Have A Heart

     I know it's been very quiet on here lately, that's all going to change next month! February will see the release of lots of new products in the crafting world and I'm pleased to say that I got to play with a few of them so pop back when you get time and have a look.

     Valentines Day is fast approaching so I have made these for one of my local charity shops to sell, deliberately simple in decoration as I have no idea who the recipients will be. 

They are fat free and guaranteed not to wilt!

   

     I would like to enter these books in the following challenges:

Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood Of Crafters - Love Letters

Shopping Our Stash - Inspired By A Book

Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Hearts

Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Brand New Challenge Blog - MHK Designs

     Welcome to my first project for a brand new challenge blog, MHK Designs. MHK Designs are creators and suppliers of digital images, sentiments and backing papers available on Etsy, for more information please follow the links given at the end of this post.
     Each month we will have a colour challenge for you and the chance to win some of the gorgeous MHK Designs images and papers.

     For my project I have used the Peace Dove stamp sets main image and coloured the background, this is all printed on to a piece of white card.
     I have then used a square die to emboss around the image panel. This can be done as long as you use an embossing mat, the mat makes sure the die doesn't cut through. It also gives you the impression of the inner and outer edges of the die so you get three embossed edges.

     The next step was to use an embossing folder and an embossing diffuser. The diffuser is an acrylic plate the same depth as the usual acrylic plate but with a hole in it. I used a diffuser with a square hole in it, you can get them with other shapes cut out.
     The card was placed in the folder and then the diffuser went on top, making sure the hole lined up with my image panel so the image was not embossed.
     The edges around the hole are not quite as crisply embossed as the rest but by using the die first this is masked by the lines of the shape.

     The embossed panel has had the corners rounded off with a punch to soften its look, it is then mounted on thin foam pads over a layer of background paper from the Christmas Past set. I have used an option on my printer to alter the colour by switching some colours down and others up to get the teal colouring.
     The finishing touch was to add some tiny pink gems to the branches and it's no longer a Christmas type image.



     Please come and join our new challenge, you will find all the details right here at MHK Designs blog.  For more information on the stamp sets please visit the Etsy shop by clicking on the links below.

Peace Dove 

Christmas Past

MHK Designs - January Challenge

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Inky Chicks - Anything Goes

Get Creative  - Something New ( image, paper & emboss technique)

Love To Scrap - Anything Goes

Incy Wincy Designs - Tic Tac Toe ( Top Row)

The Young Ones

     Welcome to another challenge at The Male Room, this time we are looking for projects for the Young Ones - Babies and Little Boys.
     I have always loved this rhyme so when I got to play with John Lockwood's new stamp set 'Monday's Child' I thought it would be perfect for this challenge.
     I began by covering the card blank with some gingham backing paper from MHK Designs, the sky blue option matches perfectly with Distress Ink Broken China. Using a Spellbinder die I cut the square from white card stock. I stamped the rhyme in Archival Ink Cobalt in the centre and then before removing the die inked around the frame with Broken China. The frame is mounted on thin foam pads to give a little height.
     Both the larger Saturday's Child and the tractor were stamped in Cobalt blue and fussy cut. The tractor comes from an old Woodware set of vehicles, both are coloured with a wet brush and a little Broken China taken from my craft mat. The fussy cuts are mounted on thin foam pads over the frame.
     The beauty of this stamp set is it can be used for either sex at almost any age making it value for money. I shall make further use of it in my scrapbooking and it might even get used to create framed photographs as gifts for Grandparents.
     Please come and join us at The Male Room with your masculine creations, we also have a host of inspiration for you just incase you should need it.
   

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz - Blue is the colour

Crafting From The Heart - Anything goes

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

A Tree Is Not Just For Christmas

     Getting value for money is important to us all, so take another look at your Christmas stamps and see if they could be used for everyday cards. You may have seen some Christmas cards I made last year using this stamp, it's a bare tree with separate sentiments so it's easy to find another use for it.

