Monday 24 March 2014

Glossy thanks tag

Stamps: Geometric Style II (Clearly Besotted)
Ink: Soft Pool (HA)
Dies: Headline Alpha (PTI); Rounded Tag (CB)
Other: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Anita's 3D Gloss; Aqua Twine (Divine Twine)
Lovin' these alpha dies!  Glittered & glossed as previous post (but without the errors this time!).  Used the PTI packaging for the acetate tag.
 
Ultimately this will go on a teacher's gift, but I haven't made it yet, so the empty bottle is just a stunt double.

Linking to:
Papertrey Ink: March 2014 Blog Hop Challenge (not until 25th)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Simon Says Glitter It

Saturday 22 March 2014

Get your party on & manage your scraps



Stamps: Headline Alphabet (PTI)
Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine)
Dies: Balloons (PS); Headline Alpha (PTI)
Other: Diamond Stickles (Ranger); Anita's 3D Gloss
Pheww.  This has required some patience!  The PARTY is 5 layers thick & after cutting I had to adhere them all very carefully.  Then applied gloss.  Waited for gloss to dry.  When dry, realised had applied gloss too thick & it was as wrinkly as... a wrinkly thing.  Applied Diamond Stickles to hide the wrinkles (wish that worked on me!).  Waited for stickles to dry.  Not quite long enough.  Smudged stickles, had to re-apply.  When stickles dry, put on more gloss.  Back in the airing cupboard.  Finally finish the card & take a picture, you can barely see the glitter, & the gloss is invisible.  But it looks great IRL, pinkie promise!
 
It is almost a reverse of the Muse card - bold black letters with a splash of colour.
 
Linking to:
The Card Concept: Challenge #6 - Create a Birthday Card
Less is More: Week 164 ~ Use 3 of Something
Papertrey Ink: March 2014 Blog Hop Challenge (not until 25th)
Muse Card Club: Muse Challenge #59
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Simon Says Glitter It

No new sheets of cardstock were harmed during the production of the above card.  All the die-cuts were cut from scrap.  Tiny pieces that should perhaps have gone in the bin.  But they were saved thanks to my new scrap management system:
 

 
 A swing file box that sits neatly on my desk, made from a few old boxes, paper & bamboo skewers.  I have another one the same for all my neutral scraps.  They work a treat - my desk has never been tidier.

Thursday 20 March 2014

A very graphic birthday card...

Font: migraine sans
Die: Stitched Mats Square (Lil' Inkers)
OO-er.  But it is.  Indisputably graphic.  Can you guess I'm playing along with the new Card Concept challenge?
 
Inspiration came from the most unlikely source - the BBC graphics accompanying the latest UK Budget details.  Amongst the usual car / petrol / booze etc, there is a CAKE icon.  Why?  I know not.  As far as I am aware there has been no new tax on cake, but maybe the chancellor is considering that for next time!
 
Anyhoo, having got a cake & a glass, I surfed around for the presents, then morphed them into the above.  Please note the restraint in advocating only 2 drinks & a single cake!
 
I had great trouble trying to get the right blue to print out.  What I see on my screen is gorgeous, but turns to bleuch at the printer.  With much trial & error, I managed to match it to my cardstock eventually.  I think this may become a go-to quick make - just change up the colours to suit.
 
Linking to:

Friday 14 March 2014

Fusion #6


Stamps: Miss You (My Cute Stamps)
Ink: Pear Tart (Memento)
Dies: Instant Photos (Sizzix); Tiny Hearts (SSS)
 
A new Fusion Challenge has started.  I'm not sure if I've used the sketch or not!
 
 
 
Am enjoying the flood of inlaid die cuts around at the moment, so thought I would join in the fun.
 

 
 
Linking to:
Fusion Card Challenge: Fusion #6

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Mothers' Day wreath

Stamps: Flower Friend (SSS); Boxes Bags & Tags (PTI); Fanciful Flowers (Elzybells)
Ink: Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves, Lilac Posies (Memento)
Font: Sofia, Narkism
A move slightly away from my comfort zone today, but I think my MiL would prefer this to something more minimal or graphic.
I printed the sentiment & used a Lil' Inkers die as a circle template (told you I'd get a lot of use out of them...), then stamped around it.  This wasn't dumb luck, I practised several times on scrap to make sure everything fitted.  Just for once the final piece is better than the trials!
Might be a bit too busy for LiM this week - perhaps should have used a 5" card base? - but I'll try my luck anyway.
 
