Hi Folks,
I am really getting into the festive spirit in the run up to Christmas. On Monday I enjoyed a flying visit from some very special friends who now live in Norfolk as they were visiting this area. There was so much to talk about and not enough time to cram it all in, so we have promised each other to keep in closer touch next year.
On Friday I had a lovely lunch with some chums from my writing group and for once I didn't have to feel guilty about not having written anything as the focus was on the food and good company. Another promise for next year......must write more!
I've also had a busy couple of weeks playing catch-up and getting ready for Christmas at home. Mince pies and chestnut sausage rolls are now made and are in the freezer. Goodies with a long shelf life have been purchased and there are only a few odds and ends left on my presents list still to buy - okay, so I haven't wrapped anything yet but that's a job for next week. I have had a marathon session making quick and easy cards which now gives me a more immediate task of writing on them and getting them in the post.
Before they disappear from the radar I would like to share just a few samples with you. I have used some of my favourite stamps from a variety of suppliers and coloured with watercolour pens and pencils - so this is just a quick peek at some of the fifty odd cards I have made. There is nothing spectacular here but that is batch making for you!
Thanks for visiting today
Anne
x
Hello Folks
Another week has slipped by and once again I wonder where the time goes. The other day one of my friends rather cheekily suggested that I need to go on a time-management course. At my age indeed! I don't think it is a question of managing my time but more a case of me trying to cram too many things into each day. Most of it is fun stuff so I am not complaining!
At this time of year, living in the countryside I miss the green and golden fields of summer which have been replaced by the ploughed brown earth of winter. So today I have decided to post a little reminder of days gone by when ploughing was a much tougher job but probably a more tranquil one, without the use of heavy farm machinery but just the gentle plod of the horses hooves and the jingle of their harness.
Using a Stamp Addicts stamp set Gypsy Caravan No. 2, I have stamped on watercolour card and coloured with a combination of distress inks using a blending tool and watercolour pens. The scarecrow is from the same stamp set which I have also watercoloured and then cut out and mounted with foam pads, offset to the side of the card. Finally I have sneaked in a rabbit from a Hobby Art stamp set Fawn & Flora CS046D. I must admit to being a huge fan of Hobby Art Stamps as not only do their stamp sets feature main images that can be used as the focal point on a card but they also provide lots of handy little additions like this one. I hope you like it.
Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Anne
xx
Good Morning Folks,
I am so excited to be part of Leonie Pujol's Design team and would like to thank my fellow team members for making me feel so welcome. As I am still very new to the world of blogging, I am learning as I go and trying to balance my time between crafting and adding to this blog. I will continue to add tweaks until it is a bit more ship-shape and I would like to thank Katrina who has been so encouraging and supportive.
Now on to some exciting stuff that is happening today. On Hochanda there is a fabulous deal on a 'One Day Special' for some of Leonie's previously released products which launched last night at 9pm. So far there has been two live shows with 3 more still to go at 12pm, 4pm and 7pm today.
Here are a couple of samples I have made for these shows.
Using From The Heart stamp set I have stamped the big heart in red Versafine ink, heat embossed with clear powder, cut it out and overlaid it on a couple of die cuts from the Mixed Media Collection, Bark Texture. Added heart embellishments are die cut in fabric and Kraft card and they are from Lots of Love Mixed Media die collection. Finally I have added a sentiment from the Hey There Dreamer stamp set.
On the following card I have used one of Leonie's embossing folders from a previous show to create a background by inking it with Versamark and running it through my die cutting machine with a piece of black card and while the ink was still wet covering the card with a black holographic embossing powder and heating. The flowers are from the Beautiful Bloom stamp set. I have stamped them, heat embossed with black powder, painted with metallic watercolour paints, cut out and mounted on to the background.
That's it for today.
Thanks for visiting my blog
Anne
x
Good Morning Folks,
This isn't what I had originally planned for today but I thought poppies would still be appropriate, even though it is a birthday card.
I have continued with the Clean And Simple style and have embossed a couple of strips on either side of a piece of stamping card to frame the main image, which is a stamp from Hobby Art Stamps called Bordered Poppies. These I have coloured with alcohol markers and stamped a greeting also from Hobby Art.
That's it for today but I will be back soon with some more samples, maybe something from my stash or perhaps something new.
Thanks for visiting,
Bye for now
Anne
x
Good Morning Folks!
Continuing my theme for this week, here is another Clean and Simple card in pastel colours using stamps from my stash.
There's not much to say about how I've made this card as it is pretty much a case of stamping and then colouring with watercolour pencils and layering using stitched rectangle dies.
After today I think I'll post one more like this and then move on to something completely different.
