A Good Friend

Hello everyone!  An easy black and white card for today.  I love the way that detailed dies look when simply embossed into plain card.  I had to have a go at it with the Vintage Lace collection.  First off, I stamped my sentiment in the lower corner of the card.  I placed the two largest dies in the Vintage Lace set across the card and taped them into place and cut apertures.  I set the largest die cut aside for another card and used the smaller one in the larger opening.  I cut one more of that size to layer them up for a more lacy look.  I cut three of the smallest round shape in the set, two to be used in the smaller opening on the card and the other one to layer up in the centre of the larger opening. I added a couple of flatback pearls to the centres for accents.   I used the dies again to simply emboss the card this time.  I taped the largest one in place over the sentiment.  I used the other two in the top area on the card.  Before embossing, I did place a piece of copy paper over my card before taping my dies in place, though as this helps to keep the dies from cutting through the card in places.  Once the top was finished, I mounted it over a piece of black and white decorative card.  I added a black mat that I pierced and one thin mat of white for contrast before my final black mat.  Sorry no place for a bow on this one, but still a fun card to make. Hope you like it.   All for now, Sue x

You're My Friend

Morning all! I missed seeing some of the Hearfelt Creations dies so I thought I would bring this one back to enjoy for today's post.  I started by using the letterpress technique to create my background.  I inked up the negative side of the embosibility folder using Antique Linen distress ink.  I placed my milk card into the folder and ran it through the Grand Calibur.  This transferred the ink onto my card in the recessed portions of the embossed card.  I ties a piece of black striped grosgrain ribbon around the card and taped the ends to the back.  I stamped my sentiment below the ribbon.  I ties a double bow and added it to my ribbon with a glue dot.  I tied a piece of twine through a button and placed it in the centre of my bow.  I cut one of the Heartfelt Creations decorative window in milk card and added foam mounting pieces to the back.  I used the Bitty Blossom dies in an assortment of milk and taupe and made an array of flowers for the window.  I cut six of the leaves from the set and added them around the base of the flowers.  I pierced the edge of the black mat to complete the card.  I may just have to bring these dies out again for another play with them!  All for now, Sue x

Oh Christmas Tree

Hi guys!  Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree! Makes you feel like singing, doesn't it!  I love this pretty Christmas tree die, it's just so elegant.  I used the blue tissue paper faux silk technique to create the background for my card.  If you missed the directions for this, you can find them in the post dated June 22nd.  I added a strip of gold dotted paper for interest to my background.  I cut a Holly Accent borders and glued it to the right hand side of the card.  I tied a piece of gold silky crush ribbon around the card and tied a double bow and attached it with glue dots.   I cut a Holly motif out of gold card.  I cut the top half at the swirls on the sides and used it as an accent above my Christmas tree.  I cut one of the smaller motif pieces and cut it in half to create two large corner pieces. on the left side of the card.  I added some large half pearls to the Christmas tree as accents.  I pierced the edges as a final detail for the card.  All for now, Sue x

With Kindness

Hi there crafty friends!  I started today's card by picking a piece of flocked paper from a Kaisercraft card pack.  I have to say that I don't usually go for flocked papers at all, but I loved the pewter gray on the background of this one so I had to have a play with it!  Here again, it's a really simple and quick card for the most part.  There was some drying time involved in the paved pearl technique on the edges, but if you eliminated that, you can make this one in under twenty minutes!  I used one of the Vintage Lace accent dies to cut an aperture in the upper left corner of my flocked paper.  Next I ran a strip of redline tape across the bottom quarter of the paper.  I used a piece of black silky crush and ruched it on the edge, rather than down the centre like I usually do.  This left me with a free standing ruffle since the ribbon is an inch and a half wide.  I cut one of the Vintage Lace borders to cover the top of the ribbon, but left the ruffle exposed.  I added some black rhinestones to cover the holes in the edge of the border.  I put foam mounting pieces on the back and mounted it on a piece of black card, then matted it on to a larger piece of pewter grey card. I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with another one of the Vintage Lace accent pieces.  I mounted this on foam pieces and placed it inside the aperture opening from the other accent piece.  I tied a double bow out of the black silky crush ribbon and added it to my border with glue dots.  I did have a fancy silver button in my stash for this one (unlike yesterday, there were no fancy cream coloured buttons to be had that day or you know I would have used one!) and a couple of crystal stick pins.  Since the card was relatively simple, I thought it would look nice with Cosmic Shimmer black PVA glue dots around the edge in my paved pearl technique.  If you haven't given this a try, it is quite fun to do.  I like to add random large dots across one side at a time, then fill in with other smaller sized dots.  That way, it looks a bit more random and you end up with less of a lined look.  I hope you have a chance to give it a try and let me know what you think!  All for now, Sue x

