Tag - you're it!

I was delighted to have a couple of projects accepted for the PaperCrafts Holiday Cards and More special issue and even more delighted to discover today that Cath (PaperCrafts Trends Editor) has picked one of them to show on the Moxie Fab blog to highlight the gift tag challenge!

Here it is! I haven't seen the issue yet but apparently it's on p.98. The lovely sentiment (it's from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Compliments of the Season set) makes a perfect centrepiece for a chalkboard style and this is a really quick and easy tag to make since it's a single stamp and no complicated colouring or cutting out!

If you're trying to get ahead with Christmas crafting, do check out the Moxie Fab blog this week for challenges and some inspiration from the publication. All the posts based on this Holiday Cards and More special issue are here. There are copies of the special issue to be won if you fancy playing along with the challenges.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tipsy glitter cover girl!

I'm blowing my own trumpet just a little today - I've just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy and find myself a cover girl for the first time!

I have a step-by-step article in the May issue  of Craft Stamper on using glitter and alcohol markers (hence "Tipsy Glitter") and one of the three cards described in the article is featured on the cover. I'm quite excited!

I don't use a lot of glitter in my crafting and this is a good way to make a single colour stretch much further!

Hoping to get  back into some crafting in the next week or so but you know how it is when you've just got back from a holiday and feel you have no idea which way is up!

Stamps you can see on this cover card are
Butterflies from Antique Engravings (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)

Thanks for stopping by!

Crepe flower

The July/August issue of PaperCrafts magazine is available now and has a whole section dedicated to handmade embellishments which features this card of mine (the Asian Hello card on p.51). The flower is made from simple punched circles of crepe paper, finished with a glue dot and microbeads for the centre.

Crepe is lovely to work with for this kind of project as it shapes beautifully just with a little gentle stretching and if you sponge colour on the edges before you strech you get pretty, delicate "stripes" on the petals.

Stamps:
Wildflower (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen White
Heavyweight white crepe

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Spanish Moss)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Victorian Velvet)

Other:
Memento Maker by Tsukineko (New Sprout)
Glue dot
Micro beads (these are ones sold for nail art, any will do!)
Foam tape

There are lots of lovely ideas for handmade embellishments in the issue as well as other great projects, well worth checking out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome Little One

The March/April issue of the American Paper Crafts magazine is available now. One of the featured sections is for baby cards in non traditional colours (no pink or blue!). I was delighted to have this card accepted for publication (it's on p.58).

This little chap is from a set called Journaling which also includes a little snippet of script style writing, the word Journal and an ink bottle but I think he makes a cute baby card and the little leaf motif is perfect as a design on a "quilt".

The sentiment is computer generated using Edwardian Script and Courier New fonts and changed to match the colour of the Espresso ink I used for the stamping (R:67 G:52 B:49 is a pretty good match if you're trying this).

Stamps: Journaling set (Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Sugar Daddy (Bazzill Bling)
Cryogen white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Computer generated sentiment
Scor-It
Silk ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Perfect Together

Paper Crafts magazines produces several special issues each year. Currently available is Stamp It! Techniques. Designers were asked to submit projects featuring one of several popular stamping techniques (paper piecing, heat embossing etc). This card was accepted for the masking section and features on p.56 of the magazine.

Masking was probably the first technique I encountered that made me squeal with excitement. I still get a childish thrill every time I peel away the mask and see the way objects are built up into little scenes! So here, I have a single shaker pot stamp - it was stamped first on the right, masked and stamped again on the left. Once the mask is peeled away, the object you stamped second appears to be behind the first one. The S and P are separate stamps so you can do those as finishing touches.

The instructions printed in the magazine are not quite what I wrote with my submission since they say to "mask with cardstock". Cardstock is not the best choice of material if you're making a mask - you want something thin (Post It notes are ideal) so that your stamp makes proper contact at the edge of the mask and you don't end up with a halo of white space around the image you stamped first. Of course there might be occasions where you want that slight blank space but if you want the effect shown here, choose something thin to make your mask.

I also stamped the lace edging directly onto the card base and just coloured underneath with a black marker - saves the fiddly cutting out!

Stamps:
Kitchen Classics (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Cryogen White
Radiant paper pad (Heartwarming Vintage by Crafty Secrets)

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Time Holtz Distress Ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Memento markers by Tsukineko
Labels Eight Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Scor It!
Sewing machine and thread

Thanks for stopping by!

Wedded bliss

Card Creations Volume 8 (a special issue of PaperCrafts magazine) is currently on the shelves in the US and I'm delighted to have this card featured in the wedding section.

This is a really fast card to put together as the Scrapblock does most of the work and there's no colouring to do.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Love Scrapblock
Freesia flower
Wedding Centers (Mona Lisa Moments line)

Paper:
Simply Smooth

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pool and Espresso)

Other:
Silk ribbon
Pearl by Kaisercraft (tinted with a Copic marker)
Fiskars Edge Punch (Threading Water/Scalloped Lace)

There are loads of lovely projects in this issue if you get chance to check it out - from Father's Day to Christmas and everything in between!

Thanks for stopping by!

Leafy Hello!

This project is in the September/October edition of PaperCrafts magazine (I haven't seen it yet but Darlene tells me it's on p65 if you happen to have the mag to hand!). I loved the way this card turned out and was so pleased they picked it up!

The call was for projects with "fall texture" so I've included felt for something warm and snuggly as well as skeleton leaves and seedpods from an honesty plant (that's probably a silver dollar plant to my US friends).

The technique is "faux batik" - it works like a regular resist technique but then you use an iron and plain paper to remove the embossing powder after inking/spritzing so the embossed area is no longer shiny.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms)
Fiery Floral Scrapblock
Sentiment from Silhouette Blooms I

Paper:
Suede brown medium and Simply Smooth cardstock (Prism Papers)

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tea Dye and Vintage Photo)
Stazon by Tsukineko -(Timber Brown)

Other:
Clear embossing powder
Glimmer Mists by Tattered Angels (Red Maple and Coffee Shop)
Felt
Seed cases and skeleton leaves
Classic Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinder)
Sewing machine and thread
Linen thread

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoyed the card!

Wheee - I'm published!

The postie just arrived with a box for me from the US. It turned out to be the return of a project I'd submitted to PaperCrafts magazine along with a couple of copies of the magazine it features in! This is my second publication but the first time I've seen myself in print as I didn't receive a copy of the mag for the first one. I can show you the project now that it's in print and you can see the magazine here (it's a special issue of PaperCrafts called 225 Cards and Gifts and my project appears on p.62). The call for projects asked for ideas for recycling so my treat box is an empty box from a low-energy light bulb that has been stamped with a woodgrain stamp and had a tag added that is cut from a board-backed envelope. Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms) Woodgrain Backgrounder Winter Vintage Signage Ink: Various brown-toned Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger Other: Low energy light bulb box Board backed envelope Jute twine Extra large eyelet (We R Memory Keepers - antique brass) This is the pic I took before submission, it's featured in the magazine photographed alongside a gift bag of coffee. Thanks for dropping by and letting me share my excitement!