Mother's Day Cards

Hello,

It is mother's day! So thank you Mum, you are great, love you heaps! <3

Here are the mother's day cards I made this year:

Perhaps at some point soon I will organize myself better and post more frequently.

Till next time,
Stacey

Galaxy card 2

Hello,

Today I bring you the next galaxy card a long time after the first one!  I made these cards all at the same time but decided to give them a post each as they use the 'galaxy' images a bit differently.

Materials used:

• White and black card
• Acetate 
• Acrylic paints
• Circle masks
• 'Love you to the moon and back' sentiment stamp 
• Sliver embossing powder
• Gems and gold stars

To make the planet and its moon, I coloured over the areas before creating my 'galaxy' background as I wanted the moon to be quite a bright colour.  Once I had a large enough area done I let it dry and placed my circle masks over top to protect them.  I then sponged on my background, removed the masks and added details to the background and the planet/moon with a paint brush.

The card itself is a shaker, I cut a large circle from a piece of white card to which I added some splatters.  I stamped and embossed the sentiment onto some black card and adhered it to the white piece with foam tape.  The acetate was adhered behind this panel to create the window and foam tape added all over the back for the shaker component.

That's it for this week,

Till next time,
Stacey.

Easter Cards

Hello,

Yes I have been somewhat absent from my blog of late, there has been many distractions lately.  I have made some Easter themed cards and even though it is currently Easter, I thought I would share them anyway all in one post.

I must apologize for the poor photos.  The first card is made simply with patterned paper and an oval die.  The second is made with a scalloped circle die, a piece of foil paper (the butterfly), and black glitter.  The third is made with several colours of glitter paper and a small oval die.

Till next time,
Stacey

Another St Patrick's Day card

Hello,

I think I caught Irish fever, I've got another St Patrick's Day card for you today.

Materials used:

• Black card base, white card and silver glitter paper
• Distress ink in mowed lawn
• 'Drink me' embossing folder (Couture Creations)
• Green pigment ink and versamark ink
• Clear and silver embossing powder (Ranger)
• Heart (Rosie's Studio), candle (Couture Creations) and 'celebrate' (Rosie's Studio) sentiment stamps
• Inverted corner frame nesting dies (Couture Creations)
• Sequins, gems and pearls

I inked the background piece with the mowed lawn masking off stripes with tape.  I then embossed it and trimmed it down.

To stamp the shamrock, I used the heart stamp three times and masked off half the candle and stamped it to make the stem.  I embossed it with clear embossing powder.  Underneath the shamrock I stamped and embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder.  I die cut this piece using the inverted corner die and also a piece of the silver glitter paper with the next size up.

I adhered the background piece to the card base and the sentiment to the glitter paper using foam tape.  I added a few sequins, pearls and gems to finish off the card.

That's it for today!

Till next time

Stacey

St Patrick's Day card

Hello!

I'm back, my computer is mostly fixed now.  Today I have a St Patrick's Day card for you.  I recently got a new die from Couture Creations called 'Fancy Frame' and I thought it would look striking die cut from glitter paper over black card.  How true that turned out to be!

Materials used:

• Fancy Frame die (Couture Creations)
• Circle nesting dies (Couture Creations)
• Black card, gold dot paper, and green glitter paper
• 'Best Wishes' stamp (Rosie's Studio)
• Versamark ink
• Gold embossing powder (Ranger)
• Green and gold sequins, and a shamrock embellishment

The card base is 13cm x 13cm which is slightly bigger than the fancy frame die cut.  I adhered the die cut with multi medium in matte.

I cut a circle from black card and the next size up circle from the gold paper.  I stamped and embossed the sentiment on to the black circle then adhered it to the gold circle with foam tape.

After adhering the sentiment to the card I added the shamrock and sequins to finish the card.

Truthfully, the die cut does all the work for this card.

Till next time,

Stacey

Thinking of you bunny

Hello

Sorry this post is a day late, yesterday I was busy at the Armageddon expo.  Today's card I made for a friend who is currently in hospital recovering from surgery.

