Saturday, June 29

Wishing You Peace

One of my favourite colouring techniques involves using white pencil on dark card stock. You need to ensure that you're using art pencils with nice soft centres (like chocolates!) as you'll be able to lay a lot more pigment on the page, as opposed to pencils that are very hard. 


Stamps:

Thursday, June 27


Selected, retired digital stamps at an incredibly low price for just 48 hours.
No rainchecks. No repeats.


digital stamps
$2.00
48 hours only

Tuesday, June 25

Tartan and Bows

Even though it's clichéd, I couldn't resist adding some tartan paper and a red bow to my Scotty dog card. A light application of glossy accents gives his eyes and nose a lovely sparkle.


Stamps:

Sunday, June 23

Party Time with Kathy


Kathy has some party worthy projects to share that are sure to get you in the mood for fun! There are bright colours, cute puppies, happy sentiments and even a fantastic gift bag that would delight any dog lover. She has also included colour guides for those who are curious about her choice of colour and medium. Don't forget to pop over to her blog to check out the other fabulous creations she has to share.


The card below is my favourite in the set. I think Kathy did an awesome job with the colouring, just look at that gorgeous golden fur! Using a white gel pen to add top highlights is a great idea and gives such fabulous results.


Who can resist adding a little tartan to a card featuring a Scotty dog?


Kathy printed the golden retriever image four times to cover the front of her gift bag. A cute black and white gift card with a sweet paw-print ribbon finishes the project perfectly.


Friday, June 21

Alcohol Lift

I love alcohol lift ink, not only is it a cool and arty technique, but you also end up with two images for the effort of one!

I started with the card on the right, which has an alcohol ink background on glossy, synthetic card. The lift ink was applied to the large, solid stamp from the eucalyptus set, and stamped over the alcohol ink background. The lift ink activates the alcohol ink, allowing it to be picked up by the stamp and transferred to a second piece of card stock, which is the card on the left.


Stamps:
Eucalyptus
clear stamps

Wednesday, June 19

Bright and Colourful

I've used the whole crew from the new Paw Prints digital stamp set to create a bright and colourful birthday card for one of my little nephews. The scattering of sequins give a little bit of sparkle and shine to the finished project.


Stamps:

Monday, June 17

Carla's Creative Space


We're headed over to Carla's place for some creative inspiration using the new Eucalyptus set of digital stamps. Carla has created two cards today - one for a special man in her life and the second for a lovely friend.



Saturday, June 15

Everything Papercraft - Kaleidoscope Cards


Kaleidoscope cards are made using techniques that create a fabulous visual pattern similar to those you might see in a kaleidoscope. The goal is to create a repetitive pattern centred around a fixed point, generally with lots of different colours and designs, although a monochromatic palette would also be very effective.

Kaleidoscope cards can be created in many different ways, such as teabag folding, paper piecing, multiple embellishments or repetition of stamped images. Have a play with whatever items you have at your disposal. You’re really only limited by your imagination.


Help yourself to the two examples above.
They can be printed just like a standard digital image and used on the front of a card.

Thursday, June 13

Tutorial - X-Fold Cards


I have a fabulous X-Fold card tutorial to share with you today that I think would be best used as a little photo book or special birthday or Christmas card. It has lots of little spaces to hold embellishments, pictures, sentiments or stamped images. The addition of a ribbon means it can be tied closed or held open for display.


1. Start with four pieces of card stock measuring 4" x 4". For a larger or smaller card, simply adjust the size of your squares.


2. Score one piece of card stock at 2", turn it 90 degrees and score again at 2" so that you have four even sections (see the photos below and the template above).


3. Score a diagonal line in one of the four sections - it doesn't matter which one. Start from the top outer corner and score toward the centre of the card stock as shown below. In the diagonally opposite corner, you will be creating a tab to hold adhesive. Use a pair of sharp scissors to cut through the score line until you reach the centre of the card stock. Use a pencil to draw in a simple tab that's about 1/4" wide, then trim away the excess card stock.


4. With the tab piece on the desk, fold along the diagonal score line until the card stock is flat.


5. Apply adhesive to the tab section then fold it over to secure it to the piece below. This will form a three sided box.


6. Now fold along the diagonal score line again, this time in the opposite direction so the fold is between the other pieces of card stock. See the photos below.


7. Repeat steps 2 - 6 for the other three pieces of card stock so that you have four, three-sided boxes.


8. Using glue or strong double-sided tape, adhere two of the boxes together so that the diagonal score lines are flat on the bottom.


9. Secure the third box to the second box in the same way, making sure the diagonal score line is on the bottom.


10. Secure the fourth box to the third, again keeping the diagonal score line on the bottom of the card. DO NOT adhere the fourth box to the first or you won't be able to open and close your card.


You should be able to fold the card in on itself...


11. Collect the embellishments, images and patterned papers you'd like to add to your card as well as a piece of ribbon about 16" long.


12. Add a strip of double-sided tape horizontally to the centre front and back of the card. There is no need to add the tape over the "spine" where all the folds meet.


13. Secure the ribbon around the card with the loose ends on the opening side.


14. The ribbon can be tied to hold the card closed or open for display.


15. Add your papers, sentiments and embellishments to the different sections of your card. Don't forget a front and back cover too!


Stamps: