Vintage riches

I'm trying to get back in to a bit of crafting and blogging but being hampered by damaged fingers - ouch! This card took ages and to top it all it's one of those projects that looks so much better in real life and just refuses to photograph well! Never mind, I decided to share anyway so that I could wish you all a Happy New Year!

This week's challenge in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoaststampers is to use up some leftovers. If you're a regular visitor you may have realised I don't use patterened paper very often so most of the leftovers on this project are things other than paper!

I did sacrifice a 3.5" square of my favourite ever Crafty Secrets paper that I've been carefully hoarding, having tucked it back into the stack after being trimmed off an earlier project. I then restricted myself to things that were lying around on my desk, some made as experiments or intended for other projects and then not used in the end, others just offcuts of trimmings etc (and yes, my desk is very messy - lots to choose from!). Even the dark red cardstock has some trial stamping and embossing on the back of it! I stamped on the biggest flower with the same script stamp as the little plaque to tie it together and used Copic markers to alter the colour of flowers and brads etc where necessary!

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Dark red (Paper Mill)
Radiant paper pad (Crafty Secrets)
Scrap mountboard (cut with a Cutlebug square tag die)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Crystal chain from broken necklace
Paper flowers (including one coloured with Glimmer Mist)
Cog die cut
Snowflake punchie
Brads
Brass star charm
Silk ribbon

Thanks for stopping by - I hope 2011 brings you big highs, small lows and boundless creativity!

Soak away the ills!

It's the season of coughs and sniffles, isn't it? I've been having fun with some new images from the Saturday Evening Post line to make some pick-me up projects.

Masculine get well cards are even more difficult that average, I reckon - flowers are an easy fall back for feminine ones but the blokes are a bit more tricky. I think this would work though!

I was so pleased to find the sentiment fits perfectly on the end of the bath tub and I stamped the "Sorry you are ill" phrase to make a pattern on the paper at the top. A small scale Basic Grey pattern that's slightly reminiscent of old-fashioned tiling and a little Glossy Accents on the tub's feet and rim and you're done!

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms): Common Cold (Saturday Evening Post line - releasing Friday 4th December)

Paper:
Prism Island Mist Medium
Simply Smooth
Offbeat patterned paper by Basic Grey

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Weathered Wood)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Glossy Accents
Paper frill (Doodlebug)
Corner Chomper
Labels Four Nestabilities by spellbinder

Then I thought it would be fun to try using the same image for something other than a get-well project. This would make a great way to present a spa treatment token or dress up a little bottle of bath bubbles or massage oil.

I used an empty ribbon spool to make the base of the tube and stuck a strip of corrugated card (found at my local pound shop - any sturdy card would do) around it. Just tuck tissue in to finish off the top.

The bubbles are doodled and have dots of Glossy Accents over them to make them shiny.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms): Common Cold (Saturday Evening Post line - releasing Friday 4th December)

Paper:
Simply Smooth
Corrugated blue

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Fluid Chalk ink by Clearsnap (Ice Blue)

Other:
Copic markers and Multiliner
Glossy Accents
Silk ribbon
Dymo label maker
Labels Four Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Empty ribbon spool

Thanks for stopping by, hope you are not in need of a get-well wish yourself but take plenty if you are!

A thing of beauty...

The monthly challenge over on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog is to use the quote "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" on your project. I chose to make a simple card. I have a stamp that includes that quote plus an equally lovely one from Confucius so I reached for that and used this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems to pull it together as a quick make.

I used the out of the box technique for the butterfly and positioned it to pull your eye to the start of the quote around the circle (I hope!). I used a hole punched with a Nestability die to mask the stamped circle and tinted with blue and green chalk and then stamped the silhouette flowers with the mask still in place.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Ornamental Beauty (Rummage Bin line)
Nature's Silhouettes (Kim Hughes Collection)
Vintage Butterflies (Saturday Evening Post line)


Paper:
Black
Cryogen white
Offbeat collection by Basic Grey

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Old Paper)

Other:
Paper frill (Doodlebug)
Sewing machine and thread
Chalks (Pebble Inc)

Thanks for stopping by - hope you find something of beauty in your day today!

A quick gift (maybe for you, too!)

