Saturday, January 24

Scrap Card #4

Orange is not a colour I use regularly, so I was quite surprised to find so many off cuts in my scrap box.  I can't even remember what the original project was that generated so much extra paper, but it must have been pretty big!
 

Thursday, January 22

New Release: Tell it to the Trees

Trees and garden scenes are so versatile for card makers because they're appropriate for many different occasions, such as sympathy and thank you cards.  This set includes six sentiments that you can mix and match with the tree images to create the perfect greeting.
 
Tell it to the Trees

Susan's Card

Renee's Card

Ilaria's Card

Gail's Card

Christine's Card

Tuesday, January 20

Scrap Card #3

I'm really enjoying the process of making these scrap cards... having the bases already done makes the construction so much quicker and easier.  I've also noticed that the different colour combinations help to get the ideas flowing.
 
 

Sunday, January 18

Tutorial: Collage Cards

I had the best time creating these collage cards using a variety of stamps, papers and water based inks.  Although I think I was a little too experimental with the colours on this first card, it was still lots of fun to throw around different inks and water just to see what happened.  I thoroughly recommend having a go!
 
 
You'll need a piece of watercolour paper, a water pen, spritzing bottle filled with clean water, a collection of stamps, water soluble ink and a dark coloured oil based ink (not shown).
 
 
Start by stamping the background with the lightest coloured inks.  Do some spritzing or use the water pen if desired.

 
Now just add stamps!

 
I used a black, oil based ink for the script and sentiment stamps so it wouldn't react with the water already on the cardstock.  I used a permanent ink pen to draw a small double lined border to frame my image, which I created by stamping on a clean sheet of cardstock and colouring with one of the inks already used in the background.

 
The background for these two cards was created in the same way, except that I used slightly different colours.


Thursday, January 15

New Release: Retail Therapy

Ellie and Tippy are dressed up and ready to hit the shops!
 
Retail Therapy

Renee's Card
 
Two cards from Gail
 
Christine's Card
 
Susan's Card
 

Ilaria's Card

Tuesday, January 13

Scrap Card #2

I chose one of the pink and green scrap squares for my next card... it's one of my favourite colour combinations so I tend to have a lot of scraps in these colours.  I dry embossed the square to give it some texture and help unify all the different patterns and colours of the paper.  I then secured it to a soft pink card base and added a piece of ribbon, a stamped die cut shape and some self-adhesive pearls. 
 
 

Saturday, January 10

Scrap Card #1

Here's the very first scrap card I created from the pile of squares I made a couple of days ago.  All of the offcuts for the background were cut from various Tim Holtz papers that had accumulated in my scrap box.  They provided a nice neutral background for these lovely bright yellow tulips.
 
 

Thursday, January 8

New Release: Petite Fleur

I love drawing and colouring flowers - the vast array of colours, shapes and sizes keeps me continually inspired.  I think flowers are suitable for almost every occasion too, which makes them very versatile for card makers and paper crafters.
 
Petite Fleur

Christine's Card
 
Gail's Card
 
Ilaria's Card
 
Renee's Card
 
Susan's Card

Tuesday, January 6

My New Year's Resolution

I don't usually make New Year's resolutions... mostly because I'm pretty hopeless at following through with things I don't enjoy, and that tends to be the general idea of most promises we make ourselves at the beginning of the year.  However, since I love to make cards I figured that a resolution involving paper would be something I might actually be able to achieve.
 
I have an ever expanding collection of paper offcuts left over from the various cards and projects I've worked on.  Like most paper artists, I store these little treasurers with every intention of using them in the future.  And while I do dip into the box every now and then, it's not enough to make much of a dent.  So.... 
 

... last night I sat down and punched a huge pile of little squares from the patterned papers in my scrap box.  I adhered them to larger pieces of paper, also from the scrap box, to create about forty 5" x 5" squares.  My intention is create cards using these squares as bases.  I'm aiming to have them all used by the end of the year.  Wish me luck!

Friday, January 2

Upcycled Mantle Clock

A few months ago I found this replica mantle clock at a little stall in my town.  It wasn't put together all that well, and the clock was cheap and unreliable, but I saw potential somewhere under the dust and cracks!
 
 
The first thing I did was give it a good clean to remove the build up of oil, dirt and cobwebs.  After that I applied a layer of crackle paint, some beautiful patterned papers, gold edging paint and lots of different embellishments.  I sealed it with a couple of coats of clear, matte varnish to help protect and keep it clean.

Thursday, January 1

January New Releases

I have three brand new digital stamp sets in store this month - Petite Fleur, Retail Therapy and Tell it to the Trees.  My Designers have used these sets to create some wonderfully inspiring cards that I'll share with you throughout the month. 
 
Petite Fleur

Retail Therapy

Tell it to the Trees

January Challenge

Create a card using any Beccy's Place digital image, free or purchased, upload a photo of it to your blog and submit a direct link below.  The challenge runs from now until midnight on the 31st of January 2015 (AEST).
 
Your project must be created during the month of January 2015.  You can enter as many times as you like and you can submit your card to any other challenge you wish. At the end of the month three random winners will be chosen to receive their choice of either a full set of digital stamps or three individual digital images from my online store.
 
 
Want to join the challenge but don't have a blog?  No worries!
Email a photo of your card or project to me at beccymuir@yahoo.com and I will post it on my Guest Blog and link it to the challenge for you.

Welcome 2015

Happy New Year
Wishing you all the very best for a happy, healthy and creative New Year.