Heart of Gold – My Time To Craft Challenge & ALOTA4 - Valentines Challenge

Hi di hi folks,
Here’s my entry into the My Time To Craft Challenge and The alota rubber Stamp Valentine challenge over on Paper Craft Planet. I really enjoyed making this card, mainly because I’d had this idea using the alota Ruffled Heart stamp and with this challenge I was able to try my idea out…

1. Base card is Stardream pearlescent
2. DP – K & Co Vintage Collage Flat Paper
3. The heart was made using alota Ruffled Heart stamp – First I stamped the inner heart onto vellum with Encore Metallic Gold ink pad and heat embossed with Stamp-n-Stuff Detail Gold EP. Then cut it out and then stamped it with Rubber Stampede Signature Background stamp using the same inkpad and EP. I found it easier to ink up the stamp, lie it face up on the table then put the cut out heart onto the stamp. This way I could choose which part of the stamp I wanted to use (it’s a large stamp) and because it’s vellum I could see that the image stamped properly. Second I stamped up the inner heart with the lacy border using a white inkpad (ColorBox cats eye ink pad) and heat embossed with Stamp-n-Stuff White Detail EP, again cut it out. Lastly I stamped the whole stamp with the same gold inkpad and EP as before. After cutting this one out it was then glued together. I started with the inner heart, making sure I only put glue where the embossed image was, so as not to have glue showing. Then I glued up the white heart making sure not to glue the lacy bit as I wanted to lift that part a little to make it look like a lace. Then last but not least when I glued the whole heart to stick to the DP, again I didn’t put glue on the ruffle bit.
4. The photo comes from Joanna Sheen’s Fashion Boutique CD ROM, and was printed on Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl photo paper. I cut it out with a small border to make it look like a real photo and then mounted it onto brown Bazzil cardstock with just a 1mm border just to “lift” the photo so as it didn’t get “lost” on the DP. The picture is one of those that have had colour added but through my graphics program I change it first to B&W then added a brown tint.
5. The gold swirl/flourish was made using Sizzlets Decorative Strip die and gold silk Mirri card.
6. The embellishments used where – cream cotton lace, cream lace flowers with yellow jeweled brads in the middle, white mulberry roses, a gold butterfly charm that I bent the wings back slightly and photo corners that where made with a Sizzlits die. The flower part of the die cut can be removed if you want to, but I left it in.
I LOVE the alota heart stamp, it turned out just as I wanted it to (makes a change for me) and I bought an extra one to put in a nice package I’m putting together, which I’ll be giving away on my birthday. OOOoooops didn’t mean to tell you that :P Forget I mentioned it, my birthday isn’t until April and I’m not just going to give it away to a left comment, NO NO NO, you’re going to have to earn it. HE HE HE, (evil laugh), but I’ll let you know more nearer the time. Thanks for taking a peek.
Take care & keep smiling

Peter Rabbit Birthday Card

Hello again, been quite a nice day here today, mild and dry. Did go out today (day off from work) but only to go and buy a new mobile phone for my Dad. He's on his third one now, he lost the other two in a matter of 4 months!!! I've told him if he loses this one he's not having another he can have a carrier pigeon, at least that'll find it's way home if he drops it :). Anyway I digress, today I had to make a quick card (well quick for me) to send off for a birthday I had marked on the calendar for next week, only the birthday was actually last week (don't ask, even I can't figure out what planet I was on when I marked it down). So here it is, you can tell it's a quick card, I'm not a happy bunny with it (I know corny joke) but I'm afraid it'll have to do...


The image is one I got free with a craft magazine, there were four different Peter Rabbit pictures with sentiments etc. But as usual I wasn't quite happy with the picture as it was a bit pale, so I scanned it and this time I put it through my free Picassa2 graphics program as in the effects part there is a "warmify" effect. It was then cut out mounted onto gold silk mirri card and then onto some dark green Bazzill card stock. The swirls were made with a Sizzix decorative strip die from the same Bazzill card and so was the decorative corners that are a Cuttlebug die. The Green gingham backing paper was from Joanna Sheens' Fashion Boutique. The stripey one was made by me on the computer. The sentiment is from a clear stamp by Hero Arts called Sparkle Clear - Messages, that was stamped with Versafine Olympic Green and then plonked in a We R Memory Keepers bookplate. Oh and the "stitching" is just done with a very fine green marker pen. So there you have it, not a good card but I promise I'll try harder next time :)
Take care & keep smiling

PS. Read the post below, it's a Christmas Give Away that ends 17th October. All you've got to do is leave a comment.

Calendar - September & October

Hello again, here's the next two pages of my calendar...
















September (chocolate) - The three ladies were from Joanna Sheens' Fashion Boutique CD Rom, as was the backing paper. The three ladies were printed onto Jaquard inkjet cotton, padded and mounted onto copper silk mirri card. The backing paper was printed onto pearlescent paper and "aged" with Brilliance Coffee Bean ink pad. The sentiment backing I made myself through my graphics program. Basically I took the middle lady coloured out everything on the image except the palm leaf and the background. I then copied and flipped the image (mirrored) and then lightened it and stamped on the sentiment, which I got from Stampland Chicago. The Swirls is a Sizzix die and of course ribbon.
October - This I think is my favourite page. The image is a painting called "Dogwood" by Albert Bierstadt. It was printed onto Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl paper and mounted onto copper mirri card and then edged with copper peel offs. The backing paper is a William Morris design printed onto pearlescent paper and "aged" with Brilliance coffee bean ink pad. The leaves I made with a Cuttlebug die from three different colour pearlescent card and then sponged with different colour Brilliance ink pads to get the autumn colours and then scored with a fine embossing tool to get the veins. The sentiment is an Impression Obsession rubber stamp that was stamped onto the same William Morris design as the BP, but this was printed on to plain white card, again this was mounted onto copper mirri card and edged with the same peel offs. Some copper organza ribbon and some metal embellishments to finish off.
The last two pages will be posted tomorrow along with (hopefully, if I get it finished) my entry into the house Mouse Challenge.
Thank you for looking. Take care and keep smiling