Category Archives: card

Steampunk or industrial birthday card

birthday card, card, metal tape, steampunk card

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So I was blog hopping the other day and landed on Kaz’s blog where she did a metal foil covered tag inspired by Tim Holtz.  I have used this technique  a few times previously but had forgotten about it and it was just the reminder I needed for creating Kevin’s card.  It more or less uses the same technique but I added some discs, numbers and magic mesh underneath the aluminium tape to give lots of texture and dimension.  I used paper stumps and embossing tools to smooth the tape gently around these additions and going inside all the little squares made by the mesh.  The text I made using metal stamps.  I have used this kind of technique before but instead of using alcohol inks to colour the metal foil in the recesses of the texture I used black acrylic paint then swiped  some areas away with a baby wipe before it had dried completely.

Inks:  Alcohol inks Pitch black, Stonewashed and Rust
Card:  white, black antiqued metal card
Stamps:  metal alphabet stamps
Other:  Aluminium foil tape, small discs, Ideology: fasteners, washers, and cogs. Hammer, wrench, and keyhole brads, small key charm

Anniversary card

anniversary card, card
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Another card taken from the Craft stamper mag this time from May 2012 in the stamping contrast section and this particular one is designed by Liesbeth Fidder.  I love the autumn colours in it and again I didn’t change much at all.  I didn’t have the same colours of alcohol inks that Liesbeth used and I preferred a black card rather than the orangey coloured one she used.  I also made my card much more saturated colour.  The green colour you see in this image is more of a teal colour in real life.

Inks:  for the background: Adirondack colorwash Butterscotch spray and Cosmic shimmer Aqua lagoon. Alcohol inks: Butterscotch, Stream, Willow and Mountain Rose with blending solution,  Stazon black and Saddle brown, Stampin up Taken with teal
Card:  watercolour paper, teal pearlised card, glossy white card, black card
Stamps:  Stampin up Just believe and Cheers and wishes
Other:  punchinella (sequin waste), black pen, 3D pads

Anniversary card

anniversary card, card
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I have a few anniversary cards to make for this month plus a few birthday cards so I have been looking through my Craft stamper mag for inspiration and just loved the card  Paula Whittaker made in the August 2012 issue.  I didn’t change much at all:  I kept her overall design but substituted eyelets in place of washers and I used different stamps.  I didn’t add anniversary wishes to this card but I will be making an insert with the Happy Anniversary message.

Inks:  Stazon black, Distress ink Walnut stain
Card:  white card
Stamps:  Crafty Individuals  C1-207
Other:  eyelets, stitching, Tim Holtz filmstrip, yellow highlighter pen

Simple Steampunk card

card, steampunk card
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It feels like ages since I last blogged so here is the card I made for Mark’s birthday.  ‘Simple’  can’t really be used to describe Steampunk but it does describe the simple layout.  The image was stamped using versamark ink then embossed using a mixture of Kettle copper and Brass embossing powder.  Although you can’t tell from the photo, I used a silver glitter pen to make some of the metallic pipes shiny.

Inks:  Versamark, Versafine Vintage sepia, Distress ink Brushed corduroy
Card:  white, metallic patterned, background paper
Stamps:  Oxford Impression Steampunk elements
Other:  Large brads, gold nail-heads, silver glitter pen, small silver cog (watch part), embossing powders (mix of Kettle copper and Brass), brown water colour pencil to colour the wheels

Gell well soon card

card, get well soon card
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This is quite similar to one I have made before but I changed the colours of the flowers and background paper.  Even though it is floral I think that using purple makes it a little bit less feminine so it could be given to a guy, in this case for Jamie – hope you get well real soon Jamie.

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo black, Marvy le plume pens to colour the stamp flowers and leaves
Card:  white card, purple textured card
Stamps:  Stampin up Hopeful thoughts
Other:  yellow gems, lime green organza ribbon

Semi-abstract Summer

art, card, painting, semi-abstract

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So my mum issued me with a challenge the other day: make a semi-abstract using 3 colours of inks or paints with no zentangle, no stamps and the theme is summer.
This is what I cam up with.  Summer to me is sitting in the garden watching the bugs and seeds and all the other wee dust particles floating about in the breeze.  Did I cheat adding white?  My 3 colours are blue, green and red (using white for highlights and the dandelions seeds).

Inks:  Distress ink Tumbled glass
Paint:  Acrylic paint Moss and Poppy, Antique white
Card:  silk card
Other:  Marvy le Plume pens in green and red, glitter pen (tiny amount in the fluffy part of the seed heads)

I brayered the background all over using the Tumbled glass ink (which in real life looks almost aqua) leaving a central glow.  I loosely painted in grassy leaves and thicker leaves, the stippled over the base to look a bit like moss in the grass using the acrylic paints.  Added some flowers then splattered some red and green.  Lastly I added the fluffy seed heads adding a little glitter pen to the fluffy bits.

