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!

A First Birthday

Today is our youngest grandson's first birthday, although it hardly seems 12 months since he arrived! Of course I wanted to make him a card and thought that bright and cheerful was the way to go.

I selected a cute stamp from Lili of the Valley for the main image and added the perfect sentiment with an old PSX stamp, Versamark ink and Denim Zing embossing powder. The design paper is from the "Candles and Cake" NitWit collection by Mary Fran for Lili of the Valley. I coloured the stamped image to co-ordinate with the patterned paper using Copic Ciao markers (R000, R00, Y11, B93, B95, YG03, RV29, R37, B99, C0, C1, C3, C7 & B12). The scalloped rectangle die that I used was from a really useful set by Waltzingmouse Stamps and the finishing touch was a number 1 cut using a Memory Box die.

Here is the birthday boy Lucas - looking a little bewildered as he had just woken up from his nap when I took this photo this morning. The photo below was taken earlier on when he was playing in his new birthday gift from his Mummy and Daddy. I think he likes his new house!

Thanks for looking,

Lynn.

2015 Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

Hello and welcome! Today is National Coffee Day in the USA and the Coffee Loving Papercrafters are having a Blog Hop to celebrate. Although I'm usually a tea drinking Brit, I couldn't resist joining in with the fun! There are an amazing 42 sponsors for this hop, with lots of lovely prizes, so you may like to start at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog here. You will also find full details of how to take part and links to all of the inspiring artwork there.

Here is my first card for the hop. As always you can click on the photos to get a clearer view. I got carried away and actually made two similar easel cards in different colourways, but I think that this blue one is my favourite. My second card (below) uses the same supplies, but with a khaki coloured card base and I adhered the image and sentiment at a jaunty angle.

The pretty autumnal backing papers are from the "Enchantment" NitWit collection by Mary Fran for Lili of the Valley. The main image is stamped with "Monster Morning" by Whipper Snapper Designs Inc and was coloured with Copic Ciao markers. The sentiment and cute coffee beans are from the "Coffee Set" stamps by Waltzingmouse Stamps and I used Memento Rich Cocoa dye ink. Spellbinders "Leafy Squares" dies were used to mount the image and sentiment blocks. Finally I added a strip of white card inside so that there is space to write a message and I finished off with a couple of Fall Leaves Wood Veneer ornaments by Lawn Fawn, to act as stoppers for my easels (see below).

Both cards fold flat for mailing but I think that the easel style adds a little something extra! I have used quite masculine colours here, but it would be very easy to switch out the colours to make a more feminine version.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Catching up!

It is such a long time since I last blogged - so sorry that I've been AWOL for so long! December saw me frantically making several birthday and thank you cards, together with over 100 Christmas cards - which then had to be written and posted, so there was no time to write blog posts at all. Over the Christmas and New Year period we were busy entertaining our family and friends, then we came down with the dreaded lurgey and were forced to retreat to bed to hibernate until we felt better.

Anyway, now that things are getting back to normal, I thought that I would share a few photos of some of the cards that I made over the last couple of months.

The first one is a thank you card made with a Lili of the Valley cute image stamp and papers, Spellbinders dies and sentiments by Waltzingmouse Stamps. We took this to the Stroke Unit at Fairfield Hospital, Bury to thank the staff there for looking after my husband David when he first had his stroke last year.

My second card was for my Brother-in-law Les' 80th birthday. He loves the countryside and there are squirrels in the trees behind their house, so I decided to go with a woodland themed card. I used a Spellbinders embossing folder for the green background panel which I added to a 5" x 7" white card blank. I embossed the Papertrey Ink tree cover plate onto Bockingford watercolour paper, watercoloured the tree trunk and leaves, then stamped the trunk with the co-ordinating PTI stamp to get the bark effect. The tree panel was matted onto chocolate brown card, which I also used to cut some branches and an assortment of small birds with a selection of Memory Box and Poppystamps dies. The squirrels and acorns were cut with Impression Obsession dies, then I highlighted the acorns and the squirrels' eyes with a tiny amount of glossy accents. I was really pleased with how this turned out.

The next card was made for my Sister-in-law Alison for her birthday. I used a similar technique to the previous card, this time using a Papertrey floral coverplate and watercolouring as before. The small stitched flag was cut using a Li'l Inker die and stamped with a Waltzingmouse stamps sentiment. Lime green and pink card layers and some co-ordinating ribbons were all that were needed to complete my design.

