Messy Water Colouring

Hi Everybody,

Today's card is so lovely and yet easy to do and you don't need any painting skills to achieve it.

And because the dies are going to cut out the flowers you don't even need to stay within the lines.

This is pink and yellow and the two mix for a lovely peach shade

Let the video show you how to create this card and experiment with the colour blends that you like 

There is nothing neat and tidy about this and yet it looks really pretty and I am sure that you will be so pleased with yourself once you have tried it.

The colours in the video are blue and lilac and I love that combination especially with the green.
The addition of the sequins is the finishing touch and they are a lucky and very inexpensive find on Amazon.

I have used the dies and stamps from my very own "Christina Collection" that is available with Craft Stash

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Coloured Leafy Embossing Folder

Hi Everybody,

Yesterday I showed you some cards made with the new embossing folders that have been added to the "Christina Collection"

Today I am adding the video to the first one and for this I have used water colours and gilding flakes for a really pretty look to the card.

Because it is not too flowery it would be suitable for the male members we need to make cards for.

But you can always dress it up anyway you like with flowers, ribbons and pearls !!

I have given you a couple of tips in the video about Gilding Flakes and the main one is that they are very fly away.  Don't use them near open widows or a fan or you will be finding them everywhere.

It is easier once opened to put them into a larger container because they do swell up quite a lot once they air gets to them. It only looks a small amount in the pots they come in but there is really a lot and it will go along way. There are many different mixes as well as the plain gold or silver so have a look and see what you like 

I hope you enjoy the video and will give the flakes a try. They will give you a luxury look to any of your designs.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Creative Stamping 49 - Christmas Sparkle

Hi Everybody,

The new Creative Stamping magazine will be on sale tomorrow and there is a huge A4 stamp set with it full of beautiful Christmas images for you to colour

In the video I have tried to show you that you can use this set for birthdays too and so it would make lovely winter cards for any members of your family and friends

Creative Stamping 49 - Christmas Sparkle 

The video shows me using some Cosmic Shimmer Iridescent Pigment and I have had this for a long time.

 So little is used each time and it goes a long way. The little applicator brush comes with the pots and there are six different colours in the pack.

It gives a really shimmery look to your cards and is so quick and easy to use.

I hope you enjoy the video 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

New Pretty Quick Dies ...

Hi Everybody,

I have been really busy this week with some of the newest dies from Craft Stash. These are part of their Pretty Quick range and these will be on sale TOMORROW on the Craft Stash website.

But these videos will give you a preview of what there is and some ideas of what you can do with them.  I am showing you one card from each collection.

The first one is this Pretty Quick Stained Glass Robin   and in the video I have given you several ideas that you may like to try.

This one is my favorite and I simply used the die cut, done in gold card, as it is and added it to some white card with a Distress Ink effect added

I then coloured behind the Robin with alcohol markers and then added another gold die cut over the top.

For the video  Pretty Quick Stained Glass Wise Men   I used the die cut as a stencil to create a soft pastel card.

But the card shown here is how to keep them simple and easy to make .. no techniques just gold die cuts and white card for an elegant look to your Christmas card

This was the one I created from making a stamp with the die
with the Pretty Quick Stained Glass Candle

This is a soft water colour and I really liked this one once it was done.

I shall keep this one to send to someone over the Christmas period

And last but not least for this card I  used the
 Pretty Quick Stained Glass Angel  to create this card with a stencilled background

So there you have four videos to view and the dies will be on sale tomorrow .. Friday ... with Craft Stash

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Easy Water Coloured Card

Hi Everybody,

Today I am adding a short video on how I made this card and if you are new to water colouring it is a very easy one to start off with.

 The stamp set is from Clearly Besotted and there are matching dies that you can buy.

The links to the products are at the bottom of the page

I have simply used a masking technique to get my sheep in a row and I have used Gansai Tambi Water Colours

The green mat was just to accentuate the grass and the sky was added with a homemade edge to some white card .... and you can see how much it has been used in the past. A great card for the men in your life

So I hope you enjoy the video ...  Feeling Sheepish Water Coloured Card 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Feeling Sheepish

Gansai Tambi Water Colours

A4 Adhesive Foam

Water Colour Card

InLinkz.com

Two new magazines

Hi Everybody,

So here I am with two new magazines to show you and they are this months Simply Cards & Papercraft 163 and Die Cutting Essentials 24 ... both have fabulous free gifts attached that will help your crafting goodies to grow

The gift that is free with this months SC&P 163 is called Life is Sweet and it has a large corner die and a stamp set that will all work together.

In this post there are two links ... one to the video and the other direct to the page to purchase the magazine

For this card I used the strawberry plant and water coloured them with Gansai Tambi paints

The sentiment is stamped and embossed in gold onto some parchment with a little bee added to the edge.

The video will give you some more ideas and I hope you will enjoy it ... Simply Cards and Papercraft 163 

If you wanted to buy the magazine then you will find it here ... SC&P 163 Life is Sweet  and it is full of tips, information and step by steps on how to create the cards

The next video is  Die Cutting Essentials 24  - Mix and Matt Nesting Die Set

A very useful addition to your growing die collection and one I am sure you will make lots of good use of.

The link to the die set is Mix and Matt Die Set




Both mags are well worth a coffee break as you have some "me"  time to browse the pages Enjoy !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Creative Stamping 43 - Sea View Collection.

Hi Everybody,

Tomorrow sees the sale of the new  Creative Stamping 43   magazine and with it is a fabulous collection of stamps. The link will take you to the order page

Each month a different designer will be featured and this month it is Sheena Douglass with the Mermaid and the Message in a Bottle 

I have kept all my cards to sea and sand water colours with Gansai Tambi and had a lot of fun creating them. 

In the video ... 

Creative Stamping 43 - Sea View Collection

 I give you some ideas of how I used this set and show another way using one stamp as a background

They will make cards for any age group ... male or female and there are some lovely sentiments in the collection also

So get out your colours and have a little play time for yourself as you create some really lovely cards.

And look out for Creative Stamping next month when another designer will be featured 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

I Know .. I Know ...

Hi Everybody,

I know it's not Christmas but this image is one that has been sitting on my desk and so I thought I would add a little water colour to her and make her into a card.

I have used some of the card stack that I bought from the £££shop as a layer on both of the base cards

The background to my image is created with a light water colour wash and then the stars added with a stencil and embossing paste

The bears have been coloured with Gansai Tambi water colours and then I added glue pen and glitter to the hats and stocking tops

The one on the left is slightly different colours for bear, mouse and background but the stars are done the same way.

On both of the card bases I rounded two opposite corners.

Both panels are cut with a stitched border die from the Stitched and Pierced Collection  from Craft Stash and there are lots of shapes for you to choose from

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Bird Crazy

Hi Everybody,

I sat and water coloured this fun card in a moment of peace and I really enjoyed the process.

I used a number of techniques to get the background and I like the end result

First I ink smooshed three shades of Distress Inks onto some water colour card and spritzed it with water to lift some of the colour.

I then inked through a stencil with a darker shade to get the circles pattern onto the card on the left side


I added Tonic Studios Embellishment Mousse in silver through a different patterned stencil on the right side and allowed that to dry.

I cut this out with a stitched edge die and added it to a top folded white base card

The bird, which is from the Tim Holtz Bird Crazy Collection,  was water coloured with Gansai Tambi and I hand drew the pattern onto the bird.  I added Glossy Accents to the eyes and then mounted him onto some foam pads.

The sentiment was heat embossed onto some parchment and then added to another circle in white. And finally I dotted some sequins around the card ... Cute or what ????

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Bird Crazy	Water Colour Card	Gansai Tambi Water Colours	Tonic Studios - Embellishment Mousse
Puerto Rico Stencil	Stitched and Pierced Rectangles

InLinkz.com

Papercraft Essentials145 Safari Friends

Hi Everybody,

I have such a lot of videos to add for you this week and so there is no space to do a Water Colour Wednesday card today. 

Instead I have the latest issue of Papercraft Essentials to share with you and the video will give you some fun ideas on using this stamp and embossing folder.

There are lots more ideas with hints and tips inside the magazine and many more card ideas that you may like to try.

The magazine and gift will be in the shops tomorrow the 6th April and you can find it in selected supermarkets and craft shops or from WHSmiths.

Also direct from Moremags  for either the mag or to take out a subscription to your favorite one.

The video can be found here at ...

 Papercraft Essentials 145 (PE145) - Safari Friends

There are so many things that you can do with this fun stamp set and it will be suitable for lots of age groups.

I fussy cut the characters out for several of my cards and added them with foam pads underneath to give depth to my design.

But you could stamp the scene direct to card and sue the masking techniques instead.

But whatever you do have fun

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Sunflowers

Hi Everybody,

This image is from the same collection  as the poppies and both are from the Just Inklined CD called the Next Big Thing

This one has been coloured with Gansai Tambi water colours with a faux stitched edge around the circle.

