2018 Christmas Cards

So, it's been a while and I've not really had the inspiration to make cards for a while. We moved house in August and I've still been trying to find where I had hidden all my crafty bits and pieces. But I decided to root through all my old boxes and I think I also found my inspiration hiding in there

This year I made cards for close friends and family. One of the things I found was the Indigo Blu Flakes and Flitter glu and some of their lovely stamps. First up was this card I made for my boyfriend's mum. Now I can't tell you which of the flakes I used as I bought them over 4 years ago and tipped them into another container. The stamp is Festive Flurry from Stampin' up and is one of my Christmas faves

I used silver flakes for the large snowflake and gold flakes for the smaller snowflake. I then cut a medium snowflake from blue pearl card and used it to show off the colours in the other two images.
The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed with WOW! powder in Ruby Romance.

Now, I love heat embossing and I have far too many of the WOW! powders. And they certainly come out at Christmas. I love the fact you can add sparkle to a card without it going everywhere!

Another Stampin' Up favourite stamp of mine is Snow Day, where you can build a snowman. I made two of these cards this year and embossed them both in different WOW! powders. The first is Blue Blast which is one of my favourites and always comes out at Christmas in one form or another

The background was made using Indigo Blu's snowflakes stamp. It was stamped with Versamark and then I brushed over some blue pigment powder. In the right light it really shimmers

The next one was embossed using Sensational Sage - the pictures do not do this powder justice. It is a green and it has some amazing colours running through it that change colour depending on the light. I tried to capture it as best as I could but it just wasn't working

I did also make some other cards but I forgot to take pictures of them. I've asked the recipients if they can get pictures and then I will show you.

Claire

Backyard Basics Workshop - the pictures

Yesterday saw my second all day workshop using the Backyard Basics stamp set and some lovely watercolouring techniques.

It also turned a bit messy as we got to grips with 'spritzing' with the aqua brush - there was quite a bit of ink everywhere.

These are the two things we made using this technique, which, once you have the hang of how to get the ink out the brush, is fairly straight forward and effective

These two also use the new scallop tag punch which is in the new Spring/Summer catalogue - and was a very popular item yesterday. It is so easy to make tags with and they can be made any length. We also made the following card and favour box with the tag punch:

One of the other new products we tried out was the flip card die. This was really easy to use and makes lovely cards at the drop of a hat - or a quick run through a big shot machine!

First off we made this simple bird card

And then we elongated the card to create a hidden pocket in the next card. The pocket can be used to put money or a gift card in and sent securely though the post.

We also made a bird flap card with a hidden sentiment inside

And this different take on an easel card:

Then there was this lovely waterfall card which was really easy as it used one of templates that I had - all you need to do is draw round it and cut it out. Simple as that, then you can get on with the decorating of the card.

And this bee card which I had to show you as well. The background was stamped with the bee stamp and embossed using white powder. Then it was coloured over using the aqua brush and daffodil delight ink to create a lovely graduated wash of colour.

The liquid pearls really finished off the card too.

The next workshop is taking place on Saturday 15th March so if you would like any more details then please let me know. I am also working on ideas for downloadable PDF's of workshops which may interest a few of you out there?

Claire

Happy New Year and 2014 Calendar Tutorial

Happy New Year everybody. I hope you aren't feeling too bad today and that you all have a very successful 2014.

I thought it was a good time to share with you this calendar I made, actually a few months ago, intended for a workshop but ran out of time. It's really easy to make and can be decorated how you wish.

1) Take an A4 piece of chipboard card and score at 9.8, 19.6 and 29.4 cm

2) Trim the length to 16cm. Using the strip that you have cut off, mark 1.5 cm either side of the score lines and cut, to make two tabs which hold the calendar together.

3) Lay the main piece in front of you with the long part at the top and mark the left section as 1 - the back, 2 - the front and 3 the bottom. This will help you when decorating.

4) Pain the edges of the calendar in white acrylic paint and leave to dry.

5) Stamp 3 sets of 3 flowers using the Flower Shop Stampin Up set in melon mambo, marina mist and so saffron. Cut out and using something soft underneath, such as a mouse mat, rub the surface with an embossing tool to create the 3D effect.

6) Stamp 4 sets of leaves from the Stipple Blossoms Stampin Up set in Pear pizzaz and Wild Wasabi and cut out.

7) Cut paper from the gingham garden paper pack to 15.3 x 9.1 cm. Ink the edges with the melon mambo ink pad and stick to the front and back of the calendar. Cut a strip of pink gingham paper to 15.3 x 2cm and stick to the back section.

8) Layer up the flowers using glue dots and stick the yellow set to the back section. Stick the sets of leaves down to the front and stick the pink and blue flowers over the top.

9) Mount the calendar tab onto marina mist card and stick to the front of the calendar. Finish with small co-ordinating pearls.

10) To assemble the calendar, put double sided tape onto both top and bottom of the tabs and peel off the bottom section. Stick to on side of the calendar, fold the sides in as a triangle, peel off the other double sided tape and stick the calendar together, making sure the two edges join neatly.

Now you have a lovely desk calendar for your crafty space.

Claire x