Card for my Niece

I am posting this from my holiday in the US and this is the first time in days that I have had internet access.

We have been on a tour of some of the National Parks of the US and have had no phone, TV or internet - sheer bliss.

This is the card that I made for my niece's birthday.  I started with a Fresh Blue Centura card and mounted some Coconut White card that I had pierced around the border onto this.

 

I then mounted some Periwinkle blue card that I had embossed with Sue Wilson's Art Deco A4 embossing Folder.  I used Sue Wilson's California Frames A and Frames B which I layered in periwinkle and coconut white.  I used Britannia Dies Happy and Birthday words and the Niece from their Other Relatives Dies.

I cut out some shoes using Tattered Lace Platform Show and Memory Box Platform Pumps and used Periwinkle silk Glitter to give some sparkle. 

Once I am back home in 2 days time, I will be able to catch up with my reading blogs - once the washing and unpacking has been done. I did managed to hit the local craft stores yesterday!!!


 

Birthday Wallet

I had seen this card in an edition of Making Cards Magazine and though that this would be ideal for my cousin's birthday as it was a great card for a male.

I did not have any of the stains or embossing folder that was used in the original but actually preferred what I used.

This card was made out of kraft card and I used the faux leather technique of Sheena Douglass for the strap part as that would get more use but not for the rest as I am not so keen on the feel on glycerine.

I used Darice Embossing Folder Crackle to create the leather effect and then used Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo and Rusty Hinge to create the colour.  I used a piercing tool and a brown alcohol pen to create the stitching effect around the edges and the birthday greeting.

I used a Phill Martin's Words of Inspiration stamp on the inside and then a variety of stamps by Bee Crafty to create small cards that I put into the wallet and it was nice that I could actually put some real money in it as well, to give the effect of a real wallet.

I also put his initials on the front using some dome letters that I had. I must admit to a quick phone call to his mother to check what his middle initial was.

 

Back to Quilting

This is my first block completed for the quilt that I am making.  I am not sure what made me go rummaging through my cupboard to find the material that I had bought to start making this quilt.  I think it was just that I wanted something extra to throw on the bed for the winter that I decided that I needed to go back to quilting.

 

When I told my Mother that I had fished the material out and was quilting, she said that I had gone back to my real love and I suppose that it true.  It is just that it has been quicker to make cards than to make a quilt.

 

This was a pattern that was in Australian Patchwork and Quilting some years ago and I had bought the material at the time but it then just got left and I never actually did anything with it.  The original pattern was for a wall hanging but I just increase the amount of material required to make it a king size quilt.

 

I don't think that I have done any quilting for at least 12 years or more but there was no way that when I cleared out my craft room that any of my quilting stash was going to go and I was pleased that I hadn't.

 

This pattern is foundation pieced but I do not use paper, I use a light interfacing and trace the pattern on to it as it gives a little stability to the block.  Also, it does not blunt your needle as quick as paper does.

 

I was really pleased to get this first block done and now only have another 41 to go! I am hoping that I will be able to get all the blocks made within a year as I will still be making my cards and going to workshops for papercrafting.  I hope then it will be perhaps another two months for the quilting and binding before the quilt is complete.    It is certainly going to be a labour of love.

Out the kitchen Window

This is little smaller card than I usually make but I just loved the pattern.  This was from an old copy of a Parchment Craft Magazine.

 

I traced the pattern by using a stylus and then went over the border with Tinta Ink using green and yellow.

 

I inked around the edge of the card, teapot and cup with silver ink and then embossed the frame, curtains, teapot, card, mug, the petals of the border flowers and the border.

 

I painted the leaves of the border with Tinta Ink and the flowerpot and plant.  I also used ink for the decorations on the card, teapot and mug.

 

I then used a blue dorso crayon to colour the clouds and then mounted onto some blue card.  Using a two hole tool, I went around the edge of the card and then cut to finish.

Another Quick Card

Whilst going through my peel offs stack for the 2 quick cards I made the other week, I found that I had some medallion peel offs and thought that I would make another quick card from them.

I seem to have so many birthdays from April to June and need to end up making quick cards for some.  As I also have another rather large project on the go, I have needed to make some really quick cards.  This was not quite as quick as the other two as I had to cut out each layer by hand and was a little fiddly.

At first I was going to use glitter but then decided that I would pearlised card although that does not show up on the photo.

I stuck the peels offs on to alternating dark blue and white card and then cut each layer (of which there are five) and then mounted them with foam tape between layers.

I then mounted this onto some plain light blue card and put peel offs around the edge of the card and added peel off corners.

I then put a Dufex greeting on the finish the card.  I wanted the medallion to be the main focus and wanted the rest plain.

This card reminds me of the cards that I first starting making before I had the luxury of being able to die cut my shapes and sometimes it is nice to take that step back again.

Parchment in Blue

After making a few quick cards, it has been nice to have the time to spend on one card.  I find it a lot easier to do parchment craft in natural light so am loving the lighter evenings. 

I took the pattern for this from March Parchment craft and traced it and then worked it.  I much prefer just whitework for some reason on parchment.

Once I had completed working the pattern, I then cut it out using a two needle tool and mounted it onto some  periwinkle foundation card.  

As it is difficult to mount parchment without the glue showing through, I attached some blue gemstones to hide the glue.  I used a Martha Stewart punch in the corners of the periwinkle card and then mounted this onto some Core'dinations  Gemstones card.

This was then mounted onto some Blue Centura Pearl card and I then added a metal birthday greeting to finish. 

A fine way to spend a Saturday

I spent a lovely day at Aexandra Palace on Saturday attending the British Stamp and Scrapbooking show. The building is really lovely with the murals on the walls to the entrance and the lovely organ and stained windows in the Great Halls.

This is not a really large show but there are demonstrations every half hour and plenty of places to sit, unlike other shows that I have been to and it doesn't feel as crowded - unless you happen to go near Barbara Gray's Clarity Stand or Sue Wilson's Rubbernecker stand.

There were a couple of stands that I had not visited before and I bought a couple of text stamps that I had not seen before but thought that they will fill a hole in my craft stash.

I managed to spend lots of money but also had time to watch some of the demonstrations.  I managed to see Julia Watts demonstrating Shimmer background techniques using the new Cosmic Shimmer Paints, Anna Marie showing us to make a rose and decorating a shape using her stamps, Kay from Indigoblu demonstrating using their alter ego products and quite a few demonstrations from Pam Smith using a variety of Cosmic Shimmer Ink Sprays, Texture Pastes, Silk Glitters and Gilding Flakes.

There was also demonstrations by Phill Martin and Sam Poole but I never made these.  There was meant to be more demonstrators but a couple were not able to make it due to illness.  I still managed to pick up tips from all though.

Although I bought some goods from Clarity Stamps, it was just too crowded to see Barbara demonstrating.  I did get to see Sue Wilson demonstrating but her stand was laid out a little better to see.

I also managed to get to speak to Sue for a while and it was nice to catch up with her and even got time for a quick photo with her.  

The best part about this is that it is only a 35 minute drive from my house (although getting back always takes a lot longer due to having to get back on the North Circular) and makes a great day out.