Time to Sparkle!

Good Morning All and a Very Happy Thursday!

I'm still bobbing around the Caribbean...check Facebook to see where I am (Pam Smith) but do not fear, I haven't gone away and left you without a project!

For this card, I've used a technique called "grouting" which John Lockwood showed me at Ally Pally in September.

Start be embossing a piece of Coconut White card with the A4 Poinsettia Folder.
Turn to the debossed side and spread Cosmic Shimmer Red Berry Sparkle Texture Paste over it, making sure to scrape off the excess.
Leave to dry.
Emboss another piece of Coconut White with the same folder.  Matt and layer onto Foundations Black Card.
Attach a piece of black seam binding before sticking onto the card blank.
Die cut 2 of the Labels using the Finishing Touches Collection from the card with the texture paste finish.
Matt and layer onto black card.
Die cut a smaller label.
Ink up the holly border from the Holly Tree Elements stamp set.
Stamp down the side of the tag and heat emboss with clear powder.
Ink up the words using black archival and stamp and heat emboss.
The stamp is from the Peace, Joy Love stamp set.
Matt and layer the tag.
Attach seam binding to the tops of the tags.
Stamp and heat emboss poinsettias from the Poinsettia Elements Stamp Set.
Cut out and glue into position.
Attach the tags with glue on one, then with 3d pads on the others.
Add some Dries Clear Glue to the flower centres and sprinkle Cosmic Shimmer Fire Red Polished Silk Glitter to finish.
Hope you like it!

It's worth making up a batch of the grouted backgrounds at the same time.  It looks very effective when done on black card and is so easy to do.  It also gives a different way of using your embossing folders.

Well, that's it for this week...I've got another sparkly card next week.

Everything used is from Creative Expressions.

Many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.

Until next time, have a happy, crafty week!

Let's Decorate!

Good Morning All and a very Happy Thursday!

I've moved away from the cards this week and thought I'd make a decoration for the house instead.

I'll apologise in advance for the dodgy colours in the photos!  The light was awful and everything looks a lot darker than in "real life".

Anyway, let's get started....

For some strange reason, I can't turn the photo around so please look at it sideways on!

Cover a blank MDF banner shape with Craft Consortium Decoupage Paper using the Cosmic Shimmer Glossy Seal and Glaze.

Pick up some Flake and Glitter Glue on a piece of Cut 'n Dry Foam and dab around the edges.  Apply Cosmic Shimmer Silver Moon Gilding Flakes.
Edge with Black Archival Ink.

Don't panic if you get a bit of ink on the banner as you'll be covering it up!

Die cut the Festive Collection - Deboss Snowflake from a piece of Coconut White Card.
Cover another piece of card with the decoupage paper and cut out the oval from the same set.
Cut out the oval and it's patterned centre from white card.
Layer the pieces up and glue into position

Add small Always and Forever Rhinestone Gems to the centres of the debossed snowflakes.
Die cut the Festive Collection - Holly Sprays from white card and glue into position.

Add white seam binding to hang the decoration.

And you're finished!

I hope you like it, it's very quick to make and you could make several and thread them together.

As always, everything used is from Creative Expressions.

Well, that's all for this week except to say thank you for visiting and leaving all of your lovely comments.  I do hope everyone is safe after the awful weather we've been having.

I'll be back next week with another Christmas project so until then, have a happy, crafty week!

Sweet and Simple

Good Morning All and a very Happy Thursday!

While you're reading this I'll be in a trench at a dig near to Stonehenge!  It's also my 60th birthday today...a very odd way to spend the day!

Enough about me....let's have a look at this weeks project.

I've really decided to let the papers do the work this week as they are so gorgeous!  Let's get started.....

Matt and layer some Foundations Rich Plum card onto a blank 6x6 card.
Use the Mini Gemini Dies-Vela to cut the bottom of a square of Coconut White card.
Place a piece of the Blooming Beautiful paper behind the die cut area.
Matt and layer onto the Plum card.

Cut a panel of the Blooming Beautiful paper that has the bird on it and glue into position.

Cut a strip of Plum card and attach white Seam Binding around it.
Glue into position then add a piece of seam binding for a faux bow.

