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.

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.

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.

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Final Day

There is now only one more stamp left in the current blog showcase dedicated to the new collection of men's stamps by Little Claire: 'Going Out'.

It is again a very versatile stamp that is not just suitable for male cards. What about using it for home related cards, for somebody who is about to go on holiday or perhaps even for a colleague who is moving on?

One of you has the chance to win a 'Going Out' stamp. All you need to do is to leave a comment on the Little Claire blog before midnight today. Just click here to go directly to the post.

And the stamp can, of course, also be ordered via the Little Claire website or by calling the team.

For my card I opted for textured cardstock in white, blue, black and grey. I placed the blue cardstock into the centre of an A6 embossing folder and ran it through the die-cutting machine before finishing the piece with an inverted corner rounder. The grey cardstock was cut into shape with the help of a square label die. I stamped the image onto smooth white cardstock, coloured it in with Spectrum Noir pens and some ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs, rounded the corners and mounted it onto black cardstock with rounded corners before fixing it onto the card with those fantastic large 3D foam squares by Dovecraft. All that was then left to do was to add Candi in black and white as embellishments.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's Little Claire showcase. And good luck to everybody, who is leaving a comment on the post on the Little Claire blog today!

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Day 4

It is time for another image from the new collection of men's stamps by Little Claire. Today the spotlight is on 'DIY'. The image is perfect for house moves, DIY fans and many male cards.

For the card shown in this post I coloured in the image using Spectrum Noir pens and ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs. And if you think that the paint tray is standing on a bit of newspaper ... well, it really is.

I stamped the section onto a bit of old newspaper, cut it out and fixed it to the image. The paint tray and the wee puddle are stamped separately onto smooth white cardstock, cut out, coloured in as usual and then added to the main image. So there is even a bit of paper piecing included in this project.

The background paper is from a Back to Basics II pad by Dovecraft. The tool shaped brads are by Woodware.

Please remember that you can leave a comment on the Little Claire blog up until midnight today to be in with a chance to win one 'DIY' stamp. And those less lucky can purchase it via the Little Claire website or by calling the team.

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Day 3

Today the Little Claire blog preview is dedicated to the new stamp 'In a while ...'. It is again one that is brilliant for cards for male recipients, but is not exclusive to them (there are also sporty ladies with short hair). And it could make a great image for a keen gardener, but also for a less enthusiastic individual who enjoys the breaks more than the actual work in the garden.

Here is the list of 'ingredients' that I used for the card above:

• Little Claire stamp 'In a while ...'
  
• Kraft card
• Core'dinations cardstock
• Watercolour card
• AquaMarkers (applied with a damp brush)
• Black VersaFine ink pad
• Marianne Design dies
• Raffia
  
• File for slight distressing of the birds
• Manual die-cutting machine
• Toolbox essentials
  

And yes, one lucky crafter can again win the stamp featured today. Just click here to go the Little Claire blog, leave a comment before midnight and then keep your fingers crossed.

The stamp 'In a while ...' is available on the Little Claire website. There is currently also a special offer - all six men's stamps for just £29.

Good luck to everybody, who is entering today's competition!