Faux Stitching was a page that I added to my website many years ago but it seems to be having a bit of a comeback at present.

To the flowers I added some Glossy Accents and this tilted photo shows you a little more of the effect.

The yellow ribbon and the enamel dots jut added that finale touch and the finished card is a 6" square.

I mated the image onto yellow and then brown card and then glued the lot to a white base card

The Happy Birthday sentiment has been trimmed into  a banner and added with foam pads to the bottom of the card

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colour Wednesday - Canary Love

Hi Everybody,

This beautiful image is from Saturated Canary and it is called Canary Love 

I have had this Digital Image for a long time and so you may have to search for it if it is one that you would like

The original image has a canary alongside the girl but to fit it into the frame I had to cut it off.

Nevertheless I don't think it spoils this card at all  and I was quite pleased with the end result.

I have used a mixture of Gansai Tambi water colours and Spectrum Noir pencils to get the look I wanted

I fussy cut around the image and raised it up on the grey background with foam pads and then added the frame also with foam.

I get my rolls of foam and foam pads from the £££ shops and I use it by the ton and never have any trouble getting hold of it

The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and they are a mixture of Tulips, Gypsophila and Roses in two different sizes 10mm and 15mm

Some of you have written to me about the flowers and wanting to know what I have used so I will try and include them in the list each time I use them.

But if you don't know what to order ... because of the vast choice of designs when you go to WOC website ... then why not try the starter packs that have been put together by Paul especially for you to try.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Two Posts in One ...

Hi Everybody,

Because of the change in my Tuesday Tutorial and the Water Colour Wednesday this week I thought it may be a good idea to combine the two and create a card with some water coloured flowers. 

I have used Spellbinders dies for my design and the flowers are bright and cheerful.

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S6-002 6x6 Matting Basics B
• SD5-224 Victorian Medallions Three
• SDS-012 Floral Divine Stamp & Dies Set
• SEL-002 Gridiron Embossing Folder
• PL-001 Platinum Die Cutting Machine

Other Supplies:

• Rose pink and white card from Papermill Direct
• Gansai Tambi water Colours
• Water Colour Card
• Wink of Stella Clear Glitter pen
• Foam pads of varying thicknesses

Instructions:

With the largest die #8 from the Matting Basics cut two panels and create a hinged card

Hand cut a slightly smaller layer in rose pink to leave a thin border around the edges

Cut another layer in white, again leaving a small border,  and emboss in the folder.

(The card will be wider than the folder so emboss most of it and then move the card along to emboss the remainder.

 Partially cover the folder with the embossing plate and run through the machine. 

The pattern is busy enough not to notice any discrepancies in it )

Glue the two layers together and add to the base card with foam tape between to give dimension

With the solid die to Medallions Three cut one piece in rose pink and then with both parts together cut a filigree layer in white

Add these two together with foam pads between the layers and then more foam on the back of the pink card

Stamp, colour and cut as many flowers and leaves as you would like for your card

I stamped the sentiment twice and then used the banner die to cut each word separately 

Add the Medallions layer to the card and place a pearl in each corner

Arrange the flowers in the centre panel as you like them and use foam pads of varying thicknesses under them and the leaves.
 Keep two of the smaller flowers to one side

Add foam to the banners and arrange on the flowers then add the smaller flowers so that they just overlap the banners.
Add a little shading to the banners to make them look curved

Lightly add the glitter pen to the flowers for a little sparkle

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

6 x 6 Matting Basics B Card Creator Etched Dies	Shapeabilities Victorian Medallion Three Etched Dies	Seth Apter Em-bossing Fold'ers Gridiron 5 x 7 in Single Sided	Quite Contrary Debi Adams Floral Divine Stamp and Die Set
Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine	PICK & MIX	Gansai Tambi Water Colours	Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue

InLinkz.com

Water Colour Wednesday - Floral Card

Hi Everybody,

A really simple card to make  and I have used Gansai Tambi to water colour the flowers and leaves.

It is from a set by Altenew called Peony Scrolls and it has a matching die set to help you get a neat look.

I got mine from Sevenhills Crafts and the sentiment is also Altenew ... Painted Inspiration

I have added in some sequins and they are a big bag of them from the £££ shop and they go a long long way.

The background is created with Altenew Mini Inks and the Brush Strokes stamp from Spellbinders.

Not a lot to this one but I think it turned out OK

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Gansai Tambi Water Colours	Painted Inspiration	Peony Scrolls Stamp Set	Peony Scrolls die set
Celebrations Brush Strokes Stamps

InLinkz.com