'Good Friends.' Last card of 2017.

Good afternoon Friends, Followers and Visitors,

Well that is nearly 2017 over, just a few more hours and it will be 2018.   I wonder what 2018 has in store for us all?    Hopefully a good, positive year!   Have you made any New Year resolutions yet?  mine is to keep my craft room tidy, once I have it the way I want  it -  and that is - tidy lol!!!

This is my last project for 2017.   For this card I have used one of Imagination Craft's gorgeous masks, this is such a pretty mask and I have teamed it up with some beautiful colours for the background, using distress inks and of course a little bit of sparkle lol! on the butterfly!   Below is the finished card.

   
Cut away approximately a quarter of an inch from one long edge of a piece of A4 white card, then fold it in half portrait style to make a card five and three quarter inches by eight inches.

Matt some deep turquoise card onto the base card, leaving a border of the white showing.

Take a smaller piece of white paper and lay the butterfly mask across it.   Colour over the mask with Mowed lawn, Peeled paint, Shabby shutters, Faded jeans and  Stormy sky  Distress inks and using some Red Starlight paint for the roses.   Add a small amount of Bright red Sparkle Medium over the roses and the inner part of the butterfly.

      
Stamp the sentiment using a black ink pad in the top right corner and 'Happy Birthday' in the centre at the bottom of the paper.  

      
Matt this onto the base card using double sided sticky tape.

   
Using a piece of white card, lay the butterfly only from the mask onto it and spread the Vineyard Sparkle Medium over it, using the metal spatula.   Remove the mask and leave the image to dry.

   
When this is dry, cut around the edges and glue the butterfly in position on the front of the card but on a different angle to the original image.

      
Add some silicone glue under each wing to add some dimension to the card.

 
 Glue some turquoise pearls to the body of the butterfly and that is this card finished.

 Thank you once again for visiting and commenting on my blog throughout 2017.   I really appreciate all the support and encouragement you have given me, this spurs me on to keep going with my card making.   I would just like to wish you all a Very Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year when it arrives.   Have fun tonight.   I will be back as usual in 2018.

                                                      HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

                                                                   Love and rainbows,

                                                                    Hugs   Jennifer xx.

Platinum Star Burst.

Hello there,

Hope you are all enjoying  some relaxing time over the Christmas/New Year Break.   We have had a couple of quiet days.   I should be sorting out my craft room before the  craft shows begin again !  I did pop my head in the door but thought better of it lol!   I really must force myself to get in there and
tidy up!   and not get distracted by wanting to craft lol!    a New Year's resolution maybe!!!   Thank you all so much for visiting my blog and your lovely comments which are much appreciated.

Tonight I would like to share a card which was made for Imagination Craft's for one of the shows on the Hochanda T.V. Channel in November this year.

     
Matt a square of dark green card onto the 7" x 7" white base card, leaving a small border of the white showing.

Take a slightly smaller square of white card and paint it with the Platinum Starlight Paint.  

Take the starburst stencil and mask out the shapes around the centre circle with masking tape.   Lay the stencil onto the platinum coloured card and spread the Structure Paste over the design,  including the four corners,  using the metal spatula.   Remove the stencil and wash and dry it, as we will be using it again.

    
When the image is dry, re-lay the stencil back in position on the structure paste image.   Colour the corners with the green and the dots with the Amethyst Starlight Paints, using the large stencil brushes.

     
Colour the outer circle with the Lavender, the next circle with the Amethyst, the next circle with the green and finally the centre with the Amethyst Starlight Paints.  

      
Remove the masking tape from  the shapes around the  outer circle and stipple the green paint through the shapes.   (These shapes have no structure paste added,  they are just painted straight onto the platinum coloured card, which gives a layered look to the card, adding a little interest to the finished project).

Die-cut a flower using the Spellbinder's die and cut away the centre of the flower.   Colour this flower with the green and amethyst Starlight Paints.   Glue this to the centre of the circle.

    
Glue this onto the dark green matt and the card is finished.

That's all from me for the moment, I will be back again soon.   In the meantime stay safe and warm during this icy cold spell.   Hopefully milder weather is on the way lol!

                                                                  Love and rainbows,

                                                                   Hugs   Jennifer xx.

    


 

Vintage Style.

Hi there,

There is not much left of 2017.   For me, this year has positively flown by.    Thought as I became  older, the more time I would have, I worried that I would get bored lol!   ha! ha! that was a silly thought,  no time to get bored lol!    I wonder what 2018 will have in store for us all?    Enough chit chat, it is time for another creation, made for Sue & Harvey of Imagination Craft.   This was made for one of their  Hochanda T.V. shows this November.   I have used some of Imagination's Rice Paper for this card, rice paper no. 232.   I love the designs on this vintage paper,  I can remember my Mother wearing a dress in the same style, such a feminine design, not this colour of course.    O.K.let's get started.

  
Begin by cutting out the part of the rice paper you want on your card front.   Fix this to a square of white card using Imagination's Decoupage glue.   Trim away any excess paper.