Ink up the sentiment from the Amazing Sentiments stamp set using Black Archival Ink.  Heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.
Cut out with the Spellbinders Standard Circles Small dies.
Cut a matt from the plum card using Spellbinders Scalloped Circles Large.
Attach to the card with 3d foam pads.

And there's the finished card!

I can't tell you how beautiful these papers are...you really need to stroke them!!!

As always, everything used is from Creative Expressions.
I'll be back next Thursday with another design....featuring more of the papers and this months selection of dies.  I do hope you join me!

Until then, many thanks for visiting and leaving comments...always much appreciated.  Have a happy, crafty week!

A Change of Colour!

Good Morning All and a very Happy Thursday!

It was so lovely to meet some of you at the weekend....thank you for stopping by and saying hello.  We had a great time but it took all of Monday to recover!!

This week is the final time using the Butterfly Dream stamps and I've gone for a total change of colour.  I rarely use yellow but the Foundations Custard card is so pretty that it's tempted me away from blues and purples.  

Anyway, let's get started.....

Cut out 2 different sized squares of Foundations Custard Card using the Sue Wilson Noble-Double Pierced Square Dies.
Cut 2 squares of coordinating paper from Phill Martin's Sentimentally Yours Graceful Butterflies and Dragonflies Paper Pad.
Matt and layer the largest card and paper squares and attach to the blank card.

The Noble Dies take all of the hard work out of achieving that gorgeous pin pricking detail.

Ink up the largest Butterfly Dreams stamp with Black Archival and stamp onto the small square of paper.
Matt and layer onto the small square of card.
Attach a length of black seam binding.
Place on the main card with 3d foam pads.

Cover a piece of the Custard Card with Double Sided Adhesive.
Die cut some Butterflies from the Finishing Touches-Magical Butterflies Die Set.
Remove the backing paper and cover with Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Snow Jewels.
Stamp the sentiment onto Custard Card and heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.
Place some double sided adhesive over the top and cut to size.
Add more of the Diamond Snow over the top.
Attach to the card with 3d pads.
Tie 3 lengths of seam binding onto the piece that is already in place.
Glue the butterflies into position.

 And there's the finished card!

Everything I've used is from Creative Expressions.  I do wish that the sparkle showed up more in the photo...you'll all have to pop round to my house to see the real thing!

Well, that's it for this week.  Many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments....much appreciated as always.
Until next time, have a happy, crafty week!

Holly and Snowflakes!

Good Morning All and a very Happy Thursday!

This week I have another set of the Festive Collection Dies by Sue Wilson to show you.  I'll be using the Snowflake Dies for this card and I have to say how impressed I was with how easy they cut as they're quite detailed.

Anyway, let's get started.....

Ink up the A6 Holly Script Background stamp (Creative Expressions) with Perfect Medium and stamp onto Coconut White Card to cover the whole background.  Heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Metallic Gold Powder.
Matt and layer onto Vintage Gold Card.

Die cut the Spellbinders Classic Oval Large from the same gold card.
Ink up the sentiment with Perfect Medium and stamp onto Coconut White card.  Heat emboss with the gold powder.
Cut out with a smaller oval die from the same set.
Glue together and add to the background with 3d foam pads.

Cut out the Festive Collection-Snowflakes using Coconut White card.  Cut out the largest using the Vintage Gold Card.  Add some Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue to the centres and sprinkle with Cosmic Shimmer Golden Sand Polished Silk Glitter.
When the glue has set, stick the smaller snowflakes onto the gold oval.

Cut a strip of Vintage Gold Card and wrap a length of White Seam Binding around it then glue into position on the card.
Gluethe largest 2nd largest snowflake cut from White Card onto the oild snowflake.  Add another dot of glue to the centre and sprinkle glitter as before.
Glue into position on the card to finish.

And there's the finished card!  I do wish that the weather had been better for taking photos...these really don't do it justice!

Everything I've used is from Creative Expressions.  I hope you like it.

Well, that's it for this week.  I'm starting to get excited about Ally Pally, it's only a month away and I'll be demoing there again for Sue and the Creative Expressions Team....hope to see some of you there.  In between the demos I'll be working on Sue's Rubbernecker Stand.  If you can think of anything you'd like to see me demo, leave a comment!

That just leaves me to say, many thanks for stopping by and until next time, have a happy, crafty week!

Believe!

Good Morning All and a very Happy Thursday!

