Oh dear . . . .

Is it really more than a year since I last posted one of my cards on here? Clearly it is, as it’s 2022 and most of the world (but not most of Russia) is watching the terrible events unfold in Ukraine.

An aunt celebrates her birthday today and it seemed appropriate to make a card for her using Ukraine’s national flower, the sunflower, in the shape of the Inkylicious Sunkissed Wishes stamps which have been in my stash for several years.

I kept it simple: the flowers were stamped & embossed in white embossing powder on watercolour card, then watercoloured using my Winsor & Newton watercolour set. The greeting (by Clearly Besotted) is stamped in Grey Flannel Memento Ink.

#cardsforukraine

Still Here . . . .

Well, what a year it’s been. I somehow knew when I packed up my real office to start working from home that it would be a while, but even I didn’t think it would be THIS long – a month or two, I thought – but not almost a year. My craft room became my office, and spending more than 9 hours a day in there, working, stifled pretty much all of my creativity. I have made some cards over the last year, particularly for family members who celebrated big lockdown birthdays. Over the coming months I’ll try to catch up on blogging about a few of them.

This was a new – to me, at least – technique called “faux stained glass”, described by Jennifer McGuire here. I found it really simple to do but very effective although the second picture shows the finish much better.

This picture shows the glossy finish really well. Definitely a technique I’ll do again.

It’s Been a While . . .

I’ve neglected this blog for far too long; I still make cards sometimes, and enjoy it when I do, but dressmaking has become my main hobby and I don’t have time for both so the blogging takes a back seat to the creating.

Anyway, without further ado this card for my nephew’s wife was inspired by a Christmas gift from my crafty friend Vicky, which was the lovely set of stamps by Crafters Companion which comes with matching dies. This card wasn’t planned, I just went with whatever I fancied doing. The background was inked with Distress Inks in Broken China and Tumbled Glass, so the stamps were also inked with Broken China. As they’re new and I was using Distress Inks, the images didn’t stamp cleanly, but I decided I liked the effect and just re-stamped where the ink was a little too patchy.

I finished off with a sentiment by Altenew, embossed with Wow! Bright White embossing powder (which really isn’t bright white at all), and some off-white sequins to match.

Flower Challenge

It’s been a long time since I posted here; I’ve been spending my free time on other hobbies as I’ve found they’re better at keeping my mind occupied, but I’ve still made some cards and decided it was about time I got back to occasionally blogging about them. This week’s Flower Challenge is a one layer challenge, and this card fits the bill – I hope the addition of a piece of ribbon doesn’t disqualify me!

The poppies are from a very old stamp set by Artemio, for which I used by Tim Holtz stamping platform to do first, second and third generation stamping. The greeting is by Simon Says Stamp. Here’s a closer look:

 

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Afternoon Delight!

In case anyone’s wondering, no I haven’t dropped off the face of the planet! Work has been even more manic than normal so although I’ve been doing lots of crafting (as I always do to keep the stress under control) I just didn’t feel like posting anything.

But early this morning I finished my first Jennifer Lauren Handmade Afternoon blouse, and I’m so pleased with it I just had to do a post about it. These pictures were taken as soon as it was finished, which – as it was only 6am – probably explains why I didn’t notice how bad the right sleeve looks! Trust me, in real life it looks just like the left one.

I’d seen numerous reviews of this top on patternreview.com and in blogland, and everyone commented on how easy it was. They weren’t wrong! I bought the pattern earlier this month, and eventually chose some lovely poly/cotton fabric from Minerva Crafts. I cut a straight size 12, and took a chance by doing no adjustments at all & not making a toile. I overlocked the pieces before sewing it all together but next time I’ll simply overlock all the seams. Although it didn’t take me just an afternoon it was a quick sew so there will definitely be a next time.

I hand-stitched the blouse front as the pattern instructions suggested, but the stitching fell apart the first time I put the top on! So as my handstitching is clearly rubbish, I top stitched the neckline which was a first for me. I was lazy, though, and didn’t pin the blouse on me to check for fit before I did it, so I had to unpick & re-stitch some of it. Lesson learned for next time!

The finished top is a little tight on Betty (my dress form), but I’m so pleased that on me it’s a perfect fit and the neckline lies perfectly flat. The pattern calls for a large button to finish the unusual neckline but I found a heart-shaped button in my stash which was a perfect match although it’s a little smaller than it should be. Job done, and I’m looking forward to making a second one with the alternative neckline – I’ve already bought the fabric so watch this space!

In the Frame

My card-making mojo has deserted me just lately but the Color Inspiration Link Up, for images which have been hand-coloured, caught my attention this week because of the sheer simplicity of the challenge. Frames also seem to be cropping up in a number of cards, too, so I combine both sources of inspiration to create the card above.

The frame was created using square dies by Gummiapan & Tonic; the car stamp is by Visible Image, coloured in my only 2 Copic markers! The greys are Promarkers, and although it isn’t obvious in the photos I used Anita’s Clear Gloss on the headlights. The greeting is by Simon Says Stamp, stamped in Versafine Onyx Black then embossed with clear embossing powder. Done!

Flowers Galore!

I’ve only got time for one hobby at the moment and for the last couple of months that’s been sewing, although I haven’t got much to show for it yet. I still enjoy card making when I get chance, and made this card recently which I’m going to enter into this month’s challenge at Stamping Sensations. The theme is “Anything with Flowers”, and the main image must be stamped, for obvious reasons. Well, there are flowers aplenty on the front of this card, all individually stamped.

I took my inspiration from this card but adapted it using stamps from various sets including Paula Pascual & Banana Frog (sadly no longer trading), inked in various brands/colours of inks. The die cut word is by Mama Elephant, cut in normal cardstock then glossed with Anita’s Clear Gloss, and the birthday greeting is by Clearly Besotted. I then added a few gems for the obligatory bling!

With Sympathy

I liked the sketch at Sketch Saturday, but as if one sketch wasn’t enough, I decided to add an extra element by challenging myself to make a one layer card. Almost a challenge too far – this was my third attempt!

I started by stamping the Hero Arts Delicate Blossoms stamp in Versafine Onyx Black, then painting on Pebeo masking fluid over the flowers. Using a Spellbinders die to cut an oval mask, I inked the card using Distress Ink in Dusty Concord, then I rubbed off the masking fluid to reveal the white flowers. The Clearly Besotted greeting, from the Brushed Greetings 2 set, finished off the card nicely. And at least I stamped it straight on my final attempt . . . .

CTS #247

I always think masculine cards should be simple – no fuss & definitely no frills! So the sketch at Case This Sketch this week appealed to me and I took the opportunity to use up some of my (huge!) stash of patterned paper in the process. The greeting is by Woodware, I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then spent ages trying to work out what to do for the curved shape but settled, in the end, on a simple circle shape using a die by Swedish House Crafts.