Not just for Father's Day

Oh, I had so much work planned for last weekend only to do in my lower back on Saturday - and I do not even know how I managed to do that ... So instead of crafting I was in absolute agony, feeding on pain killers and trying to find a position that was half-way bearable. Standing, sitting and lying down was just horror. For a few days I even had to get out of bed (and even by doing that I often came close to screaming), if I just wanted to change my position. Turning round in bed was impossible.

But now the back is much better, the mobility is returning (I can even pick up things from the floor again!) and the beloved crafting is back on the agenda.

The card I would like to share with you today is one for dads, who deserve a thank-you now and again - and not only for Father's Day. To create it I used the brand-new Grace Taylor Modern Cabin products, which are distributed by Trimcraft.

I applied distress inks to the maritime posts and added coloured PVA glue around a day later only to discover that some of the ink started to creep up the tiny pearls a bit. But I actually quite like the look. Due to the impact of the sea water, algae, etc. nothing maritime stays nice, clean and shiny for too long anyway.

A product list and step-by-step instructions for this card can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

And for those of you, who are interested in the dies I used: the posts are from the ocean set by Marianne Design and the sentiment is created using Britannia dies.

Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald Part 2

Here is now the promised blog post with more project ideas for the Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald collection, which is distributed by Trimcraft.

I am starting with another card. This time I have layered up some of the Grace Taylor die-cut shapes to give them more of a 3D feel. You can view a list of the products I used together with step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery. The decorative border is created using a Cheery Lynn die.

But it does not always need to be a card. The die-cuts and sticker flipbook from this collection are also great to embellish smash books or journals.

I am a massive rugby fan (rugby union to be precise). Before last weekend's match between Scotland and South Africa I was so fortunate to 'bump' into the Springboks on two occasions. There was even the chance to chat to a few of the guys. Just when I suddenly ended up right amongst some of them I was glad that we were at their team bus and not on a rugby pitch with an egg-shaped ball in sight ... The Springboks are amongst the best three teams in the world, so these were incredible moments that I wanted to capture - just for myself, so that I can bring back the happy memories of these encounters each time I come across the pages.

In addition to photos I managed to take I collated some further information and arranged all printed materials together with Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald die-cuts and stickers on the pages. A bit of doodling and stamped rugby balls complete the layout.

Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald

 Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald - Good Times

Trimcraft are distributors for the new Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald products. And I have selected this collection, which is great for scrapbooking, cards and more, for my brand-new projects. The colours are fresh and pleasing on the eye. And especially the glittered stickers are very tempting.

These Grace Taylor products are great for quick, yet effective cards.

Grace Taylor Eclectic Emerald - Bingo Fan

The two cards featured in this post just include Dovecraft 6" x 6" textured cardstock, 15cm square linen textured ivory card blanks, Embossalicious embossing folders and adhesive pearls as additional products. A full list of required products as well as step-by-step instructions are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

More is already in the pipeline. It would be great, if you would check for further project ideas on Sunday.

And again Grace Taylor

It is so good that the temperatures are just around 20 degrees and a bit more pleasant this weekend. During the week it was just awful and far too hot here. I tried to finish this card, but just ended up sticking to cardstock and paper ...

And today I  needed a slow start to the day. My ears needed to recover from an amazing 40th anniversary open-air concert by Runrig at Edinburgh Castle. It was absolutely brilliant, but also very noisy. And I must admit, after this excitement and positive adrenaline rush it also took me a good few hours to go to sleep. It was well worth it!

Back to bsiness and the card. My materials of choice were again Grace Taylor products distributed by Trimcraft. This time I combined the scrapbook papers, paper flowers and paper butterflies with Dovecraft 6" x 6" textured cardstock, parchment paper, wire and Dovecraft adhesive gemstones (they come in strips of jewels and contain a whopping 468 pieces, so are great value for money). The ink pads of choice were a black Brilliance ink pad and 'frayed burlap' distress ink. A sentiment by Claritystamp, a leaf die by CREAlies and a mask with dotes were my 'helpers'.

I have again prepared step-by-step instructions for this project. You can view them in my Trimcraft gallery.

Grace Taylor for male cards

Yes, I thought I had organised my office after the move and I really must have done a good job. For the card that I would like to share with you today I needed talcum powder. Usually I have got a small pot and foam applicators. I found the applicators, but where is the small pot with talcum powder hiding? I was searching high and low for 1 1/2 hours (!) and ended up taking the big tub and putting a bit of powder onto kitchen foil for this job. At some point the small pot will probably bite me into my nose ...

But now to the card. I based it around the beautiful Grace Taylor products, which are distributed by Trimcraft. I wanted to explore, if the Grace Taylor products could also be used in such a way that they are suitable for a male card. Even colours of some football or rugby teams contain red tones, so why not opt for a colour combination that includes some? And I must admit that I am quite pleased with the result.

If anybody of you would like to re-create this project, you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery.

Grace Taylor and a new toy

Oops, this blog post is coming on a bit later than intended. I could not resist to watch Andy Murray's final at Queen's and hope that I am forgiven. Congratulations and good luck for Wimbledon to him.

This weekend it was time to play with some Vintage Romance products from Trimcraft's Grace Taylor collection and a new toy that I got just the other day. I had been considering getting a Dymo labeller for some different style sentiments for a while - and a few days ago it finally found its way into my office/craft room.

Full instructions for this card are in my Trimcraft gallery, but here are some more details regarding the punch and the dies I used.

* The border punch is from the Simplicity range by Tonic Studios.
* The decorative corner dies are by Cheery Lyn Designs.
* I used a 2" x 2" die set by QuicKutz for the Eiffel Tower.
* Marianne Designs contributed the parasol die.