Pretty In Pink

     This card has been made for a special young lady on her special day. The items used are from Creative Expressions.

     Fold two sheets of the 8x8 inserts collection as shown in the photo. This is an idea I first saw several years ago, it's based on an origami fold you can watch here on You-tube.

     I used a piece of white card to make the hinge but I coloured the area that would be seen with an alcohol marker. I stuck some pink ribbon into the gap on the sides before sticking the sides down so the card can be tied shut for presentation.

     Inside the card I have used white card coloured pink again to create the base for the die cut squares, both white squares are mounted on gold paper.
     The greeting square has been stamped and embossed with Bright Gold then coloured with Distress Ink Spun Sugar. There will be a photograph on the right hand panel before I give it to Em.

     The white panel that is on the insert paper is ideal for the decorative panel, using the small stamps in the Butterfly Montage Collection I stamped in Distress Inks Spun Sugar, Seedless Preserve and Brilliance Gold to create foliage that would poke out behind the die cut panel.
     The flowers and butterflies are stamped and embossed in clear, then fussy cut and glued on to the card, the flowers have a tiny gem in the middle to add sparkle.
     21 is die cut from the same gold paper used to back all of the square panels. This front panel has also been coloured with Spun Sugar then mounted on foam pads above the foliage.

Materials used
Phil Martin Graceful Butterflies & Dragonflies 8x8 Insert Collection pad
PM stamps - Butterfly Montage Collection
John Lockwood stamp set - Flower Hearts Elements (greeting)
CE Embossing Powder - Clear / Bright Gold
Distress Ink - Spun Sugar / Seedless Preserve
Sue Wilson Die -  Madison Square

Pink Pocket Card

     This card was made using a selection of products from Creative Expressions Phil Martin range.

      It all started with a sheet of paper from the 8x8 pad Graceful Butterflies, this is a good quality firm double sided paper.
     Fold the paper in half with the pattern on the outside, open and fold in half the other way to get quarters. Cut from the outside to the middle on ONE side as shown, fold the bottom right corner in and the top right corner out as shown, they are not the same so do check before you fold.

      Fold the bottom corner in and fix down, fold the lower half of the square up to meet the top half (the pattern will show now). Turn it over and fix the small corner flap down.
      Now fold the card in half along the crease line. The patterned square will form the backing to your pockets, this will need to be fixed along the bottom edge, the left hand edge of the front patterned triangle will also need to be fixed to the plain layer to form the other pocket.  This should leave you with a double pocket on the front and a single layer flap for the back of your card.
     I would suggest trying this out on a piece of scrap paper first so you don't waste the good one.

      Now you have the card blank made you can begin to decorate it. I have a small gap open in my front pocket accessed from inside the card, perfect for a secret message tag.
     The greeting, which is from a John Lockwood set, has been added to a small die cut from the Madison Square set edged with Distress Ink Spun Sugar.
     Decoration on the outside started with stamping one of Phil martin's Sentiment Borders across the flap that is plain pink using Distress Ink Seedless Preserve. On the top right corner there is a small flower made using Graceful Pink Sparkle Texture Paste through a Doodle Daisy mask.

     The flowers are made using Sue Wilson die Classic Foldover Flowers and strips cut from another sheet of the paper pad. The greenery is die cut with a Couture Creations die and some of the green paper in the same pad.
     The butterflies are stamped with Phil Martin's Butterfly Montage set and Seedless Preserve, then clear embossed and fussy cut.
     The tags are die cut from the paper pad, the edges coloured with Distress inks and flowers made using the paste and stencils again. The greeting is stamped and embossed in Bright Gold.
     Once the tags are dry you can tuck them into the pockets, these are ideal for writing little messages on and could be used as bookmarks later on.

Materials used
Phil Martin Graceful Butterflies & Dragonflies 8x8 pad
PM stamps - Decadent Damask Every day Sentiments
                      DD Sentiment Borders
                      Butterfly Montage Collection
John Lockwood stamp set - Flower Hearts Elements
That Special Touch Mask - Doodle Daisies
CE PM Sparkle Texture Paste - Graceful Pink / Decadent Wine
CE Embossing Powder - Clear / Bright Gold
Distress Ink - Spun Sugar / Seedless Preserve
Sue Wilson Die - Classic Foldover Flowers / Madison Square
Couture Creations Die - Classic Vine

Another Star Rises

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is another star made with John Lockwood's paper collection.