Below you can see a similar version of the card above, this time using Papertrey Bitty Dot background paper and matching ribbon, with an orange and lime green colour scheme.

My next card was designed to be produced en mass and was based upon a card that had been featured on the Less is More challenge blog. The stitched rectangle die is from a set of Lawn Fawn dies, the sentiment is a Magenta stamp, the snowflakes are by Waltzingmouse stamps and the legs are part of a Prima Valentine doll stamp. I used Memento dye inks and Copic Ciao markers to colour the legs and shoes, adding a touch of clear Wink of Stella pen to the shoes to make them sparkle. The snowflakes were stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with WOW sparkling embossing powder. I made a total of 65 of these C6 sized cards - which took me ages!

Finally we have my other batch Christmas card for 2014. I made about 35 of these 6" square green cards and stamped the backgrounds using red Memento dye ink and a candy stamp from Waltzingmouse. Then came a red linen card layer and a square of mottled green card embossed with a Cuttlebug candy cane embossing folder. The striped candy canes, bow and gingerbread man were all Waltzingmouse stamps, cut with their matching dies and coloured with Copic Ciao markers. A touch of red and white bakers twine completed the look.

Apologies for the long post and thanks for reading this far!

Lynn

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Today would have been my Dad's birthday, so for the last few years I have felt sad on 5th November and always think of him when the fireworks are going off. However, last year our second grandson Joshua was born on 5th November - which was really lovely - so now it's a happy day again. 

Of course I had to make Joshua a birthday card to mark the occasion! I used an 8" square white card blank and added a layer of Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft-Core card from the nostalgic collection and some lovely script effect paper (from Kaisercraft's Pitter Patter collection). 

I chose the cute Baby Boy stamp from Lili of the Valley (ST 020) for the main focal point and stamped it onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I cut the panel using a Spellbinders label die and coloured the image using Copic Ciao markers. The panel was then matted onto another Spellbinders decorative label diecut which was adhered to the card using foam tape. 

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was cut from the same Core'dinations card using a Simon Says Stamp die and this was adhered to the card with a small amount of Ranger's Studio matte multi-medium. The letters were cut using the Memory Box Classic Upper Case alphabet dies, as was the number 1, which I cut seven times and then stuck them all together to add more dimension to the number. The final touch was some aqua and white bakers twine and a matching button. The photo below shows the image and number in more detail. 

The birthday boy had a party on Sunday and was suitably spoilt by the whole family! Here he is opening the present that we bought him ( a huge activity cube that is bigger than he is)!

This photo was taken as Joshua was about to blow the candles out on his birthday cake. He was a little unsure of this as after all he's never had to do it before!

Joshua was still grinning from ear to ear when we left, so I think he enjoyed his first party (we certainly did)!

Thanks for looking,

Lynn

Welcome Baby Lucas

Allow me to introduce our newest grandson, Lucas James. The photo below was taken when he was just one day old and was still in hospital. As you can see I am a very proud Grandma!

                            

I wanted to make a card as a keepsake for his parents, so I started with an 8" square white card blank and added a layer of Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft-Core card from the nostalgic collection and some lovely patchwork effect paper (Little One from Kaisercraft's Pitter Patter collection). 

I chose the lovely Starry Bunny stamp from Lili of the Valley (ST 374) for the main focal point and stamped it onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I cut the panel using a Spellbinders label one die and coloured the image using Copic Ciao markers. The panel was then matted onto another Spellbinders decorative label one diecut and additional layers were coloured, fussy cut and decoupaged with clear foam pads to add lots of dimension. 

The photo below is a close up of the partially concealed tag which I cut from Kaisercraft paper for the front and Core'dinations card for the back, using the largest of the Waltzingmouse stitched tags dies. I left enough space on the tag for details of Lucas' birth to be recorded. 

The Starry Bunny panel was adhered to the card on three sides with foam tape, leaving space for the tag to be inserted. Although the photo below is a little out of focus, you can see the extra decoupaged layers which really make the bunny and teddy stand out.

