Vintage Card - Get well - Part 1

Hello, I've gone all vintage AGAIN :o) I love it, and I think I'm slowly getting better at it. It's one of those styles that just about suits everyone, male or female, and as I wanted to make a card for my friend Tracey who's just had a back operation, I thought this style would be perfect. As you can see from the title of this post this is part 1 as there are LOTS of photo's as I not only made a card I also altered a tin to make a gift set. So here we go ....

In this picture the card is in the box I made for it. You might be thinking what are those black lines on the girls faces? Well I scanned the DP I used for the card and through my graphics programme I changed it to black and white, then into a negative and then printed it onto printable acetate, and then used it to make a "window" in the box lid. Below is a picture of the lid with some white paper behind it so as you can see the printed acetate better. You can click on the photo to get a better look if you want to.

1.The main image is from the internet, unfortunately I can't remember who the artist is.

2. The DP or backing paper is from Graphics 45 "Botanicals" range.

3. The flowers were made by me using EK Success medium flower punch and red vellum

4. The torn letter is a rubber stamp by EK Success - "Parchment Script". Stamped onto parchment, which was then screwed up, distressed and aged with Tim Holtz distress inks ( I don't know how I ever lived without these inks)

5. The Butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch.

6. The sentiment is computer generated aged as above and then double heat embossed.

7. And if you're wondering, the cherub is a button by Dress It Up.

1. The main DP/backing paper is from a CD by Bearly Mine Designs.

2. The pocket for the postcard was again made with the same printed acetate. The "lace" trim was made with Martha Stewart's Doiley Lace punch and Fiskars Leave it to Weaver punch, aged again with Mr Holtz's inks.

3. I loved the postcard I made for a previous card so I decided to do it again for this card. The Eiffel Tower image again was sourced from the internet.

4. The butterfly was made using Marianne design Creatables Butterfly 3 die.

5. The side of the note was made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then sponged with the same distress inks.

Lastly here's the back of the postcard. The sentiment is computer generated, the rest of the images are rubber stamps from Clear Art Stamps "French Mail".

Tomorrow I'll post part 2 - the altered tin I made to go with this card. So until then

Take care & keep smiling

Vintage 70th Birthday card - for my Dad :o)

It was actually my Dads birthday on the 29th September, and have only just remembered to take a photo of it !!!! Anyhoo I took lots of photos and I've uploaded them small to get them all on, cos as usual I couldn't make up my mind which ones I liked best :o/ So here goes...

I won't bore you with the details as to how I made the card, as there is waaaaaaay to much to list, but if there is anything you want to know about the card feel free to ask. All I will tell you is the photo's are of my Dad when he was VERY young :o)

Thank you for taking the time to look and take care & keep smiling

Tilda with Roses or Roses for Rosella

I made this card about three weeks ago for my friend Rosella's birthday....


















































1. Backing papers inside and outside of the card are from Bearly Mine Designs CD Rom.
2. Magnolia's Tilda with roses and Rose rubber stamps. Colured with Derwents Coloursoft pencils, Sansodor, Atyou red glitter pen and Sakura clear Gellyroll glaze pen. Background for Tilda was made using Tim Holtz Scattered Straw ink pad.
3. Roses on the front where plain white but the edges where then painted with Shimmerz Royal red paint.
4. Frames for Tilda and inserts where made with Nestabilities and heat embossed (about 4 layers)
5. Leaves - L-Em punch and Bazzil card.
6. Sentiments are computer generated and gone over with Atyou red glitter pen.
7. Gold corner and border peel offs used on the inserts.
8. Metal corner embellishments and raffia bows on the front.
Take care & keep smiling

Winter Wonderland Week 15 - Frosty the Snowman

As I've been away from blogging for a while I thought I'd get myself back on the map by entering a challenge, and as I've been following the Winter Wonderland Challenge blog for a while but never entered I thought this would be a good place to start. And lets face it WHO can resist a snowman :o) ...

I do have a snowman stamp but didn't want to use it, so I went scouting round the Internet to see what I could find, and found this lovely snowman on a children's colouring page. Do you think I can find that page again ???? No, argghhhh I hate it when that happens. Anyway I've changed it slightly from the original picture, and so as I could colour it in without the ink smudging, I printed it in a pale grey colour and then went over it with a waterproof ink pen and then coloured it with Derwent coloursoft pencils and Sansodor, and the band on his hat was gone over with Atyou Spica clear glitter pen. The owl and birds are Magnolia stamps coloured the same as the snowman and on their beaks and their eyes I went over SEVERAL times with Sakura clear Gelly roll glaze pen. The snowman's nose was gone over again several times with Sakura Gelly roll Christmas red glaze pen. The sprig in his hat is the top part of Martha Stewart's branch punch and the berries were made with Stickles Christmas red glitter glue.