     This is made using two sheets of paper. Each pad has 48 double sided sheets, 12 designs in two colour ways with two sheets of each.
     I chose to use one of the lined patterns which made it very easy to cut out ready for glueing. In my haste to make my star I forgot to take lots of pictures so you can find out how to make this Finnish star here.
     It uses six strips per side and you make two sides which weave together for glueing. This is something that would be good to make with children as it's very easy to cut out, easy to assemble and looks amazing.
     I have used two panels from another page in the paper collection mounted on gold mirri card and stuck on to the middle of the star. There is a thin gold thread at the top of one point so it can be hung up.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood Paper Collection - 12 Days Of Christmas
CE Cosmic Shimmer Dries clear PVA Glue

Stars and Flakes

     My project for Creative Expressions this week is a simple star card, it's made using papers from the John Lockwood 12 Days Of Christmas paper collection.

      These papers are 8x8, 170gsm and double sided, it's great to get a double sided paper that's not too thick to fold neatly.
     I have cut an equilateral triangle from one sheet of paper, each side is 8 inches long.
     The triangle is marked on each side at 2 5/8, 4 and 5 3/8 inches, then scored between these marks to form the fold lines. The fold nearest the point will need to be a 'mountain' fold and the fold nearer the centre will need to be a 'valley' fold.
 

      I have added a hanging thread to the top of the inner triangle before beginning to decorate the star, it can now be fixed and hidden by the inner panel.
     I have used a small snowflake stamp and Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold embossing powder to add a little sparkle to my star.
     There is an inner white card panel that has been stamped and embossed with a greeting, this is stuck over the thread and gives somewhere to write a message.

      The star folds up to hide your message and will hang quite happily on the tree. To secure the folds you need to overlap the corners tucking one end in and one end out.
     These would be great hung all over your tree with little messages inside, they can be made smaller, just make sure you keep the sides an equal length. Using the basic shape your decoration could be simple, like this one, or much more elaborate covering each section with coloured layers and images.
     There are so many things you can make with this paper stack and with 48 sheets in the collection you can co-ordinate your decorations, cards and gifts.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood Paper Collection - 12 Days Of Christmas
CE Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Bright Gold

Dec The Hedge With MDF

     Christmas has arrived at Creative Expressions this month and I got a Christmas Mega Grab Bag of MDF shapes to play with.

     I drilled a small hole in the top of each shape before beginning decoration, I use a small hand drill for this type of job.
     I started with the angel, her wings are covered with CS flake and glitter glue then with CS gold flakes from the Inca Gold pack. Her body was painted white and then rubbed over with Pearl Moon gilding wax.
     While I still had the glue out I covered the dove and used silver gilding flakes .

     The flower is also made with the flake glue and green glitter on the large one, with red glitter on the small one, then stuck together.
     The snowman was glued and covered with white flock, with the exception of his hat, that has been coloured with an alcohol marker, as are his eyes, nose and mouth.
     The tree has been coloured with CS gilding wax in Decadent Bamboo, it is green but the shine has a gold luster to it. The little decorations are CS Glitter glue Red Apple Twinkles.
     The ginger bread man only has his features coloured using a white gel pen.    
There is a small length of gold or silver thread on each shape so they can be hung on a tree. My Christmas Tree is in the loft so I used my hedge to take these photos, it looked rather nice so I may just have to decorate it again in December!
      There are approximately three of each shape in the bag so you could decorate a reasonable sized tree with these, I haven't used the holly, sleigh and candy cane either. If you drill the holes for them the children would love using these little shapes, it would keep them busy for hours!

Materials used 
CE Christmas Mega Grab Bag MDF Shapes
CE Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue
CE CS Gilding Flakes - Inca Gold
CE CS Gilding Wax - Decadent Bamboo / Pearl Moon
CE CS Cosmic Twinkles - Red Apple

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

Sparkles Christmas - NO Designer Papers

Anything But A Card - Celebration (Christmas)

More Happy Thoughts

     I like this sentiment so much I had to use it again, but this time with the rest of the stamps from the Daffodil Elements set by John Lockwood with Creative Expressions.

     The image panel has been stamped on white card and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Detail Black, then coloured in with alcohol markers. In the set there are some separate flowers that can be stamped and cut out to build up dimesion on your picture, I chose to use three flower heads and mounted them on foam pads.
     The DL card had a rather large space at each end of the image panel so I used another of John's stamps sets to stamp and emboss in CS Bright Gold some butterflies.
 

      I stamped on spare card the same butterflies, then coloured with CS Drawing inks. I coloured the butterfly on the card as well as the spare one so when the wings are up it still looks nice. The back of the butterflies wings are coloured the same pale blue as the sky.
     The image panel is stuck down before adding the top wings of the butterfly.
     There are several sentiments with this set so it's quite versatile which is what we all want from any craft item, John's stamp sets offer a range of uses making them value for money.



Materials used
CE John Lockwood stamps - Daffodil Elements / Butterfly Dreams
CE Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks
CE Embossing Powder - Detail Black / Bright Gold
Perfect Medium Ink Pad

Sending Happy Thoughts.....

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is 'Sending Happy Thoughts...' your way. I have used a striplet stamp by John Lockwood called Daffodil Burst.