Happiest Of Birthdays

 Hi guys!  I just couldn't stay away from my favourite aqua/teal tones for long, could I!  I picked a paper from October Afternoon as my background to start.  I cut the largest size of the Romantic Rectangles as a backdrop for my trio of Vintage Lace dies. I cut two of them out of milk card and cut the inside with a large scalloped circle to create a frame.  The third one, I covered my milk card with a sticky adhesive sheet prior to cutting it.  I taped both dies in place and ran it through the GC.  Then I peeled away the backing paper and dipped it in my clear micro beads giving it a lovely texture.  I stamped my sentiment on milk card and inked around the edges of it with Broken China distress ink. I mounted my sentiment behind the micro beaded Vintage Lace Motif and trimmed away any excess that showed.  I used a bit of mounting foam to layer all the frames up and attach them to my rectangle back piece.  I wrapped a piece of aqua silky crush ribbon around the left side of the card top to bottom.  I tied a double bow and added it with glue dots.  I didn't have any fancy buttons for this one but I did add a button to cover the knot and two stick pins, one pearl, one crystal this time.  I added a pearl swirl spray over my ribbon as I quite like the way that looks!  The finishing touch of some piercing around the edges, because I know you have never seen that before (ha ha) and she's a done!  You can definitely see the micro beads better in the close up below, but if you have used these before, you know how great they look.  If you haven't, what are you waiting for, you'll love them!  All for now, Sue x

Joy And Baubles

Morning my crafty friends!  Ah yes, back to Christmas today!  Only a short break, I did say.  I have used the new baubles that come as part of the Christmas Tree set.  They are lovely and scrolly and just plain bite sized!  I started by stamping my bold sentiment in Black Archival ink on milk card.  I used the Wild Poinsettia embossing folder by Couture Creations to emboss the detail into this piece.  I cut an aperture using a plain oval from my taupe card and then a slightly smaller oval from some black card.  I matter the two together to form  one aperture for my sentiment and baubles.  I cut both of the bauble dies from some deep red card and a tiny scrap of black card to use as a "hanger" piece for them.  I centred my sentiment so that it was to the right of the opening, leaving room for one of my baubles next to it.  I added foam mounting pieces to the back of the aperture piece to raise it for dimension.  I added the other bauble piece on to the top card and had it hanging down into the opening.  I cut a strip of black card and then cut one of the Holly accent borders in red to go atop it.  I taped that to the left of the opening and added a messy bow made from the red vintage ribbon.  I added two black pearl pins and a fancy button from my ever growing stash of buttons (yes, I am addicted!)  I cut one of the larger Holly corners for the upper right.  I matted all of this with a piece of milk card, then added my pierced mat in black to complete the card.  I really do like these non traditional colours for Christmas, are they getting you in the mood for making some seasonal cards? 

Just a reminder that Sam Poole will be on C & C today at 9am and 3pm with her new Artful Ladies and Journaling Sentiment stamps.  Be sure to tune in and see her great demos and samples!  All for now, Sue x

Good Friends

 Good Sunday morning!  They come around quick don't they?!  It seems like just yesterday I was drawing the winners for last weeks comment game!  This weeks winners will be at the bottom of the post, but now for a quick rundown of a really quick card.  I stamped my sentiment in the lower corner of a piece of milk card using a black archival ink pad.  I placed my Vintage Lace motif die in the opposite corner and embossed it in to the card (no cutting here).  While the die was still in place, I inked around the outside of it using Antique Linen distress ink to bring out the pattern.  I removed my die and replaced it with a piece of copy paper with a circle cut out of it, lining it up in the centre of my die.  I inked my stamp from the Design Element set using Black archival and stamped it in the circle.  I inked around it with Fired Brick distress ink and a tiny bit of black soot to give the image a shadowed look.  I added a flourish of pearls across the open area for interest.  I added foam mounting pieces to the back of this piece and mounted it to another piece of milk card that I had added Luna Silver mica flakes.  I used some leftover strips of the self adhesive sticky paper and added them to the very edge of my milk card, peeled off the backing paper and poured the mica flakes over it.  I really like these as they are not as blingey as glitter, but give you a gorgeous texture and sparkle.  This whole card took about fifteen minutes to complete, so it is definitely a quick one!

Now on to the winners!  The three names drawn for the week are:
Bluebell!!!
Sandra F.!!!
Salem!!!

We had an additional qualifying post from June 21st.  So the winners there are:
Snuffy Snoo (Sam)!!!
Iritchie!!!
Nikkib!!!