Colour some white card with the Mediterranean Sky Starlight Paint and when dry, die-cut four borders using the  Die-Versions border die.   Glue these to the back four edges of the card covered with the rice paper.   Matt this onto the 7" x 7" white base card, leaving a border of white card showing.

Colour a piece of card with the blue Starlight paint and another piece  with the Cyclamen paint.   From these, die-cut three flowers from the blue, using the Memory Box Dies and two from the Cyclamen.    Glue these to the bottom left corner of the base card.   Add some pearl coloured 'Just Pearls' to the centre of each flower.

   
Using the second piece of rice paper, cut out the shoulder wrap and the skirt of the dress.   Glue these onto some white card using the decoupage glue.  

    
When dry, cut them out, trim away any excess card and glue onto the original image on the base card, using silicone glue.

  

   
Cut out the oval with the handbag on it from the rice paper and glue this onto a piece of white card, using the decoupage glue.   Trim away any excess card and glue this on top of the original image on the base card, using silicone glue.

  
Colour a small piece of white card with the blue Starlight paint and another small piece with the cyclamen paint.   Stamp the handbag on each piece using a black ink pad.  

    
Cut out the handbag from the blue card and the front only from the second stamped handbag.   Glue the cyclamen hand bag front to the blue handbag. 

    
Glue this handbag to the right-hand side of the base card.    This card is now finished, hope you like it.     Stay safe and warm in this cold snowy weather.   I will be back again soon.   Take care of yourselves.

                                                                   Love and rainbows,

                                                                   Hugs   Jennifer xx.

    

 

Proud as a Peacock.

Hi there Lovelies,

Happy Christmas, hope you've had a wonderful day.   That's Christmas day over now until next year.   We have had a lovely day with our close family, a quick drink in our local, back home,  opened  our presents,  then had our  dinner.      Everything is now cleared up and put away,  our family have gone home now and  Hubby and I are chilling out in front of the log fire.   It is so lovely to have all the family together, just makes Christmas.    I  know this time of year is difficult for some people and  I fully understand some do not want to celebrate, to those people I send my loving thoughts.

Tonight I would like to share  a card made for Imagination Crafts in July of this year.

     
Cut a piece of white card,  card slightly smaller than the 7" x 7" white base card.   Paint all four edges of this piece of card, using the turquoise Starlight paint.   Matt this onto the base card.

    
Take a smaller square of white card  and colour with the  Sunshine, Light purple & Light green Mixed Media Spray Inks.   When dry, spray with the Gold Shake and  Gilt Spray, then when that is dry, lay the Peacock Feather stencil onto the coloured card and put through an embossing machine.

   
Whilst the stencil is still on the card, colour the feather with the Turquoise Starlight paint, adding small touches of the Menthol and Antique Gold Starlight paints, using the large stencil brush.      Matt this card onto the Turquoise edged card.

   
Using a Versamark pad, stamp the sentiment in the top right corner and heat emboss with gold embossing powder.

    
Glue three turquoise gems to the bottom right.

   
Die-cut the peacock from white card and paint it with the Turquoise Starlight paint.   Add touches of the Menthol and  Antique Gold paints.   Add a small amount of the Cobalt Alchemy Wax to the peacock.

   
Glue the peacock to the feather using silicone glue.   Using Magi-bond glue, fix a turquoise gemstone to the centre of the feather.

That's this card finished.   The sentiment and the die-cut peacock were given free with the Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine some time ago.

Have a great Boxing Day and I'll be back again soon.

                                                                Love and rainbows,
                                                                 Hugs   Jennifer xx.

From Our Gnome to Yours at Christmas.

Hello there,

Christmas will soon be here, I just don't know where this year has gone, it has certainly flown by lol!      Today I would like to share my last Christmas card of 2017 and this was made for our very special Grandson.   I made this card using a fabulous, fun set of die and stamps which were given free with a recent craft magazine.   I just love these two little characters and their 'Gnome Home' lol!   so cute!

   
Matt a piece of red card onto a square white base card, leaving a quarter inch border of the white card showing.

Take a square of white card and colour the top one third with the stormy sky and milled lavender Distress inks adding some white pen dots for the snow, then matt this onto the red card.

   
Take a piece of white card and stamp the toadstool house onto it, using a black ink pad.   Colour this with Promarker alcohol pens and glue to the background matt.

Tear four pieces of white card along the top edges,   keeping the sides and bottom edges straight cut, decide where you want your snowdrifts, then stamp 'With Love at Christmas'   onto the snowdrift  which will then be glued to the bottom right,

Glue these to the sides and bottom of the base card, adding some silicone glue or sticky foam pads behind the top edges of each snowdrift, to raise the edges up to look like snowdrifts.
Next stamp the North Pole sign onto white card using a black ink pad and colour with a brown Promarker pen.   Cut this out and glue behind one of the snowdrifts, on the right  hand side of the card, adding some silicone glue behind the sign.

  
Stamp the two gnomes onto some white card  using a black ink pad,  colour with Promarkers,  pens and cut out leaving a small white border around the outside.

  
Stamp two bobbles using a black ink pad, cut out and glue to the Gnomes hats, using silicone glue.   Stamp the nose and beard of each gnome in black and colour, cut them out,  then glue to the original images.

