Melt Art Heart

This week, Simon Says Stamp and Show...a project with heart, so what better excuse for a luuurrrve card :-)

"Melt Art Heart Card"

The background is sponged with pink and red distress inks, dried, then overstamped using a heart stamp and brushed with perfect pearls to get that gold shimmer on the hearts. The decorated card is layered onto gold card for a frame before adhering to the card base.

"Melt Art Heart"

To make the heart, rub versamark over the inside of a heart-shaped cookie cutter and one end of a cocktail stick. Melt some UTEE in a melt pot and pour the cookie cutter on a non-stick mat. Place the cocktail stick on end into the UTEE before it has set, and leave for a few minutes until completely set before removing from the mat. The ink stops the UTEE sticking to the cookie cutter & the cocktail stick. Removing the cocktail stick will leave a hole for mounting the heart.

Carefully melt the top of the heart using a heat tool, sprinkle with gold embossing powder and heat until a gold colour is achieved. After cooling, stamp "LOVE" in black archival ink and mount the heart on a short chain passed through an eyelet set into the card.

"Cupid"

Some red mirror card is dry-embossed with a script embossing folder which is first swiped with a versamark ink pad. After passing through the machine, the script pattern is sprinkled with gold embossing powder and heat-embossed. The cupid is diecut from the prepared card together with an arrow and the diecuts are mounted on the card base using Pinflair for extra dimension. For a final touch, some small beaded self-adhesive heart embellishments were scattered over the background and a length of red velvet ricrac was glued along the bottom of the card to give cupid a base to run along.

I hope my friends in England are surviving the floods this week. We've had plenty of rain in Northern Ireland too but I guess we should be used to it!

Ingredients:

cardstock: white 300gsm & 200gsm, red mirror, gold 200gsm

embossing powders: UTEE clear, detail gold

Versamark ink pad

Archival ink pad, Jet Black

Distress Inks

Perfect Pearls, antique gold

script embossing folder

Sizzix Bigz Tim Holtz Love Struck

small beaded heart embellishments

red velvet ricrac

Entered for the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - A Project With Heart

Peacock Christmas

The justrite inspiration challenge this week is "Proud as a Peacock" and they want us to use peacock colours. Boy did I enjoy this :-). You might not realise at first glance, but every stamp on the project is by Justrite.

"Peacock Christmas"

This card has a standard book card construction. If you've never made one before, you might like to check out my tutorial. This one was made square for a change.

"Left hand inside panel"

It's a little hard to see the sentiment panel with all the reflection from the pearlised card, but the background shows up well in this photo. I took all the little snowflake stamps from the "Large Fancy Holiday Sentiments" clear stamp set and arranged them on a small acrylic block, then used it to stamp clear versamark all over a sheet of A4 white card and heat-embossed in clear. These little stamps are really detailed and stamp well, making a fab resist background. Then I sponged with Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers and Faded Jeans distress inks to get the Peacock coloured background. You get some fabulous purples when the colours blend together. Finally, the card is overstamped with the snowflakes using the same distress inks to add depth. A couple of snowflakes are diecut from white,pearlised card and added to the background.

"Sentiment Panel"

The next step is to stamp the panels from the "Thank You Labels Twenty" set onto white pearlised card and again heat-emboss in clear. Diecut and use the same distress inks to colour the panels while they are still in the dies, leaving a crisp white frame. Stamp the "Let it Snow" sentiment onto scrap white, pearlised card and heat-emboss in clear. Diecut using a frame and insert from a Fancy Tag die. Again, leave the pieces in the die to sponge the inks on. These pieces are layered with foam tape for extra dimension, and positioned in the centre of the panel so they fit into the aperture of the opposite panel, enabling the card to close properly.

"Snowflake aperture"

I really enjoyed making the centrepiece for this card. The 3-d snowflake is layered up from pearlised card, with the lowermost one having the centre inked whilst in the die and the layers separated with Pinflair dimensional glue. Extra snowflakes are added around the edges by slipping into the "book pages" and sticking with a little glossy accents. I've had the big teal gem in my stash for a while, and this was the perfect use for it, together with some smaller ones sprinkled about and in the background of the left hand side to tie the two panels together.

"Front cover"

The same stamps were used to make the background and sentiment panels for the front cover, this time embossing in silver on a black background to leave no hint of the inside colour, which hopefully will give the recipient a big "wow" factor when they open the card.

"Book Card"

Ingredients:

Justrite stamp sets: Large Fancy Holiday Sentiments, Thank you Labels Twenty

Spellbinders Die Sets: Labels 20, Create-a-Flake Four, Snowflake Pendant 2012, Fancy Framed Tags One, Fancy Framed Tags Two

Distress Inks: Peacock Feathers, Seedless Preserves, Faded Jeans

Versamark ink pad

Stampendous embossing pwder: clear detail, silver

teal ribbon

cardstock: black 300gsm, white 200gsm, pearlised white 300gsm

adhesives: PVA, Pinflair dimensional, Glossy Accents

coloured gems

Entered for the following challenge:
Justrite Inspiration Friday Challenge - #086 Proud as a Peacock

Thank You

Thank you to all you wonderful people who leave such lovely comments on my blog. You are very kind.