Materials used:

• White card, patterned paper
• Bunny stamp and 'thinking of you' sentiment stamp
• Brown pigment ink
• Black ink
• Clear embossing powder
• String
• Sequins
• Black gel pen
• Distress inks
• Heart shaped brad
• Corner rounding punch

I began by stamping and embossing the bunny image.  I then used the distress inks to water colour the piece.  I trimmed it down, punched a hole in the top, and rounded the corners.  I added the string through the hole.  The dash lines were added with the black gel pen.

The sentiment was stamped in black onto an additional white strip of card and the ends were trimmed into a banner.  The patterned paper was cut to leave a small border and adhered on to the card base.  Both the bunny image and sentiment were added with dimensional foam tape.  For a final touch I added a few sequins and the heart brad to the bunny as his nose.

That's it for this week, not sure there will be a post next week as my computer needs repairs.

Stacey

Galaxy Card 1

Hello

Today I have a 'galaxy' card for you.  It's actually a nebula not a galaxy hence the quotations.  I've found that using metallic and plain acrylic paints with a sponge is a great way to make space backgrounds.

Materials used:

• White and navy card
• Black, metallic blue, metallic purple, gold, silver, and white acrylic paint
• Sliver shimmer spray
• Nesting circle dies
• Black embossing powder (Ranger)
• Blue, black, purple and green glitter 
• Versamark ink
• 'Dare to dream big' sentiment stamp (Kaisercraft)
• Black gel pen
• Star confetti 

I made the 'galaxy' piece using the paints with sponges to dab on the colour.  Beginning with a layer of black and adding on the colours randomly over the piece.  Once all the colour is down I lightly sprayed the piece with my homemade shimmer spray to give the whole thing a shimmer.  I then watered down the white paint and splattered some 'stars' across not only the piece but everything on my desk too.  I also added a few crosses for bigger stars and the extra dot here and there.

I die cut a circle large enough for my sentiment and created my own 'galaxy' embossing powder by combining the glitter with the black embossing powder in another little container.  I then stamped and embossed the sentiment and added dash lines with a black gel pen.

I adhered the galaxy piece to a navy card base with the sentiment circle on top using foam tape.  For the final touch I added a few small star confetti pieces with multi medium in matte.

That's it for today's card.  See you next week!

Stacey

Sympathy Card

Hello

While this isn't the first sympathy card I've made, it was the first sympathy card I've had to write in and send.  I thought making sympathy cards was hard but I certainly struggled more with what to say inside.  I find it is a delicate balance between 'soft and meaningful' and 'pretty and elegant' when making sympathy cards but writing in them requires significant thought and a careful selection of words.

Materials used:

• Purple card base, purple and white card, brown patterned with flowers paper
• 'With Sympathy' stamp (Rosie's Studio)
• Purple ink
• Distress inks in dusty concord, spun sugar and shaded lilac
• Pink sequins and self adhesive pearls
• Sliver shimmer spray

I began by painting over the flowers on the patterned paper with a small amount of the shimmer spray to give them a subtle shine.  While that was drying I smooshed the distress inks on a block and painted them onto a strip of white card.  After it was dry I stamped the sentiment in a purple pigment ink and created a banner end.

I cut a strip of purple card and also gave it a banner end.  I adhered the patterned paper to the card base then both the strips over the top.  The final touch was adding the sequins with multi medium matte.

There you have it, one sympathy card.

Till next time,
Stacey

Sending sunshine and smiles

Hello

I made this card to send to my Nana.  She likes the colour green and I had this lovely patterned paper in my stash that I have no idea where it came from that I knew she would like.  It happened to be a bit of a cloudy and wet day when I was making it so naturally I chose the sentiment that said 'sending sunshine and smiles'.

Materials used:

• Yellow card base, green and brown patterned papers, pearl shimmer paper
• 'sending sunshine and smiles' stamp (Rosie's Studio)
• Green ink (Archival Library Green)
• Nesting circle dies (Couture Creations)
• Green sequins and self adhesive pearls

I first die cut the pearl and brown patterned papers and stamped the sentiment onto the pearl paper.  I cut the green paper 1cm shorter in length and width than the card base.  I trimmed a strip of the brown paper to a width of 2cm.