You know the drill!  You must email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize!  All for now! Sue x

With Gratitude

Hi everyone!  Back to Vintage Lace designed cards for a bit, just be prepared for the Christmas cards to keep popping back on the blog every few days as I have a bunch of them to post!  I don't often put maroon or burgundy with cream and black, but I rather like it so it may just have to make some further appearances in my card making future.  I started with a selection of background papers from Canvas Corp, a cream script and a damask print.  This paper is really lovely to work with, it's a nice weight and it has a kraft card feel to it.  I think it is recycled paper, which is great!  I divided the papers into sections for the background, two large and one small at the top.  I matted all with a piece of burgundy card matching my ribbon and pierced the edges before adding a final mat of black.  I cut two of the largest Vintage lace motifs in black card and one in burgundy card.  I stamped one of the Design Element stamps using maroon archival ink and cut it out with Labels 18.  While in the die, I used a very light inking of Black Soot ink around the edges of the die for a shadow. I also stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the small phrase shape from the set.  This was inked in the same manner.  I attached my motifs in a diagonal across the card and placed the Label shape in the centre of them.  I added my phrase to the upper corner. Using some 1/2 inch wide satin/grosgrain ribbon, I tied a messy bow.  I like this ribbon and haven't used it much but it is very nice, lovely texture.   I added it in the bottom corner atop a strip of it that I had run from top to bottom of the card.  I found this fancy button while in the States that I used to cover my knot and added a few black pearl stick pins.  I added three half pearls in black to the upper and lower edges of my motifs to finish off the card.  More tomorrow.  All for now, Sue x

Faux Silk Snowflakes

Happy Friday!  Just one more Christmas card before I give you a break from them!  Not too long, though, as I do have a bunch of them just waiting for their day on the blog!  a little story for this one, whenever my daughter comes to visit, we take a day and go thrift store hopping.  She used to have to drag me kicking and screaming, but since I found my nifty dictionary last year, I have been raring to go!  I started looking at everything differently then.  It wasn't just junk anymore, it was treasures and since then I have found some really nice items for my card making.  The background on this card was the result of one of those finds.  There was a stack of this blue tissue paper at one of the shops for 25 cents (about 18p) and I just loved the vibrant blue so home it came with me (along with some great buttons I found).  There is a lovely technique called "faux silk" that I usually do with white tissue paper, but I thought let's see what it looks like with the blue tissue paper.  I love it!  I think it works a treat with the snowflakes too!  I watered down some Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue and painted a piece of white card so it was entirely covered.  I use a piece of cut 'n dry foam for this as it's quicker.  Crumple up your tissue paper and then gently open it back up but don't take out all the wrinkles.  Lay it on your glue covered background and use your foam to tamp it down.  Be very gentle with it as it will tear quite easily.  I use a bit more of the glue mixture on the top to make sure it is nicely affixed.  Let it dry and trim it to size.  You can also use your heat tool to speed up the drying process.  I stamped my sentiment in black, then cut the ends at an angle so it would sit diagonally on the corner of my card.  I cut two small strips and used one of the egdeability inserts to cut them both.  I backed the cut out sections with a strip of blue card, then mounted them on foam pads then on to the edges of my sentiment strip.  I adhered a sticky adhesive sheet to a piece of white card then loaded it up with an assortment of the new snowflake dies and cut them all.  I micro beaded all the snowflakes for texture.  Some of them I placed two on top of each other and some were placed on the background on their own.  I placed an assortment of the snowflakes all over the background and one in the corner below the sentiment.  I added some half pearls to the centres of all of them as accents.  I double matted it in white and pierced the edges to finish it off.  You can see a few close ups below.  I love the micro beads on the snowflakes, it really makes them look frosty, doesn't it!  All for now, Sue x

White Poinsettia

Good morning all!  A few more days of Christmas at the moment.  I absolutely love this poinsettia die template.  I was so excited that I was able to use it to make more samples.  It is my all time favourite Christmas die by far.  I just could not resist making a huge white poinsettia covered in clear micro beads.  It just looks so elegant to me and so simple to create.  I just covered a piece of white card with one of our self adhesive sticky sheets.  I laid out all of the poinsettia dies on it and cut them out.  Remember, do not emboss when using these sheets, it will cause the backing paper to break and you won't be able to peel it off easily.  I cut the large "leaf" about five extra times so I could use it to increase the size of my poinsettia.  I peeled all the backing paper off and dipped each die cut in my clear micro beads.  I bent the petals a bit then glued the pieces together to form my flower.  I added a large single half pearl to the centre.  For the background, I stamped my sentiment first on my gold card using clear Perfect Medium and embossed it with Cosmic Shimmer True White embossing powder.  I scored a line above it and used an embossing folder (Constellations by Couture Creations) for that area above the line.

I tied a large bow using the champagne coloured silky crush ribbon, leaving one of the tails quite long.  I glued the bow on to the card underneath my poinsettia and curled the long end and secured it with a glue dot at the top of the card.  I added some tiny pearl strands from my craft stash as an accent peeking out from the beaded leaves.  I double matted the whole card with white card and pierced around the edges.  Do you not just love that poinsettia die!  All for now, Sue x

A Vintage Christmas Sneak Peek

Hello!  Here is the first peek at one of the cards for tonight's POTD shows.  I have to admit, these are probably not very Christmassy in the traditional sense.  While I was away, I got a phone call to do the shows and I didn't have the dies, the stamps or any Christmas papers.  They overnighted the dies to me, the stamps and other products showed up about a week later and I was prowling the craft stores in Florida for Christmas papers.  Not too much luck on the last one, though.  You usually don't see any Christmas until July in the States.  So I selected this lovely paper from My Mind's Eye for this card.  It has a very vintage feel to it which I love.  I started by cutting a circle aperture in the centre of it.  I used an embossing folder on the black card behind the opening.  I thought that I had used the one that is on the show this evening (Wild Poinsettia), but I used a similar one by mistake.  I think this one is called Constellation, but it was left in Florida so I can't check it for certain.  I cut several of the new Snowflake dies as well as some of the die releases from past years out of milk card.  I layered them up to make some unique snowflakes to glue to the edges of my aperture.  Using some black silky crush ribbon, I attached a piece across the bottom of the card and tied a double bow and added it to the left side with glue dots.  I found a fancy antique silver button for the centre of it.  Next I stamped my sentiment on milk card with a black archival pad.  Using one of the small Label twenty five die templates, I lined it up so it was centred in the die and taped it in to place.  I used some Antique Linen ink and cut 'n dry foam to highlight my sentiment.  Then, I lifted one side of the tape and raised the die so that I could adhere a piece of sticky adhesive sheet to cover the area to be die cut.  I taped the die back into place and cut the shape out.  Peeling off the backing paper, I exposed the adhesive and dipped it into my clear micro beads for a lovely texture.  I used some foam mounting pads and placed it in the centre of my circle aperture.  I double matted the entire piece with black card and used my Cosmic Shimmer black PVA glue to make small dots around the edges.  I finished the card off with some half pearls in the snowflakes and a spray of natural pearls across my ribbon border for interest.  How about a vintage Christmas in June (a little bit easier to take maybe!) LOL

Just Because

Hello my crafty friends!  This card is definitely one of my favourites from the Vintage Lace samples that I made.  I love the way that these dies look when concertina folded.  I chose a soft aqua patterned paper as a background for this card.  I cut a circle from dark aqua card as a background for my focal element. To create the concertina piece, I cut two of the Vintage Lace Motifs and scored down the centre of each tip of the lace die and also scored down the between each section in the design.  I cut to the centre and folded all the sections back and forth.  I did this to both pieces then glued them together to form the concertina folded circle.  I stamped my sentiment on milk coloured card and cut it out using the Vintage Lace accent piece.  A bit of Bundled Sage distress ink was lightly applied while still in the die as an accent.  I cut one more of the same die in the dark aqua card and offset the two pieces.  I added them to the top of my concertina circle, completing the focal element.  I cut a thin strip of the dark aqua card and used one of the edgeability inserts to cut the design out of it to use as a border below my focal element.  I glued a thin piece of milk card to the back of the border to show through the insert cut out.  I added a piece of the new teardrop lace in cream below the border.  I tied a double bow using the cream silky crush ribbon and added it to the left side of the border.  I made a flower using Sam Poole's flower stamp from the Button Floral stamp set (there is a tutorial for this flower on the Creative Expressions website under workshops).  Once finished, I inserted my pokey tool in the bottom of it and dipped the entire flower in to a pan of melted clear ultra thick embossing powder to coat it and turn it into a porcelain flower.  If you use your heat tool after dipping it, you can melt away the excess blobs that form, just be sure to hold it over your pan or a craft sheet as the drips are still very hot.  I added my flower to the centre of my bow using glue dots and added two crystal stick pins.  I cut two corners out of milk card from the Vintage Lace Accent set and added them in opposite corners with a single pearl accent.  To complete the card, I added a few sprays of pearl swirls and pierced the edge of the card.  I hope you like it! 

As for tomorrow's post, I thought that I would show you a sneak peek of the POTD shows that I am doing beginning on Wednesday evening on Ideal World at 9pm.  Just to ease you in a bit, I am giving you advance notice that it is Christmas.  I know that is hard for some of you to think about this early on in the year, but it will be here before you know it!  I hope you will pop back by tomorrow and see what is in store.  All for now, Sue x

Two Blog Candy Drawings!

Hello again!  I have finally gotten everything organised and ready for the blog Candy Drawings, yes plural!   I have two to do so don't forget to check for your name all the way down this post.  You have patiently waited for me to return from the States and do these so I will keep in in suspense no longer.

For the blog candy drawing from the addition of 3100 followers:
Third Prize goes to:.......................................
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Lynda Brock!!!

The Second Prize goes to:.................................................
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Jennifer McNiff!!!

The Grand Prize Winner is:.................................
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Lisa Ransom!!!!

