Poinsettias and Christmas Roses

This was an experiment, having played with my new stamps from Joanna Sheen. I used part of the poinsettia image and using artistic licence, my sakura clear, green and blue stardust pens and a koi brush. Cut out the image, and attached it to card with clear pads. The matching ribbon was coloured with a promarker pen, added some little stick-on sparkles to the ribbon and centre of the flowers.

I confess I love this unusual look, and am sure I shall be doing it again!

The Christmas roses were coloured with sakura stardust for the flowers and a koi brush, and the leaves were done with promarkers, and highlighted with clear stardust. (Don't know why the leaves look such a weird colour as used same pens as the poinsettia leaves below!)

The Poinsettias were both coloured with promarkers, and then the veins highlighted with clear sakura. The photos don't do them justice, as they really sparkle!

I should add that all the images were on 160 gsm paper - even the ones I "water-coloured"!

Birthdays, a Wedding and a First!

I shall start with "a first" . I have had my bookatrix board for a couple of years, I tried to use it when I first had it, and failed miserably. I was determined to try again. Well I have to confess that this may also be my last bookatrix - I just couldn't get on with it with the pearlised card, although the vellum layer was ok. Having eventually got the back part of the book cut out, I realised that it was bigger than an A5 card - botheration! After all that struggle! Fortunately I had some large A4 cards and envelopes in a goody bag the other week. Panic over! and another first in making an A4 card.

The wild rose stamp was coloured with sakura pens and a koi brush, with decoupaged flowers. I balanced this with a little verse I found which was so appropriate for this family member - my mum's second cousin. In 2003 we met Lily and her family for the first time, not previously knowing of their existence and living so near to us, and we had a wonderful day. My mum and her cousin were so alike. Do click on the photo and read it.

This second card is for a forum pal's birthday, this time image coloured with promarker pens, and the same image used as a background on the main card.

and finally a wedding card for a neighbour's son and his soon to be wife. My son is going to be best man at the Wedding on Saturday. This image and backing paper is from a Joanna Sheen cd.

Anniversary Cards - variation on a theme

Based on an idea that Suzanne did for a DL card on her blog, I created a couple of landscape A5 cards, the blue one for a pal, and the orange one for my daughter and husband, as she had this colour of lily in her wedding bouquet.

The images were both coloured with promarkers, and the first mount layers were created with colouring the edge of some white card with a promarker. The plaid paper in the blue card, was taken from a Joanna Sheen backing paper and recoloured in Publisher.

I seem to have a "confusion" of green's on this card. The first layer of backing were both done with the same colour promarker, but have realised one was on pearlised Conqueror paper and the one around the message on plain paper - the colours were supposed to be a near match for the punched strip - but they appear quite different in the photo! I also coloured the Lilies with promarkers to match the image.

Normally I print out the message in a matching colour, but this time I printed them both out in black and then went over them with promarkers to create a sort of co-ordinated colour shadow.

I also learned how to do a watermark for the insert - I scanned and saved the images I had coloured and then in Publisher converted them to a watermark, with a duplicate image of the flowers placed over the watermark on the "fly" of the insert, and the wording done with a clear background on the lower section. (Just realised, I forgot to take a photo of the inserts - duh!)

Handbag card

A card with a little diffence for a forum pal's birthday. Inspired by watching a show on C&C wih handbag templates, I suddenly remembered I had some envelope templates that I bought at Farnborough, that you were supposed to be able to make handbags with. (I think they were the original templates sold by the company demonstrating on the tv).

So I had a play. I extended the template to create the flap, which is fastened with velcro dots and has a hidden Happy Birthday message under it. I used a rollergraph for the pattern on the flap, (done on both sides, so pattern is also there when you lift the flap) using a pretty rainbow metallic pad I fell in love with at Hobbycraft. Used a blue sugarcandy button to finish the flap and decorated the bag corner with some flora doodle, adhesive diamantes and a peel off initial for the recipient. I couldn't decide whether to add a handle, but in the end decided I liked the card as it was.

Nephews' cards - one using my Craft Robo!

I have had my Robo for some time now, and have been very lax about using it. I tried to create stuff myself, but failed miserably. I have made cards using free designs by other people that I have downloaded, but could never quite get things I had drawn to work. However, having watched a couple of show on C&C, and learned a few things, I took the bull by the horns and created this card for my nephew.

I cut the aperture for the image and the word Tony out of the base card using the Robo, and scored two lines down each side of the card. I then printed the image from my Messy Rabbit cd on 160gsm card, and with a bit of jiggling managed to get it to print out in the right place. This was then stuck to the inside of the front of the card. Obviously the word Tony was then white, so I coloured this in with a promarker pen, and also added some extra depth of colour to the ball and jersey on the image. I added matching sugarcandy buttons and edged the aperture first with letraset silver tape, and then highlighted the image and also the inside edge of the score lines with letraset red tape.

The second card is for another nephew - this time my great nephew (who is also nephew of the person for whom the first card was made!).

This time I used a Liliofthevalley diecut image, and matching backing papers. mounted on scalloped card using largest nestability shape, and lightly chalked the background. Finished with some matching sugarcandy buttons and Name and age cut from foam using my go kreate cutters. Like his uncle he is very much into football, but fancied a change this year - and felt the lad with a mobile was fairly apt!