LOTV simply stamped Birthday card

hi everyone, hope you're all well and taking advantage of the mild weather :)
Sharing a very simple card today with heat embossing, using a Lili of the Valley sentiment stamp.

The sentiment stamp I used is part of a set and can be found here. They are very versatile and for someone who is beginning stamping and / or embossing they are very forgiving because of their 'distressed' or patchy typeface - that's the effect I love about them!

I used spellbinders Posy Patch and Daisy patch flowers and the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish leaf dies for the flowers and leaves

Some more photos of the shaped flowers.

thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jess

White winter wedding - Craft Creations 2014 decoupage release

Another wedding card - this time using Craft Creations 2014 decoupage sheets. The attraction with this decoupage print is it's not only die-cut but it's all white and will serve as a great winter wedding image.

Dug out an Embossalicious flourish folder and did some partial embossing on the front and inside of the card

The cover on the box was nice and simple too.

The flower was made using Spellbinders/Heartfelt creations posy dies and a cluster bead which I sourced from an eBay seller. with loads of glamour dust.

The layers on the decoupage are effective when it comes to mounting the dress layers / steps of the sheet - has a kind of floaty feel to it. I accentuated that by cutting down the first layer to a tall rectangle, instead of using the larger full panel.

LOTV Man's Best Friend

Time for a general greeting card for a guy in this post, using a Lili of the Valley stamp which I had neglected to use until late last year. New years resolution is to use the perfectly fantastic stuff in my stash which has been neglected!!

                             For those of you who like the stamp, you can purchase it HERE  

I added texture to the sign post (made with Sizziz sign dies) by using an old cuttlebug branch design embossing folder, making it look like wood and added my own 'sign post' by rounding the edge of a strip of brown card. The wording on the sign is computer generated.

...and the side on view to show a little layering

Vintage Cameo Pink and Grey soft feminine card

Back with another share, this time in pink feminine colours.  Yes I know I use these cameo dies a lot but I really like them, they are one of my favourite shapes.

Last year I invested in the Sue Wilson border and bow dies, and the ornate strip is from that set - yep I never used the bow but the strip as an accent die - very versatile these dies turned out to be.

The papers were from Etsy and you can purchase them HERE. They're called Shabby Chic Garden.

I used pink distress ink on the pink oval and also on the papers, to pick up the subtle pink tones, keeping it all muted.

And another little change from the norm - a coloured card blank instead of the usual white :) - the envelope was white so it all came together well.

another Stampendous Christmas card - Traditional red and green

Yep, another Stampendous card to share, this one is made with traditional red, green and gold colours and finely wired ribbon which is easy to crinkle.

You can find details about the stamp HERE.

The digi papers are from M R Designs, available here. I did crop and join them for the landscape size, as opposed to printing them square, and you can crop and join using MS Word.

The holly die is from Cheery Lynn.

Sentiment added to the inside - here you can see the gorgeous design of the papers.

Am keeping my rambling to a minimum today as I have a couple more cards to post from my Christmas cards for 2014, plus a few more after that!

All Things Christmas

Before it's too late and the year is over, I am going to post a few of my Christmas projects from the last few weeks, as well as other bits and bobs.  Please be patient while I do this, the blog was neglected again, but that was so I could keep up with work and card orders. Hope you enjoy the selection of cards, there are some recognizable dies used and some a little different than my usual ones ;)

First up is my favourite Christmas card of 2014, and surprisingly it's not a stamped one! Yep it's decoupage and foiled as well, so just a bit of sparkle and not to OTT.

I love what the angel means at Christmas time and this image says it all.

This card is an easel shape, but with the fold at the short side of the card, making it a tall easel.

The decoupage isn't in the arched window shape, I used Go Kreate window dies for that.

Love this Sizzix embossing folder, but can't remember what it's called.

A memory box frosty border and scallop border die from spellbinders was used.

You can see the gorgeous foiled detail on the image from the photo above. And below, a close up of the embossing and the sentiment - stamp found on eBay

Here's a great example of the partial embossing and how effective and useful it is when you have a crisp embossed design.

If you like this angel image, it's a 2014 design from Craft Creations - I have used it a lot already and it's going to be a firm favourite in years to come!