Don't worry, there's more!  Now for the Blog Candy drawing for the goal of 3200 followers.
The Third Place winner is:.............................................................
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Scofessex!!!

The Second Place Winner is:..............................................
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Doreen Sympson!!!!

The winner of the Grand Prize for this blog candy is:...............................
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June Phipps!!!!

Congratulations to all the winners!  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prizes.  The next Blog Candy drawing will take place when we reach the goal of 3300 followers.  If you have emailed me your address, there is no need to do it again, if you haven't, you must do so to be entered in the drawing!  Thanks again for all your patience.  All for now, Sue x

Especially For You

Hi everyone!  One of the demo cards from last Thursday shows.  This one is one of my favourite colour combos.  It always just screams for feathers, I don't know why, but a card in this colour combo doesn't feel finished without them any longer.  I picked out a couple of patterned papers in pink and white.  I used the striped for a strip, matted with white and black, against the patterned paper background.  I cut two of the Vintage Lace borders in black card.  I glued one to the bottom of the card and then offset the other one atop the first and glued it into place.  I added some black pearls to the open holes in the edge of the border.  I used a piece of the silky crush ribbon in an offwhite and ran my Spun Sugar distress ink along the length of it to colour it to match my card.  The ink tends to catch the wrinkles in the ribbon more that the rest of it so I spritzed it with water to even it out more.  Now, you CANNOT dry this ribbon with a heat gun as it will melt and shrivel, so you need to let it air dry or pat it dry with a piece of kitchen roll.  It does dry quite quickly though so you don't need to wait too long for it.  I tied a double bow with the dyed ribbon and added a fancy black button and two black stick pins and used a glue dot to attach it to my card.  For the focal element, it is a very easy topper to create.  I simply cut two of the Vintage Lace Motifs, one white, one black.  I offset them with the white one on top so you could see the black die cut peeking through.  Next I cut two of the Vintage Lace Accent pieces, again, one white, one black.  This time, I stamped my sentiment on the white card before cutting it out.  I inked through the die with Spun Sugar distress ink to highlight it and backed it with the black die cut, again off set.  I mounted these two in the centre of the Motifs, added a couple of black feathers as an accent and mounted it in the centre of the card.  I pierced the edges to finish it off and said Oh La La, c'est finis!! LOL  All for now, Sue x

Simply Wonderful

Happy Sunday!  I hope everyone had a nice long lie in this morning!  I had an email asking to see this card on the blog so voila!  I have to admit that this was really a quick card that I made one night while I was in Florida and my daughter was there visiting me for my birthday.  She said she had some school work that she had to get done while she was there and did I mind if she took an hour to finish it up.  I told her that it gave me just enough time to put together another card for my shows so off I started on this one.  Turns out it didn't take me an hour at all (but you just never know, do you!).  I started with a piece of Graphic 45 paper that was 6" x 7 1/2" in size.  I covered the top half with a sticky adhesive sheet and then peeled the backing paper off and added clear micro beads. I just love these micro beads, but they are a bit difficult to get a good picture of.  I have a closer view below for you.   I added a strip of goldenrod coloured card on which I stamped my sentiment.   I then used one of the edgeability inserts and cut a lovely decorative design out of the card directly below my sentiment.  I put a thin strip of black card directly behind my insert cut out, but matted the entire piece with pale yellow and black card.  Before attaching it to my background, I cut one of the Vintage Lace borders out of the pale yellow and glued the edge of it to the bottom of the sentiment strip.  I attached it to my background and added a black crocheted flower (from my stash, sorry Vee, I didn't crochet this one!) and a couple of leaves from the Bitty Blossoms set as accents.  I couldn't resist adding some black rhinestone swirls to the top of the card and paper piercing the edge to complete this quick card.  It still looks like a simpler version of a "Sue" card, don't you think!

Let's get you some winners of the comment game for the week now!  First names drawn from all the comments left were:

Joan Dickinson!!!
Carolyn H.!!!
Jean Butler!!!

We had a few more qualifying posts this week so more winners!
From the post of June 14th with over 200 comments , the winners are:
Ang!!!
Cebelica!!!
Jane Gray!!!

From the post of June 15th with over 200 comments, the winners are:
UKSharon!!!
Patricia Howarth!!!
Hellma!!!

