Barstool Nikki

So busy with the children being off school but I got this card made this morning.

Image and Sentiment: Ladybug Crafts Ink coloured with pencils and Promarkers
Spellbinders scalloped oval die.
Papermania lilac cardstock
Creative Expressions embossing folder
Papermania ribbon rolled into flowers
Papermania capsule ink
Crystal bouquet pick from local florist, pearls, Leaf punch

I'd like to enter this into:

Digi Designs - Emboss It
Simon Says Stamp - Use Your Favourite Tool (punches)
4 Crafty Chicks # 84 - flowers
Whimsy Stamps Challenge 33 - use ribbon


Thanks for visiting! Ger x.

Lots of Dies

Used lots of dies on this card!  Made a pleasant change to make something other than Christmas cards.

Dies: Spellbinders, Marianne Designs, Sizzix 3-D Flowers.
Papers: Papermania Capsule Collection
Stick Pins: Creative Expressions
White Pearl Beads

Thanks for visiting! Ger x.

Orangey Thankyou

Hi all.  Made this thankyou card using a Tim Holtz embossing folder, sanding and some distress inks, can't remember which colours exactly.  The flowers are from Creative Expressions, stamped with DI and using a wet paintbrush to pull the colour out.  The sentiment is Hero Arts and the embellismhents from Papermania Capsule Collection.  The little paper buttons were die cut (Die-Namics) and also distressed.  Love that button die.

I managed to get to the GBCE in Athlone on Friday morning and will show you my goodies later!

Ger x.

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge: Autumn Colours

The technique used for the leaves is great fun!  I found it at Linda Cain's blog, take a look!  You need the packaging from Tim Holtz Alterations - I'm so glad I didn't throw out my Tattered Florals packaging last week.  Alcohol inks are applied, then when you use your heat gun it starts to curl and while it's warm you can manipulate the plastic.

For the acorn I used the method described here by Sheila Haliwell of docrafts

After all that, I decided to keep the rest simple.  I applied the same alcohol inks used on the leaves to the felt and swiped them across the card in a stripe.

I am entering this into Scrapbook Sisters Card Challenge Nine: Autumn Colours
Stamp Insanity: Punches
Lexi's Creations: Anything Goes
Craft Your Passion 31: Two of Anything
Top Tip Tuesday: use an image/sentiment
Thanks for looking

Ger x.

Glossy Cardstock
Adirondack Alcohol Inks: Caramel, Red Pepper, Lettuce, Gold Mixative
Tim Holtz Alterations plastic packaging
 Brown Cardstock
Flower Punch
Glitter Glue
Sentiment: Creative Expressions 

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge: Alcohol Inks

Morning all!  Dug out the alcohol inks to have a go at the challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.


This wasn't the design I started out with in my head, but isn't that so often the case!

Ranger alcohol inks Wild Plum and Red Pepper plus some Gold Mixatives on glossy card
Martha Stewart border punch
Heat resistant acetate
Creative Expressions stamp Cottage Flowers
Gold embossing powder
Butterfly punch
Gems from stash

Ger x.

I WON!!

I can't believe it, I won the August Card of the Month challenge at Creative Expressions !

The challenge was to create a card using Cosmic Shimmers. I used Pearl Gold from their Iridescent Pigment Mica Cosmic Shimmers, and Big n Juicy foliage faux brayered, also the Trees stamp plate together with some stamps from the Canal and Seasonal Flora range.

The prize is 50 stg worth of Cosmic Shimmer goodies! I've been lusting after more of these for ages.

Why don't you enter their September Card of the Month challenge, which is to use anything from the Eco Green range? I watched Sheena use the fabulous Eco paints at a workshop in Perth this year. These are amazing paints and Sheena demonstrated a crackle technique which she then painted over in a folk painting style. You may have seen them demonstrated by Julia Andrus (who invented them) on Create & Craft.

