Playing with Promarkers

OK, so the doing things in threes didn't last very long. I actually do have 2 of 3 of the net set ready but have stalled on number 3. The main reason for that is that I got sidetracked last week - I went to a craft show and bought some more Promarkers, so I felt the need to practise with them in an attempt to improve my colouring techniques.

However, in the spirit of using up more of my thus far unused stamps, I have been using them with a couple of sets of cute Penny Black stamps that I bought longer ago than I care to admit.

Here are the results so far:

The stamp is from the Purrfect Day transparent set by Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers and mounted onto backing papers from Basic Grey and Hot of the Press., which have been punched with a Martha Stewart border punch. Finishing touches are a ribbon bow in pale lilac and some dots of Pearlidoodles.

I love this cute cat. Coloured again with Promarkers and mounted onto shapes cut with Nestabilities. The backing plate has been embossed with the Birds and Swirls folder. Just a simple bow on a curly clip to embellish.

It's that cat again, this time mounted on to my first attempt at a teardrop card. The backing paper is from a huge Papermania pad that I bought ages ago, and I've used the same paper on the other sides of the card, which is a trifold.

Well I haven't made three cards from the same stamp, but from the same set of stamps, so I guess that counts as doing things in threes.

Thanks for looking.

Coffee and Cream Fleur de Lis

As a brief departure from doing things in threes, because I haven't posted for a while and I still haven't done number three of the next set, here is a card that came together fairly quickly.

I made this using the Fleur de Lis pendant die set by Spellbinders, layering the pieces like a medallion and mounted onto panels cut with dies by Go Kreate. I used some flat back pearls by Basic Grey to embellish.
A fairly simple card - the dies did all the work really.

Inspired by Craft Stamper and doing things in threes

I have some questions for any fellow crafters reading this? Do you buy much more stash then you ever use? Do you hoard pretty papers and find yourself reluctant to cut them up and use them? Do you ever wonder if the shopping for craft products has taken over from the actual creating? Do you forget how much stuff you really have and then find yourself buying duplicates?

At some point last year I found that I was still going to lots of crafting shows, but I was coming home with fewer purchases. There seemed to be less 'stuff' that I needed. I have a tiny home and my limited storage space was already overstretched beyond belief. With craft products taking up valuable space in three rooms, I was finding it difficult to get past thinking "if I buy this, where on earth will I put it?". It was then that I took the drastic decision to actually use all of those papers and embellishments, if only so that I could make some room for more. That in itself was unbelievably liberating. If you've read this far and understand what I'm talking about, do give it a try - you really won't regret it. Why spend a fortune on stuff that you don't want to use? Even if you can't find exactly the same thing to replace it with, there are always new products coming along on which to spend your crafting pennies.

Now don't get the wrong impression, there are still many, many things in my crafting stash that I haven't used yet, including various punches, umpteen Cuttlebug embossing folders and cutting dies, and let's not talk about the microwave glass fusing kiln that my OH bought me for Christmas in 2008......Worst of all are the stamps - rubber and clear, mounted and unmounted - that I just had to have, but which have never seen even a sniff of an inkpad. Now I'm not really one for making New Year's resolutions, but this year I have resolved to use those stamps, and not only to use them once but to make at least 3 projects with each of them.

This is a long preamble to explain why I'm starting to do things in threes and to adopt as a theme for this blog my very own version of stamping contrasts.

For this trio I was inspired by a project in the very latest edition of Craft Stamper, which featured stamps from Stampin' Up. I wouldn't want to violate any copyright by posting a picture of the card on here, but if you have the magazine, you can see it on page 47.

Stamps from Harlequin Daisy themeplate by Elusive Images. The three panels are all coloured with Distress Inks. Backing paper from the Graphicus Guild Members' collection. Embellished with zoomz.

Stamps from Musical Jester themeplate by Elusive Images. Backing paper is another one from the Graphicus Guild Members' collection. Embossed panel uses Cuttlebug Devine Swirls embossing folder. EK success border punch and a Creative Acrylics text panel coloured with gold Krylon.

Once again Elusive Images Harlequin Daisy stamps, this time with a backing plate made from Coredinations whitewash card and the Cuttlebug Diamonds in the Rough embossing folder. Contrast strip was punched with Martha Stewart Lattice Arch border punch. Zoomz and ribbon to finish.

If you like the cards or have anything to say about hoarding your stash, then please do leave a comment. Or just leave a comment anyway to let me know that someone is reading :)

A New Start

Well it's been a while since I posted on this blog, but I've decided to give it another go. It's unlikely that I'll ever manage to post every day, or even every week, but I've started off 2010 with renewed inspiration and motivation to create more cards (and possibly other projects), and more motivation to photograph my work and show it on this blog. So there you go.

