Hand Made Flowers, Frame and Stitching

 I recently treated myself to a couple of the discontinued Elizabeth Craft/Susan Tierney Cockburn die sets, and I wanted to make something a little different with them. One of the sets is actually an oval nesting set, but with some bigger dies than I have. I got the original sets of Spellbinders Nestibilities, but the problem with them was always that the format was too small. I think their US bias got stuck on that odd 'A2' size card they use which isn't standard anywhere else. So, even for A6 cards, their dies just didn't look quite right. But enough of that.

The first part of the project was to cut out the frame elements. For them, I used an Elizabeth Craft die I've had for some time. It's smaller than I'd like, so I stretched the pieces to approximately 9 and 11 inches long giving me a frame with a 7 by 9 inch aperture. I always get it wrong when I do this - one piece of card ends up in the bin during the process, and this time was no exception.

Because the black card I used isn't the best quality, I reinforced the underside of the front panels with strips of the same black card before pricking out the stitching pattern. The pattern I used came from a book I've had for many years called The Art of Decorative Paper Pricking by Janet Wilson. It's not really intended for stitching, and it's not even one of the patterns in the book - it's actually used as page decoration. But, with a little resizing in Photoshop Elements, I got it to a suitable size, and printed out a strip for each frame edge. I used Sulky Blendables to stitch the pattern.

Another recent (bargain) purchase, is the embossing folder I used here. I don't use A4 embossing folders often, but when you want to emboss a bigger area, smaller ones won't do the job. I got his folder (from Crafts Too) at Crafterama at Ally Pally last weekend. I embossed a bit of Coredinations Whitewash card I've had for ages. (I don't even know if it's still on the market.) I sanded the surface after embossing. I had to add another layer of card behind the Coredinations as it was a bit floppy - especially after embossing.

The next stage was to cut some corners for the frame (Spellbinders die - it's one of their debossing range that never really took off. I definitely found them very hard to cut with - fortunately, there's not much actual cutting needed for this corner die. I then cut another piece of the satin gold card and used the Elizabeth Craft oval die to cut the aperture. I then embossed the gold card using the same folder, and attached it with foam pads doubled up for extra height.

Then, I got to the really fun part. I cut pieces for three dahlias in white card and coloured using Promarkers. I added some striping (white on the shocking pink flower and magenta on the yellow) using fine Posca pens. The peach coloured flower has some added magenta promarker added to the petal tips for a bit of added colour.

That's about that!

A little word about Ally Pally last weekend. It was the first time I've been back since Covid lockdowns, and, of course, since it changed ownership. I think it's a real shame many of the exhibitors who used to go to Ally Pally haven't continued. Craft shops in London are pretty much limited to Hobbycraft - especially since Blade Rubber Stamps closed down. It's strange that such a large conurbation can't support a bigger show than this. I know it's probably more expensive because of generally higher London prices, but it's a real shame. Having said that, I did buy a few bits, and it was lovely to see a stall with just Aall and Create which was definitely something new for me. Unfortunately, my daughter wasn't well enough to come with me :(

A Special Birthday Card

 I had to make a card for a special birthday.  I'd seen someone using the Lavinia Lillium stamp as a partial background recently - I think it was on the Lavinia group on Facebook, but I wasn't planning on using it when I saw it, so I didn't not the originator. Anyway, that's how I started.

I made the card base approximately 8in square, and I've created a vine effect with the Sizzix/Susan Tierney Cockburn Beeblossom die, along with a couple of other branch dies from other Susan Tierney Cockburn set from other manufacturers. I coloured the flowers with Promarkers, adding some detail with Pan Pastel. The leaves were made using olive green card. I stamped the Lillium with Versafine Clair ink, and coloured the blooms with Promarker, then outlined them with an fine Posca pen. You can't see it in the photo, but I finished the flowers by adding a layer of clear glitter marker (Crafter's Companion). I created a suitable sentiment in Photoshop Elements and cut it and a mat with a Spellbinders die set. The stamped area was shaded with Distress Ink in Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar. I added a darker shade around the whole edge using Picked Raspberry (which I originally misread as Pickled Raspberry, and that's how I always think of it!) I've digitally removed the sentiment for the photo.

