International Art and Soul Challenge 113

 I'm hosting this fortnight's challenge at International Art and Soul, and I've chosen the theme, 'Use Thread or Beads'. One obvious option is something stitched, but if you don't want to do that, there are lots of ways of using thread and beads that involve other techniques - including beads as flower centres or eyes or just for decoration. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

I kept things fairly simple, stitching a couple of designs from Stitching Cards. I like a lot of their designs and given my love of all things Mackintosh, it's not surprising I chose this one.

I used two different types of thread here: the flower heads use a general machine embroidery thread in a crimson shade, and for the rest I used something new to me - a Sulky no. 12 which is varigated in shades ranging from pink and blue through to lilac and grey. To complete the card, I used a Sue Wilson Mini Striplet die to cut out of the white card and placed a silver panel behind. The, I matted with red, and that was that.

This is another Stitching Cards design, but this time I've gone full rainbow! The petals and leaves use machine embroidery thread, but the pots and frames use another Sulky varigated thread - this time in a rainbow range. I used the same striplet die, but this time just mounted the top layer on to some green mirror card directly.

And, for something completely different, I made a Valentine card. (I know, that was months ago, but I tend to make my cards well in advance and then schedule my posts, and I'm typing this on 14th February.)

This card uses a different source - a book called Fold and Stitch by Christa Bushousen. It's an odd mixture of pricking, stitching and tea bag folding, but there are several heart designs. I adapted this from a three-heart design in the book. I'm kind of traditional in my Valentine cards - they've got to be anonymous, although I daresay my husband isn't fooled by the cards that turn up each year. This uses just the Sulky thread I used in the rose card above. To complete, I cut 'be mine' using a set of Tonic dies. The top layer of each uses some card I shaded using a gelli plate and distress ink. I wasn't happy with theoverall result, but I think it worked well for this. I'm just disappointed the set doesn't include punctuation as this really needs a question mark!

I'm looking forward to seeing your thread and bead creations.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 246

The challenge for this fortnight is to do away with patterned paper. Leave your stash of pretty papers alone, and other than that, any project is allowed!

I made a card and matching box for a friend who retired last month.

I started with some white card which I coloured with Distress Oxide ink in several of my favourite shades.

Then, I embossed two roughly 8in by 8in pieces using an Embossalicious folder. I then added a little more distress ink on some of the embossed areas and finished with a little gilding wax.

I made some flowers using dies from Sizzix's Susan's Garden range, Elizabeth Craft's Susan's Garden Notes range and finally a die from Printable Heaven along with some greenery cut using a Sue Wilson die. To complete both the box and card, I put together a label in Photoshop Elements which I die cut using Spellbinders dies. After photographing, I removed my friend's name from photos of both the card and box because I don't think it's fair to include that sort of detail in public without permission.

And that's it!

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 65

The challenge for this fortnight is an easy one, on the theme of  flowers. So, you can share any project you like, so long as there are some flowers somewhere on it.

I''ve made a baby shower card.

I must say, I don't really get the concept. Yes, people have always given gifts for a new baby, but the idea of having a party for that purpose seems a bit odd to me. I remember my mother being shocked when we actually had the pram for our firstborn delivered before he arrived as she considered that very unlucky. So, I suppose things change, and my sister is doing a shower for my nephew's girlfriend who's expecting a little girl next month.

Nothing too complicated: dies from Marianne, Sue Wilson and Spellbinders, a stamp from Creative Expressions, some embossing powder, Pan Pastel, paper from Lily of the Valley and a few sticky gems. (I don't have a single stamp or die that refers to a baby shower. (Or a bridal shower if it comes t that.) So I had to improvise!

I do hope you'll join us this time, and share your floral creations!

International Art And Soul Challenge 36

Jane is hosting this challenge and she wants us to something with an Art Nouveau  theme.

Now, I'm sure I've mentioned before that I love things with a Rennie Mackintosh type look, so that's what I've gone with this time.

Here, I've used a stamp by Pretty Quick. I stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers.

