Followers

Sunday 14 June 2015

yesterday did someone steal the cranes?



I have an Asian inspired CAS card to share today I made for a friend’s birthday.


I’ve been meaning to try this perfect pearls embossing technique ever since I found the tutorial by Bex on the Flying Unicorn Forum.  I decided to use it on a chippie rather than a die cut mostly because I have loads of chippies and really need to start using my stash (basically because I have no room to buy any more!). 

To make up my card I’ve followed the current sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch.  As my card is a CAS one I am entering it in the current challenge at Crafty Catz.  As I have flowers and a bird I’m also linking it up at Brown Sugar where their theme is in the garden (although I admit we get the occasional egret but no cranes in our garden).

Ingredients:
Chalks & Powders etc
Ranger Melt Art Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel ~ Black
Perfect Pearl ~ Blue Patina, Forever Violet & Green Patina
Embellishments
Dusty Attic Chipboard ~ Crane #2
Inks & Paints etc
Inkssentials Emboss It ~ Clear
Tim Holtz Distress Ink ~ Aged Mahogany
Tim Holtz Distress Paint ~ Black Soot
Tsukineko Encore! ~ Gold
Papers
Embossed Paper from stash (maybe Christina Re)
Stamps
Challenges

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday 13 June 2015

If I had it to do all over again, I'd still hit that shot



Today I’m sharing my first ever Tim Holtz 12 Tags tag, based on the June 2015 tag.


When I saw Tim’s June tag it made me think of golf, think it was the plaid and colours, I don’t know.  At any rate, I thought it would make a great tag for a friend who loves to play golf, not to mention a great excuse to buy some more Tim Holtz goodies to play with.

Not only was this my first TH Tag but it’s the first time I’ve used the techniques to make the background.  Guess it shows with the smudgy lines for my plaid and how dark my background is compared to Tim’s original.  I had a lot of fun making it though and I think it turned out OK.

I basically copied Tim’s design and techniques until it came to the die cut.  I tried to find some golf related ones but they were teeny tiny so I improvised.  My golf ball is cut from Tim’s Mini Pocket Watch; I just cut off the winder.  It’s hard to see in the photo but I used Bazzill Dotted Swiss to give that authentic dimpled appearance.  I made my golf club from Grungeboard; the handle has UTEE into which I pressed some silver using a pin for a bit of a cross-hatched texture like you get on the grip of some golf clubs.  I had a lot of blank space so I printed a golf score card on some Kraft cardstock to place behind the golf club and ball.

I didn’t have the stamps Tim used so I printed my sentiment, one appropriate for a gift card, in Travelling Typewriter font.  I had the Typed Tokens already and chose the ‘hello’ as my friend has a habit of saying that a few times when he wants something.

Over at Mod Squad the current theme is a tag so I am linking my tag over there.  And while golf is not my favourite sport it definitely is for the recipient of this tag so I am also entering it at Ruby’s Rainbow.

Ingredients:
Chalks & Powders etc
Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel ~ Black
Dies, SVGs & Templates etc
Sizzix Alterations Movers & Shapers Die ~ Mini Pocket Watch
Embellishments
Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Loop Pins, Tiny Attacher Staple & Typed Tokens
Inks & Paints etc
Inkssentials Enamel Accents ~ Black
Tim Holtz Distress Ink ~ Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles & Walnut Stain
Vintage Patina ~ Nouveau Silver
Papers
Bazzill Dotted Swiss Cardstock ~ Salt
Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Grungeboard Basics Plain
Ribbons & Trims etc
Tim Holtz Idea-ology ~ Linen Ribbon & Textured Surfaces Burlap
Challenges


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday 7 June 2015

Well that's how many it takes: will you marry me?



When does a card cease to be a card and become a gift?  Maybe when it is an exploding hexagon card with a cake topper inside like the one I have to share today featuring the gorgeous Forever Yours from Tiddly Inks on the lid.


This card gift is going to a colleague who got engaged, I’d like to say recently but it’s taken me a while to get my butt into gear and this card made.  I was inspired by this lovely Christmas exploding hexagon card made by my crafty friend Jenny Dix.  Go check out her fab card and while you’re there take a look around her blog, she does amazing work and has lots of great tuts, including for this hexagon box.

The top follows the current sketch over at Die Sketchtanten.  I just flipped it and changed the shape to a hexagon and swapped the small circle embellies for flowers.  I added in the couple’s initials on the top around the edge with some more flowers.  There are die cuts, more flowers and embossed stamping around the sides to complete the outside.


Guess I’d best show the exploding part of this card, the top layer features three more beautiful images from Tiddly Inks, Forever, Love You Mostest and You and Me.


The centrepiece is actually a cake topper I found when I went Googling for a figurine to go inside, it’s from Willow Tree and called Around You and I was lucky enough to find one in Australia from Lil’ Treasures.  It was just perfect to complete my card.

They’re playing bingo at Aud Sentiments, always fun to play along to help with building up the decoration on a card.  I’ve picked up their embossing with the various stamps throughout the card, I have numerous die cuts and my 3D item could be both the card itself and the centre piece.  I also have flowers and both digi and rubber stamps so that’s another set of bingo and if diagonals are allowed I’ve got a third with the use of my markers on the images.  Got the required sentiment covered too, have them in my stamping, on the outside of the box using foil and also on the underneath layers with the beautiful poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

For my top layer I’ve followed the current sketch at Noor! & Zo.  I reshaped the sketch, which was in my favoured 6x6 format, to fit the size of the rectangle my panels are.  I swapped out the banner elements for some stick pins I wrapped in memory thread and nestled in flower bits.


I've taken a close up of one of the image panels so you can see the sketch elements better and, well, to see the simply gorgeous image from Tiddly Inks I used.

The current theme at Scrapping4Fun is either weddings or engagements, this card is, as I said, for an engagement gift so I’ve got the theme covered so am linking it up there.  There’s a similar theme at Fun with Shapes and More, I haven’t got the wedding part covered but definitely have hearts and love on this card so I am also entering their challenge.

Its always anything goes at the I Am Roses challenge blog so long as you have a minimum of two flowers from their store.  I have lots and lots of their flowers and four different kinds so I am entering my card in their current challenge.

Now I was never going to be able to take a good photo of each layer once assembled so I took one of each as I finished them, both top and bottom.  Yes, being the pedantic crafter I am, I’ve made sure even the underside of each of the two inner layers was decorated.  So here’s all the layers, starting from the outside, I just love how it all came together with my recurring themes of hearts, roses, embossed sentiments and lace.








Ingredients:
Copics
Skin E000, E00, E11, E21 (E02 cheeks)
Hair T5, T7, T9, 100, Y21, Y23, Y26, Y28
Outfits N5, N7, N9, V09, V17, V20, V22, V25, W3, W5, W7, W9
Chalks & Powders etc
Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel ~ Clear
Dies, SVGs & Templates etc
Die-Versions Whispers ~ Trellis
Spellbinders Shapeabilities ~ Ironworks Accents
Embellishments
Close to My Heart ~ Bitty Pearls
Making Memories Rub-ons Alphabet ~ Heidi White
Inks & Paints etc
Tim Holtz Distress Ink ~ Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender & Tea Dye
Papers
Ribbons & Trims etc
Stamps
Challenges
Aud Sentiments #133 ~ Bingo (Bottom row: die cut, embossing, 3D item, Middle column: flowers, digi or rubber stamp, embossing, Diagonal: die cut, digi or rubber stamp, markers)




Thanks for stopping by!