I assembled the card by adhering the green paper flat to the base then the brown strip and circle.  The sentiment was adhered with foam tape and the sequins added with multi medium in matte.

I've added this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "All things bright and beautiful".

That's it for today's card.
Till next time.
Stacey

I love you Valentine card

Hello

This is going to be my last Valentine card for the year.  I brought a lovely stamp set by Kaisercraft called 'XO' last weekend.  I've got so many ideas for cards from it but I've limited myself to just one more Valentine (though there is plenty of ways to use the stamp set for non-Valentine cards).  I pulled out my water colours and created a rather satisfying card.

Materials used:

• White card base, white card
• Water colours in red, red/orange and white
• XO stamp set
• Versamark ink
• Clear embossing powder (Ranger)
• Stencil (Memory Box)
• Homemade texture paste coloured dark grey
• Corner rounding punch (Fiskars)

I first stamped the 'I love you' sentiment and the hearts on to a piece of white card and heat embossed them.  I took my water colours and mixed them with a small amount of water so that the colour would be quite vibrant.  I covered the piece with clean water and then taking the colours I made a diagonal stripe through the middle with one colour then added another on either side and a third to cover the corners.

While I let the water colour piece dry I took my stencil and texture paste and applied it to the card base making sure to mask off the back of the card.  Once everything was dry I rounded the corners of the water colour piece and adhered it on top with foam tape.

This card has been added to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Anything Goes".

That's it for today's card.

Till next time,

Stacey.

I love you today and everyday

Hello

After my last Valentine that was deliberately avoiding pink and hearts, I've done the complete opposite for today's card.  A lovely pink gradient, embossed heart and pink sequins makes this card quite eye-catching.

Materials used:

• White card base, white card and pink paper
• Distress inks in spun sugar, picked raspberry and seedless preserves
• Sliver shimmer spray
• Patterned heart stamp (Rosie's Studio) and 'I love you today and everyday' sentiment stamp
• Pink pigment ink (Rosie's Studio) and black ink (Stazon)
• Clear embossing powder (Ranger)
• Pink and clear sequins

I created the pink gradient background first by sponging on the distress inks starting with the lightest over the whole piece, then the next lightest over 2/3rds and the darkest over 1/3rd.  I sprayed the piece lightly with the shimmer spray and mixed some of the picked raspberry colour with a bit of the shimmer spray to flick on top.

I hand cut a slope from a piece of white card and stamped the sentiment on the lower right corner.  For the heart, I stamped it on to the pink paper with the pigment ink and clear embossed it before trimming it out leaving a decent border.

I used foam tape behind the white piece and the heart and double sided tape to adhered the whole panel to the card base.  For the sequins I used multi medium in matte.

I really like how the pink gradient turned out.  Think I'm starting to get better with distress inks.  I've added this card to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge 'Have a Heart'.

Till next time

Stacey

Valentine Card - Purple and Gold

Hello

It bothers me that almost every Valentine you see has a heart and are coloured pink/red.  Don't get me wrong, I do like hearts, and pink and red, but when everyone is using the same few things then I find all the cards start to look the same.  So to add some variety in to my Valentine mix this year I've made a card that doesn't have any hearts or use pink and red.

Materials used:

• Black card base, gold foil paper, black card and a purple patterned paper.
• Medallion stamp and 'Happy Valentines Day' stamp
• Versamark ink
• Gold embossing powder (Ranger)

I began by creating my card base and the gold and purple layers.  Then it was a matter of embossing the medallion and the sentiment on to black card.  I trimmed out the sentiment into a strip and created v shaped ends.  I trimmed out the medallion leaving a small border.

Assembling the card was simple, the gold and purple layers were adhered with double sided tape. The sentiment banner and medallion were adhered with foam tape.

This card turned out surprising easy.  It is also quite striking and refreshingly not pink.

