Christmas card making

It's Christmas time

I thought I'd share with you some Christmas cards I made at the weekend using Craftwork Cards Products.

This cute little card was made using a technique taught by Julie Hickey - CWC demonstrator.

This is a simple card with a cut away window and the sentiment added inside

Another of Julie Hickeys techniques, I love this card, it will have to be hand delivered as it's to big to go into an envelope

I love the simple look of this card but think it's needing a sentiment

I'm not sure if you can tell but there is glitter on all of the dots, it took a while to cut the sign post using my scalpel but it was worth it

This card has a little flap with a hidden message underneath

A cute little bird and a touch of glitter

The holly berries on this card have an epoxy glaze on them and they look raised 

This card has glitter, foil and epoxy on it yet it doesn't look to over the top

This card was made by both me and my daughter Katie, I love the icy lilac and blue

This final card brings together 3 different kits, the Colour with Candi kit, the tartan paper kit and also the festive calk board kit. I cut a section out of the topper to allow the tartan paper to pop through.

I hope you like the cards I've shared today, it was just a quick post as there is lots going on behind the scenes. that I will be sharing with you in the next 2 weeks but until then Mums the word! Tx

Beau Papier

Good morning everyone

I thought today I could share a few cards I made with Craftwork cards "Beau papier" kit. It's their most recent release can consists of a mix of bright bold colours and natural muted tones, I know, I know, it sounds like a clashing of colours but believe me it's not.

The kit has natural Kraft coloured paper, designs resembling paper cutting patterns and so much more.

Here's what I've made so far;

My first card is a very simple one; A piece pf baking paper in a chalky pink with a Kraft brown topper, a paper flower and a thin twine bow, understated yet luxurious.

This card was made using the matching clear stamps from the Julie loves range, a topper from the main kit and some twine.

The next card is a bit brighter and a fancy shape, I was getting a bit braver here. The Aubergene, pink and natural brown really compliment each other. The flowers are from the kit and again I added some twine.

For this card I used one of the stamps in the Julie love stamps collection,a topper from the kit and some twine.  As I was using a Kraft card blank I thought it would look nice to cut some of the topper away to show the brown underneath.

This one is my favorite so far, I love the pink, white and Kraft. Very natural and girly.

I always like to make use of the off cuts especially when the paper is as pretty as this. A banner/pennant is a great way to use them up and layering contrasting colours and patterns gives a funky look. 

My final card was made with 3 stamps from the Julie loves range, a border stamp, the heart and a flower. I stamped using Versamark clear ink and heat embossed with copper embossing powder.  I mated and layered with Plum and white card, added some copper pearls. I realised I didn't have any purple ribbon so out come a Plum promarker pen and some white organza ribbon, I still have purple finger nails but it was worth it as the bow coordinates beautifully.

I hope you like my creations, I'll be back soon with some more crafty makes Tx

Life in colour - Tutorial 11

Life in colour.

I love colour and how it makes me feel but when it comes to my crafting I easily fall into the habit of using the Same colour combinations so I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone and play with colour.

Difficulty;   Beginner-Intermediate
Time;  45 min 

Materials;

Imagine Crafts featuring Tsukineko:  
• Clear embossing powder
• Momento luxe in Pear tart, Morocco and Dandelion
• sponge daubers
• ink potion no 9

Miscellaneous:
A4 Watercolour paper, Brayer, Pink acrylic paint, Tile, Stencil brush, Sequin waste (Punchinella), Old gift card/piece of plastic, Alphabet stencil – free from a craft magazine, Texture stencil, Heat gun and baby wipes.

Directions;

Add Pear Tart Ink on to the tile and spray with Ink Potion No 9, roll the brayer through the ink a few times, now roll this across the paper in several directions

Repeat this process with the Moroccan and Dandelion inks making sure to clean the tile and brayer between applications with the baby wipe so the ink doesn’t muddy.

Pick up some of the ink from the tile with a sponge dauber and apply it through the sequin waste.

Next put some Pink acrylic paint onto the tile and use an old gift/bank card to dab the paint.

