40 Watt Flowers

     We've set you a real challenge this time at The Male Room, we would like to see you make flowers masculine. The DT have come up with some ideas to help get you started.

     Chocolate Baroque have some great steampunk style flowers, this set is called Punky Flowers, it's been out a couple of years but is still available.
     This flower spray has been stamped and embossed in silver on black card. I have used Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints to colour them in. I have the original single pots, they now come in a pallet but they are the same thing, repackaged and just as gorgeous.
     I wanted to pick out the blue so I used a layer of pearl paper to mat the image panel on before putting it on to an embossed mirri layer. The silver mirri was rather bright so I have used some black acrylic paint dabbed on to age it and dull it down a bit. I had to use redline tape to stick this on as the mirri card is very shiny and I needed a firm fix.
     I have coloured a white card blank with Distress Ink Black Soot around the edges, let it dry and then added my mirri panel on top so it looks like it's on a black card. This makes it easier to stamp inside when I decide what to use it for.
      Please come and join us at The Male Room, we would love to see what you create.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments - Flowers

Great Impressions - Anything Goes
Dragonfly Dreams - Anything Goes

Dec The Hedge With MDF

     Christmas has arrived at Creative Expressions this month and I got a Christmas Mega Grab Bag of MDF shapes to play with.

     I drilled a small hole in the top of each shape before beginning decoration, I use a small hand drill for this type of job.
     I started with the angel, her wings are covered with CS flake and glitter glue then with CS gold flakes from the Inca Gold pack. Her body was painted white and then rubbed over with Pearl Moon gilding wax.
     While I still had the glue out I covered the dove and used silver gilding flakes .

     The flower is also made with the flake glue and green glitter on the large one, with red glitter on the small one, then stuck together.
     The snowman was glued and covered with white flock, with the exception of his hat, that has been coloured with an alcohol marker, as are his eyes, nose and mouth.
     The tree has been coloured with CS gilding wax in Decadent Bamboo, it is green but the shine has a gold luster to it. The little decorations are CS Glitter glue Red Apple Twinkles.
     The ginger bread man only has his features coloured using a white gel pen.    
There is a small length of gold or silver thread on each shape so they can be hung on a tree. My Christmas Tree is in the loft so I used my hedge to take these photos, it looked rather nice so I may just have to decorate it again in December!
      There are approximately three of each shape in the bag so you could decorate a reasonable sized tree with these, I haven't used the holly, sleigh and candy cane either. If you drill the holes for them the children would love using these little shapes, it would keep them busy for hours!

Materials used 
CE Christmas Mega Grab Bag MDF Shapes
CE Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue
CE CS Gilding Flakes - Inca Gold
CE CS Gilding Wax - Decadent Bamboo / Pearl Moon
CE CS Cosmic Twinkles - Red Apple

I would like to enter these decorations in the following challenges:

Sparkles Christmas - NO Designer Papers

Anything But A Card - Celebration (Christmas)

More Happy Thoughts

     I like this sentiment so much I had to use it again, but this time with the rest of the stamps from the Daffodil Elements set by John Lockwood with Creative Expressions.

     The image panel has been stamped on white card and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Detail Black, then coloured in with alcohol markers. In the set there are some separate flowers that can be stamped and cut out to build up dimesion on your picture, I chose to use three flower heads and mounted them on foam pads.
     The DL card had a rather large space at each end of the image panel so I used another of John's stamps sets to stamp and emboss in CS Bright Gold some butterflies.
 

      I stamped on spare card the same butterflies, then coloured with CS Drawing inks. I coloured the butterfly on the card as well as the spare one so when the wings are up it still looks nice. The back of the butterflies wings are coloured the same pale blue as the sky.
     The image panel is stuck down before adding the top wings of the butterfly.
     There are several sentiments with this set so it's quite versatile which is what we all want from any craft item, John's stamp sets offer a range of uses making them value for money.



Materials used
CE John Lockwood stamps - Daffodil Elements / Butterfly Dreams
CE Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks
CE Embossing Powder - Detail Black / Bright Gold
Perfect Medium Ink Pad

Sending Happy Thoughts.....

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is 'Sending Happy Thoughts...' your way. I have used a striplet stamp by John Lockwood called Daffodil Burst.

      The image is stamped and embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold on Foundations Cream card. I have used Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks to colour the flowers. Drawing inks are Mica watercolours in liquid form, in a handy little bottle with a tiny brush (just like an eyeliner), they are the same gorgeous watercolour that is available in a paint pallet.
     I painted each flower separately with white then immediately with yellow so that I could blend the inks slightly. The stamens are painted with Marigold to add a small splash of bold colour.
     I chose to paint the flowers more like Narcissus as I have used a bright yellow card blank, well if you're sending happy thoughts it has to be a happy colour too.
     The image panel is mounted on a thin layer of burnt orange, then a larger layer of green , both coloured with alcohol markers, before going on to a thin layer of cream. I know it's lots of layers but it still comes up quite thin so postage should be standard.
     The sentiment comes from another of John's stamp sets called Daffodil Elements, it is stamped and embossed in CS Bright Gold again.

Materials used
CE John Lockwood stamps - Daffodil Burst Striplet / Daffodil Elements
CE Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks - Pearl Shine / Sunrise Yellow / Marigold Burst
CE Embossing Powder - Bright Gold
Perfect Medium Ink Pad

Couture Creations For A Special Birthday

     This weeks project for Creative Expressions is also a card for my Mother-In-Law, it's her birthday tomorrow, a special one but I'm not allowed to say which one!
     I have been using Couture Creations Vintage Rose Garden papers this month and thought they would be just right for this occasion, then my friend Mynn Kitchen used a technique I had forgotten about and sparked the whole idea, thanks Mynn.

   


 I began by using Distress Ink Victorian Velvet to colour the edge of a white card blank, there is no need to colour the middle as it will be covered by the design.
      I do this with most of my cards as I've found it very difficult to get perfect matches with coloured card, it usually works out cheaper too!

 

  I have used one sheet of the paper pad and folded the corners into the middle. While they are folded in I have used Distress Ink Peeled Paint to colour the folded edges.
     Under each flap I have put a strip of double sided tape to hold down about 1/2 inch, this way when the flaps are curled out they will all sit neatly.

    The points of the flaps are held down with some red line tape as it's very strong.
     On each point there is a tiny pink gem and on three green corners there is a larger pink gem.

     There is a cascade of flowers on the bottom corner because I wanted them to tumble out of the centre and also to hide where the edges didn't meet perfectly. Three out of four corners were fine but one was a little untidy so that's the one that got covered up. That's the beauty of using a random patterned paper, who knows which way up it should be?
     The flowers are coloured with Cosmic Shimmer Mica Spray Antique Rose and left to dry on a paper towel on the radiator. Once dry they have green gems in the middle to match the flowers on the paper.
     The large flower is mounted on a double layer of foam pads, the next two on one layer and the bottom flower is stuck directly on to the card, cascade complete.
     With the addition of a die cut Happy Birthday in gold card the design is finished. A special card for a special lady, let's hope she likes it.


Materials used:
Couture Creations - Paper Pad Vintage Rose Garden
Distess Inks - Victorian Velvet / Peeled Paint
Cosmic Shimmer - Mica Spray Antique Rose

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

2015 Open Design Team Challenge - DT Members Only

Creative Moments - Anything Goes for A Special Lady
Frosted Designs - Think Pink
Jo's Scrap Shack - Special Birthday
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Couture Creations Vintage Rose Tag

      This week I've used some more gorgeous papers from Couture Creations along with some Cosmic Shimmer from Creative Expressions.
     The tag is cut using Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag and Bookplate die. I then die cut a white card Vintage Roses by Couture Creations and coloured it with alcohol markers. Using the same die I cut the large rose head in funky foam, in the photo you'll see it's purple. Die cut shapes in foam make great stamps, this way you can get everything to match on your card.
     I have used Distress Ink Victorian Velvet to colour the tag, then using the foam stamp I have water stamped to get the white roses. Water stamping with Distress Inks is when you use a damp stamp to lift the ink away from the card, stamp and mop up with a clean piece of paper towel.
     After stamping a random pattern with water I then stamped with the same Distress Ink to build up the pattern. Before it all dried I went over the whole tag with Cosmic Shimmer mica powder Pearlescent, this stuck to the background and the pink roses but not the white ones as they were dry.

