This one features stamps from a stamp sheet from Tattered Angels to go with their range of glimmer screens. The orange backing paper is from the Graphicus Decadent Brocade CD. All stamped with a selection of dye inks from Adirondak and the distress range. The sentiment is from the recent bird range of stamps from Graphicus. It's backed onto yellow and then onto a whiteA5 card although that doesn't show very well. Perhaps my borders should have been wider?I'm still really struggling finding my mojo. I suppose I'll just have to keep plugging away at it until I find it again!

Oh well, onwards and upwards.

This is my latest creation, a card for my friends birthday which is today. The image and sentiment are stamps from the Graphicus birds range and the greeting is a very useful Penny Black stamp. The background paper is from the new Decadent Brocade CD from Graphicus. I really struggled to make this one. You would think I would have come back from my workshops filled with inspiration - but not so. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and am itching to get on with the glimmer glass album I started there on Thursday and the bird book I started on Friday! However, I won;t allow myself to get sidetracked until I have done all the cards, etc I need for October. I really need to laminate the stamp sheets from all my newest purchases - before I go to Port Sunlight and buy some more!

Well, that's all from me for now. I will take some piccies of the things I created at Graphicus when I can and post them for you all to see.

This is the card I made for my card swap partner on the Rainbows card swap challenge. The theme was Everlasting Love. Stamps and papers used all from Graphicus. Adorned with a few gems. I hope she likes it!

Here is a card I made for my grandson's girlfriend who is 21 this week. The 21 is glittery but I'm afraid the scan doesn't do it justice. Stamped image from Sarah Kay and coloured with copic markers. Tomorrow I'm off to Barnards Castle to attend three days of workshops with Glenda and Lynn at Graphicus. I can't wait! Hopefully, next time I'm posting it will be to show you what I have created whilst I'm there and to show off my new-found skills.
Bye for now.

And here's another one! This tag is for Dragon's Dream TIO challenge 19 - "Up and Away". The stamps is from a Tanda Stamps set. The tree is from Clarity Stamps. Inks are dye inks. The aeroplane has been inked first with versa mark and then with denim blue adirondak and then clear embossed. That's it for today.

Here is my entry for my WI Produce Show entry for the category "Christmas Card". The trees have been stamped with green dye ink , and clear embossed, then the background has been added using a brayer. The reindeer was then added using purple versafine ink. I can;t remember where the background paper came from. This was a lot of fun to create and is a technique I'm trying to perfect. I just love starting with plain white card then creating my own picture. I think I will be doing a few more Christmas cards like this one! I will photograph the collage and scrapbook page I also created for the produce show and post them later. Hope you like the card.

That's it for now.

Here is a little card I made for a friends birthday later this week. The chair is a serendipity stamp, coloured with copic pens. The blue panel has been put through the cuttlebug with the birds and swirls folder. The background paper is from a CD although I can;t remember which one. I have a habit of printing out a load for my folder from various CDs. The lace is made using a Martha Steward punch, topped with green gross grain ribbon. The Happy Birthday is a little faint as it is a second stamping as I didn't want it to be too in your face.
At the moment I'm in the process of making some entries for our WI Produce Show taking place on Saturday. I have completed a Christmas card. Nearly finished a collage on fashion and I'm in the middle of a scrapbook page on my late grandmother who lived to the ripe old age of 103. I just need to take some photos of trees tomorrow for another category. Then that will do for me I think. I'm not the baking or jam-making sort!
I'll post the Christmas Card tomorrow. Don't think the collage or scrapbook page will fit in the scanner but I might try and photograph them.
Bye for now.

