It's A Double Day

Happy Halloween!  Even though it is Halloween, we have another Friday Christmas double day for you!  We have a double dose of Baubles today, but they look very different.  First up we have a sort of distressed style. I used the large die from the Italian Decorative frames to cut a circle aperture in the centre of a piece of milk card.   I embossed the piece with the Swirling Holly embossing folder.  I used a clear Perfect Medium pad around the edges then dusted it with gold embossing powder.  Prior to heating it, I used my finger to remove it slightly so there would not be a definite hard edge left.   I added mounting foam to the back of this piece then mounted the aperture over a piece of soft gold card.  I cut one of the Decorative Frames from the Italian collection using the inner heart die and recessed it into the aperture area.  Next I stamped the Christmas Night Bauble stamp in black on milk card.  I used an Antique linen distress marker and highlighted the scene a bit.  I cut it out with the matching Bauble die then went around the edge with a Perfect Medium pad.  I dusted the edge with gold powder and removed some of it with my finger before heating as I did on the background.  I cut the bead cap out of gold card and glued it to the top of the bauble.  I mounted the bauble on foam in my aperture and added a chalk seam binding messy bow at the top.  I used some metallic twine and a small Dazzler in the centre that I had changed the colour with some gold mixative alcohol ink.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with a Fancy Framed tag.  I inked it with Antique Linen before removing it from the die.  I mounted it with foam below my bauble.  I completed the card with a milk mat which I pierced with my piercing ruler, then a thin gold mat and a final milk mat.  The finished dimensions are 7 1/2" x  8 3/4" in size.  Scroll down for card number two.

 The second card uses the same bauble die, but with the addition of gilding flakes and decorative paper.  I covered a piece of white card with a sticky adhesive sheet and used the outside Bauble die shape to cut an aperture.  I peeled away the backing paper and gilded the aperture with Golden Jewels Gilding flakes.  I mounted foam on the back of this piece and attached a piece of decorative paper from my craft stash behind the aperture opening.  I cut the Vintage Bauble in white card using the decorative insert die.  I glued it into the recessed aperture opening and added pearls to embellish it.  I matted this piece with a white mat that I pierced the edges on then a slightly larger white mat to give a finished look to the focal element.  I used the Nordic Trees embossing folder to emboss a larger white background piece.  I tied a piece of white frilly edged ribbon around it vertically and taped the ends to the back,  I added a double bow to the side with glue dots.  A white crystal Sparkler adorned the centre of the bow and I made two matching stick pins as embellishments.  I added a mat which I gilded the edges with Golden Jewels and then a final white mat to complete the card.  The finished dimensions are  7 1/2" x  9" in size.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing two completely different bauble cards today!  All for now, Sue x

Reflected Hearts

Hi crafters!  It is all about the the Tethered Heart striplet today.  Think aperture and cut outs and the different shapes you'll have from it to create a unique background for your crafting creations.  I hope you like it!

The finished dimensions are 7 1/2" x  8" in size.  All for now, Sue x

Wednesday Weekly Card Giveaway

Hi there crafty friends!  How do you feel about this aqua, silver and white Christmas card?  Want a chance to win it?  Just leave a comment on today's post to be entered into the drawing.  I started this card by embossing a piece of aqua card using my Frosty Swirls embossing folder.  I used some Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue and ran a bead along some of the swirls then dusted it with Iced Snow and allowed it to dry.  I added small pearls to the centres of the snowflakes on the background too.  Using the Grand Large Labels, I cut a frame out of coconut white card and added mounting foam to the back to raise it for dimension.  I added it to my aqua embossed background and trimmed away any excess that showed.  I stamped the two Bauble stamps using a clear Perfect medium pad on to silver card, then heat embossed them in Silver Shine detail powder for a tone on tone look.  I cut them out with the matching Bauble die, added some silver cording to the top with a small bow and tucked the end of it under the edge of the frame, securing it with some glue.  I added mounting foam to the backs of the baubles to attach them to the card background.  I stamped my sentiment on vellum and embossed it in silver and cut it into a banner strip.  I attached it to the side of my frame, giving it a bit of curve before gluing it in place.  Using the Elegant Poinsettia stamps, I stamped them on to vellum with a Clear Perfect Medium and heat embossed them in silver.  I cut them out with the Classic Poinsettia die and made five assorted sizes of flowers.  I attached the two larger ones to the end of my sentiment banner with several white Holly Sprays coming from around them as accents.  I added small white pearls and Iced Snow to the holly sprays as embellishments.  The three smaller poinsettias were added to the opposite corner of the frame.  The card was completed with my usual white pierced mat layer, a thin silver mat and a final white mat.  The finished dimensions are 6 3/4" x  8 1/4" in size.  I will draw the winner and announce it on Saturday's blog post so don't forget to check back.  Check out the counter at the very bottom of the page, I am very excited to see it has nearly hit a new milestone (or at least as of the writing of this blog post late last night!)  Hopefully by morning  when this post goes live I will be able to say that it has hit a new milestone!   All for now, Sue x

Floral Spray

Hello bloggers!  I wanted to show how a really simple vine could be used as a floral element to make an entire card.   Simple and quick, both of which are sometimes needed in our hectic lives!  I hope you will take a few minutes to enjoy the video.

