Sparkle Medium Fairies - 2 for 1!

Good afternoon crafters, I had a little play with my fairy stencil and some Sparkle Medium from Imagination Crafts over the last couple of days - I hope you like the result!

The background is one of the Imagination Crafts background panels which take the Sparkle Medium (or any wet medium) really well, as the paper is coated. It also means (as I found out by chance) that if you make a 'whoopsie', you can wipe the medium off and start again (not that that's ever happened to me at all....!) The method is a simple one; I cut the background to size and taped the stencil over it. I applied Turquoise Sparkle Medium and set aside to dry. In the meantime I die-cut a sentiment twice using a Tattered Lace die (off-setting one behind the other) and some snowflakes. I chose my colours using the tones in the background card, so the coordination was done for me! Once the Sparkle was dry, I layered the snowflakes and sentiment and matted onto a card blank.

And here is what I made from the waste left on the stencil...

I found a piece of pale backing paper from my stash which would show the outline of the fairy clearly. I cut this to size and then taped my 'dirty' stencil on top, just as I had done before. Using a piece of Cut and Dry Foam, I rubbed the Sparkle Medium left on the stencil in circular motions, filling in the shape. This process makes the medium give a foiled look, which appears really distressed and is effective when using bold outline shapes. I really liked the result at this point, but I also wanted to add some more sparkle and detail to my fairy, so I decided to try and go over the wings once again. With the stencil all clean this time, I replaced it over my dry piece and masked off all but the wings. I then applied Diamond Sparkle Medium through and set aside to dry. I had never tried this before, but I really like it! The rest is the same as the card above, but which card do you like the best?

My apologies for the lack of photos at each stage, I really hadn't planned what I was doing and just 'went with it'! I am sure I will use the same technique again, so stay tuned...

LOTV friends at Christmas

Nearly there! I had a few special cards left to make, here is one I made for my Mother-in-Law. There are lots of layers to this one; apologies I was engrossed and totally forgot to take photos along the way!

I started with some pale blue Christmas paper from my stash and attached some raffia ribbon across the lower half. I stamped and heat embossed some Indigoblu snowflakes onto some plain card, shaded with some Distress Ink and cut out each one before sticking across the top of the card. The image is a LOTV stamp which I coloured with Distress Markers onto watercolour card. This was cut out and matted using Spellbinders Dies, before adding some sparkle to the snowy areas with Imagination Crafts Diamond Sparkle Medium. Around the image I have arranged some Tattered Lace star embellishment springs, some Sue Wilson holly sprigs, wired flowers and dried flowers. The finishing touch was some die-cut layered snowflakes with blue pearls in the centres and a sentiment from LOTV.

I wasn't sure at first, but I like it now. A bit fussy, one of those you need to step away from... I do love those cuddly friends though!

Back from a Crafty Blogging Break!

It has been a while since I have blogged, I know! There are two reasons for this really: I had my 4th baby in March and prior to that I have been posting each week on the Lisa B. Design's Blog! So, I have been busy, really! Along with all this I have managed to retreat into the crafty nook (otherwise known as my study) occasionally, and have made cards as often as I can! Here are a few things I have played with...

Sheena Douglass Perfect Partners dies and stamps, Distress Inks, Imagination Crafts stencil...

A card with an acetate front, Imagination Crafts Sparkle Medium, Tattered Lace Dies, Just Rite stamps, Spellbinders Dies and a Sue Wilson Border

Various Card-io Stamps, Versafine Inks

Polkadoodles stamps, watercolours, Distress Ink, Card-io stamps

Inkylicious stamps, Memento Inks, Clarity Stamps

I am still part of the Lisa B. Design's Design Team, so I will be posting a new project each week over there, each time explaining the products and methods used. Click HERE to see the blog and regular posts from the team!

A Wedding Present and Memory Piece

In the same vein and theme as my previous card, I also wanted to make something for my friend which would last a little longer. I used the same colours and set about making something 'arty'!The base shapes are 2 large MDF hearts from Indigoblu which I have based with Indigoblu white Gesso. I have then mixed by own acrylic paint until I achieved a lemony colour. Still not happy with that, (as it looked a little flat) I took a chance and added a layer Daler-Rowney Interference Shimmering Gold. Instant shine and variable tones! Once dry I have used a script stamp to stamp across both hearts horizontally with Colourbox Ochre ink. The script has then been heat embossed with clear powder. At this point I wanted to add another element to the background, but I admit I was stuck as to what and how. I tried using a range of silver/grey inks, but all appeared to dark or too light! In the end, and quite by accident, I had a go with stamping the Indigoblu Small Flourish stamp in Colourbox Charcoal ink straight onto one of the hearts. Thinking it too dark, I went to wipe it off with a baby wipe, but was then in a panic when a grey echo of the stamp remained! Taking a step back, I realised I liked the effect...