Tom complete the card, I've used a Sue Wilson Striplet die to cut into the card base. I've always felt this die has a very art nouveau/art deco feel to it. (I'm never really sure what the difference is - I just know I like the style(s))!

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 211

Our challenge for this fortnight is No Patterned Papers.

I started with some white card, and 'smooshed' it in some diluted Distress inks. Then, I added some images - flowers and butterflies - again in Distress Ink, using stamps from Printable Heaven. I sprayed the result with water, and repeated a few times. The last time I added water, I sprinkled on some Perfect Pearl powder to give a hint of shimmer.

The die cuts are from a Sue Wilson set, and I've added a sentiment from a stamp set from Creative Stamping magazine.

That's it! I do like the vibrant colours, but then I've got a thing about rainbows, as you might have guessed!

I hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 11

This fortnight, our theme at International Art and Soul is Flowers.  So, any flowery creations are welcome to join the fun.

The card I made wasn't  made with fun in mind. A friend has just lost her father, and I needed a sympathy card.

I combined die cuts made using dies from several companies - Sizzix, Sue Wilson, and Crafter's Companion among others. It's a simple design - I needed the card in a hurry, and the beauty of die cutting is that it can give you something good very quickly.

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 189

Hello! This time, at Crafty Cardmakers, our theme is Floral Profusion! So, anything you like so long as there are lots of flowers.

I had to make a card for a colleague who was loves blue and was having a birthday and leaving our school within a few days. This is what I came up with.

For the background, I cut a Sue Wilson Striplet die twice from some pale blue card, and then cut used the same die to cut from white card, adding that as a central panel. The swirly shapes were cut using some Sizzix dies I've had for ages - they're Sizzlets, and I make a point of not buying them because I really don't like the rubber-backed type dies as I don't find they're very forgiving if you don't cut them first pass. Having said that, I've never had a problem with this set, but then they're quite small. For the flowers, I used a Crafter's companion die, and I cut the computer-generated sentiment using a Spellbinder's die. To finish, I added a touch of glitter glue.

I hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 3

Our challenge at International Art and Soul for this fortnight is Fancy Borders. Other that that, you can make anything you want!

I needed to make a card for my son's birthday, so I needed something that isn't too girly.

My fancy border was cut using a Sue Wilson Gemini die. The main image was cut using a Sizzix die, and the sentiment die is one I can't remember. The wording was stamped in Versafine ink using a rubber stamp which I've had for a long time.

I hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 2

Our theme this fortnight is Recycle. Other than that, no restrictions, although it'd be better if it's obvious what you've recycled!

I do a lot of recycling, but normally just take a container and use it, not bothering to decorate or anything. I've got an IPad box that was being thrown out at work that holds my blending sponges, for example. Very useful, but not really attractive. So, for this challenge, I had to put in some effort.

So, I took a coffee tin like that one, and wondered how on earth I could cover it. I don't do a lot of that sort of thing, so I had to try something a little different. In the end, I decided to try using embossing paste. I've had some jars of that for, probably 15 years, and have never really had much success with it. In fact, when I checked out the jar of metallic gold paste, it was rather too thick for this purpose. The copper was ok, and so I used it to cover the tin. When that was dry, I applied a Sheena Douglas masking stencil to the tin. I applied more paste through the stencil, and added glitter to this layer. The stencil wasn't big enough to cover the whole circumference, so there was still a smooth panel. This, I decorated with some die cut flowers, cut using dies from Crafter's Companion and Sue Wilson and completed the effect with some braiding. And that's about it! I'm not sure I'd do another one of these, because I'm not completely happy with the result, but it's definitely better than the original coffee tin, so I'll use it!

I hope you'll play along this fortnight!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 181

This time, at Crafty Cardmakers, our theme is Love!

For this, I made a traditional valentine's card - which will of course be sent anonymously.

A few months ago, I fell in love with one of the then new die sets from Sue Wilson and treated myself. I haven't actually used them beyond a single label, so I got them out for this. I completed the card with a computer-generated sentiment and some punched hearts.