      The image is stamped and embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold on Foundations Cream card. I have used Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks to colour the flowers. Drawing inks are Mica watercolours in liquid form, in a handy little bottle with a tiny brush (just like an eyeliner), they are the same gorgeous watercolour that is available in a paint pallet.
     I painted each flower separately with white then immediately with yellow so that I could blend the inks slightly. The stamens are painted with Marigold to add a small splash of bold colour.
     I chose to paint the flowers more like Narcissus as I have used a bright yellow card blank, well if you're sending happy thoughts it has to be a happy colour too.
     The image panel is mounted on a thin layer of burnt orange, then a larger layer of green , both coloured with alcohol markers, before going on to a thin layer of cream. I know it's lots of layers but it still comes up quite thin so postage should be standard.
     The sentiment comes from another of John's stamp sets called Daffodil Elements, it is stamped and embossed in CS Bright Gold again.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood stamps - Daffodil Burst Striplet / Daffodil Elements
CE Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks - Pearl Shine / Sunrise Yellow / Marigold Burst
CE Embossing Powder - Bright Gold
Perfect Medium Ink Pad

Anniversary Hearts

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is again using John Lockwood's stamp set Flower Hearts Elements, but this time the roses. It was my friends wedding anniversary last week so it's safe to show this now.

     I began with a white card panel the same size as a small DL card. I stamped a small empty heart in the middle on the right hand side, then I masked it off and stamped over it with a rose heart.
     Then I stamped two more rose hearts at the top and the bottom, with two empty hearts between them. All the hearts are in line because I followed a faint pencil drawn line which I later used as a guide for cutting.

     I cut away the card to the right of the hearts and backed it with some gold paper. I cut a Spellbinder border from the same gold paper to run up the left of the card.
     The hearts are coloured red with a Graph It alcohol marker leaving the empty hearts clear for words.
     The sentiment comes with the stamp set, it's embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold. The names are added using an alphabet peel off sheet.
     This whole panel is then mounted on a small DL card blank. Doing it this way means my alcohol marker doesn't show inside the card to spoil it.


Materials used 
CE John Lockwood Stamps - Flower Hearts Elements
CE Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Bright Gold

Blooming Hearts

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is made using John Lockwood stamp set Flower Hearts Elements, along with some other CE goodies.

      I stamped nine hearts and embossed them using Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold. To colour them I used Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks, these are a liquid version of the watercolour paints. These paints come in small bottles with a brush very much like an eyeliner. The embossing repels the ink making it easy to achieve a great effect.
     Once all nine hearts were coloured I cut them out by hand and folded them along the centre line of one side. Glue the flat side over the folded side making sure to line them up carefully.

     As you work around the flower gluing all the hearts together they lift slightly giving the flower a little dimension.
    I used an alcohol marker to colour the white edges of the hearts to make them blend in. The centre is one of the new Dazzlers from the Gold set. There are three Dazzlers of Four different shades per pack.
     I chose to mount the flower on white card die cut with Sue Wilson's Madison Square die set. I used the two largest dies and kept them together over a green paper. The card blank was white before I covered it with gold paper.
     The finishing touch was to add some tiny gems to the white card, this could just as easily have been done using Cosmic Shimmer PVA Coloured glue, maybe next time. I haven't added a greeting to this card as I don't know what it will be used for yet but there are greetings with the stamp set.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood stamp set - Flower Hearts Elements
CE Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Bright Gold
CE Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks
CE Cosmic Shimmer PVA - Dries Clear
CE Dazzlers - Circles - Gold Collection
CE Sue Wilson Die Set - New York Collection - Madison Square

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

Come and Get It - Anything Goes with Flowers

Allsorts - How Does Your Garden Grow
Sister Act - Anything Goes (cards)

Cherry Blossom Birthday

     A new project for Creative Expressions this morning using a John Lockwood Striplet stamp, Cherry Blossom. I love oriental designs so this stamp will be used a lot!
     It's a very basic card, nice and easy to make and no additional postal costs either.

    The design is stamped on to smooth white card using Perfect Medium, it's them embossed with CE Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold.
     I have used Graph It alcohol markers (9201, 5110) to colour the flowers and the open area in the middle. I stamped some extra flowers and cut them out so I could add dimension to the card. Each little extra flower has a tiny gem in the middle.
     The design panel has been cut out and mounted flat onto a plain white DL card blank, I wanted to keep the whole card very simple.
     The greeting is die cut in gold mirri card and glued on flat to the design, the only raised work are the flowers so this scan be sent in the post without too much trouble.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood Striplet Stamp - Cherry Blossom
CE Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Bright Gold

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

Creative Corner - Happy Birthday

Colouring Crazy - Pink and Pretty

Sister Act - Anything Goes

Topography Tag

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions uses one of their MDF tags. I decided to make something for my son to give to his Dad.