The Whole Book

I managed to find a way of publishing a slide show of the whole thing, in sequence. So here it is. I hope you like it.

And a few more

Here are the pages for April, May and June. Techniques are basically the same as for the previous months, but this time I used yellow as the base card for the pockets, and sprayed with red, orange, yellow, gold and copper inks. I also used orange card for layering the date panels, rather than the darker red.



I wish I knew how to put all of these pictures into a slide show. Will post the remaining pages soon to finish off this set of posts, and then hopefully move on to something else.



Thanks for looking,

More pages

Here are the pages for the first 3 months of the year:




I used the same red card for each page, onto which I stamped a background using Fired Brick Distress Ink. I then added some gold highlights onto the base. For some of them I used Encore Ink in gold, for others, I used Perfect Pearls dusted over an image stamped with the Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad (which I bought in one of my many attempts to get a good foiled image - the result being, I wouldn't recommend it for foiling, but it's great with Perfect Pearls and other mica powders). The pockets started life as plain orange cardstock, believe it or not, which was improved immensely by the liberal application of spray inks from Sticky Fingers and further spraying with some sumptuous Starburst Stains, which I think are quite similar to Glimmer Mists. Sadly, my photography skills don't do justice to the shimmery finish. Not, the only problem with the resulting finish was that I found it quite difficult to stamp onto. Even the Encore Ink, which is a really good metallic finish on most surfaces, didn't show up very well, so I had to resort once again to the Essential Glue Pad/Perfect Pearls combo or to embossing. Even then, I found that the embossed finish started to melt into the background much more quickly than usual.

For the date panels, I printed out tables that I created with my word processor, and mounted them onto matt gold and contrasting burgundy card. If and when I need to update them, I will simply stick the new panels over the top.

Thanks for looking, I'll be back soon with the next few pages.

A Year in Cards

Phew, I've just finished my biggest project to date. It's a birthday book - a book with a page for each month to record birthdays (or cards that I need to make) and a pocket in which to store those cards once I've made them. I'm not going to admit just how long it did take to make, but at last it's finished.

To stay with a consistent theme, I decided to go with a limited colour palette and just one range of stamps. For colour, I began with red - my favourite colour - as the base, to which I added accents of gold, copper and orange. There are also some touches of yellow for the summer months. Yellow is my least favourite colour, so I chose to use up some yellow base card by altering it with spray inks in red, orange, gold and copper. For the autumn and winter months, I managed to disguise some orange base card by covering it entirely with spray inks in darker red shades, together with more gold and copper.

All of the stamps that I used are from the Damask Delights range from Elusive Images. I just adore these stamps, and I really enjoyed using them for this project.

OK, here is the grand unveiling of the cover:


I covered some A4 pieces of chipboard (Tip: You never know when the packaging from your online shopping will come in useful) with some gorgeous red and gold handmade paper that I bought a few years ago at the most wonderful paper shop that we found in Southern Spain. The stamped flower image has been foiled by using the absolutely amazing Stickum powder by Sparkle 'n Sprinkle. I've tried so many ways of getting a really good foil effect, and I cannot recommend this product too highly. Just in case you're wondering,I bought mine from Joanna Sheen. I think I'll be using this much more, especially for Christmas cards.

The letters are made with some thin craft metal that I cut out with my Cuttlebug. I backed the metal with double-sided tape before I cut it out, as I have learned from experience that's the easiest way to stick die-cut letters.

The butterflies are also die cut and embossed with the Cuttlebug, using more gold coloured metal and some off-cuts from the sprayed yellow card.

Finally, I added a few flourishes that I cut from various pieces of gold paper with my Whale of a Punch.

I hope you like it enough to come back and see the next few pages.......

Card for Mother's Day

Sadly, since my mum died just over two years ago, I only have one card to make for Mother's Day, for my MIL. This is this year's effort, for which I have been saving the bluebell heart stamp from Elusive Images. Once I had coloured the main image with my Prismacolor pencils, I realised that the Lily Kate papers from Basic Grey would be a good match with it. So, in the spirit of trying to use more of my existing stash before buying any more, I found myself cutting into three whole sheets for this card! I cut the heart apertures with my long-neglected shape cutter and even broke into some Safmat to add the text quotation on the left. I finished the whole thing off with some die-cut letters and a ribbon bow. The final effect is very different from my usual style, with many more colours and patterns - overall it's much 'busier' than my normal comfort zone. To be honest, I'm still not sure if I like it.......
Anyway, if you happened to stop by, thanks for looking.

A pair of cute bears

I've been practising my watercolouring. I got out my dusty tin of Lyra Aquacolour crayons and tried them out on this cute bear by Stamps by Judith. I think there's still some room for improvement, but will keep trying. I used papers from K&Co on both cards, together with some of my vast stash of ribbon. Also took the chance to try out my Fiskars Threading Water punch, which is seriously addictive ;) I hope you like them.

