Sympathy Card

Morning All.  I'm pleased to say that yesterday was a bit more productive mojo wise and I actually managed to finish a card!
I think that the cold must be getting better!

I didn't know where I was going with this one until it was nearly finished then it suddenly struck me, this would be a good "sympathy" card.  I think that the words "Be Strong" are so apt.  If I was sending it for that reason I would mask off the other words (and Grow).

I started with some Kraft card that I stamped using one of Sam Poole's new A6 stamps, Falling Leaves with Coffee Archival Ink.
The image of the Tree and the word stamp are from another set by Sam and these were also stamped with the same colour ink.  I used cardstock from Creative Expressions for the matting and layering.  The Champagne Silky Crush Ribbon and Dazzler are also from CE.

The workshop I'm teaching on Saturday is nearly full....just one space left, so today I'll be packing all the tools and checking I've got everything in the packs that we'll need.  Looking forward to seeing all the "usual suspects" or "repeat offenders" as I like to think of them!!

And finally, another photo from my travels.  This time it's Lisbon.  A beautiful city and I've chosen a piccie of a tram!  They just sum up the place and are everywhere.  Definitely one of the best ways of getting around and they are so cheap to use.  Take note our transport systems...I said "They are so cheap to use!!!"

Well, that's all for today.  Take care of yourselves and enjoy your crafting.  Many thanks for stopping by.

 

Ever Had One of those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where you start out with so many ideas then when you make a start they just don't work out?  Welcome to my world yesterday!!

I merrily headed down to the studio and after 2 hours I admitted defeat and came back for a large dose of caffeine.
Ah well, maybe today will be more productive.  I've got a "Thank-You" card to make ready for the weekend (lunch with friends) and a 75th birthday card for my Aunt to put together before May 26th.  Maybe that will focus my mind.

I did manage to play for a while and just had fun splatting ink around using the Distress Stains.  I used Ripe Persimmon, Peacock and Squeezed Lemonade.  The flower is made from leaves stamped from Sam's Creative Studio Owl set.  They've been cut out and then the stem was doodled (as was the frame).  Doodling was about the only thing I felt capable of...I think it's the cold I've caught....feeling very sorry for myself!!!  Anyway, the card's a bit of fun and I'd forgotten how satisfying doodling can be so there was an upside to it all! 


Now on to todays travel photos.....I love the masks in Venice and thought that these 2 were stunning.  Had to take them through a shop window.....they really don't like you taking photos in the shops of the masks....spoilsports!!!!

Hope you all have a great day doing what makes you happy.  Thank you for visiting.
 

Hearts!

Morning one and all...hope the weather is going to be a bit better today.  I definitely work better when the sun is shining.  On a miserable day I just want to go back to bed and hide under the duvet!
Anyway, to start the day with something a bit brighter, I thought I'd show you this card.  It's another one from a past workshop I taught but I still like it.  The colours aren't my usual ones and it's nowhere near as distressed as I usually go!
I've used some of the Studio 490 stamps for this one.  The stamps are a gorgeous quality and pre-mounted. 
I stamped the hearts twice onto white card using Crimson Archival Ink and once onto red card with Perfect Medium then heat embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer True White.
The background is a piece of white card that I ran through the Grand Calibur with the Baroque embossing folder then picked up some of the embossed detail with Shabby Shutter Distress Ink.  The seam binding ribbon was also coloured with the same ink.  That's what I love about the seam binding...you can colour it so easily and have ribbon to match every project.
The message is from the same set of stamps and has been stamped with the Crimson ink but heat embossed using CS Clear.  To finish I just edged it with the Shabby Shutters.  A bit of matting and layering with the top heart stuck on with 3d foam pads et voila!!  A really quick and easy card.  Hope you like it.  All of the products used are available from Creative Expressions.

Another piccie from my travels.  We visited the island of Burano in Venice and I saw these beautiful Murano glass pendants all in a bowl.  They looked so stunning all mixed together with the sunlight reflecting off them that I couldn't resist taking a photo.  My wonderful OH was on a different tour that day (we were both working as tour escorts) and when we met up he had bought me a gorgeous Murano Glass bracelet as a surprise.  He earned MANY brownie points that day!!!

Well, that's it for today.  Back down to the studio where the Creative Studios DT project is coming together (finally!)
Hope you have a great day whatever you're doing and thanks for visiting.

Apologies!

Firstly, I must apologise for my absence yesterday.I had an MRI scan on my knee and the day just got away from me.  Nothing serious, I think I might have torn a ligament and the cartiledge (again!)

I didn't have an accident , didn't fall, not a footballing injury, just turned over in bed and my knee didn't follow!

Anyway, onto cheerier matters.  I thought I'd put this card on here today.  It's one I made a while back for a class I was teaching but I still like it. 
I used Sam Poole's Vintage Sewing stamps (from Creative Studios).  It is such a useful set and I must admit to using it a lot....think the class might be thinking I have an obsession (and I can't even sew)!
I cut some squares of paper to make a patchwork background, glued them into place then stamped over them using Faded Jeans Distress Ink which I also used to distress the edges.
The main images were stamped using Dusty Concord Ink, cut to size and again the edges were distressed. To make the dressform, I heated up some UTEE (a mix of clear and Arctic Blue), poured it onto my craft sheet then after inking up the stamp, pressed the stamp into the UTEE.  Once it had cooled, the stamp just lifted off.  It is important to ink the stamp up first with this technique to protect it.  Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue worked really well to stick it into place.

