Hidden message, for Happy Daze

Continuing the "try something new" theme for the Happy Daze challenge, I thought that sometimes the easiest way to give something new a try is to copy something you've seen in a magazine.

I'm cheating a little here as I'm copying my own idea from my article in this month's Craft Stamper Magazine, which used Stampotique Stamps available from Happy Daze.

The card is a tent fold card with a gap at the top to hold a strip of card.
I used the wonderful moon girl, as well as Daisy Daisy, hearts Cubed and Each life, all of which are available from Happy Daze.

The instructions are in this month's craft stamper, which you can also get from Happy Daze

one layer wednesday: red and pink

I decided that I must use the gorgeous heart stamp that came with the new issue of Craft Stamper for the theme at One Layer Wednesday

To make this card, I first stamped the ribbon in red (versafine crimson red) and masked it and stamped the heart in versacolor old rose.

I was going to leave it like that at first. I liked it, but I find that other people find flat cards a bit dull, so I decided to make it more interesting yet still keeping it one layer by creating a torn aperture. I did this using the cutting/tearing technique I tried a few days ago. to do this just cut the edges of the shape and tear!

Craft stamper February 2012 - on the cover

Well sort of..

My article is about hidden messages cards, and you can see one of the cards in the middle of the pictures along the bottom.

I have used stamps from Stampotique.

This is the hidden message in the one on the cover.

You'll have to get the magazine to see the other two, and how they were made.

Craft Stamper December 2011

The December 2011 issue of craft stamper is out today, and I have a small article in it. If you know the magazine well, it's the "Stamping with..." article. I chose to stamp with.. Houses.

I used a fantastic row of houses from Crafty Individuals for all three of my cards, and tried to show three very different ways to use them. My favourite is the kite card, where I just used the top of the houses to give the illusion of sky to the rest of the card. I originally got this idea from a fabulous tag that Jo Capper-Sandon made (and gave to me) quite some time ago, you can admire it here.

Rogue Redhead new release

Another Preview of the new stamps from Rogue Redhead, This is from the Candy Kisses Plate. A super simple card coloured with one colour of marker and a blender pen. I've also added some white flower soft for a snowy effect.

This colouring method is the same method as I used in the new Craft Stamper magazine, due out next friday.

less is more- metallic (wish upon a star)

This week at less is more it's a colour theme, and it's metallic. I decided to use a simple metal charm on my card, which I think works well with Jo's Wish Word Stamp from the new releases at stampotique.
I've also used the freebie star stamp (also designed by Jo for Stampotique) from this month's Craft stamper, to make a stencil, which I have sprayed through with Crafter's Companion's Spray and sparkle (iridescent) much like I did on the book cover in my last post. You could also do this with the star stamp in Jo's new range, it's the same but substantially larger (I'm lucky enough to have both)
it's hard to photograph this, but it looks lovely in real life.

Craft Stamper Magazine

The new Craft Stamper Magazine is out today, and is worth getting for the free stamp alone! Jo Capper-Sandon has designed a gorgeous star stamp for Stampotique. It's a smaller version of the new release from Stampotique.
I was lucky enough to be asked to make samples for the magazine, and I couldn't stop. I ended up making too many to be shown in the magazine, so here's one that didn't make it in.
It's just a covered notebook with the words "my plans for stardom on the cover". To create the subtle stars in the background, I created a stencil using the stamp and sprayed through it with spray and sparkle.

hopefully some of the others that did't make it into the magazine will be shown on the Craft Stamper website, and I may sneak a few more onto my blog.

It's always great fun working with Jo, we've known each other such a long time (but only met once) and no one has inspired me more! I'm really pleased with how the samples look, I think our styles complement each other well, but there's something for every level (yes, mine are the easy ones! lol)

I also have my final part in the one layer card series. I feel a bit sad that it's finished, I've really enjoyed it. But don't worry, I have more articles coming up and I'm sure I'll manage to sneak a few more one layer cards in. This month I have looked at using stencils and masks to make clean and simple designs.

Article in new Craft Stamper Magazine

I have the 5th part of my series on one layer cards in the issue of Craft Stamper which is out today.
In this "episode" I look at holes and apertures. In one of the "further idea" pieces I made confetti shaped holes, and I've been asked if they are hard to do.

They are not!

here's a quick tutorial of how to do them. This is not the card that is in the magazine, but a quick one made with a stamp from Stampotique.

Stamp image


to create confetti, use craft knife to make a wiggly cut


make another wiggly cut alongside this, crossing it once, twice, or more, if you like, or you can not cross them at all.


join the ends of the lines with cuts.

pop out the pieces

repeat process for more confetti


add more holes with a hole punch.

colour the image, and the inside of the card if desired.

