Create a Rainbow

Hi Everybody,

I really had some fun making this little card and I used my Circles dies from Spellbinders to get the look.

The card is created with Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics A and B

I used my Spectrum Noir pens for the vibrant rainbow and it is so easy to do.

You could use any pens that you have or even water colour the rainbow instead

Create A Rainbow is on YouTube today so please pop over and take a look.

I only used white card for everything and we all probably have some white card in our crafting "Stash"

The sentiment is stamped and embossed in white onto parchment that I bought form AnnaMarie Designs

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

A-2 Matting Basics B Card Creator Etched Dies	A-2 Matting Basics A Card Creator Etched Dies	Nestabilities Standard Circles LG Etched Dies	Shapeabilities Inspire Rainy Day Etched Dies
Clouds embossing folder	Spectrum Noir Pens	Sentimentals stamps	PICK & MIX

InLinkz.com

Water Colour Wednesday - Good Times

Hi Everybody,

A really simple card today using  Spectrum Noir AquaTints - Pretty Pastels

I have just done a soft wash of the pale blue in the background for the sky

I coloured the bike and butterflies with pink and that basically is all I did with Aqua Tints

I use some well watered down black for the ground and added in my sequins.

The stamp is from Clearly Besotted and is called Good Times 2 

Then I stamped and embossed the sentiment to complete the card.  I used craft foam behind the panel to add it to my card base which is an A2 top folded one.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

A-2 Matting Basics A Card Creator Etched Dies	A-2 Matting Basics B Card Creator Etched Dies	Good Times II	Spectrum Noir AquaTint Inks - Pretty Pastels
Celebrations Sweet Dreams Embellishments	PICK & MIX

InLinkz.com

Coloring colored card

Hi Everybody,

The card for today is  Neenah Desert Storm  and I was really happy with the way this one turned out and this was also a try to see what it would look like using colored card

The stamp I used is Peony Scrolls  from Altenew and there is a matching die   set that you can buy also.

I buy mine from Sevenhills Crafts  Leave your name on their website to be notified when the stamp is back in stock if it is out when you visit

The little sentiment is one of many on the sheet called Sentiments and Quotes  also from Sevenhills Crafts

The Spectrum Noir pencils are lovely to work with and I was really happy with the way they worked on this card and I will be trying more with different stamps in the future

This card was colored in the same way as I did the Black card from a few days ago that was featured in my YouTube video on the 3 rd March

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Colouring Black Card

Hi Everybody,

When I added this card to a  blog post  I said I didn't know if it was really my cup of tea. Though I did enjoy colouring it.

I was absolutely amazed at how many of you liked it and wrote to ask me for a video.  So I was happy to oblige and it will be "Live" on YouTube today. It was a real crowd pleaser !!

You can pop over to my channel  Christina 1716   and it will be there.  Thank you for your encouragement and I  hope you enjoy it

Please become a subscriber while you are there and then you will be alerted whenever I add a new video ... which I have done weekly so far.

The video takes you step by step on how I did it and so you can colour along with me

I tell you which pencils I have used and the black cardstock is from Papermill Direct   The gold embossing powder is from Wow  and it melts so easy with the heat tool

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

A different view ...

Hi Everybody,

This card is not a water colour but is created on black card with Spectrum Noir Pencils.

It was just something I was playing around with the other day to see how it would turn out.

The outline to the flower has been heat embossed in gold and then coloured in.

I think the pencils showed up really well on the black card and makes a card with a difference especially for me.

Not sure if I like the card but it was worth playing with on a cold winters day !!

However I do love the stamp which is  Peony Scrolls  from Alte New and there is also a  matching die 

I bought both of mine from  Sevenhills Crafts  and they stock a lot of the US stamps on their website

The sentiment was stamped and embossed in the same gold onto some black card and the trimmed into a little banner.   The card is from Papermill Direct and is a 255 gsm so a really good quality

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Friday Freebie - Character cards

Hi Everybody,

For todays FF I thought I would give away some of the cards that I have sat and colored over the past few months. Most of them are done with Spectrum Noir pens and others have had the pencils used with them also. All are decorated and wrapped in a cellophane bag

I cannot guarantee which card you will get and you can use them as you wish. They are all different characters and you are sure to find a recipient that they will suit. Or maybe you just want to keep it for yourself.

There are twelve on offer and so if you would like to win ONE of them  then you know what to do.

Join the group of followers if you are not one already and then leave me a comment at the bottom of the post.

