Mothers Day Card

I am particularly proud of this card, as it is one of those that actually turned out the way I imagined it. How many times do we all sit down with an idea in our head, and find that what we actually create is completely different??

Hopefully this card demonstrates that Tim Holtz distress inks can actually create a soft and pretty feminine card, and not just the strong 'grunge' style that is synonymous with his name.

Card Recipe

White smooth coated card stock 

White floss card

Cream card stock, 8x8"

Bazzill basics card stock, olive green & a lighter spring green (sorry no names)

Basic Grey paper, Wisteria Collection, muted flower paper, 8x4"

Butterfly and dragonfly stamp by Judikins

Various floral stamps to create background

Tiny dragonfly & flower stamps by Hero Arts

2 eyelets, and 2 'bug' charms

Fabulous Finds Cricut Cartridge

Ranger alcohol inks (sandal, currant, salmon)

Tim Holtz Distress Inks ( bundled sage, crushed olive, broken china, victorian velvet, pumice stone )

1. Fold the 8x8" cream card to make the 8x4" card base Cut one side of the card to create 2 4x4" squares, on which to mount the two feature panels.
2. Cover the base of the card with the Basic grey patterned paper.
3. Cut 2 4x4" squares from the white smooth card and apply the distress inks to resemble a soft landscape (to both panels). As a base I used pumice stone all over, and the victorian velvet to a centre section. The top half of the panel I worked in the blue broken china, and on the bottom half worked in the bundled sage, ensuring that some of the pink victorian velvet could still be seen. I finished off running the pumice stone (a really useful colour) all round the edges of the card.
4. Using the same inks and the various floral stamps I created the meadow effect stamped background. To keep the muted feel, I inked the stamp and lightly blotted it once on scrap paper, before stamping onto the panels.
5. Using the large butterfly and dragonfly stamps and the crushed olive distress ink, stamp the images onto a sheet of gloss card that had previously been coloured using alcohol inks. When fully dried, the images were cut out and mounted on the panels, and the wings shaped slighted (with fingers) to create the 3D effect.
6. Mat and layer each panel onto the light green bazzil basics card, then again onto the olive (darker) green bazzill.
7. Return back to the base card and position it in fron of you (folded) as a landscape card (longest length east to west). Working on each 4x4" panel separatly and starting with the left panel, lightly drawer a pencil line diagonally from the top right corner to the bottom left. Repeat with the right panel, this time drawing from the top left corner down to the bottom right.
8. Take a scoring tool and score along the line and fold crisply with a bone folder.
9. With the card laying flat and folded in front of you take one stamped panel, turn once to the left (from the original position) and adhere to the botton triangle scored on the left hand side of the card.
10. Repeat with the other stamped panel, turning it once to the right, and adhere to the bottom triangle of the scored panel on the right hand side of the card.
11. When you open the easel elements of the card, the images should be in the right orientation.
12. Using the fabulous finds cartridge cut the bookplate16 and insert from bazzill basics olive card & smooth coated card respectively, at 1.25". Create a stamped meadow effect to suit size, using the method from before. Use archival black ink to stamp the sentiment. Stick the elements together and add eyelets.
13. Using sticky foam pags stick to the base of the card (on top of the basic grey accent paper)
14. Take 2 co-ordinating charms and place with 3D foam in a position that will hold the easels of the card.

I have provided a link to this card on the Make it Monday blog challenge.

Elegant Edges meets Cindy Loo !

This is a quick card I made this morning, I'm feeling much braver with the Imagine, and starting to think that this machine will actually stay with me !! (still have my fingers crossed)

I cut the frame and its corresponding blackout image with Elegant Edges, using 2 contrasting papers from Nursery Tails, both at 5.5". Between these 2 layers I sandwiched the Doily5 from Cindy Loo cartridge, cut at 5" and printed with the same paler Nursery Tails paper as before.  Before attaching them all together I very very lightly highlighted the doily with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet distress ink, just to highlight the swirls ever so slightly to make them po against the background.
The greeting tags were cut from the new Cuttlebug Plus, embossed tags die, and again I just softened the edges with the victorian velvet ink. The three flowers were cut with the mothers Day Bouquet Cartridge, in the flat co-ordinating colours from Nursery Tails.

I think what I have concluded from this and by last post, is that I really must get myself a couple of patterned Imagine cartridges, otherwise all my cards will have a very familiar recurring theme. That has made me giggle !!

Imagine a Pretty Skunk Card

It's been a funny old week, i got my third replacement Imagine last Friday, and I have to admit to being quite frightened to use it, even though it has behaved perfectly since coming out of the box and receiving its updates - once bitten twice shy and all that....But last night I bit the bullet, and had a good play and put it through its paces. I had forgotten how pretty the colours are on the Nursery Tales cartridge, and this pretty skunk just caught my eye yesterday.

