A Christmas Card!

Just thought I'd share the card I made for the JS Giordano Christmas Creations competition.  Nothing spectacular, for those of you that know me  know that I only do simple, but I am going to make quite a few more with this design having spent a while creating it.    I tried to create the effect I wanted in Digital Scrapbook Artist 1, but couldn't get the effect I wanted.  Confess I can't get on with that programme that well - oh ok - I suppose that should read I haven't really mastered it yet.  (I think DSA2 is supposed to be better - but can't warrant buying that until I have mastered  DSA1 !)  However, I managed to get rid of the frame around the image in DSA1 and saved it as a jpeg, and imported it into MCS and created the word around the image.   The wording and the image were then highlighted with a quicky glue pen and sparkling snow glitter.  The card stock was double-sided green and white and green dots.  (I think it was a pack from papermania - I have mislaid the front of the pad).

I made a matching insert (as I didn't have any more of the green spot card - I scanned some red from the pack and turned it green in MCS! ) Arranged it so there was just a green spot border with the little image of the snowman in the bottom corner. 

This is another photo - not so good on the quality of the colour, but there isn't a shadow on the left and shows the card better, although you can't see the glitter on this one!

I was quite pleased with the end result, as it didn't actually look like a hand-made card - more like a shop bought "hand-finished" card.  Now off to the JS shop to decide what I goodies I want to buy with my discount for entering the competition!  I need some essentals, having made 40 Christmas cards yesterday - I might even get around to photographing them and sharing them!

A trio of cards

Well here is a diverse selection of recent cards:

 The specification for this one was the wording on the front, oriental red and pink lilies, Betty Boop and bingo!  Yup I do get strange requests!  Lilies from JS  RHS cd.  BP backing paper from a royaly free image.

forgot I had this image of bingo marker pens - was over the moon when I saw it had BP on the bag!  I also created a liner for the envelope, tiling the image in MCS!

an image from JS Thomas Kincade cd with a little glitter added for a friend who loves the sea.

and finally the card I created for my daughter's wedding anniversary - created with Forever Friends cds.

Enamelled Roses

Well although Ellie was out at a Dance Workshop for most of the day, we managed this afternoon/evening before she went to her other Grans to make these:

I had a little practise whilst she was out.  This was my attempt.  One on the right was my first one.  One on left was the second attempt

and this is the second attempt before it was enamelled

and here are the three Ellie made whilst I was preparing dinner!  Two enamelled and one waiting to be enamelled.  Not bad for an 8 year old!

We watched a Creative Expressions demo on C&C with Sue Wilson yesterday, and decided to have a go.   We used an EK punch and some Papermania textured cardstock from a Goodybag.  We adjusted the design slightly from the demo as we had more petals.  Once stuck together with pinflair glue, they were then enamelled with UTEE in a melt pot (i.e. a foil case from a meat pie from the chip shop!)

Grungeboard Bracelets

 I have my eldest granddaughter staying at the moment and this is what we made today.
We used cosmic shimmers powders - some sprayed and some painted), silkies and stazon. Finished off with acrylic medium to seal them.

My first effort

Ellie's first bracelet - stamped image painted with silkies.

another view of first bracelet

Ellie's second bracelet (joint effort) as the added flower was my inspiration and experiment!  Flower is painted with silkies.

and finally - two bracelets = 1 necklace! - trendy!

October Cards

Here are some of the cards made this month.  Hopefully I am now slightly ahead with orders and family birthdays etc. and might even make a start on the 150 Christmas cards I need to make!  (Although am now waiting to order the new JS cd being launched this weekend - as I love the robin image in that!)

an order for a 75 birthday for a lady who loves gardening and bingo - the rosette at bottom right is actually bingo cards!  Image from JS Jane Netley Mayhew Part 2 cd

another sympathy card for a neighbour, whose lovely wife lost her battle with cancer this week.  Image from JS Heavenly cards cd.

I think this was a  LOTV image that I bought at Ally Pally earlier this year, and some backing paper from a goody bag, which I have gone over with sakura stardust pen to highlight the writing.

This image from JS Thomas Kincade cd - I love the colours in this image.  the gold strip on the right looks as though it is hanging off as the light caught it - but it isn't really - amazing what a tad of autumn sunlight does to a photo!

Image and backing paper from Forever Friends cd

Received cards & RW photos

Now that I have taken them down, I thought I would share some of the lovely hand-made cards we received for our Ruby Wedding.

How beautiful is this - a card from my neighbour made by her son.  Still haven't quite worked out how he made it!

A card from a friend's children

My daughter made this one for my husband to give to me.   She pinched the image from the picture I had put on FB of the cake flowers!

The following are from various forum friends, Guiding friends, neighbours and some of the family.

 from forum friend Jacque

Seem to recognise the people in this card!

and I mustn't forget all the other cards we received!

I also thought you might like to see a few photos of the day - didn't realise when we booked the hotel that the colour scheme was red and cream!

some of the flower arrangements that Jacque and I made:

as I had pink roses in my original bouquet, these were mixed in with the red.

Birthday Card and Sympathy Card

Card for a friend using stamped S.W.A.L.K image, coloured with promarkers, with bubbles highlighted with Sakura sparkle and then glazed.  Love this stamp.

and this one was for a long time family friend whose father died recently. 

Image from JS Heavenly cards CD.  Backing paper from sky backing paper section of JS Thomas Kincade CD.

Triangular Favour Box Instructions

I have been asked for some instructions for the favour boxes that I made for my Ruby Wedding.  So here goes - hope you can understand them.  (Hopefully if you right click you can save them at full size).  I have added a couple of photos showing the punched corners, and the threading - apologies for quality but I took apart my favour that had got a bit of a bashing from our celebration!

If you have trouble downloading / reading the instructions, please contact me via Joanna Sheen forum (Beas Nanny) and I will email you the pdf.