Friday Freebie - Two Brands

 Hi Everybody,

Today I have two brands on offer that will be instantly known by many of you, and they are from Sam Calcott and Lou Collins

I have a die and stamp set from Made to Surprise and this will coordinate with her Simple Pop Ups Collection.

So if you already have some of that then this will be an extra set for you to use.

The other is a paper pack from Textures called Peacock Plume and this is 24 sheets of 190gsm designer paper.

If you would like to have both of these 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 at random and announced in a blog post over the weekend so be sure to come back and check if it is you.

I am happy to send the pack to you wherever you are and it doesn't matter if you have won before.
Good luck everybody

More tomorrow ...

Hugs x

Birthday Cards

Hi Everybody,

Birthday Cards are my most regular makes for family, friends or simply to donate to the charity shop. And I make loads of them in the course of a month.

These are just some that I have made over the past few months and all these feature apertures in them with a bright and beautiful background.

They have all been teamed with a bright gold mirror card and butterflies are used on all of them. The season of butterflies is upon us and so why not use them in your designs.

They are something I use a lot ... along with leaves, flowers, hearts and feathers ... all of which make a beautiful additions to your creations

This card has a really delicate sentiment stamped onto the front of it with my favourite Rose Flourish leaves added behind.

For this card I have used a vertical sentiment to compliment the vertical aperture.

Again I have used gold mirror card to cut the leaves and the butterfly,  plus I have added them all to parchment.

Then I backed the sentiment onto a gold panel as well.

These cards are all 5x7 with the fold at the top,  to create a tent fold card that will stand better on it's own.

And despite having the butterflies that are reasonable flat and will fir into  standard sized envelope for posting.

This card has been created using desktop finds of the gold card and added to the design.

This sentiment is cut from a die, but the others are stamped from older Card Making Magic sets that you may have as well.

I particularly like the vertical stamps as they make a change to the way I add my greetings.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Desk top finds ...

Hi Everybody,

So this is another card using up all the left over bits that are lying about on my desktop.

 It is amazing what can be created with the bits you can find from a previous crafting session. So keep them all in one box and have a rummage when you next need something.

The background to this card is one I had left over from making my own Distress Oxide papers and using a stencil.

The smaller panel is  cut in white and added to a really old Spellbinders die and that has also been added to an inked piece of paper hat was left over.

The leaves are from my favourite die set,  the Rose Flourish, along with smaller leaf dies tucked into the mix, and they have been cut in white and gold.

The flowers are more odd bits and they have been layered together and added to the card with small peach coloured resin centres.

The sentiment is also in gold on a parchment shadow and that is an old Card Making Magic die set.

I have used the antique type of gold card for this rather than the bright gold mirror card as it seemed to fit in better with the overall look.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Gelli Plate Background

Hi Everybody,

The little panel to this card is created with the use of a Gelli Plate,  Distress Oxide Inks and a stencil.

I was having a playtime with the plate and I produced quite a few backgrounds that I can use on my cards ... but I didn't film the process.

So I will get it all out again and make some more using the plates and the Distress Oxides and this time I will actually get on film what I use.

And make some cards in the process using the panels that I create.

I have had the Gelli Plate for a long time and I got mine from Amazon, but you can get an equivalent one cheaper elsewhere, and they come un lots of different sizes.

I have used it very little and I always feel a little intimidated by it, but having said that I do like the card that is shown here.

 I have used acrylic paints in the past and they I am not comfortable with as they are far too messy for me. I am not the cleanest of crafters and they are too much even for me. 

I will get lots more practice in over the next few weeks and then I will feel more confident with it to film what I am doing. 

To thus card I added a frame around the panel and then added it to some gold card for the mat.

I topped it with some feathers cut from white, gold card and parchment. 
The self adhesive  pearls I have had for a long time and they need a little extra blob of glue to help them stick.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

 

Make the most of Acetate

Hi Everybody,

Over the years I have used Acetate in many different ways and it makes whatever you add to the card appear as if it is floating. 

It is an excellent materials for adding to boxes either as a complete lid or simply to line the top of the lid to display the beautiful card inside. 

I have even made complete small boxes and filled them with sweets for children.

Or you could make the ever popular shaker cards too.

But  I really like the look of card bases made from the thicker acetate that can be bought, and it can be frosted, embossed or left clear which ever you please

Here is the link to the video on YouTube for you to view ... Make The Most Of Acetate

I am now adding the links direct to YouTube as that will increase my viewing on that channel and I would appreciate it if you would click the link to go there and leave a comment,

The top card is left clear but the pink one has a frosted back to it and it does make such a difference.

But if you do use acetate don't make the same mistake I did.       Stupid me !!!!

 I did not remove the protective covering from the sheet and I was not happy with the look at all.

Then I realised what I had done and had a good laugh at myself,  and once that layer was peeled off I had a lovely bright acetate base to adorn and I was very relieved.

It is a very versatile product to work with and try some of the patterned or coloured sheets that are on the market for yet more ways to make your cards look different.

For the card to the right I have used an embossing folder.

I simply ran the folded card base though the machine and then removed the protective layer after.

You could also achieve another look by sanding the embossing 

More tomorrow ..,

Hugs xx<