"Thank You"

Today's card is a triple stepper card with sidepanels. The old jalopy and gears are diecut from foamboard using Sizzix Bigz dies. This gives really thick diecuts with loads of dimension. The gold colouring is added by dabbing with gold mixative alcohol ink.

Ingredients:

Sizzix Bigz Tim Holtz dies: Old Jalopy, Gadget Gears

foamboard

Adirondack alcohol ink: gold mixative

Marianne butterfly dies

Kanban Industriana paper pad

cardstock: grey 300gsm, black pearlised

adhesives: PVA, Pinflair, glossy accents

silver thread

washers

Entered for the following challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Thank You

A Dove Book Card for Christmas

This is my favourite card from the last couple of months, it has all my favourite things - vintage images, loads of ink & stamping, and above all lots of dimension. I hope you like it too.

"Dove Book Christmas Card Inside"

This card has the usual book card construction. If you've never made one before, I have a tutorial with all the construction details.

"Inside left panel"

The background paper is entirely handmade using a heat-embossing resist technique to stamp the snowflakes, with plenty of blue distress inks sponged on, and a few extra blue stamped snowflakes for dimension. Spellbinders snowflakes are diecut from pearlised card, together with a Venetian Motif decorated circle behind the sentiment. The sentiment is printed from one of those Christmas magazine CDs & sponged with distress inks to match, then mounted on a Fancy Tag diecut with Pinflair blobs to raise it. You can't see it in the photo, but the swirls have thin lines of glitter glue added for extra sparkle.

"Inside aperture"

The beautiful dove is a free image from the Graphics Fairy (thank you Karen!). It is printed three times, fussy cut, shaped & layered. The feathers on the wing edges and tail are feathered with scissors so they look more realistic. The image was glued into some old acetate packaging filled with tiny clear seed beads and white sequin snowflakes to make a shaker card, and fitted into the aperture. Extra diecut snowflakes are slotted in between "the pages of the book" and held in place with tiny dots of glossy accents. The front layer of the folded book pages is heat-embossed & inked to match the backing paper.

"Outside cover"

The front cover has some more of that patterned paper matted onto pearlised white card edged in distress inks, with some more diecut snowflakes.

Well, it's turned cold here in Northern Ireland and whilst they forecast snow, we didn't see any thank goodness. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas :-)

Ingredients:

Stampers Anonymous stamp set - Tim Holtz Reindeer Flight

Spellbinders - 2012 Snowflake Pendant, Create-a-flake 4, Venetian Motifs, Fancy Framed Tags Two

Distress Inks

Versamark ink pad

Stampendous embossing powder, clear detail

free dove image from the Graphics Fairy

recycled acetate packaging

seed beads & white sequin snowflakes

Papermania Persimmon ribbon

cardstock: blue 300gsm, white pearlised 200gsm, white 160 gsm & 300gsm

Hot Off The Press - vintage Christmas CD-Rom

Fine glitter glue

Entered for the following challenges:
Joanna Sheen - Cold and Frosty
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Stamp Without Ink

Black and Gold Bauble Madness

Back to the Christmas cards today, and I enjoyed making this one playing with inks, stamps and dies mmmm better than chocolate (no, really!). It's quick if you have a few to make in a hurry.

"Black and Gold Bauble Madness"

I like the way the baubles are falling like snowflakes across the background. A couple of the bauble images are stamped on spare card and diecut, then placed on the card with foam pads to raise them up for some extra dimension. Everything here is stamped, but gold embossing works really well too.

Ingredients:

Justrite stamp set: Merry and Bright

Spellbinders: Holiday Ornaments 2010, Frosty Forms

Brilliance Ink Pad: Galaxy Gold

cardstock: black 300gsm, gold glittery 200gsm (for reindeer)

gold aquamarker (for edging)

adhesives: foam pads

Entered for the following challenge:
Justrite Inspiration - Happy Holidays

Lest We Forget

"Poppy Field"

 

If I Should Die
by Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

 

Ingredients:

Indigo Blu stamp set: Poppy Meadow

Spellbinders Decorative Labels One, Labels One

distress ink pads & markers

archival ink: Jet Black

Stampendous embossing powder: clear

red grosgrain ribbon

cardstock: red 300gsm, black 300gsm, white 200gsm

 

Entered for the following challenges:

Card Crafter's Circle - Remembrance / Poppies
Crafts and Me - Reds
Try it on Tuesday - Memories
That Craft Place - Red for Remembrance

Traditional Christmas Book Card & Charms

Today I can finally share my secret with you, that this month I have been chosen as Guest Designer for Stampalot. Also, they have changed the name of their blog to Stamping Sensations! This month's challenge is "Traditional Christmas" so why not pop along and have a go or even just have a nosey at the design team's wonderful creations? There's a great prize too! Well here we go with today's card. It's one of my book cards, and we'll jump straight to the inside.