     The small postcard is from Couture Creations Vintage Rose Garden paper pad, as is the word Smile. The paper roses are made with paper from the same pad that was left over from making the little gift box last week. Inside each flower is a tiny pink flower shaped gem to add a little sparkle.
     With the addition of a burgundy ribbon the tag is complete. What do you do with a tag once you've made it? Use it on a present, send it as a small note or just give it as a nice surprise.


Materials used:
Couture Creations - Vintage Rose die
CC Paper Pad - Vintage Rose Garden
Cosmic Shimmer - Mica Powder Pearlescent
Distress Ink - Victorian Velvet

I would like to enter this tag in the following challenges:

Fresh Brewed Designs - Flowers
My Time To Craft - For A Special Lady 

Come And Get It - Make Your Own Background

Mmm....Chocolate

     Why is it chocolate makes me think of purple? Well this stamp by Creative Expressions is called Chocolate so I just had to make a purple card.
     The base card was a large white DL size, it reminded me of a large chocolate bar. The purple wrap in the middle is Foundations card Amethyst which is cut about 1/2 inch shorter each end to allow for the 'foil' ends to show.


     The ends have been coloured with Distress Ink Dusty Concorde, but they need to shine like foil, so I have used Perfect Medium on top of the Distress Ink and then dusted with Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powder Purple Orchid. This comes in a set called Subtle Shades, it looks pink in the pot but it has a blue interference colour in it, so when it's dusted on it has a purple shine.
     I decorated the purple wrap before attaching it to the card just incase anything annoying should happen. The silhouette stamp was done using Perfect Medium and Cosmic Shimmer Detail White embossing powder.

     The lovely swirl pattern is a JustRite stamp called Elegant Fronds stamped in Perfect Medium and allowed to dry, it gives a great watermark type effect.
     The sentiment comes with the image stamp, again done with CS Detail White on to lilac card and then die cut using Spellbinder Labels Twenty-One. I have also used a little Dusty Concorde on the lilac card before removing the die, this is mounted using foam pads.
     Once happy with the wrap I have used red line tape to stick it down on to the card blank, I have found that mica powder can make it rather difficult for ordinary tape to grip. The tiny corner decorations are some little peel offs I found in my stash, I wanted something small but all my corner stamps were too big.

Material used
Foundations Card - Amethyst
Single Stamp - Chocolate
Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Detail White
CS Mica Powders - Subtle Shades
Distress Ink - Dusty Concorde
Perfect Medium Ink Pad
JustRite Stamp - Elegant Fronds


   
   

Pyramid Pear Trees

     Welcome to another Creative Expressions project, this time I have chosen to make a festive decoration rather than a card.  These trees make great table decorations, as they are not very tall you can see over the top of them.  The different sizes all stack inside each other for easy storage if you choose to keep them rather than let your dinner guests take them home.

      Using a banner/pennant die cut three identical shapes, this will make one tree. You may wish to make a four sided tree, the construction principal is the same.

      Score along the two long sides of the triangle to help with folding after you have embossed. There is no need to score the bottom as this will not be folded.

      Use an anti-static bag to wipe over your card before stamping with Perfect Medium and sprinkling with embossing powder.
     The small green tree is stamped with the music background from the Partridge In A Pear Tree set and then embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Bright Gold embossing powder.
     The medium tree is Foundations Vintage Gold card stamped with a script stamp and embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Golden Meadow Blaze.

      For the large tree I have used Foundations Card Taupe, from the neutral multi pack. The branch is from the Partridge set and I have used the Golden Meadow embossing powder again. You can see in this photo the difference between melted and unmelted, the magic happens when heated.
     I usually heat from below as this gives a nice smooth melt, heating from above can sometimes give a tiny dimpled effect.

      The sentiments are all embossed in Bright Gold, the partridge and pears are embossed in Cosmic Shimmer Ancient Copper.
     Once all stamping is done gently fold along the score lines and glue the sides together along the little folded edge with Cosmic Shimmer dries clear PVA. If some of the edges appear a little messy then put glue down the edges and sprinkle with glitter to disguise it.
     Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder does not crack easily, fold gently and it should not fall off.