Another Christmas project for Creative Expressions but very different from all the previous ones.

I'll be filming at Warwick Folk Festival while you're reading this!!

Anyway, let's get started.....

Cut a square of Coconut White card slightly larger than needed.  Stick a square of Creative Expressions Double Sided Adhesive over it.  It's much easier if the card is a bit bigger!
Rub an anti-static bag over "That Special Touch-Icicles Mask" then place it onto the double sided adhesive.  The anti static will help when you want to lift it off.

Apply Cosmic Shimmer Periwinkle Polished Silk Glitter to the adhesive.  Press down to make sure it holds then tap off any excess.

Remove the mask and apply Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Snow Glitter Jewels to the remaining area.
Trim the excess card off.  Matt and layer with Foundations Vintage Silver Card.

Emboss a piece of Coconut White card with the A4 Snowflake Lattice Folder.
Matt and layer onto the Vintage Silver card.
Stick the glittered square on top.

Ink up the sentiment from the A5 Pine Cone Christmas set with Black Archival.  Stamp onto Coconut White and heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.
Cut out with the Frames and Tags-Pierced Flags Dies.
Draw around the outer edge of the die onto the Vintage Silver card to make a matt.  Glue into position after shaping it.

Cut out the Illuminated Christmas Tree Die using the Vintage Silver card and glue into position.

Tie a triple bow from white Seam Binding.  Glue on then add a Silver Dazzler to finish.

And there's the finished card!

Hope you like it.  It's so easy to make but looks so effective....my favourite sort of Christmas Card!

Well, that's it for this week.  As always, many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.  I'll be back next Thursday with another Christmas Card and if you leave a comment on that post telling me which one is your favourite, I'll pick a winner and send it to you.

Until next time, have a happy, crafty week!

Lace Background

Good Morning All and a Very Happy Tuesday!

While I was at Ally Pally a few weeks ago, I showed how to make a background for a card using net curtain.  I was asked if I would put the instructions on my blog and here it is!

Cut a square of card slightly larger than needed and put the required size of double sided adhesive sheet on it.

Select your piece of net curtain!  Ideally, it should have a large open weave.  Charity shops are great places for finding nets.

Select 3 colours of Cosmic Shimmer Polished Silk Glitters and apply one colour at a time with a small spoon.  I've used Vintage Violet, Lavender and Sea Green.

Remove the net curtain and add Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Snow to fill in any areas not covered by the glitter.
Matt and layer onto Black Foundations and Coconut White Card.

Stamp the sentiment from Phill Martins Decadent Damask Birthday Verses with Black Archival Ink.  Heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.

Cut out using the Sue Wilson Greek Island, Santorini Die Set.  Distress the edges with Dusty Concord Ink.
Using the same set, cut the next size down in black card.  Cut in half and glue to the back of the sentiment.

Add a length of black seam binding to the left hand side of the glittered background.  Attach the background to the card blank.
Add the sentiment with 3d foam pads.

Die cut some Butterflies from the Finishing Touches-Magical Butterfly set using Black Card.
Glue into position.  On the larger butterfly, add 3 dots of Cosmic Shimmer PVA Glue in Decadent Denim to finish.

And there's the finished card!

It's a very old technique and seemed to die out about 9 years ago.  I thought it was time to revive it as the Glitters and Double Sided Adhesive Sheets are so much better now.
Everything (apart from the curtain!) has come from Creative Expressions.

Well, that's about it for today.  I'll be back in the UK tomorrow and normal service will be resumed!  I'm not sure what's happened to the colours in the last couple of photos.....we're having some serious computer issues at the moment...hopefully, it'll be sorted out soon.

As always, many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments.  They are much appreciated.  So until next time, have a happy, crafty week.

Sending You Hugs

Good Morning All and a very Happy Tuesday!

With all the sunshine we've been having, I couldn't help but use the gorgeous Sunflower stamps designed by Johnathon Lockwood for Creative Expressions.

They come in an A5 set called "Elements-Flower Frames"

So without further ado, let's get started.....

Stamp the sunflower and sentiment "Sending You Hugs" with Black Archival Ink onto Coconut White Card.  Heat emboss with Cosmic Shimmer Clear Powder.

Paint the flower with Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint , Wild Honey and Mustard Seed Distress Inks.

Trim to size.