Congratulations to all the winners this week.  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your postal address and claim your prize!  I promise to catch up on the, not one, but two Blog Candy Contest drawings on Monday, so be sure to check in then!  All for now, Sue x

Popping Poppies

 Morning my crafty friends!  This card was all about just wanting to use some pretty paper that I found.  I just love this poppy patterned paper from Graphic 45 and thought it would look so nice with the clear micro beads over it.  Since the pattern was so busy, I decided to put it with a mostly white background.  I used a black mat to show off the layers a little bit better.  The back section is just plain white card, but I decided to use the tiny polka dot mask to emboss the smaller white piece behind my focal element.  I then cut a strip of the poppy paper and matted it with white and black and ran it across the centre of my card.  I cover another small piece of it with some sticky adhesive sheet and cut the largest Vintage Lace Motif.  I cut the die cut in half then peeled the backing paper off and dipped the two halves in the micro beads.  I then cut the Vintage Lace Accent piece using black card and cut it in half also.  I used each half behind each half of my beaded pieces.  This just allowed a bit of that laciness to peek out as a shadow.  I glued the two halves to the top left and the bottom right of my strip.  I added some black rhinestone swirls across my strip and into the upper corner.  For my sentiment, I taped it into place and inked through it with Spiced Marmalade and Fired brick around the edges.  Lifting one side of the tape, I lifted the die up so I could apply some adhesive sheet over where I had inked.  I then laid the die right back down so it was in it's original position and taped it back into place.  I ran it through the machine to cut it and then removed it from the die and peeled back the backing paper.  This allowed me to place my sentiment into the micro beads and the lovely inks as well as the sentiment showed through.  You can see the close up of this below.   I used some mounting foam and attached it where my rhinestone swirls met on my strip.   I paper pierced the edges to finish it and frame it.  Poppies anyone?  All for now, Sue x

Hello

Hi everyone!  Thank you so much for the astounding support you gave me during the shows yesterday.  I was so overwhelmed by all the kind emails and comments, it truly was very special for me.  I was very nervous as it is a bit different when your name is on them,  but I was over the moon knowing that you like my latest set of Spellbinder die templates.  This is one of my favourite cards that I made with them, not sure why, but I was very happy with it when I finished.  It's funny like that, sometimes the simplest cards just sing to you!  I think it is the flowers made from my old dictionary with the faux screw brad centres that just made me smile.  I used a strip of one of my favourite papers.  I had to piece it to get it the length that I wanted though.  The paper pad is a 6" x 6" size but I needed my strip to be 7 1/2" long.   It pieced so nicely that I didn't even need the flowers to hide the join either!  Skirting that strip of decorative papers top and bottom is the new Vintage Lace border from the Accent set.  I love this border (and it makes stunning flowers too)

These flowers were cut using the Rose Creations die templates.  I distressed them a bit using Black Soot ink and messed the petal up a bit.  You have to be a bit careful with this paper as it is from 1943 (even older than me!)  I felt it needed a little bit of a swirl so I used the Heartfelt Creations swirl die from the Iris set.  The swirl was cut from another coordinating paper from the same paper pad as my strip.  It is quite pretty with it's gold filligree in it.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with another of the Accent pieces.  I inked it with Black Soot distress ink while in the die for interest.  I cut the same shape in black and split it in half and mounted it behind to serve as a shadow.  You can see a close up below of it.  I paper pierced the edges using my Tim Holtz design ruler to complete the card.  What do you think of this one?    All for now, Sue x

A Good Friend

Good morning my blog friends!  It is time for the second sneak peek at my Vintage Lace Motifs and Accents.  These are far frillier in their design than the Lattice dies, but nonetheless useful and versatile.  I made about twenty cards using them while at my Mom's and although the majority have my signature look with flowers, ribbons and swirls, there are also several which have a totally different look and feel to them.  This one, however, is all frill no doubt!  I started with a layout of three different background papers, just cut to varying sizes and all matted with white and grey.  I like the way the pink and the light and dark grey look together so I mixed the patterns up from polka dots to swirls.  I stamped my sentiment in black Archival and cut out two of the new Vintage Lace Motifs and used a small dahlia die to cut the centre out of them.  I offset them, giving it a very frilly look and centred my sentiment inside of the frame. I added some pearl PVA glue dots as an accent to the frames. I made three micro beaded Spiral Flowers by adding some sticky adhesive sheets to the cardstock before cutting them out with the Spiral Flower Three die.  Once cut, I removed the backing paper except for the very centre area as I did not want beads to coat this section and dipped them in my micro beads.  This is where the flower will seat once rolled so you want to leave them area for a glue dot of hot glue to secure the flowers.  I used a piece of white crochet ribbon around my background on the left side and attached my flowers as a cluster in the lower corner.  I cut a few leaves from the Bitty Blossom set to add to the cluster of flowers.  Two stick pins, which I usually reserve for my ribbon bows, were added to the flowers.  I added a spray of pearl swirls on top of the crochet ribbon for interest.  The upper corner was just calling for a bow which I made out of white silky crush ribbon and I added a pearl embellishment to the centre of it.  All that was left to do was pierce the edges to complete the card.  I hope you were in the mood for a girlie girl card today!  Hope you can join me today at 11 and 4!  All for now, Sue x

