Vintage Christmas

Hi there

Happy Bank Holiday weekend to you all.

Today I am sharing with you my Vintage Christmas gift box and card which was my class on Thursday. My ladies really liked this one and even those who don't usually like sponging/distressing liked the effect it created on this particular project and they also loved the Early Expresso and Cherry Cobbler combination. At my suggestion some ladies just added the sticky strip to the areas needed for putting the box and lid together but didn't actually remove the backing so the whole thing can be easily stored flat until Christmas when they will be ready to use it. This will work really well if you want to make a few of them and don't have an enormous storage area in your craft space.

The next Christmas class is a wooden shadow box picture and the class is on Thur 30th June. If you are interested in taking part in this class on that date or an alternative date please do get in touch as you will need to book your place in order for me to get your frame.

Cards for Men

Hi there
I have had a brief break from my event preparations today as I had my " Jaunty" Ladies for their class today.
They wanted to make a couple of cards for men this week and this is the first design I came up with. It uses one of my favourite colour combinations of Chocolate Chip and Sage Shadow and also a small amount of "Nouveau Chic designer paper. All four ladies enjoyed making this card and loved the colour combination as much as I do. I will be back tomorrow to show you the other card they made.

Inky Fingers

I thought I would again share something a little different with you today. I haven't seemed to have a lot of time to actually "play/ experiment" in my craft room lately but I did make this card and I am quite pleased with the effect.

I began by stamping the trees on Whisper White cardstock in versamark and basic black ink and embossed them using clear embossing powder. I then tore a sheet of plain copier paper and used it to mask the cardstock whilst I sponged on the Old Olive ink for the grassy area. Using that same mask, turned over the other way to cover the green I had just sponged, I covered the top half of my cardstock with Summer Sun ink. I cut a 1 3/8" circle out of a sticky post it note and used it to create a sun in the sky area, slightly overlapping the far left trees. I then sponged over the whole sky area using Pumpkin Pie blending it softly in some areas with the Summer Sun to create a mottled effect. I finished off by using Really Rust along the outer edges and then using a very soft tissue I buffed up the embossed trees to remove the excess ink. I then over stamped the leaves and flowers all around the edge to give the effect of a foliage frame.

I haven't really experimented a lot with this ink effect but as it has turned out well I will definitely be practising more in the future. NEXT TIME THOUGH I will be using those surgical type gloves as I got my fingers totally covered with ink.

Please feel free to leave your comments and tips