Wintery Scenes

Oh no!!!!  It is almost Christmas and I had such good intentions of regularly posting all the Christmas card designs that I've made.  Where did the time go??????

Anyway below are two cards that I made a few months ago now  - both using the Penny Black cling stamp Dashing Through The Snow, the wooden stamp Winter Berries and the clear stamp set A Bright Tomorrow.

On this card I used Distress inkpads for the background along with Memory Box dies - Swirly Tree, Frosty Border and Puffy Clouds. I'd like to enter this card into the Penny Black & More at Allsorts Challenge blog for the It's Your Choice  challenge.

The main card was made from Grand Labels One. I sponged Metallic Silver paint around the edge of the card to give a 'frosty' feel to it.

The girl and sleigh were coloured using Copic markers and Spicas.

With this card I chose to make the main card using a PATP Martha Stewart Snowfall punch set, combined with the Memory Box Winterland Tree die and a Craftwork Cards sentiment. I'd like to enter this card into the Penny Black & More at Allsorts for the It's Your Choice challenge and also the Allsorts Week 185 Oh Christmas Tree.

Again I used a Metallic Silver acrylic paint around the edges of the card.

And of course coloured the girl using Copic markers along with Spicas.

All products used on these cards came from The Glitter Pot.

Just incase I don't get around to blogging again before the big day HAPPY CHRISTMAS  to everyone and a MASSIVE  big thank you for visiting me this year.

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Time For A Break

Hi guys.  Thanks so much to all of you who have been leaving me such lovely comments recently - I have had great pleasure in reading them!

Today I thought I'd share one of the cards that we made on my class at The Craft Barn back in June using the Tea Time stamp by Belles and Whistles along with Copic markers.  I must say that everyone on the class did an excellent job with their colouring.

As I'm sure some of you are aware, Belles and Whistles recently launched some more stamps(!! ) -some of which I've been lucky enough to receive in my DT pack from The Craft Barn - I really can't wait to ink them up! (Click here to view the range.)

Anyway back to this card!  The dotty papers are from the Double Dots range by Bo Bunny and as you can see I used my favourite Floral Lace punch by Martha Stewart to add some interest to the dp.  The dotty flourish and wording are from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet.

The large circle and scallop circle were cut using Nestabilities dies. I stamped Tea Time with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured her using Copic Ciaos first and then added some of the Copic Spicas for some subtle shimmer.

You can see the colouring a bit better in this photo. Once the card had been put together I gave it a light misting with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist.

All products used came from The Craft Barn.

COPIC COLOURS
W1, W3 and W5 Warm Greys, E47 Dark Brown, E43 Dull Ivory, E50 Egg Shell, E31 Brick Beige, E11 Barely Beige, E00 Skin White, E35 Chamois, YR20 Yellowish Shade, R20 Blush, R27 Cadmium Red, R22 Light Prawn, R00 Pinkish White, YR02 Light Orange, YR00 Powder Pink, Y06 Yellow, YG67 Moss, YG63 Pea Green, G21 Lime Green, YG11 Mignonette, B63 Light Hydrangea, B60 Pale Blue Grey, 0 Blender

SPICA COLOURS
Sand, Silver, Red and Clear

Thanks for looking!

Still Catching Up!!

Oh dear!  I had thought now that things aren't quite so manic with not so much prep to do for demos etc... that I would be caught up with all the other stuff that had to take a back seat whilst I was so busy!!  I have finally caught up with paperwork though - which I am pleased about and have begun uploading all the cards that I have made recently onto the computer - I guess that I have probably done about a third of them so far!!  Then just as I think I am getting somewhere more work starts appearing!  One of these days........................!!

Anyway I was trawling through my blog this morning when I realised that I hadn't ever gotten around to sharing the cards we made for one of my classes at The Glitter Pot using my Japanese Plum Blossom stamp sheet.  This was one of my more advanced classes as the entire card was made up of inking and stamping.  For the background panels we used Distress inkpads (Bundled Sage and Milled Lavender) which were pressed onto a laminated sheet of card, spritzed with water and then the panels were dabbed into the ink to create a watercoloured background. Stamps from the Plum Blossom sheet were then stamped over the top of the panels once they had dried using the same inkpads to get a tone on tone look.

The main image was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured first of all using Copic Ciaos/Sketches then glitter accents were added using the coloured Copic Spica pens. For the centres of the blossoms I used a gold metallic pen and to get the stamens white again I used the Ranger Inkssentials White Opaque pen.  Then lastly very small amounts of Stardust glitter glue was added to catch the light. (All these products can be purchased from The Glitter Pot.)

I had wanted to show that although this stamp sheet  has an oriental flavour to it - it doesn't necessarily have to look VERY oriental/Japanesey as I know that not everyone likes oriental style cards.  So by adding pretty backgrounds to the plum blossom images on this sheet you can create some very pretty flowery cards too.  I hope you like it!

Birthday Wishes Ted

Morning guys. I'm afraid that I am not getting much time to post at the moment as am busy beavering away for this weekend trying to get lots of card samples done to provide those of you who can make it to The Craft Barn's June Extravaganza with inspiration!!  So please excuse me for neglecting my blog a little!