The arched backing paper is one I made on the computer, and the snowflakes where then painted over with Shimmerz Angel Wings paint (not that you can see on the photo's).This was then mounted onto silver Mirri silk card that had been run though the Cuttlebug with Impressabilities Snowflake embossing plate. Because the card is bigger than the embossing plate I first cut away the frame that surrounds the plate so as to get a nice continuous pattern. oh and by the way the arches were both cut by hand. The backing paper is from Bearly Mine Designes Designer Extreme Vol. 1 CD. The icicles are from a Christmas tree garland I got in the sales, and the snow at the bottom of the snowman's feet is Flowersoft Polar White, I was expecting it to be white but as you can see it's transparent :o( Oh well. I think I covered everything. As I can't find the site I got the snowman picture from here he is... But remember this is NOT my art work and I take NO credit for it...

And here's my altered version.

PS. I did a waistcoat for him, but me and my Dad thought he looked on this occasion better without it, but I think I may well do another with his waistcoat as this was such a fun card to make.

Take care & keep smiling

PS. The bottom photo may look like a blank but when you print it it comes out a pale grey. That's so as you can go over it with what ever colouring medium you chose :o)

Vintage Wedding Card

OK, so this took me a while to do, but other than knowing I wanted to do a vintage style card, I really had no idea as to what I was going to do. But here it is a last and now I've just to make the box for it, which shouldn't take me that long to do...

1. Base card cream 300gsm

2. Front of card - Both DP's are from Bearly Mine Designs - Designer Extreme Vol. 2 CD Rom. The floral design wa printed on to white linen card, and the beige spot was printed on to Stampin' Up Whisper White card.

3. The photo was one out of a pack of photo's I bought from Joanna Sheen. The frame to the photo was made by cutting round the Nestabilitie I used to cut out the photo (it was a standard rectangle photo) Then I hand pressed the Nestie into the cut out to get a border. Then taking a Versamark pen I went round the outline and then triple heat embossed with Moon Glow two tone EP "Gilded Burgundy Brass" (the car used for the frame was Stardream pearlescent Chocolate brown card).

4. The roses I bought from Joanna Sheen, and I painted the tops of the petals with Shimmerz "Candle Light"

5. The Cream heart lace and silver metal corners I bought from eBay and the organza ribbon was from Raspberry Ribbons.

6. The Cherub is a button from Dress It Up

7. The card insert papers are the same as the front, only both are printed onto Stampin' Up Whisper White Card. The edges were distressed with Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress ink. The stamp is from Inkadinkado Gem Stone Flourishes which was stamped with Tim Holtz Scattered straw Distress ink.

8. The heart lace border and Butterflies are from Martha Stewart, punched from the same SU card and sponge coloured with Tim Holtz Antique Linen and the butterflies also had Mr Holtz's Walnut Stain sponged on to them, then they were painted with the Shimmerz Candle Light.

9. The sentiment is from SU, I have the stamp but I wanted the "Love" more in keeping with the card so I printed off the computer using "Comic Sans" and "Beautiful" Fonts.

There I'm not going to bore you with every single detail as there was a lot more involved in making this card, but those are the main details. Any questions ? Just email me :o)

Take care & keep smiling

Just Magnolia Challenge 12 - Tilda Gift Set Card

I didn't think I was going to get this card finished today, but I did and I'm very pleased with the result. This card is to go with the Pack a Picnic gift box and Tea bag gift box I made for my friend Michelle's birthday and is also my entry for the Just Magnolia week 12 Challenge - So Charming...

Card size - A5 - 21cm x 14.8cm

1. Stardream pearlescent pink card (base)
2. Heart swirl DP from Bearly Mine Designs Designer Extreme Vol. 1 CD Rom. The hearts were painted with Shimmerz Blingz Poinsettia Pink.
3. The ovals were cut with Nestabilities and the embossing was done with Impressabilities Flowers. To get the nice smooth edge (no embossing) on the dark pink card, I first cut the oval but left it in the oval die, then using this stack - A plate, B plate, Tan mat, card with nestabilitie (Nestie on top), Impressabilites plate, B Plate and then two pieces of card and then run it through my Cuttlebug twice. Found that little tip on the Wizard website, though it wasn't for the Cuttlebug, but I though I'd give it a go to see if it worked.
4. Tools used for the flowers can be found on my Pack a Picnic post. The leaves however on this card were made with L-Em Ash branch punch. I had to stand on this punch to get it to work !!!
5. The Magnolia Tilda stamp is coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Sansodor, and her shoes were painted with Smooch Siren. When I stamped Tilda I used Versafine Onyx black Cube so as to miss the little cross stitch heart on her apron, then after cleaning the stamp I inked just the heart with Versafine Crimson red and using a stamp postioner then stamped the heart onto the apron.
6. The charms and chain I got off eBay except the little handbag which was in the parcel that Lotti sent me (photo's of which will follow soon).
If I've missed anything it's because those details are on the Pack a Picnic post, so here's a photo of the whole Tilda gift set, just got to add chocolates and little prezzies :o) ...

Take care & keep smiling

Tea bag gift box - well sort of

Here's a little tea bag gift box I made to go with my Pack a Picnic gift box. Well it started out as a tea bag gift box, but I changed it to an After Eight gift box :o) For those of you who don't know what an After Eight is, it's a wafer thin after dinner mint, mint fondant covered in dark chocolate mmmmmm .......

I won't bore you with the details again they're pretty much the same are the gift box, except for the DP used for the tea bag envelopes was made by me on the computer, and the After Eight logo on the gift box was made by scanning the wrapper and changing the colours with my graphics program (the front and back of the box are identical). This was inspired by part of a gift sent to me by the extremely lovely and talented Lotti, I'll show you some photo's of the parcel she sent, I was overwhelmed by it, not only by the generosity of it, but by the time, effort and thought that went in to making it. BUT I'm afraid those photo's will have to wait until I've made the card to go with these gift boxes as I'm hoping to finish it in time to enter it into the Just Magnolia Challenge this week.

So take care & keep smiling

Pack a Picnic Gift Box Template

NB. The Pack a Picnic template is NOT free, it costs $5, and worth every penny... or cent :o) Also the small side panels do not come with the template, I made those myself.

OK, hold on to your hats, I've actually made something that ISN'T a card !!! I made this after visiting Raisa's Blog and seeing her lovely little handbags she made and decided it was about time I had a go at doing something other than a card, which for me was a rather scary prospect. I found a lovely template by Paper Tray Ink - My Timeless Templates - Pack a Picnic and decided to go for it and make a gift box from it...

Sorry about all the photo's but I couldn't decide which one I liked best.

The size of the box is 13.5 cm high (from base to top of lid) x 14 cm wide. There are two templates in the pack, this is the larger size. Right here goes with a list of stuff used to make the box.

1. Stardream pearlescent pink card for the main structure of the box.

2. Double sided ( dark pink one side, pale pink on the other) pearlescent thin card for the ovals, mount and flowers.

3. Heart Swirl DP is from Bearly Mine Designs Designer Extreme Vol. 1 CD ROM printed on to white hessian card. Who are looking for DT members, click HERE if you're interested.

4. Taffeta watermark paper used for the lip of the box ans punched with Martha Stewart's Doily Lace Punch.

5. The ovals were cut with Nestabilities Petite Large ovals and embossed with Spellbinders Impressabilities Flowers template.

6. Flowers on large side were made with Woodware 1 1/2", 1" and 3/4" Daisy punches, and the little nicks in the top of the petals was done with Woodware Teardrop punch and the leaves were made with Martha Stewart's' branch punch and Bazzill card.

7. Side flowers were made with Woodware 3/4" Daisy punch, Bosscut Flourish die and the leaves were made with Woodware 1 1/2" daisy punch and Bazzill card. The centers have Stampendous Raspberry Tart Fun Flock in them.

8. Butterflies are made with Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly punch, Stardream pearlescent card and heat embossed with Versamark pen and Heat It Up Pink EP.

9. Bow, handles and sides of box lid - Vanilla 1cm Grosgrain ribbon

10. Flat back pearls, 1mm rhinestones/gems and pearl brads for the finishing touches.

Well this took me a week to make, most of my time was spent making flowers. I did four different types before I decided which style I liked best. I could have saved a lot of time if I had used flowers I had already bought, but being a glutton for punishment I went for the handmade option :o) I did make a couple of mistakes but hopefully there's that much going on they're not that noticeable, and it's all good experience for my next one ... which won't be for a while yet. I hope you like it and have a wonderful Sunday.

Take care & keep smiling

Just Magnolia Challenge 3 - Tilda And Edwin Together Chasing Butterflies

Here's my entry for the Just Magnolia Challenge 3 - A Sketch...

Card size - A5/21cm x 14.8cm
Stardream pearlescent blue card.
DP is from Bearly Mine Designs – Designer Extreme Vol.1 CD ROM, printed onto white Hessian card.
Oval cut with largest Nestabilities using Bazzill card. Blue ink sponged around the edge.
Tilda and Edwin are from the Magnolia Chasing Butterflies collection. Coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Sansodor. Edwin’s Buttons and Tilda’s shoes gone over with Sakura Gelly Roll Gaze pen. Edwin's hand was cut and Tilda’s hand was slipped into the cut and secured with glue. Butterflies are from Magnolia Stamp Club 2007 Collection, coloured the same but with white gelly roll pen on spots and body gone over with atyou Spica black glitter pen.
White band was cut from white Hessian card and punched using Fiskars Threading Water punch.
Ribbon is from Rapberry Ribbons June ’08 Pink kit.
Flowers were made with white Hessian card, punched with three different sized Woodware daisy punches and two different sized EK Success Retro flower punches, sponged with pink ink and flatback pearls in the middles.
Flourishes were made with a Quickutz die and Bazzill card.
Mermaid Tear Zoomz.
Thank you for looking