Celtic Delight in Mandarin and Peach

No, I am not starting to talk about deserts. But on this freezing cold and grey day I could not resist to use some really yummy colours for a Celtic card.

The card is designed around the Celtic Knot Set (CT190M) by Crafty Stamps.

I stamped the large Celtic Circle in black Memento ink, cut it out and coloured it in using ProMarkers in Soft Peach, Peach and Mandarin. For the stamped border I used the triangular stamp and always turned it by 180 degrees to create the border. This was an experiment, but the stamps are so well cut and so great to work with that the first attempt to create the border was already successful. I then coloured in the border using the same three ProMarker pens.

And here are the other elements, which I used for the card:

* 15cm square white card blank with linen texture from Southfield
* Black textured cardstock
* Core'dinations cardstock
* Glass-smooth white cardstock from Southfield
* Square and round Celtic dies by Tonic Studios
* Round nesting dies
* Adhesive pearls in 'charcoal' by Mark Richards (these are distributed by Woodware)
* Die-cutting machine
* Crop-a-dile corner rounder
* Adhesive
* Toolbox essentials

A pearlescent Christmas greeting

The first card that I would like to share with you this weekend was actually only finished today. After seeing the amazing new production of the 'Phantom of the Opera' on Thursday I just felt like creating a card that showcases a bit of opulence, rich colours and shimmer.

I opted for the Crafty Stamps Celtic candle image (XM102M), which I stamped with black Memento ink and coloured it in using the Spectrum Noir pens IG1, BG1, BG2, BG4, BG5, BG7, CT4, OR1, DR1, DR3, JG5 and JG6. I gave the candle some sparkle by using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in 'Clear Star'.

For the base of the card I used a 15cm square white card blank with linen effect from Southfield. Further materials are:

* Brown Centura Pearl cardstock
* Pearlescent cardstock in latte
* A small piece of green Core'dinations cardstock
* White glass-smooth cardstock from Southfield
* Die'sire Embossalicious 6" x 6" embossing folder (I know that some crafters doubt that they go through the Cuttlebug, but I use the 6" x 6" folders without problems with a second generation Cuttlebug)
* Dotted embossing folder
* Marianne Designs holly die
* Paper roses and rosebuds
* Special Delivery wooden ornaments by Trimcraft
* Stickles glitter glue in 'Diamond'
* Adhesive (including a good portion of silicone glue)
* Die-cutting machine
* Toolbox essentials

And another week is nearly over ...

Gosh, what happened to this week? It has just been flying by.

But now is thankfully the weekend, i.e. I have a bit more crafting time again. And that is just the best part of the week. And my five weekly sessions at the gym are also lying behind me, so more crafting opportunities are coming my way for tomorrow.



Here is now the first card of the weekend. I created it around the Celtic Corner stamp (CT172F) from the brand-new Crafty Stamps collection. Further products and tools I used are white and brown textured cardstock, patterned paper, a sentiment stamp, a black VersaFine ink pad, paper flowers, two baby spray stems, brads, a piece of lace, white thread, a Darice border embossing folder, adhesive and toolbox essentials. When I pierced the holes for the stitching my Tim Holtz ruler came in very handy.

If you are interested in any products by Crafty Stamps, you can also order over the phone by calling their shop Stampers Grove. Emma and James are very nice and extremely helpful and would process card payments for you. And next Saturday (21 April 2012) they will also by at the Sincerely Yours show in Edinburgh.

Celtic Heart

This weekend I intend to work on some love and wedding themed card. And here is now the first one.

The image is the Celtic Knotted Heart by Crafty Stamps. It is coloured in using a ProMarker pen in Crimson and matted onto a decorative frame created with a nesting die by Xcut. Further materials and tools are:

• White linen textured card
• Moondust card in Mars
• Small pieces of red and grey textured cardstock
• Glass-smooth white cardstock from Southfield
  
• Darice embossing folder for borders
  
• Marianne Design dies
  
• Adhesive gems
• 0.4mm silver-coloured wire
• Red seed beads
• Decorative heart pin
• Ribbon roses
• White paper flower
• Liquid Pearls
• Adhesive (incl. silicone glue and 3D foam pads)
• Die-cutting machine
  
• Toolbox esentials
  
• Tonic Studios Petal Pairs punches

I hope you like this card and are looking forward to further projects, which will follow over the Easter weekend.

Celtic Cross

I like Celtic crosses on cards for many occasions - weddings, christenings, Easter, Christmas, birthday cards for religious people and sympathy cards to name just a few.

For this card I experimented with the now so popular white on white scheme and carefully added colour to selected areas. I created the card around the brand-new large Celtic Heart Cross stamp by Crafty Stamps. The image is coloured in using ProMarkers in Warm Grey 1 and Warm Grey 3. To make the cross stand out I added a light grey outline around the cross with a Spectrum Noir pen in IG1 (old number: CG0.5). I added accents with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Clear Star.

For the floral embellishments and lace background I used stamps and dies by Heartfelt Creations. I added colour to the lilies with the help of ProMarkers in Gold, Soft Peach and Peach and again a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Clear Star.

By the way, Crafty Stamps/Stampers Grove will also be at the Sincerely Yours show at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh on 21 April 2012.

Homage to Ireland

The new Celtic Harp stamp by Crafty Stamps (CT180HF) just cries out for Ireland inspired projects. And two weeks after we got such a rugby lesson courtesy of the Irish guys every supporter of the SRU team (and I am one of those myself) will hopefully forgive me for honouring our lovely neighbours in such a way ;).

I teamed up the harp stamp with clover 2x2 dies by QuicKutz, paper flowers that I bunched up and secured with small brads to create fuller flowers and adhesive pearls by Meiflower. ProMarkers in Cinnamon and Walnut provided the colouring for the harp. For the background I used apart from light green and brown cardstock a dotted Darice embossing folder.

I hope you like this first project of the weekend. Further cards will follow soon.

Time for another a Celtic card

Yet again I could not resist to play with a Celtic stamp. I just love the possibilities these stamps open up and that they can be used for female as well as male cards.

And it is perhaps also time to say about more about Crafty Stamps, as many of you might not yet have heard of them. Crafty Stamps is an Edinburgh based family business. The owners also run the craft shop Stampers Grove, which has always been a great source for Scottish and Celtic stamps. I have always loved Scottish and Celtic designs, but it is especially nice for me to use images from a local business for my cards.

Today I had a play with the stamp CT138D, which is available from Crafty Stamps or from the Stampers Grove website. I stamped it in black Memento ink and coloured in the ribbon sections using a ProMarker pen in 'Burgundy'.

I used Southfield glass-smooth cardstock for the stamped image, white linen textured cardstock from Southfield for the card blank, black textured cardstock and also Moondust card in 'Mars'.

I framed the die-cut circles using a Crealies doily elements die (CL DE 05), which also provided the decorative corners. Adhesive pearls finished the look.

Playtime

This week I got some of the new Crealies Doily Elements dies and doily templates. And today I just had to have a good play with them to try them out and see how the system works.

For the above card I used a Celtic stamp by Crafty Stamps (CT113Q) and coloured in the image with ProMarkers in Sandstone, Caramel, Duck Egg and Turquoise. I created the frame with the Crealies Doily Elements die CL DE 08 and added black adhesive stones as embellishments.

Something is telling me that I will get more of the doily dies, as I am already hooked on them ...

I hope you like this Celtic card. Have a good Sunday!

Celtic Impressions II

Here are now two more Celtic cards.

Do you remember the Cletic knot stamp that I used for yesterday's card? For the card above I used again the Celtic knot CT133Q by Crafty Stamps, but this time I cut the image into pieces. I stamped the image and cut it then into quarters using a metal ruler and a craft knife. I avoided cutting through the entire cardstock surrounding the image, so that the pieces stayed together and to make it easier to cut equal sections. Then I cut the newly created corner pieces out and coloured the lines with ProMarkers in 'Mustard' and 'Honeycomb'.

For the background I used a piece of Gemstones cardstock that I ran through a Darice embossing folder. The embossing folder is roughly A6 and therefore narrower than the square card blank, but by centering it I could work around that.



For the second card I used the Celtic knot stamp CT107D by Crafty Stamps and gave the card a floral touch. A Crealies Creative Flowers die CL CF 05, Heartfelt Creations Perfect Petals dies and Heartfelt Creations Elegant Single Leaves stamp set took care of the flowers and leaves. For the centre of the flowers I used a Paper Pen, but Liquid Pearls will do the same job.

This time I used ProMarkers in 'Soft Peach', 'Peach', Pastel Beige', 'Umber' and 'Ice Grey 1' (for a bit of shading) to colour in the Celtic knot. For the border strip I used a Tonic Studios Celtic Border Simplicity Pattern Punch.

I hope you like these cards and will keep an eye out for the next Scottish and Celtic cards, which will follow very soon.

Celtic Impressions I

After the Scottish card yesterday it is now time for a Celtic card that is suitable for all occasions. This card is also created with one of those brilliant cling-mounted rubber stamps by Crafty Stamps.



I used:

• Crafty Stamps stamp CT133Q
• Textured cardstock in white, black and light blue
• Neenah card
• Black Memento ink pad
• ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs in 'Cornflower' and 'China Blue'
• 'Royal Fleur 2 in 1 Corner Punch' by Tonic Studios
• Light blue adhesive pearls
• Adhesive (incl. 3D foam)
  
• Toolbox essentials

I hope you like this card. More Celtic cards will follow very soon.