. The paisley design card is cut to 15cm, plain blue to 11cm and plain grey to 9cm. I edged all of the card pieces with my black promarker to make them stand out from each other. The silver Bazzil Bling mat was cut to 13cm square.

I laid out all of my cardstock pieces onto my base card but I felt that the topper needed some more interest to it so I tried something that I've not done before and after a bit of trial and error, it worked quite well. I used the grand callibur to emboss a swirly snowflake design onto the topper above the penguin image. I then wanted to repeat this at the bottom of the card so I repeated the process. This meant that my original embossing got a bit squashed by the rollers as it went through the second time and lost its definition. Turns out that I needed to leave the bit that I'd already embossed hanging out of the mat so that it didn't squash that bit. I carefully lined up the embossing and tried it again and it thankfully worked pretty well. To add a bit of extra definition to the embossing, I gently edged it with some silver gilding wax using exactly the same method I use for distress inks but on paper rather than my ink blending mat.

I attached all of the layers to my base card and then used 2 different xcut snowflake punches with the darkest blue DCWV cardstock to punch some snowflakes to add as the finishing touch to the card.

This card definitely has more layers than my usual style but I think it's still quite simple thanks to the clean lines of the layers. Embossing onto toppers is definitely something I'll be trying again (now I know how to do it properly!).

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Paper Shelter 'punches & dies'

Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges 'dry embossing'

Lili's Little Fairies 'Christmas in August'

Cute Card Thursday 'Die-ing to punch'

Here Come the Boys 'Only Squares'

Soft Kitty

I've been busy in the craft room this week and my newest card is this pastel coloured beauty!!! I don't work with pastel colours very often but I think they suit this super cute Saturated Canary image.

I started by choosing my striped backing paper so that I could match all of the other colours to it. It's a paper from a Papermania 6x6 'spots & stripes' paper pack. I then had some Create & Craft pastel glitter card that was a bargain from Wilko's a few months/years ago and has never been used so I matched this to the colours of the striped paper. I cut the glitter card into 9cm squares and attached this into the corners of an 8x8 white base card using rulers to try and get them as straight as possible. I put 3d foam into the white spaces between the glitter card to attach the backing paper so that I didn't have to worry about it not sticking to the glitter. I then chose my Promarker colours to again match the papers, using Buttercup, Orchid, Pastel Pink & Mint Green as the main colours to colour the fabulous Saturated Canary image (I love every image on that site). After colouring the image, I trimmed it leaving a small white border and attached it to the card. I then added the double layered Prima flower into the mint green corner. I finished the card by stamping the bunting from Little Claire stamps onto some scrap card and then colouring with the same 4 promarkers. I glued it onto some thin white string and then hung it from the card, sticking it behind the pink glitter card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Saturated Canary 'set your creativity free'

Creatilicious 'I love my pet'

Polkadoodles 'birthday girl'

Crafty Catz 'pastel colours'

Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

Creative Card Crew 'banner/pennant'

Papertake Weekly 'anything goes'

Creative Inspirations 'something old & something new' (new bunting stamps, old glitter card)

T'wit T'woo

We've got a new challenge over at Card Makin Mamas for August and it's a nice simple one (I think)! All you need to do is make a card using just 3 colours- BLACK, WHITE + 1 OTHER and link it up to our challenge here. The prize is a mystery box of goodies from head mama Jess so come and take a look. Here's my DT card using BLACK, WHITE & BRONZE.

It's a really simple card starting with a sheet of A4 white card that I folded to make an A5 base card. I used different sized feather stamps from Sheena Douglass to stamp the base card to create my own design. I used a black VersaFine inkpad, double stamping to get the grey tone as well as the pure black, and a bronze VersaColour inkpad. The main owl image is a beautiful Indigo Blu stamp that I got at a show recently- it has amazing detail and stamps beautifully. I stamped it and embossed with black embossing powder and then coloured the image with 3 different shades of bronze Cosmic Shimmer iridescent watercolour paints. I cut out my Owl image as close to the embossing as I could and then used 3d foam to mount it onto a double layered Kanban mat.