• Two background shapes cut from Elegant Edges cricut cartridge (butrfly2 oblongs cut at 5.5 and 5.8 inches) and printed from Nursery Tales Imagine cartridge (2 comlimentary colours)
• The front panel is embossed with part of the snowflakes swirl border cuttlebug folder.
• 2 panels attached with 3D foam to enhance butterfly aperture
• 2 more panels cut with the same shape and colours but resized to 2.3 and 2.5 inches for the topper
• Image of the skunk was taken from its layered image on Nursey Tales Imagine cartridge and then printed and cut on printable acetate at 3 inches (with the real size outcome at just over 2 inches)
• The skunk was adhered to the layered tags with glossy accents and a bow added to finish.

I am really pleased with this next card. I hadn't set out to make it, but the postman had just delivered  the new fancy cut and emboss cuttlebug tags, and I had to try thrm!! I picked up the nearest spare scrap of card (all of our desks are littered with such pieces aren't they) to see how it works, as you do, it had only been in the house for 5 minutes !! I was pleased with the outcome, especially after highlighting it with some bundled sage Tim Holtz ink (because that was also just next to me). Having gotten that out of my system I left it on the desk again, and went off to be constructive and be a mummy.

Later in the day, when the 2 boys were happy and amusing themselves, I set about making the first card (the blue card at the beginning), I had been planning it my head all afternoon. The skunk I cut, turned out a bit smaller than I had wanted so I put that aside into the growing pile of cricut cuts that are lovely, but not right for a card or the bin. But it fell on the tag and I thought mmmm... The rest as you can, see sort of happened, with other small scraps that were laying around from having made my storage drawers last week.

So here is the recipe;

• Elegant Edges cricut Cartridge (can you tell its my favourite) Swirl1, book creative feature, using Basic Grey dotted paper cut at 5.3", with a second layer cut at 5.5" with a green paper from Basic Grey Capella collection. Attach to base card.
• Cut a border from Elegant Edges, swirl1, border creative feature, using green basic grey paper, cut at size 1", ink edges with Tim Holtz bundled sage.
• Create an accent piece of paper (this case Basic Grey Capella floral paper) at 4" by 1" and tear top edge. Ink around edges again with bundles sage ink.
• Find a 6" length of co-ordinating ribbon (here DCWV adhesive ribbon). Stick to the dotted paper about 2" up and about 3/4 onto the paper, tucking the remaining to the back of the paper (on left side) to hide loose ends.
• Arrange border and accent paper to suit then place main topper tag with 3D foam
• Embellish with co-ordinating gems to finish.

Fingers crossed that this is the Imagine machine that I can keep, third time lucky.

Easter Cards

 The last 2 days i have been making these Easter Cards for Stephens school to sell at their bring and buy sale at the weekend. I made 18 in total all the same, except half were pink and half were blue.

Below is a photo of all the things i used, and the little 'army' of made up rabbits and their eggs that fascinated the boys when they saw them. The little 'rabbits' are actually birds cut from 3 Birds on Parade cricut cartridge.

Crafty Desk Storage

I cannot take full credit for this project, I saw the idea in one of my magazines and something about it appealed, and it seems an ideal opportunity to use a collection of Basic Grey papers, and enjoy them everyday, by having them on my desk. it makes ideal storage for all the die cut shapes and alphabets that just seem to collect in little piles on your work space !!

 Here is the kit as it stands. the unit itself is made from sturdy MDF, and the 9 drawers are made from heavy weight pre-scored mountboard.

 All internal surfaces and base I painted fully, and the external surfaces i only painted the edges, because they were to be covered in paper.The acrylic paint dried very quickly and provided good coverage with just one coat.  The paint used is an Adirondack acrylic paint dabber, colour mushroom, and has a self loading sponge dabber built into the lid for easily application.       

The drawers were painted both sides, and the front side was covered in paper. Before assembly both sides of the drawers were covered in a coat of Mod Podge, and easily spreadable PVA glue, thats seals the paper and paint to the surface and acts as a varnish, giving a lovely smooth even finish to the item.

The drawers we assembled using a quick drying strong super glue. To finish, the MDF unit was assembled. Because the pre drilled slots provide a tight fit, no glue was required. By assembling the unit as a whole it provided its own rigidity. After assembly the outside edges were covered in paper, and the whole unit painted with a layer of Mod Podge again to seal and provide a hard wearing matt varnished surface. 

The finishing touches were added to drawers by punching a hole on the front side and attaching some cute little Tim Holtz handle embellishments, that co-ordinate perfectly with the Basic Grey, Capella paper collection used throughout.