On another note, I received a lovely email from Marisa Job.  She has used some of my Christmas dies to create a beautiful box, complete with step by step instructions and I thought I would share it with you here http://marisadesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

 The finished dimensions are 7 1/2" x  8" in size.  All for now, Sue x

Thank You For All You Do

Hello my crafty friends!  I really like this card as it showcases not only the pretty new embossing folder, but the other collections in the release as well as one of the matching stamps!  I think it really shows how well they all work together to give you lovely cards!  I started by using the cutting edge from the Auvergne die and cutting an aperture in the middle of a piece of coconut white card.  Next, I used the new Eternity embossing folder to give the background texture.  I added mounting foam to the back and set it aside so it was ready for assembly later.  Next I stamped the Arched Swirls stamp in black Archival ink on white card.  I covered it with a sticky adhesive sheet and peeled the backing paper off and coated it with Diamond Snow.  I used some cut 'n dry foam and added some Tattered Rose distress ink over the top to add some colour (this could have been done prior to the adding of the sticky sheet too, but you would have to dry it well before adding the adhesive sheet to make sure it would stick properly).  I centred the stamped image in my aperture and attached the background over the top.  I stamped my sentiment in black on white card and made a frame for it using the Salzburg die set.  I added some mounting foam to the back of the frame and attached it over my sentiment and cut away the excess card.  I mounted it in the centre of my stamped image with foam and added glue to it so it stuck nicely to the glitter.  Using the Delicate daisy Open petal die, I cut several sizes in peach card and layered them up to create three flowers for my card.  I added black flatback pearls to all the flower centres.  I mounted the largest in the lower corner with some white tulle and several pieces of Petite Vinery cut out of black card.  I mounted the other two flowers diagonally across the card and added a few small bits of the vinery there as well.  I completed the card with a white pierced mat layer, a thin black mat and a final white mat.  The finished dimensions are 6 1/2" x 8 " in size.  All for now, Sue x

Wedding Bells

 Good Sunday morning all!  Another nice wedding card for you today!  I started this card by inking the Treilliage mask with Clear Perfect Medium.  I letter pressed it through the Grand Calibur with a piece of milk card, transferring the ink to the card.  I dusted the inked card with gold mica powder for a soft shimmer.  I matted this piece and added it to a larger piece of card that I stamped The Order of Service stamp on to and gold embossed.  Using the wedding bell stamp, I stamped it with a Clear Perfect Medium pad twice, once on milk card and once on soft gold card.  I gold heat embossed both pieces.  I cut out the entire stamped image on the gold card.  Then, I cut just the bells out by hand on the milk card and glued them in place over the gold card cut out.  I added the piece to the centre of my background with mounting foam.  I wrapped a piece of chalk seam binding around the card and added a messy bow.  I topped it with a gold satin ribbon rose and two matching stick pins that I made.  I finished the card with a pieced milk mat, a thin gold mat and a final milk mat.  The finished dimension are 6 1/2'' x  7 1/2'' in size.

Now it is time for the weekly Comment Game Winners to be announced.  This week's winners are:
Linda 28!!!
Hannah Aitken!!!
Mary Mac!!!

For the extra qualifying post of Wed. Oct. 22nd, the winners are:
Culliesocks!!!
dlough!!!
Linda McCall!!!

Congratulations all!  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize!  All for now, Sue x

Tethered Hearts

Hi Bloggers!  This one was another special request so I thought I would oblige!  I started by cutting the Tethered Hearts Striplet twice out of white card and once out of peach card, all using the outside cutting edge.  I used the edge die alone to cut solid backing pieces, two out of peach and one out of black.  I glued all the pieces together to form three striplets.  On a background piece of white card, I added the two white striplets to the sides with mounting foam and the peach striplet to the centre, raised a bit higher with foam.  I used the ovals from the background to cut a white mat for my oval element, then made a faux mat out of black by tracing the outside shape of the die and hand cutting it.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the inside of the French Provence die.  I inked it lightly with Tattered Rose before removing it from my die.  I cut a tag from the Austrian set out of peach card to go behind it.  Using the Classic Rose die, I made a flower out of peach card, then added in Faux Quilled Leaves and a swirl to embellish it.  I finished the card with a mat of black, then a white paper pierced mat using my piercing ruler.  A thin black mat then a final white mat finished it off nicely.  The finished dimensions are 7 1/4'' x 8'' in size.

The winner of this week's Wednesday Card giveaway is:

Lynda Brock!!

Congratulations!  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize.

I had some more great news yesterday.  I was nominated in the British Craft Awards for the best blog category (along with Julia Watts and Sam Poole too!)  I have included a link to the site on the right hand side of the blog is you would like to cast your vote, just click the link!    All for now, Sue x