Midsummer's Day with Frosted Leaves

Evening All,

Inspired by Barbara Gray, I've been trying out her technique using acetate, double-sided clear adhesive sheet and gilding flakes to make this card.

Of course, it's another Christmas card ... made on Midsummer's Day! I had to watch the recording of BG making the card to remind myself of what to do.  She used her new Allium stamps and a different colour of gilding flakes so I had to put on my thinking cap and find a substitute. The flakes were easy, I have two colours, I'd already used one so time to use the other - Frosted Leaves. The stamp was a wee bit more difficult - I could see that the stamp had to be fairly solid and a good size. In the end I opted for my favourite Penny Black, Winter Bough, and a sentiment from Claritystamp. It reads:

May the wonder that is

Christmas

Touch the child within

Your heart

The technique requires you to stamp onto adhesive - this is not so easy and I managed to mess up a couple of times and even this is far from perfect. Not surprisingly the stamps stick to the adhesive and have to be carefully prised off to avoid smudging. The Allium stamps would probably have made it a lot easier...sigh! However, once the stamping is completed the rest is fairly easy. After the archival ink dried the sheet of acetate is positioned onto this stamping. Once that is done you flip it over, remove the protective covering and apply the gilding flakes, burnishing them in until it all is smooth. Best not to sneeze, as I did, when doing this - the flakes have a life of their own : (  Once that is done it was easy enough to put the card together.

You can see the effect of the gilding quite well in this close up. I found a lovely metallic trim in my stash which, together with the gold ribbon, picked up the colours in the gilding. The ribbon flower is my first attempt and I'm fair chuffed with it - it's something a bit different.

I'm a great fan of Bearly Mine Design digital papers, have a wee few sets in my digital arsenal, and luckily found this great paper which co-ordinated perfectly with the colours in the gilding.

Here's a list of the materials used for anybody who has a fancy to try this out for themselves:

Card: White A4 for base; Gold embossed A5 & black A5 for matting and layering
Stamps: Claritystamp, Christmas Wonder (No.50); Penny Black, Winter Bough
Insert: White A4 copy paper; Bearly Mine Design digital paper, Christmas Delights (CD 18
Other Materials: Claritystamp clear acetate sheet & double-sided clear adhesive sheet ; Gilding Flakes, Frosted Leaves; Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black; Anna Griffin silver metallic trim; Anita’s Christmas Ribbon, gold; Dovecraft Jewel Brad.

I'd definitely try this technique again but with a different stamp - one that was even more solid.

One of the things I love about summer is the opportunity to cut and bring flowers in from the garden. So, yesterday while I was pottering in the sun I snipped a few bits and pieces and popped them into a lovely jug which I found in a smashing little shop in Porthmadog called Genius. Hearts were quite a theme in the shop and love those on this jug.

Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis), orange hawkweed and a couple of pieces of a lovely red shrub I have growing in a pot - I've had it so long I've lost the label and forgotten what it is called but the leaves are the most gorgeous deep red colour. I'm not a flower arranger but I do like to put my flowers into pretty containers - cheers the place up.

Shame about the weather for Wimbledon - hope it clears up soon so that we can all enjoy the games. I'll be watching Andy Murray and wishing him success this year.

That's me for now - time for a cup of tea.

I'm entering the card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp And Show - Some Metal

Deep Ocean Challenge - Flowers

Everybody Art Challenge - Anything Goes

Hooked On Craft Challenge - Anything Goes

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Pile It On Challenge - Show Me Some Metal

Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes

Southern Girls Challenge - Anything Goes



Recycled Rabbit - Christmas Card Week 23 + The Auricular Theatre all Spruced Up

Evening All,

So how many of you spotted the mistake I made with the Christmas Card week numbers  - I'm further behind than I thought. So, now scrabbling to catch up, here's my offering for Week 23.

This was a relatively quick and simple card - well, it was quick once I had gutted a bought card received last year and trimmed round the cute wee bunnies image, and once I had created the insert by digitally punching into a Bearly Mine Design paper from the fabulous Christmas Delight Pack (CD03).

