For Elaine

This was a card I sent to my crafting buddy Elaine who has just had a birthday. You may be able to tell from the photo that the gates are embossed onto acetate and are slightly bowed across the card. The plan was to have them open separately and lead to the inside of the card gatefold style. But I wanted them to have a bit of life so I scored them at the 'post' so they didn't lie too flat. But when I offered them up to the card to measure the fixing points, still in one piece, they formed the bow shape and I liked them that way. Of course the extra depth that created really warranted a box which wasn't part of the original plan. So I put them in a slightly more generous envelope and trusted to luck. Elaine is far too kind to tell me the true state the card arrived in but I fear it didn't look quite like this when it reached her.

The gate stamp is from Beeswax and the vegetation beyond the gate is from the Elusive Images Wild Flower plate. 'Imagine' is from Elusive Images WIGL plate.

Bodger comes of age?

This is not the card I set out to make! How often does that happen? I was planning to do something a bit more complicated. The first poppy image I made was much more subtle. It was stamped using coloured markers. I watercoloured it but wasn't hapy with the colour of the seed pods. Then, when I glazed the petals with Diamond Glaze, the colours changed. So I tried something a bit different, stamped in black and clear embossed, and the bolder image demanded a more 'robust' background than the one I'd prepared.

The resulting card is much simpler but what really pleased me about it was that I didn't bodge anything along the way. There were no bits I felt the need to disguise. I even managed to shape the petals in the foreground without destroying the glazed surface (not Diamond Glaze this time but clear embossing powder). I'd like to think maybe I've turned a corner but I suspect it's just a fluke and I will be bodging again before long.

Where did that come from?

Another one of those cards that sneaks up on you while you're doing something else. It is actually quite shimmery but you can't really tell in the poor lighting. Sorry about the shadows (and the wacky wavy angles). Silly time of day to be stamping, let alone taking pictures!

Simple card

I've been playing today and have some bits in the pipeline. But I wanted something to show for my time at the end of the day so I put this together. I might put some words on that printed paper. Should I...shouldn't I?

First Christmas card of 2009

Nothing like starting early!

Last year I couldn't wait to make something that wasn't a Christmas card as soon as the season was over. This year I still have so many Christmas stamps and materials I didn't get the time to use that my engine is still running. So I thought I'd make a few cards and put them away for next year.

I've been intrigued recently by all the good results that have been achieved by using browns and blues together. Lynn Robinson-Hunter is a real master of this. So when I decided my blue card needed a touch of colour round the edges I took a deep breath and followed her lead.

The flourish greeting and background flourishes are from Inkadinkado's Winter Trails. The Snowflake and star are from Elusive Images' Angel and Trees. You might just be able to make out in the photo a couple of touches of the clear Stardust pen. Oh, and the ink used for edging is Antique Linen Distress.

Christmas Cards

Time to blog my cards now that they should all have been received. I'm intending to start on next year's cards as soon as possible. Considering all the materials I bought I'm ashamed to say I made only 20 cards this year. I spent far too much time experimenting when the cards should have been long posted. That held up all of my other Christmas preparations and I have plenty of other excuses for being disorganised without adding another. It's a lesson well learnt and should stand me in good stead in future. I am resolved to change my approach as well. I'm going to make a stock of backgrounds and other elements during the year so that I am not doing everything from scratch at the last minute.

This was my favourite card this year and I made several with different coloured backgrounds. The stamp is from the Elusive Images Hearth and Home themeplate and the background and decoupage leaves are from the Artylicious Season's Greetings CD. My non crafting family wondered how I'd made the edging. It is in fact a corner punch from Circa Design.

This card came a close second. My favourite version was all shades of blue but sadly, I sent that without taking a photo of it. The background is inked with Adirondack Purple Twilight and Stonewashed and DI Faded Jeans. The stars and snowflakes are from the Elusive images themeplate Angel and Trees. The Winter Wonderland greeting is from Elusive Images Christmas Reflections and the lacy icicles are from Elusive Images Damask Squares. The snowflake centres are Candy Dots from Pebbles Inc. It's hard to tell from the photo but there is subtler printed insert which shows behind the punched edge.


