Altered box with Altenew stamps

Back in February a group of my crafting friends and I decided to have a secret gift swap for Valentines day. We were each assigned a recipient to make something for, to show them that they were loved and appreciated. We christened it our "Palentines" swap!  We have only just done the reveal, so I'm now able to show you the little altered box that I made. 

Here is the finished box, which I filled with a bag of heart shaped chocolates. Yes, I know that I should have taken them out of the bag, but this way it stopped me from eating them all before I posted it off to my friend!

 

 I started out with a small wooden box (about 8cm square) and some pretty co-ordinating papers from the Dress Shoppe NitWit collection from Lili of the Valley. I carefully removed all the hardware and the thin acetate covering the inside of the lid, to make it easier to cover.

 Next I applied some Victorian Velvet Distress Stain to all of the edges. I also used the matching Distress marker pen to colour the joins inside the box, so that there would be no bare wood showing when I covered it with paper.

 I used the ditsy floral print paper to cover all the outsides of the box and the dress paper for the insides. Just before I covered the inside of the lid I replaced the acetate with some that was a bit thicker (taken from some die packaging), then added the paper to cover it so that the edges of the acetate didn't show. I added a couple of die cut stitched heart borders (from Wplus9 design studio) to the bottom edges of the box, then I replaced the hinges and clasp. My, those tiny screws were fiddly and I dropped them on the floor several times before I succeeded in fastening everything back on!

 Now came the fun part - decorating the lid with some pretty stamped flowers. I used the gorgeous "Beautiful Day" stamp set by Altenew and Antique Linen distress ink, so that I could do the no line watercolour technique. I chose colours that matched the paper I'd used and scribbled ink from the Distress markers onto an acrylic block, before picking up the colour with a wet paintbrush and painting the flowers, berries and leaves. After they had dried I went back in with the markers and added extra detail, then I fussy cut everything out (fiddly but so worth it)!

 I used clear foam tape and glue dots to adhere the flowers, leaves and berries around the heart shaped aperture on the lid, which gave them more dimension.

 Below you can see the finished box (without the chocolates).

I really enjoyed making this and have since bought another box, so that I can do it all again!

Thanks for looking!

Birthday cards

It was my birthday last month, so I thought I'd show you some of the lovely hand made cards that I was lucky enough to receive from family and friends.

This lovely cat looking out of a window was sent to me by my Auntie Annette, who is on the Design Team for Imagination Crafts.

This beautiful yellow floral card was made by my friend Chris, using Papertrey Ink Stamps.

This lovely oriental card came from my friend Lesley, who knows that I love birds.

This one was from my sister Maria.

I just love this cute chick made for me by my sweet grandsons Max (age 3) and Lucas (age 7 months)!

This gorgeous floral card came from my sweet friend Neet. I love the colour scheme.

Finally, this beautifully coloured shaker card was made by my lovely friend Penny. Isn't that Crazy Bird fun?! I am thrilled with all the lovely cards that I received - thank you all very much! 

Now for another card that I made recently, using Norma J. Burnell's Mid Summer Dragonflies stamp, from Sweet Pea Stamps. I used VersaFine Onyx Black ink and Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper, which I cut with a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die. I then watercoloured the image with Distress Markers and added a hint of shimmer to the dragonflies with my Wink of Stella pen. The background is Core'dinations card embossed with the "Rosa" embossing folder by Anna Griffin for Cuttlebug, then sanded back. The birthday diecuts are from Papertrey with the sentiment flags being from a Lil' inker die.

Thanks for looking. I shall try not to leave it so long before posting next time!

Lynn

Indigo Blu Challenge # 26 - Off The Edge

Hello! Today's card was made for a friend who likes cars, whose birthday is also today. I am also entering it in the Indigo Blu challenge # 26 - Off The Edge (I'm hoping it qualifies since the map images are stamped over the edge on my background). You can see all the details of the challenge on the Indigo Blu blog here .

I started by stamping the large Indigo Blu Map Background four times onto smooth white card using Watering can Archival ink, to give the impression of a much larger map. I then carefully watercoloured the entire map with Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen, Shabby Shutters and Bundled Sage Distress Ink markers (by scribbling ink onto an acrylic block and picking it up with a water brush). 

The car image and fun sentiment are from the Indigo Blu Little Voice stamp set and were stamped directly onto the map with Black Archival ink. I then stamped the car again four times onto some dark green card and fussy cut the layers to decoupage using clear foam pads. I used Spring Moss card and ribbon to mount my stamped images onto a 5" x 7" white landscape card blank. Finally the bodywork of the car was emphasised with a thick layer of Glossy Accents to make it nice and shiny! The photo below shows the car in more detail, with it's traditional racing green bodywork. I hope my friend Arthur likes his new car!

Thank you for looking and for your lovely comments!