The winners will be chosen from the comment that are left and please enter your name carefully.  I may have two or three Marys or Jeans  ... so if you would please add your full name and then there will be no mix up.

The winning names will be listed in tomorrows blog post so please pop back to check if it's you if you add your name.

Good luck everybody

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

We Are Special ...

Hi Everybody,

This is another scheduled post for you to see and it is one I colored with Spectrum Noir pens

The image is one I have had for sometime and it is off the CD "The Next Big Thing"  ... which sadly is no longer available

For this I have the simply folded A4 card in half with the card fold at the top

I have matted and layered it with a pale blue stripe card from AnnaMarie Designs  This card comes in lots of other lovely colors and there is a Spotty variety too  

The satin ribbon is from Mei Flower  and it ties into a beautiful bow.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley and is one of several on the sheet. The flowers are sparkled with glitter from Glitter Magic

If you visit regularly you will know that my flowers and the bow centre are always from Wild Orchid Crafts and I know that many of you have become WOC converts. I choose these because I love the variety and quality of the blooms.

These are quality UK companies that I use on a regular basis.  I like their goods and I like to tell you about their services. Click their links to view the products for yourself.

Hugs xx

Text Stamped Background ...

Hi Everybody,

This is another of those fun backgrounds and as promised I have done a video  on the making of this card.

I have used the stamp set from Spellbinders Celebration Collection called   Your Day    and it has several stamps on the sheet

Part of the stamp set was used to create the background and this is something that you can do with any text stamps that you have in your own "Stash"

You see the thing to do is simply .... Play !!  get out your stuff and see what you come up with and if you don't like it then start again.

But you may surprise yourself and end up with some thing that you really like and may want to repeat gain on another project.

The other card on the tutorial was made the same way for the background but the Wizard image is one of those from the CD The Next Big Thing from Just Inklined and I am sorry to say that the CD is no longer around.

You may be lucky to find one for sale privately but you will have to search long and hard to find it.  I colored mine with Spectrum Noir pens

I fussy cut him out and added him with a double layer of foam tape along the centre part of the image and he stands proud of the card for effect.

I added in extra peals to both cards for a little extra embellishment and the elephant has the Googly Eye added too.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Celebrate Background ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays cards are created with the stamps from Spellbinders Celebrations Collection

These are from the "Your Day"  stamp set and I have chosen to use the Elephant and her parcels for one card and the tortoise for the other

I have used one of the text stamps stamp, set at an angle,  to create the background and then stamped and heat embossed the animals onto other smaller pieces of card.

They have been colored with Spectrum Noir pens and then the text and the animal panels mounted onto black card.

The background layers have been laid flat to the card base but the animal panels are raised with foam tape.

The little splashes of color are enamel dots from Want2Scrap  and they come in other colors. And finally the addition of Googly Eyes make the characters a little special

A stray away from flowers, ribbons and pearls ... but a novel card all the same.

I like to try different things from time to time to keep the crafters block away.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Having fun ...

Hi Everybody,

You will have to forgive the abundance of water colored cards but I am having so much fun with these new Aqua Tints from Spectrum Noir that I can't stop

The stamps are all new too and I bought all of them from  Make The Day Special  and they are mostly stamps from Altenew

This one is called Sketchy Rose and it is lovely.  The sentiment is from Sentiments and Quotes  and there are lots on one stamp sheet

Along the bottom I have added some ribbon and lace and tied a little bow with satin ribbon from Mei Flower

The little pink pearls from Want2Scrap are dotted around the card ... but just a few.

The bows centrepiece is from Wild Orchid Crafts and matches in with the color scheme perfectly

I think it does me good every so often to step away from the style I am  used to and try something different.

 Brings a new freshness back to my crafting and then I am ready to come up with some new ideas to share

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

One for the Men ...

Hi Everybody,

I am often asked for ideas to make cards for the men in our lives and being a frilly flowery kind of card maker I sometimes find it hard .... sorry guys !!  But pink and flowers maybe wouldn't suit many of you

This card uses the Sheena Douglass stamp set called  Destination   and is excellent for many occasions.

I colored it with the Spectrum Noir Aqua Tints   and you need very little to get a good result.

The sentiment stamp  is one of the Altenew  Sentiments and Quotes   and I have stamped it onto some Kraft card and layered it on to blue

The background to this piece uses the Caught In Crystal Technique   which has been around for a long time.