      To make my blossom tree I made each flower using hot glue and a silicone mould, it didn't take very long, because they're small they set quickly. When you squeeze the glue into the mould lay an acrylic block on top so you get a shape with a flat back, making it much easier to stick on to a project.
     Once set and cool each flower is trimmed (don't throw away the trimmings, I'll show you another use for them in different post). It's then dusted with pearl mica powder on the top and coloured with a peel off marker underneath. The glue sets opaque, just as it is in stick form, but it will allow colour to show through.

     The stamped image has been embossed in gold on white card. Each large bubble has been covered with a flower, all the other bubbles have been filled in with the same marker pen and then covered with either transfer foil, coloured peel offs, glitter or micro beads
     The centre of each flower has a tiny gold holographic peel off stuck on, they stick very well despite the mica underneath.
     The image panel is mounted on a layer of pink mirri card before going on to a white card blank. The greeting is from a set of die cut sentiments from Craftwork Cards mounted on small foam pads.
     Not all Christmas stamps are adaptable but I'm sure this one will have some more uses before December 2016.

Materials list - available from your  local craft shop

Woodware Craft Collection - Stamp - JGS355 Bubble Bloom Festive Tree

                                          Versamark

                                          Stampendous Embossing Powder - Detail Gold

                                          98091H  Holographic Dots Silver/Gold

                                          Permipen Peel Off Markers

                                          Craftwork Cards Messages

                                          702108 Medium Flowers Silicone Mould

                                         

Stix2 Anything -  Glue Dots - 3mm / 6mm

                         Glitter / Micro Beads

                         Transfer Foil

                          Hot Glue Gun / Glue Sticks

                         

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Crafting Your Passion - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes   (Top 3)

Tuesday Throwdown - Add Dimension

Sweet Stampin' - Flowers

Male Room Music

      We begin the New Year with an Anything Masculine Goes challenge at The Male Room. With several birthday cards needed soon this was an ideal chance to play with some new stash.

     Starting with a piece of watercolour card I stamped and clear embossed some bubble type images, then stamped and embossed in black the guitar player from Visible Image.
     Not having done much with Brusho's yet this was a chance to play. The image on this card is not the first one that I made but it is the better one of three, I think the first was a little heavy on water and colour as it came out dark and buckled.
     For this one I sprinkled the powders on to dry card, dry on the top but a little spritz underneath to stop it curling up later. Once I had dropped colour powder where I wanted it I spritzed with a water containing a small amount of pearl mica powder. The paint activated and spread, this time I tried the 'less is more' approach so my pools didn't all run into each other.
     Once dry I carefully cleaned off the white bubbles with a cotton bud to remove the colour, I had to be careful not to touch the painted area with a damp bud and drag colour back on. I think I shall have to spend some more time playing around with these powders, I've seen some great artwork done with them.
     The image panel is trimmed and mounted on black card before being mounted on a white card blank stamped with music using a grey ink. The black bubbles are die cut from gloss card so they match the guitarist. There is no greeting as yet, this will be added when I know who it's going to.
     Please come and join us at The Male Room, we have lots of varied inspiration to help you get back into the craft zone.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Cardz 4 Guyz - Anything But Square    (top 3)
Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Happy New Year from the House Of Cards

     Welcome to the first challenge of the year at House Of Cards. We also welcome some new DT members so please make sure you have a look at all the inspiration on the challenge blog.
     We start our year off with an embossing  and/or colour challenge, the style and sentiment is up to you, I thought it a good time to make some thank you cards.
     I embossed a card blank with a snowfall folder first, to get my dots. Then I put the second folder, which has a sunray type effect, half way up the card blank front so that it only embossed the bottom.
     To cover the cross over I have cut a shaped band out with a Sizzix die and coloured it with Distress Ink, then cut a smaller single shape and coloured that too to go in the centre. Both the band and the shape are mounted on foam pads to lift them above the embossing.
     To finish off I have added a small peel off greeting that was silver but has been coloured brown to fit in with the colour chart. I have a box full of peel offs from years past and have decided to use them up, with the help of alcohol markers I can change the colour of the silver ones to suit my project so it shouldn't take long to work my way through the stash!
     It's a simple card but when you need to make several of them it helps, just vary the colours and the job is done.
     Please come over and join in the fun at House Of Cards, you have a whole month to create and link up your project.

Embossing and/or colours