WOYWW 147

Yes, it's Wednesday again, so time to pop over to Julia's blog to see what my crafting friends are up to this week. I have had a couple of weeks off trying to shake a very nasty flu' bug, and I am pleased to say I am just about back to normal now. This week I have had the company of my sister from UK, so we have spent a lot of time just wandering along the sea-front, or sitting out in the sun chatting. But we did manage a bit of crafting time too and we decided to have a go at a technique featured in the latest issue of Craft Stamper magazine, which uses fresh flowers to make pretty backing papers. I have very few flowers in my garden at the minute so at the weekend we went for a walk across the campo to pick wild flowers. We managed to get well and truly bitten by the mosquitoes that hatched out after the recent rain, but we did get some pretty flowers, but it wasn't until yesterday that we managed to use them. So here is my desk as it was yesterday with the flowers, a general mixed bunch and some of the yellow chrysanthemums that grow wild very abundantly during March.

The idea is to make an arrangement of petals on some uncoated paper or card, add a another sheet on top of the flowers, sandwich these layers between the A,B and C plates and pass the whole lot through a cuttlebug. (I presume this would work just as well with other die cut machines too). Some of the leaves and petals are very juicy so you need a piece of kitchen paper handy to mop up any over spill. When you gently take apart the two sheets of paper, both have an imprint of the flowers on them, but one is more detailed than the other. You carefully remove the squashed debris of flowers and leave the papers to dry. It is a case of trial and error as some flowers did not shed any colour while other were quite dark but not necessarily the colour you expected. For instance, bright red poppy petals left a deep blue print on the paper. The yellow daisies gave the best result. An alternative is to spray the arrangement on the first sheet with mica mist, (I used bright green perfect pearls spray and a pale lilac glimmer mist), and then add the second sheet of paper and pass them through the machine. This means the second sheet will get a print of the flower shapes in the colour of the mist.

This made some lovely subtle coloured papers which will be perfect behind a larger image on a card or ATC. Here is a selection from our trial run. I shall continue experimenting with different flowers as they appear, and try making more precise arrangements as well as random patterns.

I shall link this to Julia's blog now while it is still Wednesday, but as my sister flies home this evening I am going to sit outside in the sun with her for her final couple of hours. But I will be back tomorrow to visit you all and see what you had on your desks this week.

Cards for Rudolf Day

Well here we are at the end of March and I have finally managed to have some cards ready for Sandra's Rudolf Day. I missed the first one by a few hours and the next one by several days! For those who haven't come across Rudolf day before, the idea is simply to set aside the 25th of each month to make at least one Christmas card. So I was determined to make one this month and I decided to make use of the Madonna and child cutting file that I was trying out a couple of weeks ago. The original cut was rather larger than I usually use, but I try not to waste anything so I hand cut a deep turquoise backing for it, and covered the front of the card and the strip under the cut shape with some pale blue Christmas paper that is on my computer - I'm not sure where it is from. I used a couple of strips of holographic stars to hide where I didn't make a very good job of gluing the backing paper on ! I liked the look of the cut out pieces that remained on the backing sheet so I also used these to make a second card by gluing them individually on to some deep, royal blue card. I layered this with some holographic silver paper and mounted it onto a white square card. A vertical peel-off greeting finished this one.

Both of these cards are usable but I wasn't all that pleased with them so next I made the cutting file a lot smaller so it would fit on a standard A6 card. I cut it from some holly-embossed white pearl card and again I used the cut out pieces by sticking them to a piece of grey-blue pearl card left over from the invitations I made for my son last month. I then made a new cutting file that fitted behind the left hand side of the cut card, and cut it in deep blue pearl paper. I glued this behind the image and added a matching strip of the paper to the left inside edge. A simple word stamp was all these needed to finish them, and a partial silver peel-off frame and simple greeting completed the pair to it. I did two each of these and I was much happier with them than the original pair. So I now have six cards for my Rudolf day contribution. You can see what other folk have made by following this link to Sandra's blog.

WOYWW 144

Hi all. This is a very quick post before I rush out to my usual Wednesday sewing/chat group. I took my photo before I went to bed but it was in the very early hours of Wednesday. I started this at around 9.30, so it's only 8.30 in UK and I see there are already 85 posts!

I was having some fun last night playing around with clay and paint. Last Wednesday we had a man who was brave enough to visit a room full of women to collect any jewelry we wanted mended, and to buy any unwanted gold and silver. He is very clever at what he does, and I am really pleased with some repairs he has done for me. I am hoping today he will bring my ring. He has taken an old ring of my husband's and a small Thailand sapphire pendant of mine, and he is making them into ring for me. Anyway, I digress. Last week one lady who used to be a silver smith, brought in a box of off cuts and bits and pieces for him to buy and in amongst them was a silver plaque of the 'Madonna and child'. My friend asked if she could borrow it and promptly gave it to me saying I could make a mould of it and make replicas. (She said she was only thinking of her decoration next Christmas, because I usually make her one!) So I found my last little bit of mold-n-pour and made the mould (in purple on my mat). I then made it twice with air drying clay and three times with Hearty clay. I am pleased with the results. The detail is excellent except perhaps with the facial features using the hearty clay. So last night they were dry and I filed down the edges and gave them a first coat of paint. I experimented with luminarte, gesso and ordinary acrylic, and now I shall add various metal accents, mica sprays etc, to make them more interesting.