      The pears come as one stamp in the set, I have cut the stamp apart carefully, but I have not trimmed them. This is so that I can put them back together again as one stamp if I wish, once joined on an acrylic block they will stamp as if they were one again. I have also done this with the partridge, who comes attached to the 'and a partridge' sentiment. It's a way of getting more out of your stamps and they can be used more easily than trying to mask bits off.
     These trees are something that could be made with children as long as they are supervised during cutting and heating, you could leave out the heat embossing altogether and use mica powders instead. Medium sized trees as place cards for a large family dinner would be something different.

     I do hope you enjoy making these trees, please let me know how you get on. I do read all my comments and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Materials Used 
Partridge In A Pear Tree stamp set
Perfect Medium Ink Pad
Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powders - Bright Gold / Ancient Copper / Golden Meadow Blaze
Foundations Card - Taupe / Vintage Gold   (green from stash)
Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear PVA Glue

I would like to enter these trees in the following challenges:

The Artistic Stamper - Christmas Is Coming
Challenge Blog By Creative Shopping - Christmas Tree
Allsorts - Anything BUT A Card
Anything But A Card - Anything Goes
Crafting Musketeers - Anything BUT A Card

Marble and Cream

      This months challenge at Technique Time Tuesday is to use Shaving Foam Marbling on your creation. There is a photo tutorial on the blog to help you through the process, yes it's a bit messy but it's a lot of fun!
     Whenever I have demonstrated this technique it has been a hit with young and old, my son loves doing this although I'm not sure if it's for the finished article or the fun of playing with shaving foam.
     I thought I would play around with some die cut shapes and use them as masks but the results were not that good, but at least the shapes were useful. I found that small shapes tended to ooze over the edges, larger worked better. These flowers were first generation print, the butterfly was second and the background was fourth generation. As you can see it gets paler each time and if you're using mica sprays the shimmer is only on the first print.
   

     The butterfly has been silver embossed with a fancy swirl stamp, flower stamens added to make his antenna and foam pads under his wings to make them stand up a little.
     The flowers are die cut with a Spellbinder die Aster Flower Topper, the outer petal edge is stuck down but I've left the middles free to stand up (they will flatten for posting). To finish them off there is a clear gem in the middle of each flower.
     I used Cosmic Shimmer Misters to marble with, then used the purple one to sponge the edge of the white card blank so that it matched. The pink layer is white card coloured around the edge with a Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid ink pad, much cheaper than buying lots of pearl card. There is also a small layer of silver mirri card to add some shine and tone in with the butterfly.
   
    This technique is one of my favourites, it's so much fun to do. Every print is different and the benefit of using foam over water is the image you make doesn't carry on moving while you reach for the card. Pop over to Technique time Tuesday and have a look at the tutorial and the amazing DT samples.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenges - NO Designer Paper

Suzy Bee - Flowers

Salt 'n' Flake

     This is my second Christmas card this week, which is a good way of catching up on some weeks that I missed altogether. In the run up to Christmas life is becoming busy so I am very glad that I've been making seasonal cards all year.
     The layout is inspired by a sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, the 'homemade background' by The Glory Of Christmas Challenge and lots of bling for CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge.
     The background has been made using Cosmic Shimmer misters, a plastic bag and rock salt. I began by spraying the thick white card with the inks to spread them around, this gives a lovely effect in itself but I then sprinkled it with rock salt while it was still very wet. The salt absorbs the liquid around it causing the little blotches and rings of colour, this process should not be accelerated with a heat gun, it is much more effective when left to air dry slowly.
     The snowflake is a Tim Holt Rosette Die cut in glitter paper, I have reinforced the back by using surgical tape, this stops the perforations splitting when you fold but still allows a clean fold. There are two blue ribbons across the card stuck down with red line double sided tape as it's a bit stronger than ordinary DST. The greeting is a Tattered Banner from another Tim Holtz Die, edged with blue ink and decorated with a silver peel off greeting.