Gift cards are a popular choice for those "hard to buy for" people we all have in our lives. It's nice to dress it up and make it just a bit more personal though and these "pop up" gift card holders are one of my favourite ways to do it. Using the Thomas Kinkade papers means you get a really dressy result without spending a lot of time on it - perfect for the busy Christmas season!

I first saw this little gift card holder as part of a Splitcoaststampers challenge which pointed to the video instructions on the Hero Arts blog.

I warmed up the base with a fine houndstooth pattern (I find it easier to do this before sticking anything together) and then cut a section of one of the Kinkade quad papers with a Nestie to make a panel for the front. I wanted a narrow mat so I ran a blade around the outside of the same Nestie I used to die cut the image. A gold gel pen adds a little definition between the two and a gold embossed stamped sentiment finishes it off.

I punched a slot with a Making Memories slit punch to thread my ribbon through under the image panel.

Inside the holder, I used one of the background papers from the paper pack to make a nice finish. Just cut strips of 4" x 6" and stick them in place. I stitched a punched strip to one section before sticking it down to make a fancy edging to overlap the gift card. I've left it with no stamping or other images so there's plenty of space to write a personal message.

I didn't have a gift card for the photograph so that's my National Trust membership card posing as a "body double"!

If you watch the Hero Arts video, you might notice that my gift card is portrait orientation and theirs is landscape - either will work just fine as long as you cut the slit to the appropriate size, I just happen to like the proportions this way round.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock
Vintage Christmas Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments line)

Paper:
Winter Wonderland paper pack (Thomas Kinkade line at CHF - see below for a chance to get one for yourself!)
Stormy Light and Medium (Prism Papers)

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Slate)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Detail gold embossing powder
Silk ribbon
Labels One Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Gold gel pen
Slot punch (Making Memories)
Border punch by Fiskars (Threading Water/Scalloped Lace)
Sewing machine and thread

Want the papers?

As well as this being a quick gift you could make, I have a quick gift for somebody today. I have a pack each of Winter Wonderland and Victorian Christmas papers from the Thomas Kinkade line to give away. Each pack has four different Kinkade pictures on a full size (8" x 8") piece, four quad sheets (parts of the picture scaled down onto quarters of the sheet) and two sheets each of four different coordinating background designs for a total of 16 sheets in each pack.

Just leave me a comment if you would like to go into the virtual hat - I'll close commenting at midnight Wednesday 30th September and pick out a name to receive the two packs. I'm happy to ship anywhere.

Thanks for stopping by on the continuing WCMD blog tour, I appreciate you taking the time!

Day five... still counting!

Thursday on Splitcoaststampers is Ways to Use It challenge day. I decided to play along yesterday and see if I could get in another Christmas card for the blog tour. Julia asked us to take our stamping to places we don't usually go. I found this one tough as I don't think I really have a single style to move away from but here's why I think this qualifies:

- Regulars to my blog will know I rarely work with patterned papers. I seem to have some kind of phobia and while I can spend ages admiring other people's work with them, I usually suffer brain freeze as soon as I pick one up, even if I'm only going to use it as a base layer.

- I do vintage quite often but I rarely do retro/kitsch so I tried for a bit more that feel, even though the image is vintage (it's a Saturday Evening Post cover from 1923).

- I almost never work from sketches. It's a bit like the DP problem - brain freeze! This is based on the CPS sketch this week.

- I stamp partials quite often but I rarely think of actually cropping an image to a partial. This Santa stamp is gorgeous in its entirety but I think it works this way too and it's a whole lot less colouring!

Stamp (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Santa's Lap (Saturday Evening Post line)

Paper:
Daisy D's
Bazzill
Vellum
Simply Smooth (CHF)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Silk ribbon
Vintage buttons
Sewing machine and thread
Classic Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder

What do you think - did I succeed in doing something just a bit different from my "norm"?

If you're new to my blog and arrived by way of the WCMD blog tour please feel free to make yourself at home and look around - the last few posts have all been holiday cards to celebrate the count down to WCMD and if you'd like the PaperCrafts/CK 25% discount code, it's over in the side bar to the left of my blog.

Thanks for taking a look today!

Still counting...