The Special Day stamp is also by Lili of the Valley. Here it was cut with a Spellbinders circle die and layered onto another Spellbinders scalloped circle diecut. I used a co-ordinating Copic marker to highlight baby's date of birth. The ivy leaf corners were cut with Signature dies and the flowers (all from Wild Orchid) were arranged around the date details.

Finally I added Lucas' name with letters cut with Memory Box classic alphabet dies. Although the card was very time consuming to make, I am very pleased with the finished result and it was well received. 

I am entering this card in the Lili of the Valley October challenge, which you can find here .

The photo below was taken earlier today when Lucas was enjoying his play mat. He is three and a half weeks old now and is as cute as a button! Of course I may just be slightly biased!

Thanks for looking.

Lynn

Lili of the Valley March Challenge - Crafty Bingo.

The March challenge over at the Lili of the Valley blog is to play along with their Bingo card theme and make something incorporating three of the nine elements - as long as they are in a straight row! You can see what I mean here http://ideastoinspire.blogspot.co.uk/p/challenge.html . I went with a diagonal line from the bingo card and opted to use Ribbon, Lace and Charms. You can get a better view if you click on the photo below to enlarge it.

 

 

I started with a square kraft card blank and added a slightly smaller layer of textured red card. The vertical panel down the right side of the card is made from two different papers from the LOTV NitWit Country Lady paper pad. The main image, LOTV "Love Grows" (ST149), was stamped onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured with Copic markers. I cut out the image using a Spellbinders Labels one die and then layered it onto some beige patterned paper, which I had die cut using a Spellbinders Decorative Labels one die to match. This panel was then stuck to the card with foam pads for added dimension. The "With Love" sentiment is from the LOTV clear A5 stamp set 26 - Simply Sophisticated. I stamped it onto a scrap of the beige patterned paper using Potting Soil Archival ink and layered it onto a piece of brown paper from the LOTV NitWit Country Gent paper pad, cut a fish tail into the end and added to the card with foam pads.

I added a pretty length of fine cream lace to the left side of the card and topped it with some red seam binding ribbon and a double layered fancy bow. Two leaf shaped pins and a fancy silver heart charm finished everything off nicely.

I hope you like it!

"You Raise Me Up" - LOTV's monthly challenge - Name That Tune

Our next door neighbours asked me to make a birthday card for one of their granddaughters and I thought that this cute little bear holding balloons (by Lili of the Valley) would be ideal. You can click on the photo below to get a better view.

 

I started with a seven and a half inch scalloped white card blank and layered up some pink, green and blue card and pretty patterned paper. I used three different Spellbinders dies, some pink seam binding, some pretty sparkly alphabet and number stickers and three clear gems to embellish the number 3. The "Granddaughter" word was printed onto gingham cardstock before die cutting. The LOTV image was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Copic Ciao markers, before adding to the card with foam pads to raise it up a little.

 

I am entering this into Lili of the Valley's February challenge - Name that Tune. My song title is "You Raise Me Up" (by Westlife).

Wedding Congratulations



Yesterday our nephew Scott and his lovely lady Helen got married on a beautiful sunny beach in Australia. We weren't able to be with them, but before they left rainy England I made them a card for the big day. You can click on the photo below to see it in more detail. 

 

 

 

I used stamps and papers by Lili of the Valley, three Spellbinders dies and embellished the card with pearls and organza ribbon. The bride and groom were coloured with Copic markers and the sentiment I used on the envelope was by Waltzingmouse Stamps.



 

Huge congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Hardy - wishing you a lifetime of happiness together! 

Another December Birthday!

My lovely Sister - in - Law celebrates her birthday today. She is away in Australia at the moment (for her son's wedding), so before she left I made her this card to take with her. You can click on the photo below for a closer look at the details.

 

 

 

 

 

I thought it appropriate to use the "New Hat" stamp from Lili of the Valley as the main image http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/New_Hat.html and the sentiment is from their Happy Circular Sentiments set  http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Happy_Circular_Sentiments.html .

 

I started with a 6" square lavender coloured card blank and matted and layered using a darker purple card and some of the very pretty patterned paper from Lili of the Valley's "Promises" paper pad http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Paper_Pad_-_Promises.html . The little girl was stamped onto smooth white card with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and coloured with Copic markers. I cut out the image with a Spellbinders Labels Twenty - Two die http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/products/p-358-labels-twenty-two.aspx and layered it onto another Spellbinders die cut - this time from the co-ordinating Decorative Labels Twenty - Two die set http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/products/p-910-decorative-labels-twenty-two.aspx . The sentiment was cut out with a circular Spellbinders die and layered onto a die-cut from another circular Spellbinders die.