     I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Sketch

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Bling It Up

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Christmas

The Glory Of Christmas - Homemade Background

Snowman Blues

    Back to cards for Christmas this week. This happy little snowman is a stamp from the Tatty Button range by Creative Expressions.  He was stamped on to plain white card in black Archival Ink, then masked with a sticky note while the background was made using a torn piece of paper and Distress Ink Broken China.
   The image is cut out with a Spellbinder die - Labels Seventeen, as was the turquoise mirri card that is behind it. The image is mounted on foam pads but the mirri card is flush to the patterned paper that covers the front of a white card blank. The snowman's hat, scarf and nose are coloured with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks, they do have a lovely mica shine that unfortunately doesn't show well in the photo.
    There is a strip of dark turquoise ribbon across the lower front of the card as well as a clear gem in each corner. The greeting is die cut using Britannia Word Dies and white pearl card.

    I would like to enter my snowman in the following challenges : 

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Sketch

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Card for a child

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Christmas

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - Tic Tac Toe

Spring wings

     With the arrival of warmer weather comes the expectation of spring. I've seen bumble bees in the garden and lots of the flowers are growing now so hopefully it's finally here.
    This week at Make My Monday it's a colour challenge of blues and browns so that's where I started. Distress Inks Salty Ocean and Brushed Corduroy were used to blend a background, then I used Chocolate Baroque stamps Texture Fragments and a great technique featured at Technique Time Tuesday called Water Stamping, you can see a tutorial here. I also used the blue ink to stamp some colour at the bottom and Archival Coffee for the twigs at the top.
    Country View Crafts are featuring Butterflies this challenge and Creative Moments topic is Spring.  The butterflies are stamped with a Kaisercraft set in Archival Coffee and embossed in clear. They are painted with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks which gives them a pearly look. I've found that when using Cosmic Shimmer paints it's best to emboss your image, it helps keep the colour contained in the image.

    The small butterfly has his antenae drawn on with a brown pen but the large one has flower stamens coloured with a peel off marker that is supposed to be brown, it looks a little reddish here though...sorry. Each butterfly is fixed by it's body only allowing the wings to be shaped slightly.
    The image is matted on chocolate pearl card and then blue pearl paper before going on to a white card blank. I haven't added a sentiment to the card so it can be used for any occasion.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Make My Monday - Blues and Browns

Country View Crafts - Butterflies

Creative Moments - Spring

Crafty Emblies - Anything goes

Cosmic clingfilm

    A strange title you may think but that just about describes the way I made my background for Make My Monday's challenge - create a background.
    I began with a white piece of thick card which I put in the bottom of a shallow box and then sprayed with Cosmic Shimmer Mica Misters in Antique Rose and Patina. I use a shallow box as the spray can escape a little and I've already been in trouble for redecorating the kitchen worktops before!! My usual spray booth is the greenhouse but it was wet and cold today so I used lots of newspaper under my box just in case.
     When the spray was still very wet I put scrunched up clingfilm (food wrap) on top and left it there until dry. This makes a great pattern as the mica gathers along all the fold lines, you can't hurry it up with a heatgun though, you just have to wait!
    With such a patterned background I chose to use silhouette type stamps from Chocolate Baroque's Wild Meadow embossed in dark blue, black was to harsh.

    The mica pattern shines well when the card is at an angle but face on you can see the sprays paint colours clearly. This technique works very well on the paler colours as the mica seems to show a little more than on dark colours.  
    I have added a dark blue butterfly cut with a Joy Craft die and while still in the die I have used Perfect Medium to ink up the wings. Once removed from the die I have added some silver mica powder which is sealed with hairspray.
    The card blank has been coloured with a pale green chalk before adding the picture which is matted with dark blue.
    I have not put a greeting on my card as I felt it didn't need one on the front, I shall add that inside when I've decided what to use it for.
    If you have any brand mica sprays have a go at this, it's fun because the outcome is always different. Just make sure you have a wet surface to lay your clingfilm on to and don't forget to scrunch it up, layed flat it will not do much atall.

