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.

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.

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.