J&C Creations challenge

May - All that glitters

This creation was inspired by the new embossing powders from Stampendous, they have a real vintage look to them. To begin with I cut the frame from gold satin mirri card using a die from Heartfelt Creations 'Decorative Window Scene'. I then placed it on top of my background paper and lightly drew around the centre opening so I knew where to cut a hole. I mounted the frame on the backing paper after cutting the opening and used Halo Glitter Mix Gold to fill in the cut outs. The frame is mounted on foam pads to raise it away from the photograph a little.
The small flowers are embossed with Aged Rose and Aged Aqua powders giving them a beautiful aged speckled look. The large flower is covered with Earth Elements 'Bed of Roses' which smells heavenly, a rose scented card with added bling, perfect. I stuck some little gems in the flower centres and added a few sprigs of die cut foliage. The finishing touch is a nice cream and aged gold organza bow.

Products used

Heartfelt Creations die  -  Decorative Window Scene

Stampendous Fran-tage Embossing Enamel  -  Aged Aqua / Aged Rose

Stampendous Fran-tage Earth Elements - Bed of Roses

Halo Glitter Mix  -  Gold

all products listed are available from http://www.jandccreations.co.uk/

Buttons and Bows

Here is this weeks contribution to the 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown challenge.
When I saw 'Buttons and Bows' for this weeks theme I knew it was a good opportunity to use my Tatty Button Tree stamp. The background was inked up with Distress Ink Evergreen Bough from the Winter set. I then stamped with the same ink using the Pine Silhouettes stamp from Penny Black all around the edge. The next layer has been embossed with a That Special Touch mask from Creative Expressions. Using the mask to emboss gives a slightly softer impression than using a folder, the embossed card was then gently inked with Evergreen Bough.
The main image was stamped in Archival Ink Olive and clear embossed. I cut out the picture using a Spellbinder die (Labels 17) then while the die was still in place I inked the edges of the picture to give me a perfectly even little white border.
The buttons have come from various places ranging from craft shops to charity shops. The ribbon has been in my stash for ages but finally found a use today, it has Merry Christmas written on it but unfortunately it doesn't show very well in this photo...sorry. The little bow has also been in the stash box for a while but looked just right with a green button and some Bakers Twine.
It's been a very busy and interesting week for me so far, I will have some crafting news to share with you all very soon.  Happy Crafting!!

Sew Simple Samples

 Here are the samples for this months workshop at Sew Simple in Taverham.  We will be using the Portabello Road stamp sets to create bunting and cards.  Once the Jubilee and the Olympics are over these stamps are still going to be useful. They are great for scrap booking, perfectly themed for all your Jubilee party photos and for the Olympics, if you are lucky enough to get there.
After this summers celebrations are over these stamps will be good for making male themed birthday cards. With a London bus, Big Ben tower, a taxi and a VW camper van it has lots to offer.

The bunting comes ready cut in packs of either all white or a mix of red, white and blue. I have used the stamps in a random collage type effect, embossing the white images on the coloured card to maintain the red, white and blue theme. Stamping red and blue on coloured card proved a little tricky, I had to try several inks to see which gave the best cover, I settled on Memento. The crowns have been embossed in gold on all three colours.
The bunting is great for children to make, my son was my willing assistant in making up these. I have a feeling we'll be 'volunteered' at school to make some more!
It's a short post today, were does all the time go? Lots more things to make and do. Happy Crafting!!

Green and white challenge

 Here is my entry for this weeks 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This weeks challenge is Green and White and I am pleased to say that this idea popped into my head straight away. It did take a little longer to get it down on card though!!
The background is stamped in Brilliance Pearlescent Olive and a lovely stamp that I think was from Fiskars. I have some lovely olive green card which inspired the whole thing when I found it matched the ink pad, what are the chances of that happening ?!
The rosette paper has been stamped the same as the background, then cut using the Sizzix Tim Holtz rosette plate. The edges are touched with a Gold acrylic dabber...I know gold wasn't in the challenge but I'm going to claim artistic license. The centres are coloured with the olive ink with a die cut snowflake topped with a small dab of golden pearl PVA from Cosmic Shimmer.
The rosette baubles are hung from a die cut tree branch from Marianne Designs by thin gold thread.
The white background has been run through an embossing folder

called Snowflakes from Cuttlebug.
The bottom rosette is built up using two papers. Cut the top layer a little shorter than the bottom with a trimmer or a knife before assembly. Glue the ends together on each layer but before you glue the centres lay one colour onto the other and form the rosette as one, this will give you a perfectly edged, single depth rosette.
I'm sorry to have missed several weeks of the challenge but at least I will have some cards ready for Christmas which is a bonus, as they say 'Every little helps'.
I hope to show you some of the samples for next weeks workshop over the weekend. If it keeps raining then I can't do much in the garden so I will just have to craft!!!

