Carte a Jouer # 1

Just joined a challenge to alter a pack of 52 playing cards organised by Isa. The first card is to be a mixed media card with a flower using a technique with embossing powders and vinyl glue. I used a piece of sheet music as the background with an inked edge. I then spread glue thickly onto it and various colours of embossing powders sprinkled finely and heat embossed until the right texture is achieved. The glue bubbles and moves as you heat it and gives a cratered effect. A flower made with the same music paper, held together with a brad and all embossed with the same technique was applied to the card and a recycled piece of shiny contrasting ribbon used to decorate the top and bottom. Thank you Isa for the challenge. http://carteajouer.blogspot.com there is a French to English translator button at the top of the page

Keepsakes for my Son's Wedding

I am so delighted that my son is to marry a such a wonderful girl. She is perfect for him, brings out all the best in him. They are to get married in Hawaii and I thought I would make them a few keepsakes. First made them some small boxes with Dove chocolates in as favours for the wedding shower. These turned out really pretty. I made them out of pale blue cardstock, the wedding colour, and used my paper scorer to make things easier. That tool is worth every penny for getting things to line up properly. There is a small gusset in the bottom which allows it to stand up on its own. Then I made some ATC sized cards with their names, date of the wedding and a heat embossed Chinese symbol for love on the front and a translation from the Dao De Jing about love on the back (an interest of Amber's).

I put these cards in some vellum envelopes that I had stamped with a hibiscus stamp and heat embossed with clear powder. For the top of each envelope I made a small hibiscus flower out of cardstock decorated with watercolours, contracting inks and stickles.

Finally I have made them a keepsake box for their wedding cards and souveniers. Starting from two pieces of 12" x 12" cardstock I made the box and lid, again using my scorer to make a perfect fit, then decorated it with stencils, decoupage paper, acrylic paints, shells, seaweed, stones, driftwood, starfish and a bleached wood photo frame to await a wedding photograph. My daughter very sadly is unable to come over from the UK to his wedding so I made her one of each of the keepsakes and a small box out of cardstock decorated with tiny shells and starfish to keep them in.