   
Stamp the nose of each gnome again, colour, cut out and glue to the original noses.
 

 

Stamp the hand and  lamp of one gnome and the hands and present of the other, colour and cut out then  glue to the original images.   Fix the gnomes to the left-hand side of the card.

Glue some Imagination Craft's Cracked ice to the snowdrifts, North Pole sign and the toadstool house roof.   I used Imagination Craft's Magi-bond glue to stick the cracked ice to, works a treat! a good strong glue which dries clear.

      
Using a black ink pad, stamp 'From Our Gnome to Yours' onto a piece of white card, trim and fix to
the top left of the base card.

Well there we have it my crafty friends, all finished, hope you like it.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy 2018.   Have fun.

                                                                     Love and rainbows,

                                                                    Hugs    Jennifer xx.

     

My Poinsettia Tag Tutorial.

Hi there Followers, Friends and Visitors,

Not long now until Santa arrives!   Hope you are just about ready for all the festivities lol!   We are nearly there, just a couple of presents to wrap up and some last minute vegetable shopping.   Thank you for your kind comments on my last blog.

Natalie Reeves and Elizabeth Hogarth have very kindly asked me if I would consider doing a tutorial of my choice for their 'Creative Minds, Kind Hearts FB page and of course I said yes, as I do like to share my projects.   As many of you already know, I have been a designer for Sue and Harvey of Imagination Crafts for over 11 years now and I have loved every moment of it.   I have used many of their fabulous, innovative products for this tutorial.   So, let's get started shall we?   Below is a photo of the finished tag.

Die-cut two large tags from white linen card using the Tim Holtz tag die set.   Leave one tag whole and trim away the edges and the top from the second tag, leaving you with a rectangle.

 
Lay the rectangle onto a piece of  kitchen paper and using the green, red and yellow Mixed Media Spray Inks from Imagination Crafts, spray the rectangle, adding a few 'flicks' of water, then blot dry.

 
When dry, lay the Poinsettia  stencil onto the rectangle, holding it in position with some masking tape.

 
Using a metal spatula, spread the Imagination Craft's Structure paste over the design.   Remove the stencil and leave the image to dry.   Wash and dry the stencil, as we will be using it again.

  
The background colours may seep into the structure paste, (which I think looks quite good) but in this instance, don't worry as we will be painting over the surface of the paste anyway.

Take a small piece of bubble wrap and brush a small amount of white Gesso over the bubble surface and dab this onto the rectangle in a few places.   Add a little red Sparkle Medium and some Coral Reef Alchemy Wax  in an odd place or two, using your fingertip.   The warmth of your finger helps to spread the wax evenly.

     
Lay the clean stencil back in position on the rectangle once again, securing to your work surface with masking tape.

  
Using the large stencil brush, stipple the White Gold Starlight Paint over the poinsettias and scrolls.

The more you stipple, the more the paint sparkles, as this action draws the gilding flakes in the paint, up to the surface.

 
Once again, lay the rectangle onto a piece of kitchen paper and spray the  Dark Brown Mixed Media Ink over the Poinsettias.   Remove the excess ink with some kitchen paper, leaving the ink between the petals (bracts), as this adds some depth to the design.   The White Gold Starlight Paint will act as a resist, so the inks on the petal surfaces can be wiped away.

Matt the rectangle onto some red mirri card, leaving a tiny border the the red showing, then matt this onto the large white tag.

  
Using a paintbrush, add a little water to the white Gesso dots and leave for a few seconds to soak into the card.

   
Next blot with some kitchen paper to 'lift' the brown ink from the white dots.

   
Glue the red mirri card eyelet over the hole in the top of the large tag, then thread some gold cord through the hole.

 
Die-cut four snowflakes (cutting one of them in half)  and glue them to the tag front.   Add a small red mirri circle to the centre of each snowflake, (a half circle to the half snowflakes).

    
Stamp the small 'Best Wishes tag (which was given free with a craft magazine some time ago) onto some white card, using a clear embossing pad, then heat emboss with gold embossing powder,

   
Cut out this small tag and make a small eyelet from red mirri card.   I made mine by punching a small circle,  then an even smaller circle from the centre of the first circle.   Glue this to the hole in the small tag.   Add some gold cord through the hole.   Fix this small tag to the large tag, using silicone glue or sticky foam pads, to add some dimension to the finished design.

 
Make a stand from white card and glue to the back of the large tag.

  
This will enable the tag to be stood up and can be folded flat to put in the post..

Well that's it all finished my crafty friends.   Hope you like it.   The products used are pictured below.    The only item not in the picture is the Imagination Craft's Sparkle Medium, which was an afterthought - just can't beat a little bit of sparkle on your project lol!

  
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best for 2018.   Happy crafting!

Please pop over to the Creative Minds - Kind Hearts  Facebook page and see the beautiful cards made by some very talented crafters.

                                                               Love and rainbows,
                                                            
                                                                Hugs   Jennifer xx.
PS. please scroll down a little to find the 'comment' link.  Not sure why it is so far from my post lol!