Garden Spells at Make My Monday

    This card was inspired by the book cover shown over on Make My Monday. The book is called Garden Spells and features flowers and butterflies on a black cover so I chose mica powders for my creation.
    Mica powders have what is called an 'interference' colour in them most of the time, so what you see in the little pot is what you get on white card but on black card the interference colour will shine through. I have taken two photos of the card at different angles to try and show this, the flower on the left is blue in the big picture but mauve in the small one. These powders are something I love to work with, especially for nature and Christmas.
    All the stamps used are from Chocolate Baroque, the wording is from Artistic Affirmations and the flowers are from Wild Meadow. I have used Perfect Medium to stamp with but if you have Versamark it will do the same job. I stamped each flower separately and powdered them so that I didn't cross over with my colours. I have used Cosmic Shimmer Mica Garden Flora and Shimmer Lux sets.

    Once all the mica was done I brushed off any excess and gave it a light spray with hairspray to fix it. The card is then mounted on pearl gold card and then onto a 7x5 card card blank that used to be white. I used Distress Ink Black Soot to colour my card edge and then stamped with Black Soot using one of the Wild Meadow stamps to decorate it a little.
    Once in a while you know what you want to make as soon as you see the challenge example and this was one of those times for me. The book cover just yelled mica to me and I listened. I think black is a such an amazing 'colour' to use and should never be thought of as dull or boring, it really has potential.

Inkspired March Tag

   This is my tag for Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013 - March. It is not quite the same as Tim's tag but after I'd made the background I didn't want to cover it up much.
   As the background was created with mica sprays I think it will also fit nicely into this weeks Inkspirational challenge which has a photo to inspire. As some of you will know including a rabbit is not easy for me, they are NOT my favourite garden visitor!
   I began by spraying a white tag with Cosmic Shimmer mica sprays in gold and blue. Once I had a very wet covering I sprinkled coarse rock salt on the tag and left it to dry naturally. The salt sucks up the moisture and pools the paint giving a terrific effect.
   I cut a butterfly hole in the tag with a Sizzix Mover and Shaper die and backed it with gold glitter paper. I kept the cut out butterfly and stamped on top of it, coloured the underside of the wings gold and added a flower stamen for the antennae before gluing it back in place down the body and bending the wings up.
   Spring is die cut in yellow, the grass is die cut in pearl green and the flowers are die cut from purple card using  the Tattered Garland long plate, with little yellow gems in the centres. There is a small wispy plant stamped underneath the flowers, that doesn't show up too well in the photo, using Archival Coffee.
   The rabbit is from a Penny Black stamp of rabbits in flower pots cut out and tucked into the grass. I have used some green gingham ribbon at the top to maintain the spring like feel of the tag. Let's just hope the weather takes the hint!!

  Sorry, this little fellow should be at the top I think. Thanks for the prompt Mynn. It really does go against the grain to have a rabbit on my blog, even if he is cute, you should see what they've done to my apple trees!!!!

Technique Time Tuesday - March Challenge

   This month's challenge over at Technique Time Tuesday is the 'Brick Wall Technique'.  There is a tutorial on the challenge so you will be able to see how the DT came up with their creations. Which leads me nicely to announce that I am very honoured to now belong to the DT at TTT, so please pop over and see what we've all been doing for this month and join our challenge.
  For this card I used some orange pearl card for my wall which is stamped all over with a crackle stamp in Archival Ink Coffee using the second time method. (Stamp first time on scrap paper and then without re-inking stamp your card, this gives a paler image.)
The picture stamp is from Chocolate Baroque's Wild Meadow set in Archival Ink Coffee. The first image is embossed in clear, then the second image, which forms the shadow, is stamped as a second time (not re-inked) image and not embossed.
   Once dry and cut into 'bricks' they have been mounted on cream card to give a mortar effect. I cut this out and mounted it on black which is then matted on a dull gold and a thin layer of orange.
The letters are cut from the orange card using a Sizzix alphabet die set.  The butterfly is a Marrianne die cut in dull gold and then before removing the die inked up with Perfect Medium, then once the die is off the butterfly it has been covered with green Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powder. It is best to fix mica powders so they don't smudge when touched, this can be done with your local shops cheapest hairspray if you have no artist fixative.
  This technique has been fun to do and I think I will be doing more with it in the future. It's not as fiddly as it looks, you can number your bricks on the back or cut and glue as you go. So please come over and join us at Technique Time Tuesday and rise to the challenge.