Vintage Lace Sneak Peek

Good morning my craft friends!  Today is the first sneak peek of my latest set of Spellbinder die templates, Vintage Lace Motifs and Accents.  Today's card showcases them used in conjunction with the Splendid Circle dies.  I loved the combination of the two designs! These designs are definitely for that girlie look I absolutely adore when cardmaking and I also wanted something that would work nicely for Christmas cards.  I think these fill the bill.   I embossed the background of this card using the Enchanted Embossibility folder.  I extended the pattern to create the size background that I wanted which was a 5 1/2" x 7" panel (overall card size is 6 1/2" x 8").  Atop that panel, I added a smaller panel that I applied a sticky adhesive sheet to and embossed with the other design from that embossibility folder.  Once embossed I peeled back the liner sheet and dipped it into my clear micro beads.  The beads obscure some of the pattern, but do give an interesting texture to the panel which I love.  I matted it in black for contrast.  For my focal element, I cut a white splendid Circle with a faux nestie in black.  Atop that, I added my new Vintage Lace Motif and then topped it with a sentiment stamped Vintage Lace Accent die cut.  I stamped my sentiment in Maroon Archival ink and sponged lightly around it before taking it out of the die.  I ties a maroon coloured satin edged organza ribbon from top to bottom of the card and tied a double bow with it and added it to the bottom of the card.  I finished the bow with one of my pearl embellishments and two stick pins. 

 A couple of pearl swirl sprays were added top and bottom and the edges were paper pierced for the finishing touch.  I sincerely hope that you like the card and the new die templates as I think they are lovely.  I will be flying home as this post goes live, so hopefully I won't have to wait too long to see what you think of them.  Please be gentle!   I will be showing more of the cards I've made with them every day this week.  There will be two shows featuring the new dies on Thursday, at 11am and at 4pm (I originally posted that the shows were at 11 and 5).  I hope you can tune in! 
All for now, Sue x

Polka Dots and Ovals

Hello blog friends!  Black and white with a pop of red, I love these colours together.  Against my background of black and white polka dots, I added three Floral Oval dies that I removed the area inside the piercing dots.  This is very easy to do with a pair of small sharp scissors as the piercing dots act as a perforation to cut along.  I placed two of them overlapping each other vertically and glued them to the background.  The third one I glued across the two horizontally, creating rings around my sentiment.  I stamped my sentiment in black and cut it out with the smallest floral oval.  I inked it lightly with Black Soot distress ink (it looks a bit violet in the pic though, sorry).  I backed it with one of the Moroccan accent pieces cut in red card.   On either side of my focal element, I flanked it with the Moroccan borders cut in white and backed with a strip of black card.  I tied a double bow out of red frilly edged ribbon and topped it with a fancy sparkly button.  The two red crystal stick pins were a lovely gift from blog friend Linda Burrows, she made them (along with some other beautiful pins) and sent them to me, aren't they simply stunning! Thank you Linda!  To finish the card, I pierced the edges, but you knew that didn't you! LOL  Be sure to check in Wednesday morning as I am planning an early sneak peek for Thursday's shows.  All for now, Sue x

All About The Teal

Morning craft friends!  Ah teal and black, what a nice combo, huh?  I really like this card, so simple yet so striking, I think.  From your comments on previous cards, I gather that the verdict is still out for many of you on the Cut, Fold, Tuck dies.  Hopefully this one will sway you towards the positive.  I cut about a four inch strip of teal card and embossed it with the Elegance Embossibility folder.  I used Black Distress ink to highlight the pattern and tone the colour. I added a black mat for contrast.   The Samantha Walker Nautical Frames and Accent die set provided the curly accent border.  I stamped my sentiment in the lower corner and very lightly inked the edges with more Black Soot.  I added a piece of black silky crush ribbon to the left side of my card and taped the ends to the back.  I tied a double bow and added it with a glue dot.  I topped the bow with a fancy black button (from my stash) and two decorative stick pins.  The focal element is simply the Floral Burst Cut, Fold, Tuck die cut from double sided Coordinations card that is black on one side and teal on the other.  This type card is perfect for these dies as you see both contrasting sides when you use it.  I cut it with the black side to the front and folded all my pieces so the teal sections were showing. I glued the very centre pieces so they stayed down and added a black pearl to the centre to finish it off.    Piercing the back mat layer finished it off nicely.  Obviously you could do this card in any colour and it would work, but the teal is the one that works best as far as I am concerned!  Loving the teal!  All for now, Sue x

Trifold Fun

Happy Sunday morning to everyone!  I don't often do trifold type cards but I wanted to use the smallest dies in the Cut, Fold, Tuck die templates and I thought this would be a really fun way to showcase them!  I am always asked the question about the small dies in any of the sets, "what do I do with them?"  The Cut, Fold, Tuck dies are strong enough to be focal points on their own as they are interesting and especially when you pare them with double sided papers or micro beads.  For this card I used the Coordinations brand card that is black on one side and red on the other.  I thought it would be more interesting to mix the sizes and shapes and prominent colours a bit.  I cut two of each of them, one with the black card facing upwards and one with the red side up.  I folded and tucked all the pieces.  Next I made my base card by scoring an A4 size of the taupe card from our neutrals pack in three equal sections and cutting the top at a diagonal.  I stamped the front panel with my sentiment in the lower corner.  I used my scoreboard to create a lined embossed background for interest.  Using Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue, I attached all my folded pieces to the top edge of the card to finish it off. Sorry no bow today! LOL  However, with a sentiment change, wouldn't this make a great card for a guy or even a teenager (they are always so difficult, aren't they!).
Here is a pic of it laying flat, you can see the embossed front better in this one too.  I stopped and started the score lines around the sentiment and made a few horizontal score lines on the bottom of the card too.



















It's Sunday so it is time for the weekly comment game winners.  This week there weren't any extra qualifying posts so just three names were drawn.  The winners are:
 
Wendy L!!!
Hollyberry!!!
Laura O!!!

Congratulations!  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your postal address and claim your prize!  All for now, Sue x

Love That Craft Stash!

Morning everyone!  I will tell you right now that this card is actually pale yellow and black.  I know my picture taking skills leave a lot to be desired, but I'm going to blame this one on the equipment! LOL  I was having a good rummage through some of my craft stash, the stuff you buy because you think, "I'll use that," but you hardly ever do!  You know what I mean, all crafters have some of that stash.  Well, I found a lovely cameo and I haven't a clue where it came from but I was completely smitten with it.  So I pulled out my Floral Oval dies to put together a quick card so I could see the cameo on a card.  I started with the Valor Embossibility folder to create an embossed background.  I cut the largest Floral Oval die out of black card for my focal element.  I stamped my sentiment on pale yellow card, and cut it out with the middle size of the Floral Ovals.  I used Black Soot distress ink with a very light hand and inked the piece while it was still in the die.  I layered the two pieces turning the large oval in a vertical fashion.  Using mounting foam, I added them to the top of my background.   I ran a piece of black silky crush ribbon around the bottom of the card and taped it to the back.  I tied a double bow and added my matching cameo to the centre of the bow.  I used a glue dot to add my bow to my card.  I cut up a black rhinestone swirl spray and added pieces to the top and bottom of the card.  Three rhinestones were added to the top and bottom of my focal element  to complete the card.  Super easy and super quick.  I love the way the cameo looks too!  Now if I just could remember where I got it! LOL  All for now, Sue x

Cream And Aqua Card

, Morning all!  A simple cream and deep aqua card for today's post.  The background was embossed with the Valor embossibility folder, utilising the technique to lengthen my background seamlessly. I wrapped a piece of aqua silky crush ribbon around the left edge and taped the ends to the back of the card.  No bow today (although it easily could have been added), I decided to use a piece of natural twine to tie around my ribbon at the bottom for a simpler look.  I cut a smaller piece, about 4" x 4" and pierced the edge as a frame for another piece of milk coloured card.  I mounted them in a diamond orientation.  Using dark aqua card, I cut a frame using two sizes of the labels 24 dies.  Using an open So Trendy embossibility folder, I placed the frame on top while still in the die.  Leaving the folder open, I placed my tan mat on top and added a few pieces of card as a shim and then the raspberry plate, I ran it through the machine to emboss my frame.  I inked it with a bit of distress ink (forest moss, I think) to bring out the embossing.  I added some matching pearl Nestabling to frame it.  I stamped my sentiment and inked the edges lightly with Broken China distress ink and mounted it behind my frame using some foam pieces.  I added my frame to the centre of my card, but offset in a square orientation this time.  One Spiral flower 3 was rolled and added to the top corner as an accent and the entire edge of the back matting was pierced to complete the card.  All for now, Sue x

Believe In Yourself

Hi blog friends!  I can't stay away from Kraft card for too long and this card is no exception.  The background is a printed kraft card (I am fairly certain this came from the Tim Holtz Kraft pad).  I distressed the edges and used a black fine tipped ink pen to draw faux stitch marks around the edge.  I used some Black Soot distress ink with a very light hand on the edges too.  Using the smallest size of the Grand Dahlia dies and one of the Moroccan Accent dies for the inside, I cut a frame out of black cardstock.  I stamped my sentiment on a strip of kraft card (I used the back unprinted side).  I cut one end into a fork and backed it with a mat of black card.  I put the other end through my frame for a modified buckle card.  I raised it a little for dimension and added some black rhinestone swirls as an accent.  Using the champagne coloured silky crush ribbon, I tied a double bow, added two black pearl stick pins and a fancy button and attached it to the side of my frame.  A mat of milk coloured card for contrast and piercing around the edges finish off this quick card nicely.  By the way, the approximate size on this one is 5" x 10", I just love this shape!  All for now, Sue x