Slugs and snails ....

If you're like me then you are simply in heaven whenever you have to make a card for a girl.

You can go to town on all the lovely embellishments that can be added ... Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls in abundance and pretty pastel pinks and lilacs Mmmmm Mmmmm !!

But every so often we need to make a card for the boys and then we have to start head scratching to come up with the ideas.

 
This image was free in a magazine pullout... and there were lots of them on the pages.

I scanned it into the PC and now I can print them off to the size I want whenever I need a new image.



I have coloured all these images with either Spectrum Noir or Promarkers.

This young man is from the LillyBoo collection from Cuddly Buddly

There are many images to choose from and they suit all age groups and occasions.

They are not expensive.... and because they are digital downloads they are yours instantly.

The name on this card makes it more personal and I  added the wall background to keep the boyish look.

This one was from   KennyK Downloads 

The digital papers are all in shades of blue... and are free from  Summertime Designs

You will find lots of papers for you to use and this one is the Fathers and Fedoras Kit.

Buttons are always a good addition to male cards and the sentiment for this is from the "Pretty Tuff" CD from PolkaDoodles

But even though it is a male card doesn't mean  it can't have some pearly swirls on it.

And this one just adds a little more to the Tug of War boys from KennyK.

Hugs xx

Can I borrow some shaving foam ????

I had to buy some cheap shaving foam to do this technique as my Film Crew uses an electric shaver ... just no consideration some folks !!!

And then to top it all I couldn't find a dish big enough to add the card .... so I improvised.

The  Shaving Foam Technique   is another of those messy ideas but still fun ... especially if you craft with children.

For this card I kept the colours softer,  in keeping with the image, and I coloured that in with Promarkers.

The addition of the large organza bow softens the look even more.... and you could add flowers, pearls and gemstones for even more of a finishing touch.

Hugs xx

Got Some Marbles ???

If you have children the chances are they will have some marbles and  you need to borrow about three of four of them.

And if you don't  then you will have to do what I did  ... and pinch some off the kids next door.

This is another tutorial that has been around for some time ... but it's not quite as messy as yesterdays idea.

The   Rolling Marble Technique  is another fun effect to add to your cards and  it goes particularly well with those that you create for boys.

Vary the colours of the alcohol inks if you want a more feminine look and roll the marbles more or less to give another take on things. 

The white buttons have been coloured with Promarkers to match the scheme of the card, and threaded with a bit of string.

Hugs xx

Messy but fun ...

This tutorial was one I added to the Card Making Magic website a few years ago and it is very messy ... but the effect is different from any thing else.

The   Crushed Flower Tutorial   got many comments.

One lady wrote to say that it took her a long time to realise that I was actually using real flowers and leaves. 

You will need a die cutting machine to roll the flowers through, and  pick your flowers when they are just going off.

The flowers for both of these cards are from a beautiful pink Hydrangea that is in my garden and the leaves from my Virginia Creeper.

But the result at the other end is nothing like the original flowers that I used.

I have Watercoloured the flowers with a Big 'N Juicy ink pad.

These inks have several different colours in the one  pad and I have  used a different area of the pad each time to create the shading and defintion to each flower.

I have sprinkled Glamour Dust on the petals and added  small pearls to the flowers centres.

The photos don't really show you just how pretty this effect is but you will be very surprised with what you get if you give it a try.

Don't be surprised though when a pink flower produces a completely different colour at the other end ...it's all part of the fun.

Hugs xx

 

Car Boot buy

In the glorious sunshine over the weekend we went  bargain  hunting at the local Car Boot sale.

Now I know this is not to everybodies taste and most of it is junk .... but whatever the junk is,  to somebody else it could be a treasure.

I was looking in paricular for a  spice jar rack and  we  wandered  around with no luck.

Then  on  the  very last stall there it was ... shouting at me to buy it ..... so I did.

It cost me a couple of  pounds and it needed a really good clean,  but here it is scrubbed up and polished and  already in use.

It is  sitting on my worktop  with all the  little pieces  to be used  whenever I need that little embellishment to  adorn my card.

Another good storage idea ... though not a car boot buy ... is to use up the empty cases that your CD's are bought in.

They have lids and a central post to keep everything together.

This one has had my little paint pots glued to an old CD  and each disc will hold six of the pots.

Then when you are finished painting  just allow them to dry out again and then stack them in the holder,  pop the lid,  which is just visible behind,  back on. 

You will be able to store about four layers in the smaller holders.

This is one of the taller ones and it houses all my glues.

They all sit neatly on the tray and the lid keeps them all safe and clean.

Then when they are getting low I can store them upside down to make sure I get every last drop of the precious glue.

This recylcing is much better than throwing things away ... you just need to look at things in a different way.

Now how many of you have said   "Oh!  I've just thrown one of those away ...."  Tut Tut !!

Hugs xx