Some green card (Papermania Textured) for the base, a small piece of leftover gold embossed card for matting, gold card candy and a card topper greeting. This last is from a packet bought some 18 months ago when I was new to card making and before I discovered that I could produce better looking greetings by other means - ah, I live and learn ... too bad I make myself poorer in the process :)

I mentioned in my last post that I was intending to get into the garden over the weekend as it was looking sadly neglected. Well, as Robert Burns would say, the best laid plans . . .  go aft a-gley! The weather stopped play and so, apart from a quick trip to the garden centre to stock up on potting compost and plants, nothing was done until today.  Also, we discovered that the auricular theatre, which had been lovingly constructed by the EM some years ago, was now very much the worse for wear - rot had set in, no doubt due to all the Scottish rain we've endured. So, nothing else for it, the EM put on his handyman overalls and trotted off to B&Q for materials to repair the theatre - and here it is repaired, treated with wood preservative and looking good. Didn't he do a grand job?

Here it is after I'd re-potted the plants.

There's couple of verbenas, a geranium and a really pretty tiny yellow trailing petunia (on the top shelf). The snail and the tortoise, bought to amuse the grandchildren when they were tots, have now found a home there, the jug is a souvenir from the Peak District where we used to live, and the wee cottage is a reminder of a fabulous sojourn in Eire some years ago now.  It's still looking a bit a wee bit bare so another visit to the garden centre is scheduled for some time this week - methinks, I'd like a few more of those petunias and maybe another geranium or two.

 Hope you all had a great weekend - it was Father's Day yesterday so I hope you all had a great day of celebration. We don't celebrate now because, sadly, both our fathers died young but I've enjoyed seeing all the Father's Day cards you've been making.

Right, off to start another project, not a Christmas card this time - I fancy doing a bit of experimenting.

Happy Crafting,

Sneaky Tilda - Week 22 and an untraditional Christmas card

Good Crafternoon,

This is the first card I've made with one of the stamps I coloured on holiday. I was experimenting with ProMarkers and decided I wanted a soft effect on this one.

I forgot to note down the colours used but as far as I can remember I used blush, ivory, soft peach and possibly caramel. I edged the topper with gold pen and layered it onto the peach DP with small dimensional squares - attaching it at a 'jaunty angle' so the flowers on the DP weren't obliterated.

Hadn't a clue what I was going to do with her but found this lovely floral/lace DP in my stash and thought it was perfect - not strictly a Christmas pattern but I liked it so much I decided the throw the rule book out and just go for it! I teamed it up with a paper lace with snowflakes - a suitably winter touch, I thought. It does say that the lace is self-adhesive but I've had it in my stash for so long that any stickiness there might have been has long gone. So I used some DS tape which gave me the opportunity to sprinkle some fairy dust - well okay, iridescent glitter - over the lace which gave a lovely effect.

This little LOTV greeting is stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa - I thought black would be too stark and wreck the look I was aiming for.

I found these Prima flowers and buttons in my stash and thought they worked perfectly as an embellishment.

As usual, the back and front got decorated with strips of the two papers - I find it impossible to leave them blank now. So there it is, something a bit different for Christmas. What do you think? Does it work using the softer colours?

Here's a list of the materials used for those interested:

White card for base; Wilkinson C&C cream floral DP; Papermania's Henbury Lane Poinsetta peach print DP; Sneaky Tilda stamp coloured with Promarkers; Lili of the Valley greeting stamp; gold pen; Memento ink pad, Rich Cocoa; Siesta craft lace border; iridescent glitter; Prima flowers from Essential Flights of Fancy & Shabby Chic Solid packs; peach coloured buttons from stash.

I trust you are all well, your weekend is going well too, and the weather is rather better where you are than it is here in Ayr - we've had showers off and on all day :(  I was planning to go into the garden today and do a bit of tidying up - it looks a bit overgrown from neglect - but it's too wet. So I'm off to the garden centre instead to find something colourful for the auricular theatre which is looking a bit sad at the moment. I'll let you see it when I've prettied it up again.

Happy crafting,