Tuesday 31 December 2013

A review of 2013

When I started my blog at the beginning of this year, I wondered what it would be like. 

I have "met" some wonderful fellow crafters and enjoyed sharing some of what I do, as much as following what others have crafted.

At times I have found little or no time to post on my blog but, having reviewed it today, I realise that I have posted between 60 and 70 projects this year, so more than one a week on average. I have huge respect for those who post more regularly and more often as I now realise how much work this involves.

I thought today I would post a montage of some of my favourite projects this year.


I am teasing you a bit, as a couple of these cards have not yet been blogged. If you want to find out how they were made and the materials I used, you will have to keep checking my blog in the New Year!

For the projects which have already been blogged, there are links below if you missed them.

I wish you all the very best for 2014 and . . .

. . . happy crafting! xx








Monday 25 November 2013

Endless possibilities . . .

Today's card features the new Couture Creations embossing folder called Endless. It is a pretty background design featuring lots of different leaves. 


I embossed a piece of white gloss card using the Endless folder. I then blended Alcohol Inks in different colours, trying to use separate colours for each leaf, as much as possible. I die cut this piece using the Spellbinders Grand Large Labels die set and then added a green card mat using the same die set. I then added a mat of ginger card and put a tiny brad in each corner. The final mat was another piece of the green card.

A piece of green seam binding ribbon was added around the middle of the card. This was the point where I had extended the embossing folder pattern, so it disguised the join.

The flowers were die cut using the Heartfelt Creations Sweet Juliet die set. There are two sizes of flower in the set. The largest flower in the centre of the card shows the largest die cut as the base. The second layer is the same die cut, which is folded under and held in place with a tiny brad. The top layer uses the smaller of the two flowers, again with a tiny brad. 

The sprays of leaves were cut using a die from the same set. Before removing the leaves from the die I sponged through the die with Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue, so that I could then add some Cosmic Shimmer Verdigris Gilding Flakes once the die had been removed. 

Happy crafting!

  



Friday 22 November 2013

Burnished Keys

Today's card uses a stamp and a die from the new Heartfelt Creations Floral Key Collection.

The stamp is a background stamp called Burnished Key and the coordinating die cuts out all of the keys in one go. 


I stamped the background stamp onto a piece of milk card, using the new Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad called Potting Soil. 

I trimmed the card to fit the background and then distressed the edges with a pair of open scissors. I then inked around the distressed edges with the same Potting Soil Ink Pad and curled two of the corners in, as shown.

The top layer was then matted onto a piece of vintage gold card, then a piece of brown card with another mat of milk card and finally a piece of the gold card again.



The messy bow was made using some ivory vintage ribbon and some brown and cream bakers twine, finished off with a metal key from the Creative Expressions Fancy Key Charms pack in the centre of the bow.

To make the little keys hanging from the bunting and to 3D some of the main elements of the background piece, the background stamp was stamped onto a piece of the vintage gold card using the Potting Soil Archival Ink pad. The stamped image was then cut out using the matching die so that all of the keys and locks were cut into separate pieces. The larger ones I placed over the background image using foam pads. The smaller keys were added to the Bakers Twine. 



Happy crafting!

Thursday 14 November 2013

Enchanting Plum Bauble

This card uses one of the prettiest Spellbinders dies, Enchanted Labels Twenty Eight. The Plum card has also been embossed using the Couture Creations Message in a Tree Embossing Folder.


This has been layered onto mats of Vintage Metallic Gold, Coconut White and Plum card.


The bauble is the Creative Expressions Lattice Bauble, stamped onto Coconut White card using a Clear Perfect Medium pad and Cosmic Shimmer Detail Gold Embossing Powder. The co-ordinating Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornaments die set was used to cut out the bauble.

To finish the card, the bauble was coloured using Distress Markers and finished with a few Vintage Plum Pearlescent Plum PVA faux pearls. 

Happy crafting!

Tuesday 12 November 2013

Turquoise Baubles with Beads

Another card using the Creative Expressions Stamps to Die for, this time the Ornate Bauble and the matching Mini Ornate Bauble (which comes with the Mini Beaded Bauble).


I stamped the two Ornate Baubles using a Clear Perfect Medium Pad and Cosmic Shimmer Detail White Embossing Powder on Spearmint card. I die cut the baubles using the co-ordinating Spellbinders Heirloom Ornament die set. 

The bow is made from Creative Expressions Teal Silky Crush Ribbon and a square Dazzler.

The apertures were made using the same Spellbinders die set. This piece of Spearmint card was first attached to a piece of double sided adhesive sheet and die cut using the Spellbinders Grand Labels One die set. After cutting the apertures, Micro Beads were attached to give texture to the card.