Thank you for visiting today.
Bye for now
Anne
x
Good Morning Folks!
I hope you had a lovely weekend with plenty of time for crafting.
This week I think I will run a few oldies on my blog with a theme of Clean and Simple in pastel colours.
My post for today is to remind me of Springtime, as I must admit I am not a big fan of the grey winter months, although I shouldn't grumble because when it's cold and miserable outside it does give me an excuse to sit next to the radiator in my craft room and play!
So here are hedgehogs and flowers using stamps from my stash.
Bye for now
Anne
x
Hi Folks,
At last I'm back with another card to share with you.
This one is made using the Teasel stamp set from Bee Crafty. The rich blue of the cardstock does not really show up very well in the picture which is a bit of a pity as it is a good contrast with the white.
I have stamped the images and text using a clear embossing ink and then heat embossed using detail white embossing powder.
I always like to finish my cards with an insert that reflects the image on the front. However, I rarely bother to photograph them, but this time I made an effort to do so, as I rather like the theme of blue and white being reversed.
That's it for now but I hope you'll come back and visit my blog again as I now hope to post on a much more regular basis.
Bye for now
Anne
x
Good Morning Folks,
I must get my thinking cap on and design a card for a young friend who has a birthday in a couple of weeks time. He is a very clever young chap with a lively interest in many things - so what will I choose for my subject? So far, I haven't come up with a satisfactory idea but when I do, I will post the card here for you to see - after his birthday of course! It is only fair he should see it first!
In the interim here is a card I made for him previously. As I said, he is a bright young thing, so the academic theme seemed appropriate.
The background has been stamped on brown card and heat embossed using clear powder. The stamp I used for this is from Impression Obsession and is called Bookshelves - no surprise there then! The main elements are from a Sheena Douglass stamp set from her Little Bit Magical range called Knowledge. I have stamped onto Sheena White Stamping Card, blended a bit of distress ink around the edges and also across the card. I have then splashed a few drops of water and blotted. Images are coloured with a variety of watercolours and finally I have sprinkled on some Stampendous Frantage Aged Green embossing enamel and heated.
Good Morning Crafters,
I thought I would have a bit of fun today with a couple of cards using stamps from Indigo Blu, titled Duke's Gang .
There
isn't a great deal to say about how they have been made as they are
pretty simple. Stamp, colour, cut out and mount onto a piece of white card. Add a caption,
then mount on to a black background and finally on to white A6 card
blank.
The
second card has the addition of some glitter, musical notes from a
sheet of peel-offs and stars punched from the waste of another sheet of
glitzy peel-offs.
Good Morning,
Another blast from the past today!
I have used the same technique as shown on an earlier post by stamping in Distress Ink and drawing out the colour with a damp paintbrush.
The difference with this sample is that I have added a touch of green and yellow to the cat's eyes leaving a white highlight to give added interest to the subject. I find this is a great technique to use on images of animals when you have a close up of their features.
I will be back soon with a more up to date stamp - knowing me, probably more animals!
Hello Folks,
The weather here is a bit overcast today with a definite feel to Autumn in the air so I thought I would go with a bright and vibrant card, to dispel the thoughts of grey days ahead.
The basis for this card was started at a Loobi Crafts Workshop and finished off later with a few touches of my own.
The main stamps are from Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz Collection, Bird Crazy. I have cut out and shaped the birds and balloon using a ball tool to give a bit of dimension and fixed them to the card using Collall 3D glue gel so that they hold their shape. The balloon is highlighted with Glossy Accents and the card finished with a few words.
Hello Crafters
As a complete change from my previous post, this is a very quick and simple card.
The image has been stamped using a Distress Ink pad and the colour dragged out with a damp paintbrush. I have then blended a bit of shading round the edge of the watercolour card and mounted on to kraft card.
The stamps used are from Butterfly Kisses (Far Away BK-HA006
), available from Hobby Art Stamps.
Hello and welcome to the start of my journey into blogging.
Today I have decided to share a project where the challenge was to produce a card that reflected happy childhood memories.
Growing up, I was pony mad and so was my best friend. This card evoked some happy memories for both of us, even if it is a bit cutesy!
For the girls and ponies I used the same digi stamp twice, flipping one of the images so that they are facing each other. The clouds have been dry embossed the old fashioned way, using a light box, an embossing stylus and a stencil. I coloured the sky leaving the embossed clouds white.
The rest of this easel card has been finished using stamps from Hobby Art (Fawn & Flora CS046D) and coloured with alcohol markers. The grass is a strip of green paper snipped with scissors and finally I have added a few touches of Glossy Accents for highlights.
My next post will be something completely different so I hope you will visit me again.
