Shoot for the Stars

I had some narrow strips of scrap card on my desk after a project and I thought they would make a graphic pattern if I Washi-taped them onto a card while I inked through them.  I wanted to make a masculine card so after using the card strips as a stencil with Tumbled Glass distress ink, I used a Simon Says Stamp set 'Shoot for the Stars' to stamp a sentiment, some stars and some stitching. Quick and easy!

Then I decided I might as well make a more feminine version while I had the supplies out, this time using silver emobsssing powder, Worn Lipstick distress ink and adding some mirror stars.

I'd like to enter these into:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Ger x

Merry Christmas

This card was made for the Craft for the Craic design team card swap and I was late getting it into the post so I hope it has been received in time.  It was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's circle card here.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and New Year.

Ger x

Hero Arts Nativity Card

This card was made in a hurry when I remembered someone I had forgotten LOL.  Broken China and Chipped Sapphire inked background, Hero Arts stamps silver embossed, some music notepaper, silver cord, and Tim Holtz dies inked with Tea Dye distress ink. Sorry about the flash - the light was fading.

The snow effect was made with Stampendous Frantage - I've learned to sneak up on it with the heat gun from behind the card!

Hope you have a calm Christmas Eve ;)

Ger x

Pajama Party at Waltzingmouse Stamps

Evening! Well I am very late to the Waltzingmouse Stamps Pajama Party so I'll just cut to the chase so I'm not too late to enter!

Using a WMS bauble stamp silver embossed on acetate, I added a sequin, lace, silver cord and some beads from my stash.

I'd like to enter this into:

Waltzingmouse Stamps Pajama Party - challenge 2 - Deck the Halls

and now it just might be time for bed zzzzzzzzzzz

Ger x

Favourite Colours at Craft for the Craic

Over at Craft for the Craic the challenge is Favourite Colours, and here is some mid-month inspiration.

This time I went for Pastels. I embossed a Tim Holtz folder and inked it with Tumbled Glass then stamped Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage Ornaments, cut with Spellbinders Holiday Ornaments.  I added silver cord and some sequins.  Very fast and simple! I made 3 more, just changing the embossing folder each time:

I hope you'll join in the fun and show us your creative makes over at Craft for the Craic

Ger x

Tag Trio

Did you ever receive a craft package from the postie although you knew you hadn't ordered anything? When I saw Joanna Sheen on the envelope, I was like a kid on Christmas morning ripping it open.  Inside was a little red package (packed by Angela)  tied up with some of the pretty green ribbon you see on the tag on the right.  It was a gorgeous little set of 3 Poinsettia dies by Britannia from a crafty friend!

These dies are just so pretty, click on the picture for a close up of the lovely texture.  I think they would double as holly leaves, too.  I went straight to my craft table and made this trio of tags. Thanks Áine!

I'd like to enter this into:

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Tag with Ribbon or Trim


By the time you read this I should be on a Dublin bound train for the water meter protest and the forecast is dreadful.

I'll be missing this ....

but hopefully it will all be worth it.

See you Thursday with some more tags.

Ger x

Tea Light Easel

Today's card is an easel with a bauble aperture cut with a Spellbinders die.  This was covered with docrafts Gold Vellum and the easel leaves a space behind which you could pop one of those flameless battery tea lights for a cool effect.  The papers and brad are docrafts Silent Night.  The gold-embossed sentiment is also from docrafts.  The snowflakes were cut with a Whiff of Joy die.

Wow it's cold out there! Wind's picking up too.

See you tomorrow with some more tags and I'll tell you about the lovely surprise the postie brought on Monday.

Ger x

Clear Tag

Today's make is an acetate tag.  I started with a Hero Arts Elegant Pine stencil and embossing paste coloured a little with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, sprinkled with fine glitter while still wet.  Staz-On Cotton White was used to stamp the docrafts sentiment on the Tim Holtz Fragment and the edges of the fragment and the tag were distressed with the same ink.

