Creations From The Heart

Bronc Buster card

Today I did a workshop for Helen and here is one of the cards we made.  She wanted me to make up a male card using a horse so I grabbed the Bronc Buster set which I hadn't thought much of until I started playing with it.  I'm really impressed with it and even this colour combo I used has grown on me.  The idea for this card came from Yvonne's blog and I think she received it in a swap with Ngaire Anderson.  I always like to get some inspiration from somewhere to get me going and I love how rough and rugged this card has turned out.  My main pic is a little orange so the colours are never true-to-life due to the light I photograph in, but you get the idea.

Stampin' Up products used:
CARD:  Basic Grey, Really Rust, Blue Bayou, Black, Kraft
INKS:  Chocolate Chip
STAMPS:  Bronc Buster, Life Definitions, Linen
OTHER:  Edge distresser, eyelet, Crop A Dile, Chocolate Chip thin grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, sponge

And here's a little gift I gave to Helen for having me there today.  Got this idea from Splitcoast Stampers from a tutorial that Beate John's had written on the ribbon sliders.  I omitted the ribbon pull bit and just popped in a sachet of hot chocolate.

Again, my colours are not too good but I had to take them last night as I gave them to Helen today.

Stampin' Up products used:
INKS:  Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Pumkin Pie, Versamark
CARD:  Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
STAMPS:  Always, Short & Sweet, Bodacious
OTHER:  Clear Embossing Powder, brad (my own stash), 1/4 circle punch, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, white pencil (my own stash), corner rounder (for scallops)

Lovely As A Tree card

Wanted to post this card that I made at my last workshop for Deanne.  I wanted to try a card shape that was a little different so came up with this one...don't even have a name for it!  But the base is Blue Bayou, the next colour on the back piece is River Rock, then I've used Very Vanilla.  The front piece has Glossy Cardstock on it.

On the back piece, I have used stamps from Carte Postale in Mellow Moss ink that has been stamped off.  I have also distressed the edges of the cardstock with an edge distresser and ink too.

I have used our Round Tab punch to make an index tab out of patterned paper from the Brocade Background set which has been inked in River Rock.

I had a bit of a play around with the glossy cardstock piece using the brayer to give me a little hill for the tree to sit upon.  I've used a number of coloured inks with the brayer including Sky Blue and River Rock.  Further colours were sponged on to give some dimension to the ground and sky.  I then used a tree from the Lovely As A Tree set and coloured this with assorted markers.  Because the stamp slipped across the glossy surface (yes, I know for next time!), half my image was perfect while the other half was blurred so I just messed it up a little more by using a sponge in a circular motion to make it look more like a windblown tree!  See there's always a way to hide or blend in your boo-boos!  I then did some more sponging around the tree with Mellow Moss, Going Gray and Really Rust and finished up adding some Crystal Effects dots around the tree to give it depth.  Lastly, I used Black Staz On for a greeting from Sincere Salutations.  I used my Crop A Dile to punch a small hole in the corner and had a brad out of my stash to finish it off.  Something a little different but I like!

cards for dad

 

Tomorrow I have a workshop where the hostess has requested we do some masculine cards.  As most of us know, they are probably the hardest to come up with as we tend to stock up on flowers and swirls and the like which don't really suit a man's card.  So I've had a go at two cards using similar colour bases and just changed the elements around to make them totally different.  In Australia, we celebrate Father's Day in September, so there's plenty of time to make your special Dad up a card like this but I believe it's very soon in other countries.

All Stampin' Up products have been used:

CARDSTOCK/PAPER:  Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip, Spring Break double-sided paper

INKS:  Versamark, Chocolate Chip

STAMPS:  Classic Stars jumbo roller, Occasional Greetings

OTHER:  Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, Earth Elements brads, large star punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Cutting Tool

STAMPS:  Classic Stars jumbo wheel, Bronc Buster, Short Order Alphabet

CARD/PAPER:  Mellow Moss, Really Rust, Outlaw double-sided paper, Chocolate Chip

INKS:  Versamark

OTHER:  Cutting Tool, gold embossing powder, XL eyelets, Crop A Dile, heat gun, Natural Hemp Twine, Stampin' Dimensionals, Embossing Buddy (otherwise the gold e.p. stuck to all the stars that I'd inked yesterday!).

more cards for workshops

Yesterday I went across to Altona on the most freezing May day ever I think...plus it rained non-stop the whole day and night so I got a little lost on the way home in the dark pouring rain!  But I made it back safely and now wanted to share some of the cards I made which will be sent back to my hostess Helen as I hadn't take any pics of them to share on my blog!