Lynn

Runway Inspired Challenge # 71 - In Memory of Oscar de la Renta (part 2)

This is my second post today and is the second part of my entry for the Runway Inspired Challenge in memory of the designer Oscar de la Renta who died recently. You can find all the details on the Runway Inspired Challenge blog here .

I chose the photo below as my inspiration,  as did Taheerah - *Fill Your Paper With The Breathings of Your {Heart}*.

I used the same Wendy Vecchi stamp from the Art Colors Life stamp set as previously, together with the same three Distress ink markers (Mowed Lawn, Fired Brick and Squeezed Lemonade). However this time I coloured the stamp with the markers then spritzed it with a fine mist of water before stamping it onto some Bockingford Watercolour paper. This gave a lovely mottled look to my background, which I then layered onto a panel of green card and a 6" square white card blank. 

The photo below shows the background stamping, which looked really pale and pretty.

I then repeated the process, but this time I wet the Watercolour paper before stamping, which gave a really mottled look. I thought that the green looked a little like the branches of a Christmas tree with red and yellow lights on it, so I used this paper to cut out two tree shapes using Dee's Distinctively Christmas Tree Silhouette and Christmas Tree No 3 dies.

Using a damp paintbrush I added a little more distress ink in places where it was pale, until I had a more even coverage. Here you can see the two trees before I layered them onto my card using clear foam tape for dimension.

Again I stamped the sentiment, from Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage Ornaments set in Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and my card was complete. Two totally different cards using the same stamps and inks, but different techniques! I think that this watercoloured one is my favourite of the two. I hope you like them. Thanks for looking.

Lynn

Runway Inspired Challenge # 71 - In Memory of Oscar de la Renta (part 1)

This week I decided to play along with the Runway Inspired Challenge in memory of the designer Oscar de la Renta who died recently. You can find all the details on the Runway Inspired Challenge blog here . This time there were a number of inspiration photos to choose from, as each member of the Design Team had selected an item of clothing from the Spring 2015 collection to feature. 

I really liked this dress, which was chosen by Taheerah - *Fill Your Paper With The Breathings of Your {Heart}*

Taheerah made a gorgeous card (in fact she made two) - do check out the blog to see her lovely work!

Not to be outdone, I decided to make two cards as well. In actual fact I selected a large background stamp from Wendy Vecchi's Art Colors Life stamp set, together with Distress ink markers (Mowed Lawn, Fired Brick and Squeezed Lemonade) and tried two different techniques. I liked them both, hence the two cards!

Below is the first one, with a trio of layered Christmas trees.

I inked the stamp up using the Distress markers and stamped directly onto a 6" square white card blank.

I also stamped the same image onto a separate piece of white card and used this to die cut my trees with the Dee's Distinctively Christmas Stacker Tree dies. I also cut matching trees from bright green card and layered them all up with double sided tape.

Finally I stamped the sentiment, from Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage Ornaments set in Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I shall be back soon with my second card. Thanks for looking.

Lynn

Heartfelt Poppies

This is my second post today - please scroll down to read my Pink Roses and Sequins post.

The image on this card is a beautiful heart shaped poppy stamp from Indigo Blu. As today is the seventh anniversary of my dear Dad's passing this seems very appropriate, since poppies traditionally signify remembrance. I have fond memories of my Dad and miss him very much, but he loved his garden so I'm sure he'd have approved of this card.

I stamped the image onto smooth white card with black ink and coloured it with Distress Markers. I also stamped it onto some masking paper and fussy cut it out as close to the image as possible, so that I could mask the coloured image without having a white halo around it. Then I got busy with my Tim Holtz distress marker spritzer and the same markers that I'd used to colour the poppy image. This gave an air-brushed effect with tiny splatters providing lots of texture - and it was lots of fun to do too! I matted the panel onto poppy red card then onto green striped paper and a white card blank and it was finished. I decided to keep it simple and not to add any embellishments as I wanted this to be a sympathy card and have posted this to a dear friend who has just lost her lifelong friend.

I am entering this into the Indigo Blu Challenge no 21: Magical Masking - you can see all the details here on the Indigo Blu challenge blog. 

I'm also entering this on the Artful Times Challenge Blog for challenge 67: Poppies. 

Thanks for looking and don't forget to take time to remember a loved one.

Lynn

Cure For The Monday Blues Challenge # 21 - Placing Pizzazz

I have been feeling in a floral mood today - probably because we have some gorgeous blooms out in our back garden at the moment. I'm not sure exactly what these purple flowers are, but they have very dark centres and pretty frilly leaves and are looking particularly lovely this year.