Peacock shimmer

 This little heart was made on a die cut shape using UTEE and mica powders to create a faux enamelled effect.  The heart was cut from grey board which is about the thickest card I feel happy cutting. I punched a small hole in the heart before beginning to decorate it.
Dark colours work very well as a base layer for this technique but this time I chose Broken China Distress Ink to go with my peacock theme. After colouring the grey board I built up two layers of clear ultra thick embossing powder. At this point if you are going to stamp into the third layer you will need to ink up your stamp and have it ready and waiting. Then on the third layer I added some mica powders on top. As the clear powder melts the mica will sink in and begin to flow a little giving the most amazing enamelled effect. Before the melted powder cools gently press your pre-inked stamp into the 'enamel' , wait a few seconds and remove it to reveal the impression. This peacock feather stamp is from Creative Expressions 'Art Nouveau Peacock'.

The second card is also from the same stamp set, stamped and embossed in gold. Then coloured in with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks on a background previously sprayed with the new Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Mists. These mists are very subtle so you get all the shimmer with a much less intense colour, perfect for the vintage look.

The stamped image was them cut out with a spellbinder die and edged by leaving the die in place on the cut out and blending Broken China around the edge. This gives you the effect of another layer without building up your card to much, great for trying to save on postage!!

The cut out shape was then matted on a plain layer of card, I couldn't find the right colour to match so I used broken China again to colour the outside edge. Just around the edge because the middle will be covered and there's no point in wasting ink!

There is a thin layer of gold paper around the last layer and then mounted on black to make it really stand out.

I like to use black card a lot with the mica powders as I feel it really makes them shine. They behave differently on coloured card as they are translucent and the base colour will show through affecting the finished piece. If you have some mica powders have a play on various coloured cards and see the different effects you get. To fix the mica powder after dusting an image I use either a fine spray of water (because they have resins in them activated by moisture) or hairspray.

My appologies for not bolgging for a while, it's been a busy few weeks, I'm also getting used to a different blog method which is frustrating when I'd just got the hang of the last one! 

Coming soon.....Jubilee bunting and men's cards at Taverham at the end of the month.

Lucky Sweep

This stamp is from Little Claire, he's from a set of two called Cutie-Patooties. His companion is a little girl in apron and mop cap but I fell in love with this little chap. He reminds me of when my Dad used to sweep chimneys and visit weddings to offer good luck. I chose to colour with Distress Inks as I like to blend as well as stamp and paint with them. The layers are all coloured with the Distress Ink to keep the colours co-ordinated and it means I don't need to buy coloured card for backing.

The shape is a Spellbinder die, there are three layers all mounted with foam pads to give dimension. The folding layer is also cut with this die making sure that the fold is below the cutting line and doesn't get chopped off. Easel cards are something a bit different and when used with shaped cards look that little bit special.

I've used the smallest die in the set to cut a plate for the greeting which also holds the card upright for display when mounted using foam pads. If you want to acheive the white edge on a coloured layer then leave the die in place when inking the card, it will protect the edge and keep it white.

I've put a little 'Best Wishes' peel off on the greeting plate. If you're going to stamp the greeting then I suggest you stamp before cutting out, it's easier to line up the die than to hover over the cut shape and hope it's in the right place.

Now I have my Father's Day card made it's time to get ready for the next demo day in Lowestoft. I'll get some of the samples loaded up on the blog when they're finished. If you're coming to Thetford for the Sincerely Yours show come and say hello, I'll be with Aldridge Crafts.

Distress Ink Techniques at Taverham

Sorry for the blog silence over the last two weeks but some delightful thieves decided to steal several yards of phone cable cutting off at least four villages including mine!
The next workshop at Sew Simple will be Distress Ink Techniques. These inks are so versatile, it is possible to achieve some very good effects quite easily. We will be getting our hands dirty making beautiful backgrounds and stamping some simple but effective images.
The idea of this workshop is to give you the opportunity to play around with these inks. We will build up a small sample book for you to keep as a reference guide.

Note Added:  If you would like this workshop run again then please contact Pam or Emma at Sew Simple in Taverham and place your request.