A few more retired oldies

I love how this card turned out - there's something about the use of vellum to soften an image.  I pull this stamp set out every so often but a stamp-a-ma-jig is essentially to use to make sure everything lines up properly.  The roses have been stamped onto white, overlayed with vellum and then tucked into real red cardstock with two thirds of the front section "torn" away.  I stamped the greeting onto the vellum to keep it in the forefront of the card.  

A little bit fiddly, but well worth the effort.

After I had stamped out the image on this card below it still looked a little "unfinished even with the butterflies, so I grabbed the scoring board and created the border around the edges.  Much better, don't you think?

 

A little milestone - thanks

I am not sure if any of you have noticed, but the visitor count to my little blog site has just reached over 10,000 visitors.  Now I realise that probably most of that would be from me and my family, but thank you anyway.  

This card was made for my sister's recent birthday, a country garden theme for a country dweller.  This would have to be one of my favourite cards made recently and it was fun to make as well.  Lots of stamp sets were used, and apart from the sentiment and butterfly, all were second generation images.  This means that the stamp was inked up and stamped on scrap paper and then stamped again on the card front for a more subtle and subdued effect.  There is also something elegant about the vanilla on vanilla colour scheme too in my opinion.  I just like the way it looks, and then the sponging sets it off as well.  Hope you agree. 

 

Have you had a chance to check out the 2014 catalogue yet?  There is a link to it on the left side of the screen if you want to look.  My parcel of goods only recently arrived, so hopefully soon I will be able to put up some cards made with new stamps.  

Another birthday

Guess what I forgot to do?  I went away to visit my Dad and had scheduled a few posts for while I was away, but then when I came back I completely forgot all about posting.  I guess I just assumed there were posts ready to go - oops.  

I seem to have lots of birthdays around October/November, and this one was for my 17 year old niece.  It gets a little hard thinking of a suitable gift so we thought a gift card might be the way to go.  I wanted to make a pocket style card for the gift card and this was the end result.  

I used the top note die for the lovely flap shape, sponged with Coastal Cabana and stamped with my favourite script from French Foliage.  Two buttons with a bit of string kept it all together and even though they weren't exactly the same colour I don't think it stands out too much.  Perhaps I should have used a softer colour for the flower stamp, but I didn't have enough time to re-do it.  

 

Swing flip flop card

Apparently that's the correct name for this type of card.  This is the final one of these to share with you.  It also shows one of the latest trends, the Chalkboard Technique.  This is where you ink up your stamp on black cardstock with VersaMark and then emboss using white embossing powder.  After it's been heated and set, you then smudge with  sponge or whatever using a white ink pad to create the chalk like smudges on a blackboard.  Some areas are then sponged over with colour if you like.  Not sure I really like the effect, but you have to try it once. 

You may notice the background has been stamped with some of the images from French Foliage stamp set.  Even though this set will retire soon I have no intention of letting this one go.

Faux Embossing Technique

I can't really remember the correct name for this technique, but I think it's called Faux Embossing.  Now I don't like the layout of the card for this one, but I love the effect with the stamps.  The important bit was the stamping, the rest, nah!

First of all you stamp an image in Whisper White ink and then let it dry.  You can hurry up the process with a heat gun if you like, but it must be dry before the next bit.  Then you use a stamp positioner to stamp again in a different colour ink, in this case Crumb Cake, but instead of stamping directly on the previous image you move it slightly off.  This gives it the shadow effect which really looks good.  

 

Saturday's cards

Well, I got all confused last week and stuffed up.  My big sister is actually coming down this week, not last, and that depends too on whether she can get through from Brisbane after all the rain.  Hopefully things will have cleared up a lot by then cause we need all the roads and weather clear for next Saturday so I can get to see all my family again.  Big event.  More news later.

I had a class on the weekend, the first one for this year, and was able to catch up with most of my little group of stamping buddies.  I made them work a bit harder this time with 6 different projects to create.  

This first card had two different versions to it.  I think it's called a Criss Cross Card, but maybe that's just what I call it.  They are both made with retired DSP I had stashed away so I am not sure of the names of them.  My favourite is this first one, all Old Olive tones.  

Quite easy to make using a 4 x 12 inch strip of DSP.  You simply score at 4 and 8 inches for the folds, and then depending on which way you score and fold the front and back flaps changes the look of the card.  This one is scored from the top of the 4 inch mark to the bottom left edge and then scored from the top of the 8 inch mark to the bottom right edge.  You then fold the top down to the bottom corner to create the triangle and then stick the flap down. The insert is then stuck in the middle so it pokes through the top when folded.  

This next one is scored from the bottom of the 4 inch mark to the top edge and then the top of the 8 inch mark to the bottom and then folded back and stuck down.  On this version the last 4 inch section has been taped at the bottom to form a pocket for the insert or gift card.   Just remember this last one will not stand on its own.  Bit annoying but what can you do.  We did try reversing the flaps so it could stand on just the one flap, but then the insert is upside down and could fall out of the pocket. 

Hope you were able to understand what I was talking about.  Much easier to do than explain really. 

                    

 

Another female birthday

While I was making my sister's I made this one too for a friend of mine.  I am quite a fan of the 2011-2013 In Colours and will really miss them next year when they are retired off.  They all just go together beautifully.  

Another diagonal pattern with the scoring tool, paper piercing and a spray of shimmer on the centre image this time.  Pretty!  

Wonder if I have pursuaded anyone they need to buy this set yet?