This was a simple card I made early on after buying the Inkadinkado Winter Trails. The little charm seemed made to go with it. The snowflake background is a printed paper from the Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD and the text is from Elusive Images Angel and Trees themeplate.

I stamped this pear tree a lot of times trying to work out where the partridge should go. I think the clue is there somewhere. The stamps are all from Elusive Images Partridge in a Pear Tree themeplate and the background is from Artylicious Seasons Greetings.

This Sarah Kay "Joy of Giving" stamp stole my heart as soon as I saw it and reminded me of my pre teen days when these kind of images were originally in fashion. The cards I made saw my earliest experiments with colouring. This image was 'watercoloured' with inks and markers and a waterbrush but I'd love to try colouring and blending with pencils. The greeting is computer generated and the background paper is Dovecraft.

This card was made with the wreath from the Hearth and Home themeplate. I stamped and embossed in gold detail EP then coloured it with Sakura pens. The background is from a DCWV set.

Pop Ups

I'm into pop up cards at the moment. They appeal to me on several levels. The ingenius design is wonderful in itself. The way the card is made from one piece and stands in a perfect position even after I've given it a good mangling. And then the diamond space to work on. Images normally occupying a square somehow offer a fresh perspective on the diamond. And the size allows you to use smaller elements as you might in an ATC but still making a proper card in its own right. I think I might have a session cutting all my favourite card into the perfect size diamonds for pop ups.



This is one I made for my friend Jennifer's birthday. I finished it with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist. I gasped briefly as the ink in the image started to bleed but then decided I really liked it that way and might experiment with this effect on purpose next time.

Risky colour combination?

Half term this week and at last some time to get all my crafting stuff out of the cupboards. The kitchen has disappeared under piles of paper, inks and tools. I'd really love a craft room. Or even just a stretch of worktop that didn't need clearing everytime I have to get the tea ready. I've had lots of new goodies recently but it's taken a while to get warmed up. Crafters' block I suppose. But I've come up with this today.

I started with the black and red stamped images and couldn't decide what colour card to put them on. I finally decided on this pale gold pearlescent card. I wasn't at all sure about the colour but since I put everything together the card's really grown on me. What I'm particularly pleased with is the Versacolor Topaz ink on the gold card.

While I'm on a roll I might see what other stamps I have that will work with this combination. I'm glad I got several sheets in this colour. My local craft warehouse (Pear Tree Yard in Sandiacre) sells the most amazing range of papers (an amazing range of all crafting materials really) at such great prices that I can afford to throw caution to the wind.

Main image and background stamps are from Elusive images Wild Meadow. Greeting by WS Designs.

Performance Anxiety

Birthdays and other occasions scare me. I don't feel the need to justify the time I spend experimenting or the money I spend on my stash until someone has a birthday and I have to come up with the goods. Then all inspiration leaves me and I am overcome by 'performance anxiety'. I've been stamping for almost two years and always protest that I am a beginner. I have many cards in my cupboard, but seldom send one that I'm happy with. I've even strained for days then - horror of horrors - gone out and bought a card. I'm sure this is a common phenomenon. But tomorrow Rose will open this. I hope she likes it.

It's another Elusive Images stamp (from the original Damask set). It has been inked with pens, spritzed and stamped onto watercolour paper. I added matching papers from the CD, this time printed onto parchment. The butterfly is by Mic.

Shame on me

Ok, no excuses...

A candid picure of my work area. I know I'm messy. I've always been messy. But when I pack away I'm quite picky about putting everything in its place. While I'm working though...it's just a disaster area. This is the best lighting in the house so I work on the kitchen worktop, sharing space with the kettle.

I know it's an accident waiting to happen. But once I'm on a roll I can't imagine being able to keep everything neat.

It'll be a long time before I get a dedicated crafting area, although my hubby uses that carrot to motivate me into thinking about moving house. It's actually quite nice having the kettle so close. When I come to a natural pause (quite often!) I just click the kettle on.

At the end of this particular session I came up with this, which I'm quite pleased with.

I chose a pink card because I don't use much pink so was prepared to sacrifice it in an experiment. But so far this one has escaped the bin.

The stamps are from Elusive Images Wild Meadow themeplate. The flowers in the 'window' are on watercolour paper set on foam pads behind the aperture.