Monday 30 May 2011

Congratulations KB

When I start designing you can never really tell where it's going to take you.  It all depends on the brief you are given, cost, size and the materials all have a factor alongside the fact that nothing leaves my mitts until I'm absolutely happy with the design.  Here is a James Bond themed card that I have made for our friend Kate, its a large A4 card.  I am often guided by the size of image that I have and this is the case in question for this one. I have used a scrumptious background paper from Reminisce called The Graduate which is flocked and has a silver shimmer its a very tactile paper and I wished I had bought more when I was last in America. Of course there is lots of stitching on this card but more importantly I have used the glass beaded stems from Cargo, you will need to pierce the cardstock and "catch stitch" the beaded flowers in place or they will sag( I know that feeling only too well!).  I have used glue in the past but it has always failed me and looks messy, this way its all neat and secure. I like using the Tim Holtz filmstrip die, it has so many uses when you are doing these cards, I have glued vellum behind the die cut.  You could, if you are clever, print onto the vellum your chosen image or sentiment to line up with the die cut so that it looks like a real negative.  Me being me, I have kept it simple and have used pink rub-ons on one of the cells, its a delicate and personal touch and it doesn't detract from the James Bond drawing. So, at the end of my design session this is where it has taken me, I hope you like it? x

Thursday 26 May 2011

Grunged up Mouse

As promised, I have "grunged up" the Birthday mouse, gone are the soft lace effects, replaced by heavier inking.  Now my youngest daughter prefers this one but she says the cards suit the recipients, which, for me, is what making cards is all about. 
What do you think?  Which one do you prefer?
xx

Monday 23 May 2011

Birthday Mouse

Who would of guessed it, a girly card, from me and no stitching!  What's going on??  This card is for my wonderful Mum's Birthday, and she deserves something very special and unique. That sounds just the right words to describe my Mum. I wanted something that was feminine with lots of flowers and sparkle but still a crisp finish, I think I have captured the essence of that? I started with Bo Bunny's flamingo double dot cardstock and a Bazzill green, all items including the flowers were inked using Tim Holtz distress inks-peeled paint and tattered rose. To keep it soft I have used two punches from EK success and I call them miniture lace but you know what I mean.  The glitzy striped cardstock is from Nana's nursery Baby girl pad.  The cute mouse is a new stamp from Creative Expressions Tatty Button range and he is called Pip, I have coloured him in using Copic pens. The background swirl is cut from a Tim Holtz swirl die and the leaves are a Quickutz die. For extra sparkle I have used hat pins, beads, ribbons, brads, stickles, gems and liquid pearls. My next challenge is to make another card using exactly the same materials but I think I will try "grunging it up" on the next one so I will let you see the results of that one next time.  Have fun! x

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Hey Dude!

I know, I know, another man's card.  Once you are focused on a particular subject it's difficult not to go with the flow.  This card is for one of our surfer friends.  I wanted to capture the essence of the whole surfer vibe and I am fairly satisfied with the design. The materials I have used are- cardstock by Payper Box, background stamp by ? Surfer stamp SU Extreme elements, sentiment stamp Tim Holtz ticket, water splash die, Inks used are Archival black, Adirondack Expresso and Latte.  Brown leather thong and blue eyelets are the finishing touches.  Have a great day Dom, I hope it's not a wipeout! x

Monday 16 May 2011

Morale booster..

As part of the Best of British range, I just had to produce this. Originally this was produced by the British Govenment at the beginning of the Second World War intended to strengthen morale in the event of wartime disaster.  Today this is still appropriate as a morale booster and sits nicely in our Best of British range. 
The original would of been a poster but this is a framed piece of artwork.  The wood frame has been painted white, the inner white frame cut from cardstock and sewn with white brads.  The red card stock is Bazzill and the white lettering cut from Sizzix Chunkadelic and limelight alphabets, the crown is cut from a Quickutz die and red gems added.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Denim Jeans

Here is a jeans card that is quite universal, it can be for any occassion, from Birthday to passing your driving test.  Its quite cool in that you can remove the "newspaper" from the back pocket and you can add a voucher/card or money so that it becomes a gift card. I think what sets this apart from other jeans cards is the attention to detail, the top stitching in orange, the loop on the belt that has been sewn on, and the pocket.  To give it some realism it is an actual keyring and key, again these can be personalised for that extra special touch. These will be part of the denim range that will be launched at Silverstone.  x

Monday 9 May 2011

Discover..

Here is a card for little boys! I love Dinosaurs and they are a classic theme for boys cards.
I have blogged this but to be honest its not really floating my boat and I think that I can produce better. Anyhows, the materials I have used are-
Basic Grey Archaic background paper, Basic Grey Dino stamps, cuttlebug embossing folder, Quickutz dies-Dino head, bones and leaf, Kaiser Craft grunge stamp, Distress inks-Vintage photo, brushed corduroy, frayed burlap, antique linen. Gold Krylon pen. Card stock is Payper box and finished off with brown raffia.
I forgot to mention that you can pull out the discover tab and you can discover......

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Boys and their toys..

I have been working on "boys stuff" now for a while and I think this could be another useful addition to those batchelor pads, gaming rooms or men's dens. This time it is a controllerion. Its a cross between a controller holder and a cushion. It can hold all of those gaming controllers without getting lost plus the essential magazines, if you don't like the look of it that side just turn the cushion over to hide away all those trendy gadgets. Either way its a win win situation and very hard wearing. What do you think of the controllerion? x