This is the first card we made using the gorgeous "Fabulous Flowers" set and also "Sprinkles".  I have used Blue Bayou and Confetti White cardstock.  I've rounded the corners of my card and added Purely Pomegranate stitched ribbon.  I've stamped the wording using Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate and Black Staz On inks.  And finally the big flower that I absolutely love!  I used a regular size card and stamped the flower onto it about 2cm down from the top right corner.  I then diecut it out and trimmed my card in 3cm from the right edge to expose the wording inside.  I used the rock and roll technique on all my flowers stamped in this card.  The top two flower layers have also been glittered with Dazzling Diamonds and I added some Crystal Effects to the top flower.  I really, really love this card and the glitter just sets it all off!

We also made a Christmas card and I've made up two samples showing slight variations on the first one.  I've used Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla & Bravo Burgundy cardstock.  I've used the tree from the Happy Holidays stamp set on both cards and inked the stamp in Always Artichoke and then tapped Bravo Burgundy ink around the edges to get a two-toned effect.  On the first card, I've then used my Stamp A Ma Jig to align up the tree and stamped it in Versamark then added clear embossing powder to give it a nice dimensional look which you can't really see from the picture.  I've added some glue into the stars and present and then sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds into them.  For the second card I stamped the image and sponged the card with my inks and distressed with edges of the Very Vanilla with my Cutting Tool.  You'll see I've played with the scalloping on the Bravo Burgundy mats using the corner rounder punch and the Crop A Dile.  I've also stamped the background of the second card with En Francais background stamp in Always Artichoke ink.  Oh yes, I've stamped a greeting from the Short & Sweet set in Whisper White on my first card too.

Helen had four of her lovely grandchildren participate in our workshop yesterday and here's a little pic of all the kids with their creations!  They even made me a card too which I forgot to pick up so thanks a lot kids...you did really well and hope you all enjoyed your Grandma's workshop!

Yesterday I had a bit of a sore throat which never really bothered me but today I woke up with a totally congested head and really sore throat.  I've laid on the couch all day today feeling very lethargic and my head felt like it weighed 10 tonnes.  I couldn't sit up or I felt like I was going to fall over.  So went and got some over the counter stuff from the chemist and feel a little better tonight but my nose is totally stuffed up.  Ryan's had some discharge coming from one of his ears and he's had a cough for a week or two so we're a nice, healthy bunch here in the Dale house!  But that's what this cold weather does to you....but talking of weather, I'm heading off to sunny Cairns with my parents in a few weeks.  I've mentioned to some of you that we were planning on travelling for a few months with my family - we were going to drive our cars and head up to Northern Queensland.  But after reviewing everything, we've decided to do this short trip with Mum and Dad who'll then come back and head off in their caravan touring.  My mortgage payment went up $50 a fortnight last week plus Mark's child support is dropping $130 per fortnight from 1st July plus with the price of putting the cat in a kennel, petrol while we're away, etc it really wasn't viable for me to be away for an extended trip.  So my parents are shouting us to Cairns which I've never been to before and we're hoping to stay in a very big resort that caters for kids so we'll have plenty for them to do and the weather....I'm hanging to get into some tropical heat after freezing my little butt off here!!

criss cross card (post has been edited)

[edited 3rd May 7.45pm - I did the white gel pen doodling on the card insert and I also added in the candle and a little mini purse I've made with a gift inside.]

Here's a criss cross card that I'm teaching at my Stamp Club workshop on Sunday.  Pene asked for it to be made as a mother's day card but you can adapt the colours, papers and elements to make it whatever theme you like.  I meant to do some doodling in white gel pen on the card insert but took the photo first.  I thought this might match the white flower outline on the patterned paper.