Steaming ahead

Just to show it's not all Christmas on here I've made a card for my Dad. He's getting better slowly and I think this will cheer him up a bit as he's very much a steam fanatic.  I would also like to enter it in a couple of challenges, Make My Monday and Cards For Men, I'm sure he wouldn't mind.
   I began with a sketchy steam engine stamp from Creative Expression - Vintage Illusion and used Perfect Medium and Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powders. This has been sealed using a well known supermarket's value hairspray. I cut the image out using Spellbinders Labels Twenty One as this shape makes me think of railway signs. I had to use the largest size die for the image so then I drew around the outside of the die on gold satin card to get that extra layer and cut it out by hand.
  The background is copper mirri card run through my Bigshot with a mask to get the checker plate pattern. Masks give a softer impression than folders which sometimes can be better. The card was a bit too shiny so I have gone over it with an acrylic paint dauber from Ranger to grunge it up a bit. The base card was cream before being dabbed with Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy on my trusty shaving brush and stamped with a crackle stamp in the same colour.
  The ticket is a Creative Expressions stamp and says Just For You so it's useful for any occasion. I have stamped the envelope and inside the card with cogs just to bring it all together. The cog is cut with a Sizzix die Tim Holtz Cogs in greyboard. Then I've embossed it with Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powder in Vintage Photo and once cold rubbed off the excess crystals that do not melt and coloured it with Distress Ink Vintage Photo to complete the rusty look. There is a screw head brad in the centre of the cog and it's stuck on with thin foam pads.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Make My Monday - One For The Boys

Cards For Men - Transport

J&C Creations November Challenge

 Today sees the beginning of Novembers Challenge over at J and C Creations Challenge Blog, pop over and see all the lovely Floral cards the DT have come up with.
This beautiful Hydrangea head is from Heartfelt Creations. It's a rubber stamp that comes already cut and mounted on foam so all you have to do is open the packet and start stamping.
I chose to stamp with Perfect Medium and emboss in white on black card. I stamped a small area on white card and cut out the flower I thought I would like to highlight, this is coloured pink using a Sakura Stardust pen. All the flowers have a tiny white gem in the middle but due to my amateur photo skills they don't really show too well. The greeting comes with the flower head and there is also a lovely floral branch in the set which I shall use another day.
The butterfly is a Joycraft die, I left the die in place and used Perfect Medium to dab through the decorative holes which I then dusted with Cosmic Shimmer Mica powder. The edge of the butterfly has been coloured with a Distress Marker - Picket Fence, so that it shows up a little better.
The main picture is mounted on a small layer of pale pink and then onto black again. It's an easy and relatively quick card to make, perfect for a last minute make.

The Old Boot gets Flower Power

Here as promised is The Boot.  It began life a long time ago as a lovely new work boot but when it's work was done I thought it should have a new life.
J&C Creations challenge this month is Try Something Different, so I did. I decided that as distress and grunge are so in vogue at the moment I would go the other way.
With the exception of one sequin covered flower they are all die cut from metal, card and fabric using a range of Sizzix and Spellbinder dies.

 I wanted to put my flowers on a green base so I had to paint my boot. I masked off the top brown cuff so it stayed brown and then painted with a cream emulsion I have in a tester pot.

 The green layer is a mix of various shades of acrylic paint and some Cosmic Shimmer misters.
The large purple and blue flower in the bottom left corner is the only metal one I made, it's coloured with alcohol inks.

The large pink flower with the button in the middle is fabric stuck on double sided sticky sheet then on to card and cut out. The netting is also die cut with a card flower in the middle and a gingham brad.

  The foliage is cut from a mixture of pearl card, plain card and some coloured with Distress inks or sprayed with mica misters.
The butterfly is the only stamped item on the boot. Stamped and embossed then coloured with Cosmic Shimmer Watercolours.I used a flower stamen folded in half and stuck behind his head to give him antenna.
Everything is stuck on with Cosmic Shimmer PVA dries clear glue, it's amazing stuff, much stronger than it looks!
 The whole project has taken a few weeks to complete but it has been fun. Oh and it has a jam jar inside so you can use it to store your brushes or put flowers in it!
I would like to enter my boot in the challenge over on Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Handmade Flowers.  When you see the creations people have come up with you'll be amazed. I don't enter to win, I just want to share because it was so much fun making something different.
So go on and Try Something Different!