Beautiful Card Designs Made Easy

May 24, 2024

Friday Freebie - Pack 1 (More Bundles)

Hi Everybody,

Over the next three weeks I have yet more super bundled to give away and although the contents of each one are different.

They will al contain a Simon Hurley stamp, a couple of embossing folders, an ephemera pack from RSPB and a couple more stamp sets with amusing characters on them.

This us the first of those bundles and if this s one that you would like then all you need to do is leave me a comment at the end of this post with your
  Full Name

From those comments one name will be chosen as the winner and announced in a blog post over the weekend so please be sure to come back and check if it is your name that is shown.

You will have 72 hours in which to claim it and in the event that it is not claimed then it will be offered again at a later date.

At present I am happy to send them to you wherever you live,  but if I find that postage is very expensive going abroad then I may have to limit it to the UK only.
But I will be sure to let you know what I am doing.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx 

May 23, 2024

3 Cards 1 Die set

Hi Everybody,  

The background for this card was created by ink swiping Twisted Citron and Stormy Sky over the white card and then splattering it with black ink.

The feather dies are some that I have in my collections and I picked out the smaller ones for the card.

The detailed pattern is cut from some older Card Making Magic dies and they are the Perfect Panels & Lovely Layers in the rectangles pattern.

I added parchment behind the frame and then grouped three of the feathers together for the top of the panel, with a circle to hide where all the feathers join up. 

I coloured some gemstones with gold alcohol  marker and added them to the card to match the gold edged sentiment 

Then using the waste as a stencil I inked in the shapes using Stormy Sky Distress Oxides. 

Once they are dry I added  some more, with a heavier hand over the top and then traced around some of the feathers at the forefront with a  black fine liner pen.

The sentiment was cut from some spare card that has been swiped over with Stormy Sky,  and then added to some parchment. 

Black pearls are dotted around the front for effect,

The panel has then been added to an A6 sized card base.
And last but not least I used the panel that was left for another card and added foam tape underneath to raise it up.

Ink was used to go around the edges of the feathers to make them stand out more

Into the recess of the feathers I have  traced the outlines in black pen  and added gemstones.

The sentiment was created by adding ink to a spare piece of card and cutting it out with the die and then adding it to parchment. 

So there we have three pretty cards and not a bit of waste any where.

Hope you like !!!

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

May 22, 2024

Shades of Orange

Hi Everybody,

Todays card is done in shades of orange and I have used my favourite dies in the Layered Floral and the Rose Flourish Leaves.

Both of these dies I have used many, many times and they always give me a pleasing display for my flowers.

The inks used are Distress Oxides and they are Carved Pumpkin and Dried Marigold and they have just been swiped across the white card panel.

To the top of this I have added in some parchment and that has been added to the panel with small silver heart brads that I have had for years.

It mutes the orange panel underneath and stops it being to bright and in your face.

I have mixed in other leaves and they are other brands that I have.
The finished card is a 5x7 with the fold at the top and this is my favourite size and way to make a card

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

May 21, 2024

Vibrant Flowers

 HI Everybody,

The Ink Smooshed flowers from yesterday are so pretty I made even more and added them to cards for any occasion.

I used  another shaped die from the Layered Florals die set for these flowers,  but I have incorporated the same leaf dies that I had already in my stash, and they are a mixture of dies from many different sets, to vary the look.

The sentiments are from Craft Stash and I have had these quite some time too.  They also have matching stamps to them for even more use.

The embossing folder cuts the aperture in the card as it is embossed and gives a really pretty effect to the layer.

This card is a 5x7 with a slightly smaller layer with the aperture  added to the front of it.

This DL card has a background that is stencilled with Uncharted Mariner so that it coordinates with the flowers. 

I think the two colours go really well together even though they are far apart in the colour spectrum.

The matting layer for this card has simply been inked around the edges only with the same ink and then the stencilled layer added to the top. 

It all blends together for a complete look and I am pleased with the result.

I am adding the video again in case you missed it yesterday and I hope you will give this technique a try if it is new to you. 
.



               

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

May 20, 2024

Ink Smooshed Flowers

Hi Everybody,

I am trying to use up what I already have in my stash and so save some money in the process.

I am also trying to revisit old techniques from years ago and some of these have gone out of fashion and so not used for a long time,

But there are always new people trying their hand at card making and so to them these techniques are new and fascinating, and something they may want to try. 

I remember being enchanted by heat embossing  and the way a powder melted to look so different ... and it still fascinates me today.


Ink Smooshing is is an old technique and it is one I covered on my YouTube channel a good few years ago and it is so pretty when it is finished.

But I watch YouTube ... much more than I should , and I saw this idea from Natalie Bowers (NBCards) on making your own tool to add the ink to your card

Here is the link to Natalie's channel in case you wanted to make your own too.

I am adding my own video to show you the cards I created with this technique and I think they are all so pretty.

The flowers are created with one of the dies from the Layered Florals die set  and this is a really old die set.

The leaves are a mixture from many other die sets.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx