Filled with Love

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

A gatefold card today.

I scored a piece of Aqua Card at the A4 Gatefold score line on 2 sides. I positioned the inner die from the Spellbinders Quatrafoil Panel Die Set into the front of one side and ran it through the Spellbinders Platinum Machine. I repeated the process on the other front panel. I backed both of the front panels with a piece of patterned paper from Sue Wilson's Classic Elegance Paper Pad.

On the inside, I embossed a piece of Coconut White Card with the Creative Expressions Swirling Hearts Embossing Folder. I added another piece of patterned paper. I stamped the sentiment from the Justrite Wedding Inner Sentiments Stamp Set onto Coconut White Card using Clear Perfect Medium and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Detail Embossing Powder. I cut it out using Spellbinders Decorative Swallowtail Tags. I cut a Spellbinders Arched Swallowtail Tag out of Aqua Card as a mat. I added a Craft Consortium Pearl & Gem Flower to each corner of the patterned paper.

I secured the card shut with a piece of Craft Consortium Duck Egg Satin Ribbon.

Lisa Horton is continuing with her One Day Special on Hochanda today with shows at 9am, 12noon, 4pm and 7pm. I'm offering 10% discount on items I have in stock from her shows. You can find them here. Offer applies till midnight tonight.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card with all website orders (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
Deal of the Day today (17th May) - Sue Wilson Tranquil Poppy Die only £3.99!

Happy Birthday

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

For the background, I used something from my bits box. It's a background made using the Caught in Crystal Technique which you can see described here on Sue Wilson's Blog. I used CS Clear Varnish Lacquer, Alcohol Inks in Lettuce, Sunshine Yellow, Latte and Rust, PM CS Decadent Bamboo Mica Powder and CS Iced Snow Glitter Jewels.

I cut the inner die only in Sue's Intertwining Circles Striplet out of Milk Card 4 times leaving a border as shown. I glued this onto my Caught in Crystal Background and then matted onto Black Card.

I stamped the sentiment from the Wild Rose Studio Everyday Sentiments Stamp Set onto Milk Card using Jet Black Archival. I cut it out using Sue's Pierced Flags and cut another out of Black Card.

I made a flower out of Milk and Black Card using Sue's Orange Blossoms - Complete and Open Petals Die Sets and added a 5mm Black Pearl. I cut a couple of leaves out of Black Card using Sue's Orange Blossom Leaves Die Set.

I assembled the card as shown adding some 8mm Black Pearls and piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Free card on all website orders placed in December (ask for one in the comments box at checkout).
25% off all items in Christmas Category till midnight 26th December.
Deal of the Day today (23rd December) - Hobby House Vintage Blooms Lilac only £2.99!

Season's Greetings

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

I stamped Phill Martin's Christmas Holly Decorative Frame : Lattice onto Coconut White Card using Clear Perfect Medium and embossed with Phill's Cosmic Shimmer Frosty Sky Embossing Powder (due back in stock later this week). I stamped Phill's Christmas Holly Insert Frame : Season's Greetings in the same way. I cut both the frames our using Spellbinders 6 x 6 Matting Basics A Die Set. I went around the edges of the frames with Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Star Twinkles and put aside to dry.

The butterflies are from Wild Rose Studio Dies - Little Frosted Butterfly and Frosted Butterfly. The bodies are separate dies. I have cut them both out of Coconut White Card. On the butterflies, I have added Clear Perfect Medium, Frosty Sky Embossing Powder and heat set, then repeated the process. For the bodies, I have added some Sparkle Star Twinkles.

I assembled the card as shown piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

A very simple, quick card - you just need to be patient while the Twinkles dry!

Don't forget to check back later to see if you have won the last Friday's Freebie Card.

Oh, one last thing - John Lockwood has more MDF shows on Hochanda starting at 8pm today with a One Day Special which continues with more shows  tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk

Happy Birthday

Hi Bloggers.

Here's today's card -

The image is from the Wild Rose Studio Printed Panels Pack - Elsie Panels. These are great if you need a quick card. Each panel is printed on a 105mm square of 300gsm card. The pack includes 4 designs, with 8 coloured images and 4 black and white images in total.

I cut my chosen panel out using Spellbinders 6 x 6 Matting Basics A and inked through the die with Cosmic Shimmer Crimson Kiss Colour Cloud Blending Ink (on order) with a Smoothie. 

 I cut out the largest die in the Spellbinders Floral Assortment Die Set out of Raspberry Card. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Wild Rose Studio Everyday Sentiments Clear Stamp Set onto Coconut White Card using Crimson Kiss Colour Cloud via a Smoothie. I popped some Cosmic Shimmer Clear Embossing Powder on top an heat set. I cut it out using the smallest die in the Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles Two Die Set and inked through the die with Crimson Kiss.

I made a flower out of Coconut White Card using Spellbinders Flower Play Die Set. I added some Cosmic Shimmer Dies Clear Glue and some Cosmic Shimmer Iced Snow Glitter Jewels. This was actually a flower I had made at a demo so I added some Crimson Kiss ink to the edges of the petals when I made this card. I cut some leaves out of Raspberry Card using Spellbinders Flower Bundle Die Set.

The backing paper is from Phill Martin's Chic Floral Paper Pad. I added a White Pearl Corner to 3 of the corners and pierced around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Ask for a free card (in the order comments box at checkout) when you order in August!

A Magical Time

Hi Bloggers.

Today's card features a die set from Wild Rose Studio. They're a little company and I used to stock their stamps and paper pads when I had my shop here in Milton Keynes. Recently they have started designing their own dies and I thought I'd get a few in for my website.

The die set I've used is Holly Frame and Poinsettia - the frame, poinsettias and foliage dies are included in the set.

I've used Phill Martin's Frosty Christmas Holly 8 x 8 Paper Pad which I cut out the background with Spellbinders 6 x 6 Matting Basics B with a Coconut White Mat cut using the Basics A Die Set. I used the patterned side of the paper and the plain side of the paper for the poinsettias.

I stamped the sentiment from Phill's Christmas Holly Verse Collection using Cobalt Archival. I cut it out using the frame die and inked through the die with Phill Martin's Frosty Sky Colour Cloud Blending Ink using a Smoothie.

I assembled the card as shown adding a White 5mm Pearl to each corner and piercing around the edges using my Tim Holtz Ruler, Precision Probe and Piercing Mat.

You can see all the products I have in stock from Wild Rose Studio here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia.
www.juliawattscrafts.co.uk
Ask for a free card (in the order comments box at checkout) when you order in August!

Christmas Milton

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

So Many Ways to Use One Stamp

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.

James Bear - Christmas Cracker

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.

Winnie in Earmuffs

Hi Bloggers.

In this post I'd like to share with you this card made using the Willow Designs stamp Winnie in Earmuffs.

I was lucky enough to win the Willow Sketchie Challenge last week and for the sketch this week I was determined to use a Willow Designs stamp. I must say I found it a bit of a challenge. This was was 3rd attempt at colouring the image in. I am happy with how it turned out in the end.

I coloured Winnie in with Promarkers and edged the panel with Crushed Olive Distress Ink. I added fome Flower Soft Polar White to the earmuffs.

The sentiment is from Creative Expressions and again was edged with Crushed Olive Distress Ink.

The papers are from Wild Rose Studio Christmas Milton & Co paper pack.

I assembled the card as per the sketch on this weeks Willow Sketchie Challenge and added a few Eco Green Clear Glass Glintz secured with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -

Willow Sketchie Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz Challenge 43 - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

Fairies - on Tiptoe

Hi Bloggers,

Today I'm sharing a card made with the beautiful Lili Of The Valley stamp Fairies - On Tiptoe. This has to be one of the prettiest fairy images around.

The Lili of the Valley Challenge this week is a sketch by Bev and this card follows that sketch.

The image has been stamped with Memento ink and has been coloured using Promarkers. I edged the dress, wings and flowers with Sakura Clear star to give a bit of sparkle.

I cut the image out using Spellbinders Eyelet Circles die and inked around the edges with Spun Sugar Distress Ink while still in the die. I made a faux nestie and edged it with the clear star.

The sentiment is from Wild Rose Studio. I cut the tags out with Spellbinders Labels Eight, inked them with Spun Sugar while still in the die and made a faux nestie for each one. I punched a hole in them and added some pretty fluffy yarn.

I used the Martha Stewart Doily Lace punch for the border. The flowers and brads are American Crafts, roses are from my stash. The leaves were cut from Spellbinders Foliage die set. The papers are My Minds Eye Lost & Found and DCWV Nursery. All the papers and card were edged with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.

The card was assembled as per Bev's sketch and I added a pearl in each corner.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Lili of the Valley Challenge 118
I Love Promarkers Challenge 89 - Tags
Polka Doodles week 43 Challenge - Magical & Mystical
Charisma Cardz Challenge 43 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

Hope you like the card.
Thanks for stopping by.
Julia.

Christmas Fun with the Vintage Inventor

Hi Bloggers.

Here it is again - my favourite stamp set. A while ago I made a Christmas card with Mr. Inventor and he had a sprig of holly on his hat. At the time I mentioned that you could perhaps replace his top hat for a Santa hat. Well, I finally got round to making such a card and here it is.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Friday Sketch Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

I inked up some white card with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink using Cut & Dry Foam and stamped Mr. Inventor with Jet Black Archival. I cut him out leaving a small gap all the way round. I then cut off his hat and a bit of his hair. I stamped Wild Rose Studio Mia in the Snow with Black Memento Ink and coloured just the main part of the hat with Promarkers. I cut out the hat, added a layer of Cosmic Shimmer Dies Clear glue to the furry bits and then added Polar White Flower Soft. It was then set aside to dry.

Next I made the really cool background paper which I used on the squares. The technique is called faux batik and it's on Sue Wilson's DVD. I used a piece of white card and using Perfect Medium I stamped the snowflake (from Creative Expressions Christmas Swirl set) and the pressure guage (from Creative Expressions Vintage Illusion stamp set). I embossed the images with clear embossing powder. Then I folded the card in lots of ways to make lots of creases. I spritzed the card with water and then brayered on some Adirondack Stream and Adirondack Sailboat Blue dye inks (I used two brayers - it's important not to contaminate the ink pads so if you have one brayer then clean and dry it before using with the second ink pad). The ink will be darker on the creased lines. A great background, don't you think?

Using the Spellbinders Create a Flake die set, I made some snowflakes using card and leftover backing papers including the faux batik. I put Creative Expressions faux screw brads in two of the snowflakes and put a greeting from the Creative Expressions Christmas Borders set on the other.

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

I assembled the card as per the Friday Sketch Challenge and added some faux stitching with a fineliner pen.

If you love the Vintage Inventor stamp set as much as I do then you can buy it from the designer herself here.

Hope you like the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Julia

Poinsettias Christmas Card

Hi Bloggers.

I have another card for you this evening. I'm entering this card into Sweet Sketch Wednesday 124 Challenge this week.

I used a Craftwork Cards 6" x 6" card blank. The papers are from the Wild Rose Studio Christmas Milton Paper Pack. The images are from the Creative Expressions Tatty Button Poinsettias stamp set. They were stamped in Jet Black Archival and quickly embossed with clear powder. They were coloured using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks - I used some matt ones and some with mica.

I used the 'out of the box' technique to cut the oval nestie around the image. The two panels were embossed using the Creative Expressions Lattice embossing folder.

The card was assembled as per the sketch.

Hope you like it.
Julia.

IC Sketches and Milton

Hi.

This evening I have a Christmas card to share with you. I am entering this card into the IC Sketches Challenge 136

I used a Craftwork Cards 6" x 6" card blank. The stamp is Christmas Milton from Wild Rose Studio. He has been coloured using Promarkers. I used Flower Soft Polar White on the furry bits on his hat.

The paper is Making Memories. I used the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square die and did some faux stitching with an Inkssentials white pen.

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

Mia in the Snow in Blue & White

Hi,

I've posted several cards which have been coloured using promarkers recently so this time I thought I'd do something a bit different.

I have stamped Mia in the Snow (Wild Rose Studio) with Faded Jeans distress ink and have 'pulled' some of the colour out using a damp paint brush. I added Sakura Clear Star for the snow and Cosmic Shimmer Aurora Crystal Glitter on the furry bits on her clothes. I cut her out using Spellbinders Labels Eight and inked around the edges with Faded Jeans whilst the image was still in the die. I cut a faux nestie and mounted the image.

I cut a piece of gingham paper (from Wild Rose Studio Spring Papers CD) using Labels Eight and again made a faux nestie. I stamped little stars randomly over the gingham paper using a little Lavinia Stamp and Faded Jeans.

The blue border was made using the Martha Stewart Snowflakes PATP set. I added some navy gingham ribbon. The snowflake backing paper is from the Polka Doodles CD Jingle Jangle.

The sentiment is from Creative Expressions and has been cut out using the Spellbinders Double-Ended Tags die and again I inked around the edges with Faded Jeans whilst still in the die. I added a couple of pearls, a bow, a button with a bit of Baker's Twine and I was done.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges -
Wild Rose Studio Festive Frolics Blog Hop
Polka Doodles Week 41 Challenge - Ribbons and Bows
Willow Sketchie Challenge - 13th October

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

I Love Promarkers Challenge #87 - Autumnal Colours

Hi.

This is the card that I've entered into the I Love Promarkers Challenge this week - Autumnal Colours.

The stamp is Faye with Flower from Wild Rose Studio and she has been coloured using Promarkers (obviously!).

The background papers are from the Milton paper pack from Wild Rose Studio. I used Spellbinders Labels Twenty to cut the shape behind Faye and made a faux nestie with rust card. The flower has been cut from the Spellbinders Rose Creations die set and has been inked with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. The leaves are cut from the Foliage Spellbinders die set.

I added a button and some Bakers's twine to the flower. A band of orange and brown organza ribbons and some pretty pearls completed the card.

Hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 69

Hi.

This is my entry to The Sugar Bowl challenge 69 using Gayle's sketch.

The stamp is a Sugar Nellie stamp called Baubles. I coloured the image with Promarkers and edged it with Crushed Olive Distress Ink. The border punch is Martha Stewart. I used the Spellbinders Die Eyelet Circles around the sentiment. The papers are all from the Wild Rose Studios Christmas Milton Pack. I added some pearly swirls using Cosmic Shimmer White Pearl PVA.

Thanks for stopping by.
Julia

MK Cadiac Group Craft Day

Hi,

Milton Keynes Cardiac Group are having a Craft Day this Saturday 10am till 4pm. If you're in the area, it would be great to see you there.

For a small charge you can have a go at lots of Make & Takes in a variety of crafts. There's some yummy cakes at the refreshment stall too.

I'm be running a simple Make & Take using Wild Rose Studio stamps and promarkers.

Here's one of the designs you could make.

Hope to see you there.
Julia

Fairy Flutterfly

Hi.

Sorry, I've been a bad blogger over the last few weeks. I've been struggling to get some decent photos to show you - still not quite there yet but trying hard!

The card below is an easel card based on a card that Paul Church made for me. We did it in a class a couple of weeks ago and it went down very well. I printed some floral vine backing paper from the Wild Rose Studio Spring Papers CD on both sides of a 300gsm white card and then used the WS Designs Octagon Layering template to create the base of the card. I used the layering template again to make the toppers for the front of the card. The stamps are all from the Polka Doodles Fairy Flutterfly Beviboo set and they've been coloured using promarkers. The Daisy Pattern Cuttlebug folder was used to create the backing paper behind Beviboo herself.






I love the simplicity of the next card. Again, I've used the WS Designs Octagon template to create all the layers. The patterned backing paper is another printed from the Wild Rose Studio Spring Papers CD. Once again the Daisy Pattern Cuttlebug folder has been used on the top layer. I have stamped the butterfly from the Beviboo stamp set on to the patterned backing paper and have cut it out and then popped a coloured in Beviboo on top using Pinflair Glue Gel.



Hope you like the cards.
Julia