This is my take on a card produced some time ago by Michelle Zindorf. I just wanted to practice and try and get the same, or similar, results to her work. I am relatively pleased with it but will keep practicing! I just love Michelle's work.
I won't go into too much details about how it was made - you can always check it out on her fantastic site. Suffice to say, I used dye based inkpads and a brayer and copy paper to mask to areas I did not want to colour. The shadow in the snow was created using cute and dry foam. The skiier and the Xtreme stamps are from Tanda stamps and the tree is from Lavinia stamps.
I really enjoy producing this type of work. I find it so satisfying to take a clean sheet of card and end up with a creation of my making. I also like using other techniques to add colour and dimension to a clean sheet of card or paper.
I still haven't painted my new racks. It's lucky I ordered the triple ink pad rack as I already have some 66 ink pads and there are still loads I need. I'm not sure how many reels or ribbon I have but I'm sure I will soon manage to fill the other rack. Now all I need is that long-awaited craft room! My family will sure appreciate getting our dining room back. Not sure what I will turn my attention to now as I'm feeling a bit tired. My copy of Technique Junkies arrived today and it's packed with techniques using gesso. Now is that pronounced as spelled or like jeeso?

Had a early start today as we have to take our GD to the hospital every morning to have her EEG checked and the batteries changed. Roll on Friday. Think I may just create something quick and easy.

Bye for now.

I went to a sale of craft goods being sold my the owners of a local craft shop that closed down recently. Amongst the goodies on offer where some stamps, papers and embellishments fromn the Laura Ashley range. This little card, measuring 5" x 7" is what I came up with. The lovely little butterflies stamp is part of a set of four in the range. Background papers are also from the range. Ribbon is from my stash. The little tag was made using a useful little stamp from a set of six with various sentiments, origin unknown, but often used.

Must get back to playing with my brayer now.

I was determined to get some practice in with my brayer, so having studied the images on Michelle Zindorff's amazing blog I set forth to create the card on the right. The meadow flowers are from a set from Graphicus and the bunny rabbit is from a Create a Scene plate from Creative Expressions, the butterflies are stamps from Lavinia stamps. I stamped and coloured the images in first, then added highlights and shadows with black and white marker pens, covered the images with a versamark pen and clear embossing powder, then added the background colour using my brayer. The butterflies are decoupaged on afterwards then the ribbon embellishment is added. It was great fun to create this little 5" x 5" card. I plan to get a lot more practice in with my brayer. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Off to have another play with my brayer now!

Well, here it is at last, the card I made for my grand-daughter's 21st birthday, again using my new found skills on the craft robo. The colour scheme is black and pink with a hint of silver is the mats to the wording. The background is a scrapbook paper, embellished with a flora doodles flower with a gem in the middle. It was well received. She said it was the best card I had ever made for her!

The secret with the craft robo I have found, is to know the weight of the card you are using and set the pressure and speed accordingly. I bought a selection of card from them at the training day. Each pack tells you the weight of the card and the correct settings to use. I meant to make some swatches to check my other cardstock against but haven't found the time to do it yet. I'm really enjoying using the craft robo now, just 3 years since I bought it! Oh well, better late than never.

Sorry the image is slightly crooked. I'm learning!!! I'm off to make some "thank you! cards for my grand-daughter to give out on her last day at college on Wednesday.

Birthday card using craft robo

I've had rather a busy time lately, hence my lack of postings. Staying away mid-week so time at weekends is precious with the usual household chores to be done.
Anyway, I digress, I attended a craft robo training session the Friday before last and this is the first opportunity I have had to put my new found skills into practice. The card is in black and white. I have cut out the name in black with a silver outline. I have then stamped "happy birthday" in black stazon on silver and cut out as a tag using the cutttlebug. This I have threaded onto a black spotted ribbon to attach to the card. It's a really quick and easy way to create a card - once you know what you are doing. I'm sure it will get easier with time and practice. I have another craft robo creation in the making - so watch this space!
Bye for now.

Here are a couple of pages from the autograph book I made today for my GD to have all her friends at college sign. My bind-it-all got an airing and I tied assorted ribbons around the wires. Each page has a small image stamped in the bottom left-hand corner on the left side pages, and botton right hand corner on the right-hand pages. I've kept it all in a pink and green colour scheme. Loads of fun to make.

Foliage challenge card

Here is my offering for the Creating Rainbows forum's first clarity stamps challenge. I have actually used stamps from Lavinia stamps as this is what we agreed we could do. I have used a selection of adirondak inkpads and a little silver glitter, then enbellished with a couple a narrow grossgrain ribbons.