January Card Swap

A couple of years ago I joined a card swap group.  I love being a part of this group and look forward to get a different card each month.  There are currently 12 of us in the group scattered along the eastern side of Australia. 

This month our change was to make a beach or boat inspired card.  When I think beach I think clean and natural.  I had a quick scan through the internet, and was inspired to come up with this design.

I used Distress inks to make the sky and Ocean background.  I used Weathered wood for the sky and Broken china for the ocean.  The sand is some Core'dinations card stock that has been torn to create the rough look. 

The stamp sets used are Technique Tuesday "One of a Kind" and the Hobby Art Coast Scene-it set.

Till next time

Happy Crafting

Birthday celebrations

One of my ladies that comes to workshop and has become a good family friend celebrated her birthday this week (as did my wonderful husband).  Here is the card and gift pack I made for her. 

Her favourite colours are Red, Orange, Yellow & Black, so keeping that in mind, I made a simple tri-shutter card using Core'dinations Poinsettia card as the base and decorated with Prima Marketing "one-up" paper.  

To make the flowers, I have used two different tones of Mulberry Paper which are layered together and then cut with either a scallop circle die or a flower die depending on the look you want to achieve.  Attach all the layers together with a brad through the centre and then scrunch each of that layers to create a fluffy flower.

 

This would have to be one of my favourite quote stamps I own.  Produced by Stampendous, it stamps beautifully every time in all different ink mediums.  The butterfly is a Cheery Lynn die and the flourish is by Die-namics.

For those that don't know, I also own Candles For Your Senses.  I make soy candles, melts and other home fragrance items.   So to finish off the gift basket, I added a special candle and a new addition to my product range - some Room Spray.  I say this candle is special as it is a one off piece.  The words have been cut in vinyl using the Silhouette Cameo and adhered to the jar once the candle was set and cool.





I am very pleased to say she was super excited when she opened the box to all here goodies.



Till next time

Happy Crafting

Happy New Year

Well quite clearly I broke last years Resolution to keep this blog updated :(   That's why I don't make New Year Resolutions.    But I am going to try again this year because I am persistent and stubborn like that :).  To be honest, I got so busy I never really had a chance to sit down and showcase what I had been doing each week.  So this time round, I am going to set aside a time each week and dedicate myself to keeping everyone up to date. 

So lets start by showing what have been working on for January workshops.  I love the idea of spotlighting and have seen a couple of methods.  I also love masking off areas of workspace and inking up with colour.  So with that in mind I came up with these three cards.




I love this traditional way of spotlighting where you stamp in a solid colour and then pick a portion of the image to highlight with colour.  I used Archival Jet Black ink to stamp, then used distress inks and a finger dauber to colour so as to get a soft effect.  Very simple yet very effective.  I learned very quickly though that you need a stamp that is large enough otherwise it doesn't look natural enough.






I must admit I saw this version of spotlighting on one of my many scans of Pinterest!  Which then led me to YouTube!  I am sorry but I can not remember where I saw it and didn't think to pin it myself as I hadn't realised it was one that had been selected for me and not someone I follow :(  It uses a emboss resist technique to highlight sections of a stamped design.  I also made use of some freebie stamps by Indigo Blue which I got on card magazine. 


I also love masking and wanted to demonstrate to my ladies different ways of masking.  We usually use predesigned stencils when we mask, but I used masking tape!!  Well that's what it has been made for :)  I have also used a stencil to get the extra colours.   The butterfly is a Marianne Creatables die and has been cut three times in different colours.  as you layer the butterflies, don't be afraid to cut away what you don't need.  It adds a beautiful 3D effect!!

 

So now I am off to start planning the next project.  Please feel free to tell me off if you don't see a post for a while :)

Till next time

Happy Crafting