Here's another card for the World Card Making Day count down - I'm not promising one a day all the way to October 3rd though!

I thought I'd go for a "winter" card rather than necessarily a Christmas one this time and the Evergreen Holiday set (designed by Becky Olsen for the All Things Considered line at CHF) seemed perfect.

I guess we all know people who don't really celebrate Christmas but appreciate a nice card anyway, just so they know they're in your thoughts. I think this design works either way - Christmas or just simply winter greetings!

This is a very simple card - just a small image to colour (five Copics: Brick Beige, Chamois, Dark Brown, Grayish Olive and Verdigris) and a little matting and layering with some thread and stitching to finish it off. I scuffed the DP and the textured cardstock a little to give it more interest. As ever, you can click through for a better view of the card if you'd like it.

Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms):
Evergreen Holiday (All Things Considered line)

Paper:
Simply Smooth Vanilla (CHF)
Olive dark (Prism Papers)
DP from Earthy Paper pad (Heartwarming Vintage)
DCWV Neutrals Border Punch Strip

Ink:
Adirondack Dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)

Other:
Copic markers
Linen thread
Sewing machine and thread
Sandpaper

The discount code for 25% off at the PaperCrafts/CK store and all the details about World Card Making Day and the WCMD blog tour are in the post right under this one if you'd like those.

Thanks for stopping by!

Time flies...

Ooops, bad blogger! I thought I'd show you this card - I made it a little while back but it's been in an anonymous voting process and I didn't want to blow my cover! The lovely people on the Tanda Stamps forum have a card making competition every month with forum members voting for their favourite card from all the entries. The theme for May was Bugs and Kisses - so anything with butterflies, ladybirds etc etc.

Being a last-minute minnie I had to choose something reasonably quick. I cut the dragonfly from the Crafty Secrets Earthy paper pad and just added a little sparkle to his wings with a clear Spica glitter pen. Edges of the paper (from the Radiant pad) are sponged and then overstamped with the swirls and the sentiment (which I thought went nicely with the fleeting nature of a dragonfly).

Supplies: Beautiful and Time to Stamp sets (both Cornish Heritage Farms), Earthy and Radiant paper pads (Crafty Secrets), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Tea Dye), sewing machine and metallic thread, nail art gems

Big smile - my card won the vote this time so I got to pick out a prize of some new stamps! Thank you very much Tanda, I'll enjoy playing with my vintage transport set just as soon as I get my (work) life under control!

Is it time for tea yet?

Now I work freelance from home, one thing I don't miss about an office load of workmates is the endless round of making cups of tea and washing up afterwards! It would be nice to have the social aspect of the tea ritual without the actual making and clearing up wouldn't it?!

The Crafty Secrets member forum challenge at Splitcoaststampers this week has a new host - Darlene is challenging us throughout June and her first challenge theme is: dots.

I hope she'll forgive a fairly liberal interpretation of the theme!

I started thinking about dots and thought it would be fun to have one big dot as the base for the project so I reached for one of the freebie CDs that are stacked up beside my craft table as they're bound to be useful someday! I made clocks as Christmas gifts a couple of years ago and still had a couple of movements left so I decided on a CD clock and added more dots to mark out the hours around the edge.

Working days are often divided up by meetings and (sometimes hasty) cups of tea so I thought it would be fun to have a clock to reflect those "Is it time for tea yet?" moments with the kind of lined paper you might be jotting notes on in a meeting (it's from the Earthy Paper pad). It has dotted lines as well as solid ones - think Darlene will let me count those towards my quota of dots?

Supplies: Kitchen Classics, Tea and Coffee and Story of Me (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets), Earthy Paper Pad (Crafty Secrets), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Walnut Stain), Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, office hole punch, eyelet punch, CD, clock movement

Right, time for tea I reckon - thanks for stopping by!

Explore your birthday!

I made this card for my Dad's birthday. I always find it a bit difficult as he doesn't have any of the hobbies that many 'guy' cards tend to get themed around. I thought this vintage feel made a good all-rounder! The old map pages from the Crafty Secrets Earthy Paper Pad combine perfectly with the Journey set to make a more masculine-looking card.