STAMPIN' UP PRODUCTS USED on card and candle:

Inks:  Sahara Sand, Really Rust, Staz On Black, Old Olive

Stamps:  Baroque Motifs, Occasional Greetings, Short & Sweet

Papers/Card:  Sahara Sand, Really Rust, Fall Flowers designer series paper, Old Olive, C6 envelope Whisper White

Other:  Crop A Dile, eyelet, round tab punch, small corner rounder punch, Old Olive ribbon (retired), sponge for distressing edges, hemp twine, word window punch.

Products used on mini purse:

My own white ribbon, Wild Wasabi cardstock, Old Olive ink, Whisper White ink, Crop A Dile, Rhinestone Brads, my own flower punch, sponge for distressing.  The instructions for this little mini purse came from this link http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=cf_25RSj-x0.  I forgot to put the little band around mine as it lifts the bag a bit more - mine is too plain but it's quick and simple and you could pop a chocolate, mintie or fantale inside.

Variation on yesterday's card post

Thought I'd make a variation of the card that I posted yesterday - on this one I have embossed the flowers on the Celery cardstock, the words around the heart on the [edited to add: So Saffron] cardstock and the word 'happiness' on the Pretty in Pink cardstock.  Both images were stamped in Versamark and embossed in clear powder.  They both stand out much more than the previous version.  I really like this colour combo!

another tag for next workshop

Here's a little tag I've made to our collection for Gail's workshop on Sunday.  This one uses Sage Shadow cardstock, Vellum cardstock, ric rac from the Flirty ribbon pack in the Summer Mini (this ribbon pack is just luscious!), Whisper White craft pad, Ballet Blue ink, a brad & button from Earth Elements, white embossing powder, white string, twill, Prima flower, Making Memories staples and stamps from Greetings Galore and Alphabits (alphas cut out with 1/4" circle punch).  The image has been coloured on the back of the vellum with Stampin' Markers so you just see a soft subtle colouring.  (again not a bright pic but you get the idea)

Quick card shares

Here's another take on the card I posted last post...I like to give the ladies at my workshops a couple of variations on their cards so they can see how easy it is to modify the ones I've made as samples.  This time I stamped the French Flair stamp in Versmark so it was a bit more subtler than the black StazOn (thanks for the suggestion Mary!).  I also used two other stamps from Small Sayings.  On the middle white piece, I sponged the outer part in Pink Passion and the inner part in Lovely Lilac and popped some Crystal Effects and Dazzlig Diamonds on the flower centres.  I also masked off the flowers so I could stamp the swirly stamp from the Friendship Blooms set.

This card is one I am giving as my door prize at today's workshop.  It's a pocket heart card thingy and inside it I'm going to put some ribbon samples for the lucky winner.  I've used Cameo Coral card for the card and Ruby Red for the hearts up the top.  I've used stamps from Simply Said, Time Well Spent (a new stamp from the 2008 Idea Book - it will be a Hostess Gift), Stamped From The Heart & Beyond The Basics.  Inks used are Whisper White Craft Ink, Regal Rose, Pale Plum & Perfect Plum.  Other things used were Stampin' Dimensionals, 2 Way Glue Pen & Dazzling Diamonds.  Sorry it's a bit late for those Valentine's Day gifts but you could give it for a wedding/engagement with a gift card in it and even cover the back or the front parts in patterned paper.  If you want the template emailed to you, just let me know.  Anyway, got 10 lovely ladies due at Deb's workshop today, so should be another fun day!

Workshop card share #2

Wasn't sure about this colour combination but think it all comes together okay.  Not to sure about my dodgy watercolouring abilities but I'll get there.  Never did excell at art in my school days!  This is the second card that I'll be teaching at my weekend workshop.  So what's the recipe for this one:

STAMPS:  French Flair (Summer Mini), Friendship Blooms (Sale A Bration) & Small Sayings (Summer Mini)

CARDSTOCK: Pink Passion, Whisper White, Basic Black

INKS:  StazOn black, Watercolour Wonder Crayons (Bold Brights & Rich Regals)

OTHER:  Black gingham ribbon, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin' Dimensionals