Till next time.
Stacey

Valentine Card - Heart Shaker

Hello

I thought seeing as Valentines Day is just around the corner that I best make some cards for the occasion.  Lately I've seen a few people creating shaker cards with less dimension by creating more of a pocket rather than a shallow shadow box.  I like this idea because I'm forever battling with my foam tape because of its intense love to stick to everything but what I want it to.

Materials used:

• White card base and a pink patterned paper and clear plastic packaging
• Two washi tapes, pink hearts and pink stripes
• Heart shape nesting die (Couture Creations)
• Various sequins and confetti shapes in pink, red and gold
• 'I Love You' sentiment stamp (Rosie's Studio)
• Pink ink

I began by die cutting the heart from the card base.  I then took my washi tapes and wrapped the edges around the card and the inside of the heart so it looks like they were cut with the die.  To complete the front I stamped the sentiment below the washi tape.

For the shaker piece, I used a bit of plastic packaging to create a window behind the heart.  I then trimmed my piece of pink patterned paper to be slightly smaller than the inside of my card.  Before placing the sequins and gems on to the plastic I put down strips of double sided tape around the heart and also around the edges of the patterned side of the paper.  After I added all the shaker pieces I adhered the patterned paper pattern side down so that it shows through the window.

So yes it shakes, but not so much as a normal shaker card.  My only regret was leaving such a big gap around the heart when I was placing the double sided tape as the shaker pieces seem to have become a bit shy and hide behind the white card.

Till next time.
Stacey

Inspired by..... Card 2

Hello

This is the second card in my inspired by mini series.  I used this picture that I found on pinterest for inspiration.  You can check out my boards on pinterest here.

Materials used:

• Blue card base, navy and white card
• Distress inks in salty ocean, mustard seed and ripe persimmon 
• Black Stazon ink
• 'Oh Happy Day' stamp and solid flowers/leaves stamps (Rosie's Studio)
• Yellow gems
• Red gel pen
• Corner rounding punch (Fiskars)

I began by creating the background piece with the distress inks and sponges.  Once I got it blended to my satisfaction, I stamped the floral images around the edges and the sentiment in the center.  I then rounded the corners, coloured in the little heart on the sentiment and added the yellow gems.

Then it was just a matter of layering the piece on the navy card with foam tape and adhering it all to the card base.

That's all for today, come back on Tuesday for a Valentine card.
Till then,
Stacey

Inspired by..... Card 1

Hello

Today I begin a new mini series on my blog which features cards I've created based off of something that has inspired me.  For this card I took my inspiration from dragon scales to create the background design.  The effect is quite striking, but getting it done did take a rather long time!

Materials used:

• Black top folding card base
• Two shades of purple paper
• Gold shimmer paper
• White card
• Silver and gold shimmer spray
• Circle punch
• Cake, stand and 'happy birthday' stamps (Bake a cake stamp set)
• Gold gel pen

I began by spraying the purple papers with both the gold and silver sprays (which I've made using metallic paint and water) drying in between colours.  Following this I stamped the two cake segments and cut them out.  Then I punched a rather significant amount of circles from the papers. I covered a piece of light weight cardboard from packaging with double sided tape.  Then I took my circles and placed the first row so that half of the circle was over the edge, the second row was placed above in between and half over the first row. Repeat until you reach the top.  I trimmed off the overhang with my craft knife to complete my background.

To assemble the white panel I stamped the cake stand and the sentiment then added the two cake pieces with dimensional foam tape.  I used a gold gel pen to add details to the cake and stand along with dash lines around the edge.

The white panel was adhered to the background piece with foam tape, then using double sided tape to the gold shimmer paper and finally on to the card base.

This card did take a long time because of the background, but I do really love the way it turned out.  Some of the circles do have additional double sided tape added as only a small section touched the cardboard behind.  I have done this a couple times on a much larger scale on a canvas to give as gifts but I used liquid glue rather than tape and different colours of paper.

That's all for today.
Till next time.
Stacey

P.S. This card has been added to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge 'Something New' as a new technique.

DIY TARDIS Christmas Ornaments

Hello!

