Curious March Hare

     Some of you may know my thoughts on rabbits, so it's a good thing this one is a hare! These stamps are gorgeous and being silhouette they are perfect when you've made a special background.

     Another background made with the amazing splodge and Distress Oxides, Picked Raspberry, Shaded Lilac and Broken China on white card.
     I stamped the hare, tree branch and fairy in Versafine black and set it aside for a few days while I had a think about mat layer colours.
     I die cut the image with my largest square die and then used a punch to take off the corners, I was going to cut this one out as a circle but I hadn't used a large enough piece of card.
     A little Broken China around the edge knocked back the white a little before going on a black mat layer. At this point I decided it was a bit too open in the bottom left corner and as I didn't want to add a greeting I went for some flowers instead.

     I found the perfect card to mat the next layer but as I only have a couple of sheets I though it would be good to cut out the centre and keep it for another project, once layered up you can't tell it's missing!
    To stay with the colour theme I die cut some tiny flowers in lilac card, shaped them and added them to the tree branch, with a tiny purple gem in each flower my card was complete.
     This one will sit in my card box until required, only then will a greeting be added inside.

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

Cardz 4 Galz - March Hares     (Spotlight winner)

Die Cuttin' Divas - Cherry Blossom or Pink

Addicted To Stamps - Spring

Golden Camellias

     A foray into die cuts this time, using dies by John Lockwood. My craft mojo had gone missing but thanks to a good friend and her new dies I found where it was hiding. This card is for my Mother-In-Law's birthday so it's in her favourite colour pallet.

 

     I cut the Oakham die in white and the Camellia flowers too, then cut the leaves  and flower centres in black. I brought them all home and set about assembling the card.
     I was going to mount the lattice on black but it all looked a bit too dark, so I changed it for gold mirri to give it a lift. I had to paint the thin frame with black paint as it was cut out in white, thank fully I had used a strong card so it took the paint well, without buckling.
   

   

     The flower petals looked a little flat just white, so I painted the edges of them gold, the paint gives a slightly distressed look but I prefer this to a pristine straight line. The tiny star centres are painted with the same gold before working the petals and assembling the flowers.
     A small gold half pearl added to the centre really finished them off. I made three flowers but decided only two would go on the card, less is more as they say.

     Sticking the lattice to the mirri was a challenge but my Stix2 PVA glue did the job with very little fuss.
     It was time to mount the panel on the card, as this would be more difficult once the flowers were added. A black mat on a white card set the whole thing off perfectly.
     I cut the greeting in black but it looked a bit lost, then I remembered a conversation we had Thursday night about shadowing greetings, so I cut a white one and stuck them together shadow style. Mounted on foam pads in the middle of the card it made quite a nice card just like that, but the flowers were a must for this card.

     A medium sized gold half pearl in each hole around the centre panel added a little bling and matched the pearls in the flowers.

     All that was left was to add the leaves and then the flowers, I lay these on several times in different positions until I liked the look, then I glued them on with my trusty PVA.

     Once all the glue was dry I tweaked the petals a little so they sat neatly, checked for any stray marks or bits of card and made sure it was clean and tidy. This will be hand delivered so it won't get squashed in the post.

     I think it's high time I got back into making die cut flowers, it's so calming just colouring and shaping, then building all those beautiful blooms.

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

As You Like It - Dies or Stencils (love them both but building flowers is fab!)
Craft Rocket - Flowers
Dragonfly Dreams - For A Special Female
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Southern Girls - Flora and/or Fauna

Christmas Shanty

     Is it really a month since the last card post for Christmas At Sweet Stampin'? Where is the time going?

     This one is another Lavinia Stamps image called Shanty. It has been stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa on Kraft card, black was too harsh on Kraft.
     The snow is texture paste dabbed on and a little iridescent glitter added before it dried, sadly that doesn't show up n the picture. The tiny snowflakes and small drifted snow areas are drawn on with a white gel pen.
     Lamps and windows should have a glow about them so they are coloured with a yellow alcohol pen.
    Keeping it fairy simple it was layered with a white mat, then straight on to a Kraft card blank. The greeting is stamped and embossed in white to keep to the colour pallet.
     There is a lot of inspiration from the DT over on the blog to get you in the Christmas spirit so please pop over and take a look, it's never too early to make your cards.