Creative Expressions also have a Facebook group which can be found here

I had no sooner peeled myself off the ceiling after getting that news than the courier arrived with my new Cuttlebug!

I am officially in crafting Heaven!

Ger x.

No time for cardmaking

Between school book and uniform lists and walls being chased to put in new solid fuel central heating with the resulting dust and debris, there hasn't been much time for cardmaking. When the new Sheena Douglass stamp plate Christmas Day arrived I had no energy or inspiration left, and ended up more or less copying a design Sheena had posted on her blog - how lazy! In my defence Sheena does have such tempting card designs! However the stamp plate is gorgeous and I hope to play with it properly soon. I will probably end up buying the Christmas Eve plate as well.

Chipped Sapphire distress ink, Snowflake Tinsel Embossing Powder, stamp from Papermania Silent Night stamps.

Ger x.

In the Spotlight

I heard about 'Spotlighting' so had to have a go. Stamped Creative Expressions 'Cottage Flowers' roses with Archival Black, then again onto a Spellbinders Label and coloured just the label image with watercolours. Also used Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, rosebuds and ribbon from stash.

Our own roses are going to dissolve any day now with all this rain!

I wanted to try the scratch-the-corners technique! Stamped Sheena Douglass Cottage Flowers with Worn Lipstick distress ink. Scraped the corners of the card with a craft knife then used cut n dry foam to colour the card with the same ink. The scratches hold onto the ink. Couldn't find a piece of ribbon in the right shade of pink so cut a length of white satin ribbon and went at it with the Worn Lipstick distress ink. It worked! I needed a pink layer so coloured some white card with the distress ink - these inks are really versatile.

13 distress ink colours collected so far ......

Hollyhocks

Okay, I need to learn to use a camera! White card stamped with Sheena Douglass Cottage Flowers in Tumbled Glass, also used to distress edges, layered onto silver mirri. Squidged Tumbled Glass onto craft sheet and picked up colour with a paintbrush, used to add colour and definition to the hollyhocks. Strip of silver mirri coloured with blue alcohol inks then covered with strip of heat-resistant acetate silver embossed with the large Hollyhocks. Going to repeat this design in pinks/purples.

Father's Day

A quick Father's Day card. Vintage Photo Distress Ink applied to card with Cut n Dry Foam. Used a Post It circle to mask out the moon. Creative Expressions trees stamps in Vintage Photo then again with sticky ink and embossed with Clear. Layer edges embossed with Gold. Gold mirri card dots punched out with an office two-hole punch.

Leaves Again

Just love Creative Expressions stamp plate Seasonal Flora. This is based on a Sue Wilson card design. The background is brayered with Big and Juicy Spice. The leaves are stamped with sticky ink then brushed over with Gold Perfect Pearls, stamped again and gold embossed.

The sentiment is from Flowersoft Moments in Time. Not the one I wanted for this card. I feel the need to buy more sentiments stamps!

Foliage Big n Juicy

Played with a Big and Juicy Ink Pad - Foliage - loved the colours. Stamped with Creative Expressions stamps and gold embossed the red cardstock. Wish I had brown cardstock left.

Vintage Aviation

Played with the Vintage Aviation stamp plate, Big n Juicy Ink Pad in Mountain Meadow, Sheena Douglass Trees Stamp. What else? Clear embossing powder, Black Twinkle embossing powder (on the distressed edges of the first layer).

Whatever you're having

Been playing with Creative Expressions vintage wine stamp plate. It has a lovely, useful script stamp used here with Perfect Medium brushed with Perfect Pearls on inner layer, then stamped with Black Soot Distress Ink on the outer layer. The paper is from Papermania Capsule Collection. Big and Juicy Stamp Pad in Spice was used to colour the innermost layer, pressed onto a non-stick craft mat, sprayed with water, then the card layer squished onto it as demo'd by Sheena Douglass on Create and Craft this morning.

I'm off to a Sheena Douglass workshop in Perth next Monday. Can't wait!