 

The embellishments I used were ribbon from Papertrey Ink and a selection of paper flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. I was really pleased with the finished card but I'm glad that I could give it in person, as I don't think the flowers would have survived the postal system intact!

A Country Birthday

Today is my Brother - in  - Law's birthday, so I made him a birthday card which reflects his love of the countryside.

 

 

I started with a six inch square white card blank and added layers of ripe avocado cardstock and patterned paper from Lili of the Valley's "Country Gent" paper pad. I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink to stamp Lili of the Valley's "In The Country" stamp http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Stamp_-_In_the_Country.html on to smooth white cardstock then coloured the image with Copic Ciao markers. This was then trimmed to a square using a Spellbinders square die and it was then mounted onto another piece of ripe avocado card which had been cut with a Spellbinders square leaf edged die. This panel was adhered to the card with double - sided tape.  The sentiment stamp is also from Lili of the Valley - Set 8 Happy Circular Sentiments http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Happy_Circular_Sentiments.html and was stamped as before then mounted onto a circle of ripe avocado card with a loop of ripe avocado ribbon behind it. This was adhered to the card with foam pads to raise it up a little.

 

I hope that the card made it safely all the way to Austrailia where many of our relatives have gone for a family wedding. "Good day" Les and have a very Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Ben!

As promised I am back to show you a birthday card which I made for a family member who celebrates his birthday today. The chap in question plays in a band, so I thought that the "Playing Guitar" stamp http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Stamp_-_Boys_-_Playing_Guitar.html  from Lili of the Valley would be a good choice! Please click on the photo below for a more detailed view.

 

 

I started off with a 6" x 6" square white card blank, added a smaller square of  Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy red card and then added two rectangles of patterned paper from Lili of the Valley's Candles and Cake collection  http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Paper_Pad_-_Candles_and_Cake.html . I covered where the two papers joined with some PTI Pure Poppy satin ribbon and added a bow. I used some baker's twine to hang three small stamped tags (also from Lili of the Valley) from the ribbon bow - two from the Christmas Mini Icon Tags stamp set http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Christmas_Mini_Icon_Tags.html and one from the Sentiment tags stamp set http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Set_24_-_Sentiment_Tags.html .

 

The boy playing his guitar was stamped onto smooth white card using Memento ink and then coloured with Copic pens. The image was then cut out using a die from the Spellbinders Labels One set and then matted onto a layer of Pure Poppy card which had been cut using one of the Spellbinders Scalloped Labels One dies. This was then mounted onto the card using double sided tape.

 

I was really pleased with how this card turned out and I hope that the birthday boy liked it too! Happy Birthday Ben!

Happy Birthday Little Man ...

Our first grandson, Max, had his second birthday today and by all accounts he has enjoyed himself all day! We bought him a Lego airport set as he loves watching aeroplanes and his Mum and Dad took him to Legoland at the Trafford Centre for a birthday treat.

Here is the card I made him for his second birthday.

I started with an eight inch white card blank and added a layer of gingham patterned paper from the Petal Fresh collection by NitWit Collections for Lili of the Valley. Then I added a large square of pale blue card to represent the sky. I used Memory Box dies to cut the clouds from white card stock and the letters and numbers from blue card stock. I used a Zig 2 way glue pen to stick the sentiment onto the clouds, which I then stuck to the blue card base using double sided tape for two of the clouds and sticky foam pads to raise up the other two clouds.

Little Max is always asking to be taken to the airport so that he can watch the aeroplanes taking off and landing, so I was delighted when I found the "Little Man" mini clear stamp set from Kaisercraft http://www.thecraftbarn.co.uk/product.php/34741/kaisercraft-mini-clear-stamps-little-man . I stamped the cute aeroplane onto blue card stock four times, using Memento Danube Blue dye ink. Then I fussy cut each layer out and decoupaged them together using clear silicone, so that I could angle the wings etc. Whilst the silicone was drying I stamped the vapour trail using Papertrey Fresh Snow ink. Next I added a strip of double sided tape to the back of a piece of bright green card stock before using a Magnolia Doohickey die to cut out the strip of grass. Adding the tape before I cut the card made it so much easier when I came to stick the grass to the bottom of the picture!