It is just the right size to put into an A5 aperture card but is it semi-abstract? not sure.

 

Birch trees card

birch trees, card, Clarity stamps

 

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I came across this tutorial by Amy Pearce by accident and decided I really wanted to give it a go but in a smaller version for a card.  Instead of painting in the trees I thought it might work if I stamped the trees then masked them out before painting in the background.  My first attempt was very bad: I had used a stamp for the trees then masked it out with masking fluid on plain white card and not only did I have to spend 3/4 of an hour de-bunging my masking fluid as it had solidified all the way inside the nozzle before I could even start, but after I had finished the painting and it was time to remove the masking fluid it had stuck to my card too much so it ripped half the surface away too.  Argh!!!
For my next attempt I thought I would do an inky background and add the acrylic paint over the top for more texture.  That kind-of worked.  I stamped the trees, this time cut out a paper mask and used sponges with Distress ink through the mask to make the background. Took the mask off and I then stippled on the acrylic paint but the trees looked too plain and white so I used a water brush with some Pumice Distress ink to go over the trees the used a dry flat brush with Diamond glaze to give a little bit of shine and texture.  Finally I sprayed the picture with a fine water mist just to soften the background a little. Now I know that she called her trees Aspen but I will call mine Birch as the stamp I used is called Birch trees.  I managed to get a rather stripy effect but I would really like to give it a go for real next time and paint in the trees for a proper painting.

Inks:  Black document ink, Distress inks Black soot, Bundled sage, Forest moss and Pumice stone
Card:  white card
Stamp:  Birch trees Clarity stamp
Other: Acrylic paints Cadmium yellow medium, Yellow ochre, and Vermilion, Diamond glaze, old pond pump sponge, black multi liner pen to touch up a few black lines

Fish zentangle card

card, zentangle
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Here is a zentangle thank you card I made for Neill (Sole Seafood Restaurant) and Eve for doing a Seafood Master-class in our house.  It is a long story which I won’t go into too much detail but the long and the short of it is: a very good friend of ours (Graham) bid on this Master-class in the Big Bam Boogie – Charity Fundraiser for MacMillan Cancer Care and he very kindly shared it with us. Not only did we learn some cool techniques but we had a fabulous meal with great company and they even cleaned up afterwards so my kitchen was left spotless.
Thank you Neill, Eve, Graham and Gen.
Pity I didn’t take any photos of the food.

Inks: Black Pitt pen, Marvy Le Plume watercolour pens, Inktense pencils
Card: white card
Other:  white gel pen, glitter pen, aqua lagoon cosmic shimmer mist spray, salt

Faux bronze beermat cards

beermat, card, faux bronze

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I had so much messy fun doing these cards!  I was searching online for some ideas for decorating beermats for my brother’s birthday card and I came across Laura Kimber’s blog with Faux bronze wall plaques.  Thank you for sharing your creations Laura.  I just had to have a go at this technique and although I managed some of it ok I thought that the paper flowers I used were just too flimsy so maybe thicker ones would give more definition.  I added a tiny amount of colour to the flowers and butterfly with rub-on wax just to make them stand out a little more.

 

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First of all I glued a plain napkin to a beermat and made sure there were a few wrinkles in it to give texture.  Then I glued on the other materials (string, fluffy fibre, micro beads, oyster shell grit, paper flowers, butterfly and gems) – that was the messy bit.  After it all dried I painted over the entire surface with black acrylic paint and when that was dry I went over it with gold acrylic paint trying to get most of it on the raised areas.  That was pretty tricky to keep some of the black showing in order to make the texture really stand out.  I went over it again with gold but this time some Perfect pearls to make it glisten a little.  To add more definition a rubbed on some wax and added some little bronze charms and a tiny amount of gold stickles.  The trees beermat is matted onto black card then onto pale gold card and is embellished with tiny bronze coloured brads.  The flowers beermat is matted onto black card with a mixture of copper and brass embossing powder on it then onto dark gold card.   So Chris and Lizzie, I hope you like your birthday cards.

Zentangle birthday card

birthday card, black and white, card, zentangle

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Another zentangle birthday card, they are great for guys cards and you can make them as intricate and fussy as you like.
I stamped the greeting first then drew in the rectangular border.  Masked it then stamped some cogs and some dots.  The rest is doodled zentangle.

Inks:  Black document ink
Card:  black, white,
Stamps:  Stampin up Cheers and wishes, Sense of time and Circle of friendship
Other:   black Pitt pens, masking tape