I made a couple of insert pages using similar techniques.

Beeblossom is quite a dimensional flower, so there's no way this card was going into an envelope. Therefore, the next stage was to make a box. I used 12 by 12 white card to make a basic lid and tray box which I decorated to match the card. Again, I've digitally removed the recipient's name.

I added an oval label area with a mask, and a little background texture with Tattered Rose ink and a Lavinia stencil.

International Art and Soul Challenge 137

 The challenge for this fortnight was set by my team mate Chriss, and she wants to see projects in Red, White and Blue!

I've gone way out of my comfort zone for this, and produced a card with a lot of white space. I was inspired by a video from Eileen Godwin. My version is much simpler and doesn't use Lavinia stamps!

It's a single layer image, stuck directly to a blank greetings card. I've used four inks - Distress Ink in Blueprint Sketch and Festive Berries and Versamark Clair in Tulip Red and Mediaeval Blue. The only other colour is from Posca pens in metallic blue and red.

I began by using Distress Ink and a ruler to create the inky lines. Then, I masked an area and spattered the rest with diluted Distress Ink. I then stamped the flowers (from an issue of Creative Stamping Magazine) and the sentiment (from Spellbinders) using Versafine Clair. I used diluted Distress Ink to fill in the flowers, and a Sharpie pen to add a blue border to the whole sheet. The Posca pens, as an afterthought, provide an edge to the panel.

So, way out of my comfort zone. But, while I have things I'd do differently next time, I'm not unhappy with the result.

I do hope you can join us this time!

International Art and Soul Challenge 136

 The challenge for this fortnight was chosen by my team mate Jane, and she wants to see projects featuring 4 Legged Friends. 

I've spent some time this year (and last year) trying to get better at creating landscapes, and while I've managed to get a bit better, I still don't feel 'I've arrived'! But, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy trying.

For this card, I wanted a kind of fantasy landscape. I started with a piece of card for a DL card, and roughly designated 'sky' and 'ground' using Distress Ink in Peeled Paint and Broken China. Then, I added some detail to the ground using paper masks and more Distress Ink. That done, I added a bit of unrealism with a stencil of differently-sized spots and more Distress Ink - this time in Mustard Seed. I added some vegetation to the sky area using a Crafter's Companion leafy stencil.

The next step was to add some stamping, so I started with the cat, and continued with the bluebells and text - all from Lavinia. Then I added some cow parsley and the butterfly, both from Inkylicious.

At this stage, I deepened the colour of the edges using more Distress Ink in Stormy Sky and Forest Moss, and completed the picture with some Posca pens to accentuate the bluebells and cow parsley, and finally to add detail to the butterfly and to the background.

Stamping mainly used Versafine Clair, although some of the Cow Parsley used more Distress Ink to create a subtler effect.

I completed the card with a little gold metallic shading around the edges, but that's so subtle it's not at all visible in the photo!

I wanted a magical corner in spring with the sunlight reflecting off pollen and dust and the cat studying her surroundings from a secluded spot. 

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 133

 The challenge for this fortnight was set by Jane, and she wants to see projects where there are three of something. That could be three embellishments, three images, three ribbons, whatever you like.

I've been working on backgrounds a lot of late, and after some inspiration on You Tube, I came up with this:

The background started with Distress Oxide inks which I blended together, Then I added some more detail with Pan Pastels before stamping the Lavinia fairy, foliage and words. I added some further detail with a glitter gel pen, a white gel pen, and some Posca pens.

It's not obvious from the photo, but the black background is quite twinkly. I embossed it using a Crafter's Companion folder, then applied some Versafine Clair ink with a brayer too the very fine leaf detail. I had hoped for more colour transfer, but when it didn't happen, I heat embossed using some clear holographic powder.

To finish, I added three flower gems and three tiny clear gems I've had in my stash for a very long time. I suspect it's about three years since I last even opened the box where I keep sticky gems, so it was nice to get them out.

I do hope you can join us this time.