 

 

 

 

We built an arbour last year and planted some honeysuckle at the back, which we took as a cutting from my Dad's original plant. We bought a pair of red climbing roses to train up the trellis each side - we chose these as my Dad used to love roses and David's Mum used to love red flowers, so we thought it would be a nice way of remembering them both. This year they are doing really well and have produced some stunning velvety red blooms, so I couldn't resist taking some photos to share.

 

 

 

This week Taheerah has chosen an inspiration photo which also has bright flowers, http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/2014/06/cure-for-monday-blues-challenge-21.html , so I decided to focus on those and design a more Clean and Simple card. Those of you who know me will realise that I don't usually do CAS - I am always too tempted to keep adding layers and embellishments - so I think I've been much more restrained for once - Lol!

 

Source: Pinterest

 

 

I decided to concentrate on the three blooms in the inspiration photo above, so I selected the pretty peony stamp from JustRite's "Seeds of Summer" clear stamp set (CR - 03755) and started by stamping it onto some Friskett masking paper and cutting it out carefully to make a mask. Working directly onto a white DL card blank I then stamped a vertical row of three of the peonies using Watering Can Archival Ink and my mask. I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers in bundled sage, festive berries, mustard seed and spun sugar to scribble some ink onto an acrylic block, then I picked this up with a fine detail tipped waterbrush to watercolour the flowers. As I hadn't used watercolour paper the card warped a little, so when it was dry I found my iron and actually ironed it smooth again!

 

 

Please click on the photo for a better view.

 

 

The Thank You sentiment is from Clearly Besotted's "Many Thanks" clear stamp set and was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Dye ink. I used foam tape to adhere the sentiment to a banner which I made by stamping the polka dot background from the "Gingham & Co" clear stamp set by Waltzingmouse Stamps with Rose Bud Memento Dye ink and trimming into a banner shape. At this point I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from adding anything else!

 

So I have probably shocked you three times today - with a CAS design, doing some ironing, and (very unusually for me) completing and blogging a card several hours before the actual challenge deadline! I think I'd better go and lie down in a darkened room!

Pastel Watercolour Wash Background

I decided to make a second card using the same technique as in lesson two (see my post below this one), but this time using Pastel shades of Distress ink. I selected Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, Bundled Sage and Shaded Lilac and used Bockingford watercolour paper again.

Please click on the above photo for a clearer view.

 

I mounted my watercoloured panel onto a pale pink card blank. The sentiment and basket of wool stamps are both from Newton's Nook "Basket of Wishes" stamp set and I used a black dye ink to stamp them onto watercolour paper. The basket and balls of wool were coloured using the same four shades of Distress Ink Markers, I fussy cut it out and mounted it to the card with foam pads. I think the finished card looks really effective and I will certainly be making more backgrounds like this one.

 

 

Cure for the Monday Blues #9

Over on Taheerha Atchia's blog  there is a Monday challenge running - you can check it out here  http://littlemisst-papercraft.blogspot.com/2014/03/cure-for-monday-blues-challenge-9.html  .

Challenge #9 is based on the following photograph -

 

 

Source: Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/pin/75435362482935938/

 

 

I decided to start with a 5" x 7" landscape card blank and added a layer of PTI Pure Poppy card. Then I took a slightly smaller panel of the off-white card (I cut up another card blank to make sure it matched) and added a strip of brown stripey paper (the reverse side of Fields of Flowers from Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection) to the lower half, to mimic the stripey cushions on the bed. I used my small imperial Score Pal board to score along the top half of the card at half inch intervals - I thought that this looked a little like the wood panelling in the above photo.  Next I added a strip of blue card (PTI's Spring rain card), a narrower strip of the off - white card and a length of red cord, echoing the piped bedding in the inspiration photo. 

Please click on the photo to enlarge it for a better view.

For the main image I used the largest die from the JustRite Custom Die Templates JB - 10025 Nested Oval Medallion Label Dies, which I cut from some of the blue card. The map border image and sailing ship from the Anchors Away stamp set by JustRite (CR - 03710) were then stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento dye ink. I coloured the narrow band around the edge with a Festive Berries Distress Marker to match the piping again and the rope circle was coloured with a Picket Fence Distress Marker (matching the white lifesaving ring in the inspiration photo). The centre panel was then mounted onto the card with foam pads for added dimension. I stamped the small circular anchor motif from the same stamp set onto a scrap of Pure Poppy red card using Memento Espresso Truffle dye ink, cut it out and added it to the card with a foam dot - I was thinking about the red circular item on the bedside table in the inspiration photo at the time. The sentiment is from the Waltzingmouse Stamps Compact Sentiment set and was stamped onto some of the red card with the same Espresso Truffle Memento ink. I trimmed the red card to mimic the shape of the red rug in the bottom left of the inspiration photo, stuck it onto the card and it was finished!

I am really pleased with the finished card as I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the photo provided and looks suitably nautical. I shall be sending this to a former colleague who will be starting a new job soon - I hope he likes it!

JustRite Poppies card

Earlier in the week I needed to make a quick birthday card to post to my Great Aunt Doris, who was 91 yesterday.  She loves her garden, so I thought that the beautiful large Poppies stamp from JustRite's Poppies Labels Twenty Nine set (CL - 04380) would be just the job.

 

 

The image is very detailed so I decided to go with a CAS style, with nothing to detract from the beauty of the flowers. The poppies were stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Ranger Distress Markers. I used wild honey for the stamens, festive berries and barn door for the bright petals and shabby shutters and peeled paint for the leaves and stems. Finally I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment (also by JustRite) in the bottom right corner and the card was ready to be posted to Dorset.

I shall certainly be using this lovely stamp again as it was such a pleasure to colour the image and it was easy to achieve a good result fairly quickly. I also think that it's very versatile and could be used for many different occasions.

Paris in the Spring - Artful Times Challenge 50 - Anything Goes

This winter has felt particularly long and wet and I am finding myself longing for the start of Spring now! I decided to make a card using spring colours and stamps from JustRite (available from Oyster Stamps).

I started with some pale lemon yellow card and stamped the large Paris Background stamp (CL - 03790) with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. I stamped the portion with the Eiffel tower a second time onto the lemon card, so that I could cut it out and layer it up for more dimension. I also stamped the crown and fleur-de-lis onto smooth white card (for the same reason). I stamped the small label shape from the Bon Voyage stamp set (CL - 02185) onto some pale green card (again with black Archival ink) and cut it out using one of the Spellbinders Labels six dies (S4 - 230).

Using a Ranger ink blending tool with Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress ink pads I blended some colour around the edges of the main image and the second Eiffel tower, which I then fussy cut and mounted on the main panel with foam pads. I used the same colours on the small label and then cut a hole in the top to turn it into a tag. The word "Paris" from the Greetings from Paris stamp set (CL - 02195) was stamped in black Archival ink and I used an extra fine black Faber Castel Pitt artist pen to add the words "in the Spring". The frame part of the tag, both the crowns, both fleur-de-lis, the laurel wreath and ribbon bow were all coloured in with Tim Holtz Distress Markers - I used Tumbled Glass, Shabby Shutters, Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar and Shaded Lilac.

I layered the main panel onto pale green card and then onto a white scalloped card blank (it looks a bit pink in the photo, but I think that was because the light was poor as I took the photo at night). I fussy cut around the extra crown and fleur-de-lis images and added them to the card with foam pads. Finally I cut three pieces of seam binding in lemon, pink and lilac colours and stapled them to the top of the tag, which I then mounted onto the card (again with foam pads).

I think that the finished card does have an air of spring about it. I have never been to Paris, but would love to go one day - I can dream! I have sent this card to a dear friend for her birthday. She seems to travel quite a lot, so I hope that she likes it!

I would like to enter this into the Artful Times Challenge #50 - Anything Goes. You can find out more about it here http://artfultimes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/challenge-50-anything-goes.html . It's the first time that I have entered this challenge, so I hope I've done it correctly!

Moxie Fab World - Happy for Hexagons challenge

The current challenge over at the Moxie Fab World is to create something with hexagons http://www.moxiefabworld.com/2014/02/hexagons-happy-for-hexagons-challenge.html . I decided to get out my Papertrey Ink Happy Hexagons cover plate and Core'dinations whitewash card stock again, to make a patchwork background for a pink sewing themed card. Please click on the photo below for a larger view. I apologise for the quality of the photo, but I had to use flash as it was dark when I took it.

I started with a white landscape card blank and added a layer of marbled pink paper and a pink polka dot ribbon and bow. I diecut the happy hexagons coverplate five times in total - in pale pink for the hexagon frame and in a darker pink, blue, purple and jade green for the tiny hexagonal pieces. I selected some of each colour of the hexagons and ran them through my Cuttlebug with various tiny patterned embossing folders (all by Cuttlebug). Then I sanded each piece until the core was visible, giving them a lot of texture. I mounted the frame to the pink card layer using plenty of double sided tape so that I could then add the individual hexagons and they would stick to the tape. I had lots of pieces left over and another four frames, so I have kept them all for later projects.

The patchwork effect reminded me very much of quilting, so I decided to add a sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps "Sewing Box Hugs" stamp set and a stamped pincushion (by Our Daily Bread Designs), which I coloured with Distress markers. The cotton reel and needle dies are from Memory Box and the dressmakers dummy and buttons were cut from Spellbinders dies. I used pink and white bakers twine for the thread and to "sew" the buttons. All diecuts and stamped images were adhered to the card using foam pads to add more dimension.

I'm really pleased with the finished result and I'll be sending this card to one of my friends, who has a birthday later this month.