Also last night, while on the theme of 'Madonna and child', I tried out a cutting file that I bought from craftrobo megastore. I was using my silhouette cameo machine and I thought I would try it out with a thicker card, so I used 280g coated card, and after a couple of trial cuts, I got the settings just right and it cut beautifully. Here you can see the cut card which I have peeled off the carrier sheet, leaving a perfect negative image. I think I can make use of this as well, so two for the price of one. I shall try down-sizing it tonight, and see if it cuts just as well when it is smaller.

Well now I do have to go, but I'll be back this evening to visit all your desks and see what exciting things you are getting up to.

If you would like to see how other folk spend their time, pop over to Julia's blog and follow the links.

Five flower cards

Welcome to my blog. Thank you for calling in. A special welcome to my newest followers; It's great to have you along, and I hope you will find something to inspire you here.

I showed the beginning of these cards on last week's post WOYWW, so I thought I'd do a quick post today to show I did finish them.

The idea was to use up some long-hoarded stash so I started with a selection of decoupage flower sheets, and a bundle of pre-cut and folded cards. I never buy either of these now but I used to and I have several boxes of them that really need to be used up! So each card has some decoupage on the main image, but I don't use all the layers because of posting them to UK. I then raided a box of rarely disturbed small paper stacks, and my snippits box and found mounts and embellishments for each card. The newest thing I used was the metal sunflower which I saw in the shop where I go for my parchment craft classes. There were nine on a sheet for 1 euro which I thought was a bargain, and as I had hoped, I found I could easily colour them with my copic markers. I also used some ribbons and gems, a Marianne die-cut butterfly and fancy circle frame, some foiled bee stickers, a clear square dome sticker to make a small tile, a German scrap border, and some leaf sprays and letters cut with my Silhouette cameo. I used one card for my friend's seventieth birthday on Sunday, and the tall yellow one was commissioned by a friend for her daughter's fiftieth, but the rest will go into my box ready for when I need one.


I am entering this collection in :
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge 109: Think Spring - Let's see some Flowers.
Crafty Emma's Store Challenge 75: Flower Frenzy.
Make it Monday Linky Party 79: Any paper craft.
The card on the right is also entered for :
Crafty Purple Frog Challenge; Get inspired with yellow and green.

WOYWW 143

Well I am just scraping in on the right side of midnight to pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground and show what is (or isn't!) on my work desk tonight, and have a quick look at what a few of my fellow crafters are getting busy with. Now I am involved with a group on Wednesday afternoons as well as mornings, it is even harder for me to get any craft done, but I was determined to do something this evening, so, for a change, my desk isn't quite empty. I have spent more time just lately messing around with photos and cutting files, than actually making anything, but I have been trying to get a few birthday cards done. I have resolved to use up some very old stash so this week I raided my decoupage folder and selected half a dozen sheets. I spent a couple of evening cutting out. I find this very therapeutic as long as I am in the right mood and have a decent light, and last week I replaced my broken up-lighter, so I can once again see what I am doing in here. On another night I assembled the cut toppers, and then I set about mounting them, using as much as possible, pre-folded cards and envelopes, bought possible ten years ago!, and large and small off-cuts of paper. Tonight I have been doing some finishing touches. The green dish contains letters cut with my silhouette to glue to the long yellow card, and the pink tray is left over pieces from the decoupage which will go in the inserts, and some hand made flowers that may end up on some of the cards. Also in the picture is this months project from my parchment craft class. I am supposed to be doing some serious practice in this - hence the box of tools by the card, but unless I cut out sleeping altogether, there simply isn't enough time. Now I shall visit as many of you as I can, but it won't be too many of you tonight.

WOYWW 141

I nearly didn't post today as once again I have an almost empty desk, but I wanted to thank all you friendly and helpful folk who commented on my invitations last week. With just a couple of exceptions, you all felt that my choice of a glue pen to attach the swirls was a good one and you were right. The paper I cut them from was a heavy pearlescent one right through, not paper backed as it sometimes is. This is almost fibre free so it cuts beautifully with my cameo. I was also gluing them to a textured pearlescent card so I wasn't sure how well this would work, but the glue pen stuck them beautifully. The stamp I was making for the word 'Invitation' was also successful. Here is a finished card. For the inside I cut one swirl in blue paper, scanned it into the computer and used photoshop to make a frame with the script inside. He wanted thirty of them and I found I only needed a couple of evenings to get them all done. (I have blurred the personal data). Tomorrow we are driving up to Benidorm to deliver them to my son and his partner, as they are on holiday there this week. It will be a long day (three hours drive each way), but I am looking forward to seeing them again.

As well as my usual Wednesday morning sewing group I have now committed myself to being out most Wednesday afternoons. My little church has started home/life groups and mine meets for a fellowship lunch followed by a Bible study, every Wednesday. They are a lovely bunch of people - here we are just as our meal is finished, and before we move on to the next bit, but it means I am even less likely to have anything very creative on my workspace. However, I rarely go to bed to before 1 or 2 in the morning, so I will have to start taking a very early photo before I clear Tuesdays mess away!



But just to prove I have made something this week besides my son's invites, here on my desk is a card I have made for my sister's birthday. I had to take a quick photo this morning so I could get it in the post when I went out. I wanted to use a new cuttlebug emboss and cut folder, and I am very pleased with it. I glued the embossed frame to a pink square card, added a decoupaged flower in the centre, and some very pretty gems in the spaces around it. I used a Marianne lace punch at the bottom and some sticky ribbons to hide the joins, and the flowers at the top are from a spray I bought at a pound shop years ago. The butterfly was cut with my cameo, using a file bought from the silhouette online store.

Well I have just about enough time to link this to Julia's blog and visit some of your desks, but it will have to be an unusually early night for me tonight if we are going to hit the road at first light tomorrow.

WOYWW 140

Hi friends. I'm afraid I missed this last week but I'm here again today, and I think I should have called this post "Cutting Corners". My youngest son and his partner are holding a Civil Partnership Ceremony in May which just the close family are going to, but I am making them some invitations for the evening celebration. I sent them several designs to chose from, and in the end they agreed on a fairly simple one. You can see the prototype leaning on the pink tray. However this involved cutting sixty curly flourish corners on my silhouette cameo machine, which was not too difficult though it did take quite a while. But they seem to have a life of their own, and they are now a tangle in the tray, and it is going to take me an age to sort them out as I need each pair for gluing on to the cards that I have cut and folded ready for them. I didn't have enough sheets of double sided adhesive paper to back these before I cut them, and that would have made the sticking of them easier, nor can I easily buy an adhesive spray here, so for the sake of speed I am going to use my trusty glue pen. That should be fun!

The light coming in from the left is my table lamp that I am using to cure an imagepac stamp I have made for the word 'Invitation'. If I was more confident with the 'print and cut' feature of my machine I could have used this, but it is not something I normally do, so for me it was easier to cut a page of labels and use a stamp for the script. (The stamp is now cured and I have tested it out. It's fine so now I am ready to assemble them all). The inside is printed so that won't take me too long to do. Our son and his partner are on holiday in Benidorm next week which is about a three hour drive from where we live, and I am hoping we can deliver the invitations to them there, so they can get them sent out as soon as they get home.

Of course this is a good excuse for a brief visit to UK in May. We can only stay for a week as it will be the first time our dogs have been in kennels, and we are not sure how they will be, so we don't want to leave them for too long. But it will be lovely to see all our sons (we have five!), and their families, and hopefully have a quick cuddle with our great grandson too.

Right, a quick hop to Julia's blog to see what you are all getting up to, then I had better get cracking. Now, where is that glue pen?......

A set for Rudolf day

This year I decided that I did not want to spend so much time making Christmas cards because last year I didn't seem to have any time left for all the other things that I wanted to do. Instead I thought I would do one challenge a month and make a set of matching cards for it. So when I read on my friend Di's blog about Rudolph day it seemed like just the prompt I needed. She directed me to Sandra's blog; Stamping for Pleasure, where I read all about it. The idea is that the 25th of every month is Rudolph day when you make a Christmas card and post it on her blog. So on 25th of January I did start my set, but unfortunately I am just a couple of hours too late to post them this month. (You have until 9.00 p.m. on the last day of the month). Nonetheless, I have another nice set of six Christmas cards made, and next month I will try harder to get them done on time.

For my cards I used a new, un-inked stamp that I bought from the Special offers page of Joanna Sheen's online shop. I was shopping for something quite different but it just sort of jumped into my basket along with everything else! It is a sweet image from Giordano Studio stamps. I stamped it six times on to coated white card and coloured all the images the same, using copics and promarkers. Then I cut each one out using a different die - Spellbinders nesties, Nellie Snellen and Marianne. I made six 12cm square white cards. When I got my new printer in November, and wanted to try it out, I printed off several Christmas backing papers from a variety of CDs, and then I never got round to using them, so I dug those out, along with several larger card offcuts, and mixing and matching with these, I made the set of six very similar, but still different cards. I used a Marianne die set to cut six large and six small snowflakes, and pairing them up I added one pair to each card. I know one card has two on it. That's because I stuck the main image on upside down so the card opened from the left. (You've all done it at some time!). I managed to take it off and turn it round, but I couldn't risk moving the snowflake, so I left it there and added another pair at the top. Then I added the odd gem and some stickles to each one, and here they are.

I am entering these in;
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge 57; Just make it Square.
Dream Valley Challenge 24; Animals
Make it Monday Linky Party 74.