Daring Cardmakers - May Bugs

This weeks challenge from Daring Cardmakers features the Darling BUGS of May. For this card I decided on  shabby chic and an emboss-resist  technique I'd seen over at Jennifer Mcguire's site.

For the background I stamped the flower and butterfly image onto cream watercolour paper with clear emboss powder and set it with a heat gun. I put a few drops of water-based inks onto an acrylic block, spritzed it with water and lay the watercolour paper on top to absorb the colour. After the ink had dried,  I rubbed over the image with a piece of kitchen paper removing any ink that had settled on the embossed image. The stamped image risists the ink and you get a nice crisp image that stands out from the background. I like this technique because each time I use it I get a unique background of colour and pattern.  I then stamped the ornate frame in a contrasting colour and accented the flower using the colour makers. I further distressed the paper, rolling the corners and roughing the edges of the paper. Rubbing over the image again to remove any marker mistakes, I finished the card with a couple of strands of lilac ribbon, a punched butterfly  and a little stamped tag. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like the card.


Equipment and materials used on this project.
Purple and Gold cardstock and watercolour paper sourced from local art shop
Martha Stewart Butterfly punch
Ecoline inks - 318 and 507
Tombow markers 177,192,673,676
My Paper World "Flowers and Butterflies" stamps 400300100
Prima 'Wings" 536350 for the frame
Versacolor Royal Blue 18

Daring Cardmakers - Royal Appointment

Daring Cardmakers - Royal Appointment Challenge.
In honour of the Royal Wedding of William and Catherine, Daring Cardmakers asked for a card that reflected the mood in the UK surrounding the celebrations. Something patriotic or Royal. The Union Jack, that very British symbol and so representative of all things English including the royals, elected itself for this card!
I used a plain white pre-folded card from Anita and made the Union Jack background from some glitter wrapping-paper I had left over from Christmas. The oval panel was cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities "Scalloped Ovals" and the "Invitation" stamp is from Papermania " Wedding Sentiments" clear stamp set. I sponged the edges of the scalloped oval with Versacolor pigment ink 18  in the only colour that fit the bill " Royal Blue". I hope you like it.

Masculine Card - Hero Arts - April2011B

Hero Arts April2011B.
A new card creation for the Hero Arts April Challenge. You might detect a look of a certain motorbike manufacturer in the colours chosen for this "masculine" card.The card was inspired by one I made for a friend's birthday earlier this year  I used the same technique just changed the layout. The stamps used are Hero Arts CL139 Birthday Messages.

Speaking Professionally - Daring Card Makers

This is my contribution to the Daring Card Makers challenge "Profssionally Speaking". I have been looking for an opportunity to use the Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl" 6x6 Mini Deck pack and this Dressmaker/Seamtress theme seemed to fit the bill. The cut-out  tailors-dummy shape was made using a freebie template from the great Papercraft Inspirations Magazine. The edges were sponged with Color Box "Scarlet" pigment ink and some bottons added to complete the card.  Hope you like it!

Ltttle Sister and Great Big Smile

Hi again,

here are two scrapbook pages I put from some more favourite photos.
LITTLE SISTER is for Sheila.
I was attracted to this "studio" shot of Sheila  because, not only of the subject, but also the way the colour orange pops out from the dark background .Though I still need to add some journaling to the cream tag, I was happy with the blend of colours which compliments the photo.

GREAT BIG SMILE is for Sabrina.
The black and white photograph of Sabrina, taken on the ferry on the way to the Statue of Liberty with the Manhatten skyline in the background, has long been a favourite. That she was happy to be in New York and enjoying all the sights and sounds is plain to see.

More Cards

 A few more cards made trying out some new techniques.

Black Tulip with "Glossy Accents" to add dimension.

 

This card has been made using the "Kissing" technique. Two stamps with different colours of ink are"kissed" to produce this image. The Flowers are then paper-pieced and added with dimensional adhesive to create the raised effect.

A little bit of "Decoupage" to create this Teddy Bear. I find that 6 layers create enough depth for each image. A steady hand and attention to the placement is important to get the desired effect.

Scrapbooking

As a spinoff from card-making, I started to try out scrapbooking. This is my first real attempt to put a page together using a favourite photo as the theme. I was pretty pleased with the result. Now I am trawling through all our "old" photos looking for likely candidates for scrapbooking!

An Ikea black frame with a passepatout of 29x29cm is ideal for showing off the 30x30 layout.