Maze Book

I took part in the Cardmaking Paradise Maze Book Swap. This was my first attempt at making this type of book and I was very pleased with the end result although I did have a few mishaps along the way.

I received a lovely book in return all the way from Australia made by Colleen which contained some great quotes, words of wisdom and a very funny joke.

To see this one in its entirety and all the other swapped books go to Cardmaking Paradise and click on Maze Book Swap.

Flower Easel Card

Used another of the Cardmaking Paradise templates to make this flower easel card. The base card was slightly more mauvey in real life. The white pieces in the centre of the flower were some plastic bits left from a stain glass decoration kit my sons had. I knew they would come in useful one day but didn't expect to wait nearly twenty five years for that day to arrive!!

I made a box to put the card in. It was the first one I made using my Hougie board - it was so easy.

Laptop Card

A friend's teenage son spends hours playing War Hammer games, so the laptop template from Cardmaking Paradise was just what I needed to make him a birthday card and he loved it.

Card Recipe
Black Card
white card
Silver card
Acetate
Down loaded War Hammer picture and Dell motif
Letters and numbers computer generated.

Three birds and a frog!

I made this birdhouse card for our eldest granddaughter's birthday using a Cardmaking Paradise template.

Card Recipe
Card/paper
Greyboard
Anna Marie designs white smooth card
Craftwork cards digital ultra smooth premium cardstock
Black card
Recycled green paper from a diary
Paint/ink
Paperartsy Fresco Finish - Orchid, Dolly Mix, Crackle Glaze
Momento Tuxedo Black
Stamps
Woodware Birds FRS206
Other
Paper flowers
Flat back pearls
Leaves cut with Marianne die

I stumbled on the digital image on this next card by accident and it fitted the bill for our eldest grandsons birthday. He spends many a happy hour catching the frogs in our pond. (Much to my displeasure and probably the frogs!)

Card Recipe
Card
Papermania Kraft card
Xerox Colotech+
Stamps
Grass - English Stamp Co.
Bull rushes - maker unknown
Digital Image
Fred She Said
Inks
Spiced Marmalade
Dried Marigold
Dies
Spellbinders Nestabilities - scalloped circle, labels four
Other
Sentiment - computer generated
Copic & Promarkers

Tag Cards

This tag card was a Design Team project for Cardmaking Paradise. The remit was to use lots of texture. I think I ticked that box! The card measured 19 by 10 cms and stood "A" shaped.

The top part was embossed and then the embossed part was painted over with Fresco paint to give a a shabby appearance. The lower half was stamped and clear embossed before applying wall filler through sequin waste. Distress ink was then applied to this area. I die cut three petal pieces for the flower which I spritzed liberally with water, scrunched up the pieces and then gently opened them up and left to dry over night.

Card Recipe

Card
Xerox Colotech+ Copier card
Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash

Inks/Paints
Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge
Versamark
Adirondack Pitch Black Pigment Ink
Distress stain - Broken China
Fresco Paint - Ice Blue
Personal Impressions Clear Gloss embossing powder

Stamps
Tim Holtz Papillion set
Hobby Arts CS034D Scene-it Sentinent (CS034D)

Embossing Folders/Dies
Cuttlebug Swirls
Spellbinders Labels 4
Tim Holtz Die - Elegant Flourishes, Tattered Florals

Other
Tando Leaves 2 mask
DIY fine surface filler
Flat back pearls
Ribbon coloured with Distress Stain
Fibres

Following publication of the tag project on Cardmaking Paradise Sara challenged members to make a tag card. Mine was smaller than my Design Team one - this time 7cms by 15cms. The background was the wrinkle free distress technique. I then laid my mask over the top of that and sprayed with water and blotted off excess and dried the tag. However the masked areas didn't show up enough so I put the mask back on but not in the same place and stenciled on some Distress Ink. Now it was much more to my liking.

Card Recipe

Card
Craft Creations Taffeta Smooth White
Anna Marie White Smooth Card

Inks
Distress Inks - Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey, Dried Marigold, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint
Versamark

Stamp
Craft Stamper freebie

Dies
Spellbinders Labels 4
Tim Holtz Elegant Flourishes

Other
Distress Embossing Powder - Peeled Paint
Ribbon coloured with Distress Ink
Flat back pearls
Sentiment computer generated
Brad

Daisy Fresh

Sometimes simple is the way to go!
The flowers were stamped onto opaque vellum that had white flower sprigs printed on it. I then inked over them with Sky Blue Pearlescent Brilliance ink to make the petals shimmer.

Card Recipe
Card/Paper
White linen card
Vellum
Bazzill card

Inks
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue
Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps
Dimension Fourth - Flowers
Sentiment Personal Impressions - Mix and Match

Die
Tim Holtz - Elegant Flourishes

Other
Flat back pearl

All about me tag

I took part in the "All about me" tag swap at Cardmaking Paradise. I found it difficult to find anything interesting to "say".

The map is the area I live in and I enjoy my garden. I like the colour blue although my favourite Distress Inks have to be Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge. I'm surprised I haven't had to re-ink these pads yet!

Card Recipe

Inks
Distress Inks - Frayed Burlap, Pumice Stone
Versafine - Onyx Black

Stamps
Butterflies and moths - Tim Holtz Papillion set
Quote - Tim Holtz Good Thoughts set

Other
Map photocopy
Shrink plastic
Glossy accents
Tando leaves mask
Fibres
Flower made using Neil Walker's "paper technique".

I received this beautiful tag from Christa. I love her loose use of colour.

No beige in sight!

A birthday card made for a friend who once remarked "You know you're getting old when you start wearing beige and putting the milk in first."

Card recipe

Paper/card
Zerox Colortech+ 250g copier card
Coredinations card - Malaysian orchid
K & Co floral paper

Digital Image from Pink Petticoat coloured with Copics & Promarkers

Stamp
Stamping Bella

Die/punch
Spellbinders Labels Four die
Martha Stewart punch

Other
White ribbon coloured with Promarker
Flower
Rhinestones

Ballet dancer

Simple birthday card using the versatile dancer plate designed by Sioux Jenneys for The Artistic Stamper.

Card recipe

Card/paper
Anne Marie White Smooth Card
Craftworks Cards White Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock
Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash

Stamps
Dance Plate & Dance Dictionary Background - The Artistic Stamper

Inks
Distress Ink - Broken China
Versafine - Onyx Black & Smoky Gray
Memento Tuxedo Black

Other
Flat back pearls

Whoo! Blog Candy from The Craft Barn

To celebrate over 600 followers on their blog The Craft Barn have £200 of blog candy on offer and you have until the 25th November to be in with a chance to win. Click here for the details.

I'm back!

Who stole the last three months? I haven't been idle in that time though and I have a long list of projects to "show and tell" over the next couple of weeks.

Way back at the beginning of August Sara of Cardmaking Paradise set us the challenge to use her new birdhouse templates. So I made this birdhouse hanging.

For the background I used the wrinkle free distress technique which was partially over stamped with a script and embossed. Some dots were added through sequin waste and Inka Gold applied randomly.

It's not very clear in the photo but the bird was covered in UTEE and with some gold embossing powder along the tips of the wings.

Card recipe

Card
Craft Creations recycled greyboard

Distress Stains
Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Walnut Stain

Inks
Distress Inks - Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain, Rusty Hinge
Versamark
Ranger Archival - Coffee

Embossing Powder
Personal Impressions - Clear gloss, Gold Sparkle
Distress - Peeled Paint
Melt Art UTEE

Embossing folders/dies
Tim Holtz - Patchwork Texture Fade embossing folder, Tattered Florals die, Elegant Flourishes die
Spellbinders circle die

Other
Eco Green acrylic black paint
Inka
Spellbinders metal
Beads and brad from stash
Flower made using Neil Walker's "paper technique".

The perfect flat knot

Cardmaking Paradise design team member Anne C made a video showing how to tie the perfect flat knot.