This card shows that with a beautiful stamp, it's easy to make a fantastic card. Now show us what you can do!

Ooo Wee Ooo #2

I am super excited about this card for many different reasons! #1- I LOVE Doctor Who, #2- rumours are that the new Doctor will be announced in a tv special on Sunday night! & #3- the dalek & tardis on this card are my own hand-made embellishments (I tried a new idea and it worked really well!)

At the moment, Lakeland stores have a new range of Doctor Who baking supplies e.g. cake toppers, cake cases and the most awesome cake pan for making a 3d Dalek cake (is it ok to have that as a cake for your 30th birthday???). They also have dusting stencils, ice cube moulds & chocolate moulds (these are the 3 things I've bought for crafting with). The moulds are all made of silicone so are great for a wide range of crafting products. The chocolate moulds are shallow and the ice cube ones quite deep. For the toppers on this card, I've used the shallow chocolate moulds. I don't have a melt pot (yet!) but I still wanted to have a go at using my embossing powders in the moulds so I did it layer by layer with a versamark pen! The silicone mould can happily take the heat of the heat gun and actually stays warm for enough time to be able to re-powder without re-inking every time. Because this method took quite a long time, my toppers are very thin (paper thin) but this does mean that they are very lightweight and easy to attach with 3d foam pads. Once I had made them, I rubbed them with a little gilding wax as the back of the embossing powders are always dull and then arranged them onto my backing card (pearlescent design from Kanban kit). I then used some typography style clear stamps that have been in more stash for years (maybe decades) to stamp the 'ooo wee ooo' message in a pearlescent platinum brilliance ink so it isn't too obvious but is definitely there. I then mounted it all onto a 6x6 white card blank.

I sense a whole set coming on as the mould also has K-9, a cyberman head, a sontaran head and (my favourite) weeping angel! Looking to get a bargain melt pot first though so it's a bit quicker to do- anyone know where I can get a bargain???

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Songbird 'favourite things'

Creative Inspirations 'anything goes'

Cute Card Thursday 'anything goes'

Acceptance card

I recently made some invitations for some friends who are having a Naming Ceremony (non-religious Christening) for their baby girl. I also needed to make an acceptance card to say that I was going! I decided to make a card that matched the invitation in colour choice and theme but was completely different. The invitations used the same butterflies & flowers but they were die-cut from the card leaving a cut out design behind. This is my variation of the idea-

I started with an 8x8 white card blank and 4 sheets of pastel DCWV mat stack cardstock (2 yellow, 2 pink). I took one of each colour of card and embossed it with a star design using my Grand Callibur and then inked the edges in the opposite colourway using distress inks (squeezed lemonade on the pink card & picked raspberry on the yellow). I mounted these onto the card overlapping one corner. I then used my cricut to cut out the flower & butterfly toppers from the other piece of each colour of card. I arranged the toppers before sticking them down and then added the as the butterfly trails. I finished the card by stamping the 'acceptance' sentiment using Brilliance pearlescent pink ink and alphabet clear stamps.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

Creative Card Crew 'baby'

Cutie Pie 'pretty in pink'

Paper Shelter 'anything goes'

Nevaeh- red, white & blue

Today has been a very exciting day here in the UK! It's taken 77 years but finally a British man has won the Wimbledon singles title- it seemed appropriate to make a patriotic card!

I started with an 8x8 card blank which I put through the Grand Callibur to emboss the star design. I inked the edges with Barn Door distress ink and then Salty Ocean on top. I coloured the Nevaeh digi stamp with my promarkers & spectrum noirs sticking to the red, white & blue colour scheme. I mounted her onto the card with 3d foam and then added the 3 paper flowers with the glittery centres to the edge of the card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Papertake Weekly 'anything goes'
Clear It Out 'make someone's day sparkly'
Creative Inspirations 'red, white & blue'
Cute Card Thursday 'stars &/or stripes'
Saturated Canary 'celebration'
Polkadoodles 'make your own background'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'