Use the card to make some lines on the page to add another layer of dimension and colour.

Add some ink through a texture stencil using a stencil brush, the awesome thing about the Memento Luxe inks is that they are so creamy and stay wet until heat set.

Using an alphabet stencil and the Memento Luxe inks add the wording to your project, you can use different words to suit you.

When all the lettering is complete cover all inked areas with clear embossing powder and melt.              

Lastly, use the remaining ink on your brush to distress the edges of the paper with small circular movements.

Here is my finished project. I am going to use it as the front cover of an art journal which I will use to store all my colourful arty makes.

Naturally Gorjuss - Tutorial 10

Good evening everyone, I hope you are all warm and safe out of this nasty storm.  Today I decided to make a natural looking card with a image from the Gorjuss range and wanted to share it with you so that you could have a go at making one too.

Here's how I made it;

I started with a A5 Kraft card blank and edged it with a dark brown alcohol marker

I used a Tonic studios tag die to cut a tag from some brown card

I then used the tag with it's oval inner ring to cut a patterned frame

The die set has a 3rd inner die which I used to cut a little oval mat which my image will sit on

I cut a little sentiment from brown card

To cut my image I used the inner most ring as a template I drew around it and cut it out with some scissors

Hand cutting a curved shape is never 100% perfect so I edged the image with a dark brown pen, this helps to detract from my wobbly cutting

I tied a little bow from 1 ply twine. I do this by making two loops and knotting them together as this results in the loops and tails sitting neatly opposite each other.

Now for laying the card up, I use hi tack glue to stick the brown tag base to the card

I then glue the tag frame in place

And then I added the oval mat

My image was cut from shiny card so I had to make sure to get good adhesion. A little added pressure while the glue grabs will help 

I then added my sentiment in the bottom as it makes you want to open the card and see who it's from

I then added some paper flowers to the corners and the bow I tied earlier

And here we have it, I think it's a super cute card and I love the natural look and feel.

I hope you like like it and if you do have a go at making one yourself please send me a link in the comments section below, Crafty Hugs T x

Autumn Butterflies - Tutorial 9

Autumn butterflies.

I recently discovered vertigo and loved the effects and wanted to see just how I could use it along with the items I already have in my craft room.

 
  

  

Difficulty;   Intermediate-advanced
Time;  ¾ -1  hour 

Materials;
Imagine Crafts :Vertigo (breeze)
Tsukeniko Rich Cocoa Memento ink pad
Ranger :  Alcohol inks - Cranberry, butterscotch and Oregano,  blending solution and  blending tool, 
Paperbabe stamps:  Sentiment stamp
Tonic studios:  Rococo Butterfly die
Cuttlebug: die cutting machine
Xcut: circle dies
Green card, white card, adhesive, 4 purple eyelets, eyelet setting tool, 8x8 photo box frame.



Directions;


  • To cover the vertigo add drops of the alcohol ink and blending solution to the blending tool and dab over the surface, if you want a more vivid colour add more ink and less blending solution.

 • Cut a circle aperture out of the Vertigo using a circle die and die cutting machine

•  Cut a circle from the green card the same size as the aperture and a slightly smaller white circle, Stamp the sentiment on to the white circle with the Memento Rich Cocoa ink.

•  Using the butterfly die; cut one with the green card and one with the white card. The white one will need to be coloured using the Cranberry alcohol ink in the same way we coloured the Vertigo. Cut the flourishes away from the butterflies as pictured.

•  Cut a piece of white card an inch bigger than the vertigo and attach them together using eyelets in the 4 corners.

•  Mat and layer using a piece of green card that is slightly bigger to give a border of green tying the colours together.

 • Glue the circles into the center of the vertigo and add the butterflies one on top of the other, I glued the green one flat and curled the wings of the cranberry one using the barrel of a pen and then stuck this on top.  I placed the flourishes diagonally below to balance the design.

Your finished project could be attached to the front of an 8x8 card blank or put into a box frame to use for home décor as I have below.

If you like this framed piece of art you could win it, by visiting my Facebook page Home is where the craft is where I a running a giveaway Tx