Tuesday, 31 March 2009

Happy Easter in Lilac and Mint


My entry this week for the Papertake Challenge is an Easter theme, using 3 stamps, a pretty h'Anglar girl holding an easter egg, a Magnolia Easter Egg and also a Magnolia Butterfly. I decided to do something different from my usual 6 x 6 shaped card and opted for a flap down card with a shaped top. The card is hinged uder the Happy Easter circle which is held in place with a flower eyelit.


The front of the card features all three stamps, layered up to give a 3 dimensional effect and this is shown in the picture. The papers are all digital downloads, mainly taken from Nitwits - Lilac Flowers.


The inside of the card again shows the same colour theme, with Prima flowers. The really lovely lampost was a freebie digital download and I thought the colour and design fitted in really well with the papers I was using. I made a matching envelope and again followed all the design shapes and embellishments onto the front of the envelope and the rear is sealed with the Happy Easter circle.



I have been asked if I could give details of the Copic colours I have used on the image, so here they are :-
Lilacs : V17,BV000,BV11
Greens : YG05, YG06, YG07
Yellows: Y11, Y13
Hair: E31,E57, Y17
Skin: E000, E00, E11,RV11

I would love your comments if you stop by. Thank you xx

Monday, 23 March 2009

A Double Take in Powder Blue!!

This week I have decided to enter both the 2Sketches4you and Papertake Challenges with the same themed card, but making up 2 different cards following the different sketches . I love to take my time during the week deciding on an image, then on the papers, the embellishments etc. and where sketches form the challenge it is easy to make up the whole card on the inside, make the matching envelope and colour the images over the weekend and then wait to assemble the front when I know what both the sketches are.


This week I used a really pretty set of papers which are a mish-mash of digital downloads, that I pulled together to follow my ideas/colour choice. The h'Anglar image is a really pretty one, and I have coloured her to match the papers with my Copic pens with attention to the detail in her hair using Sakura 3D glaze pens to create a raised effect and liquid pearls.



The 2Sketches4you card shows the make up with ribbon from Ribbon Oasis, and silk flowers from Joanna Sheen.


The card insides have been finished with a ribbon tied label, and the envelopes have the same finish.

I have found that when I take the photographs now I am not limited to daylight as I have purchased a really good daylight lamp, and in many instances I do not even need to use the flash on my camera - the colours are really very true now.

I would love your comments if you stop by. Thanks for looking xxx

Monday, 16 March 2009

Cupcakes and Gingham !!!



My entry this week for 2Sketches4you and the Papertake Challenge is a card I made for my friend, who adores cupcakes. The papers are all digital downloads from various sources, and the images are Magnolia Tilda and various Cupcakes, also from Magnolia.



I made a sliding tab which slips inside the heart frame, which has a full recipe for making cupcakes. I finished the inside of the card with stitched layers and a large cupcake which is suspended on a strip of acetate to give a pop up effect when the card is opened.


I also made a matching envelope to finish the card.


Would love your comments if you stop by. xx

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

A Glimpse of Spring


I really felt this week that Spring was just around the corner – well I hoped it was!!! My entry this week for the Papertake Weekly Challenge therefore has a springlike theme. My build up to the card this week followed my receipt of a newly purchased PSX retired stamp from America and could not wait to find an excuse to use it. I decided that I wanted to sit Tilda in the Clematis Heart vine and found that she fitted in beautifully. The papers I chose were a digital download from Designer Digitals, Katie Pertiet, Botanist No. 16. So I had the papers, the image, and now all I needed was the sketch!!!

At the moment, due to my work commitments I am only managing to put together one card a week!! – not very prolific I know, but I put all my energies into the one card. My cards just recently have been quite heavily layered and embellished and were getting to the point where my usual handmade envelope was stretching at the seams – so to speak. So I played around in the week and managed to make a really cute little box style envelope, which perfectly fits a 6 x 6 inch card that is quite thick. I have put the detail below of how to make this.

So now armed with my image, all coloured and ready, my papers, and even my matching box, I was really pleased to see that the sketch from Dawny P fitted in well with my image. I layered the papers up, cut out the vine stamp and layered that again with a cut out Tilda sitting on top. The flowers are Mulberry, the ribbon from Ribbon Oasis and the butterflies are made with a Martha Stewart punch. The inside of the card features the lovely papers from the kit, and another Tilda sitting on a matching frame.

Dimensions for Card box envelope : I use the Enveloper Pro. I printed out my card on A3 paper, setting the paper dimensions at 26cm x 26cm. On the Enveloper Pro, score the card at D and again at D1 on all four sides. This then forms into the 6 x 6 box with a height of over half an inch, perfect for the embellished cards. On the other side of the envelope I punched two holes in the flap and a corresponding pair in the bottom part of the envelope and threaded ribbon through to make a pretty bow.

I would really welcome your feedback if you visit my blog - I love to read your comments. Thank you xx

Monday, 2 March 2009

Big, Bold and Beautiful !!!!!


My entry for the Papertake Weekly and 2 Sketches 4 You Challenges this week features another ‘off the rails’ humorous style stamp called Agnes from Art Impressions. I love these unique stamps as much as the cute ones from say Magnolia or Sugar Nellie – so I tend to swing from one style to the other each week. The brief this week for the Challenge was to use the colours pink, orange and brown. My papers are from a selection from my digital download stash, and the image has been paper pieced and also coloured with Copics and Pro Markers. I machine stitched the layers and embellished the card with a satin ribbon from Raspberry Ribbons.



I decorated the inside of the card and made a matching envelope. The envelopes are really simple and easy to make – but it does require an A3 printer to get the paper to the required 25cm square, printed on both sides – otherwise use 12 x 12 craft paper cut down. I then use the Enveloper Pro to score the envelope to fit a 6 inch square card.


I made the card with a special friend in mind – I hope she sees the funny side of it – lol. xxx