Female Birthday

This is one of my sister's birthday cards.  I actually started  orking on her card ages ago but just couldn't get it "right".  My sister is a very clever and talented patchworker and makes amazing quilts so I wanted to make her a patchwork card.  First I used the square punch and then cut the shapes on the diagonal to make triangles, but my cuts had to be perfect to make it look good, and they weren't perfect and it didn't look good.  This is a photo of the first attempt.  

See, nice from a distance, but up close the spacing isn't that good.  I could and should have not put any space between the squares, but anyway that one was scrapped.  

 

Next I tried using the Petite Pennant punch which obviously is a triangle shape.  I really liked this one, but couldn't find the right image/embellishment to put on the front of the card.  Used a Label Framelits but the triangles and curves didn't look right together.  Tried all five variations of in colours to see if that worked better, but still not right.  Sorry, no photo.

Third attempt and I was running out of time now so this is what I went with.  

Yes it's that set again.  Used the scoring tool again, this time making the lines diagonal and then using the reverse side facing up.  Paper pierced around the centre image, stuck on some ribbon, sentiment and added some bling.  Nice but not great.  And I ended up sending the second card too just to show her.   

Female birthday card

I find it very hard to make cards for my friends who also stamp as you want to make something different and clever for them.  I spent hours on lots of different ideas, even though it doesn't look like it.  I know it isn't different or clever, but I just ran out of time so had to go with bling to jazz it up.  

I have used Serene Silhouettes again, with a bit of scoring on the sides, ribbon, diamontes and a sparkly ribbon slide that I found in the cupboard. It amazing what you find when you look. 

Happy birthday Kylie. 

Male birthday

Yes, I've used Serene Silhouettes again!  I told you it was one of my current favourites.  

This technique is called masking and there are some really clever women out there in internet world who do this sort of thing with a brayer to make a graduated sky colour, but for those of us without a brayer we have to make do with sponges and daubers.  

I have stamped the tree in black Staz On ink on white cardstock and then using the sticky part of a post it note punched out a circle and stuck it down in a moon-like location.  With a dauber I have tried to gradually build up the colour around the circle.  Once the sticky note is removed you hopefully have a crisp white moon looking back at you.  Just needs a few bats flying across the sky. 

Sympathy card

Thanks for popping in.  Last week I had to make a sympathy card, fortunately I don't have to do this very often.  You want the card to look simple but like you put a bit of effort into it, and then not too colourful, but nothing dull either.  Hopefully I managed that with this card. 

Seems strange to dissect a sympathy card, but I chose Wisteria Wonder for its soft elegance and then Serene Silhouettes, my current favourite stamp set.  I don't have the diagonal plate for my Simply Scored Scoring Tool, but have worked out a way I can score so it comes out diagonally and have used this on the background white.  I then used the Paper Piercing Pack and cut out the shape by hand (or by cutter) to get the shape for the image in the centre.  The dandelion (?) flowers have then been blinged with KindyGlitz.  I was happy with the finished result. 

 

Simply Scored Scoring Tool

When I first heard about the Simply Scored Scoring Tool I decided that it was one of those things I didn't need to buy.  I had a scoring blade on my cutter and that was all I needed.  But then after trying to make the Double Gate Fold card shown a couple of posts earlier I realised that my folds needed to be 100% perfectly in the right spot for it all to line up.  And I really wanted to demonstrate that card in my Saturday group and for us all to make it.  So it became a necessity.  And I am happy that I bought it.  Apart from the gate fold cards it has been having a work out lately.  

I was just playing around the other day and this card eventuated.  The lines are scored every every half inch in both directions.  Originally I was trying for brick work or wall panels, but just ended up going with squares (and even then I stuffed up - can you see where I went wrong?).  This is another image from Serene Silhouettes just inked in Black Stazon and then the background has been sponged a little.  I then put a black border around it like a window frame to highlight.  

Needs a little blinging up, perhaps a bow or some pearls or diamontes. 

Another silhouette

I really love this set and am so glad I bought it.  The card I have made today is so simple, but pretty.  You could make this card quite quickly too.  

I have stamped this using Regal Rose and Pretty In Pink for the flowers and Lucky Limeade and Old Olive for the stems and then just used a black pen for the outline.  And done.  All in a single layer. 

Zig Zag male card

This was the easier option of card to make on Saturday.  I have used the new Chevron embossing folder but before embossing the folder has been swiped with an ink pad, so that when put through the Big Shot it inks up the colour into the unraised sections.  The technique is a little random so you can never really be sure whether you will get a good coverage of ink.  Guess that's part of the charm of this idea.  The stamp is from Serene Silhouettes and has just been inked in Staz On with the edges of the black done using the paper piercer also.  A lot easier than the previous card but still good. 

 

Another Framelits card

You can tell I love my framelit dies by the number of times I use them.  This is another card from Saturday.  People had a choice of this card, which was a little more involved, and the next one I will post.  Even now I think this one needs something more, but I ran out of ideas and time.  

The image is from one of the new stamp sets that I absolutely had to have.  The set is called Serene Silhouettes and has four stamps, this one, Friday's design,  a solid circle with a branch of flowers and a butterfly, and lastly a set of three trees, all obviously in silhouette.   

The stamp was coloured in with markers first and then cut out with the framelits.  A piece of Cherry Cobbler was also cut out with the next biggest  framelit and we used the new Paper Piercing Pack around the edge.  You can't see very well in the photos but there is a tiny line of pinholes all around the edges of the red framelit shape.  Next we used the Edgelits Dies on the white with the Adorning Accents Embossing Folder.  And finally the Stripes Embossing folder for the final piece of Cherry Cobber.  

One of the ladies changed the design slightly and hers is below.  I think that maybe that's what was needed - a sentiment of some sort and the white backed with Cherry Cobbler.