Before adding the top layers of decoration, I wanted to add more texture to the heart and make it more 'vintage'.I decided to add some Inka Gold all around the piece as a whole for a distressed and 'non-perfect' look. Next I wanted to weave together some flowers and gems to create a bouquet along one edge. This took quite some time to get right, but I was happy with the final effect. The lemon flowers were easy enough to find, but I had to create the greyer ones by adding light grey ink to ivory flowers. I also decided to make my own decorative pins using coloured beads and crystals just to add a few interesting touches. Once the flowers were mounted I have used strings of Hobby House pearls across both the hearts. On top of this, I have used Spellbinders Ornate Oval dies to cut and mount a picture of the happy couple (taken from social media) and a sentiment that I love from Lavinia stamps at the top. The date was printed from Serif CraftArtist and cut using a Bigz die (Estate). The final touch was a set of charms (wedding themed) hanging from a bow. The ribbon is yellow seam binding from Creative Expressions along with some organza ribbon from my stash. To present the gift I had to make a box, print a name panel and cut 4 corners from a Tattered Lace die. I was worried that my work was a little old-fashioned, but I'm pleased to advise it was liked!

Hobby House Wedding Couple

This is a card I have made for a friend's wedding. I have used a 7x7 pearl card blank for the base and added a craft card layer. On top of this is have used papers from First Edition pad 'Isabelle'. All the layers on the card have had the edges distressed with Tea Dye Distress Ink. Across the middle of the card I have added 2 layers of Duchess Lace from Creative Expressions. The main topper is from the Hobby House Sylvia Zet collection - 'Love Me Do'. I have cut the image out using Spellbinders dies Labels Two and also created a matt with the same dies. There are 2 panels behind the topper and these have been created using more papers from the First Edition pad and cut with Scalloped Labels One. They have been matted onto Decorative Labels One shapes cut from craft card. At the top and bottom of the card I have edged the paper with a gorgeous cream woven style ribbon. The flowers and pearl pins were from my stash; I have picked colours from the main image and built it all up from there. The little sentiment is from Craftwork Cards and the foliage has been created using Tattered Lace dies. Again, a box is needed for this one!

New Baby Girl Card

This card is based on a 6x6 card blank. I have used Kanban papers for the background along with some coordinating pink pearl and yellow card. The central image is a Hobby House topper from the Wee Stamps by Sylvia Zet collection called 'It's a Girl'. I have distressed the edges with Scattered Straw Distress Ink to bring in more of the yellow colour. The flowers are also from Hobby House, the ribbon and gems from my stash. Behind the main image is a rectangular panel, again backed with coordinating papers, and stitched all around using a sewing machine. The border die cut is from Tattered Lace and the Flourish is a Spellbinders D-Lites die. I had to make a box for this one as it would not fit in an envelope!

Just a Line to Say...

This card was made for my brother-in-law. I find mens' cards really tricky, as there seems to be certain stereotypes, but not all men fit into these! This card has a base made from two 6x6 craft card blanks made into a gatefold card. I have used a Crafter's Companion CD Rom - Beatrix Potter's Jeremy Fisher. The decoupage has been printed from the disc and then layered up with Pinflair. I have also made the images nest into a Spellbinders die in some complimentary green. The backing papers have been printed from the CD and again layered onto complimentary cardstock. The 'wheat' is a Spellbinders D'Lites die and the foliage is made from Tattered Lace and Marianne Creatables dies. The sentiment is from the Crafter's Companion Jeremy Fisher stamp plate. On the reverse of the card I have used the CD to print a matching 'insert'.

Winter Snowflake Wishes

In my stash I found some cut, tuck, fold Spellbinder's snowflake dies, so I decided to have a play with them! I used an 8x8 card blank and used centura pearl, pale blue and teal cardstock to matt and layer. To create the cut-out circles I used my Spellbinder's Standard Circle dies in 2 sizes randomly on the pale blue card. Once the circles were cut I then ran the paper though the machine using the Embossilicious Regency Swirls folder. The sentiment is from Tattered Lace. To create the snowflakes I cut them from centura pearl, then inked through the dies with the paper still inside. I also inked the back of the snowflakes so that when they are folded there is more of an interest to them. Silver ribbon was then put on the tops of the circles to create a 'bauble' type of effect.