Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

This is the card that I have made for the family who is hosting this years celebration. I used the cardboard from a popcorn box to make the card as I was going to add some heavy elements that come out from the front and I did not want it to bend or fall over. This I covered inside and out with patterned paper. I used my cuttlebug to cut and emboss the leaves and pumpkin from coke tins, and alcohol inks to colour them. I stamped the words on the same paper as the background and embossed with copper powder. This I mounted onto a piece of copper paper that was just a fraction bigger. I assembled the items with hot glue to make sure they stayed put.

So all that is left to say is to everyone in the U.S.A. that visits my blog I wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thank you for dropping by to look.

Wedding Card

This is the card that I made for my brother and his new wife. I used a piece of corrugated cardstock for the base and pulled pieces of the top layer away before covering with gesso. I printed a pretty vintage wedding photo onto cardstock and used my nestability dies to cut and mount it to look like it is in a frame. I made several flowers from contrasting papers and lace with tiny pearls on thread for the centers. I sponged some cut out lace flowers with ink and added pearlised sequins and tiny pearls for decoration. I am very pleased with the vintage look to the card. I hope they like it.

Thank you for checking in on my blog.

ART'n'SOUL Group Swap

I have been absent here for quite some time too. The swap this month is:

1. Make a BOOKMARK with a VINTAGE/SHABBY CHIC theme AND include LACE somewhere on the project

2. You must make a Christmas themed tag to go with your bookmark - so your partners will receive a scrummy Christmas pressie bookmark wrapped with a nice Christmas tag

I made the base of the bookmark with a piece of corrugated cardboard that I tore part of the top layer off and covered with gesso to give it a shabby look. I die cut a piece of printed cardstock with an elegant 1920's lady on it to include the words "Mode and Feminine" to give it the chic element. I used the nestabilities dies so that I could cut a frame for the picture out of contrasting cardstock, I also cut a piece of this for covering the back of the bookmark. The addition of some cut out flowers from lace and some paper and bead flowers, that I sponged with ink to give an antiqued feel to the whole thing. Finally two strings of tiny pearls and a few random dew drop shaped pearls finish it off nicely. I hope my swap partner likes it and gets some good use out of it.

Now to make the Christmas tag.

Birthday Card

It is my mother in law's birthday on Christmas Eve and I wanted to make her a special card as she always tells me she needs nothing in the way of a present. This is a heavy card so I used cardboard from a cereal package for the base of the card and painted it with pink and white acrylic paints and stamped flowers in pink along the edge and across the pocket attached at the bottom. I crackle glazed the petals. The tag insert is heavy cardstock embossed with script and I took an old spoon and flattened the bowl and embossed it completely with holographic powder. I tied ribbons and net around the shaft and added some handmade flowers. Two strings of pearls gave the card the finishing touch.

Carte a Jouer #23

This fortnight's challenge over at http://carteajouer.blogspot.com/ is
Theme : La Vie en Rose
Technique : Yo Yo

The centre rosette is made from felt gathered at the front round a circle of card and a smaller rosette of lace attached in the center to cover the gathered edges and a larger cream lace rosette for the outside. The background playing card is scraped with white gesso and pink puffy paint then heated with a heat gun to bubble the puffy paint. I then attached a small band with the words La Vie en Rose across the bottom. Thanks for the challenge Isa.

Carte a Jouer #22

#22 Theme : Blue Technique : Mapped Easel
The easel is made with contrasting blue cardstock stuck to the back of the playing card so that it will fold down flat and also stand up by resting one end into the other end folded up. Isa explains the technique so much better than me on her blog at http://isasart.blogspot.com/2011/11/carte-jouer-challenge-22-chevalet-bleu.html. The front of the playing card is decorated with an cardboard oak leaf that has been tripple embossed with UTTEE and then brushed with perfect pearls and then stamped to give texture. I finished the card off with two lines of silver pearls

Carte a Jouer #21

#21 Theme : Red Technique : Paper swirl
I made the paper swirl in the middle by folding a red patterned paper into a long narrow band and then wound it up to make a circle. This I then stuck into the middle of a flower made up of red cardstock and tissue heat shapes layered and manipulated to curl up around the paper swirl. I sprayed the playing card with red and olive glimmer mists and added the flower with the die cut ear of wheat behind it.

Carte a Jouer #20

#20 Theme : Spots Technique : Pass Band
I didn't have a button with wide enough holes to thread with ribbon so I used a small silver buckle instead. I threaded some vibrant pink flower shape ribbon through it and attached it to a rosette made out of pink brodraise anglaise lace with white leaves underneath. I covered the playing card with a contrasting pale pink paper and added metal corners with a spot jewel in each center.

Carte a Jouer #19

#19 Theme : Orange Technique : Patchwork
I forgot that the colour was orange and made my patchwork of patterned blue paper ooops! I tried to stitch the paper by hand but my needlework is pathetic. So I ended up imitating the stitching with dark blue gel pen. Two of the squares I stamped with blue ink bird and flowers. I attached tassels at the four corners and a crochet wire flower and leaves attached with brads.

Carte a Jouer #18

Firstly let me apologise to Isa for being so behind in this challenge. Travel and family business has kept me busy since July. I have however managed to finally catch up to the last challenge.

#18 Theme : Regal Technique : Matting
The playing card is covered with a pretty pink cardstock and a piece of lace and bead ribbon stretched from top to bottom. My stamp with the head of Queen Elizabeth II is matted on cardstock and then mounted onto embossed semi cirle of cardstock. A contrasting semi circle is attached at the top of the card. The whole playing card is then mounted on a lace punched piece of pink stain paper.

Oh Christmas Tree!

Another card made using a background made with a single ply napkin glued onto cardstock and appliqued random cardstock shapes for the tree and another handmade embellishment uteed and stamped with Christmas stamp.

Lesson in letting glue dry

I put this card together and stuck the rosette together with glue stick and the heavy embellishment on with E6000 glue. I put the whole thing flat on the table and walked away to do something else. When I came back the embellishment had slipped to one side and was off center and was fixed permanently that way and the word NOEL is turned slightly crooked as well. I was wondering how everyone else holds their work together while it dries. I have used paper clips in the past but they leave indentations, books work well if it is just matted layers. Any suggestions?

Deck the Halls

I wanted to use up some pretty papers, Christmas ribbon and some embellishments that I had made so put them together to make these simple Christmas carol cards. Sorry that the photo is not very clear, I must take some lessons in photography.

Christmas

Beginning to get my crafting mojo back. Needed to make some Christmas cards so took inspiration from Lene's blog and made a couple of card boxes to put gift cards in. I had a couple of pieces of Christmas cardstock that worked perfectly. Thank you Lene for the instructions http://lenesstempelkrok.blogspot.com/2011/11/stampartic-tutorial.html

The Craft Barn

I have been following this blog for some time now and they really do come up with some marvellous ideas. I have yet to join in one of their challenges but things have been so busy for me for a while now I have only just started to do some crafting again, birthday and Christmas cards were first on the list.

This is a wonderful freebie someone will be very lucky. Check out their blog at http://thecraftbarnblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/look-look-look-blog-candy.html