This is so effective and very easy to do that I had my Wednesday Class ladies try  it.

I will show you my ladies cards once they are made up as you need to leave it to dry for a good few hours.  I think a tutorial would be in order for this technique

I have layered the image on to blue card and then onto some Kraft card for a really lovely effect that should make any of the men in your life happy to receive.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Magazine Freebie ...

Hi Everybody,

Yesterday my monthly subscription of 

Simply Cards and Papercrafts  

fell through the letterbox and the free gift this month was a beautiful Roses embossing folder.

And so out came the Spectrum Noir Pencils  to see what I could do.

I embossed a piece of parchment ... layering the parchment between copy paper to stop it splitting. I use the quite thick parchment from   AnnaMarie Designs

I colored it in on the raised side and I used the pinks and yellows from the Floral set and the greens from Nature and blended them as I went along

The parchment was attached to the base with little dots of Cosmic Shimmer Dress Clear and then I covered over the spots with the pearls.

But to be honest the Cosmic Shimmer dries so very clear that they didn't show up anyway under the parchment.

The base card was created with white  255gsm Hammered card from the Papermill Direct and using the  A2 Matting Basics A&B from Spellbinders

The addition of a little sentiment and the card is finished.

I enjoyed the coloring as I haven't used the pencils for quite some time and I ended up with a soft and pretty card that I am quite happy with ...  and the folder was F.R.E.E.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Another Watercolor Card ...

Hi Everybody,

So here I am again with another attempt at water coloring with  Spectrum Noir Aqua Tints

For this particular one I have used the Bright and Beautiful set and   Neena Classic Crest  and both products are from Crafters Companion

The stamps and sentiment are from Altenew and this is the Peony Scrolls.

It also has a matching   Peony Scrolls Die set  so cutting out the flowers is easy.

The sentiment is from many on one sheet of Sentiments and Quotes 

And while you are on their webpage have a look at some of the beautiful samples in the Gallery and you are sure to be inspired.

The card is created with  A2 Matting Basics A&B from Spellbinders as they gave me the size I wanted to use for my card and layers

I will be playing a lot more with these Aqua Tints and I really like the results.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Water Colored Card

Hi Everybody,

Here is my latest purchase and it is Aqua Tints from Spectrum Noir and I have to say that I love them.

I have dabbled with oils and been a card maker for a good few years now but this is my latest foray into something new.

So the colors I have used on this card are from the Bright and Beautiful  Aqua Tints  and I bought them from Crafters Companion

I stamped and embossed my sentiment and then water colored over the top to give me the background.

I stamped and embossed the flowers in gold embossing powder and then used the same background colors to paint them.

The stamp and matching die set are from Heartfelt Creations and this is the Sunkissed Fleur  and I am very happy with the finished card.

It is bright and beautiful ... just as the paints I have used to create it ... and I will be playing with some of the other shades in the Aqua Tints again.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Fussy Cutting ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is another from play day on Sunday while Griff watched F1 on TV

I have added this one because with yesterdays card I mentioned that I have Fussy Cut the flowers and I have been asked to explain what I mean

Fussy cutting is just cutting around your image but not following closely the exact edge

If you can see in this photo that although the rose and leaves are cut out from the rest of the paper I have still got a white edge around it all

It just makes cutting out a little easier  because cutting out is on a par with stamping and is something I am not very keen on

So this card is created with the hinge at the top and is 5x7"  I have layered it up with yellow and white

The sentiment has been stamped and heat embossed and the embossing folder from   Crafters Companion  fitted around it

The image is colored with Spectrum Noir and then raised on foam pads to add it to the card front.

Colors Used:
Leaves:   DG2 DG4 CG1
Flower:   CT1 CT3 CT4
Shadow:  IG1

 And that is all there is to this card 

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Another Birthday Card ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is maybe for a younger birthday ... though lots of people are young at heart and would love this cute little elephant.

It is from a new Spellbinders  Celebration Collection   which has dies as well as   Embossing Folders and Stamps 

This stamp set is called Your Day

The Spellbinders I have used are Classic Hearts and Classic Scalloped Hearts

A simple card with matted and layered panels cut into banner shapes and in different patterns, then wrapped with some Gingham ribbon

I have cut the elephant so that is sits outside the die cut and I have decoupaged up a second layer of the elephant alone

He has a Googly Eye added for fun and I colored the image with Spectrum Noir IG1 IG2 and PP1 in the ear ... and TB1 LV1 PP1 BT for the parcels.