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

Sparkles - Vintage  (hope this qualifies)

The 12 Months Of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional brads/buttons/bows

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Father Christmas

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Coffee and Cork

     A Mothers Day gift made with Stix2 Cork Sheet and an empty coffee tin.

     I measured the cork sheet against the tin to get the right height, then cut it making sure to cut a little extra in the length to go around the tin.
     Using the ultra (red) sticky tape I put a line of it from top to bottom and all the way around the top and bottom. I only removed the protective film from the top to bottom line, carefully lining up the cork half way across it so it would stick the beginning and the end.
     Once happy with the vertical placement I began to wrap the cork carefully around the tin removing a little of the tape cover at a time. Once back at the beginning I stuck the end onto the remaining half of the vertical tape. There was a little overlap that I trimmed off by running my finger nail down the cork to break the fibres.
     Using Gingham card I cut one large Sizzix flower and a couple of leaves, a cork daisy type flower and a plain card small flower, with a plain green leaf. Assembling the flower was easy using Stix2 PVA to fix it all together, this could be done with hot glue if any of the surfaces are being troublesome. All that remained was to stick the flower to the tin and add a small silver pearl to the flower centre.
 
     With the exception of the tin and the die all products are available from Stix2 Anything, either direct or at your local craft shop.

Materials List
 S57421 Cork Sheet  (New product)
 A4250LEMON - Gingham Card
 A4250GREEN - Gingham Card
 Tinted Card - Holly Green & Intense Yellow
 S57262 3D PVA Glue
S57091 Ultra Clear Tape 12mm

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

Get Creative - Anything Goes/optional Not A Card

Make My Monday - Anything New

Crazy 4 Challenges - Include A Flower 

Splat Cat

     I know, another splat card, I can't promise not to post more but I will try and show some other work too....honest. This one is for a friends special birthday, let's just say it's a bit of a Saga and today's the day, it was delivered last night so it's alright to post now.

     Using my stamp platform and my splat stamp I inked up with Distress Oxides, spritzed with water containing pearl mica powder and stamped.
     A lot of my friends are cat lovers, as am I, so it just had to be one of Lavinia's silhouette cats. As he seems to be looking up, a tree branch with a tiny fairy squatting on it completed the picture.
     A little colour added to the edge after rounding the corners knocked back the white and a black mat layer makes the silhouettes stand out.
     A gorgeous lilac Stardust card layer was added before going on to a white card blank to finish off. There is no greeting on the outside as I felt the image was enough on it's own, there is a short message inside but that's staying a secret.
 

   


 Another of our group has made the cake so I have made a small needle felted cat to go on top. By the time this is published the cake will be gone, but hopefully the cat will have survived. This little fellow is my third felting project so he's quite basic, if I progress with felting I hope to make another cat or two.
   

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

Show Us Your Pussycats - Anything Goes/St.Catricks Day

   Little Red Wagon - Animals

Dream Valley - 4 Legged Friends

Pin Painted Pebbles

     This months project for Altered Eclectics is a simple painted pebble. Have you ever tried to find a perfectly round, flat pebble before?  Easy?  Oh no it's not. You'd think on a beach piled high with thousands of pebbles you could find just one.  It's at that point you realise just how amazing nature really is, it's not just a pile of stones, they are all unique.

     So I settled on a couple of pebbles that are almost round and almost flat. As they are both quite small I had to find a way of adding paint that was also small. A pin head is ideal but difficult to hold, out came the jar of corks. If you keep something long enough it will come in handy!
     I tried to make pretty patterns on my stone but as you can see I need much more practice, it's not a easy as you think. The paint is Pebeo pearl in various colours, I have to say I prefer the pale pattern on the small stone, the dark colours are really dark.
    We all see amazing things made by others and think 'that's nice, I can do that', well yes you can but when you try it you appreciate just how much time and effort, as well as practice, they must have put into it. Maybe with my eyesight I should go for a bigger pebble!
     The larger one is now sitting in a flower pot with other unpainted pebbles surrounding a patio rose, the small one is on the bathroom windowsill.
     Whatever your project, as long as it's not a card or an ATC, you can come over and share it with us at Altered Eclectics, we would love to see you creations.