Inky Finger Zone

Big & Blue Art Nouveau Lady

2012-02-24T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

This is the last card sample I have to share from the Feb 7th show. Something new tomorrow!

This card ended up being much bigger than I'd planned - 8 1/4 inches square! It's another card that I'm not that fond of but I thought I's share it anyway.

I stamped the image from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using Perfect Medium and I embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold Metallic Embossing Powder.

The image was coloured using Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads in Fountain Blue, Classic Cobalt, Amethyst, Walnut and Parchment. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder to the first 3 colours. I rounded off the corners and added a mat in cobalt blue card.

For the background, I spritzed some Cosmic Shimmer Mister in Ocean Sunlight and Midnight Blue onto some white card. I dusted the area with my anti static pad and then stamped the small image from the Beautiful Ladies Stamp Set in each corner using Perfect Medium and I embossed them with Cosmic Shimmer Steel Blue Aurora Embossing Powder.

I cut the largest of the Spellbinders Eyelet Squares from Aqua card and 4 borders using the Spellbinders Parisian Accents die Set.

I assembled the card as shown.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Quick Card in Gold & Black

2012-02-23T07:58:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

This card is super quick to make. I have to say, it's not one I really like but it may appeal to you.

I stamped the image from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using Perfect Medium and I embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold Metallic Embossing Powder. I cut the image out leaving a small black border around it.

For the background I inked up a That Special Touch Swirls Mask with Perfect Medium and popped some black card on top. I then ran it through the Grand Calibur. The ink transferred to the debossed side of the card. I added some of the Bright Gold Metallic powder and heat set it.

I assembled the card as shown and added some dots of Cosmic Shimmer Pealescent PVA in Olympic Gold all around the edge.

Let me know what you think of this card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Wishing You a Day Fit For a Queen

2012-02-22T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

The background for this was made using the Faux Batik method as described in an earlier post here. I used the Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads in Garnet and Amethyst Ink Pads. The stamps are from the Beautiful Ladies Stamp Set.

The main image is from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set. I stamped it using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I coloured the image in using Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads in Parchment, Walnut and Amethyst plus the Pearlescent and Pale Gold Mica Powders from the Metallics Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set. I edged the image panel with the Amethyst Ink Pad and Cut & Dry Foam.

The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set and has been stamped with the Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder then edged with the Amethyst Ink.

I finished the card with some pearl dots made with the Cosmic Shimmer Dusky Pink Pearlescent PVA.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

May All Your Dreams Come True

2012-02-21T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

This is such a simple card to make.

I inked up one side of the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder with the Paris Trunk Classic Cobalt Ink Pad. I popped a piece of white card on the clean side of the folder and folded the inked side down onto it. I brayered on top of the folder to transfer the ink to the card. I added Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder and heated it with my heat tool.

Next I placed it face up on top of the Fretwork Mask and ran it through the Grand Calibur. I inked over the design with the Paris Trunk Peach Satin Dye Ink Pad using Cut & Dry Foam. The design 'popped out'.

I then cut an aperture out of the background using Spellbinders Labels Twelve. I then cut a smaller Labels Twelve from the piece already cut.

Putting the background through the Grand Calibur to cut the Spellbinders out flattened out the embossed pattern from the mask. This meant that I could stamp on top. The image is from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies Stamp Set. The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments Stamp Set. They have been stamped with Jet Black Archival. I didn't emboss them.

The design was mounted onto some Kraft card and then some plain Foundations Paper. I finished it off with a Clear Glass Glintz in each corner.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

With Love

2012-02-20T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers.

All in blue today -

For the background I inked through the Elegance Mask with the Paris Trunk Fountain Blue and Classic Cobalt Dye Ink Pads. I then spritzed with Ocean Sunlight Cosmic Shimmer Mister. I carefully removed the mask and dried the background with a heat tool. It's important to clean the mask at this point. I edged the background with the Classic Cobalt using Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped the image from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using the Classic Cobalt Ink Pad and then embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I edged the image with the Classic Cobalt using Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped the sentiment from the Simply Sentiments stamp set again with the Classic Cobalt, embossed with the clear powder and edged with Classic Cobalt.

For all the elements I created their mats from white card which was inked around the edges with the Fountain Blue Ink Pad. I then added a mat from navy card. I ruffled a piece of Limoges Blue Vintage Ribbon down one side of the background and assembled the rest of the card as shown.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Many ways to use Mica on One Card

2012-02-19T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

This was one of the demo cards from the last show on Create & Craft on 7th Feb.

I stamped the image from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using Perfect Medium and embossed it using Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold Metallic Embossing Powder which is from the Metallics and Darks Embossing Powder Set that was on the show.

I used the mica powders to colour the image by taking a little from the pot with a damp brush and adding some water. I used Red Bronze and Copper from the Metallics set, Pink Ultra and Golden Pear from the Garden Flora set.

I mounted the image onto black then copper card which was cut using the largest of the Spellbinders Eyelet Squares. I offset them slightly to form a shadow (Sue Wilson tip!).

For the background I dusted a piece of black card with my anti static pad and then stamped the feather from the Beautiful Ladies Stamp Set randomly all over with Perfect Medium. I then dusted the images with Copper Mica Powder using the brush that you get with the pack.

I added some Pink Ultra Mica Powder to the spray bottle that you get with the kit and added some water - you do not need to fill with powder to the line marked on the bottle or fill with water to the other line. Just use a little powder and add a little water. Try it and adjust the amount of mica powder or water as required. I shook the bottle to mix the powder and water and then spritzed some onto my background. You can leave it to dry or if you're impatient like me you can dry it with your heat tool.

I assembled the card as shown - the little copper dots are from the waste from the Eyelet Squares.

Hope you like the card.

I'm at the Trade Show at the NEC on the Creative Expressions Stand today, tomorrow and Tuesday. Pop by and say 'Hi' if you're going.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Love in Purple and Pink

2012-02-18T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

I stamped the image from the Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I cut a frame using Spellbinders Picot Edged Circles and a plain circle die. I cut my image to fit the frame and then coloured it using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads in Walnut for the hair, Parchment for the skin and Amethyst for other bits as shown. I mixed some pearlescent mica powder from the Cosmic Shimmer Metallics Mica Spray Set with the Amethyst ink for the flowers. I used pale gold mica powder from the same set on the earrings, gems and the headress.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set again using the Jet Black Archival and the Clear Embossing Powder. I cut it out and coloured it using the Amethyst Ink mixed with the Pearlescent Mica Powder. I mounted that on to some purple card cut with Spellbinders Labels Twenty.

For the background, I spritzed some white card with some Cosmic Shimmer Misters in Lilac Night and Mallow Blush. I dried it with a heat gun and then wiped it with my anti static pad. I inked the Ivy Background Mask with Perfect Medium. I then popped my background face down onto it, secured it with a little masking tape and ran it through the Grand Calibur. The ink transferred to my background in the debossed pattern. I then brushed Cosmic Shimmer Golden Malachite Mica Powder from the Garden Flora Mica Spray Set all over the inked pattern. I wiped away the excess with a dried out wet wipe.

I assembled the card as shown and added some dots with Cosmic Shimmer Dusky Pink Pearlescent PVA.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for dropping by.

Julia.

Big & Blue

2012-02-17T07:00:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers.

I'm back from holiday today so my Amazon Store is open again.

Today I'm sharing this card with you. It's a rather large card - almost A4 size. The Foundations papers from Creative Expressions were added to the show towards the end of my sample making so his card features them in a big way!

First I ran a piece of Foundations Paper through the Grand Calibur with the Swirls Mask. I ran it through twice to get the length - when doing this remember to hang the already embossed bit outside the plates. I went over the whole thing with Paris Trunk Fountain Blue Dye Ink to make it pop a little. You can see it a bit better in this close-up.

I stamped the image from the Beautiful Ladies stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image with Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads - Stone and Black for the hair, Blotter for the leaves and Parchment for the skin. I coloured the remainder with Classic Cobalt and Fountain Blue. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder to the Classic Cobalt for the flowers, necklace and dress. I added Cosmic Shimmer Tropic Blue Mica Powder to Fountain Blue for the outline.

I stamped the sentiment from the Simply Sentiments stamp set again with the Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I edged the panel with Classic Cobalt.

Remember Tea Bag Folding? I used to do loads of that - no so much anymore. The Foundations Papers are ideal for Tea Bag Folding especially the spotty ones. I cut 8 x 2" squares and made my rosette. I inked all around the edges with the Classic Cobalt Ink. I also inked up a Creative Expressions Wooden Button. I added some clear embossing powder and heat set it. I added a bow of Baker's Twine to the button and secured it to my rosette with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I assembled the card as shown and added some pearl swirls using Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA in Teal.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Peachy!

2012-02-16T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

I'm back again with another card from the shows last week - hope you're not fed up of them as there are a few more to go yet!

I stamped the image from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut away the background from the image and went all around the edges with a black promarker to hide any white bits left from my cutting out.

I coloured the image in using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads - Walnut for the hair, Parchment for the skin and Peach Satin for the hat and her strap.

I stamped the crackle background from the Texture Stamp set using the Walnut Ink Pad and embossed it with clear powder. I cut the background out using Spellbinders Labels Eight and inked around the edges with the Peach Satin Ink while still in the die.

I cut some leaves out of ivory card using the Spellbinders Foliage Die Set and inked with the Peach Satin while still in the die.

I stamped a piece of Foundations patterned paper with the script stamp from the Texture stamp set using the Black Eco Green Dye Ink Pad. I then popped it through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder. I cut out 8 of the flowers and used them to make 2 flowers (I showed how to do this on the 10am show).

For the background I used a script sheet from the Foundations paper pack. I mounted that onto some ivory card and wrapped some Vintage Ribbon in Toffee Beige around the bottom. I tied a bow with three lengths of the ribbon and added to the ribbon on the card. I tied some peach Baker's Twine from the Pastel Pack through a Creative Expressions Wooden Button and added that to my bow with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I assembled the card as shown and added some brads in the top right-hand corner.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Black, White & Silver

2012-02-15T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Another easy peasy card here from the shows last week -

The background was made by simply running the Fretwork Mask through the Grand Calibur with some silver card. The image is from the Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set and was stamped with Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

The sentiment is from the Simply sentiments stamp set. Again it has been stamped with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder.

I cut some leaves using the Spellbinders Foliage Die Set. I made some flowers using Black Vintage Ribbon - you can see how to do this on Sue Wilson's DVD or visit her blog here.

I assembled the card as shown. Easy Peasy!

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Copper Tones

2012-02-14T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Happy Valentine's Day! It's my Mom's birthday today - I do hope I've remembered to send her a card. I'm still in Cyprus on holiday at the time this post goes live and she'll be on her way on her holiday so - if I've forgotten, there's nothing I can do about it!

Anyway - back to today's card. Here's another sample from the shows last week. I do like the way this turned out.

I dusted a piece of ivory card with my anti static bag. I stamped the image from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set with Perfect Medium. I then dusted Copper Mica Powder from the Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Metallics set all over with the soft brush provided in the kit. I removed the excess with a dried out wet wipe (must be absolutely dry).

I dusted another piece of ivory card with my anti static bag and stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set. I added the copper mica powder to this too and wiped away the excess. I cut the sentiment out using Spellbinders Labels Twenty. You may find that some mica transfers to your plates - it can be easily wiped off. I cut a faux nestie out of black card.

I cut a flower using Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One. I inked through the die with the perfect medium. I then removed the flower from the die and brushed copper mica powder over the inked areas.

I cut some leaves using the Spellbinders Foliage Die Set. Again, I inked through the die with Perfect Medium, removed the leaves from the die and brushed with copper mica powder.

For the background I ran a piece of copper pearlescent card through the Grand Calibur with the Couture Creations Lovingly Baroque Embossing Folder. I ran it through a second time as the card was bigger than the folder.

I assembled the card as shown, adding 2 Glass Glintz to the sentiment panel.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Feathers

2012-02-13T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing another demo card from last week.

This is such a quick card to make but perfect for a man I think.

I stamped the script stamp from the Creative Expressions Texture Stamp Set with the Paris Trunk Stone Dye Ink Pad.

I dusted the background with my anti-static bag. I then inked up the feather stamp from the Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Ladies stamp set with Perfect Medium. I stamped the feather on the left first and covered the image with Cosmic Shimmer Lava Black Aurora Embossing Powder. I heat set it. The powder leaves a 'bloom' on the card. This can easily be removed by gentle rubbing with a tissue. So after doing this, I stamped another feather and this time added Comic Shimmer Lapis Black Aurora Embossing Powder. I heat set it and wiped with my tissue. I stamped my final feather and added Cosmic Shimmer Viola Black Aurora Embossing Powder.

I scraped my Perfect Medium Pad along two sides of the image panel and added Cosmic Shimmer Arctic Black Aurora Embossing Powder. I then repeated this on the other two sides.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set using Perfect Medium. I added the Lapis Black Aurora to it and heat set. I cut the sentiment out using an oval nestie. I went round the edges with my Perfect Medium Pad and added Lava Black Aurora powder and heat set.

I mounted the image panel onto black card them silver, added the sentiment - job done! What do you think? Have a go yourself. The embossing powders are gorgeous and are all in the Metallics set that was on the show.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Pink and Purple Ladies

2012-02-12T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing a card with you that I made to demo on the Dawn Bibby & Friends Show on Tuesday.

The brief for Dawn's show was for 20 minutes with a sub-set of the products that I had for the main shows that day. I needed to used the stamp sets, the Couture Creations Embossing Folders, Vintage Ribbon and the Pink Taffeta and Amethyst Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads. Of course, I hadn't made a sample card with that combo so I had to make one!

For the background I ran a piece of white card through the Grand Calibur with the Couture Creations Lovingly Baroque Embossing Folder. I ran it through a second time as the card was wider than the folder. When doing this, remember to leave the already embossed bit outside of the plates.

I then rubbed the Amethyst Ink pad all over the embossed card. The ink stays wet for a while so I added some Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder to the whole area. A small amount of ink was also present between the embossed pattern so the powder stuck there too. I heat set it with my heat tool. Then went over the whole area again with the ink, added powder and heat set again. I repeated this process once more. This gave me a beautiful embossed tile background.

On the show I demonstrated that you do not need a block to stamp and indeed if you have problems with large stamps you can have the stamp face up, ink it and then take the card to the stamp carefully keeping it still while rubbing all over. The stamp was inked with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear embossing powder.

The image was coloured using Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads - Walnut and Yellow Damasque for the hair, Blotter for the foliage, Parchment for the skin, Fountain Blue for the outline. I used the Pink Taffeta and the Amethyst for the remaining areas, adding a little Cosmic Shimmer Pealescent Mica Powder here and there. I also used a little Cosmic Shimmer Pale Gold Mica Powder on the choker on the middle lady. I mounted the image panel on to some white card which was inked with the Pink Taffeta.

I stamped the sentiment from the Simply Sentiments stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I edged the panel with Amethyst ink and mounted it onto another piece of white card which had been edged with the Pink Taffeta.

I made 2 roses with the Pink Vintage Ribbon. You can see how to do this on Sue Wilson's DVD or by visiting her Blog.

I cut some leaves from the Spellbinders Foliage Die Set.

I assembled the card as shown inking with the Pink Taffeta and the Amethyst for the mats for the embossed tile background.

Hope you like this card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Beautiful Lady in Blue

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have another card made with the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set. This card nearly ended up in the bin - more about that later.

I stamped the lady using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured her in using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads in Classic Cobalt, Fountain Blue, Walnut, Stone and Parchment. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder to the Classic Cobalt.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I cut the sentiment out using Spellbinders Curved Rectangles and inked around the edges with the Fountain Blue ink while still in the die. I made a faux nestie out of cobalt card.

I ran a piece of blue pearlescent card through the Grand Calibur with the Couture Creations Cultivated Embossing Folder. I cut 2 borders in cobalt blue from the Spellbinders Parisian Accents die set.

I started assembling my card with the mat layers up to and including the cobalt blue one. At this point I added the Parisian borders and ran some Vintage Ribbon in Limoges Blue along them. I added the lady and the sentiment panel. I then went around the edges of the aqua card with some dots made with Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA. This is where disaster struck - one of the dots had a stringy line coming from it - near the top left-hand side of the card. My choices were to try and dismantle the card, throw the whole lot in the bin or carry on and repair once the dots were dry. I chose the latter and pleased I did.

I had planned on just putting a messy bow on the bottom right-hand side. Instead I removed some of the teal dots from the top left-hand corner where the naughty dot was and added some ribbon over the top. I added my bow plus a flower from Spellbinders Spiral Blossom Two and some little leaves from Spellbinders Foliage die set. Mess fixed!

In the bottom right-hand side I added another flower from Spiral Blossom Two and a mix of leaves from the foliage die set.

So, the card ended up a bit more embellished than I had originally intended but I do quite like it and I'm so glad I didn't put it in the bin!

Hope you like it too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

All We Need Is Love

2012-02-10T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

Hopefully Blogger will be behaving itself and will schedule this while I'm on a plane on my way to Cyprus for a half term holiday with the family. I've scheduled posts for every day while I'm away (fingers crossed!). My Amazon Store will be closed till I get back.

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

I stamped the image from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads - Parchment, Pink Taffeta, Fountain Blue, Peach Satin, Amethyst, Blotter, Garnet, Classic Cobalt, Yellow Damasque and Walnut. I also used some Copper, Pale Gold and Pearlescent micas from the Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set 1 - Metallics.

I ran 2 pieces of ivory card through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Fauna Embossing Folder. Using Cut & Dry Foam, I then inked over one piece with the Garnet Ink and the other with the Classic Cobalt Ink. I joined the two pieces together on a black mat and ran a piece of Black Vintage Ribbon down the centre to hide the join.

I popped my ladies onto the card. The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set. I stamped it in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using a circle nestie and edged with the Classic Cobalt Ink. I popped it onto a Scalloped Circle nestie that I cut from Burgundy card.

I added a messy bow made from 3 lengths of Black Vintage Ribbon and popped my sentiment on top. I finished the card by popping a Black Eco Green Glass Glintz in each corner.

I hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Cameo in Blue

2012-02-09T07:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers,

Here's another card from the show on Tuesday -

I love the way the background turned out on this one plus the image from the stamp set works beautifully as a cameo.

For the background - I swiped some Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink in Fountain Blue over my craft sheet and spritzed some water on it. I then dragged a piece of white card though it. I dried it with a heat gun and then collected from splats of colour from the craft sheet and dried it again. I continued until no ink left. I repeated this process with the Paris Trunk Classic Cobalt Ink Pad.

Next I stamped a sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set all over the background with the Classic Cobalt Ink Pad. I then spritzed a bit of Cosmic Shimmer Mister in Ocean Sunlight lightly over the whole thing.

I made sure the background was completely dry and then dusted it with my anti static pad. I inked all over the Ivy Background Mask with Perfect Medium.

I popped the background face down onto the inked side of the mask and secured with a little masking tape. I then ran it through the Grand Calibur. The ink transferred in the debossed pattern onto my background. I then dusted over with Golden Malachite from the Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set Garden Tones. I removed any excess powder is a very dry baby wipe.

I stamped the image from the Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Ladies stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I cut the background away from the lady and went around the edge with a black promarker to hide any white bits. I coloured the lady in with Paris Trunk Dye ink Pads - Black for the hair, Parchment for the skin and Fountain Blue mixed with a little Golden Malachite Mica Powder for the hat. I mounted her onto a mat cut with Spellbinder Labels Twenty and made a faux nestie from gold card.

I assembled the card as shown and added a Blue Eco Green Glass Glintz in each corner.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

To Live on Purpose

2012-02-08T07:00:00.012Z

Hi Bloggers,

First, I'd like to thank all of you who watched the shows yesterday and took the time to email in - it means so much to me. I'd like to apologise to the ladies who had their names pulled out of the cup of chance for a demo card - there was an incident with a pot of water while I was packing up and I think the cards may have been mixed up and you may not get the sample you're expecting. Really sorry - my fault. Hope you like the card you do get.

Today and over the next week or so, I'm sharing cards from the show. I've just realised that this card uses the same sentiment as the one in yesterday's post - it's a good one, I think.

Here's today's card -

The technique for the sparkly background is on Sue Wilson's DVD - the name of the technique escapes me at the moment, it's a really fun one to do - though you need to get over the fact that it uses quite a bit of mica powder. For my background I used Dark Bronze, Red Bronze and Pale Gold from the Metallics Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set and Golden Pear from the Garden Flora set.

The image is from the Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Ladies Stamp Set. I stamped her with Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the hair with Walnut Paris Trunk Dye Ink, the crown with Pale Gold Mica Powder, the jewels in the crown with a mix of Garnet Paris Trunk Dye Ink and Red Bronze Mica powder and the skin I coloured with Parchment Paris Trunk Dye Ink.

The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set - again this has been stamped with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut the sentiment out with Spellbinders Labels Eight and inked around the edges with Parchment ink while still in the die. I made a faux nestie out of gold card.

I ran some black card through my Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Fauna Embossing Folder. I ran it through a second time as the card was bigger than the folder. This is a very busy pattern so it didn't show that it didn't line up for the second run through.

I assembled the card as shown and added some dots made from Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA in Olympic Gold.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

A Demo Card from Today's Shows

2012-02-07T06:06:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers.

This is hopefully the first card that I'll be demonstrating today in the 10am show on Create & Craft -

I stamped the image from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I coloured the image using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads - Blotter, Parchment, Yellow Damasque, Pink Taffeta and Garnet. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder to the Garnet Ink. I mounted the image panel onto some white card which had been inked around the edges with the Pink Taffeta Ink using Cut & Dry Foam.

The sentiment is from the Simply Sentiments stamp set. Again it was stamped using Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Three and inked with the Pink Taffeta while still in the die. I made a faux nestie with some white card that I had inked with the Pink Taffeta.

I ran a piece of white card through my Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder. I had to run it through a second time as the card was bigger than the folder. I inked around the edges with the Pink Taffeta.

I ran a second piece of white card through the Floral folder and inked up 8 flowers and cut them out. I used these to make my flowers (tune in to see how).

I cut some leaves out of green card using the Spellbinders Foliage die set and assembled the card as shown.

Do hope you can join me today. My shows are at 10am with Joanne and 6pm with Leonie. I also have a 20 minutes slot on the Dawn Bibby & Friends show at 2pm. It's being presented by Leonie this week as Dawn is away - I believe Dean is going to be there too mixing it up a little I expect!

Hope you enjoy the shows if you get chance to watch.

Thanks for dropping by.

Julia.

Beautiful Lady in Black & White

2012-02-06T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing another sample made for the shows tomorrow. It's a very simple black and white card.

I stamped the lady from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut her out.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set in the Jet Black Archival and embossed with the clear powder. I mounted it on to black card.

I ran a piece of white card though the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Fauna Embossing Folder. I went over the whole area with Eco Green Paris Trunk Black Dye Ink and Cut & Dry Foam.

I assembled the card as shown and added a few Black Eco Green Glass Glintz.

Hope you can join me tomorrow - details in the left-hand side bar.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Art Nouveau Lady

2012-02-05T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing another of the samples that I've made for the shows on Tuesday. I fear it's a bit OTT!

I stamped the lady from the Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Ladies stamp set using Perfect Medium and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Metallic Embossing Powder. I coloured her in using some Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pads and a paint brush - Parchment for the skin, Walnut for the hair, Garnet for the hat, Amethyst for the background and Classic Cobalt for the line between the image and the background. I mixed a little Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent Mica Powder in with the last 3 colours to give a little shimmer. The Pearlescent Mica Powder is a handy thing to have in your craft room. You can add it to any dye based ink or water colour to add a little shimmer.

I cut my lady out and added her to a Fleur de Lys Square cut from black card.

I spritzed some Cosmic Shimmer Misters in Mallow Blush and Lilac Night onto some black card and dried it with my heat tool. I then dusted it with my anti static bag. I put Perfect Medium all over That Special Touch Ivy Background and placed my misted card dusted side down onto the mask and ran it through my Grand Calibur. The Perfect Medium transferred to the debossed pattern on the card. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Metallic Embossing Powder and heated it.

I swiped my anti-static pad over some white card and stamped some small images using Perfect Medium and I embossed them with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I then spritzed over the the area with the Mallow Blush and Lilac Night Misters.

I cut one flower out of felt using Spellbinders Spiral Blossoms Two and another flower out of black card using Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One.

I cut some leaves out of black card using the Spellbinders Foliage die set. I inked through the dies with Perfect Medium. Once removed from the dies I dusted each one with either Pink Ultra or Lilac Frost Mica Powders which are from the Garden Tones Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set.

I assembled the card as shown and added some faux pearls made with Cosmic Shimmer Dusky Pink Pearlescent PVA along the outside edges.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Beautiful Ladies in Grey and Yellow

2012-02-04T07:00:00.007Z

Hi Bloggers,

I'm back - Today sees the start of posts containing samples that I've made for the shows coming up on Create & Craft (details in side bar).

Here's today's card. I just love grey and yellow together.

I stamped the large stamp of the three ladies from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Ladies stamp set using Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink in Stone. I used a damp paint brush to pull some of the colour out on the ladies hair only. I coloured in the flower and the foliage on the middle lady using Promarkers.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set again using the Stone Ink Pad.

I ran some grey card through my Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder. I needed to run it through twice as the card is bigger than the folder.

I also ran a piece of yellow card through the Calibur with the Floral folder. I cut out 8 flowers from the embossed yellow card. I used these to make my 2 flowers - I'm planning to demonstrate how to make the flowers in the 10am show.

I cut out some leaves using the Spellbinders Foliage die set and assembled the card as shown.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Taking a break

2012-01-27T19:12:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Just a short post to let you know that I'm taking a blog break so I can work on some samples for the Create & Craft shows on 7th February. I'll be posting samples from the show from 4th February onwards.

For now I'll leave you with a cute photo of Charlie Cat getting into the spirit of Christmas!

See you back here on 4th Feb.

Julia

Other Things May Change Us

2012-01-27T08:43:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card -

I inked though the Ivy Background Mask with Paris Trunk Peach Satin and Blotter Dye Ink Pads using Cut & Dry Foam. I also spritzed with some Cosmic Shimmer Golden Pear from the Garden Flora Mica Spray set.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Simply Sentiments stamp set using Jet Black Archival and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I edged it with the Blotter ink.

I cut a frame from Spellbinders Labels Two and popped it over my sentiment using 3d foam.

I made a flower using the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder. I will be showing how to do this in a demo on my next show on Create & Craft. The flowers were coloured with the Peach Satin ink and spritzed with Dark Bronze from the Cosmic Shimmer Metallics Mica Spray set.

I added some green leaves made with the Spellbinders Foliage dies and popped a clear Glass Glintz in each corner.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this with Make It Monday #73.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Kraft Cards

2012-01-26T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

I had a lovely morning yesterday at a card making class at Loobi Crafts in Leighton Buzzard. I go there every month to chill out and be taught. It's a great source of inspiration.

We made 2 cards using Kraft card. This one uses a mix of Tim Holtz (I think) and Creative Expressions Stamps, Barn Door Distress Ink, Jet Black Archival, Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold and Kraft Core card -

This one uses Papermania stamps, Spellbinders Labels One, Distress Inks - Bundled Sage, Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass, Jet Black Archival, Cosmic Shimmer Ribbon -

Thank you Lisa for a lovely morning.

Julia

Silver Pendant

2012-01-25T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

Following on from the technique used on the ATC yesterday, today I have this card to share with you -

I added some alcohol ink to some acetate with my Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool (can't remember colours - sorry!). I made sure the whole area was well covered. Next I stamped some swirls from the Creative Expressions Swirl stamp set using Jet Black Archival. This time I removed the ink after stamping. You need to dab it off to begin with so that you don't move the ink to another area. Once most of the ink has been removed then you can rub hard to remove the rest. The acetate background was secured to a piece of white card with 4 small silver brads.

I cut the Spellbinders Kaleidoscope Pendant from some silver mirri card and secured it to my background with a glitterery silver brad. I mounted the while lot onto some more mirri card and then a 6 x 6 card blank.

Hope you've enjoyed your visit and are inspired to give this technique a go.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-24T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

The theme in December for the ATC swap for the little group I'm in was Winter Wonderland. This was entry -

I applied some Alcohol Ink to some acetate using an Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool - I think I used Pool, Stonewashed and Eggplant. Once the area was covered, I went over it again with the same inks.

I stamped some images and the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Winter Wonderland stamp set using Jet Black Archival.

Once dry, I popped a spot of Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue in each corner of a white ATC and put the acetate piece on top. I glued some blue Eco Green Glass Glintz in each corner.

I'm sharing this with Make It Monday #73.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Bottle Tops

2012-01-23T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

An easy peasy card to share today - and not a stamp in sight!!!

I used some old packing card and passed it through a ribbler. I mounted some really lovely textured black card on top. Next I cut out some squares from some Starbucks coffee holders and popped the Guinness bottle tops on top.

As I said - easy peasy!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Blue Steampunk

2012-01-22T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing a card which was a backup demo card for the Vintage Inventor shows but wasn't needed. It seemed a shame not to make it up and share it so here it is -

The layout and techniques for this card are almost the same as for Thingamajig posted earlier this month.

Here's the details for this one - For my main background I ran some white card through the Grand Calibur with the That Special Touch Cogs Mask. I increased the size of the background by running though a second time making sure that the area that was already embossed remained outside of the plates. I then added some Faded Jeans Distress Ink with some Cut & Dry Foam. Using the Faded Jeans Distress Stain I splatted in the centre of some of the cogs.

I inked through the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask with Faded Jeans Distress Ink onto a piece of white card.

I stamped the Steam Train Drawing from the Vintage Treasures Stamp Set with Jet Black Archival and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the background with Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I stamped the coloured the sentiment in the same way.

I assembled the card as shown and added some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Silver.

Hope you like this variation.

I'm sharing this with Make It Monday #72

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Garnet Tag

2012-01-21T08:36:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have a tag to share with you -

I used a cream tag. I swiped some Eco Green Paris Trunk Dye Ink in Garnet across my Craft Sheet. I spritzed a little water on to it and then dragged my tag through it. I then dried it with my heat tool. I dabbed my tag into the ink to pick up some splats. I did this several times, drying each time. This technique is usually done with Distress Inks but works just as well with the Eco Green Dye Inks.

I then stamped the script from the Creative Expressions Wine stamp set using the Garnet Ink Pad. Next I sprayed on some Cosmic Shimmer Mister in Mallow Blush and dried it.

I ran my anti-static pad over the tag. I inked up one side of the That Special Touch Ivy Background Mask with Perfect Medium. I popped the mask ink side up onto the base plate of my Grand Calibur and put the tag face down onto the mask. I secured it with some repositionable tape. I put my tan embossing mat then the pink embossing plate on top and ran it through the machine. The perfect medium was then transferred to the debossed pattern on my tag. I dusted some Enchanted Gold Mica Powder (from the Garden Tones Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set) over the ivy pattern. The mica powder clings to the Perfect Medium.

I cut a butterfly out of Burgundy card using the Spellbinders Grand Shapabilities Wonderful Wings. I inked with Perfect Medium while still in the dye and also added some ink around the edges of the butterfly once I had removes it from the die. I then dusted with the Enchanted Gold Mica Powder.

I stamped the sentiment using the Garnet Ink and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I inked around the edges with the Garnet Ink.

I secured the butterfly to the tag by popping some Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue to the body. I mounted the sentiment using 3D foam. I added some Vintage Ribbon in Basque Red to complete the tag.

I'm entering this tag into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #72
Moving Along With The Times - Things With Wings
CES Challenge Blog - Anything But a Card

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Peachy Butterflies

2012-01-20T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this peach toned card with you -

I embossed some white card with the Couture Creations Intrinsic Embossing Folder. I edged it with Eco Green Paris Trunk Peach Satin Dye Ink Pad.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Artsy Floral Stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut it out using Spellbinders Labels Twenty and inked with the Peach Satin Ink while still in the die.

The butterflies are cut From DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl using the Spellbinders Wonderful Wings Grand Shapabilities dies.

I assembled the card as shown and added a few pearls to the butterflies bodies.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #72
Flutter By Wednesday #186
Moving Along With The Times - Things with Wings
Charisma Cardz - Clean and Simple

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Black & Gold

2012-01-19T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this black & gold card with you.

For the background I inked up the That Special Touch Leaves Mask with Perfect Medium. I dusted a piece of black card with my anti static bag and then placed it dusted side down onto the mask. I ran it through my Grand Caliber to emboss it. The Perfect Medium had transferred to the card when the debossed pattern was. I then added some Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold Metallic Embossing Powder and heat set it.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Seasonal Flora using Perfect Medium and I embossed it with the CS Bright Gold.

I cut a frame out of matt gold card using Spellbinders Labels Twelve. I also cut some leaves out of the matt gold card using the Spellbinders Foliage dies. I made a black flower using Spellbinders Spiral Blossom One.

I assembled the card as shown and added some Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA in Olympic Gold.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday #72.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Purple and Mica Powders

2012-01-18T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

I'm busy making samples for my next shows on Create & Craft but can't show you any just yet. So, I've made this simple card to share with you today (sorry about the picture quality - it's late as I'm writing this).

The large image is from the Creative Expressions Arty Floral set. I stamped it using Jet Black Archival and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I then went over the whole area with Perfect Medium and brushed over Violet Frost Mica Powder from the Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Set Garden Flora. The mica added a lovely shimmer to the image and changed the embossed Jet Black Archival to silver.

I tore around the edges of the image and inked over them with Eco Green Paris Trunk Ink Pad Lavender Organza.

I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set again with the Jet Black Archival and embossed with the clear powder. I went round the edges with the Lavender Organza.

I ran a piece of square card through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing Folder. I needed to run it through a second time as the card was a little bigger than the folder.

I inked around the edges with Lavender Organza. I mounted it onto some white card and then some more white card which was inked around the edges with the Lavender Organza so as to add a coloured mat. I added one more mat of white card and a few purple pearls and the card was finished.

Hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Thinking of You

2012-01-17T07:00:00.005Z

Hi Bloggers,

Sadly a dear friend of mine died on 7th January. I shall miss her a lot. I've made this card to send to her husband - I know it's pink but my friend would have loved it.

I ran a piece of white card through the Grand Calibur with the Creative Expressions Lattice Embossing Folder. I needed to run it through a second time as my card was bigger than the folder. I inked around the edges with Eco Green Crafts Paris Trunk Dye Ink Pad in Pink Taffeta and Cut & Dry Foam.

I popped this on to a white mat. I hadn't got quite the right colour of pink card so I inked around the edges of a slightly larger piece of white card with the Pink Taffeta ink to create my pink mat. I popped all this onto an A5 card blank.

I stamped the greeting (from the Creative Expressions Artsy Floral Stamp Set) using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I inked around the edges of the sentiment with Pink Taffeta.

I cut a frame out of white card using 2 sizes of the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Dies. When I put it through the machine to emboss I popped the That Special Touch Small Polka Dots Mask underneath. The edges of the frame remained smooth and the inside was embossed with small polka dots. I inked the polka dots with the Pink Taffeta Ink while the frame was still in the dies.

I popped the sentiment onto my card and put the frame over the top mounting on 3D foam.

The flowers were made by stamping the six petal blank flower from the Creative Expressions Button Floral stamp set using Jet Black Archival. I over stamped with a script stamp (also Creative Expressions) using the Pink Taffeta Ink Pad. I did this 3 times for each flower. I cut each flower out making sure I cut off the black stamped outline. I inked around the edge of the top of each flower with Pink Taffeta and then inked all over the reverse of all of them. I assembled the flowers in the usual way - see Sue's Wilson's Step by Step Instructions if you're not sure.

I cut some leaves out using the Spellbinders Foliage Die set and used a punch for some smaller leaves.

I popped the flowers and leaves onto the card as shown.

This card could be made for any occasion (just change the sentiment) and in any colour as I've only used white card (plus a bit of green for the foliage) and an ink pad.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this with Make It Monday #72.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Black & White Leaves

2012-01-16T06:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

This card started out very simple but then I just had to go and dress it up a bit.

I stamped a square piece of white card with a leaf from the Creative Expressions Falling Leaves stamp set. I used Jet Black Archival and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set onto a spare piece of white card again using the Jet Black Archival and embossed with the clear powder.

I cut a frame out of black card using Spellbinders Labels Eight and Lattice Rectangles dies. I mounted the stamped sentiment behind the frame.

I assembled the card but wasn't happy with it so I dressed it up with a length of black crochet ribbon across the width below the sentiment. I added a large bow made from the same ribbon, a Zipper Rose, a couple of Stick Pins and some Eco-Green Glass Glintz.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday #72.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

And Finally ........

2012-01-15T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

This is the last sample that I have to share from the Vintage Inventor shows -

For the base layer of the tag I used a cool Tim Holtz technique. I used a cream tag. I dragged my Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad over my Craft Sheet and spritzed with some water. I then popped my tag straight on top and swirled it around a little. I removed it and then dried with my heat tool. I then popped it back on to the ink to collect some splashes of ink and dried it again. I repeated this until I was happy with the result.

Next I stamped the Creative Expressions Scattered Words stamp with Vintage Photo. It's a big stamp so it covered the whole tag.

I used the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask on the bottom left-hand corner and inked through with Vintage Photo.

I dyed some American Seam Binding with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I crumpled it up whilst drying it with my heat tool.

I stamped the embellishments from the Vintage Illusion stamp set using Coffee Archival Ink, cut them out and coloured them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Treasures stamp set using the Coffee Archival and cut it into sections. I inked around the edges of each section with the Coffee Archival.

I assembled the tag as shown adding a Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brad in Antique Gold.

I hope you've enjoyed the Vintage Inventor projects that I've shown over the past few months. Who knows, he may well pop up again in the future!

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Simple Card with Artist Spackle Background

2012-01-14T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card which again features Artist Spackle in the background -

The background for this card was made by popping some Artist Spackle onto a spare piece of Craft Sheet. I then added a few drops of Vintage Photo Distress Re-Inker. You could use Vintage Photo Distress Stain instead though the result may be a little lighter or you could compensate by adding quite a lot of the stain to the spackle.

Once happy with my spackle colour, I placed the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask onto some white card and I spread my spackle over the whole area. I scraped off any excess with a squeege tool. I removed the mask and set aside to dry. I cleaned my tools and my mask with some warm soapy water. It's easy to clean the spackle off when it's wet but it's permanent when dry.

I stamped the Steam Engine Sketch from the Vintage Treasures stamp set onto some white card with Perfect Medium and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I then went over the image with Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad and Cut & Dry Foam. I distressed the edges of the card with my scissors and then re-applied the Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I repeated this process for the sentiment which is on the same stamp set.

Once the Artist Spackle background was dry I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam.

I made a mat for the background by inking up the edges of a piece of white card with Vintage Photo, distressing it with my scissors and going back over it again with the ink.

I assembled the card as shown adding some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Gold in each corner.

Hope you like the card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Polka Doodles - Vintage/Retro
Make It Monday #71

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Gold Cogs

2012-01-13T06:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

I still have a few more sample cards from the Vintage Inventor shows - hope you don't mind.

Here's today's card -

This card is based on a card that Sam Poole made for Ally Pally last year. I made my card for the show to demonstrate a cool technique with the mask.

I dusted a piece of black card with my anti-static pad. I put Perfect Medium all over one side of my Cogs Mask. I placed my card, dusted side down onto the inked side of my mask and ran it through my Grand Calibur. The Perfect Medium transferred to my card. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold Metallic Embossing Powder and heated it.

I inked a piece of American Seam Binding by running my Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad along it. I then stamped over it using Jet Black Archival Ink.

I stamped Mr. Inventor from the Creative Expressions Vintage Inventor stamp set in Jet Black Archival. I cut him out using Spellbinders Curved Rectangles. I removed him from the die and inked around the edges lightly with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I made a faux nestie out of rust card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Treasures Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival. I cut it out using an oval nestie. I removed it from the die and inked around the edges with Vintage Photo. I made a faux nestie from rust card.

I stamped the pressure gauge from the Vintage Illusion Stamp Set using Jet Black Archival. I gut the image out and inked with Vintage Photo. I added a Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brad in Antique Gold.

I assembled the card as shown and pierced around the edge of the large rust card with my Tim Holtz Ruler.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Following on from Yesterday

2012-01-12T06:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

As promised, today's card has been made with the die cut taken from the background on yesterday's card -

The background for this card was made by popping some Artist Spackle onto a spare piece of Craft Sheet. I then added a few drops of Vintage Photo Distress Re-Inker. You could use Vintage Photo Distress Stain instead though the result may be a little lighter or you could compensate by adding quite a lot of the stain to the spackle.

Once happy with my spackle colour, I placed the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask onto some ivory card and I spread my spackle over the whole area. I scraped off any excess with a squeege tool. I removed the mask and set aside to dry.
I cleaned my tools and my mask with some warm soapy water. It's easy to clean the spackle off when it's wet but it's permanent when dry.

I cut a faux nestie out of rust card and popped my saved die cut on to it. I stamped Mr. Inventor and the large engine plate from the Vintage Inventor stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink onto some marine blue card and cut them out.

Once the Artist Spackle background was dry I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam.

I assembled the card as shown adding some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Gold.

Simple but effective.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

The future comes one day at a time

2012-01-11T06:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers.

The title of this post comes from a sentiment that's on the Vintage Illusion stamp set from Creative Expressions. I think it's such a great sentiment - useful for many occasions.

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

For the background on this card I used a piece of white glossy card. I stamped some images from the Vintage Illusion and Vintage Treasures sets all over the card. I stamped them quite neatly and in a pattern taking care not to 'slide' the stamp on the card. I then went over the whole of the stamped background with Vintage Photo and Faded Jeans Distress Ink using Cut & Dry Foam. I stamped the 'STEAMPUNK' text over my background with Vintage Photo. Once I'd inked up the whole area I 'buffed' it up with an extremely dry wipe.

I stamped the steam train from the Vintage Illusion stamp set using Coffee Archival Ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I stamped the sentiment just below the train again with the Coffee Archival and embossed with clear embossing powder.

I cut the image out using the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles Die (my fave set at the moment) and inked with Faded Jeans while still in the die.

I stamped some cogs and a bolt from the stamp sets in Coffee Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut them out and inked with Vintage Photo and Faded Jeans. I added some Faux Brads in Antique Gold.

Before assembling the card I found the Curved Rectangles die which was the one smaller than the one I used to cut out the steam train. I placed it on my background where I would be placing my steam train panel and secured it with a little masking tape. I popped it through my Grand Calibur. I then had a die cut shape with a cool background on it to use on another project (please pop back tomorrow to see how I used it).

I assembled the card as shown and did some paper piercing around the edge to finish.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

And the winner is ......

2012-01-10T20:30:00.000Z

Evening Bloggers,

The winner has been drawn for the card which was up for grabs from Saturday's show with Magic Hands splats.

It goes to No.9 - Rainbow Lady

Please email me at juliawattscrafts@gmail.com and include your address and I'll pop it in the post.

Many thanks for all your lovely comments.

P.S. Rainbow Lady entered 2 comments but only her first comment went in the draw so it was fair!

Julia.

Another demo card from Saturday's Show

2012-01-10T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card which I demonstrated on the 6pm show last Saturday. This one was sent out to the lucky winner who was drawn from the Cup of Chance after the show.

For the background on the burgundy card I stamped the rail track from the Vintage Inventor Stamp Set with Coffee Archival Ink all down the left-hand side of the card. Being an unmounted stamp makes it quite easy to line the stamp up with the previously stamped image.

Next I added some small images from the stamp sets using Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I popped a good amount of Vintage Photo Distress Stain onto a spare piece of craft sheet and then added a dollop of Artist Spackle to the ink and mixed it in well using a bone folder. Once I was happy with the colour and that it was mixed sufficiently, I placed my That Special Touch Mask - Metal Effect over a corner of my background and then added my dyed spackle on top scraping away any excess with my bone folder. I repeated the process in a second corner. I then put the background aside to dry and washed my craft sheet, bone folder and mask in warm soapy water. Artist Spackle comes off easily when wet but once dry it's permanent.

I put a piece of beige card into the Creative Expressions Bark Embossing Folder and ran it through my Grand Calibur. I tore around the embossed pattern and then inked the area with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped the steam train from the Vintage Illusion stamp set using Coffee Archival Ink and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Treasures set just next to the train - again using the Coffee Archival and clear embossing powder. I cut the image out using the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die and inked with Vintage Photo while still in the die.

I stamped and embossed and coloured some embellishment images from the sheets and added a couple of Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Gold.

I assembled the card as shown, making sure that the Artist Spackle was dry before doing so. I finished the card with some paper piercing all around the outside edge using my Tim Holtz Ruler.

Hope you enjoyed the demo if you watched on Saturday and have enjoyed this post.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Giveaway - Card from Saturday Show up for Grabs

2012-01-09T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

I thought I'd giveaway one of the samples from the show on Saturday. It's the one shown below made with lemon juice and it's the one that 'Magic Hands' did the splat on so an original piece! For details on how to make this card please see the original post when I first made it here.

To be in with a chance of winning this card, please leave a comment below. I'll select a winner at random on Tuesday evening at 8pm.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Steam!

2012-01-08T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Thanks very much to those of you who joined me for my shows on Create & Craft yesterday. Your support is much appreciated.

Today I'm sharing the scrapbook page I made for the show.

My friend Dee helped me out with the fab photo of her Grandad and friends with a Road Steam Machine. Such a fabulous photo.

The background for this layout was lots of fun to make.

I took a 12 x 12 piece of card and scrunched it up. I unfolded it and then ran my Frayed Burlap Distress Ink Pad over the top so that it caught on the peaks where the card had been folded. Next I misted all over the card with water. I waited a few minutes giving the ink chance to 'move' a little and then dried and flattened it using my Encaustic Art Craft Iron.

I stamped the railtrack from the Vintage Inventor stamp set up the right-hand side of the background using Coffee Archival Ink.

I inked through the That Special Touch Mask - Metal Effect with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam in the top left and bottom left corners.

I stamped the Creative Expressions stamp 'Scattered Words' using Frayed Burplap in a couple of places. I splatted using Vintage Photo and Weathered Wood Distress Stains. Background complete.

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Treasures stamp set using Coffee Archival Ink and cut out using an oval nestie. I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink while still in the die.

I stamped some cogs and screws from the stamp sets using Coffee Archival Ink and inked them up with Vintage Photo and Weathered Wood Distress Inks using Cut & Dry Foam. I added a couple of Cosmic Shimmer Faux Screw Brads in Antique Gold.

The title panel was made by embossing a piece of light beige card with the Creative Expressions Brick Embossing Folder and inking the edges with Vintage Photo.

I assembled the layout as shown and did a bit of paper piercing along the way on all the brown card mats.

Hope this layout inspires you to have a go at creating your own layouts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Things Both Modern and Ancient

2012-01-07T07:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers,

Hope you can join me later on today on Create & Craft for my shows featuring Sam Poole's Vintage Inventor series of stamps. Details in the left-hand side bar.

Today I'm sharing one of the cards I'll hopefully be demonstrating on the first show at 12 noon.

First I dragged my Barn Door Distress Ink Pad over one side of the inside of the Creative Expressions Brick Embossing Folder. I then popped a piece of white card onto the clean side of the folder and carefully folded the inked side on top of it. I used my brayer over the top of the folder to help with the transfer of ink to my card. N.B. I did not run the folder through an embossing machine.

I carefully removed my card from the folder and added some Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it. I tore around the edges of the edges of the brick background.

I popped the brick background through my Grand Calibur with the That Special Touch Cogs Mask. I inked over the background using Faded Jeans Distress Ink Pad and Cut & Dry Foam. I added some splats using Faded Jeans Distress Stain.

I tore a slightly larger piece of white card and inked it with Barn Door Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam.

On the white background card I stamped several small images from the Vintage Inventor series using Barn Door, Faded Jeans and Weathered Wood Distress Ink.

I inked a piece of card with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and stamped Mr. Inventor using Jet Black Archival. I cut him out leaving a slight border around the edge.

I dyed some American Seam Binding with Barn Door Distress Ink. When dry I tied a small bow with 2 lengths of the ribbon and added it to Mr. Inventor using Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I stamped the light bulb from the Vintage Treasures stamp set onto white card and inked with Barn Door Distress Ink. I cut it out and then added Glossy Accents to the bulb area and put aside to dry.

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Inventor stamp set in Jet Black Archival and cut it our using Spellbinders Labels Two. I inked around the edges with Barn Door while still in the die.

The card was assembled as shown.

I'm sharing this card with the following challenges -
Make It Monday
CES Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

A Vintage Inventor Mother's Day Card

2012-01-06T07:00:00.007Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing a Mother's Day card which I've made featuring Mr. Inventor.

The background papers are from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found. The grey card is Core'dinations Colorcore. I used it for the very back of the card and I used it with the Creative Expressions Bark Embossing Folder. I sanded the embossed card.

I stamped Mr. Inventor in Jet Black Archival and inked him with Old Paper Distress Ink and then Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I cut him out leaving a thin border around the edge. I mounted him onto some backing paper which was cut using the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die set.

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley. I inked it up with Old Paper and Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I cut a mat from one of the backing papers using the Spellbinders Eyelet Circles.

I cut some leaves out of light grey card using the Spellbinders Foliage Die set and inked with Old Paper Distress Ink while still in the die. The flowers are made from the backing papers and Spellbinders Spiral Blossom Two.

I assembled the card as shown adding a pearl in each corner.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this card with my friends at Make It Monday

Thanks for stopping by. Please join me on Create & Craft tomorrow at 12noon and 6pm when I will be demonstrating Mr. Inventor.

Julia.

Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue now back in stock

2012-01-05T15:54:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Just a quick post to let you know that the Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue is back in stock at my Amazon Store.

I've also stocked up on lots of Distress Ink Pads.

Regards,
Julia

Vintage Inventor at Sunday Sketch & Stamp

2012-01-05T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing my entry into this weeks Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge . I'm using Mr. Inventor again as I'm still prepping for the shows on Saturday.

The background paper is My Mind's Eye Lost & Found. I've added some cogs from the Vintage Treasures stamp set which I stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink. I also added some Barn Door Distress Ink around the edges of the backing paper using Cut & Dry Foam.

I didn't have the colour card I wanted for the mat for the backing paper so I inked up some ivory card with Old Paper Distress Ink - just around the edges with Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped the Creative Expressions Scattered Words stamp onto ivory card using Old Paper Distress Ink and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I trimmed the image and then cut it in half.

I then used the faux batik method (described in yesterday's post) to create the border in the middle. I used a cog stamp from the Vintage Illusion stamp set and the spring from the Vintage Inventor stamp set. I brayered with Barn Door Distress ink and once dry I edged the panel with Barn Door and Cut & Dry Foam.

I popped some ivory card inside the Creative Expressions Brick Embossing Folder and put it through the Grand Calibur. I tore the card around the edges of the bricks and inked with Old Paper Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped Mr. Inventor onto red card using Jet Black Archival Ink and cut him out leaving a thin border all around the edge.

I assembled the card as shown and added some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Copper.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Challenge 87
Make It Monday #70

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Vintage Inventor and Faux Batik

2012-01-04T08:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing a card made with the Creative Expressions Vintage Inventor stamp sets.

This card uses the faux batik technique on the background. Sue Wilson taught me this technique a couple of years ago and I love it! You can use any stamps for the background. The Vintage Inventor series from Creative Expressions contains lots of stamps which are suitable.

I used a piece of white cardstock and wiped it with my anti-static pad. I stamped some cogs using Perfect Medium (I used a cog from each of the stamp sets - Vintage Inventor, Vintage Illusion and Vintage Treasures). I then embossed them with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

The fun part (or hard part depending on your perspective) comes next. I folded the stamped card this way and that way all over making sure that the folds were sharp by using my bone folder. The more you do and the more random the better. I turned the card over and did some folds going the other way.

I then spritzed the card with some water to break up the fibres a little. The next bit works really well if you have a Big & Juicy Ink Pad. However, these have been discontinued so we need to look at alternatives. You can used Adirondack Dye Inks or any other dye based ink. Here I have used Pine Needles and Faded Jeans Distress Ink. I used 2 brayers (you can use one but you must clean and dry it when you swap inks). I inked up the first brayer with Pine Needles and ran it over the centre of my design diagonally. I then inked up the other brayer with Faded Jeans and ran it over the remaining white apace. The embossed areas resist the ink and the ink is concentrated along the folds. I set it aside to dry.

I stamped Mr. Inventor using Jet Black Archival Ink and embossed him with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut the image out using a Spellbinders Labels Eight die and inked around the edges with Pine Needles Distress Ink while still ink the die. I cut a mat out of white card using a Spellbinders Labels Twenty die and inked around the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Ink while still in the die.

I stamped 2 large tickets from the Creative Expressions Tickets stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I swiped some Pine Needles Distress Ink onto my Creative Expressions Non-Stick Craft Sheet and added a little water to it using a paint brush. I coloured in the tickets and Mr. Inventor as shown. I cleaned my craft sheet and repeated the process with Faded Jeans.

I stamped the sentiment from the Vintage Illusion set with Jet Black Archival and embossed with the clear powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die and inked around the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Ink while still in the die.

I assembled the card as shown securing the sentiment with some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Silver.

Hope you like the card.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday #70.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Thingamajig

2012-01-03T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

I just love that Sam Poole put a 'Thingamajig' text stamp on her Vintage Inventor stamp set. What a fantastic word that is - can be used in so many situations!

Anyway, this is the card I'm sharing today which I've made for the show I'm doing on Create & Craft on Saturday.

First I put some Vintage Photo Distress Stain onto a spare piece of Craft Sheet and I added some Artist Spackle and mixed until the colour was blended evenly. Then I spread the dyed spackle onto a piece of card. I used a squeege tool to make it fairly even. Next I inked up the Creative Expressions Plaid stamp with Coffee Archival Ink and stamped into the Artist Spackle. I carefully removed the stamp and cleaned it thoroughly in warm soapy water and set the stamped spackle aside to dry. Cool, eh?

For my main background I ran some white card through the Grand Calibur with the That Special Touch Cogs Mask. I increased the size of the background by running though a second time making sure that the area that was already embossed remained outside of the plates. I then added some Vintage Photo Distress Ink with some Cut & Dry Foam. Using the Vintage Photo Distress Stain I splatted in the centre of each cog.

I stamped the Steam Train from the Vintage Illusion stamp set with Coffee Archival Ink and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the background with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I stamped the coloured the sentiment in the same way.

I assembled the card as shown and added some Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brads in Antique Copper.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #70
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you can join me on Saturday (details on the left-hand side bar).

Julia.

Mr. Inventor For Valentine's Day

2012-01-02T07:29:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers.

You know how much I love Mr. Inventor and I'm always looking for more ways to use him on cards. Well, I decided to see if he would work on a Valentine's Card - I think he does.

I used Sue Wilson's idea with the Spellbinders Heart Circles. I cut one out in black, white and red. I cut in between each heart on the red one so that I could fold them forward giving more dimension. I layered each die cut on top of each other offsetting each one slightly so that the previous layer showed through. I edged the inside of the top red piece with some faux stitching using my Inkssentials White Pen.

I stamped Mr. Inventor from the Creative Expressions Vintage Inventor Stamp Set onto some white card using Jet Black Archival Ink and cut him out leaving a slight border all round. I swiped some Barn Door Distress Ink onto my Creative Expressions Craft Sheet. I added a little water to the ink with my paint brush and painted the areas shown on Mr. Inventor. I added him to my heart circles with 3D foam.

For the background paper I used the Stamps by Judith Stubbie AAA-04 Dots available in the UK here or in the USA here. I stamped it randomly over my white card using Barn Door Distress Ink and edged it with Barn Door using Cut & Dry Foam.

I cut 2 borders out of black card using the Spellbinders Parisian Accents border die. I added this to my stamped background offsetting the borders slightly and leaving a gap between them of approx 5mm.

I dyed some American Seam Binding using Barn Door Distress Ink and dried it thoroughly.

I added a strip of Hi-Tack Tape along the gap between my Parisian Accents borders and ruffled a piece of the dyed ribbon along it. I tied a very tatty bow using 2 lengths of the ribbon and nestled it into by ruffled ribbon. The American Seam Binding is a much stiffer ribbon than the Vintage Ribbon and by scrunching it up when drying it, it becomes really tatty. The flower was made from a Marianne Designs die and was the perfect size for my bow. I added a couple of Creative Expressions Black Pearl Decorative Stick Pins.

I added a swirl made from Creative Expressions Pearlescent PVA Black Pearl and 3 hearts from the waste from the Heart Circles die. I finished the card off by doing some faux stitching with my Inssentials White Pen.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Penny Black & More - Love and Hearts
Stampavie & More - Hearts
Crafters Companion - Love is in the Air
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #70

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you've enjoyed your visit.

Julia.

New Beginnings

2012-01-01T07:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers,

Happy New Year!

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

The image is Lili of the Valley Baby Blanket. I stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers. I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Twelve and cut a mat out of pink card which I edged with my white Inssentials pen.

The papers are all from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons and were arranged as per the layout at Sketch Saturday this week.

I added some ruffled Vintage Ribbon in pink and added a tatty bow using 3 lengths of the same. I also added a button from my stash with some baker's twine threaded through.

The sentiment is also Lili of the Valley. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die and cut another tag out of pink card. I cut the pink tag in half along its length and added it to my sentiment tag to create a mat.

I finished the card off with some pearls.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Sketch Saturday
Allsorts Challenge - New Beginnings
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #69
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - New Beginnings
Joanna Sheen - Celebrations

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

My 5 Favourite Cards from 2011

2011-12-31T17:38:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers.

Debby is hosting My 5 Favourite Cards from 2011. Here's my 5 (really difficult choice) -

The first is using the Road Trip stamp set from Tim Holtz -

The next uses the 'All That' stamp from the Kenny K Collection at Whimsy Stamps -

This one uses Mr. Inventor in Black & White -

This is one of my favourite stamps from Sugar Nellie. She's called Tiffany and she's absolutely gorgeous -

Finally, I've chosen this Mother's Day card. I was really pleased with how this one turned out -

Hope you've enjoyed your visit.

Thanks for dropping by.

Hope you have a wonderful New Year.

Julia.

Spring is Back

2011-12-31T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm looking forward to Spring with this card made with the Sarah Kay image 'Spring is Back' from Stampavie.

This is a very simple layout. The image was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with promarkers.

I cut the image out using an oval nestie and made a faux nestie with dusky pink card. I cut a white mat out using a scalloped oval nestie.

The gingham backing paper is from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons. I punched some flowers out of dusty pink card and added my brads.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #69

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Pippi Pretty in Pink

2011-12-30T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card -

The image is Pippi Longsocks from Sugar Nellie. She has been stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black and she has been coloured with Promarkers. I added some Sakura Stardust Clear Star on her wings to make her sparkle. I edged the image panel with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.

For the patterned cardstock I used a piece of lavender card and inked through a That Special Touch Floral Lace Mask with Victorian Velvet.

I followed the sketch from Sunday Sketch & Stamp. The papers were a freebie from Papercraft Essentials Magazine.

I coloured some Woodware Plain Paper Flowers with Victorian Velvet and added roses and pearls from my stash.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Sunday Sketch & Stamp
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #69

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Blue & White Vintage Inventor

2011-12-29T08:00:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

For the background on this one I've mixed some Faded Jeans Distress Ink Re-Inker (you can also use Distress Stain - the pads won't give you such an intense colour but if you only want a hint of colour you can use them) with some Eco Green Crafts Artist Spackle. I cut a square piece of white card and popped the That Special Touch Metal Effect Maskover it and dragged the Spackle mixture over the top using a tool which I think is called a squeegee.

Once I had scraped away the excess from the mask, I removed the mask from my card and popped it together with my craft sheet and tool into some warm soapy water. This is important as the spackle is permanent when dry. It washes off easily using warm soapy water.

I put my background aside to dry.

I stamped the blank ledger image from the Creative Expressions Vintage Treasures stamp set using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and embossed it using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I inked up some white card with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and stamped Mr. Inventor (Vintage Inventor) and the square image (Vintage Treasures) using Jet Black Archival Ink.

I stamped the 'Inventor' text (Vintage Inventor) using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and embossed with clear powder. I dabbed some Faded Jeans Distress Ink over the top.

I assembled the card as shown, securing the Inventor text with staples and adding a Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brad in Antique Silver in each corner. I also did some faux stitching using a Sakura Fine Liner Blue Pen.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #69

I hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

My 5 Favourite Christmas Cards 2011

2011-12-28T06:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Debby is hosting 'My Favourite Christmas Cards of 2011'.

Here are my 5 (I think!)-

The first is my fave Mr. Inventor with a sprig of holly on his hat

The second is a very traditional card made with the Tatty Button Poinsettias stamp set

The next one is a black and white

Another Tatty Button card - for this one I put the snowman stamp inside the bauble stamp and the background was made with alcohol inks

Finally, I really loved the colour combo on this one

I hope you've enjoyed looking at my 5. Why not pop over to Debby's Blog and join in the fun.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

You Rock!

2011-12-27T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

I hope you all had a very good Christmas and are enjoying your Bank Holiday. Today I have this card to share with you -

The image is Rock Chick from the Kenny K Collection at Whimsy Stamps. I stamped her in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her in using Promarkers. I cut her out using a Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die and inked around the edges with Faded Jeans Distress Ink while still in the die. I cut a faux nestie out of rust card.

The sentiment is from Inkadinkado Rock Star Clear Stamp set. I stamped it in Memento and inked around the edges with Faded Jeans.

For the background paper I used the Stamps by Judith Stubbie AAA-04 Dots available in the UK here or in the USA here. I stamped it randomly over my white card using Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I edged it with Faded Jeans Distress Ink.

I inked 2 Woodware Plain Paper Flowers with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and splatted Faded Jeans Distress Stain in the centre of each one. I inked the edges of some roses from my stash with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and added them to the centres of my paper flowers.

I assembled the card as shown and added some blue gems top right.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Bingo : Gems, No Designer Paper, Flowers
I love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Allsorts Challenge Blog - Blue and Brown
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
Sparkles Forum Challenge - Anything But Christmas
Make It Monday #69

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-24T07:00:00.027Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have a very simple card to share with you -

It's made with a La Pashe Trinitage sheet that has been cut out and added to a Stepper Card. I added a little Cosmic Shimmer Aqua Twinkle to the snowy parts to make it sparkle.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog - Christmas Wishes
Make It Monday #68

Taking a little break now from posting as family due in a couple of hours to join us for the festive season. Will be back Tuesday.

Happy Christmas to you all.

As always - thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Tulips for Mother's Day

2011-12-23T06:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Yes, I know it's early for Mother's day but I had this image lying around and I've been putting some cards together to send to Cazz for Operation Blue Witch Squadron so I thought I'd post this today.

The image is Joanna Sheen Messy Rabbit - Tulip. It's been stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and has been coloured using Promarkers. I cut it out using a rectangle nestie and edged it with Barn Door Distress Ink. I cut a mat out of red card using a scalloped rectangle nestie.

For the background paper I used the Stamps by Judith Stubbie AAA-04 Dots available in the UK here or in the USA here. This is such a useful stamp - Love it! I stamped it randomly over my white card using Marvy Bending Blox in Shades of Red and in Shades of Pink. I edged it with Barn Door Distress Ink.

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and added a bit of colour with Promarkers. I cut a mat out of red card using a Spellbinders Eyelet Circle Die.

I mounted my dotty background paper onto some red card and ran some Hi-Tack Tape across it. I added some red polka dot ribbon and added a bow in the same. I added the image and sentiment as shown and glued some red gems top right using Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Sparkles Forum Challenge - Anything But Christmas
Make It Monday #68
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Create and Craft Show Date Change

2011-12-22T17:25:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Just to let you know that my next show has been moved from 5th January to Saturday 7th January at 12noon and 6pm.

Julia

Let Them Eat Cake

2011-12-22T06:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm back to purple again and I'm sharing this card with you -

The image is from Sugar Nellie and it's called 'Let Them Eat Cake'. I stamped the image using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and coloured using Promarkers. I added some Sakura Stardust Clear Star to the wings to make them sparkle. I cut the image out using an oval nestie and inked around the edges with Dusty Concord Distress Ink.

I inked through That Special Touch Small Polka Dots Mask with Dusty Concord Distress Ink onto white card and then went around the edges with the same ink.

I cut a piece of Whitewash Colorcore with a lilac core and embossed it using the That Special Touch Polka Dots Mask. I sanded it to make the polka dots stand out more. I inked around the edges with Dusty Concord.

I matted the small polka dots background onto some purple card and then ran a strip of Hi-Tack Tape across the card and ruffled some Violet Vintage Ribbon along it leaving it un-ruffled where the Whitewash backing paper was to go.

I added the Whitewash backing paper to the card and mounted the image on top using foam pads.

I tied a messy bow using 2 lengths of Violet Vintage Ribbon and added it to my ruffled border using Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue. I tied some Baker's Twine through a Lavender Button and glued it to my bow.

I added a brad to each of the corners and then added my design to a Craftwork Cards 6" x 6" card.

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges -
The Sugar Bowl Maria Thereses Sketch plus Handmade Backing Papers
I love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Bingo : Ribbon/Twine, No Designer Paper, Brads
Sparkle Forum Challenge - Anything But Christmas
Make It Monday #68

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Red & Green - But not for Christmas!

2011-12-21T06:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers,

The Willow Sketchie Challenge this week is a sketch plus a red and green theme. Now, I'm done with Christmas Cards as I'm sure a lot of you are so I wanted to make a card that was red and green and nothing at all to do with Christmas. I think I've succeeded - what do you think?

I used the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask and inked through it onto white card with Barn Door Distress Ink. I inked around the edges with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

I stamped the Creative Expressions Plaid Stamp onto white card with Jet Black Archival Ink and cut it out using a rectangle nestie. I inked around the edges with Peeled Paint Distress Ink (out of the die) and cut a mat out of black card.

I stamped the wheel image from the Creative Expressions Vintage Illusion stamp set with Barn Door Distress Ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut this out using a Spellbinders Curved Rectangles die. I inked around the edges with Peeled Paint Distress Ink (again out of the die). I cut a faux nestie out of black card.

I stamped some cogs from the Vintage Illusion set - one in Jet Black Archival and one in Barn Door Distress Ink and embossed both of them using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut them out and inked them up using Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I added a Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brad in Antique Gold.

I inked up some American Seam Binding with Peeled Paint Distress Ink and Stamped the 'Illusion' text using Jet Black Archival. I frayed the edges a bit.

I assembled the card as shown and added 3 more screw brads top right.

Hope you like the card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Willow Sketchie Challenge - Red and Green
Sparkles Forum Challenge - Anything But Christmas
Make It Monday #68

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Vintage Inventor back at Sketch Saturday

2011-12-20T09:56:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing one of the samples that I've made for my Vintage Inventor shows on January 5th.

I stamped Mr. Inventor (Creative Expressions Vintage Inventor Stamp Set) onto some white card using Jet Black Archival Ink and cut him out leaving a thin white border. I stamped the Creative Expressions Scattered Words stamp onto white card with the Jet Black Archival and cut it out using an oval nestie. I inked around the edges with Weathered Wood Distress Ink while still in the die. I cut a faux nestie out in black card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Vintage Illusion stamp set again in Jet Black archival. I hadn't got quite the right size of oval nestie for this so I drew around the nearest size and cut it out. I inked around the edges with Weathered Wood. I cut a black mat out using an oval nestie.

I stamped the cogs (from Vintage Illusion) using Jet Black Archival and embossed them with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder and cut them out. I added a Creative Expressions Faux Screw Brad in Antique Silver to each one.

The background paper is Craft Creations. I stamped 'STEAMPUNK' from the Vintage Illusion set in Black Soot Distress Ink all over it to add a bit of interest.

For the black background panel I embossed some black card using the That Special Touch Cogs Mask and sanded it a little (Colorcore card would work really well here but I didn't have any).

For the grey background panel I simply inked through the That Special Touch Metal Effect Mask with Black Soot Distress Ink.

I assembled the card as shown adding some black ric-rac ribbon and some faux stitching.

Hope you like it.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Sketch Saturday - Week 186
Sparkles Forum Challenge - Anything But A Christmas Card
Make It Monday #68

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Happy Anniversary

2011-12-19T06:00:00.009Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing a card that I've made for my Mom & Dad for their Anniversary which is later this week.

It's only a small card - just 12cm square but it seemed appropriate as I wanted the sentiment to be the focal point.

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley which I stamped in Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I added a bit of colour with Summer Haze Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink. I cut it out using a circle nestie and inked around the edges with Dusty Concord Distress Ink. I cut a Spellbinders Picot Edged Circle from purple card and mounted the sentiment on to it.

I cut some leaves out of the Spellbinders Foliage Die Set. I inked through the die on the lighter card with Dusty Concord.

I made a flower using the Spellbinders Spiral Blossom and some felt that I bought from Sam Poole Creative Studios.

I tied a tatty bow using two lengths of Violet Vintage Ribbon.

I assembled the card as shown. The paper is from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons. I finished the card off with a couple of Creative Expressions Decorative Stick Pins in White Pearl and added a purple gem in each corner.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Sparkles Challenge - Anything But Christmas
Make It Monday #68

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Curvy Card for Dad

2011-12-18T06:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card -

I used the WS Designs Curvy Card Template to make the card base from Navy card. I used the template again to create a smaller panel of bright blue card for the front. I did some faux stitching down the length of the bright blue card.

I stamped various images from the Woodware 'His Birthday' stamp set onto patterned paper and cut them out.

The letters are from the Woodware 'Tiny Frames' set. This is a really useful set as you get an alphabet and a set of different shaped frames to stamp your letters into.

I assembled the card as shown.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #67
Allsorts Challenge - Blue and Brown
Penny Black & More Allsorts

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Next Shows on Create & Craft

2011-12-17T08:23:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

No card today - sorry. I'm beavering away making samples for my next shows on Create & Craft which will be on Thursday 5th January at 9am and 1pm Hope you can join me.

Julia.

The Caterpillar and the Butterfly

2011-12-16T06:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing this card with you -

Sorry about the poor quality of the photo - it's dark and the stamping is on glossy card so I can't have a light directly above it.

I used an Elusive Images stamp set (sorry - can't remember the name). I stamped the ornate design in Perfect Medium randomly all over some glossy card. Next I added some Peeled Paint and Dusty Concord Distress ink over the whole area. I removed the excess ink with kitchen roll.

The sentiment says - 'What the Caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a Butterfly'. I stamped this over the top of my design using the Dusty Concord Distress Ink. I put aside to dry.

I dusted some heat resistant acetate with my anti-static pad and stamped the butterfly with Perfect Medium. I added some Gold Detail embossing powder and heat set it. I then cut it out.

The background papers are made with the Peeled Paint and the Dusty Concord Distress Inks - you just need to ink around the edges of the card.

I assembled the card as shown.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Blog Candy up for grabs at Lili's Little Fairies

2011-12-15T20:35:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers.

There's some great candy up for grabs at the new challenge blog Lili's Little Fairies. Why not pop over and have a look?

Julia

Christmas Milton

2011-12-15T07:00:00.006Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this card -

The stamp is Milton in Hat from Wild Rose Studio. I stamped him in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers. I used a Quickie Glue Pen on the furry parts of the hat and added some Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Crystal Glitter. You can see it really catches the light.

I inked up a Craftwork Cards frame with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I printed the sentiment using my labelling machine and matted it onto cobalt blue card.

I cut the poinsettia from the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die set and inked with Chipped Sapphire while still in the die. I put the poinsettia together using Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue and added an Eco Green Glass Glintz in blue to the centre.

I assembled the card as shown. The backing paper is from the Polka Doodles CD Jingle Jangle (I think!).

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Oldie But A Goodie - Christmas Animals
Make It Monday #67

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Vintage Photo Tatty Button

2011-12-14T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing another of my samples from the Tatty Button Show.

I stamped the Tatty Button 'A Tatty Christmas To You' stamp on to ivory card with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I pulled some of the colour our using a damp paint brush and then cut Tatty out leaving a small border around the edges.

I inked up a piece of ivory card using Vintage Photo Distress Stain and left it to dry. When dry I embossed the stained card with the Couture Creations Bauble Tree embossing folder. I then sanded it to make the design pop out more.

I stamped the cracker from the Tatty Button Accessories 2 stamp set around the edges of my card blank with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set in Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then cut it out using the smallest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies. I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo while still in the die.

The card was assembled as shown.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Finally finished it!

2011-12-13T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Change from the usual sort of post from me. Here's a pic of a necklace that has taken me 5 months to make (though I haven't really spent that much time on it - other things to do).

The design is by my good friend Sue Stallard. I just need to buy a new top to go with it!

Hope you like it.

Julia.

Just Chillin'

2011-12-12T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have a card to share using the gorgeous Sugar Nellie stamp Chillax.

I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured using promarkers. I cut the image out using the 'out of the box' technique and a circle nestability die. You can see that her foot is outside of the circle. I cut a mat out of marine blue card using a scallop nestie.

I coloured some Woodware Paper Flowers by splatting Faded Jeans Distress Stain in the centre and added some Faded Jeans Distress Ink around the edges. I added a brown American Crafts brad in the centre. I inked some white roses from my stash with the Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The leaves were cut using one of the Spellbinders Foliage dies.

I assembled the front of the card as shown using papers from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD. Before mounting it on my 8" x 8" Craftwork Cards blank, I ran some Woodware Hi-Tack Tape along the width of the design and ruffled some brown gingham ribbon along it. I did two lines of it. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue along the edges of the ruffles to secure them. I tied a messy bow two lengths of the ribbon and added it to the centre of the ruffled ribbon securing it with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Allsorts Challenge - It Takes Two
The Sugar Bowl Challenge - 73 Cathy's Sketch
Make It Monday #67

I hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Mousey Winter Wishes

2011-12-11T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

Continuing on from yesterday I have another Mousey card. This time the stars are the Tatty Button Mistletoe and Pipsqueak.

I stamped the image using Jet black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured in using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut the image out using a Scalloped Circle neastie and inked around the edges with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.

The polka dot paper is from the Polka Doodles Sundae Of Seasons CD. The other papers are Junkitz.

I cut the scalloped border using the Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallops dies. I distressed all the papers with my scissors and inked around the edges with Chipped Sapphire. I wrapped some blue Baker's Twine around the striped paper.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with Clear Powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Labels Twelve die.

I assembled the card as shown and added some Polka Dot buttons with Some Baker's Twine tied in a bow.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Stripey Mousey Birthday

2011-12-10T07:00:00.002Z

Hi Bloggers,

There were so many samples that didn't get shown last week that I thought I'd share another with you today.

The image is Tatty Button Present Wrapping. This is such a versatile stamp - it can be used for any occasion really.

I stamped the image on to ivory card with Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks - some mica and some matt.

I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Eight. I inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink while still in the die. I cut another piece of patterned paper using Labels Eight again and inked all over the paper while still in the die with Vintage Photo.

I stamped the sentiment from Creative Expressions Flutter Florals stamp set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Teardrop Circles die and inked around the edges with Vintage Photo while still in the die.

I cut borders using the Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallops and Parisian Accents in navy and orange card respectively.

The patterned papers are Junkitz.

I assembled the card as shown and added some blue buttons with Baker's Twine and did some faux stitching around the edges and the card was complete.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Alcohol Inks and Snowman Card from Tuesday's Show

2011-12-09T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I thought I'd share the card that I demonstrated on the first show on Create & Craft on Tuesday.

This is my sample card and I think the demo card had the blue and purple layers reversed.

To create the background for the snowman and the larger background I put spots of Pool (it was Cloudy Blue in the demo), Stonewashed and Eggplant (it was Plum in the demo) Adirondack Alcohol Inks on a craft sheet and added a little Pearl Mixative. I then swirled a piece of glossy cardstock into the inks. I added more ink to the craftsheet and swirled again to fill in any gaps. I then poped some Silver Mixative onto the corner of my craft sheet and used the ink to stamp the crackle stamp randomly over my background. I blasted it with the heat gun to make sure it was dry.

I brushed the surface of the background with my Anti-Static Pad and then stamped the Tatty Button Snowman stamp in Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder.

I coloured the image with Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks. I added 2-3 coats in each area making sure it was dry in between each coat.

The image was cut out using a Spellbinders Labels 23 die and I made a faux mat out of purple card in this case.

The circle accent is cut from a Spellbinders Teardrop Circles die and the snowflakes are from Spellbinders Create-A-Flake.

The card was assembled as shown and I did a little paper piercing with my Tim Holtz Ruler and a piercing tool all around the outside.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Vintage Inventor Splat!

2011-12-08T07:00:00.023Z

Morning Bloggers.

Today I'm back with my fave - Vintage Inventor by Sam Poole. I've made a tag and I've been splatting with the Distress Stains as Hels did on the show on Tuesday. Great fun!

I inked up a cream parcel tag with some Peeled Paint and Faded Jeans Distress Ink using my blending tool. Next I spritzed some water into my hands and clapped over the tag so the water dropped in spots onto it. The water bleaches out some of the colour and when you're happy just blot dry. Add some more spots if you like.

Then I splatted some Faded Jeans Distress Stain onto the tag by simply banging the stain down onto the tag - it's a good idea to check that the ink is running smoothly before doing this. Cool, eh? Thanks Hels!

Next I inked up the railway track stamp from the Vintage Inventor stamp set with Vintage Photo Distress Stain and stamped along one edge. I needed to stamp a second time to do the full length of the tag.

I distressed the edges of the tag with my scissors and then edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink.

I stamped the man himself onto Grungepaper, cut him out and coloured using the Faded Jeans Distress Stain. I coloured 3 Idea-ology mini pins and 3 Idea-ology washers with Lettuce Adirondack Alcohol Ink using my Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool. I added these to the hat on the image.

I glued the Inventor to the tag using Pinflair Glue Gel to give him a bit of height. I coiled some black wire using a cocktail stick and secured those poking out of the hat.

Finally, I dyed some American Seam Binding using some Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Stains, scrunched it up, dried it and added it to the top of my tag.

I had lots of fun making this - I hope you've enjoyed looking.

I'm sharing this with my friends over at Make It Monday

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Let It Snow Tatty

2011-12-07T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

First I'd like to say thank everyone so much for your support on my first TV show yesterday. It was such fun.

So, today I'm sharing another of the samples from the show while I try and get my head around making something else.

I stamped the Tatty Button Let It Snow stamp in Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I inked around the edges of the image with Black Soot Distress Ink.

The sentiment is from the Tatty Button Text 2 set. It's actually only 1 line of it as the saying appears 3 times on the stamp. I stamped it in Jet Black Archival and embossed in clear.

I embossed a piece of Dusky Pink Colorcore card with the Couture Creations Drink Me Embossing Folder and sanded it to highlight the pattern. I inked around the edges of some Polka Dot backing paper printed from the Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD with Black Soot Distress Ink.

I cut a border using the Spellbinders Classic Scallops Edgeabilities die set.

The snowflakes are from the Spellbinders Create-A-Flake die set and have been inked with Black Soot while still in the die.

I assembled the card as shown and added Cosmic Shimmer White Pearlescent PVA all around the edge of my card, on the snowflakes and on the snow on the image.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Charisma Cardz - Challenge 47 Seeing Spots
Make It Monday #66

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

So Many Ways to Use One Stamp

2011-12-06T07:00:00.009Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today is the day of my first TV show for Creative Expressions on Create & Craft. I'm on Dawn Bibby & Friends 2pm till 4pm and 7pm - 8pm. I'll be showcasing Tatty Button Christmas Stamps and CD. Hels Sheridan will also be there demonstrating Studio 490 stamps and paper board. Hope you can join us.

So, today I thought I'd show you some different ways that you can use the Tatty Button Christmas Bauble Stamp. This is quite a long post so you may want to grab a cuppa. I'll start with this card -

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival and embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I stamped the image again onto some spare card and then cleaned the stamp and blotted it dry. Going back to the first image, I coloured it using a mix of Matt and Mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut the image out and went around the edges with a black promarker.

I created the background by dusting some card with my anti-static mat. Then I stamped the bow from the Tatty Button Christmas Accessories 2 set randomly all over the card in Perfect Medium. I embossed the images with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I then covered the whole area with Spun Sugar Distress Stain. The embossed images acted as a resist.

I cut a border from some pink card using the Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Edgeabilities die set.

I dyed some Ivory Vintage Ribbon with Spun Sugar Distress Stain. I dried it with my heat gun and then tied 2 messy bows with 3 lengths of the ribbon and I ruffled some more ribbon onto a strip of white card.

Using the spare stamped image, I cut the outside edges off and the bauble top leaving a mask to cover the Tatty Button Angel. I placed the mask over the angel and secured with a little masking tape rolled up underneath. I used card rather than a post-it as sometimes the ink bleeds through a post-it.

Then I inked up the visible sections of the stamp with Jet Black Archival, removed the mask and then stamped. I embossed with clear powder. I then stamped the text from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Jet Black Archival centering it inside the bauble. I embossed in clear again. I then cut the bauble out.

The card was assembled as shown and I added some 'string' to make the bauble hang with a fineliner pen.

In this card I have masked the stamp as in the first card and then I have stamped the top of the Tatty Button Snowman stamp.

After colouring in the snowman and the bauble top I cut the image out and went around the edges with a black promarker. I added some spots of glue using my Quickie Glue Pen and sprinkled on some Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Crystal Glitter.

The background was made using Adirondack Alcohol Inks. I cut a square piece of acetate and added Pool, Stonewashed and Eggplant Alcohol Inks to a clean felt on my Applicator Tool. I blotted my acetate with the Applicator Tool re-inking when necessary. I then stamped a couple of stamps from Sam Poole's Winter Wonderland set from Creative Expressions in Jet Black Archival. I gave it a couple of minutes and then rubbed off the Archival Ink with a tissue.

I put a dot of Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue in each corner on the back of the acetate and popped on to the white card. I put another dot of glue on the front in each corner and added a blue glass glintz.

Finally I added a messy bow of Sulphur Blue Vintage Ribbon.

Here's another way you can use the stamp -

For this card I stamped the bauble 3 times in Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured them all in with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I then cut the bauble and halo away from all of them and went around the edges with my black promarker.

The background squares were created by putting squares of white card through the Couture Creations Drink Me Embossing Folder. I then inked the raised areas with Dusty Concord Distress Ink using Cut & Dry Foam.

The sentiment is again from the Tatty Button Text 2 set and was stamped in Jet Black Archival and embossed in clear powder. It was cut out using a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die and was inked with Dusty Concord while still in the die. I added a couple of faux pearls made with Cosmic Shimmer White Pearlescent PVA.

I assembled the card as shown and did a bit of faux stitiching around the edges with an Inkssentials White Pen.

Finally, you can remove a bit more from the image and then Tatty is suitable for a birthday card -

Fairly simple this card but it does show that stamp can be used all year. As usual I stamped with Jet Black Archival and embossed in clear powder. I coloured with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. The papers are from the Wild Rose Studio Milton Paper Pack. The flowers are made from the Spellbinders Rose Creations die set and I inked through the die with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Flutter Florals stamp set.

You can also use the stamp to make wrapping paper and as a gift tag using the method in the first card. You can either stamp a sentiment in the middle, write a message or add any image you like to your bauble.

Such a versatile stamp.

I'm sharing this with Make It Monday #66

Hope you've enjoyed this marathon post!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read.

Julia.

Warm & Cozy Fireplace

2011-12-05T07:00:00.004Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have another card to share using the Tatty Button Fireplace stamp from Creative Expressions.

I stamped the image using jet Black Archival ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured in using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks plus the Pearl Shine from the Metallics set. I cut the image out using the largest of the Spellbinders Fleur de Lys Squares dies.

I stamped the poinsettia stamp from the Tatty Button Poinsettias set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I did this 3 times. I coloured the poinsettias in with Marigold Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Ink and coloured the centres with Ancient Copper Cosmic Shimmer Mica Drawing Ink. I cut them out and went round the edges with a black promarker.

I stamped the sentiment with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using an oval nestie. I inked around the edge with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I also pierced around the embossed line. I added some Tropic Wine Vintage Ribbon securing with some copper brads.

The backing papers are from My Mind's Eye. I pierced around the edge of the brown card with my Tim Holtz Ruler and my pricking tool before mounting on to ivory card.

Hope you like the card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #66

Just a reminder to tune in to Create & Craft tomorrow at 2pm and 7pm when I will be joining Dawn Bibby and showcasing Tatty Button Christmas products.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Get Well Wishes

2011-12-04T16:07:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Here I am again with a second post for today. I'm going for blue and brown with this card. Haven't used this colour combination before. I really like how it turned out.

The image is Lili of the Valley Little Nurse. I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers. I cut the image out with a circle nestie and cut a mat out of brown card with a scalloped circle nestie.

The papers are from the Polka Doodles CD Sundae of Seasons. The gingham ribbon is Woodware. For some reason I ordered 6 rolls of that so I will be using it on quite a few of my cards!

I stamped the sentiment which is also Lili of the Valley and cut it out with a rectangle nestie and cut a mat out of brown card with rectangle scalloped nestie.

The card was assembled as shown.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
CES Challenge - Bear Necessities
Allsorts Challenge - Going Round in Circles
Lili of the Valley - Anything but a Christmas Card
Willow Sketchie Challenge - Anything Goes
Oldie But a Goodie - No Red or Green
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Grey and Lemon Christmas Card

2011-12-04T07:00:00.002Z

Morning Bloggers,

When making Christmas cards I'm generally quite traditional and lean towards using red, green or blue. However, I really like yellow and grey together so I decided to use it on a Christmas card to see if it would work. I quite like how it turned out.

The stamp is Tatty's Christmas Tree from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button range. I stamped it in Memento London Fog. I just coloured in the stars on the tree with the Sunflower Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Ink. I cut the image out using the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies. I cut a faux nestie out using pale lemon card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Memento London Fog and cut it out using a Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Three die and again made a faux nestie out of pale lemon card.

I cut a panel of grey card and embossed it using the Couture Creations Drink Me embossing folder. The backing paper is from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD.

I joined the embossed grey card and the yellow polka dot paper together with a piece of Nickle Mist Vintage Ribbon. I tied a messy bow using 2 lengths of the ribbon and added a Creative Expressions wooden button with some yellow Baker's Twine tied through it.

I cut 2 flourishes from the Tim Holtz Alterations Die Elegant Flourishes - one in pale lemon and one in grey and glued them in place with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue as shown.

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges -
Make It Monday #65
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Challenge 47 Seeing Spots

I hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Snow Lady

2011-12-03T07:00:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I thought I'd share another sample for the Tatty Button Show on Tuesday. I've used the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Snowman stamp but he's become a 'her'.

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks. I punched a few mini flowers out of pink card and added a tiny spot of Cosmic Shimmer White Pearlescent PVA in the centre of each one. The handbag was made from a Woodware punch - really handy as it punches as 2 pieces so fits over my lady's arm nicely.

I cut the image out using a Spellbinders Labels Eight die and carefully inked around the edges with Spun Sugar Distress Ink and Cut & Dry Foam while the image was still in the die. I cut a mat out of pink card with the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies. I really love that set.

All the backing papers are from the Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD except for the long panel to the right of the image. This I made by randomly stamping the bow from the Tatty Button Accessories 2 set all over a piece of white card with Perfect Medium. I embossed the images with clear powder and then covered the card with Spun Sugar Distress Stain. The embossed images resisted the stain.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using a circle nestie and cut a mat out of pink card using a scalloped circle nestie.

I stained a piece of cream lace with the Spun Sugar Distress Stain and added it to the back of my sentiment.

I added a couple of Creative Expressions White Pearl Stick Pins and some square gems to complete my card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Charisma Cardz - Challenge 47 Seeing Spots
Make It Monday #65
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Festive Fireplace

2011-12-02T07:00:00.019Z

Morning Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing a card made with the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Fireplace stamp.

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured it in using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks and used some Pearl Shine Cosmic Shimmer Mica Drawing Ink for the dripping wax on the candles. I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Two and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I cut a faux nestie out of green card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it our using a circle nestie and again edged with Vintage Photo. I cut a scalloped circle nestie out of green card.

I assembled the main layers of the card as shown. The papers are My Mind's Eye and Basic Grey. I did some paper piercing along the edges of the largest piece of green card with my Tim Holtz Ruler and a pricking tool. I ran some Hi-Tack Tape down the side of the card and ruffled some Moss Green Vintage Ribbon along it. I tied a messy bow out of two lengths of the ribbon and added it to my ruffled ribbon border. I dyed a Creative Expressions Wooden Button with Vintage Photo Distress Stain, tied some Baker's Twine through it and added it to my messy bow.

I inked around the edges of an 8" x 8" card blank with Vintage Photo and then added my design to it. Finally, I cut some Elegant Flourishes using the Tim Holtz Alterations die from some green card and glued them in place on my card with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #65
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Blue and White Christmas Stepper Card

2011-12-01T07:00:00.003Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have a Stepper Card to share -

I purchased a Hougie Board last weekend. The booklet that I got with it boasts that you can make the easiest stepper card with it. True! Making the blank for this card was easy peasy.

I stamped the Creative Expressions Tatty's Christmas Tree in Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I used a paint brush to draw some of the ink out around the edges of the layers of the tree, the pot and on some of the baubles. I used some Pearl Shine Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink on the garlands and the fairy.

I cut the image out using the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies.

I cut some polka dot paper (from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons) to fit the large side panel and added my image with foam pads.

I cut a border using the Spellbinders Scalloped Edgeabilities dies and inked whilst still in the die with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I added this to my front panel on the right.

I cut a panel to fit the middle section on the right of my card and popped it through my Cuttlebug with the Couture Creations Drink Me Embossing Folder. I inked the raised areas with Chipped Sapphire and added the panel to my card.

I added another piece of polka dot paper to my back panel. I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and cut it out using a Spellbinders Labels Two die. I inked around the edges with Chipped Sapphire and added it to my card as shown.

Hope you like the card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Make It Monday #65
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Tiffany in Blue

2011-11-30T18:13:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

This is my second post today. Hope you've had a good day so far.

I wanted to share this card with you -

The image is called Tiffany and she's from Sugar Nellie. I've had her a while and have been putting off stamping her as there have been so many fab cards using her on The Sugar Bowl that I felt I may not be able to do her justice. Anyway, today I've taken the plunge and I'm pretty happy with the result.

I stamped Tiffany in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with promarkers. She's in blue to follow the Ice and Snow theme on the Sugar Bowl Challenge this week.

I cut Tiffany out using the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies. I cut some poinsettias out using the smallest 3 dies from the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die set and inked through the dies with Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I cut 2 of each size. I assembled the poinsettia and added a blue gem in the middle.

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley. I didn't have quite the right size nestie for a mat for it so I used a Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die to create the mat. Although I've made this card as a Birthday card, it could just as easily be a Christmas card instead if a different sentiment is used.

The backing papers are all from Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD.

The card was assembled onto a Craftwork Cards 8" x 8" card blank as per Gayle's Sketch at The Sugar Bowl

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Make It Monday #65

Hope you like Tiffany as much as I do.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Mistletoe and Pip Squeak

2011-11-30T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have another card made with the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Mistletoe and Pip Squeak Stamp.

I stamped the image onto cream card using Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured in using a mixture of matt and mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Twenty. I did some paper piercing all around the embossed edge and added some Adirondack Raisin Dye Ink using Cut & Dry Foam.

I stamped four poinsettias from the Tatty Button Poinsettias stamp set in Perfect Medium and embossed with gold powder. I cut them out.

I embossed a cream panel with the Couture Creations Drink Me embossing folder.

I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut the sentiment out using a die from the Spellbinders Parisian Accents set and inked through the die with the Adirondack Raisin Dye Ink.

The card was assembled as shown. The paper is Making Memories. I wrapped some Vintage Ribbon in Tropic Wine around the card where the two backing paper panels met and tied a messy bow with two lengths of ribbon.

I pierced all around the edge of some burgundy card using my Tim Holtz Ruler and a pricking tool and mounted my design onto it.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Willow Sketchie Challenge

2011-11-29T21:08:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

I'm sharing this card that I'm entering into this weeks Willow Sketchie Challenge

Quick card to make - 15 minutes once papers chosen!

I made an 8 x 8 card. Backing papers, coloured image and sentiment are all from Willow Designs Walter and Winnie Does Christmas CD. I used Spellbinders Dies to cut out the image and sentiment and their mats.

Job Done!

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Cute Christmas Tag

2011-11-29T18:14:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

I'm back with a second post for today. I just had to share this really cute tag with you -

I used a cream parcel tag. I dusted it with my anti-static bag and then stamped the holly from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Christmas Accessories 2 stamp set with Perfect Medium. I embossed the images with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I then covered the whole tag with Vintage Photo Distress Stain. The stamped holly acted as a resist. Then I added some berries using the Cosmic Shimmer Berry Red Pearlescent PVA.

The cute mouse is actually from this stamp -

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I coloured just the mouse and his tail using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I then cut out the mouse and his tail. I glued him to my tag as shown. I made some little whiskers out of some thin black wire.

I added some Cosmic Shimmer Ribbon in Basque Red. I stamped the sentiment from the Tatty Button Text 2 set in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Oval Nestie and inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I cut out a faux nestie in red card and mounted my sentiment on to it. I added this to my tag.

What do you think? Cute?

I'm sharing this tag with the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp - Tag You're It
Make It Monday #65

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Not just for Christmas!

2011-11-29T07:00:00.005Z

Morning Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing another card made with the Tatty Button range of stamps that I'm showing on Create & Craft on 6th December.

This one is made with the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Present Wrapping stamp. As you can see it can be used for any occasion.

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival and quickly embossed it using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image using a mix of matt and mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut the image out using the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies.

I stamped the Happy Birthday text from the Creative Expressions Flutter Florals stamp set in Jet Back Archival and embossed with clear embossing powder. I cut the sentiment out using an oval nestie and made a faux nestie in green card.

The card was assembled as shown. The backing paper is Basic Grey. I ran two lines of super sticky tape down the right-hand side of the card and ruffled some Moss Green and Toffee Beige Vintage Ribbon. I did some paper piercing all around a larger piece of green card using my Tim Holtz Ruler and a pricking tool and mounted my design onto it.

I tied a messy ribbon with Moss Green and Toffee Beige Vintage Ribbon and added it to my border. Finally, I added a Creative Expressions Wooden Button and some Baker's Twine to my bow.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday #65

Thanks for popping by.

Julia.

Snowmen Melt Your Heart

2011-11-28T07:00:00.002Z

Morning Bloggers.

Today I have a card to share made with the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Snowman stamp -

Very simple card. The image was stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured it in using Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks and cut it out leaving a white border all around it. The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set and was stamped in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I used some Blue Lace Matt Drawing Ink around the edge of the sentiment panel.

I cut some snowflakes out using the Spellbinders Create-A-Flake die set and inked through the dies with some Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I added some faux pearls made with Cosmic Shimmer White Pearlescent PVA.

I used some dotted card for backing paper which I edged with Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

The card was assembled as shown. I did some paper piercing with my Tim Holtz Ruler around the edge of the largest piece of blue card.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Charisma Cards Challenge 46 - Snowflakes
Make It Monday #65

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Christmas Tags

2011-11-27T10:25:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Today I have some Christmas Tags to share with you.

Here's the first one -

This tag was made by scrunching up a cream parcel tag, opening it back up and then wiping a Vintage Photo Distress Ink pad over the top. The ink catches on the peaks. I spritzed it with water and waited a few seconds and then pressed it with a warm iron (I used my encaustic art one). It spits and splatters a bit and some of the ink moves around a bit more. The result is always different. Cool technique, eh? Found it a couple of years ago on Tim Hotlz Demos. Brilliant techniques on there.

Anyway, back to the tag - I stamped the poinsettia from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Poinsettias set twice in Jet Black Archival and embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image using Scarlet Flame Matt Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink and Ancient Copper Mica Drawing Ink. I only coloured in four petals and the centre of one of the images. I cut them out and shaped them and added them to my tag using Pinflair Glue Gel.

The sentiment is from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set. I stamped it in Jet Black Archival and embossed it using clear powder. I cut it out using Spellbinders Labels Twelve and pierced around the emboss line. I cut a faux nestie out of red card and mounted my sentiment piece onto it and added it to my tag.

Finally, I added some Vintage Ribbon in Basque Red.

Here's a slightly closer shot -

The next tag I have to share is this one -

This tag was made by using the ink that was left on my craft sheet from making the first tag. I squished the tag into the ink on my craft sheet and swirled it about a little. I then dried it with a heat gun and then picked up some splatters of ink from the mat and dried it again. I repeated this last step until I was happy with the result. You can add more ink to you mat if you need to but make sure your mat is dry before you do so or you may contaminate or water down your ink pad. You can create this background using more than one colour - again you can see this on Tim's Demos.

I stamped some holly leaves from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Christmas Accessories 2 set in Vintage Photo Distress Ink randomly all over the tag. I stamped the sentiment in the Vintage Photo and cut it out using the Spellbinders Parisian Accents Die Set. I inked with Vintage Photo while still in the die. I then added the sentiment to my tag. Finally, I added some Vintage Ribbon in Toffee Beige.

Here's a slightly closer shot. You can see the holly a little better -

Here's a tag made using the same technique as the first tag but I used Black Soot Distress Ink and a white tag instead -

I've stamped the Tatty Button A Tatty Christmas To You in Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I then coloured her in with a mixture of matt and mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut her our leaving a small white border all round her. I shaped her and added her to my tag using Pinflair Glue Gel. I added three faux pearls using Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA in Berry Red. I finished my tag off with some Basque Red Vintage Ribbon.

My last tag that I'm sharing with you has been made using the same technique as he second tag but again I have swapped Vintage Photo for Black Soot Distress Ink and have used a white tag -

The image I used here is another of the poinsettias from the Tatty Button Poinsettias stamp set. This one has a button in the centre instead of berries. You can see that I have coloured in the buttons with Scarlet Flame Matt Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink (I just love that colour!). Again the sentiment is from the Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set and it's been stamped with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it our using an oval nestie. I inked around the edges with Black Soot. I cut a faux nestie in red card and matted the two pieces together and added them to my tag. Again, I added some Basque Red Vintage Ribbon to finish.

Here's a slightly closer shot -

Hope you've enjoyed looking at my tag creations today.

I'm entering this post into the following challenges -
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Tag You're It
Make It Monday #64

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Poinsettias

2011-11-26T07:54:00.000Z

Morning Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing this very simple Poinsettias card -

The stamp is from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Poinsettias set. This is a lovely set which includes some candles with some holly and two different poinsettias. I've used it in so many different ways this year.

The poinsettia was stamped six times in jet black archival and embosssed with Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder. I coloured them in using Scarlet Flame from the Cosmic Shimmer Matt Drawing Inks and used Ancient Copper Cosmic Shimmer Mica Drawing Ink in the centres. On three of the images I only coloured in the centre four leaves. I then cut them all out.

I shaped the three complete images and used Pinflair Glue Gel to add them to my ivory card. I then shaped the other three smaller layers and popped them on top.

I stamped the sentiment in jet black archival and embossed it with clear powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag Die. I cut another tag out using red card and cut it in the middle length ways and added it to the back of the sentiment to create a layer.

The card was assembled as shown using ivory and red card. I added some Toffee Beige Vintage ribbon before adding the image panel. I added a few faux pearls which were made with Cosmic Shimmer Pearlescent PVA in Berry Red. The paper is Bo Bunny.

I'm sharing this card with Make It Monday

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Tatty Button Sneak Peak - Black & White Mousey Christmas

2011-11-25T07:00:00.002Z

Morning Bloggers,

Here's another sample I've made for the Tatty Button Show on 6th December.

The stamp is Creative Expressions Tatty Button Mistletoe & Pipsqueak. It comes already mounted on to Umount and is cut out so it's ready to use straight away.

It's such a quick and easy card to make.

I stamped the image with Jet Black Archival and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Twelve and made a faux nestie in black card.

I wrapped some black vintage ribbon around a strip of white card and added a black fancy border on each side which was cut using the Spellbinders Parisian Accents die set.

The background was made by inking through the That Special Touch Small Polka Mask with Black Soot Distress Ink. Cool, eh?

I stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Text 2 stamp set with Jet Black Archival and embossed with clear powder. I cut it out using a Spellbinders Double-Ended Tag die and cut an extra tag in black. I cut the black tag down the middle and added that to the sentiment. I put a piece of black vintage ribbon through each end of the tag.

Finally, I did a bit of faux stitching around the edge with my Inssentials white pen.

I'm sharing this card with my friends over at Make It Monday

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Tatty Button Sneak Peak - A Tatty Christmas to You

2011-11-24T07:00:00.004Z

Morning Bloggers,

As promised here's another sample that I've made for the Tatty Button Show scheduled for Tuesday 6th December 2pm - 4pm.

For this card I've used the Creative Expressions Tatty Button A Tatty Christmas To You. The stamp comes already mounted onto Umount and has been cut out so it's ready to use straight away.

I stamped the image in Jet Black Archival and quickly embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear embossing powder. I coloured it in using a mix of matt and mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. I cut the image our using a rectangle nestie and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I cut a mat out using Spellbinders Labels 8 using some backing paper from My Mind's Eye. I cut a faux nestie out of cream card. The other backing paper is also from My Mind's Eye.

I wrapped some black crochet ribbon around the centre of the card.

I stamped 7 holly sprigs onto green card in Perfect Medium and embossed with gold embossing powder. This stamp is from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Christmas Accessories 2 stamp set. This set comes already mounted on Umount but you will need to cut out each individual stamp.

I cut all of the holly sprigs out and popped on 3 spots of Cosmic Shimmer Berry Red Pearlescent PVA where the berries should be. These take an hour or so to dry so I waited before adding the holly to my card.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Show date change and a sample card

2011-11-23T11:09:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Apologies for lack of posts recently - I've been knee deep in making samples for the Tatty Button TV Show coming up on Create & Craft soon.

Unfortunately, the shows next Tuesday have been cancelled and have been re-scheduled for the following Tuesday (6th Dec) 2pm till 4pm with Dawn Bibby. I'm not sure if I will also be doing the 7pm show or not.

Today I thought I'd share one of the samples I've made for the show -

I've used the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Christmas Bauble stamp. The stamp comes already mounted onto Umount and has been cut out for you too so you're ready to go straight away. I stamped the image with Jet Black Archival and quickly embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder. I coloured the image using a mix of matt and mica Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks.

The letters are cut from the Wendie Rhodes Wacky Font Alphabet templates and have been stamped using the Creative Expressions background stamp Scattered Words. The letters have been edged with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

The background has been created using the Couture Creations Drink Me embossing folder and has been edged with Tumbled Glass.

I made a few snowflakes using the Spellbinders Create-A-Flake die set, again inking through the die with Tumbled Glass.

I dyed some Ivory Vintage Ribbon with Tumbled Glass, tied a bow and added it to the top of the bauble.

I'm sharing this card with my friends at Make It Monday

Hope you like the card.

Please pop back again tomorrow when I'll be sharing another sample card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

Exciting News!

2011-11-17T10:38:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Just wanted to share with you some exciting news. I have joined Creative Expressions as an independent demonstrator and I will be doing my first TV shows on Create & Craft on Tuesday 29th November at 8am and 1pm. I'll be showcasing Tatty Button Christmas stamps and CD ROM.

Hope you can join me.

Julia.

Black & White plus One

2011-11-15T07:00:00.001Z

Hi Bloggers.

Today I'm sharing a card which has the same layout as the Black & White Christmas Card in an earlier post. I had so many lovely comments that I thought I'd use the same layout for the Allsorts Challenge Week 129 - Black and White Plus One.

I've chosen red as my 'plus one'. Here's the card -

I stamped the Tatty Button Tree onto some white card using Jet Black Archival and embossed it with clear powder. I coloured in some of the buttons with Cosmic Shimmer Scarlet Flame Drawing Ink and then cut the image out using the largest of the Spellbinders Lattice Rectangles dies.

Next I stamped the button poinsettia stamp from the Tatty Button Poinsettias set randomly all over a 7" square piece of white card. I coloured in the buttons on the poinsettias with the Scarlet Flame Drawing Ink.

I put a piece of black card into the Creative Expressions Lattice Embossing Folder and ran it through my Cuttlebug.

I assembled these three pieces as shown. Then I ran a piece of Hi-Tack tape along the top and ruffled some Basque Red Vintage Ribbon along it. I then added the whole of the design to an 8" x 8" black card blank.

I made a bow from the Basque Red Vintage Ribbon. I cut 2 sets of the smallest 3 layers from the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die set in white card. I inked through the die with Black Soot Distress Ink. I assembled the poinsettia and added a red button. I glued it to the bow and added a couple of the Creative Expressions White Pearl Stick Pins.

Finally, I did a bit of fancy faux stitching around the edges of the black card with a white Inkssentials pen.

I'm also sharing this card at Make It Monday #63.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Willow Sketchie Challenge - Part 2

2011-11-14T20:42:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

Couldn't resist posting another card made with the Walter & Winnie does Christmas CD. I've used the Willow Sketchie Challenge - 10th November layout again but I've rotated it.

As before the images, sentiment and backing papers are all from the CD. The poinsettias are made with the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die set.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Willow Sketchie Challenge

2011-11-14T10:48:00.000Z

Hi Bloggers,

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be drawn as the winner in the Willow Sketchie Challenge. My prize was a Walter & Winnie Does Christmas CD. So, to say 'thank you' to the team at Willow Designs I have used the CD to create a card for my entry into the challenge this week.

This has to be one of the quickest cards I've made in quite a while. The image, sentiment and papers are all from the CD. I used an oval nestie to cut out the main image and a scalloped oval nestie to cut out the mat in gold card. I used a circle nestie to cut out the sentiment. The poinsettias were made using the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettias die. I added some Black Soot Distress Ink to the petals and a gem in the middle.

The card was assembled as per the Willow Sketchie Challenge - 10th November

I am also sharing this card at Make It Monday #63

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.

James Bear - Christmas Cracker

2011-11-11T09:02:00.000Z

Morning Bloggers.

Today I have this card to share with you -

The stamp is Lili of the Valley - James Bear Christmas Cracker. He's been stamped with Memento Ink and coloured with promarkers. I've added some Sakura Clear Star to the stars on the cracker and to the ground beneath his feet. The hat has some Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Sparkle Glitter on the furry bits. I added a little Judikins Diamond Glaze to the nose and eyes.

I cut the image out with an oval nestie and inked around the edges with the Evergreen Bough and the Forest Moss Distress Inks using Cut & Dry Foam. I cut a mat out of gold card using a scalloped oval nestie.

The card was assembled as per the I love Promarkers Challenge this week.

The paper is from the Wild Rose Studio Christmas Milton Paper Pack. I cut some ponsettias out using the Spelbinders Layered Poinsettias dies. I inked them with Forest Moss Distress Ink and added a gem in the middle.

The sentiment is from Creative Expressions and has been inked with Forest Moss before mounting on to gold card.

I'm entering this card in to the following challenges -
Lili of the Valley Thursday Challenge - Creature Comforts
I love Promarkers Challenge 91 - Follow that Sketch
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Photo Inspiration
Make It Monday #62

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.