And now for another travel photo!  This one is of a fishing boat in Malta.  I love the bright colours that they paint the boats.  Even if the sky is a bit overcast, it still looks cheerful.

Well, that's it for today.  Must get on after yesterday's total wash out!  I'm working on a project for Sam's design team blog which I'm due to post on Thursday and I'm not sure which way I'm going with it at the moment!  Watch this space!!  Happy Crafting and thanks for visiting.

Happy Thursday

Good morning all, hope you're all well.

Here's another card I made for the Ally Pally demos but I ran out of time to show it.

I made the card using Coconut White cardstock which has to be the best I've ever found.  It takes ink beautifully and you can throw water at it without any of the bobbling that can happen.

I die cut one of the Sue Wilson Spellbinder dies from the Lattice set to frame the message.  The message was stamped using black Archival ink onto a die cut oval.  The butterfly is also a Spellbinder die.  So, to put the card together, here's the "recipe!"

The main card is 8x8.  I cut a smaller piece (6x6) and ran it through the Grand Calibur with a mask in place.  The edges were inked with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.  The Lattice die was also inked with the Spun Sugar.  After stamping the message I glued it into place then added the Lattice die using 3d foam pads.  I matted and layered the embossed card onto a slightly larger piece of pink Bazzil card which I also used to die cut some Spellbinder Flourishes with.
After cutting the butterfly I applied some glitter and flake glue and covered it in silver gilding flakes.  To finish it, I added a bow with a dazzler in the centre and a couple of stickpins.  There are some faux pearls in 2 of the corners made from the Cosmic Shimmer coloured glues.  Hope you like it.

 

 And just to finish...a little bit of silliness!  I was wandering around La Coruna in Spain and came across this Comedy Plaza.  It was fab!  The carvings on the pavements were wonderful, I've only added a photo of Fred and Barney but there were loads of them.  It's great when you stumble across things like this....really makes you smile!

WOYWW

 Morning All!  I'm back after the cruise and got home to find a package of loveliness to play with.

An enormous thank you to Sam Poole (who is extremely talented) for sending me these fab goodies to play with.  Anywho, this is what's on my desk today. 

So what did I do with it all....well, I managed to make 1 wall hanging as I had 3 weeks worth of washing to catch up with.  I had to have a little play, couldn't resist!  Here's the finished project.

The first thing I did was to cover the background with some K&Co paper which I distressed with Peeled Paint.  The arch frame was painted with Mulch Eco-Green Acrylic Paint.  I picked up some Olive paint on a piece of Cut 'n Dry and dabbed it on.  When it was dry I stamped the Woodgrain background stamp onto it with Coffee Archival Ink.
I've also stamped some of the leaves onto the background and painted them with the Peeled Paint Distress Ink.
The next step was marking where the arch would go so that I could stamp the message in the right place.
I stamped the owl onto a piece of patterned paper (K&Co again) with Archival ink, then overpainted it with Distress Inks.  I stamped it again onto Coconut White card, painted it and cut some of it out to decoupage with.
The leaves were also stamped onto white card, cut out and painted.
The colours of Distress Inks used were: Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Vintage Photo and Rusty Hinge.

It was great fun to make and now that the washing and drying are finished...yippee!!!...I can get down to some serious playing.  I hope to have lots more finished pieces to show you over the next few days.  All of the items used are available from Creative Studios...check online and visit Sam's blog as well as the other design team members.

Just to finish off with, another picture of the sail in to Venice .  It has to be one of the most spectacular sail ins in the world as you have to sail past St. Mark's Square to get to the cruise ship berths.  I have to say that I was pretty pleased with my photographic efforts as well!!!

Many thanks for visiting and I hope to get around as many desks as possible this week.  I do appreciate all of the comments that you leave.  Until next time....happy crafting.

I'm Back!!

Hi All....I'm finally back from my travels so normal service will be resumed as from today!

Firstly, I had some fantastic news while I was away and the logo next to this is a clue.

I applied to join the enormously talented Sam Poole's design team just before I went away and much to my amazement was chosen.  There was a lot of jumping up and down and cheering going on in a small café in Corfu when I finally got some Wi-Fi and found out....there were also a few funny looks from the locals!  Even better, when I got back yesterday, there was a package from Sam with some fantastic new stamps to play with.  I'm straight off to the studio as soon as I've posted this to start playing with them.  Hope to have some piccies to show you tomorrow but in the meantime, check out Sam's website and have a look at them.


As I don't have any projects to show you today I thought I'd show a photo of 1 of the ports we stopped at.  This is Hvar in Croatia.  It was stunning and is best avoided every August when Paris Hilton and loads of other "celebs" invade it complete with paparazzi.  There is also very loud techno music pumping out 24 hours a day but the rest of the year it is a beautiful, peaceful fishing town.

We sailed into Venice at 6am and the light was fantastic.  There was a classical quartet playing on the deck of the ship as we made our way along, going past all the famous landmarks.  Champagne and smoked salmon were on offer as well.  What a way to get to Venice!
Anyway, enough of my wafflings....off to do some "work" with my new toys.   I'll be back tomorrow...happy crafting.