I made the little dangler from beads in my stash and added some silver cord and ribbon and some dots of Glossy Accents for shine.  Glossy Accents spreads like mad on acetate! They were meant to be domed icy dots but didn't quite work out that way.

The whole tag lacked stability so I backed it with Peppermint Collection from Crate paper.

I'd like to enter this into:

Virginia's View Challenge - All Things Distressed
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Tags Tags Tags with ribbon or trim
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas/Holidays

See you tomorrow with another card!

Ger x

Bauble card

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.  Today's card was made with a Hero Arts stamp and embossing folder set.  I inked the stamp with Peeled Paint before wiping the ink off the berries, then stamped and embossed the card panel.  I then die cut a circle from the panel (this flattened the embossing a bit, if I was making another I would re-think the order I did this in).

I love the mottled look the distress ink gave to the holly.

I punched tiny circles from red card and added them where the berries should be then stamped the Waltzingmouse bauble twice with Festive Berries.  I die cut a circle from another card panel then sandwiched silver cord between the two baubles and then between the two card panels, so the inside of the card is smooth.  The sentiment is also from Waltzingmouse Stamps and I edged the tag with Festive Berries.

I'd like to enter this into:

Virginia's View Challenge - All Things Distressed
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Holiday Cards

See you tomorrow with another festive make!

Ger x

Snowman

This morning's Christmas card was made using Washi tape to mask off a border all round the card panel, before inking with Pumice Stone, Evergreen Bough and Stormy Sky distress inks.   The background was sprayed with water then blobs of White Enamel Accents were used for snow.

The happy little snowman (he looks drunk because I overdid the black enamel accents for his eyes) is from Penny Black, coloured with Inktense Watercolour Pencils.  The die cut snowflakes are from Whiff of Joy and I no longer remember where the sentiment is from but I love that font.  I made four of these cards to get some more mass-produced cards completed.

Thankyou for visiting and tomorrow's creation might be a tag or a card, I'm not sure yet.....

Ger x

December Challenge at Craft for the Craic

Good morning! The challenge this month at Craft for the Craic is Favourite Christmas Colours.  I decided to use frosty whites and blues.

The image is from Lily of the Valley, coloured with Inktense Watercolour Pencils.  the 'snow' was made with blobs of white enamel accents.

The background was made with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, a Hero Arts script stamp, Stampendous Frantage, Creative Expressions Gold Cosmic Shimmer Spray and Hero Arts snowflake stamps.  I also used a Hero Arts Elegant Pine stencil and embossing paste for some fun texture.  The bauble was made using Staz-On Cotton White Ink, a docrafts sentiment and Tim Holtz Fragments, backed with a circle of blue card.

I made the card base from some 300 gsm A4 white 'wedding card' I found in Easons for just under 10 euros for 100 sheets, it's lovely card, not as smooth as Neenah but very smooth just the same.  I also found the blue gems that look like fruit pastilles and the silver cord on the bauble was only 99c.  Worth taking a look around your Easons store!

I hope you'll play along with us this month at Craft for the Craic and I'll be back tomorrow with another Christmas card.

I'd like to enter this card into:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Holiday Cards
Virginia's View Challenge - All Things Distressed


Ger x

Aaaaand here come the Christmas cards

This card was inspired by a Debby Hughes' card in Holiday Card Workshop 2014.  The card panel was embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflake folder before using Tumbled Glass distress ink to add some blue.  The tag was cut with a docrafts die and splattered with Creative Expressions Cosmic Shimmer Spray.  The snowflake stamp is from Hero Arts and the snowflakes die is from Whiff of Joy.  I added some bakers' twine, sequins and a sentiment.

I followed Debby Hughes' advice and made 4 of this design, although she makes 10 of a Christmas card design at a time.  I get bored with more than 4 of one design.  How many do you make at a time, or are all your cards one-off designs?  I think I have about 20 Christmas cards made now using this method and I'll be sharing them in the next few days.

I'll be back tomorow with a card and a new challenge at Craft for the Craic so I hope you'll drop in!

Ger x