It seems like everyone has been so sick with flu symptoms and bugs, so the frosty week we are having this week is good for killing those little nasties. I didn't escape it either this year, twice in 6 weeks and it seemed to last longer than ever - bleuh :( Anyway if you have been sick or are sick at the moment, hang in there xx

It's going to be a bright and shiny new year soon, too, and that means the days are getting shorter already and warm weather will be on the way, so snuggle up for just a while longer and hope we get through the rest of the winter with not too much bad weather.

Hugs to all who visit, and remember you can leave a comment or ask anything even if you don't have a blog - use the Anonymous option when posting your comment and remember to type your name in the message box. All comments are moderated by me to prevent spammers posting nonsense, so if you don't want you comment published, just tell me in the message.

Polychromos pencil crayons and a colouring class coming up soon

Hi everyone, am enjoying every bit of the gorgeous weather we're having and hope you're all enjoying the weather if you have some great sunshine where you are too!

A couple of things then...

Firstly, for those of you interested in colouring, I had promised an extended 'recommended' colour list of Faber Castell Polychromos colours, for your stamped images and other craft projects.

This list is below and has been updated on the Polychromos page on the blog HERE - you can find more info about the pencils, paper blenders / blending stumps and spirits on that page too.

These colours will be available to purchase as single pencils from Marion in the Crafty Bride Shop in Kilkenny Retail Centre.  You can contact Marion on 087 654 4737 for more information / to purchase the pencils.

The full range of colours amounts to 120 pencils, and if you don't want to purchase the entire range, this list gives a good selection of those colours I have found I use the most.

... click on the photo below for Marion's facebook page for the shop.

Secondly, and for those of you who are interested, I am trying to fit in a colouring class using pencils.  With current work commitments I can't give an exact date, and  I will notify those interested by text at short notice (a few days beforehand) - this is likely to be at the end of July / early August.

The class will be in the Crafty Bride shop in Kilkenny City, and will commence late afternoon / early evening for a few hours (while we have the natural daylight!).

Please email or text me if you are interested in attending, or would like to be notified when the date has been arranged.

Email - creationsbyjess@eircom.net

Mobile - 087 274 9929

enjoy your Sunday and what's left of the weekend :)

April Workshop cards

Popping in to share some workshop makes with everyone. To all crafters I met this month, old and new, it was fantastic to meet up and share ideas once again :).

We made two boxed cards this month, the first one was a wedding one using pretty papers, die cuts and embossing.  You can find the paper set here at Nitwit Collections - note I have permission from the digi company to use the papers in my workshop.

Truly Madly Deeply from Nitwit Collections

Doves are from Dee's Distinctively dies (left and right doves and yes the same ones I used on the confirmation card this year - very well designed dies and a great shape suitable for all occasions)

Old Papermania embossing folder

Magnolia Doo Hickey Leaf dies

Posy Patch Spellbinder dies

Next up I used a Mo Manning release available as a rubber stamp or in digi format. The one I used was in rubber from Stamping Bella.

Also used a Cheery Lynn fence die, pretty papers from Bearly Mine (details to follow of where you can source them) and Martha Stewart punched butterflies

The inside of the centre step card:

coloured with Polychromos pencil crayons

and the outside of the box was decorated a little...

Next up was a nautical card (love making these!) using stamps from Flourishes, called a Guiding Light. I notice now that these have been discontinued, sadly, but you can use any nautical stamp and text stamp to achieve the effect below.

Spellbinders fancy framed tags used for the sentiment.

These are the Christening cards made with a memory box pram die (long overdue as I had neglected to use that die for some time!!), embossed patchwork (old Boofle embossing folder but try Crafters companion for the newer patchwork design embossing folders), and die cuts.

Last but not least is this little guy from Melissa at Meljen's designs. I used two digi's combined to create this card (use the PNG file in your purchase instead of the JPEG file when combining images):

Happy Birthday

Little Puddle Duck

During the class I did a demo on how to make shaped card blanks using dies to partially cut a shape from the blank - how this is achieved when positioning cutting dies and cutting plates in a certain place using the big shot.

Here is a view of the shape which pops out from the diagonal scoring position.

I will pop up a tutorial on this soon :)

I am entering this card into the current Meljen's Challenge - Anything Goes

Pop along and take part, as this is a good theme and the images are so easy to use!

Thanks to everyone who came this month and hope to see you all again soon. 

Take care and happy crafting.