So I had a go and yes you can make a perfect knot when you know how!

Card recipe
Card
White linen
Craftworks Cards White Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock

Paper
Origin unknown

Die
Nellie Snellen multi frame square MFD006

Stamps
Free stamp from Craft Stamper August 2011
Personal Impressions "Mix and Match" sentiments

Ink
Memento Rich Cocoa

Copic markers
R20, R22, G07, G14

Ribbon
7mm organza Moss

Goodbye!

This card uses the Cardmaking Paradise moving arm template.

Card recipe

Card/paper
Core essentials Sugar'n'Spice
Bella Coordinates - mint green dots

Dies/punch
Provo Craft Hippie Chick
Martha Stewart punch

Distress Inks
Worn Lipstick
Peeled Paint

You can see other versions of this template made by members of Cardmaking Paradise here.

Distressing Playtime

I have been playing with my new Distress Stains and Tim Holtz stamps and made a couple of tags in the process.

For this butterfly tag I put the Distress Stains on my craft mat and swooshed my card for the tag background and the butterflies over it and dried with a heat gun in between swooshes and edged the tag with Distress Ink. The butterflies were covered with Glossy Accents.

Tag recipe
Card
Craft Creations Taffeta Smooth White
Distress Stains
Broken China
Dusty Concord
Wild Honey
Inks
Dusty Concord Distress Ink
India Ink Black
Stamp
Tim Holtz Papillion Set
Other
Glossy Accents
Fibres

On this second tag I applied Spun Sugar Distress Stain directly onto the card and then stamped and clear embossed the background script. I then dipped the tag into Spun Sugar and Broken China Distress Stains on my craft mat and let it dry naturally. I used the Distress Stains to change the colour of the lace and fibre. The flower was made using Neil Walker's "Paper Transformation" technique that I'd seen him demonstrate at the Craft Barn Extravaganza.
I'm entering this tag in the Craft Barn Tim Holtz Challenge

Tag recipe
Card
Craft Creations Taffeta Smooth White
Distress Stains
Broken China
Spun Sugar
Ink
Worn Lipstick & Spun Sugar Distress Ink
Versamark
Die
Tim Holtz Tattered Florals
Stamp
Tim Holtz Papillion Set
Other
Clear gloss embossing powder
Fibres
Lace
Rub'n'Buff
Pink brad

Alcohol Ink Serendipity

Having watched Andy Skinner’s alcohol ink floating background tutorial I got out my AI’s and had a go and these three pieces were my favourite using this technique. They make me think of a country cottage with chintz curtains and a jug of wildflowers on the table.

Using the pieces to make a tag and a card I wanted the backgrounds to be the star of the show, so have kept the embellishment simple. I’m entering the card in the Craft Barn Alcohol Ink Challenge – this will be the first blog challenge I’ve ever entered.

Card recipe
Inks
Alcohol inks
India Black Ink
Adirondack Lettuce Dye Ink
Worn Lipstick Distress Ink

Stamps
“Yesterday “ - maker unknown
Flowers - Fourth Dimension

Other
Vellum
Craftworks Card Candi
Lace
Raffia

Card recipe
Inks
Alcohol inks
Brilliance Moonlight White
Brilliance Pearlescent Coral
Worn lipstick Distress Ink

Stamp
Free with Craft Stamper April 2011

Other
White detail embossing powder
Leaf ribbon

Bookmark swap

I recently took part in a book mark swap over at Cardmaking Paradise. Mine didn't turn out quite as I had imagined. I had intended cutting a semi circle around the sunflower but I chickened out as my cutting skills are not the best if it doesn't involve a craft knife and metal edged ruler!

Card Recipe
Card
Black card
Craftworkscards White Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock

Inks
Memento - Tuxedo black
Distress Inks - Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss

Stamps
PSX Sunflower F1989
Stampotique Bee

Other
Copic Markers - Y06, Y08
Computer generated sentiment - Bookworm font

My beautifully shimmery swap below came from Hilda. She made it using Grungepaper and it has the feel of leather. The colours are gorgeous - silver with just a hint of purple and lime. Such a clever idea cutting partially around the birdcage so the bookmark slips over a page. Thank you Hilda.