Today's card is one I made for The Glitter Pot's Spring Spectacular weekend using this lovely teddy stamp by Penny Black called Joie De Vivre - he really looks in the birthday mood doesn't he?

Those gorgeous background papers are by Basic Grey and are from the Kioshi range.  I think this is such a beautiful range of papers - there isn't one paper from this series that I don't like!  The wording is from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet.  There are lots of words on this sheet and 3 different fonts allowing you to mix and match the styles which I really like to do!

Here's a closer look at the teddy panel for you.  As you can probably guess he was coloured using Copics.  For those of you who would like to know my bear colours are E37, E35, E31 and E30.  I tend to use these colours a lot for my bears and just vary how much or how little I use of each colour in order to vary the look of them.  The subtle background is done using lighter shades of Copics along with a blender pen and I will be doing a class using this technique at The Glitter Pot in July.  Still finalising details for this but once it is ready to book I'll let you know!

To add that subtle shimmer to some of the image I used that Clear Spica pen over the top.  I managed to get the lighting right so that you can see the gorgeous shimmer that this pen gives here on the balloons and as you see it doesn't detract from the original colouring in any way.  Just LOVE this pen!  The Spicas also come in some lovely colours too but I definitely use the Clear one the most.

Then on other parts of the image I used some Diamond glitter glue which gives more of a sparkle.  I really like to layer my shimmer and glitter in this way as it gives more dimension to the image when it catches the light.

Well must get back to making those card samples!

Apple PIckin'

Morning everyone.  As you know I was at The Glitter Pot this last weekend and this is one of my sample cards that I had on display there.  The main image is by Penny Black and is called Hedgy Gift and the swirls and wording are from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet. The colouring was done using my fave markers of the moment (Copics) and the stamping of the wording and flourishes was achieved using the Bundled Sage Distress inkpad. (Just LOVE this colour!)  The paper is the reverse side of one of the new Basic Grey papers from the Kioshi collection.

Here's a closer look at the hedgehog panel so that you can see the colouring a little better.  I didn't get the light right when I took this but I added the Clear Spica pen over the top of the apples for some subtle shimmer. Love this pen as it doesn't detract at all from all the colouring and shading you've already done but still adds a gorgeous shimmer when it hits the light. The clear Sakura Stardust pen is just a little too opaque for this for my liking which is why I opt for the Copic Spica when going over shaded colouring.

Anyway hope you like the card!

So I think we can probably guess that I probably at least bought one thing this weekend but just how good or bad do you think I was then????

Scarlett The Teacup Girl in Aqua

Hi guys.  As you can see the blog has been tweaked a little now in order to add a little more colour to it.

Today I thought it would be nice to show you the other card I made using that same Scarlett The Teacup Girl stamp by Stamping Bella that I showed the other day - this time in a colour scheme that is far more me!!

I stamped and embossed two shades of Bazzill cardstock using two different sizes of stamps from my Daisy Flutters un-mounted stamp sheet using a Versamark inkpad and an old embossing powder that I had in my stash called Bridal.  Then I coloured the daisy heads using a clear Copic Spica marker. The wording also came from this same stamp sheet.  The daisy border was done using one of my new Martha Stewart punches called Doily Lace Trim which I thought was the perfect choice to go with the daisies on the image and the background!  The little snippets of paper you can see are from Bo Bunny, the flowers are Prima and the brads came from The Craft Barn.  Then of course there is my Labels Twelve nestabilitie dies that I used for my main image.  (See I do actually get around to using the stuff I buy - eventually!!)

And here is a closer look at Scarlett herself which I stamped with Graphite Black Brilliance and heat set before colouring her with both Copic Ciaos and Copic Spicas to add a little sparkle. To embellish her further I added some self-adhesive pearls to the centres of the daisies, that came from The Craft Barn and then made her sparkle even more with some Stardust glitter glue.  Unfortunately the photo doesn't do her justice!!

Anyway I hope you like her!!

Spring Time

Morning everyone.  Well with all the fine weather we have been having recently I thought I would share a card with you that I made a little while ago using spring like colours of purple and lime which puts me in mind of crocuses!  Talking of which, when I was out and about the other day I saw a garden full of both purple and yellow crocuses and it looked absolutely beautiful - such a cheery sight!

Anyway enough about flowers and onto the card!  This is a card that I made last year for my Colouring Techniques DVD using both Copics and Copic Spicas to colour my main image with.  Unfortunately the scanned in picture didn't pick up the sparkle of the Spicas so you'll just have to trust me that she does sparkle!  By the way did you know that the Spicas now come in even more colours?  Obviously when I found this out I just had to have them all!  The Craft Barn are currently selling all the new colours individually - click here to go and check them out!

My main image for the card is one of the Ketto stamps by Stamping Bella called Charlotte.  I just love these Ketto stamps and am currently working on some more cards with some of the other Ketto designs so when they are finished I'll post them up.  They may not be the biggest stamps in the world but what they lack in size they sure make up for in funkiness. (If there is such a word!) You can get all your Stamping Bella stamps online from The Craft Barn and they have a great selection to choose from. Click here to go and check them out.

The wording is a Stamps By Judith stamp which I got from Stamp Addicts and the paper was so long ago that I can't be absolutely sure whose it is!  I think that it was a Daisy Bucket one but I could be wrong!