Today I reveal the fact that I'm a bit of a geek.  One of my favourite shows is Doctor Who and I couldn't resist making some TARDIS ornaments to give to my friend for Christmas (who is the person who got me hooked on the show).  These are not easy to make and they take a really long time as well.  But I think they are so worth it!

Materials:

• TARDIS blue light-weight card, white (or in my case really, really light purple) and black card
• Light-weight cardboard (cereal boxes are good) and thick cardboard 
• 1 x 1 cm square punch (trust me you will want one)
• Light blue Sharpie
• Fine tip black pen
• Sliver gel pen
• Sliver wire

First I made a box based off of this tutorial from the lightweight cardboard to form a sturdy base.  I glued mine completely shut as I didn't want the box to open.  I then cut a piece of the blue paper to the same size needed to make the box and wrapped it around the cardboard.  Before I adhered the paper to the box I used my scissors to cut the tabs so that they could fold nicely over the top and bottom.  Kinda like what you do when you make the box but I was being lazy so just used the folds created when I wrapped it around the box as my guide.  If you have paper that isn't coloured all the way through (it has a white core) like mine did then use the light blue sharpie to carefully colour the edges blue.

From a spare piece of the blue paper I created two templates for the doors to trace around.  I needed two templates because all the sides aren't equal.  With the blue sharpie I traced around the outside of these templates onto all four of the sides of the Tardis and added a line down the middle of each resulting box.  I suggest doing this before you adhere the paper to the box also.  Then I wrapped the box and adhered down all the tabs.

For the two sides and the back of the Tardis, I punched two white squares and four blue squares, and for the front, three white and three blue.  On all but one of the white squares I drew on with a fine tip black pen the window panes.  The last white square has some (not all) of the writing from the sign.  For all of the blue squares I used the blue sharpie to colour the white core around the edges.  The 'Police Public Call Box' Sign is 0.5cm wide and 3cm long for the front and back and 2.7cm long for the sides.  I used the silver gel pen to write on these strips before adhering them to the box along with all the squares using double sided tape.

The top and bottom pieces are made from pieces of cardboard covered with the blue paper.  The smallest piece is 2.5cm x 2.5cm and the two bigger pieces are 3.8cm x 3.5cm.  One of the larger squares is adhered to the bottom of the tardis with a strong liquid glue.  Before I added the two top pieces I used a needle to create a hole through the center of both of them to add a loop of wire.  The wire is secured under the bottom piece with tape and adhesive is also under the top piece so it doesn't move around.

As I was giving these cute little TARDIS ornaments as a gift to my friend for Christmas, I created this box using this tutorial.

Materials:

• TARDIS blue light-weight card, white light-weight card
• Dark blue ink (Archival Cobalt)
• Star background stamp (Hero Arts Tiny Star Background)
• Paper bow made from silver paper

As I said at the start, these are time consuming (and unfortunately cannot travel through time and space).  These three took me around two hours to make but my friend loved them!

This is the end of my Christmas-ness for this year and for the blog too.  I will be back in the first week of January with a birthday card.

Till next time,

Stacey

Glitter Paper Inlay Christmas Card

Hello!

This will be my final Christmas Card this year seeing as it is only a little over a week till Christmas now!  At this point in my Christmas card making I'm a bit over it so I wanted something that didn't take a lot thought or effort to make.  I'm happy with how this card turned out other than the gold pen, not so sure about the colour.

Materials used:

• A white card base (which was a little longer at 15cm rather than 14.85cm) and a piece of white paper slightly smaller than the card front
• Flower and swirl die (Couture Creations)
• Red, green and gold glitter paper
• 'With love at Christmas' sentiment stamp
• Red ink (Archival, Vermilion)
• Red gems
• Gold metallic pen

I began by die cutting the flower out of the card base, then fully out of the green glitter paper, and partly out of the red and gold glitter papers.  

On the piece of white paper, I covered most of it with double sided tape and carefully adhered it behind the front of the card so that there is adhesive is visible through the negative of the die cut.  I then placed the green glitter paper die cut into the gap and the pieces of white card from the first die cut.  I trimmed the red glitter paper die cut so that only the flower remained and used a strong adhesive to glue it over the green glitter paper.  Then I added the gold circle to the center of the flower.

