Llandrindod Card Club - Workshop! Easter Greetings!

Happy Easter All! Here is the Easter card I did at this months Llandrindod Card Club - many thanks to all that attended, I had lots of fun! Here I have used A Good Egg stamp set (IB&C p20), stamping the egg onto Naturals Ivory card stock (IB&C p87), and cutting round the outline. Then I continued with the basic black ink onto Delightful Daffodil card stock, (IB&C p82), colouring the dots in with Stampin' write markers, leave all this to one side, for the moment. We then stamped the Old Olive card stock with the same colour of ink and the flower stamp, then scallop punching the top border. Then place the Bashful Blue card stock at the top, and the old olive on the bottom of the card face to position the pivotal brad on the left side, hidden under the grosgrain ribbon.

As you can see the reason that you need a hinge if to reveal the Easter Greeting and tiny chick in the Egg :-) If you place the zigzag ribbon in your desired place, then move it up about 1cm to use the bottom as a cutting guide then when you glue the paper ribbon move it into the centre of the top half egg and then the cut edge of the egg will be hidden when the card is closed. Although hiding brads, positioning the ribbon knot and lastly gluing the egg halves is a bit fiddly, I still love the effect of this card - real Easter Egg-citement.

With the card done, we then got completely carried away with the Easter theme and utilizing the Marvellous Monica's

Easter Basket (see the video tutorial on her blog - Monica's

Many Passions, on my blog list).

Loving all things Old Olive I used this as a the base card stock and some of the DSP that was on offer in The March Frenzy Promotion, Greenhouse Gala (IB&C p89). Monica gives fabulous tips to make this basket very easily. I think the 5/8" Organza ribbon works really well. And just to finish off the look we added a little gift card to go with the basket, which should really have contained Mini Eggs, but they didn't make it into the photo - somehow! The scallop envelope in Daffodil Delight was prepared with my new Big Shot - whoo hoo! The square print is one of the hostess sets, punched out with the 1 1/4" Square punch (IB&C p 106) and placed onto the old olive scallop square punch (IB&C p105) and some gingham ribbon, I had lying around to keep the envelope together. Then a little card 2x3" with a little chick, greeting and DSP egg shells from the Brights pack (IB&C p91).

Big shot Beginner!

I simply couldn't wait to get started with my Big Shot, and thought I'd take a few cards along to my demonstration at Llandrindod Card Club share the ideas!

Here's a super quick card that I made with a white C6 card, using one of the Confetti stamps (IB&C p60), for the background of the right half of the card and Pacific Point Ink. Then I put the Daffodil delight and Pacific Point card through the Big Shot with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die (Mini Cat p9) and used the large butterflies, flipping the middle one to reverse the emboss effect.

The finishing touch is the pearl body of the Butterfly which is three of the smallest line Basic Pearls (IB&C p 99). Not capable of throwing anything away, I used some of the other butterflies from the embosslit die here . . . .

Although you can't see it very clearly, I have used the same background stamp in Daffodil delight ink on the white shaped card, and then the En Francais background stamp (IB&C p71)for the central panel with the Just Believe (IB&C p57) stamp over the top. I have used a 9cm square of Pacific point card stock punched by the scallop trim corner and border punches (IB&C p105), continuing my blue and yellow Easter phase ;-)

Finally in my first foray into the Big Shot, I used my 1 1/4" square punch (IB&C p106) with the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper (Mini cat p17) and then ran the squares through the Bog Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder (Mini cat p10), and it gives this incredibly cool patchwork feel to the paper.

I then stamped the birthday greeting in Old Olive Ink on Very vanilla card stock, from Party this Way (IB&C p31) and punched it out with the word window punch (IB&C p 105); and then some more of the DSP with the Scallop Oval, to top the 1/2" Pear Pizzazz stitched poly ribbon that runs through the four 1/2" punched circles.