"Traditional Christmas Book Card inside"

I've worked in the traditional Christmas colours of red, green and gold, and with a vintage thing going on. The basic construction is the same as for the tutorial with the cover made from 300gsm red card and the closures using red/gold woven ribbon. More of the ribbon was used to decorate the border of the book on the right hand panel, along with a fussy-cut border from a free vintage image. I used up scraps from last year's Christmas papers making a collage background for the left hand panel with a layered sentiment.

"Right hand panel"

On the right hand panel, the book aperture, there is more depth to play with and a number of items are glued in place, including decorated buttons and diecut flowers. Snowflakes are diecut from vintage paper scraps and added around the edges, sticking them into the book leaves. I love the big, jovial Father Christmas that is used as the background image, together with the "Jolly Old St Nicholas" sentiment.

"Snowman Pendant"

The snowman is cut from a scrap of patterned paper, glued into a blank cameo with glossy accents, then the cameo is filled with glossy accents and left to dry before gluing into the project with Pinflair.

"Father Christmas"

The "Father Christmas" charm is made in a similar manner.

"Robin"

Did you spot the robin in the top right-hand corner? He is a Kars wooden embellishment coloured with distress markers.

"Front Cover"

I like to make the book covers look realistic, so often use gold heat-embossing to make them resemble old leather-bound volumes. Also, a plain outside leaves more room for a wow factor when you open the card!. The background is stamped in one go using a fab Kanban stamp, and a diecut reindeer is layered red on gold for a shadow effect before sticking to the front.

"Traditional Christmas Book Card"

Ingredients:

Graphic45 8" x 8" paper pad scraps: Christmas Emporium

other patterned paper scraps

Spellbinders: Layered Poinsettia, Frosty Forms

Kanban stamp: Winter trees with stag and deer

versamark clear ink pad

Stampendous embossing powder: Pirate Gold

Kars wooden embellishment

charms

decorated buttons

tiny yellow gems for flower centres

red & gold ribbon lace

cardstock: red 300gsm, antique gold 200gsm, white 200gsm

adhesives: PVA, Pinflair, glossy accents

Eighties Poinsettia Christmas

I just loved that red, white and black colour combo in the 80s and have used it on a few Christmas cards this year.

"Poinsettia Christmas Card"

The Botanical Swirls die is cut & embossed from white pearlised card leaving a neat border. The fab, swirly Justrite "Merry Christmas" stamped in black archival ink in the lower right hand corner and the corners rounded. The whole piece is mounted onto sparkly black card using lengths of foam tape around the frame to give some depth.

"Poinsettia Dimension"

The poinsettia is die cut in lots of layers from red and black glittery card, then each layer shaped by hand before sticking together with glossy accents. Some tiny black gems are added to the centre. The whole flower is mounted onto the card with a big dollop of Pinflair, which gives a little flexibility.

Ingredients:

Justrite clear stamps:  Large Christmas Sentiments

Spellbinders: Botanical Swirls, Poinsettia

cardstock: white pearlised, black sparkly, red sparkly, A5 white 300gsm card blank

small black gems

archival ink: Jet Black

adhesives: glossy accents, Pinflair

Entered for the following challenge:
Justrite Friday Challenges - Happy Holidays

Sparkly Christmas

It can be hard to take photographs at this time of year with those dark days meaning that a flash is required, and this is particularly so with sparkly holographic card, so I must apologise for today's photo's.

"Sparkly Christmas"

There are layers of sparkly holographic card and black & silver holographic card, and diecuts of black glittery card stuck onto the silver card for extra background interest.

"Justrite Bauble"

This is the same bauble stamp that I used on the vintage Christmas card posted on 17th October, sorry that it's so hard to see the stamping against all that sparkle from the camera flash! It's amazing how different the Christmas cards are just from the difference in background papers.

"Diecuts"

This view shows the background diecuts and the glittery black poinsettia layered up with some silver ball gems in the centre. A string of gems makes a fab hanging for the bauble.

Ingredients:

Justrite stamp set: Merry and Bright

Spellbinders: Holiday Ornaments 2010, Poinsettia, Holiday Tree, Botanical Swirl, Create-A-Flake Four, Labels 28

cardstock: "Merry Christmas black & silver, other black & silver for matting, silver holographic stars, A5 300gsm card blank

foam tape for mounting label & ornament

PVA

Entered for the following challenge:
Justrite Friday Challenge - Happy Holidays