Christmas Cards 2016 part 3

Just a couple today, although I have made more than one of the one below.    As you can see I am really into using my Gelli plates for backgrounds - it makes it so simple to stamp a background.  I have had this deer stamp in my stash for sometime, I think it was a freebie on a magazine.  It was painted with memento inks

Christmas Card 2016 part 2

Today's cards were created using Clarity stamps, Clarity mini Gelli plates, a black micron pen, and the sparkle overlay pen

Starting the Christmas cards ...

This year I decided that I would try and use some of my dies and stamps for my Christmas cards instead of creating them in Craft Artist.  So over the next few days o(r maybe weeks) I will share some of my makes.

Today I am showing a few made with dies:  (I apologise for the quality of some of the photos, but Microsoft in their wisdom upgraded their photo editing programme, so some of the photos might not be as good as I would have hoped as they were all taken indoors in artificial light and I had a problem cropping and tweaking them - hopefully I will get to grips with the new programme by the time I have finished my cards!)

Joy

 Blue Joy again on a background created with mini gelli

Star wreath with circular gelli min background

Star wreath again but over-painted, and no background

Wreath die and bauble die on circular gelli background

Wreath die with blue gelli background on a green card, with Clarity stamp images

Snowflake on square gelli background

Snowflake again on hexagonal background

Star with square gelli background and snowflake stamp corners

Woodland heart on square gelli background

 Just to finish the descriptions under the photos, those using the mini gelli plates and memento inks. were edged with a black micron pen, and sentiments added with various stamps.

Card for Krystyna

I created a couple of cards in CAP for a friend.   I have used variations of this image before, as it is a favourite of mine ........

....... However, I also did this one, which is the one I chose, as I love the Lilies and Light kit by Michelle Jackson-Mogford based on the paintings of Monet

Another Fairy House

With battery tealights inside

I have been playing with Powertex again, and have made this fairy house.   This time I used clear Powertex, and then painted with acrylic paints, and gilding wax

another view

 As you can see it is just made from t-shirt material, and old dishcloth, some rick-rack and some lace, with a few gems added.

Before painting ....

...... and what it started out like

This started life as a pickle jar and lid.   the lid had scrunched up foil taped to it with masking tape

A "First"

As you know I normally post craft stuff, but just had to share some personal photos today.  Being the first Sunday in November, it was the Veteran Car Club run from London to Brighton, or as most people know it - The "Old Crocks".

It was a lovely morning, so my daughter asked if I would like to go.   Of course the answer was yes. I went last year with my pal who was up staying from the West Country as she had never seen it before.

We always used to watch it when we first moved to Sussex, going then with my parents and my brother as the cars passed the top of our road.   Later of course I went with my pals, and then my husband and our children.   I hadn't been for a few years, mainly because if we were free to go it had invariably been a horrid wet day.

They changed the route for a few years, but last year they had it going through the centre of Crawley and along the High Street.  It was the same this year.

We had a great time - the cars were coming thick and fast.   The Scouts had a stall selling hot coffee, burgers and bacon rolls (the coffee was most welcome as although it was sunny it was a tad chilly - even though we were well wrapped up), and a jazz band was also playing in part of the high street.  A great atmosphere as you can imagine.

We saw the oldest car built in 1895, also the one that was the car in the film Genevieve, and the Harrods car with Jodie Kidd in it (though confess we didn't know it was her until later!)   The old coaches being driven by celebrities in aid of Children in Need also stopped opposite us.

Anyway here are a few pictures from the day.

The oldest car on the run

Had to share this one - this lady's huge crocheted poppy was gorgeous
(see had to include something crafty - lol!)

The Jazz Band

The highlight for my daughter and I was being able to have our photo taken sitting in one of the cars - so an "Old Crock" got to sit in an "Old Crock"  "

An old crock and her daughter!

Details of the car we had our photo taken on

Something Completely Different!

I had fun today - just playing!  I watched the Colourlicious Shows on Hochanda yesterday, and was inspired by the use of gelli plates for block and reverse printing.

Well I didn't have the large gelli plates that she was using, but I do have some mini shaped ones from Clarity, and I had some blank tea towels! So nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I tried doing the block printing the way Jamie showed, but found it a little awkward, so using the little gelli mounts, I used them like a stamp.  She also used a brayer on the gellis, but I found that made the background too light for the effect I wanted, so I just used a sponge on them.

I do have some of the Indian wooden block stamps in my stash (albeit only a few) so I used what I had and did the reverse printing, by stamping into the gelli and removing some ink, before stamping on the tea towel.   I also did some ordinary stamping with the Indian stamps, as well as using a couple of stencils (a random leaf effect one near the centre and Andy Skinner''s Fossil stencil  to fill in the triangles around the edge.   White "gaps" and the edge then just had the textile paint applied randomly with a sponge.  For info the gellis I used where the triangle, hexagonal and oval.

This is sort of work in progress at the moment, as I haven't decided whether I want to fill in the rest of the white of the tea towel yet.

Birthday Card

A simple card for a friend.   Die cut flower and leaves from pearlescent card stock.  Some fancy ribbon from my stash with gems on it.  Hand written sentiment with Mixtion relief and silver mirror foil, and finally a hit of clear sparkle overlay on the gaps in the leaves and flower.  (although don't think that has picked up on this photo)

First Christmas Cards 2016

I have been experimenting with some Christmas dies tonight (whilst watching some craft demos on TV and by keeping my hands employed, so I couldn't be tempted to flex the plastic and buy stuff - lol!)

The dies were cut out of pearlised card stock, and then painted with Memento inks, and then Pebeo Gilding Wax rubbed on.  The Memento inked sections then had clear sparkle overlay pen applied to them.

Just simple cards, but I wanted to go down the simple route this year, as well as making use of dies in my stash and my new Gemini machine!

I shall try the dies out again on white card stock and paint them, and some black card stock and apply gilding wax.    So watch this space!

80th Birthday Card

My daughter is so busy at moment she hinted that if I had time I could make a card for her husband's aunt's 80th birthday, as she didn't think she would get around to making one.   

Well  ........ it's like this I treated myself to the Crafter's Companion Gemini machine (an electronic die cutting machine), as I am suffering with a very painful arm, which they now reckon is a frozen shoulder, and I was having trouble turning the handles on my other diecutting machines ......  of course I had to have a play with the machine when it arrived didn't I?

So I made this card using the freebie dies that came with the machine.  (By the way I love this machine).

I painted the background with various Memento inks and a smidgen of water to blend them, and then went over it with the clear sparkle overlay pen and some water - don't you just love the shine?

The die-cuts then had more of the clear sparkle overlay applied, with a smidgen of highlights added, by mixing with some of the background colours.

I don't use a lot of die cuts - although now with the new machine I intend to.  Am quite pleased with the finished result using just a few simple dies.

Right I had better get off here now and sort out a suitable insert (yes back to CAP2 for that one).