     I have an old OS map of our area, not wishing to destroy the original I took a copy of the area I wanted and stuck that onto the tag with a good PVA type glue.
     I used my trusty wallpaper roller to smooth out any bumps and put it aside to dry.  Once dry I distressed the tag with Distress Ink Old Paper, it is patchy on purpose along with a stain just in front of the car.
     The decorations are all oddments collected at boot sales and from charity shops. Scrabble is not much use when half the letters are missing, so the other half can be used for embellishments. The blue metal circle is a watch collar and the ball chain is from an old keyring.

     The car is from an odd cuff link and the spanner is from a board game. All these bits are stuck on with Glossy Accents, it's a great strong, clear glue.
     The finished tag was well received, it will hang in the workshop along with some other little treasures.



Materials used
CE MDF tag
Distress Ink Old Paper
Glossy Accents
Lots of bits and bobs

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

Anything But Cute - Make It Masculine

Crafts 4 Eternity - Dads

4 Crafty Chicks - Father's Day

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes Altered Art

Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-invent - Anything Goes Altered Art

Vintage Heart

   Creative Expressions have some great MDF shapes, this week I've used the heart for my project, it measures about 7.5 inches tall x 4 inches wide and comes with a hole drilled through for hanging.

     I gave the heart a coat of white gesso all over, the chalk paints have a fantastic coverage but it doesn't hurt to make sure the surface is primed.
     The first coat of chalk paint is Mulled Wine, this is on the front only as this is the surface to be crackled, the dark colour will show through the cracks of the paler layer. The back will be lighter so I can add a message to it.  One coat was all it needed for a decent coverage..

     Once the Mulled Wine was dry I painted a coat of Crackle Glaze over it. The glaze has to be painted in one direction only to help the crackles form when drying. I chose to paint this across the heart.
     For the top coat I have used Shy Violet chalk paint, this was painted over the crackle in the opposite direction (up and down) once the crackle was dry.
     It starts to work almost immediately, this may have been due to a warm room. It is important not to overwork the paint or the crackle glaze will mix in and there will be no crackles when dry.

     The back of the heart is also painted with Shy Violet but has no crackle. Using flake and glitter glue I have covered the edge with gilding flakes, Persian Dawn. While I had the glue and flake to hand I also covered a small piece of greyboard with flakes, I did intend to die cut the name from this card but the colour was too light so I used some Foundations Amethyst card instead.
     Each letter was die cut and stuck on with Cosmic Shimmer glue, then outlined with a gold sparkle gel pen. I used pink ribbon fastened to a button to make the hanger, then covered the button with three small paper flowers. The butterfly came off a necklace from a discount shop, he is metal with an extra set of wings that stand up.

Materials used
CE MDF Heart Shape
CE Gesso - White
CE Chalk Paint - Mulled Wine / Shy Violet
CE Crackle Glaze
CE Gilding Flake - Persian Dawn
CE Flake and Glitter Glue

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

Eclectic Ellapu - Pink Team = Anything Goes

Anything But A Card - Out and About

Not Just Cards - Anything Goes

Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

You've Been Framed

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions uses one of their MDF frames, I love the colour of these frames so this one has not been painted, just decorated a little.

     There are two frames in the pack, one is 6x4 and the other is 5x3. They have a back, a frame and a stand, it then up to you how you use them.
     I have used the smaller 5x3 frame for this project, which leaves me the larger for another day.

     I have used CE Flake and Glitter Glue on a Tim Holtz stamp of flourishes, adding the pattern to all four edges.
     Persian Dawn Gilding Flakes are a gorgeous mix of gold. copper and silver, they go very nicely with the brown MDF.
     After the gilding was finished it was safe to add an acetate sheet to the back of the frame using ultra tacky double sided tape.

     The acetate will protect my photo when the frame is finished. To make a small gap just wide enough to hold the photo I have added double sided foam tape to the back of the frame, on top of the acetate. The foam is only on three sides and flush with the outside edge of the frame.

     The foam tape is white so it does show even though it's tucked in between two brown layers, so it needs to be coloured. A dark brown alcohol marker was just the thing needed to 'hide' the foam, once coloured it just looks like another layer of MDF.
     Add the little stand to the back and there it is, I didn't glue the stand in place so that if I wish to change from landscape to portrait I can move the stand too, it's quite a tight fit and doesn't drop out.

     The gap is 2mm, the width of the foam tape, which is just enough to slide a photo into.


Materials used
CE Rectangle MDF Frames - 6x4 / 5x3 twin pack
CE Flake and Glitter Glue
CE Gilding Flakes - Persian Dawn
Ultra Tacky Double Sided Tape
Thick acetate
Foam Tape
Dark Brown Alcohol Marker