I cut a hole with a Nestability Classic oval die and put the stamped and coloured image behind it once I'd given it the faux burnt edges treatment. I also stamped the globe from the set in Antique Linen on the card base to give it a slightly more finished feel but I don't think that really shows well on the photo. Lisa Zappa's idea of stamping words onto the little ticket image works well even to express sentiments like Happy Birthday!

Supplies: Journey stamp set, Earthy paper pad, sentiment words from a HOTP set, Tim Holtz Distress inks (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain), Versafine Vintage Sepia, Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, Nestability classic oval die, sponge.

Thanks for stopping by!

It all began

For this week's Splitcoast member company forum challenge for Crafty Secrets (here), Lori asked us to think back to how we got started with the vintage stamping style.

I consider myself to be an 'eclectic' stamper rather than a vintage one so I had to think hard about this. I decided to concentrate on what attracts me to vintage style:

• Colour: there's something very attractive about the tones of vintage colours. They can be both muted and rich at the same time.
• Detail: whether it's the embellished bits or detailed cutting, the craftsmanlike quality appeals to me.
• Creative use of what's to hand: I guess I get this from both my parents. I've always looked at stuff and said "What can I make with that?" or "How can I make this into what I'd like it to be?"

I chose this gorgeous rich design from the Radiant Paper Pad and cut an aperture using a Nestability die as a guide but cutting with a scalpel so I could cut round the flower shapes and leave them hanging over the sentiment. I stamped the sentiment from Sweet Kids on white cardstock and sponged over, leaving the centre almost white to create a 'glow'.

The ribbon is some of the silk I hand-dyed a little while ago. This one was dyed with saffron and then overdyed with tea and came out a lovely bronze shade. A bit of inking to warm up the edges and a quick whizz round with a row of machine stitching and we're done.

Supplies: Radiant Paper Pad (Crafty Secrets), Sweet Kids (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint), vintage lace trim, silk ribbon, sewing machine and thread, Nestability die and scalpel

If you're interested in the ribbon and didn't see the last one, the card with blackberry dyed ribbon is here.

Thanks for dropping by!

Feeling retro

The Heartwarming Vintage blog features a couple more of my projects today along with other great samples from some of the regular DT girls. I'm sharing a bit more detail on my projects here.

Interview vibes is intended to raise a smile from deep inside the nerves that accompany chasing down a new job! The little file folder (hand cut) has the guy's id photo clipped to the front and opens to reveal an interview checklist (computer generated).


It would be easy to personalise this project with the recipient's name - I just used some white core card cut into a strip to fit my Dymo label maker and then sanded lightly to reveal the raised lettering. The whole card front is covered with a single piece of paper, it just has sponged ink over the lower part to darken it a little before overstamping with the smart brogue shoes.

Supplies: Favorite Fellas (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets), Earthy Paper Pad (Crafty Secrets), Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tea Dye and Walnut Stain,(to sponge the dark horizontal strip), Brilliance Graphite Black, square antique copper brad, chalk, paper clip, stapler, Dymo label maker, DCWV white core card, sandpaper

Handful of Love continues the retro feel. This lady from the tea and coffee set definitely looked like she was expecting something to drop in to that outstretched hand and I thought a little shower of hearts might be a nice thing to receive!

I don't have scallop Nestabilities which would have been ideal here so I punched a bunch of small circles and stuck them behind the main image panel that already had a narrow mat of the same paper.

Supplies: Tea & Coffee, Mini Memories and Sweet Kids stamp sets (all Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets), Radiant paper pad, Sweet Chips die cut shapes, Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, Tim Holtz Distress inks (Fired Brick and Walnut Stain), small circle punch, red laid paper, grosgrain ribbon, silver thread, enamel heart charm all from stash (unknown maker).

Thanks for visiting today, I hope you enjoyed the little step back in time!

Excitement in the land of Ambrosia & Iron

How excited am I today? VERY excited! In fact, so excited that I’m going to do this in three parts: news and project, blog hits and giveaway…

I’m excited, Part One: I am absolutely thrilled to tell you that Sandy Redburn invited me to be Guest Designer for Crafty Secrets this month. Wow! Did I mention I’m thrilled ;o) I’ll be sharing Crafty Secrets projects with you on the blog during May and Sandy will have some on the Heartwarming Vintage blog, too. Here’s one to get us going...