I created a border for the card with a ruler and the gold pen and added the sentiment to the bottom left corner.

For the finishing touch I added a line of gems either side of the flower.

See you tomorrow!

Stacey

P.S. This card has been added to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Bling it on.

Simple Christmas Gift Tags

Hello

Today I have some simple gift tags to show you.  When it comes to making gift tags you really want something that isn't complicated and can be put together fast.

Materials used:

• White card
• Tag shaped die (Cuttlebug)
• Green and red striped patterned paper (Rosie's Studio)
• Red dye ink (Archival Vermilion)
• A 'To', 'From' and 'Merry Christmas' stamps
• White thread
• Buttons

First I cut the tag using the die, the die I used was longer than I wanted so I just trimmed the paper down before I die cut it.  I then arranged the stamps in the layout I wanted on top of one of the tags then picked them up at the same time with my block so I could stamp them all at the same time and keep the same spacing for all my tags.

After stamping the tags I cut 2cm wide strips from my patterned paper and applied adhesive to the back.  Using my grid mat for reference I adhered the paper to one of the tags and used my scissors to trim off the over hang which I then used on the next tag and so on.  I threaded some of the white thread through the button and placed a piece of double sided tape to the back and adhered it in the middle of the patterned paper.  Turning the tag over I taped down the thread to fully secure the button.  To finish the tag I added a length of the white thread through the hole at the top.

This tag is great for mass producing as there is only a few different elements and each one is simple to execute.  

See you tomorrow!

Stacey

Paper Poinsettias

Hello

Today I bring you the first of my ornaments.  These are simple poinsettias, made from several identical pieces.

Materials used:

• Red and green paper
• Gold shimmer spray
• Leaf stamp
• Red and light blue (because I didn't have green) archival ink
• A pin
• String

I began by spraying both the red and green papers with my homemade shimmer spray (gold metallic paint with water in a spray bottle) and leaving it to dry.  Once the paper was dry I stamped seven leaves in red ink onto the red paper and three leaves in light blue ink onto the green paper.  I then cut them all out with scissors.

Line up all the red leaves together in one stack and push the pin through all of them at the bottom of the leaf.  This is so you can use the pin as an anchor for the leaves while you rotate them to find a placement you like.  Once I had the leaves arranged to my satisfaction I flipped the flower over and used tape to secure them.  I then removed the pin and added a small amount of liquid glue under the top three leaves.

Following the formation of the flower I then added the three green leaves behind the flower using tape to secure them.  Using liquid glue I added gems to the front for the center of the flowers.  Finally a simple loop of string attached to the back with tape allows the ornament to hang.

Other options:
I made another poinsettia out of gold paper and used gold embossing powder instead of just stamping the leaves.  I never quite got round to making the three leaves for this flower but had thought of making them from vellum with the gold embossing powder.

I really like how these turned out, The hardest part was cutting out all the leaves, though I imagine if you had matching dies for a particular stamp you could die cut them instead of fussy cutting them.

See you tomorrow!
Stacey

Happy Christmas Card

Hello

This will be my final Christmas card for this week.  Next week will be papercraft decorations for Christmas and my final Christmas card for 2014.  Today's card features my favourite colour because I just can't resist.

Materials used:

• White card base
• A purple and a gold shimmer paper
• Star background stamp (Hero Arts Tiny Stars Background)
• Versamark ink
• Clear embossing powder (Ranger)
• Purple ribbon
• 'Happy Christmas' die

First of all I created the background by stamping and embossing the star background stamp onto a piece of purple paper.  I adhered it flat to the card base.  From another piece of the purple paper I die cut the sentiment which I then covered with a layer of the embossing.
I adhered the sentiment on to the gold shimmer paper and created a banner end.  I wrapped a piece of the ribbon around the top and then adhered it to the card with foam tape.
For the final touch I created a bow from the ribbon and adhered it over the ribbon on the card.

This card didn't take very long to make but it still has high impact.  But maybe I'm biased towards the colour purple!

See you next week!
Stacey