Linking to:
Less is More: Week 162 One Layer Card ~ Spring Flowers

Saturday 8 March 2014

Cheers

Stamps: Lots of Dots (SSS)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)
Dies: Birthday Words (PS); Stitched Mats Squre (Lil' Inkers)
Hi Folks.  I nearly gave up on this idea.  I first tried it with vellum glasses.  DIS-AS-TER.  No matter what I tried, all I could see was glue splodges (any tips gratefully received).  So I slept on it, & remembered some frosted vinyl I had lying around.  Perfick.  The wine glasses were cut on the Silhouette, using an image I found on line.
 
Capturing my masterpiece on camera proved to be another obstacle.  Turns out that vinyl is as camera-shy as glitter.  Who knew?

Linking to:
Paper Smooches Sparks: Anything Goes
CAS(E) This Sketch: CAS(E) this Sketch #67

Thursday 6 March 2014

Retro card & a rant.

 


Font:KG Call Me Maybe - skinny
Die: Stitched Mats Squares (Lil' Inkers)

 
New kitchens seem to be the trend around here at the moment.  It's a bandwagon I'd love to jump on, but won't be happening for a few years yet.  So I'll just have to live vicariously through other people!  Above is a card I created using Silhouette Studio software to celebrate the completion of my friend's kitchen.
 
This card was based on some kitchen art I found on a trawl around Pinterest, using colours from a Design Seeds post.
 
color crawlFlippin' Awesome Spatula Kitchen Art by CoriNicholsDesigns on Etsy, $10.00

I love that you can just plug the hex code numbers into the colour box in Silhouette Studio to reproduce the exact same shade.

I found a simple spatula shape on line & used the trace function to get the outline.  Having filled one with colour, I copied it, filled with grey, moved the copy slightly down & to the left & put it behind the original to give a shadow. 

The retro background is a freebie paper from Mel Stampz altered to suit this palette.
 
And now for the rant.  Please feel free to stop reading here.
 
I have finally purchased some Lil' Inkers Stitched Mat dies.  I have been lusting after these for many months now & finally manged to justify the expense (to myself if no one else...).  They weren't cheap, but no matter, I'll get a lot of use from them.  P&P was reasonable from the US, even got a slight refund from the company.  Great service.  Had to pay customs charges.  A bit of a bind, but the law IS the law.  What I object to, dear listener (I say listener, because in my head I am talking at you, possibly quite loudly, & jabbing my finger around a lot to emphasise my indignation), is the whopping £8, yes £8, international handling charge from our own dear Royal Mail. 
 
And what do I get for this enormous sum? 
Does my postman don a footman's uniform & present my purchase to me on a silver salver?  No he does not. 
Does a slightly more buff postman appear, wearing slightly less (& I'm not talking about the regulation shorts...)?  No he does not.
Does he rush around with the parcel at my earliest convenience?  No he does not. 
Having tracked the order, I know the Royal Mail got their sticky mitts on it on Saturday.  I had a delivery, nay, ransom note (can you tell, I'm warming to my theme?) through my door informing me on Tuesday.  And having sold a child & a kidney to pay the charges, I was then informed that they couldn't deliver until Thursday.  I guess they had to toss it around the office & handle it a lot to make sure I got value for money.  In short, what did the handling charge provide to me, the customer?  Sweet Fanny Adams as far as I can tell.
 
Phewww.  Thank you.  I feel better for that.

It's safe to come out from behind the sofa.  I'm sorry for shouting & pointing.

Monday 3 March 2014

Pink elephants for Fusion

Fonts: Cherry Swash (number), 2 Peas Mr Giggles (Sentiment)
This weeks' Fusion sketch was calling out to me today:
The elephant is from the Silhoutte shop, & I've filled it with Crystal Wilkerson digital designs.  I tried googly eyes on the elephants, but they looked a bit sinister, so went with enamel accents in the end.  A tricky few minutes trying to make sure they went on evenly, but (luckily) no mishaps this time.
 
Linking to:
Fusion Card Challenge: Fusion #5

Sunday 2 March 2014

Brighter days ahead

Font: Halo Handletter
This idea came to me in the wee small hours of this morning, as I listened to the gentle snores emanating from the adjacent pillow.
 
All done using Silhouette Studio.  The acetate was a happy accident that rushed out of my scrap drawer as I rummaged for something completely different.
 
Linking to:
CASology: Week 84 ~ Paint
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