A piece of Teal card was placed behind the apertures to act as a contrast. 


The sentiment was stamped in the smaller aperture and piece of bakers twine were added to "hang" the baubles. The sentiment comes from the Winter Greetings stamp set from Creative Expressions.


The base of the card is another piece of Teal card and then a piece of Coconut White card on top, which has been embossed using the Creative Expressions Large Embossing Folder Design chosen by Sue Wilson, called Tapestry. I inked over the embossed areas using a Peacock Feathers Distress Ink pad. 

Happy crafting!

Sunday 10 November 2013

Red and Green Christmas

This card was made to feature one of the stamps from the Creative Expressions Stamps to Die For range, called Lattice Bauble, on a Create & Craft show. Julia also had embossing folders and the Spellbinders die featured in the card on her show.



The two embossing folders used were Star Pere Noel (on the green card) and New Year Dove (on the red card), both from Couture Creations.

The embossing was highlighted using the Creative Expressions Vintage Golden Green Gilding Wax.

The faux pearls around the edge of the card were made using Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Golden Green Pearlescent PVA.

To make the bow, I used red Sheer Wrinkled Edge Ribbon and a red Dazzler from Creative Expressions.



I coloured in the stamped bauble using Distress Markers and a Water Brush.

I then die cut the bauble using the co-ordinating Spellbinders 2011 Heirloom Ornaments die set and attached this to the card with foam pads, after shaping it slightly.



The bauble and the sentiment were both stamped using a Clear Perfect Medium pad and Cosmic Shimmer Detail Gold Embossing Powder. The sentiment comes from the Creative Expressions Winter Greetings stamp set.

Happy crafting!

Monday 4 November 2013

A Wonderful Shoe!

This card uses another of my favourite stamp sets from Creative Expressions, called Sole Creations. It has lots of lovely shoe designs plus a handful of sentiments.


Please ignore the black background (I forget to take a photo before the card was stuck on a black display board!). It is actually a white card base and I have then added some of the Foundations Double Sided A4 papers that Creative Expressions distribute. This one is called Dot & Dash, which has small polka dots on one side and then a colour coordinated striped pattern on the other side. I have also used the Foundations Shades Double Sided A4 papers. These have a lighter shade on one side and a darker shade on the other side but, again, have been designed to coordinate colour-wise with all of the other designs in the range. This removes the difficulty of trying to find papers for a project which "match".

The shoe image I chose was stamped onto Coconut White card and heat embossed using Cosmic Shimmer Detail Black Embossing Powder. The sentiment was stamped in the same way. I then coloured in the image using Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks.

The dies I used to cut out the card toppers were from the Spellbinders A2 Fancy Ribbon Threader set.

I used London Tan coloured American Seam Binding to thread through the die cuts and then used this and Chalk White American Seam Binding to tie the bow.

The bow was finished off with a Fancy Pearl Embellishment from Creative Expressions.

Happy crafting!

Saturday 2 November 2013

When is a background not a background?

This card was made using the JustRite Fragrant Garden Background Stamp, but it is so pretty I decided to use it as the focal element of the card.



I stamped the image onto Coconut White card and trimmed the card to the size of the stamped image. I then blended blue and green Distress Inks on each side of the image. I stamped the same image again, this time on Khaki card and cut out the three labels and the flower head. I coloured these four images using Distress Markers or, with the largest label, blending Distress Inks, as shown. The leafy flourish was coloured using a Distress Marker.

This panel was then matted onto a black piece of card, which I had pierced around the edges, using the Creating Expressions Piercing Ruler and a needle tool. 

The final mat was a piece of the Khaki card.

Happy crafting!

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Warmest Wishes Stepper Card

A vintage style Christmas card for you today.


The base of the card is a piece of Foundations Milk Card, which has been stamped using the new Heartfelt Creations Delicate Holly Swirls Pre Cut stamp set and a clear Perfect Medium pad. Cosmic Shimmer Detail Gold Embossing Powder was added and heat set. 

The leaves were coloured in using a Forest Moss Distress Ink Pad and a water brush. Cosmic Shimmer Berry Red Pearlescent PVA was then added to the stamped berries. The card base was then left overnight for the "berries" to dry. The next day the card was scored to form the steps and Forest Moss Distress Ink was blended around all of the edges.



The two circular elements were made by stamping some of the stamps in the Heartfelt Creations Christmas Sentiment Circles Pre Cut stamp set (gosh, that was a bit of a mouthful!). The same Milk card was used as before and the Forest Moss Distress Ink was blended through circle dies used to cut out the stamped images. The two circle toppers were then mounted onto the decorative red mats, which were die cut using the Spellbinders Picot Edge die set. 


The die cut tree was made using the Heartfelt Creations Banner & Trees die set.


The bow was tied using a piece of two-tone red ribbon. The holly swirl was cut using the Heartfelt Creations Ornamental Add On die set. The poinsettias were stamped using the Heartfelt Creations Christmas Poinsettia Pre Cut stamp set and die cut using the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur die. 


Happy crafting!


Monday 28 October 2013

Star Book

This is a Star Book of Inspirations and Techniques. 


It was the sample made for a recent workshop. The idea was to try various techniques and go away with a reference book.

This picture shows the book when closed, together with a few of the pages included.


The front and back covers were made by using a small embossing folder and then extending the design.


The techniques used on these three pages were (i) die cutting and decoupaging the die cuts with different coloured card, (ii) stamping with Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue and adding Cosmic Shimmer Polished Silk Glitter and (iii) rubber stamping and using matching dies plus heat embossing and using Distress Inks.


The techniques used on these pages were (i) using embossing folders and adding Distress Ink as well as inking through a die with Distress Ink and using Polished Silk Glitters with a stamp, (ii) changing the colour of metal embellishments using embossing powder, using Polished Silk Glitters with self adhesive sheets and die cuts, and embossing with a border mask, (iii) using gilding wax with an embossed image and using texture paste through a mask.

I hope this book inspires you to try something different.

Happy crafting!






Sunday 27 October 2013

Blog Candy winner

Hi everyone.

As the blog candy wasn't claimed by Mandy, I have done a re-draw and the lucky winner is . . . . . . . Lesley Thomas!

Please email me Lesley at tenderlovingcrafts@gmail.com with your postal address so I can send out your prize.

Right, I need to blog a new card so off to choose something interesting for you all!

Back soon!

Tuesday 15 October 2013

A bouquet of Drawing Inks

Something a bit different today. I recently had to find a way of displaying the different colour choices in the Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks range.


There are some really pretty colours available. Some sets contain mica and some are matt colours. 

The "petals" are the Creative Expressions Blossom Heart stamp from the Singles range. The stamp comes pre cut and cushion mounted. This particular design also comes with a sentiment - Warmest Wishes. The heart design was stamped using clear Perfect Medium and then heat embossed using the Cosmic Shimmer Detail Black embossing powder. Each heart uses a different set of Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Inks. The hearts have then been glued to the embossed background to form the two flower shapes. The centres of the flowers are the Creative Expressions Large Circle Dazzlers. 

Happy crafting!

Sunday 13 October 2013

Sun Kissed Fleur in Blue

A blue colour theme, using my favourite range of stamps, the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur stamp sets and matching die.



Coconut white card was used for all layers. The base layer was a plain rectangle mat. The second layer was edged using the Cosmic Shimmer Summer Blue Pearlescent PVA to make the faux pearls. The third layer was stamped around the outside edge using the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur Border & Corner Pre Cut set and an Olive Archival ink pad.

For the top layer, a sentiment from the Creative Expressions Garden Sayings stamp set was stamped in the centre of a rectangle of coconut white card, using an Olive Archival ink pad. This was die cut with a grand rectangle die and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink was sponged around the die. The corner stamp from the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur Border & Corner Pre Cut set was then stamped in the bottom left corner using the Olive Archival ink pad. 

The corner design was then coloured in using Tumbled Glass, Crushed Olive and Mustard Seed Distress Markers.


More flowers and leaves were stamped and then die cut using the matching Sun Kissed Fleur Pre Cut stamp set and Die. These were coloured, as before, and then layered up in opposite corners (as shown).


Happy crafting!





Blog Candy

The blog candy prize remains unclaimed. I emailed Mandy a week ago so if anyone knows her please ask that she gets back to me. In case Mandy is on holiday, I will leave it another week. If I don't hear anything by next Sunday, I will do a re-draw. 

Friday 11 October 2013

Striped Sun Kissed Fleur

Today's card is a clean and simple style, using the Heartfelt Creations Striped Sun Kissed Fleur Pre Cut stamp with the matching Sun Kissed Fleur die.



The base is a square of blush coloured card. The second layer of blush card has been pierced around all four sides using the Creative Expressions Piercing Ruler and a needle tool. The third layer of blush card has been die cut in the centre using the Spellbinders Stateley Circles die set, to form an aperture. Behind the aperture a smaller piece of which card has been placed, with a sentiment stamped using the Creative Expressions Natures Sentiments stamp set and a Coffee Archival ink pad. 


The flowers were stamped on blush card using the Striped Sun Kissed Fleur Pre Cut stamp and clear Perfect Medium. This was then heat embossed using the Cosmic Shimmer Iced Blush Lustre embossing powder. The flowers were then die cut using the matching Sun Kissed Fleur die.

To finish the card, Creative Expressions White Self Adhesive pearls were glued to the flower centres, with a large Creative Expressions Fancy Pearl Embellishment being added to the centre of the largest flower.

Happy crafting!

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Sun Kissed Fleur in Pink

Today's card has been made using the Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur range of stamps and die. It is one of the prettiest sets I have seen for a while and I have made a few different cards.

There are six packs of stamps and one die in this range, all of which are beautiful. 

For this card I have used the Sun Kissed Fleur Background stamp, the Sun Kissed Fleur Tags & Basket stamp set and the Sun Kissed Fleur Pre Cut Set. i have also used the Sun Kissed Fleur die. This is one large die, which cuts out ten flowers and two sets of leaves, in various sizes. The die has also been made to line up exactly with some of the stamp sets in the range, so you can stamp a whole set of flowers with one stamp and then die cut them using one die. 


The base of the card was cut using the Spellbinders Grand Labels Twenty Three die set and blush coloured card. I then inked through the die using a Milled Lavender Distress Ink pad.

The second layer was a piece of coconut white card which I stamped using the Sun Kissed Fleur Background stamp. I coloured the background flowers using a Milled Lavender Distress Marker and a water brush. I then coloured the leaves using a Crushed Olive Distress Marker and a water brush. This piece of card was then die cut using a large rectangle die and I inked through the die using a Milled Lavender Distress Ink pad. I then wrapped a piece of white crochet lace around the background, as shown.

The top layer was made using a piece of coconut white card and the Sun Kissed Fleur Tags & Basket stamp set. I stamped using clear Perfect Medium and then heat embossed using the Cosmic Shimmer Detail Gold embossing powder. This was then die cut using the Spellbinders Labels Ten die set and a slightly larger mat was also cut from this set using blush coloured card. I inked through both dies with the Milled Lavender Distress Ink pad.

The sentiment comes from the Creative Expressions Garden Sayings stamp set and was stamped using an Aged Mahogany Distress Ink pad. 


The extra flower embellishments were made by stamping the Sun Kissed Fleur Pre Cut stamp set and cutting it out with the matching Sun Kissed Fleur die. The flowers were coloured using Milled Lavender and Aged Mahogany Distress Markers and then layered up, as shown. A faux pearl was put in the centres using the Cosmic Shimmer Vintage Plum Pearl PVA. 



Quite a long post today as I used a lot of products.

Happy crafting!






Sunday 6 October 2013

Congratulations to Mandy!

Thank you to all of you for supporting my blog and we have now reached over 100 followers. I have therefore picked a name at random to win the blog candy and the winner is Mandy! Congratulations Mandy, I have sent you an email. Tracey x

Monday 30 September 2013

A good time was had by all!

I thought today I would show you the projects we made on Saturday at Grafton Crafts in Kimbolton.


I think "a good time was had by all". We were made very welcome by Jenny and Yvonne and the ladies on the workshop did a really good job.

Here is a picture of their finished Christmas cards.


We used the Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia die set with the Heartfelt Creations stamp set called Petite Poinsettia designed to match the die. The embossing folder we used was the Spellbinders M-Bossabilities folder called Holiday Magic. 

We are 4 followers away from 100 now, so I hope to be able to send out the blog candy soon.

Happy crafting!

Monday 23 September 2013

Gilded Love Heart

Today's  card is a fairly simple card to make.



It uses the Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes and the Creative Expressions Damask Heart with Love sentiment stamp from the Singles range of stamps. These are already mounted onto cushion and cut out ready for use. 

The images were stamped onto a piece of black card using the Cosmic Shimmer Flake & Glitter Glue, which had been soaked into a small piece of cut n dry foam. The gilding flakes were then applied, using a stencil brush to remove any excess pieces. 

This was then die cut using the Spellbinders 5 x 7 Elegant Labels Four die set.

Finally, a mat of gold card was placed behind the die cut layer.

Happy crafting!


Wednesday 18 September 2013

Sunday 15 September 2013

Keyrings

One for him and one for her maybe?

Another project from my Melt Pot.





Happy crafting!


Thursday 12 September 2013

Monday 9 September 2013

Something a bit different!

I am going to be away for a couple of weeks, so thought I would schedule a few posts in my absence, showing some other artwork that you might be interested in.

If anyone would like any more details, please leave your comment and I will get back to you when I return.


This is a bookmark I made when I got my new Melt Pot.


More items to follow soon . . . 

Happy crafting!