I love it, leave a comment to let me know what you think! Keep on crafting Gen x

Big Shot Playtime!

So, with the Easter theme for my demonstration for Llandrindod Wells Card Club this month, it allowed my to play around with The Big Shot Die Cutting system - at least that's the excuse I used ;-)

Loving all things floral, here you see the Bigz L Die Fun Flowers (Mini catalogue p7). Part of my reason for treating myself to the Big Shot was that it could cut material as well as card stock and Designer Series Paper so have put lots of different flower types together for this arrangement that I took along to card club for inspiration. The nest of eggs here came in a bunch of flowers last year and not from a spring nest!

I was looking at Julie Kettlewell's blog (see my blog list right) and she had made some fabulous flowers and got me thinking. . .

As always all flowers start with Daffodils in Wales ;-) This is simply done in Daffodil Delight (what else!) card stock and then the trumpet is a 1 3/4" circle punched them repeatedly put through a Crimper (IB&C p107) to make the card stock more pliable and then shape it round the end of a wooden spoon, to give it that crinkled look, with some flower inners that I had lying around from artificial flowers. I have made an Old Olive leaf by folding a thin piece of card stock in half and then running it through the crimper at a diagonal for a little texture. There's lovely!

With the remaining two Daffodil delight flowers I ran them through the Square Lattice embossing folder (Mini p10) and added a little daffodil delight ink with a sponge dauber to the petal tips and created the flower centre with a contrasting blue button.

So here you can see the three large flowers of this die cut in a Brights Designer Series Paper, fixed centrally with a Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad (IB&C p99). I think it gives quite a clear illustration of the differing flower shapes, and how they can fit together or stand alone. Of course, it wasn't possible to have this floral arrangement without a foray into felt, and I have to say the possibilities are opening up with the thoughts of brooches, hat embellishments, applique and beyond!

I have to say that my first attempt has made me more excited than ever as I can bring my love of sewing and fabrics into the cards that I make - whoo hoo! This is just some felt I had lying around, but for spring I think it's really appropriate, with just a splash of 3/8" Taffeta ribbon in Marina Mist (IB&C p96). Keep on crafting - I am ;-)

April arrives!

Well, it wasn't an April Fools Joke, David really was 40 on the 1st of April! Here's the card to prove it ;-) I am steadily falling in love with Designer Series Papers and here you see the Celebrations DSP (IB&C p89) as the background on Bashful Blue card stock. It's not possible to have Birthday celebrations without bunting so the Party This Way stamp set (IB&C p31) made perfect bunting for his age, printed in Pacific Point and Real Red on Whisper White card stock; with the 40 of the envelope Bashful Blue Birthday Balloon highlighted in Real Red.

A week later is another Birthday so have continued my obsession with the same stamp set and colours with some Real Red Grosgrain ribbon in the middle and the Birthday Greeting punched out with the label punch (IB&C p105). Balloons aren't real without strings and here I've used Linen thread (IB&C p96) winding it round scissors to make the twists - a real less is more look to this one, but I try not to go too over the top for boys cards.

Just when you think it's not possible to get any more carried away SU have released their Big Shot, and this is mine, all mine - hee hee hee! Needless to say it is taking over my life and who needs to keep up to date with housework anyway? So I have been playing for hours and will post my results soon, if I can tear myself away from all the fun! Keep on crafting Gen x

Pastels revisited!

Part of justifying just how much craft you can squeeze into one house I have been sorting through my stash! In the process I came across the pastels that I received in my starter pack when I started as a SU demonstrator, and thought I would reacquaint myself with them - or give them to someone who would use them! Before you get excited I have once more fallen for them - particularly with this fab little stamp set A Flower for all Seasons (IB&C p53) I used StazOn ink (IB&C p103), for the outline and then Blender pens (IB&C p 102) to pick up the colour and bring the tiny scenes off the page :-) A real treat for spring, and hopefully the needed pick me up for the friends that received them.