Then I used all the colors and made a dotted background in the heart shape and lined the inside of my base card

How easy can that be and add it to your collection of ready to use cards if it is not needed right away

Don't forget to add your name to the Birthday Give Away   if you would like to win the goodies on offer ... but you will need to become a follower and leave me a comment too

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

Casual Santa ...

HO HO HO !!

This is Santa here just to say "Bye" for this year as my work is done.

All you good little boys and girls will have got your gifts and now it's time for me to head off back to the North Pole. 

I just had a few little repairs to make to the sleigh and then the reindeers will be able to take us home.

Christina took this picture of me while I was busy mending the sleigh ... not my usual attire but the red suit is for special days.

Mrs Santa will be waiting with a nice roast dinner and the red suit can be washed and ironed ready for next year.

The Elves will also get some time off  ... until they have to start making next years toys.

Be good and take care ...

Santa  xx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Footnote from Christina

The image is from Just Inklined and I thought it would make a really good Santa out of his normal outfit. He has been colored with Spectrum Noir and his glasses are Glossy Accents.  I have even smudged a little black on his skin to look dirty.

Colors used ...

FS2 FS3 IG2 IG3 IG6 TN2 TN4 EB4 TB6 TB7   Blender pen

P.S.   Thank you for entering into the spirit of todays card and especially to Elaine who wrote this lovely reply to Santa and I hope she won't mind me adding it here:

Dear Santa 
Thank you so much for all your hard work 
All the Little Boys and Girls are so happy with the New Gifts they have
You did a grand job .

I hope the repairs to your sleigh are not too major 
and you have a good journey back to the North Pole 
then the reindeer can have a good long rest .

Mrs Clause will be so pleased to see you 
back home and will spoil you 
with good hot dinners 
after traveling all over the world .

Christina has taken a very good Picture of you 
( she has a new camera you know and has been practicing , isn't she doing well ? )
it is nice to see you without your splendid red suit 
but to be honest i would have known your lovely face anywhere .

Anyway Santa 
I just want to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year .

Take Care 
Elaine H X

Juicy Oranges ...

Hi Everybody,

Here is a little card that I sat and colored  in a moment of relaxation.

I got out the Spectrum Noir Pens and Pencils and set to work.

Clicking the link will take you to their Blog pages and there you will find more of the tutorials that I did for Spectrum Noir

The image is from the CD by Crafters Companion that accompanies the pencil tuition

The ribbon and pearls centre are from my "Stash" and I have matted and layered the whole panel onto orange card

The sentiment is stamped in  Spiced Marmalade and embossed in clear powder.

The colors used for this image are ...
Fruit    OR1 TN3 TN6 TN7 Pencils 020, 022,   091
Leaves   CG2 DG2 DG4 Pencils 056,  058,
Blossoms  PP1 PP3  Pencils 037
Shadow IG2 IG3 IG4 and Blender to soften the pointillism around the fruit.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Video Tutorial ...

HI Everybody,

Here as promised is the video tutorial to show you how to get this look using the Glass Effects  from Spellbinders  and it is such an easy idea to recreate.

Choose the colors that you would like your card to be in and a separate color for the frame. I have used Silver Mirror Card for mine

Keep the colors pastel for all your female cards and go for the dark and dramatic for the male ones

Over the last couple of days I have shown you some color ways and ideas.

You can make your base card to fit the panel or you can add another to add to the top as I have done here.

On this card I have used the A2 Filigree Delight  in silver mirror card to frame the colored panel

And I have chosen one of the colors in the card to match the ribbon.

The sentiment on any of these cards can say exactly what you want it to say.

Add your colored panel to a larger base and it will look just as good.

Ring the changes by using Gold Mirror Card or even glitter card for another look.

Enjoy the tutorial for this fun technique.... it's not long

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Diagonal Chevron ...

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is using the same techniques that was used in last Wednesdays Card Class and I showed you the photo of the card that Mary made yesterday.

So for this card I have used the  Diagonal Chevron   and stayed with pastel colors to make this a feminine card.

Dressed up with flowers from  Wild Orchid Crafts, ribbons and pearls from Want2Scrap    and there you have one very pretty and easy to make card.

But the same die,  and the same technique in other colors, could make this a card that is suitable for the men in your life.

Apart from a little ribbon with a dazzler in the centre there is nothing else that is frilly on this card at all.

Change the sentiment on either of the cards and it would be perfect for any occasion

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx