Easy Peasy...................................

lemon squeezy..............................

 

It has taken me a while to 'dip' my toe into the SW dies - only because I felt I had to justify spending more money on dies when to be honest I already own quite a few but I had decided very early on when I saw them that I would buy the Striplet die eventually.............................................

 

well that was lethal because it set me off wanting more..............................

 

 I had my eye on the 'finishing touches' dies - especially Fern Trio and the Quilled Blooms - but whenever I checked they were always out of stock but while browsing I also quite fancied the look of the California Fancy Frame Set B and the Basic Frames A - but felt that the basic ones were probably too basic (if that makes sense) was I wrong - after watching Sue on C&C (about a week after it was televised, which is probably why most of the dies were out of stock) -  she was saying that these were her 'go to' dies so I decided to 'dip' my toe in again!!

 

 

Here is the creation I made...............................

 

 

 

 

 

 

This card came about purely because I cut out all the dies from both sets using black, white and silver card which was laying around on my desk (this seems to be the main colours I use and I had never realised until I started blogging).......................

 

and then layered them up to see how they looked on my craft mat  - well I was pretty impressed so decided to be a good crafter and use up some card that I had embossed that was left-over from previous card creations - so other than embossing the card blank with the M-bossabilites Dainty Dots and stamping a sentiment onto a SB basic tag die and adding some pearls from my stash I had all the components for my card.........................................

 

 

 

now I have to say that this is not my usual way of crafting - I usually make a card for a specific celebration -  but I am pretty pleased with how it has turned out, and it is probably one of the easiest cards I have ever made..................the dies and emboss folders do it all for you!

Oh and by the way I have since purchased some of the finishing touches too - been bitten by the SW bug big style (not bad for someone who was not going to buy anymore).......................but that is definitely it for now!!

 

Anyhow - I hope you all have a fab Bank Holiday weekend, whatever you are doing and the weather is kind to you.

 

xxGailxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first foray into striplets!!!............................

and lighter and brighter me thinks.........................

This is the card I made for niece whose birthday is today.

I still had some yellow card on my desk from making my Easter card and when my striplet die arrived last week it was to hand - so with no further a do I decided to cut it out without the edging strip to see how it looked - the finished card is not what I had in mind as I wanted to cut the striplet die out from the opposite side and mount onto white card but unfortunately it didn't happen cos I didn't get the dimensions correct!! derrhh!!

Anyway after a bit of head scratching and looking through SB dies to try and get some inspiration this is what I came up with.....................

 

 

the final card was worked around the striplet die cut.

 

I had decided to have a play with a few things that I had, had for a while but still not used - one of them being the SW Sea Garden emboss folder (lurve this) cannot believe it has taken me so long to use it.

 

The vertical element behind the sentiment and the oval sentiment die is from the SB Radiant Rectangles......................

I mounted the computer generated sentiment onto Fancy Tags two die cut.

  

 

I embossed the actual card blank front and the centre of the sentiment background with the SB M-Bossabilities Dainty Dots emboss folder.........................

Pearls are from CE used on the striplet die and the yellow bling and ribbon are from my stash..............I added the ribbon over a piece of the yellow card to give it more depth of colour.



I hope this is a bit of light relief after my last post.........................and may even brighten up your day, particularly if it is a bit grey where you are.

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment on my blog (and any who don't) and thanks to Diane for leaving a comment - nice to see a newbie commenting on my blog.


xxGailxx

 

 

Nephews card.......................

this is the card I made for my nineteen year old nephew whose birthday was in March.

I have to be honest and say that I didn't colour the skull and crossbones - it was done by someone who used to hold a craft class I used to attend and she had been practicing with colours and stamps on various card shapes and asked if any of us wanted them before she 'filed' them - well I don't push myself forward and this was what was left at the end when everyone had picked what they wanted but I was pleased cos I had already decided I would use it for Jacks card if nobody else wanted it..........a result!!

Anyway here is said card.................

 

 

I customised the skull with red stickle glue for the eyes and Stampin' Up Smoky Slate emboss powder for the nostrils - I did this onto scraps of card and then stuck them behind the apertures of the skull - close-up below................................

 

 

 

 

the background was created by inking through a Crafty Workshop mini-splats mask with Versarmark and then embossing with Stampin' Up Pewter emboss powder.  I then ran it through a Couture Creations Brick emboss folder............................

 

 

Sentiment is a computer generated one and cut out with a SB basic tag die and then a little bit of blue DI around the edge - I can't remember which one but think it might be Stormy Sky.

Very different for me but I really did enjoy making it.

Well after a fab couple of days weather it has been awful today, just been out with my daughter and our four legged gran-puppy and got absolutely soaked but hey-ho it is only water!!!

Enjoy your weekend whatever you are doing.

xxGailxx

 

 

Happy Easter....................

to all my blog followers.

Also hello to Debs a new follower - thank you for taking the trouble to come and have a look at what I do and for adding yourself onto my (small) list of followers.

Well the weather here today has been a fair few degrees cooler than the last few days - even had to put the heating on for a short while to warm the house up this morning - yesterday I was sweltering and got two loads of washing dried on the line - not a chance of that today.

I only make one Easter card every year - for a friend who buys and sends Easter cards out.  Not something that I would normally do but I quite enjoy having to put my 'thinking cap' on to come up with a design that is appropriate for Easter............................

here is this years card...............

and a close up...................

I have to be honest and say that I 'winged' this a little as I had no idea what I was going to do, then I remembered that I have a Crafters Companion Occasions CD and found the Easter chick design so printed out on an A4 sheet of card and took it from there...........

The top layer of the 'Easter egg' is an off-cut left from the 50th card I made which I cut out with a Sizzix oval frame-lit die. I cut the next size up in yellow card from my stash.

The sentiment is a computer generated one which was cut out using a SB tag die, yellow pearly bling added from my stash.  The faux ribbon is made using a Stampin Up border punch.  I offset the border with yellow and white card to match the sentiment and 'egg' - Finished card is 6 x 6.

I hope you like.........................I was pretty pleased with it because when I started I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do.

xxGailxx

This is the 50th card.......................

the card I was making when I posted on my blog the other day.....................

just to show that I do vary things slightly even though I have used the same emboss folder (which doesn't really show up on this photo) the same frame die but have used a different shaped die for the sentiment and used some white and black pearls to embellish rather than bling...................... I have also inserted the rectangle back into the frame as it automatically cuts it out..............same but slightly different!!

also A5 size rather 8' x 8'.

The recipient is on her way to Wembley as we speak after enjoying a fab party night last night.

Great music, dancing and company (but I was very good as I drove so only a couple of double tonics for me)!!

I know how to party!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

xxGailxx

I'm back................................

where did that go!!!

Well we had an amazing time and met some fab people but back to normality now (not that my life is normal) but normality for me.

I thought I needed to post a card asap as I am worried my blog might close itself down and I really don't think I would be able to set it up again because I think it only worked first time on a 'wing and a prayer' - hopefully not the only one out that thinks that their blog is cleverer than them!

I'm not a technophobe but I know what I need to know for what I do (no more - no less) so when I post even now I keep my fingers and toes crossed........

Anyway enough of my waffling's..........


here is my latest contribution

and a close up.....................

I don't think it really shows up on the photo but I have layered a silver frame and slightly offset it on a black frame.



Ingredients:-
 
Crafters Companion Elegance Emboss Folder
Sizzix Fancy Rectangle Frame
Sizzix Oval Framlets
Whimsey Sentiment Stamp
Flourish stamp was from a set of 99p stamps that have a few mini stamps on a clear sheet (I say was because unfortunately after a few uses it has now split)
Ribbon & bling from my stash.


I hope you like............

as this is my female card for this year - I now try and make one card for the year for female and one for male recipients and just vary them slightly. 

I have decided to do this as I really struggle with ideas and so once made I can just refer back to the original photo and just slightly alter - I'm actually making a 50th card as I blog and it is using the same basic idea but it is A5 size and I have inserted the rectangle back into the frame which gives it a slightly different look and only used black and white (no silver)..........................oh and I will have to find another ickle flourish stamp in my stash. 

Saves me getting 'brain ache'

xxGailxx

Well bearing in mind.............................

I always say I don't like making male cards............................

here is yet another one........................

 

now I realise that this isn't a brilliant photo so I have taken another couple but can you spot the difference??....................................

apart from that the stamping that is in a slightly different place (only just noticed that) lol!!


This card is my general male card for this year (fortunately I don't send too many male cards) and only three to male relative which I try and make personal to them.

To try and save time I inked through the stencil once and then moved it along the cardstock without cleaning it and inked through it again so I could heat emboss the card in one go.  Well I'm not sure if I turned the stencil back to front but the ink caught in the places it was not supposed too!!

At first I thought I was going to have to cut this bit off and 'file' it but decided that I actually quite like it (I think it is known as 'A Happy Accident')!!  I was also going to cut the corners off the background to match the card blank but again decided I quite liked it as it was - so left well alone - which was a bonus because then I didn't have to try and match the cuts up.

A very simple card to make and fab for batch making - especially if you clean your mask off in between inking with Versamark!!

A closer look at the Happy Accident................................

Ingredients used:-

Craftwork Card Blank
CE black card
Indigo Blu stamp - Grand Tour set
Sentiments from Stamps Away montage greeting set
Crafters Workshop Mask - Mini Harlequin
SU Pewter Emboss Powder
Versamark Ink
Black Archival Ink


 I hope you like what you see and thank you for stopping by.

xxGailxx


PS just to let you know that I will not be posting for about a month as not in the country but I am hoping to catch up with all the blogs that I normally follow and leave comments. If I don't pass your way as often as normal please forgive me - but I will definitely go back over previous posts as and when I can and leave a comment xx