Butterlies are self propelled flowers

I have used the new Beautiful Butterfly template from Cardmaking Paradise for these two butterflies.

For this first one I used Wild Honey Distress Ink (DI) to cover all the sides of my white card. I then applied Spiced Marmalade DI with a small stencil brush around the masks on just the front of the card and followed this by inking around all the edges with Rusty Hinge DI. Finally spraying the front with Cosmic Shimmer.

Card Recipe
Card
Craftworkscards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock

Inks
Distress Inks - Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge

Other
Cosmic Shimmer - Rich Gold
Flat back crystals
Artificial flower stamens

-----
When I went to the Craft Barn Extravaganza recently I took part in a metal workshop with my forum buddies from Craftmaking Paradise. So for the card below I used some of my new found knowledge to decorate the butterfly with metal. Still need lots of practice!

The base colour of the metal was silver which I painted with alcohol inks. Rather difficult to photograph because of the flash bounce back from the metal.

Card Recipe
Card
Craftworkscards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock

Distress Inks
Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw

Alcohol Inks
Jacquards Pinta Colour - Calabaza Orange, Sunbright Yellow

Other
Artificial flower stamens
Spellbinders Premium Craft Foil
Tando Creative Mask

Blog Candy

Not only is Jennie (The Artistic Stamper) offering free postage on her website until Sunday 10th July, she also has some fantastic Blog Candy on offer HERE.

Cool Cats

I gleaned this idea from a card displayed in the Craft Barn shop during their fabulous Extravaganza weekend.

The wall is stencilled directly onto the card. I found the best way to apply the ink is using a foam finger dabber because it effectively gives the appearance of the stone work texture. The cats were stamped onto plain card and then cut out.

Card Recipe
Card
Craftworkscards Digital Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock
Inks
Versafine Onyx Black
Distress Ink Black Soot
Stamps
Katzelkraft
Other
Creative Expressions "Stone Wall" mask
Sentiment - computer generated Book worm font

Thank you

I based this clean and simple thank you card on Joanne Wardle's "One Layer Wonders" project in July 2011's Craft Stamper magazine. As i didn't have any re-positionable adhesive, keeping the mask in place wasn't easy so I just used one frame.

Card Recipe
Card
Craftwork Cards
Die
Spellbinders Labels One
Inks
Distress Inks - Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge
Memento - Tuxedo Black
Stamps
Script - Paper Artsy
Flower - Crafty Individuals CI206
Thank you - Crafty Individuals

First Birthday

Our youngest Grand Daughter was one last week - where did that year go? I have my new Houghie Board to thank for my first ever hand made rosette. I was really pleased with it! The board really makes easy work of scoring the paper.

Card Recipe
Card
White card
Pink Bazzill card
Papers
Bella Press - Watermelon Polka Dots and Decorative Dots
Image
Digi Stamp Boutique
Ink
Barn Door Distress Ink
Embellishments
Card Candi by Craftworks Cards
Number 1 from Craft Too embossing folder
Die
Nellie Snellen Square MFD006
Other
Copic Markers
Glitter

Butterfly Kaliedescope

I wanted a special card for my Aunt's ninetieth birthday and this Pop Up Spring card project from Cardmaking Paradise fitted the bill. The background paper was not quite the vibrant blue the photo suggests.

Card Recipe
Paper/Card:
Bazzill card
Background paper Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash
Craft Creations Hi-5 Pearl Cryogen White Card
White Vellum (coloured and stamped with Brilliance ink)
Inks:
Distress Inks - Tumbling Glass, Broken China,
Versamark
Brilliance Pearlescent Sky Blue
Embossing powder:
Judikins Lapis Lazuli
Stamps
Happy Birthday - Anita's
Flowers - Fourth Dimension
Other
Organza ribbon
Flat white pearls