Max also likes being held up to look out of the window so that he can spot the birds outside. For that reason hubby is known as "Birdy Grandad" so I just knew that he had to have some birds on his card too! These two are separate dies from Marianne design and I cut them both out of brown card stock. I then used a Versamark pen to colour the leaves on the branches and the wings and eyes of the two birds. Whilst the ink was still wet I applied some pearly pigment powders (I used Blonde Moments pigments powders, which I bought from Dyan Reavely at Art from the Heart some years ago) using a fine paintbrush. I brushed off the excess powder and polished with some tissue before adding the bird and branch die cuts to the card using my Zig 2 way glue pen. Finally I added the plane with a dab of silicone and angled it so that it looked like it was banking round. All done!

You do have to imagine that the birds are in the foreground - otherwise they are far too big and out of proportion to the plane - but hubby pointed out that as Max is only two he isn't likely to complain about the perspective just yet (although he is very clever)!

Welcome Little One...

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, our second grandson Joshua! He was born on 5th November, on what would also have been my dear Dad's birthday - and there were plenty of celebrations that night! Here is the lovely little man himself - the photo was taken when he was just a couple of hours old.

We went to visit Joshua and his proud Mum and Dad in hospital the following day. I took this photo of a very happy Grandad holding baby Joshua for the first time ...

 

 

Of course I had to claim a cuddle too! Baby Joshua is adorable and I was very reluctant to hand him back to his Dad (who took this photo) when it was time to leave.

 

 

 

This momentous occasion called for a special card from his Grandparents to welcome the little man. I had done my usual trick of crafting late into the night (or the early hours of the morning to be more precise) to create this card which we took with us to give to his Mum and Dad.

 

 

 

 

I  started with an eight inch square card blank, added an outer layer of pale blue card then two rectangles of floral and striped patterned paper from the Petal Fresh collection by NitWit Collections for Lili of the Valley. I used a Cottage Cutz lace border die to cut a long strip of white paper lace which I stuck across the full width of the card to cover the join in the different patterned paper (although you can only see a bit of it on the right hand side). I tied a double bow from "Queen Blue" coloured seam binding using my "Becca's Peg Bow Maker". This is one of the best gadgets I've ever bought! It makes it really easy to tie pretty bows with multiple loops etc. You can read more about it over on the very talented Becca Freeken's blog here http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/today-is-kind-of-special/ . I added a small nappy pin charm to the centre of my bow and adhered it to the card on top of the paper lace using double sided tape. 

 

The main stamped image is "Special Delivery" from Lili of the Valley http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Stamp_-_Special_Delivery.html , which I stamped onto smooth white card with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured the little bear with my Copic Ciao markers and blender pen then used one of my Spellbinder dies to cut the circle shape. This was layered onto a blue scalloped circle (also a Spellbinders die) and then onto another Spellbinders die cut circle - this time using the smallest die from the Grand Stately Circles set http://www.spellbinderspaperarts.com/products/p-907-grand-stately-circles.aspx. before adding it to the centre of the card.

 

The sentiment and flourish at the top of the card is from the Papertrey Ink "Boutique Borders: Birthday" small set https://www.papertreyink.com/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&search_str=boutique+borders+birthday and the blue card I used to stamp it onto was cut with their co-ordinating die. I used two blue pearls from the Hobby House to embellish it either side of the sentiment.  The circular calendar image at the bottom is from Lili of the Valley http://www.liliofthevalley.co.uk/acatalog/Stamp_-_Calendar.html and I cut it out with a small Spellbinders circle die before customising it with Joshua's date of birth. Finally I die cut the letters to spell out Joshua's name using the same blue card and the "Classic Upper Alphabet Set" of dies from Memory Box http://memoryboxco.com/product_detail.asp?id=98361 . I also have the lower case and numeral sets and they are so useful for personalising cards - I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of them on here in the future! I used a Zig 2 way glue pen to adhere the letters to the bottom of the card and it was finished. 

 

I don't know what Joshua thought of his card, but he certainly looks peaceful here!

 

 

 

Welcome to the world little one!