Watercolour fun

I found a fabulous challenge whilst browsing the net yesterday - Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger. The trigger this week is a beautiful dress covered with watercolour butterflies.

One of the first things I noticed was that it had the pink, white and orange colour scheme which is the challenge for this week at The Play Date Cafe. I instantly knew who I wanted to make a card for - my fab Sister, who loves this colour combo.

I started off with some watercolour paper and my Melon Mambo and Pumpkin Pie inks from SU! I brushed the paper with water to begin with and then I inked up a butterfly stamp (free with a magazine) by tapping the ink pads directly onto a non-stick sheet and pressing the stamp into the mixed ink colours. I played about with a paintbrush, adding extra ink to some areas and creating a coloured section at the bottom. I then dried the whole piece with a heat gun.

To complete the card I layered the watercolour paper onto a black mat and added some of the scallop dots ribbon from SU! I stamped a sentiment, from Hopeful Thoughts, and cut it out with the Scallop Oval punch, sponging some of the ink around the edges. This was then affixed using stampin' dimensionals. The whole lot was then added to a white card base.

Peterborough Training July 2011

I was lucky enough to be able to go to the quarterly training event held by Monica Gale and Bekka Prideaux this month.

I'd been asked to make up to 40 'swap cards' on a Christmas theme, using stamps from the current Ideas Book & Catalogue. After the initial shock of making 40 swaps wore off I got my thinking cap on and got to work. I really wanted to do something that I hadn't seen done before, and I only had one set of stamps that were specifically Christmas stamps. In the end I decided I should stick to a simple design, for ease of replication, but have the 'wow factor' by using a stamp in an original way. Then it came to me... mistletoe stamped using part of the tree stamp from the 'Hopeful Thoughts' set!

The beauty of Stampin' Write markers is that you can use them to ink up as little or as much of a stamp as you like, making partial stamping a breeze. I used my Old Olive marker and stamped onto Crumb Cake card. It looked a little bare as it was so I added white berries using the Signo Gel Pen (which is amazing on dark colours too). Voila! Instant Mistletoe...


I used Versamark to stamp the flourish from Baroque Motifs onto Concord Crush CS and then punched out a frame for my sentiment using the Decorative Label punch.The sentiment is from Contempo Christmas and I've used the markers again to colour 'Merry' in Real Red with the rest in Old Olive.

Just take a look at all the gorgeous swap cards I received in return....

They were all fab but I'd like to give a special mention to the following:-

Cutest = Carole Claxton's cheeky snowman and Sandra's (C&S Cards) super sweet candy cane mouse.

Most original = Elaine's (Sassy Stampers) wine glass charms and Jo Press' punch art choir boy.

Designs with hidden gems = Ann Willis' treat holder with xmas owl inside. I love the button fastening that is actually made of card and stamped. Last but not least, Ali Wilkins' gift card holder.

Here's a look at the inside of those last two...

Cards galore

I was lucky enough to get a few hours yesterday to make cards. With two friends recently giving birth, a 2nd birthday and Father's Day, it was crafting time I desperately needed!

I'll give details of the new baby cards in this post and show the others in another post so that it doesn't become too long.

This was my first attempt at a recessed window card and I'm really pleased how it ended up. I've used River Rock textured card and Blushing Bride card, together with Blushing Bride patterned Designer Series Paper.

The sentiment is from a retired SU! set which I've cut out using the Decorative Label punch. The flowers are made using the Flower Accent stamp, which I've inked up with Versamark and then 'kissed' with the tree from the Hopeful Thoughts stamp set. Using Versamark meant that I was left with a clear image to cut out, without affecting the colour of the cardstock too much. The baby's name was made using the ever useful Just Perfect Alphabet set and cut out using the 3/4" circle punch.

For the second card I used the Sweet Treat cup and Something Sweet stamp set (a fab combo!).

It's a little hard to see but there are 3 layers to this card and I've added texture with some paper piercing.

The rattle contains lots of little hearts which you can shake around and I've added a sweet little bow to the handle.

I'll be back soon with the other cards from my Craftathon ;)

Tri-shutter treat

I was recently inspired by Sarah Moore's beautiful Tri-shutter card and decided to have a go at one myself.

I used the En Francais background stamp to create a vintage look and enhanced it by adding Cajun Craze ink to the edges of the More Mustard panels with a dry cloth.

The leaves and sentiment are from the Hopeful Thoughts stamp set. I've added interest to the sentiment panel by using the Eyelet Border punch on the top and bottom edges.

Taking centre stage is the wonderful 2-Step Bird punch, which punches out the bird shape, a wing and the branch in one step - a great time saver!

The 2-Step Bird has been used again on the central panel, this time stamped with En Francais in Cajun Craze again.

The flowers on the final panel are made using the 'kissing technique', where I have applied the leaves stamp to the Flower Accent stamp. The petals were curled slightly and the flower centres are made from 1/2" circles of cardstock, which I've scrunched up and unfolded then applied Bravo Burgundy ink to tie them into the colour of the main card background. An eyelet border edge adds the final touch.