A weekend dominated by mixed emotions

Saturday started in a lovely way with the Ross Papercraft Show at the the Meadowbank Stadium. It was fun, there were more exhibitors than ever before and I managed to secure some good bargains. And did I stick to my budget? Erm, ... no ... But the lovely tools, embellishments and dies were worth it.

But as soon as I was home and started to put my feet up with a nice cold drink the sky seemed to literally cave in. It is difficult to digest that our family got hit by two tragic losses at both ends of the age spectrum on Saturday - one expected and limiting suffering but still extremely sad, the other one completely out of the blue.

I have been feeling sad and tearful all day, but instead of tossing and turning in bed I might as well still get a bit of work done and catch up with my blog.

Visitors at the Ross Papercraft Show could see these two cards amongst the sample cards at the Stampers Grove stand.

For the Jacobite card I used the Crafty Stamps images 'Jacobite Warrior' (SC165N) and 'Arthurs Seat' (SC159M). I combined it with paper roses by Wild Orchid Crafts, thistles from Stampers Grove (the home of Crafty Stamps) and an embossing folder from Sheena Douglass' Indian collection.

The second card is created using Crafty Stamps' rockhopper penguin (AN143B). It is based on  a Dovecraft 5" x 7" card blank that I transformed with the help of Sue Wilson's background die from the Californian collection. The Sue Wilon die and the wooden shapes on this card are also from Stampers Grove.

Both images are stamped with VersaFine ink pads and coloured in using Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Derwent blender pens.

Scottish Teddies

This weekend I really wanted to have a play with my Tonic Studios delicate lattice dies. I have had them for about two weeks but not sufficient time to try them out. The large dies work well with the oval Spellbinders dies. And the space in the centre seemed to be just perfect for super cute images of Scottish teddies.

For the teddies I used the rubber stamps SC167F (Teddy) and SC4S (Westie and Teddy Set) by Crafty Stamps. I stamped the small teddy first. Then I created a mask of the small teddy from sticky notes, covered the small teddy and finally stamped the larger teddy. As colouring medium I referred back to my trusted ProMarkers, as the ultra-fine nibs are just perfect for small sections of stamped impressions. I mounted the image onto metallic DCWV cardstock from my stash and then the pearlescent delicate lattice die-cut.

For the background I decided on pearlescent Moondust cardstock in 'Crystal' from Southfield embossed with an Embossalicious folder by Crafter's Companion and mounted onto beige pearlescent cardstock. The card blank is 15cm square and linen textured from Southfield. Embellishments are paper roses from Wild Orchid Crafts and Trimcraft (I used packs from the Lillibet and Santa's Workshop collections). The small dies from the Tonic set and the metallic cardstock took care of additional accents amongst the flowers.

People of Scotland

It is really time to share again a couple of Scottish cards with you.

For the two cards featured in this post I used images by Crafty Stamps, which come as cling mounted stamps made from quality grey rubber. Due to this they do not require any preparation prior to use, are easy to store and provide great stamped impressions. For the tartan sections I opted for the paper piecing technique and incorporated tartan paper. And as both images are quite detailed I chose ProMarkers for the colouring in of the scenes.

Is the fiddler in the card above not great?! A real character. This one is image SC164Q by Crafty Stamps. Due to his more 'unpolished appearance' and the masculine feel of the card I kept the embellishments simple with just a few black nailheads by Mark Richards, which are distributed by Woodware. I wanted to let one of my 'guilty pleasures' from this week, a Celtic knot geared border punch by Tonic Studios (I just could not resist to get it as soon as I saw it), dominate the background.

The second card shows a dancing couple (Crafty Stamps image SC162M). For the background of this card I decided on the gothic square Simplicity Verso die set by Tonic Studios. A decorative bow created from dotted organza ribbon by Woodware and two decorative pins, which I added with a bit of silicone glue, are completing the card. The ends of decorative pins can be very sharp, so I trimmed off the pointed ends with a wire cutter once I had added them to the bow.

If anybody of you is coming to Edinburgh for one of the festivals, perhaps pop into  Stampers Grove near Fountainpark. This is the home of Crafty Stamps, and you could explore their entire range in real life.

Finally Back ...

I seem to have been away for ages, but the work at the house and the move just brought so much work and trouble with them. Believe it or not, we have been faced with so many delays that the work at the house is STILL not finished. And there are also some boxes, which still need to be unpacked.

But my office is taking shape and I am slowly starting to find my craft stuff again - although I must admit that there are still a few items that are still hiding from me. Or the gremlins are still playing with them ...

Today's post is mainly catching up with work that I have not yet shared with you. All the stamps are by the Edinburgh-based business Crafty Stamps, which will also be at the Ross Papercraft Show in Edinburgh on 1 June 2013.

For the first card I stamped the thistle image SC169M with VersaFine ink onto watercolour card and coloured it in with Letraset AquaMarkers, which I applied with a damp brush. I also used white linen textured cardstock by Southfield and Core'dinations cardstock.  For the decorative rctangle I used a Die'sire die by Crafter's Companion. Organza ribbon by Woodware and adhesive pearls by Meiflower are completing the project.

The second piece is based around the cottage stamp SC160M. I stamped it onto ivory glass-smooth card by Southfield  and gave it a slight shading with coloured pencils. The features in the night sky are highlighted with the help of a Quickie glue pen and gilding flakes. I also used: ivory linen textured cardstock by Southfield, gold mirri card, Black Magic cardstock by Core'dinations in combination with a sanding tool, a Darice embossing folder, a Cheery Lyn die, a Dovecraft heart punch and adhesive gold-coloured pearls. I used the K & Company smash date stamp for the sentiment.

The final projectfor today features again a thistle image. This time it is created with the stamp SC168HF. Apart from white and black cardstock and a sheet of Dovecraft Back to Basics patterned paper I used circle dies. The feature behind the round toppers is created with the help of a Joy! corner die. I cut two black corners and joined them at the back of the topper. The sentiment stamp is also by Crafty Stamps (HB114L). Black adhesive gems are finishing the card.

So, that is the catch-up done. From now on I will be posting again on a regular basis and show you brand-new projects.

Crafty Stamps Sneak Peek 2

Our move is now in full swing (and that although the work at the house is still continuing), so time to craft is very limited. And it does not help when a lot of craft items are already packed up or already at the house. And this weekend is so bad with very little sleep that I just had to escape into my own little world for a few minutes and make a quick card.

For this card I used again a brand-new image by Crafty Stamps, which is due to be released soon. I have been trying to find an image of a decanter and a whisky glass for many, many years, so I am absolutely over the moon about the stamp featured in this sneak peek.

In addition to the new image by Crafty Stamps I used the following products for this card:

* White textured cradstock
* Green textured cardstock
* Tartan paper
* White glass-smooth cardstock by Southfield
* Memento ink pad
* ProMarkers
* Sakura Gelly Roll pen 'Clear Star'
* Octagon dies
* Die-cutting machine
* Adhesive
* Toolbox essentials

And if you have a chance to go to the Sincerely Yours show in Edinburgh on 20 and 21 April 2013, please have a look at the Stampers Grove/Crafty Stamps stand and say hello to the team.

Crafty Stamps Sneak Peek

Do you like to incorporate Scottish images into your crafts? They are not only great for patriotic Scots and holiday keepsakes, but also brilliant for elegant cards in general. Some images make good focal points for quirky cards.

Today I would like to give you a sneak peek on a new stamps by Crafty Stamps, the Edinburgh based stamp manufacturer that is at home at the craft shop Stampers Grove.

I just love this image of a Highland dancer, which reflects all the grace and elegance connected with this beautiful skill.I coloured her in using ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs and used the paper piecing technique for the kilt and kilt hoses (I stamped the image onto tartan paper, cut out the relevant sections and added them to the card).

And here are the ingredients used for this project:
* Square white card blank
* Tartan paper
* Core'dinations Black Magic cardstock
* Glass-smooth white cardstock from Southfield
* Die'sire Emobossalicious embossing folder
* Label die set
* Organza ribbon
* Adhesive pearls

If you like this stamp, please keep an eye on the Crafty Stamps website or the Stampers Grove website for this and many other new releases that will be available in the near future.

The Scottish Outdoors

You have not seen Scottish themed cards from me for a few weeks, so I thought that I would rectify this immediately.

Deer are so typical for our outdoors. And I just love the beautiful stag rubber stamp by Crafty Stamps. I opted for a combination of kraft cardstock, green Kraft-Core cardstock by Tim Holtz and embellishments in cream and brown tones. Here is what I used:

• Crafty Stamps image SC146HF
• Kraft cardstock
• Tim Holtz Kraft-Core cardstock by Core-dinations
• Ivory glass-smooth cardstock by Southfield
• Black Memento ink pad
• ProMarkers in Warm Grey 3, Warm Grey 4 and Warm Grey 5 for the antlers
• Spectrum Noir pens in BG4, BG5, BG8 as well as a ProMarker in Pastel Beige for head and body
• Spectrum Noir pen in IG1 for the shadow
• Round Spellbinders dies
• Tonic geared border punch
• Cheery Lynn die for the leaves
• Sheena Douglass embossing folder
• Sanding tool
• Brown paper blooms
• Cream ribbon roses
• Rosebuds in 'coffee'

For the second card I used again Crafty Stamps images, but this time heat embossed them in silver. This time I used:

• Crafty Stamps image SC150F
• Crafty Stamps set SC1M
• White DL card blank
• Textured cardstock in two shades of purple
• A small piece of green cardstock
• Versamark ink pad
• Silver detail embossing powder
• Lilac ribbon
• The London Line premium gemstones by Trimcraft
• Thistles
• Cheery Lynn die for the leaves
• Woodware stamp positioner for aligning the images of the border strip

I hope you like these cards.

Little Drummer Boy

What a day! I assume it will be noisy here tonight considering that the Scottish cup final is turning into an Edinburgh derby in Glasgow. Football fans will probably party everywhere - especially as this is the first cup final between both Edinburgh clubs since 1896.

Unfortunately I am nursing a very sick QuicKutz Epic Six that suddenly only wants to work with Cuttlebug plates (and that only with the stick and carrot approach) and seems to be allergic to QuicKutz plates. Something is telling me that I will need to think about replacing it at some point. But at least I managed to convince it to produce the die-cuts for today's card.



I used Marianne Designs button dies and the Tim Holtz Alterations washer border die, which I combined with textured cardstock in three colours, tartan paper as well as black and white baker's twine.

The image is created with the Scottish Drummer stamp by Crafty Stamps. I coloured it in using ProMarkers in Almond, Satin, Sandstone, Umber, Burnt Sienna, Burgundy, Black, Cool Grey 5, Ice Grey 2, Warm Grey 3 and Warm Grey 4 plus Spectrum Noir pens in DG4 and IG1 (the last one for the shadow around the drummer). For the kilt I stamped the relevant section of the image onto tartan paper, cut out the kilt and added it to the stamped drummer.

Edinburgh Castle

This weekend I had a play with the Edinburgh Castle stamp by Crafty Stamps, which is also available from their shop Stampers Grove. I just love this image of this important Scottish landmark, which is so full of history.

For the card above I stamped the image with Tim Holtz distress ink in 'walnut stain' onto parchment paper and give it a light colour wash with Tim Holtz distress markers in 'frayed burlap', 'antique linen' and 'walnut stain' as well as with a bit of ink from an 'antique linen' distress ink pad that I applied with a damp paint brush in the area of the buildings.

For the background I used textured cardstock from the Tim Holtz & Ranger Distress Collection by Core'dinations in combination with a Darice plaid embossing folder and a fleur-de-lys corner punch by Tonic Studios.

The card is embellished with paper flowers that I ran around a distress ink pad in 'walnut stain', Adirondack Dimension Pearls in 'Espresso, a Tim Holtz adage ticket and leaf die-cuts, which I created with Crealies dies.



For the second card I used parchment paper, textured cardstock in two brown tones and kraft cardstock. I stamped the castle image in 'walnut stain' distress ink and highlighted parts of the walls with a distress marker in 'walnut stain'.

Embellishments are Celtic borders created with a Tonic Studios geared punch and card candi from a 'Choc-a-Mocha' pack.

Monochrome with purple

Today I wanted to create a card with typical Scottish images but give them a more modern twist. The result is a monochrome card with a hand-stamped background and purple influences brought in via adhesive gemstones and thistles.

I refrained from colouring in the piper but ran a light grey Spectrum Noir pen around the image to give it an optical lift. A Gelly Roll pen took care of some glitter accents on the stamped background.

My 'helpers' in the process were:

• Crafty Stamp Bagpiper (SC141N)
• Small bagpipes and glengarry stamps from the Crafty Stamps stamp sets SC2M and SC3M
• Crealies Doily Elements die CL DE 05
• Dovecraft Tea Party adhesive gems & pearls
• Thistles
  
• Sakura Gelly Roll pen in 'Clear Star'
• Black Memento ink pad
• Spectrum Noir pen IG1 (old name: CG0.5)
• White A6 card blank
• Smooth white cardstock
• Black textured cardstock
• Oval and scalloped oval cutting dies
• Corner rounder
• Adhesive (incl. silicone glue)
• Toolbox essentials

I hope you like the card. Thank you so much for visiting my blog.

And already the start of another week ...

What is it with weekends that they always seem to be over as soon as they have begun ... Now it is already Monday night and the working week has taken over yet again.

Today I would like to share another Rabbie Burns card with you. But this time his songs provided the inspiration, so I combined the rubber stamp SC125HF by Crafty Stamps with a music sheet embossing folder by Darice. For the ornamental die-cut shape I used a Marianne Design die.



The second card features the famous Greyfriars Bobby. This time I used the stamp SC118B by Crafty Stamps. I combined the image with an embossed background, thistles, ribbon roses and die-cut leaves created with a Crealies die CL CS 16.

I hope you like the cards and are looking forward to more Scottish and Celtic cards.

Rabbie Burns

The main season for Burns Nights might lie behind us, but Rabbie Burns is always a good choice for Scottish cards. And Rabbie Burns images are also brilliant for the often so tricky male cards.

I created the card above with the Rabbie Burns stamp SC125HF by Crafty Stamps, a cling-mounted rubber stamp. The image is coloured in using Spectrum Noir pens.

The book is created using a QuicKutz die. Marianne Design dies took care of the tree and the fence. For the background I used a vintage word background stamp by Heartfelt Creations (sorry, it is not a poem by Rabbie Burns), which I used with a VersaFine ink pad in 'Vintage Sepia' on parchment paper by Crafter's Companion. For the ageing look around the edges I used a 'tea dye' distress ink pad.

From Scotland with love ...

One of my resolutions for 2012 is that I want to dedicate more time to Scottish and Celtic cards. So you will see a lot more projects with these themes going forward.

A recent blog post by the lovely and talented Louise provided me with inspiration for some crafty playtime and experimenting with a more simplistic style. It is just always so tempting to try something different.


For my take on the technique, for which I did not follow the one-layer principle, I used:

• Thistle stamp SC113HF by Crafty Stamps
• Sentiment stamp
  
• Textured cardstock in white, light purple and dark purple
• Neenah card
• Dovecraft adhesive gemstones
• Heart cutting dies
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink in 'milled lavender' and 'dusty concord'
• Black VersaFine ink pad
• Adhesive (incl. low tack masking tape)
• Stipple brushes
• Sticky notes and pencil
  
• Toolbox essentials

This is how I created the main section of the card:

Initially I used a sticky note, drew a pencil line along the inside of the heart cutting die and cut the heart shape out to create a mask. In the next step I stencilled the heart in 'milled lavender' onto the piece of Neenah card with the heart die held in place by small pieces of low tack masking tape. Then I masked this heart after a short drying time, re-positioned the heart cutting die and applied the 'dusty concord' distress ink. Eventually I stamped the thistles in black ink, so that they overlapped both hearts.