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.

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.