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 178

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, we want to try something a little different; our challenge is to make anything but a card! That's not something I find easy, but I had a little help from a friend who gave me an Ikea box frame. Well, this is what I came up with!

The frame is quite big - the green card I used as backing is about 9 by 9in. It's got glass too, but I removed it to get a better photo.

The background sheet uses watercolour paper shaded and stamped with a range of Distress Inks. The flowers are all hand made using dies from the Sizzix Susan's Garden range along with some greenery made with Sue Wilson dies. Petal shading was done with Pan Pastels, some flower centres use Liquid Pearls and extra detail on stamens use a little glitter glue.The colours are designed to go in our hallway - which is predominately green, although there are pinky/red lights in the glass on the front door, and an oak floor. I hope you can join us this time!

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 174

This time, at Crafty Cardmakers, our theme is Birthdays. It could be a card or something else, provided it follows the theme.

I chose to make a box for a friend's birthday gift.

I cut the bottom and top of the box using a trimmer, then scored it with my Woodware Fingerguard trimmer. (I don't use that one for cutting as I don't find it cuts square, but I keep a scoring blade in it, and it is pretty good when making boxes!) The card for the lid was pre-printed that I picked up at a craft show a while ago and keep forgetting about!

I decorated the box with die cuts. The flower uses the Clematis set from Sizzix's Susan's Garden range. I used Pan Pastels to shade the petals, and a mixture of liquid pearls and glitter glue on the stamen to add some interest.

The greeting uses another Sizzix die, one which cuts a border and inner in one sweep, and I tinted the border using the same Pan pastels as the flower.

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 168

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, we want you to bling it up! Simple, yes?

In fact, this card was a case of serendipity! I needed to make a card for a colleague who's leaving while in the throes of having our 'study' transformed into a craft room. I said 'study' because, although we've always called it that, the room has had many uses since we moved here over 30 years ago. In the early days, it was where we left coats and shoes, then it became a buggy park when the children were small. It's been a bedroom when my mother-in-law visited since she couldn't manage the stairs, and since we entered the digital age, it's been where we kept and used computers. Of course, as the children got older, and computers became even more frequently used, even that use has fallen by the wayside. Despite its many uses, it's always been one of the places where I've stashed my crafty goodies, and as a result, my bits are even more spread around the house than usual.

So, I decided what to do based largely on what I could get my hands on easily, and came up with the design using a variety of die cuts. But, when I assembled it, it wasn't balanced, so I had to decide how to get some more interest in that top left corner. First, I cut a second version of the die cut, this time in the peach, and cut out the butterfly motif. Then, I decided I'd add some sticky gems. When I was finally happy, it was extremely 'blingy', and I realised it'd be perfect for this challenge, although I didn't have it in mind while it was in progress. So, serendipity!

The corner die is from Heartfelt Creations; one I've had for several used but not used often. It's very hard to cut, and one of the reasons I upgraded from my Wizard to a Big Shot Pro a few years ago. I was very disappointed to find that even that machine struggled with it, but by dint of adding a metal plate, squirting with SprayEmboss and running it through at multiple angles, I finally got it to work.

The flowers were made from die cuts courtesy of Sizzix Susan's Garden range, shaded with Pan Pastels, and the leafy additions cut with Sue Wilson dies. The sentiment is computer generated, cut using a Go Kreate die and edged with Versamcolor ink.

I hope you can join us this time!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 160

This time, the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is to make something inspired by Easter.

For this, I've made the first of this year's Easter cards.

I started by making a border using a set of Sue Wilson Gemini dies, although I used both edges rather than just one! Then, I tried out a new (to me) die. It's another Susan Tierney die, but this time, produced by Elizabeth Craft. it's designed to be flatter than the Sizzix range, and that's definitely something I'd welcome. For the image and greeting, I've combined a cropped image from Joanna Sheen's Pamela West CDRom with a greeting. the embossed background was done using an Embossalicious folder.

I hope you can join us this time.