Saturday 22 September 2018

Bits and Pieces


As promised a couple of days ago, I have rescued the bits and pieces that I had left sitting on the Cricut transfer sheet collecting dust and used them to make this card.





Cut the yellow card to 5¾" square and die cut the Birds Roosting die.  This time I was extremely wasteful and discarded the negative bits!



Mat and layer on to white and black card leaving a border size of your own choice. Take the negative bits from the transfer sheet and paper piece into the appropriate gaps in the yellow frame.



To finish, I stamped a sentiment and mat and layered using scraps from the main card and mounted it on to a square card base.

Thanks for stopping by
Anne
x



Thursday 20 September 2018

Birds Roosting


Hello Crafty Friends,

I have recently added some rather lovely 'Fresh Cut Dies' to my stash. These have been designed and produced by Claritystamp



.

 
 

It has been really good fun to play with sticky stuff and gilding flakes once again, as they have been lurking in the back of my crafty cupboard for ages! 


The first card I shared in 2018 gave a pretty detailed step by step of the same process I used here, so I will just share a few pictures and words on how this one has been made.



Step 1:  Cut the Birds Roosting Aperture die in a piece of 5¾" square black card.





Step 2:  Keep all the die cut pieces in place and remove the die. Press the reverse cut side onto a square of Cricut Transfer sheet and lightly burnish with a ball tool to make sure all the die cut elements are in contact with the transfer sheet.




Step 3:  Remove the square die cut frame, leaving all the loose bits (the negative of the die cut) on the transfer paper. These bits will make another card later.


Step 4: Cut a piece of scrap card 4½" square and cover it with double sided adhesive sheet. Remove the protective carrier paper and cover the sticky surface with gilding flakes.  Burnish well so that all the flakes are in contact with the sticky sheet and brush away any remaining dust.  



Step 5:  Affix the black die cut frame over the gilding flakes background. Mat and layer on to an A5 card blank. Add a sentiment and embellishment to complete the card.



 

I will be back in a couple of days to show how I used the negative bits that are still sitting on the transfer sheet!

Thank you for joining me today.

Bye for now
Anne
x

Sunday 9 September 2018

Nordic Christmas

Good Morning, 

It has been a busy time for me and my hubby so crafting has had to take a back seat for a while.  With our house move temporarily on hold, I am taking advantage of some free time to catch up with my blog and I hope to visit my bloggy friends very soon!


With an eye on the number of cards I need to make for Christmas, it is time I made a start.

 

Now, when it comes to shopping for stitched dies and stitching on stamps then I am your woman!   Lisa Horton was certainly on to a good thing when she designed her stitched range of stamps - because I must have them all!  Thanks Lisa!

I created the background piece using the A5 Embroidered Backgrounds stamp set from Inkydoodles.  First stamping in green with one of the larger stamps and then infilling with red using one of the wee ones. 


Maintaining the stitched theme (naturally), I have used Lisa Horton's A5 Festive Friends clear stamps for the main elements.  A bit of masking, a fussy cut tree, some colouring and mat and layer to finish.  Job done!

 
So that  it is for now - thank you for taking the time to visit me today.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

A Walk on the Wild Side


Good Evening!

Before I settle down for a bit of telly and my night-time cup of cocoa, I would like to share this card with you. 



The stamp set is by Sheena Douglass and it has been loitering in my stash for quite some time - but it is still one of my favourites!

I have coloured the main image using an assortment of Spectrum Noir markers and pencils.  Both the stamp set called Little Red and the markers are available from Crafter's Companion.

I have teamed up my image with a Sissix Thinlits Die called Moonlit Owl and mat and layered with black card onto a starry die cut background.  

Next time I will try to make a card without using black card - now that really will be a test for me!

Hope this finds you well and enjoying your crafting.

Bye for now
Anne
x






Sunday 3 June 2018

Floral Panel


Hello Crafty Friends,

Today I decided to play with my Spectrum Noir Colourblend pencils from Crafter's Companion but I thought I would try them on black card for a change.





At first I stamped with a Versamark ink pad and embossed in white but I found that the result was too bold against the black card - so I discarded that attempt and tried again.  This time I used a Brilliance pigment ink pad (Moonlight White) without the embossing powder and it gave me a much more muted result.  Good so far!  I then began colouring in my image. To start with I laid down a base of white very lightly, using my Spectrum Noir pencils and then chose a selection of coloured pencils to overlay on top of the white. When I had finished the stamped outline had become too faded. In order to bring back some definition I used a Sakura white gel pen and sketched in some of the lost detail.


It probably took me a lot longer than if I had chosen to colour on white card but isn't it all about the journey and not just the destination? I had a lovely time sitting in my craft room colouring to my hearts content, with the window open listening to the birdsong from the garden - such a lovely day!


To finish the card I mat and layered with black and white card; stamped, coloured and fussy cut an extra butterfly from the floral panel and finished with a black embossed sentiment and a few gems.
 

The stamps I have used are from Stamp Addicts:
Birthday Greetings SA-5033 and
Floral Panel SA-7071

It's good to be crafting after a few months absence and I hope to be back soon with another card.


Thank you for visiting me today, your company and comments are very much appreciated.




Bye for now
Anne
x

Saturday 26 May 2018

Privacy Policy


Hello Crafty Friends,


This post is extremely important, as the new Data Protection Law (GDPR) that came into effect on Friday 25th May 2018,  applies to anyone with an 'audience' in the EU.


The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union.


It would seem that I am required by the new law to add a Privacy Policy page to my blog so you can see how I handle your information.


Please take a few minutes to read this document by clicking on the tab at the top of this page. 


I hope you will continue to follow me and share my makes and ramblings!


I'll be back soon with another project.


Happy Crafting!
Anne
x

Friday 19 January 2018

Sail Away

Hello Crafty Friends,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying your crafting.

My make for today requires a bit of patience but if you like jigsaw puzzles then you will love this paper piecing technique!





If you fancy having a go at this one, here are the dies that I have used.





Step One:  Cut a piece of white cardstock slightly larger than the scenic die and adhere a piece of double sided adhesive sheet to cover the reverse.  Leave the remaining piece of backing paper on the adhesive and run through your die cutting machine so that the sticky side will be on the reverse of your image.

Step Two: Take great care not to dislodge any of the pieces from the die. I used a piece of Cricut Transfer tape (it comes on a roll so that you can cut it to size) to temporarily hold the die cut pieces in place while I removed the die.





Step Three: Cut a piece of coloured background card to use as a mat on your project.  Peel away the frame/outline from the transfer tape and press firmly on to your coloured mat, having first removed the backing paper from the double sided adhesive.



 Step Four: Using alcohol markers colour one piece of your 'jigsaw puzzle' at a time. You may find it easier to lift the piece out to colour so that you do not contaminate the remaining pieces.




Step Five:  Press each piece into the appropriate space in the frame on the coloured card so that the double sided adhesive holds them securely in place.



Continue until all the pieces are coloured and in place.

To finish the card, die cut the yacht and waves from the Creative Expressions die set and colour in the same way.

Mat and layer your scene and add the final die cuts using foam pads to complete the card as shown in the first picture above.

Definitely not a quick card but I love the different effects you can achieve using these 'stained glass' dies.  I have also tried painting the pieces with metallic paint or using an assortment of Mirri card.  I will share some of these makes with you at a later date.

Thank you for joining me today,

Bye for now
x Anne