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.

Fizzy Moon to the Rescue

What can a crafter do when a card is required in a hurry?

Recently I was so glad that I have my Fizzy Moon decoupage and paper pads by Trimcraft, which not only contain beautiful die-cut decoupage images but also glitter card and patterned paper/light cardstock. Just some white textured cardstock, dies by Marianne Designs, paper roses and rosebuds, some adhesive pearls and a corner rounder were enough to create an urgently needed wedding card (somebody forgot to tell me that he needed one ...). It was actually a pleasant surprise how the card turned out with such a minimum of products.

The pads are also great for crafters, who have a less extensive craft stash or cannot access all their craft items due to holidays or a move (and I have gained more then enough experience with the latter one over that last few months).

1st Ross Papercraft Show in Edinburgh

Today was the day of the first Ross Papercraft Show in Edinburgh. It was really nice to get there, as I had to miss the SECC and the Sincerely Yours show due to our move. I was pretty good when it comes to the craft spending, but I am over the moon that I found a set of ink blending mats (one in A4, one in 12" x 12" and one in A3) at the organisers stall. They are like the SplodgeAway mats but much more affordable. I am already using a 12" x 12" mat and wanted to get a smaller size anyway (and I can always cut the larger ones to size), so I am a pretty happy bunny that I have saved so much money. And other crafters in the area can also benefit, as Stamper's Grove are now also stocking the mats.

The card above is one that I made for the Stamper's Grove/Crafty Stamps stall as pretty much last minute addition. It features their Domestic Goddess stamp 'with husband' (DG110M) stamped with black Memento ink and coloured in using ProMarkers.

Further materials:
* White linen textured cardstock by Southfield
* Patterned paper
* Dovecraft 6"x6" textured cardstock pad
* Paper roses and rosebuds
* Decorative pins
* Adhesive

Further tools:
* Die-cutting machine
* Border die by Marianne Designs
* Heart-shaped die by Joy! Crafts
* Toolbox essentials

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.

Border Collie

I really like the new border collie image by Crafty Stamps (AN113F). It pictures such a beautiful furry friend. When I saw the stamp my very first thought was to use it in combination with peg stamps - and so I had a play this afternoon.

The stamped image only needed a bit of colouring with Spectrum Noir pens, so I brought in some colour with the peg stamps which I used with Distress Markers. This also allowed me to use more than one colour for some of the stamped images, which are included in the 'Butterfly Blooms' set by Rubber Stamp Tapestry and the 'Highland Winter' Majestix set by Card-io.

Apart from round dies I also used a decorative Die'sire die by Crafter's Companion.

The embellishments are deliberately kept simple with heather and thistles joined together with organza ribbon by Woodware to avoid covering up too much of the stamping.