Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 242

The challenge for this fortnight is to Add a Critter. That critter can be any you want, and the project can be any format at all.

I chose to make a couple of Christmas cards using some stamps from Creative Stamping magazine.

I stamped using Memento ink, using a mask to add the llama after stamping the jumper. The image is coloured with Promarkers, and the banner below with Sakura Stardust pens. I added a bit of background texture, again using Promarker.

And another one - or perhaps the same llama with a different jumper. The techniques and products used were the same.

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 68

Our challenge for this fortnight is to make tags. They can be for any purpose, and I chose to make some Christmas tags.

I used a die from Marianne which punches holes (a 16 by 16 grid) in card to allow you to cross stitch directly. I actually punched two lots of holes to get the rectangle shown, and the basic tag shape was cut using a Tattered Lace die. I put a second tag shape on the back to cover the 'working'.

The cross stitch patterns came from some magazines I've had for at least 20 years. When I first got in to cross stitch, I used to buy magazines and take out any pages I thought might be useful. I stored these in plastic wallets. I still have a couple of lever arch files of these.

To complete the tags, I punched a hole and added some baker's twine.

I do hope you can join us.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 241

Our challenge for this fortnight is on the theme of Autumn Colours.

One of the first things I think of when faced with this type of theme, is my Kaleidoscope ink pad in Autumn shades, and that's what I went with here.

A very CAS design here. The stamps are from Woodware, and after stamping, I coloured the butterfly with Promarkers in shades similar t the ink colours. A little matting and layering, and that's it. I've made a non standard size of card here, so I'll have to make an envelope for it, but the stamp is so gorgeous, I really didn't want it to share its glory with anything else.

I do hoe you can jjoin us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 67

The theme for this fortnight is Things with Wings. So, birds, insects, fairies, angels ... anything that has wings.

I made an exploding box as an example for my craft group.

The members are not generally papercrafters, so I needed to keep the project fairly basic and not to require many of the tools I take for granted. In the end, they decided they wanted to make a pop up card instead, but I'm sure I'll find a home for this  box.

The papers are from my stash. The butterflies were cut on my Big Shot Pro using dies by Spellbinders. In both cases, the lower layer was cut in card, and the upper, lacy layer in shimmer paper that I bought from Craft Creations when it was based in Cheshunt. Unfortunately, the new version of the company doesn't seem to be stocking the things I regularly bought from the original company, so I'm having to look elsewhere.

And finally, a close up of the butterflies. I used scraps of die packaging (the clear plastic) to support the butterflies, and you can just see a trace of that in this photo.

I do hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 240

The theme for this fortnight at Crafty Cardmakers is Pearls and/or Gems. I've made a couple of cards using paper embroidery for this challenge. A craft group I belong to tries many different crafts, and a little while ago I did a session on paper embroidery and I made some samples in advance so that people could see the sort of thing that can be done. The other members aren't necessarily cardmakers, or even papercrafters, so it seemed a good idea to have some good examples.

This first card was made using a pricking pattern taken from 101 Ideas for Embroidery on Paper by Erica Fortgens. I used two strands of machine embroidery thread to complete the stitching, and finished each flower with a sticky gem. The central butterfly embellishment was cut using a Spellbinders die set.

Before I discovered books on paper embroidery, I bought some stencils. I used a Quadrant stencil to prick the pattern for this card.

Again, I used machine embroidery thread for the stitching, this time using metallic type threads. I finished the card using some flower shaped gems I've had for many years. They actually reflect a mix of blue, green and pinkish tones depending on how the light hits them, but some shades seem more obvious in the photo. The background paper is from a pad which was a magazine freebie quite a while ago.

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 66

The challenge for this fortnight is to Layer it Up. So, we want to see lots of layers, but otherwise, any project is fine!

I recently had a look through all my very old metal templates. Some are just for embossing, some for paper pricking and a few are mixed. One set I haven't used a great deal, and I decided to get them out for another go. I bought them quite early in my cardmaking journey and found them very difficult to use, so I was pleased when I managed to make two different cards without too much difficulty!

The templates are from Lucido, and I used a couple of different ones.

My first attempt. The template is for cutting, pricking and stitching, as well as embossing, but I didn't use the embossing sectins. The paper is from a Dovecraft set called Garden Party. I cut out the heart and centre shapes by hand, and edged them with some Distress Ink before assembly. I pricked the holes and stitched with maching embroidery thread, and completed the effecgt with a sticky gem. The image itself comprises three paper layers, so it total, there are 7 layers in the design.

The second card is actually my favourite of the two, but the photos really don't do it justice.

A different template, and this time I've used some plain card, some Papermania paper and some gorgeous glitter card. Stitching was again using machine embroidery thread, and this one has a total of 6 layers.