Art Deco in Black and white

As a long-standing admirer of all things Art Deco, when I found the Di Kaye Art Deco CD by Card Creations Plus I just had to buy it. This card features one of the many fabulous images on the CD. I have added some black glitter to the image and mounted it onto a black base card by Kanban that is embellished with a celtic motif - I thought it went quite well with the Art Deco mood. A little organza ribbon in silver is the only other embellishment.

My blue Valentine

I recently joined the CBC forum and couldn't resist their challenge to make a Valentine's card that had no red or pink, because I've been saving this flocked DCWV cardstock for a romantic occasion. I used stamps by Crafty Individuals and some domed alphabet stickers that have been sitting in a drawer for ages. Some silver beads and fibres are the other embellishments.

Glittered Christmas Stocking

The photograph really doesn't show this card in all of it's sparkly glory. I stamped the Christmas Stocking from Wild Rhodes onto acetate and glittered the back, then mounted it onto two layered panels cut with my new Nestabilities. This then went onto a darker panel which I embossed with a small Cuttlebug folder and layered with some nbrown satin ribbon and some copper card edged with Threading Water again. Some more foiled sentiments from Craftwork Cards complete the card.

Simple Snowflake Christmas Card

This could hardly be easier. Onto a square white base card I stuck a panel of lovely shimmery paper, which I had edged with a Threading Water border punch. Then I just added snowflakes cut from glitter and mirri card and embossed with the Cuttlebug, with the addition of an iridescent gemstone in the centre. A circle sentiment from Craftwork Cards finished the card off. I've made quite a few of these, all on the same theme but each one slightly different. Here's another one:

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The reason I haven't posted in a while is that I've been spending a lot of time making Christmas cards, the special sort of family ones that you don't want the recipient to see until it's time for them to receive them. Due to various reasons, I lost some of my available time for finishing these cards, so it's been a real push to get them all done in time. However, now that the family cards are all finished, I realise that I might be a little short on other cards, and - whisper this - I might have to actually buy some cards this year.

Anyway, I can at last begin to post some of my Christmas cards for 2008, and I hope you like them.


I adore the Penny Black 12 Days of Christmas stamp set, and so far I haven't got past day one!!
I stamped the image onto a circle cut with my Nestabilities, then coloured it with Prismacolor pencils. Layered with more Nestability circles and backed with papers from DCWV and Basic Grey.

Here's another made with the same stamp and using paper from Pink Petticoat:

For my Biker Brother

As my brother is an avid biker, it's fairly easy to come up with a theme for his birthday card - however, not so easy to keep coming up with new ideas around that theme. This year I used an image from the Dottie and George collection at Charmed Cards and Crafts, and decoupaged it in 3 layers. For the base card, I used a pattern from the DCWV Rock Star Stack. The text is die cut from Funky Foam, and I finished it off with some silver stars. As the card measures 12" x 6", I had to make a box for it for posting.

I love my Cuttlebug

Another simple card, inspired by one that I saw on a blog, but sadly can't remember whose. If I do find my source of inspiration, I promise to edit this post and give full credit to that person. Anyway, here we have three panels of contrasting DCWV card, eah embossed with the same Cuttlebug border folder and then embellished with gems. The greeting is from a Blonde Moments stamp.

Two Simple Cards

Back with the spirit of keeping things quick and easy, here are two cards that I made with the lovely Art Deco lady images from Kanban. The first is embellished with a Cuttlebug embossed panel and a single feather. The second one is pyramage (I think), mounted onto a foiled base card with my first beaded pin that I've secured with a satin ribbon. The whole thing is finished off with a stamped greeting.

Thanks to everyone who continues to look in.

Fantasy Film Dragonfly

I used Fantasy Film with this beautiful Mackintosh-style dragonfly stamp from OneFourZero. Now I have a confession to make - after I had used this clear stamp only once, I managed to tear it in half while removing it from the acrylic block. I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to use it again, but I have to admit I'm impressed with the results -you can't really tell that the stamp was in two pieces when I used it here. I mounted two Fantasy Film dragonflies together to enable me to leave the top pair of wings free. The backing paper is from the Artylicious Butterfly Bliss CD. The greeting is another stamp from the OneFourZero set, embossed in silver.

Oh no!! Peel offs!!

Well there go all my pretensions of being a serious rubber stamp artist - I made a card with peel offs this weekend. This is not something I do very often, I must confess. However, faced with very little time, and even less inspiration, with which to make a card, I decided to experiment with the silhouette peel off and some illusion film. To go with the safari theme, I even managed to use up some glittered animal print card that I have been hoarding for ages. Even further, I used a colour scheme that is way outside my comfort zone. As for the final result, well you will either love it or hate it.