Stamp the single sunflowers randomly onto a piece of Coconut White card and paint as before.

Matt and layer onto Black Foundations Card.

Stamp the single leaves and one flower onto a panel of white card.
Paint using the same colours as before, then matt and layer.

Glue to the left side of the card.

Matt and layer the main image and attach to the card with 3d foam pads.

Tie a triple bow from Black Seam Binding.  Spritz with water, scrunch and dry.  Glue into position before adding a Pastel Green Dazzler to the centre.

And there's the finished card!

The stamps are such good quality that you get a wonderfully clear impression every time.

I hope you like the finished project.....it's bright and cheerful and I hope would cheer anyone up that's in need of a hug!

Many thanks for stopping by and leaving comments....while you're reading this, we'll be flying out to Greece to meet the ship we're working on for the next 2 weeks.  When I say "we", I mean my very talented OH....I'm just going to roadie for him this time!

I'll still be posting every Tuesday, you don't get rid of me as easily as that!

I did promise that I would post instructions for the glittered background I demo'd at Ally Pally, that will be on here soon so please keep checking in.

Until next time, have a happy, crafty week!

Let Your Dreams Fly

Good Morning All and a Very Happy Tuesday!

Only a few days to go until Ally Pally and I'm up to my ears prepping the demos!  I'll be doing 3 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday in the main demo area so I hope you'll pop in and say hi.  Other than that, I'll be on the Rubbernecker Stand with the fab Sue Wilson.  You'll even get the chance to meet Mr.S!!!

Anyway, let's get on with this weeks project.....

For this card, I've used the new Elements Stamps - Butterfly Dreams designed by Jonathon Lockwood for Creative Expressions.

Use the Spellbinder Circle Dies to cut 3 different sized holes in a piece of acetate.

Using this as a mask, stencil through with Pink Sherbet and Aqua Adirondack Inks on Cut 'n Dry Foam.
Overlap some of the circles.

Stamp the butterflies from the set onto the circles with Black Archival Ink.
Stamp the bubble stamp in between the circles.
Add a strip of Black Seam Binding  to the left hand side.

Matt and layer onto Black Foundations Card.

Stamp the sentiment onto Coconut White Card.
Paint the letters with the same inks as before.
Trim to size then stamp a couple of butterflies in the spaces and paint them.

Matt and layer onto black card.
Put onto the background with 3d foam pads.

Tie a triple bow with the seam binding and attach with a glue dot.
Add a Lilac Dazzler to finish.

And that's the completed card.....hope you like it!

Well, apart from thanking you for stopping by and leaving comments, that's all for this week.
I'll be back next Tuesday with another make using these gorgeous stamps.
Until then, have a happy, crafty week!

Ink Free Zone!

Good Morning All and a very Happy Tuesday!

This is going to come as a shock, I've made a whole card without stamping or getting any ink out!!!  Unheard of!!!

This weeks card for Creative Expressions has been made with some gorgeous papers I was sent to play with.  They're from Couture Creations and come in a 6x6 pad called "Vintage Rose Garden ".

So let's start....

Cover a card with paper from the Couture Creations Pad leaving a small border around the edges.

Cut a strip of co-ordinating paper from the same pad and use it to make a pocket at the bottom of the card by gluing on 3 sides.

Use the Couture Creations "Touch of Love" Ornamental Lace die to cut a heart from white card.
Cut one more from patterned paper.

Glue the hearts together slightly off-setting them.
Glue into place on the card leaving the bottom of the heart free.

In the pad there are papers with postcards and stamps.
Cut out the postcards and arrange them in to pocket at the bottom of the card.

From the same piece of paper, cut out the stamps.

Glue some into position and add the rest with 3d foam pads.

Tie a bow from White Seam Binding and attach to the card.

Add some 3mm self adhesive pearls to the heart to finish.

And there's the finished card!  Hope you like it.

I would like to say a big thank you for all the lovely comments last week.  It really makes doing this worthwhile if I know you're getting some ideas from the blog.  Glad you can follow my instructions....my husband is convinced I speak "Pam".  Luckily, he's quite fluent in it!

Well, that's all for this week except to say that Creative Expressions has started a blog challenge so do pop over to their website for a look.  The theme is Easter and that's what I'll be doing next week!

Until then, have a happy, crafty week!