This came together quickly because the paper (from the Crafty Secrets Radiant pad) does most of the work here. I just added a stamped sentiment from the Sweet Kids set and the ribbon/lace/stitching. The girls on the Bubbly Funk forum may remember my recent exploits in dying silk ribbon – this is the first outing for my natural dye experiments! These were dyed with blackberries; the paler one stayed in the dye bath for an hour or two; the darker one stayed in overnight.

Supplies: Radiant Paper Pad and Sweet Kids Clear Art Stamps (both Crafty Secrets), vintage lace edging, 1” silk ribbon, Clearsnap Deep Green Fluid Chalk ink, sewing machine and thread.

I’m excited, Part Two: My blog has just gone through the 10,000 visits mark since I installed a counter on it. Wow! Thank you very much to all my visitors, new and old, regular and occasional – it’s only worth doing if people enjoy their visits and the fact that so many of you keep coming back really means a lot to me: thank you!

I’m excited, Part Three: add together One and Two and I think a celebration is in order so I have blog candy! Crafty Secrets just released four booklets combining vintage images and journalling spots so they’re great for scrapping as well as cards or altered projects.



I have a full set of four booklets to give away, so the winner will get Homemade, Summertime, Childhood and Birds & Botanicals to play with. You can see them here (click on each booklet to get a more detailed view of them).

So, what do you have to do to win? Firstly, this is open only to UK and European players so that we get to spread the fun a little. Sorry if you’re not in those locations but hopefully you’ll find it easier than us to get hold of Crafty Secrets stuff and Sandy has details of other giveaways on the Crafty Secrets blog that are open to everyone so check those out if your location means you’re not eligible for my draw.

Looking at the little Pierrot in the Childhood booklet got me thinking about the dressing-up box most of us had as kids. So, if you’re in the UK or Europe and would like to win the booklets, just leave a comment on this post to tell me your favourite memory of dressing up in costume as a kid. Make sure there’s a link to your blog or other way to contact you so I can let you know if you won!

Please leave your comment by midnight (GMT) on Wednesday 14th May to go into the virtual hat and I will announce a winner on Thursday 15th. Of course I’d love to hear from you even if you’re not entering the draw, so please do say “Hi!” (you could put ‘no candy’ in your comment if you want to make my life easy).

My favourite? Probably the cone shaped Christmas tree hat, decorated with a spiralled fringe of green crepe paper and real tiny glass baubles! The lion with full mane, eyebrow pencil whiskers and swishy tail (thoughtfully attached with a large press stud so there would be no embarrassing mishaps in the event of a naughty boy pulling my tail – thanks Mum!) runs a close second, though ;o)

Thanks for your visit today, hope you had some fun!

Kathy's birthday recipe

Happy Birthday Kathy!

Kathy posted a recipe and challenged us to make her a card and post on our blogs. Here's mine (click on it for a better view - tall cards aren't great at Blogger's default size, are they?!).



The recipe was
Three flowers
Three papers
Three ribbons

Now, I'm not good at patterned papers so I've chopped them up! They're all digi papers from Shabby Princess (the Sun Porch collection) and I've used them to make the petals and the flower pot. Two sorts of green ribbon for leaves and some organza knotted around the pot fulfils the ribbon quota. I doodled the stems and added a bit of green chalk 'haze' round them.

Hope you enjoy your birthday, Kathy!

Feathers and patterned pp?

I don't do patterned paper. It just doesn't look right for me. Love it on other people's work but I'm gradually learning not to buy the stuff because I just can't make it look right.

So over on Crafts by Carolyn the current Create a Card challenge is certainly challenging for me. It's a recipe:

0 big blooms

1 feather

2 brads

3 gems

4 patterned papers

Eek! Four papers?!

After shuffling stuff around for an eternity, I finally used an idea that the lovely Lythan posted as a Valentine's class at Scrapstars.

I punched squares from papers that came in a 'baby' sort of pad and made them into a patchwork heart so my penchant for a plain background went unchallenged. The feather got split down the middle so the heart could take flight and I faked some stiching round the edge with a map pin and a gel pen because it didn't look quite finished somehow.

Still not quite sure about it!