GC113- babes and tots

For the current gingersnap theme, babes and tots, I decided to make a new baby card using the floating front method I did for Craft Stamper Magazine. I wanted to show that you didn't have to have a floating cut out image, but that it was a good way to mount tags too. The image is a forever friends stamp, coloured with pencils.

One Layer Wednesday: Clouds

The new theme at One Layer Wednesday is Clouds. I decided to make my own clouds using the fantastic pointillism technique that Kim Costello shows us in this month's Craft Stamper Magazine. Have you seen it? it's gorgeous. I don't own copics so I used Whispers markers and I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

What goes with clouds? why, hot air balloons of course. I know that it won't be an original idea, I'm sure loads of people will use them for this challenge. This is the one that came free with Craft Stamper magazine a short while ago, that I did some of the samples for. It's a useful stamp for your collection.

I think this card might be handy for a graduate, or someone being promoted

a few challenges....

today I have decided to combine Theme Thursday's Pink and brown challenge with LIMs sketch challenge, finally going for the bottom right corner (my white space is brown).
I've also took a risk and entered this for one layer Wednesday's Fathers day challenge. Lots of people seem to think that fathers day cards have to be "masculine" but fathers of little girls get used to a lot of pink, and I think this card would be appreciated by the father of a little girl.

The stamp is a gorjuss girl that was a free subscription gift for Craft Stamper magazine and age ago. I've gone for my favourite pencil colouring on kraft card, I think the kraft helps to make it just a touch more masculine.... maybe

same challenge, different corner..

After seeing Kathyk's lovely card made with the free stamp from Craft Stamper, I was desperate for my issue to arrive as I though that the chandelier would look good hanging in one corner of the card. Luckily it arrived today, as I had challenged kathy for us both to make a card with the chandelier in the corner of the card as a second entry to this week's LIM challenge




I thought I would be a bit of a smartypants and use the top left corner this time. but guess what.... kathy did the same. I love to see how similar/different two people make samples with the same stamps and brief.

thanks for the little game Kathy, it was fun!

I tried to make mine look like peeled wallpaper, by gluing the paper to the card and then ripping it off, and sanding the remaining paper. I also added a bit of flock paper, and some sepia accents to the chandelier

gorjuss floating front

I've been waiting for this gorjuss girl to come back in stock at Happy daze for a couple of weeks now, as I was desperate to try her out with my floating front card technique (as seen in Craft Stamper Magazine)


I have coloured her with pencils and paper pieced the bird with some paper from my stash.
The bird background is done with a mask from a set of five and Jenni bowlin soap powder ink (both from happy daze) I distressed the top with my brand new paper distresser. I can finally stop using my scissor blade!




but why the paperclip? lol I didn't quite get round to doing the tab fastener at the back.... but I will, although I quite like the paperclip!

LIM: One Layer Card -Embossing

Another fantastic theme at less is more: One layer card with embossing (any kind)

my piece is done with dry embossing.

This card, envelope and tag set was the original version of the "one layer Wonder" article I did for latest issue of Craft Stamper Magazine. I quite liked it but we decided that for an article it just needed more colour to grab the readers' attention. And that's how the very pink set came about that's in the article. I thought I'd post it just to show how an article comes about, and also I've used two lines of dry embossing (on this and the card in the article, which are not obvious from the photo (except the close up one), but are very obvious in real life.
All of the stamps on this set are PaperArtsy Hotpicks (HP1005, Xtra01 and Xtra 03)

Happy Stampers Sneak Peeks

As I've mentioned (several times) I am going to be demonstrating at the Happy Stampers Show this weekend at port sunlight.
I plan to demo my floating front cards (as seen in craft stamper magazine), using scrolls work stamps, for Happy Daze (stand 32). I shall be demoing when Jo Capper-Sandon takes a break.
here's a few examples of the kind of thing I'm thinking of doing.

OLW circles

tell me, is it really narcissistic to CASE your own cards?
In this month's Craft Stamper Magazine I have part 2 of a 6 part series of one layer cards. I decided to make something similar to the card in the magazine for this week's One Layer Wednesday Challenge.

The theme this week is Circles.

can you see the circles on my card?

well I think the splodges are circles. I hope I can get away with that.

All of the stamps are from Jo Capper-Sandon's range at Stampotique and are available from Happy Daze in the UK.
medium bee with small bee mounted on the side #3000
splatter blob #3013
splatter long #3014
happy unbirthday #3036
abstract foliage #3031

talking of Happy Daze, I think I may have already mentioned that I am demoing this Saturday at the Happy Stampers show at Port Sunlight. I shall be on the Happy Daze (stand 32) demoing when Jo Capper-Sandon needs a break! please come and say hi, it will be brilliant to meet all my blogging friends in person.
Tomorrow I will be showing some sneak peaks of a couple of the cards that I plan to demo. I plan to give away what I make, so come back tomorrow to see what I'm doing!!