Playtime ...

Hi Everybody,

So on a wet Saturday ... which turned out to be quite nice in the end ... I played with watercolours and these are some of the things I did.

I used Brusho Crystals for some and Distress Inks for the others.  I varied the colours used but I stamped them all with the same sentiment stamp.

The stamp was Grand Greetings from My Favorite Things and there are  four really useful ones on the sheet


Here are the first three that I created with the Brusho Crystals and they have all been dressed with flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts 

For this one I have used Purple Lemon and Ultra Marine

The butterfly is velvet and just adds that final touch.

All three have the addition of a  Hat pin to the flowers

This one is created with just the Scarlet crystals from the 12 colour pack

The variations in the colours are achieved simply by adding water from a spray bottle

And last but not least a card with Yellow and Turquoise

I am really pleased with the way all these have turned out and the flowers are the crowning glory in all of them




Tomorrow is FF day so I will show you the ones created with Distress Inks next week

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

International Ambassadors Informal Blog Hop

Hi Everybody,

Here we are again with another IA informal Blog Hop and this is the ninth one that we have done.

The International Ambassadors are based around the world and we thought it would a good idea for you to get to know each of us and our individual styles.

Please pop along and visit the others as I know they would love to get comments from you all.

And I hope you enjoy your journey around the globe to see ...

Linda Lucas - Australia
Yvonne van der Grijp - Netherlands
Christine Emberson - UK

Our theme for this month is to recycle/upcycle an item and for my project I chose to alter an inexpensive notebook from a local stationery store

I covered the book in dark blue paper and then add a patterned layer to the top and rounder the corners.

I added in the Petite Monarch border strip and then covered the edge with ribbon and pearls.

I cut the Interlocking Love  three times in blue, with the two pieces to the die set ,and backed them onto white with the solid die

One of them I punched a hole at the top and threaded it with ribbon for a bookmark.

The other two I staggered onto the front of the card and added  Just A Note ... across the panels.  For my floral touch I used Pretty Petals B  and combined it with Foliage

The ribbon is from Mei Flower and the pearl centres to my flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Up and Away

Hi Everybody,

Today I am using one of the little fun dies from Spellbinders and this one is called Up and Away. This is the only die used on the card but it is very effective for many occasions.

Spellbinders Supplies:

• IN-050 Up and Away
• GC-200 Grand Calibur

Other Supplies:

• Kraft Card
• Glossy Accents
• Atlas Paper
• Black Fine liner Pen 

Instructions:

Fold an A4 piece of Kraft card in half and then cut it in half to produce two card blanks for you to work with.  Pop the other on one side for another project. Cut a slightly smaller black layer and then another smaller layer from the Atlas paper.

Stamp and emboss your sentiment on to the front of the paper in the position you want it.

From the Kraft card cut two of the balloons, baskets, and basket trim and ink through the die before removing the balloons die. 

Layer the panels together with glue and add the balloons and baskets in the position you like and add the little top to the baskets with a thin piece of foam tape.

With your black pen draw in the string to hold the basket to the balloon. And make some small curved "V" shapes to represent flying birds in the distance.

Designers Tip:

Cut the balloons from colored card and ink through the die and add glossy accents to make them shine. Keep them flat and level until the glossy accents is dry otherwise it will run off the shapes.

Creating A Background ...

Hi Everybody,

When I used this background I had several emails asking me to show you how I did it.

So this has been the subject of another video tutorial that we did last week.

This uses Distress Inks and is very easy to do.

The card on the right is very bright, but in the video I did one in more autumnal colours and it would be ideal for any cards that you make for the men in your life.

I listed all the inks I used and showed you in which combination for the different looks in the tutorial Distress Ink Background

I dressed my card up with flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts  but this tortoiseshell look would be suitable for anybody.

The die I have used is #2 from Fleur de Elegance  and I cut it in an antique gold card

I found the gold sequins in a box that was lurking in a cupboard  when I was clearing out my craft room a few weeks ago ... and I knew they would come in handy !!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Another Video ...

Hi Everybody,

This video tutorial was added to YouTube last week and takes you through the steps I made to create the   Scalloped Pop Up Box.

It is one of several that have been added to the website in the last few days and I do hope that you will enjoy it

This is a die from Spellbinders and it is a useful addition to your crafty stash.

But I do appreciate  that not everybody can get these dies and so I am going to do another tutorial to make the box without using a die.

I will post the link on this blog once it is done

It takes a little while to get all the elements cut but once they are it is the fun part of putting it al ,,together.

So make a cuppa and then click the link Spellbinders Pop Up Box   to go to the page for this pretty little box

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx