Each New Day

Hi there!  This is a different look for me, but I was really pleased with the way it came out.  I have tried very hard to photograph this card so you can see the debossing on it but it still looks embossed.  I used a new That Special Touch mask called Meadow Mask and inked the mask itself with Clear Perfect Medium.  I used a piece of milk coloured card, but I added some Scattered Straw distress ink to the base of the card first.   Because the entire mask area was inked, I would not have been able to add that colour afterwards.  The inked and embossed area would act as a resist.   I then placed the card face down on the inked mask and ran it through my GC with the tan mat and pink embossing plate.  That transferred the ink to the card and then I clear embossed the debossed area left by the mask.  Even as I look at the picture, the mask area looks raised to me, but I assure you that it is the debossed area on this card.  I used an anti static pad on the background then stamped my sentiment in the open area in the mask and clear embossed it.  Next I used Tumbled Glass distress ink and worked my way in from the edges, making sure the ink was lighter in the centre.  I then used Chipped Sapphire distress ink around the edges for a darker gradation of colour. Once I was satisfied, I used a tissue to remove any ink from the embossed area of my background.   I matted the finished piece with a combination of dark and light mats and some piercing to help frame and finish it.  Another very quick card (no bows or nesties either, can you believe it!), but a very pleasing result that can be used for any occasion by just changing the sentiment.  All for now, Sue x

Best Wishes

Good morning all!  I have been having a play with another "buckle" designed card for today.  I love doing these and we just got our striped grosgrain ribbon back in stock so I couldn't wait to have a play which included both product and design.  I embossed the milk card using the Washed Away embossing folder.  I wanted my card to be rather long and thin to accommodate the style so I had to move the background along and extend the pattern.  I matted it on some eggplant coloured card for my background.  Next I cut three frames using Labels 24.  One was cut using the largest two dies in the label set and two more were cut using slightly smaller dies.  I added matching pearl nestabling to the two smaller frames.  I cut a splendid circle out of eggplant card and used a smaller blossom die for the centre.  I tied a double bow out of the striped grosgrain and cut a separate long piece to go under all my dies, which I cut into a fork at the end of the card.  I stamped my sentiment and matted it with taupe card and cut forks into both ends.  I used the sentiment to weave through my frames for the buckle effect.  I mounted the circle over the top of the largest label 24 frame as a focal element.  I pierced the edges, added a pearl embellishment and two stick pins to my bow to complete the card.  This still is one of my favourite layouts and it looks so nice with just about any die shape too.  All for now, Sue x

You Make My Life Bloom

 Good Sunday morning!  As promised a break from Christmas cards today!  This card is a bit quirky, but I wanted to show it so you can see that dies don't always have to be static.  You can use halves or other sections to create great looks on your cards and projects.  I used three halves of my Vintage Lace Accent dies here to create a frilly edge for my card.  I picked a background decorative paper and covered it with our sticky adhesive sheet and coated it with micro beads for texture.  I glued the die halves to the left edge and added a thin strip to cover the cut edge.  Using Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA glue, I added small glue dots down the strip.  I had a little bit of the background paper left so I made two rolled flowers and leaves  for a shabby chic look.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it at the end into a forked flag.  I matted it with some taupe card.  I decided to do a bit of scoring around the edges instead of my usual piercing for a bit of a different look.  Finally, the finishing touch was a pearl swirl for interest.  I hope you can use some of these different ideas in your cardmaking projects.
As it is Sunday, it is time for our comment game winners for this week.  They are:
                                                                Bean!!!
                                                               Theresa H!!!
                                                                Martine!!!
Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize.  All for now, Sue x

Paved Pearl Snowflakes

Hi guys,  I know I seem to be bombarding you with Christmas cards lately, but I have bunches of them and so much of what I have been working on lately, I can't show just yet.  As I often do, I used the negative piece from the snowflakes that I cut out for another card.  I just couldn't bear to waste it.  I picked an aqua based decorative paper for the background.  It does have a nice tone on tone pattern to it, but I have coated it with micro beads so I couldn't get my little camera to pick up that detail (you can still see it nicely if you are holding the card though).   I mounted my negative piece up on foam pieces for dimension and I added pearls to the centres of the snowflakes.  I stamped a small sentiment on the same decorative paper and cut it out with one of my Vintage Lace tags and mounted it in the corner.  I tied a double bow out of the aqua silky crush ribbon and added a large round Dazzler over the knot for the other corner.  I was feeling the need to play again with my paved pearl technique as I find it so fun (and oddly relaxing) to do.  I have had a few emails about it so just to give a quick recap on how I do it, I start with a wide border area and place random large drops of the Cosmic Shimmer PVA glue around one side.  I then go back and place more random drops of a slightly smaller size around.  Then I go back and fill in as I go along doing one full side at a time.  By placing the random drops it helps me keep it from lining up too much, ensuring a more random nature to it.  If you haven't tried this technique yet, I encourage you to have a try!  I'll try to give you a break from Christmas cards tomorrow.  All for now, Sue x

White On White Holiday Tree

Hi crafty friends!  Let's see if I can make up for the darkness of yesterday's card and swing the pendulum in exactly the opposite direction (plus, I think there was a request for this card).  White, white and more white (the blue isn't part of the card).  When I first received these dies, I cut the tree out of white card first thing.  I loved it so much, I used the negative piece to make my first card and the actual die shape I used here on my second card.  This card could not be more simple.  If you are looking for a quick but really elegant Christmas card, look no further, this is about as quick and easy as they come.  I covered my piece of white card with a piece of the sticky adhesive paper and rounded the corners.  I peeled the backing paper off and coated it with micro beads.  I added a piece of white silky crush ribbon around the bottom and a double bow on top (with a glue dot)  I glued on a small round Dazzler in the centre of the bow.  Background done.  Glued my Holiday tree die in the centre of the card and added some large flatback pearls, focal element done.  Pierced the edge, card done.  A little tip with the tree, use some wax paper or greaseproof paper between the die and your card and it will fall out of the die for you and speed up the Christmas card making process too.  If not having a sentiment bothers you, one could quite easily be added as a tag hanging from the bow or even just inside your card (if, unlike me, you do insides, LOL).  I was just enjoying the white space on the card and didn't want to clutter it up on this one.  I hope I have properly redeemed myself after the mixed reviews of yesterday's card.  All for now, Sue x

Peace

Morning all!  I know that is may not appeal to those of you that favour a more traditional look to Christmas cards, but I am rather enjoying making the non traditional type cards lately.  This one is about as far from traditional as you can get, but I just loved it when it was finished.  This is what I call one of my "channel or canal" type cards.  This is just my name for this type of layout.  The top piece, in this case the black card has been embossed with the Holly border on the edge and then cut apart from the rest of the black card. I used a corner from the set and embossed it into the two corners.   I then cut a Holly border, this time out out of Graphic 45 paper.  I then used that border to attach the two pieces of the black card by gluing the tips of the border to one side. I then glued the tips of the other side of the border to the other side.  This piece was then raised up using foam mounting pieces to create a channel or canal below the border.  This channel was filled with gold mica flakes adhered to a sticky adhesive sheet.  You can sort of see the channel a bit better on the close up below.   Using the same decorative paper, I cut the largest size of the Holiday Bauble 2012 and one of the smaller sizes to create a frame.  I stamped the sentiment sideways on black card and embossed with gold.  I used an embossing folder for texture (can't recall which one, though).  I mounted the ornament above it with foam pieces.  I tied a double bow with black silky crush ribbon, added a fancy button and attached it to the top of the ornament.  Guess what, I didn't pierce this one, can you believe it!  It is a bit different, if you are open to a new look, you might like it!  All for now, Sue x

Sunny Sunflowers

 Hi friends!  This is another of the floral cards that I did recently using the new stamps from Creative Expressions.  These sunflowers are from the set called Festive Florals and they are lovely.  You also get to have a sneak peek of one of the upcoming releases from our Couture Creations line of embossing folders called "Melody".  This one hasn't been officially released yet but it will be here before you know it.  I for one, think it is lovely and plan on putting it to a good workout!  I stamped the bottom corner of my card, then inserted it into the folder and ran it through my GC.  You could stamp this afterwards if you wanted to though, since the pattern is contained to a specific area on your background.  On the top of the background, I simply stamped my sunflowers a couple of times in black archival ink.  I stamped the sunflowers once more on a separate piece of coconut white card (from the neutral card pack) and coloured them with pencils.  I cut them out and then took a black marker pen around the edge to remove the white cut edge from showing.  I mounted the flowers on foam pieces and placed them on my background directly over the same area inked in black.  You get a nice pop of colour on a black and white card.  This is a kind of spot lighting technique (it is usually done within a cut out circle area.)  I pierced the edges to finish it off and you have another really quick, but pretty card I think.  All for now, Sue x

Greetings Of The Season

Greetings all!  I having a bit of fun with the Holly Motifs and Accents today.  This set has so much to offer in the way of versatility in their uses.  You can snip off the holly pieces and completely change the feel to them.  Or leave the holly pieces on and go head on with that Christmas feel as I have done here.  I chose a colour scheme of green and cream and cut and matted a couple of different sized square pieces.  For the focal element, I cut the holly motif out of the centre of the milk coloured card.  I took out the fall away pieces, them taped the piece back into place from the back.  I cut one of the accent pieces and turned it to create a different pattern.  I stamped my sentiment in black and embossed then cut it out using the same accent piece.  I inked it with Pine Needles while in the die.  Once I removed it, I nipped away all but the centre section and mounted it on foam to complete my focal element.  I cut four of the holly borders and cut them into sections.  I interlocked the curly pieces so they would hold hands at the corners.  I added flatback pearls to the corners and pierced the edges to finish the card.  I think this one would look lovely with a red background too.  All for now, Sue x

Make A Wish

Hi there my crafty blog friends!  Dandelion wishes for today.  I love this new stamp set and they are so versatile.  Here I have stamped it using a clear Perfect Medium pad and embossed it with white powder.  I used Mustard Seed distress ink in the centre of the image.  Next, I used Spiced Marmalade distress ink and blended it in to the outside of the image, using the yellow to gradate the colour outward.  I used Black Soot distress ink around the very edge as a shadow for the octagonal shape. I stamped my sentiment with a black archival ink pad.  I cut the octagon aperture out of white card and mounted it on foam pieces to recess my image in the frame.  I pierced around the edge of the outer white mat to complete the card.  All in all, this one took less than 15 minutes to complete.  You could easily change this card to any colours that you like and personalise the sentiment for your needs and still have a quick and pretty card ready to go in no time.  All for now, Sue x

Christmas Blessings

Hi guys!  It's Sunday morning so that means a card, some CHA pics and some comment game winners!  Now that should be worth getting out of bed for, huh! LOL  Today's card is a nice Christmas card using the Holiday Tree set from last year.  These are so simple of shapes that they allow you to dress them up in any manner you chose.  I decided that I would start with milk coloured card and cut three trees, all different sizes.  Once cut, but while still in the die,  I stamped my swirl stamp all over them using a clear perfect medium pad and clear embossed them.  I inked them with Forest Moss distress ink while still ink the die too.  Then I transferred them (while still in the die) atop an itty bitty polka dot mask design and ran them through to emboss the design on them.  I inked them once more to highlight my polka dots.  I cut a piece of milk card and stamped my sentiment in black in the corner.  Then I embossed the piece with the fretwork mask.  I extended the pattern by lining it up and doing a bit more.  I cut a strip of holly Christmas paper I found (that was about all I had too!) and added it to the side of my background on top of my embossed background.  This added a bit of colour and interest to my card.  I mounted my trees on foam pads and placed them on my background in a pleasing pattern.  I added pearls swirls on both sides of my trees for a bit of bling.  Using the Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA glue, I added glue dots around the edge to frame and finish my card

 Here is a pic of Claudine Helmouth at the Ranger stand early Wednesday morning for the private invitation demo.  She was showing us a lovely transfer technique using her Matte Medium products.  Sorry I cut off her head (I didn't have my glasses on!)

 Here is Tim showing us all his fun new products.  He played with his new metallic stains (heavenly) and his new clear rock candy dry glitter (absolutely gorgeous), as well as old favourite distress inks and marker pens.  He is such a good demo artist and so entertaining to watch.

Dyan Reavesley showed us her amazing journaling techniques.  I wish that I could work as freely as she does!  It is just fascinating to watch her work.  The colours are so bright and cheery.

One of the booths that always takes my breath away is the Graphic 45 paper stand.  Their new releases had a decided Oriental feel to one of the collections and they used the paper to "dress" these dolls.  Yes their kimonos are made of paper! 

 As are these shoes!

 Here is one of Wendy Vecchi's new sample boards.  I love her style, it is so interesting.  We are now carrying Studio 490 and Art Parts and even her Blossom Bucket embellishments.  We ordered all the new images,  Art Parts and embellishments to add to our range too.  Wendy is one of the most gracious people I have ever met too.  I am trying to get her to come over and do workshops for us, but no luck yet!

I met Teresa Collins in June when she and I were in the green room  at C & C together.  What a lovely lady she is!  I just had to stop in for a chat and have our pictures taken together.  She put a picture of us on her blog after our day at the studio in June so I wanted to return the favour.  She is hoping to be able to come over several times a year for C & C, so maybe I will see her more often than just twice a year at CHA.

The summer CHA show is never as large or well attended as the winter show in January and this one was no exception.  It was a very quiet show and there wasn't as much really fun stuff in the way of displays, but I did like this dress that was made entirely of craft foil.  It reminded me of something you might see Madonna wear on tour!

                                    

                                                                      And finally, my pic with Tim that was taken at the end of the private demo at the Ranger Ranger booth before the show opened on Wednesday.  I hope you have enjoyed the pics.  I didn't take as many as I usually do, but I enjoyed the show nonetheless. 

Now for the Comment Game winners for this week.  They are:
Vicki Maclean!!!
Sylvia-Anne!!!
jtcards!!!
Please email me at Americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize.

All for now, Sue x

Pearly Bauble

Morning my friends!  Today's Christmas card was just a pure lark on my part.  I had seen a card online awhile back that was done using the Christmas bauble die from last year but with a red background.  It, too was adorned in full pearls.  I really just wanted to try it!  I had recently purchase a large inexpensive bag of pearls to use as centres for flowers and since it was right in front of me, well, you know the rest!  I cut out the Christmas Bauble in the largest size using blue card.  While still in the die, I glued three sizes of pearls randomly on to the die, taking care not to get too close to the die so I could remove it easily once finished.  I decided to leave some random gaps too rather than tightly filling it in as I wanted the blue to show through.  I used the Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue for this so it was dry in no time.  For the background, I used the Wild Poinsettia embossing folder and did the top portion of the card.  I stamped my sentiment and embossed it in clear and drew two score lines below my embossed background.  I tied a small bow with white silky crush, added a fancy white button and mounted it to the top of the ornament.  I used a small piece of blue and white Bakers Twine to make it look like it was hanging.  I pierced the edges on the white mat behind it to complete the card.  I was thinking that this might be a fun card for you to do if you have children that may want to help in the card making process at Christmas time too.    I am hoping to get some pics from CHA up on tomorrow's blog so be sure to check back.  All for now, Sue x

Mixed Snowflake Wreath

Hello everyone!  Who says that snowflakes can't be metallic or in a wreath?  I used a piece of some favourite decorative background paper for this one.  I pulled a few colours out of this one for my snowflakes.  Using a variety of small snowflake dies, I cut several colours for each one and arranged them into a wreath, slightly overlapping them.  I stamped my sentiment  and embossed it in gold and cut a matching gold mat for it.  I mounted it diagonally across my wreath with a bit of a lift to it in the centre.  I added a couple of large half pearls to each side.   I used the champagne coloured silky crush ribbon and cut it down the middle to make it about 3/4" wide.  I ran a strip of it across the bottom of the card and tied a double bow with the rest of it.  I added one of my pearl embellishments to the centre as an accent and added a couple of stick pins to it. 
On another note, today is the launch of the POTW shows with Julia Watt.  I am envious of her getting to play with all the new dies and show off her projects, I haven't had a chance to have a play with them yet!  Please tune in for her launch show at noon today.  All for now, Sue x

Gardenia In Vellum

Hi blog friends!  Can you almost smell the sweet scent of this delicate gardenia?  I have embossed it in White on vellum and cut it out. I did three layers on this one.  The entire flower and leaves on the bottom, the whole flower on the next layer and finally just the bud on the top layer.  I used a ball stylus on the petals and rubbed them til they turned white (there is a bit of a funny shadow, but it is really a lovely semi opaque white).  I added a touch of forest moss to the back of the leaves for a light colouring.  I mounted the flower in an oval that I had inked lightly with Tumbled glass distress ink.  I cut a white Floral Oval for it to sit upon for my focal element. and added a messy bow that I ties and scrunched from white American seam binding.  A fancy button and a couple of pearl stick pins adorned my bow.  I embossed a piece of teal card (which, by the way, we will be stocking soon!) with the Washed Away embossing folder.  (Just another little tidbit too, the Couture Creations brand embossing folders are usually just offered on a limited basis, once it sells out, it is gone and new ones are shipped bimonthly.  However, the Tied Together folder has been so popular that I contacted our supplier and asked if we could do another run of them and they have agreed! I will keep you posted on the delivery date once it has been confirmed.)  I stamped my sentiment in black and cut it on an angle so it would sit across the corner of my card.  Using one of the edgeability inserts, I cut two decorative strips and matted some pale aqua card behind them.  I added some foam mounting cushion on the strips and used them to edge and frame my sentiment.  I added some lovely pearl swirls to the top of the card and pierced the edges for a finished look.  A quick note, though, I have been notified that Dawn Bibby's show that these flowers were to be on has been postponed until July 30th in case you are interested.  All for now, Sue x

Poinsettias In Red

Hello my crafty friends!  My beloved Poinsettia die again today, but in the more traditional red this time.  I started with a piece of tan card and stamped it with one of the stamps from the Design Element set using a clear Perfect Medium pad.  This gives just a watermark effect to the background, creates some interest but doesn't overwhelm.  Next, I used a little technique from my DVD called "faux quilt" for my background.  Using several one inch strips over left over decorative paper, I taped them next to each other on a piece of copy paper.  Once I had a full sheet, I cut them the other direction at one inch intervals so that I now had strips, but each strip had several one inch blocks of assorted paper.  I reassembled these on another piece of copy paper, but this time, I placed them randomly next to each other and cut random squares away so as not to have an even background.  I wanted it to be like little blocks glued to the background randomly.  However, because they were taped to a piece of copy paper, I was able just to pick the whole piece up and tape it to my background card.  This technique is a great way to use some of those little scraps we squirrel away in our craft stashes.  Next I cut several of the poinsettia dies in red.  I inked all the veins with Fired Brick distress ink.  I layered up two poinsettias, then used  the "leaf" die to add more petals in red to one of them to create a large focal flower.  I cut a few in green as well to add and inked those veins with Forest Moss.  I stamped my sentiment in black and cut it out with one of the fancy tag dies.  I inked it while still in the die with Antique Linen and added it to my card with a bit of foam mounting cushion.  I wanted to give the card a bit of a shabby chic look so I distressed the edges of the card and inked them with Tea Dye to achieve this. Remember, do what it says "be merry!"  All for now, Sue x

CHA, Here I Come!

Hi guys!  If all goes well, this post should be going live just as I am getting ready for CHA in Chicago!  Blogger, don't fail me now!  The show opens this morning and I am eager to see what is new and exciting in the crafting industry.  I so hope to bring back many great finds, keep your fingers crossed for me! Now for today's card, it's another one that I missed posting on the blog from shows in April.  I started with this background paper that I really like as it has a very vintage feel to it.  The flowers are a bit too pink for me though, so I decided to cover the entire sheet with a self adhesive sticky sheet and cut the Angle Approach die out as an aperture. I like the negative from this die as it is very bold and would work well for men's cards too.   Once cut out and removed, I peeled the backing sheet off and poured on the clear micro beads.  Those did the trick for me as they toned down the pink enough that I the colour was workable for me.  I stamped a piece of taupe card from my neutral card pack with one of the Design Element stamps using Antique Linen.  I just wanted a pattern to show through without being too overwhelming.  I stamped my sentiment in black in the background. With two of the Floral oval dies, I cut a frame to mount over my sentiment in the centre of my aperture.  I cut three of the Moroccan borders and offset them on the bottom of my background.  I cut a narrow strip and embossed it with the Elegance embossibility and mounted it with a pink edge above my petticoat borders.  I tied a double bow using the champagne coloured frilly edged ribbon and added a fancy button to the centre of it.  I added two crystal stick pins to it and pierced the edges of my card to complete it.

Wildflowers

 Hello my friends!  A new card to show today as I have been having a play with the new "Dandelion Wishes" stamp set from Creative Expressions.  I started with a piece of coconut white card and stamped my wildflower across the bottom in black archival ink.  I stamped it several times without reinking it to get second generation (faded) images too.  I wanted them to look as if they were growing wild silhouetted in a field.  Next I cut a frame using the Grand square nesties.  I mounted several layers of foam pieces on the frame to raise it up above the centre piece and matted it onto a larger black piece of card.  I embossed the centre piece from my frame using the itty bitty polka dot mask.  I inked a piece of white card with forest moss, then broken china, then Dusty concord in a layered fashion.  I dried it well with a heat tool and used my anti-static pad over it then stamped and embossed my sentiment.  I cut it out with Labels 18.  I made a faux nestie from white card to mat it on, then cut the larger size of labels 18 in black as the last layer of my focal element.  I mounted it on foam in the centre of my frame.  I had a tiny bit of leftover inked card from my sentiment so I cut two small butterflies and added them to the top corner of my card to finish it off.  This was a fun play for me as I haven't gotten inky in quite a while!  All for now, Sue x

Joy And Wonder

Good Sunday morning all!  I hit a milestone last night that I would like to share with you and thank you for.  The counter on my blog ticked over the million visit mark.  Surprisingly, I just happened to look at it when I noticed how close it was.  I took a picture of it as it hit 999,999.  I wasn't sure what it was going to do next as it didn't have any more place holders for numbers!  I thought it would just read 000000 and not show the 1.  It actually ticked over to read 100,000, but it eventually readjusted itself and added the extra place to show 1,000,000.  I was over the moon as I never ever thought it would reach such a point.  Thank you so much for all your continued support, I could not have ever reached that milestone without all your help!  You, my crafty friends, are the absolute best!

I  still have a bunch of Christmas cards to show you.  I thought I would just slip them in here and there so it is less painful to think about!  This is kind of a fun card to do because the background is the "caught in crystal" technique.  I showed this technique on my DVD last year and it still remains one of my favourite techniques to do.  There are several ways of achieving this look, but for me I prefer to use crystal lacquer rather than the sometimes used floor polish.  I find that method far too messy and the results are not always as eye catching.  If you use too much, it just becomes a runny mess.  I have never had that problem with crystal lacquer so it is still my go to choice for this method.  A quick rundown, though, for those of you that have never tried this.  Start with a piece of clear acetate and squiggle clear crystal lacquer over the area you want.  Add drops of several different colours of alcohol inks (I used cool peri and stonewashed blue), then tap powdered mica over it (I used silver) and then wrinkle up a piece of white tissue paper.  open it up but don't take out all the wrinkles, then lay it over the top and tamp it down with some kitchen roll.  Set aside to dry over night.  Once dry, cut it to the size you want to use.  You can stamp on the front (smooth) side of it if you want to.  I cut mine into three pieces and matted them with white card for my background and then on to a piece of silver card.  On a larger piece of white card, I stamped my sentiment in the lower corner and added some swirls across the bottom of the card that I embossed in white.  I cut three different sizes of snowflakes for my focal element.  The top on and the back one were cut out of white card.  The centre snowflake was cut from white glitter card.  I added a pearl to the centre of them once they were layered.  I thought a few pearl swirls would be a nice addition to finish off my card.  This is a great card to do for Christmas if you do large batches because you can make up a bunch of sheets of the caught in crystal ahead of time and then just cut them to size as you need them. 

Since it is Sunday, we have a bit of prize giving to do too! 

The winners of this week's comment game are:

Heather Rogers!!!

Marleine!!!

Buttons!!!

Congratulations! You must email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prizes.  All for now, Sue x

To The World

Happy weekend!  I have been playing a bit more with my Vintage Lace dies and came up with this one the other day.  I am just in love with this border, it ticks all the boxes for me.  I picked out a piece of some decorative paper that I had in a scrap box and started from there.  I added four borders around it to create a pretty frame.  I overlapped them at the corners and added some large half pearls that I had. These will be in stock in the coming weeks if you are looking for large sizes, fyi.  The smaller "pearls" are my Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA glue dots, you thought they were also pearls, didn't you?  From there I cut a labels 23 die out of milk coloured card and added the matching pearl nestabling.  I stamped my sentiment in black and clear embossed it.  I cut this out out of labels 18.  Once out of the die, I edged it with some Bundled Sage distress ink to pick up just a hint of the background colour.  I mounted it with foam pieces in the centre.  I had a few scraps of my background paper left for I tore two pieces into circles and scrunched them.  I put a brad through the centre and inked the edges lightly with Bundled sage also.  This gave me a lovely little shabby chic flower for my card.  I tied a messy bow out of chalk white American seam binding and used a glue dot to attach it to my card.  I topped it with my scrunched  flower and pierced the edges of the card to complete it.  Very girlie, but you know they are my favourite type!  All for now, Sue x

Floral Splendour

Good morning all!  I bet you weren't expecting florals today!  I'm not there for a few weeks so I have to keep you on your toes, don't I?! LOL  We have two new stamp sets that I have been playing with recently.  These have just been released for sale and I believe they will be premiering on one of Dawn Bibby's shows next week also.  I made about eight samples for her and this is one of them.  I really like these carnations as they are just so bold and easy to stamp and colour.  I started this card by making a background using a couple of the edgeability inserts.  I used two and cut them along the bottom of the card three times to create a lovely lacy look to it. I mounted them over a pale rose coloured card.   I stamped my sentiment in black archival in the upper left corner.  Using some whit American seam binding, I tied a messy bow and adorned it with a medium round Dazzler for a bit of the bling!  I stamped my carnations in black and embossed them.  I coloured them with pencils, and used a few Copic markers to add depth and shading.  I must admit, I did a quick job on this and might have taken more time to soften the shading with a blender pen, but I was under a bit of a time constraint.  I thought the image was bold enough to handle the definite shade lines for a bit of the dramatic.  If you wanted a more pastel look, then definitely soften the shade lines and you can easily achieve it.  I went around the outside of the flowers with a blue pen to give them a shadowed effect too.  I cut the flowers out with a circle nestie and shaded them with a light inking of Tattered Rose distress ink while in the die.  I cut a matching larger circle as a mat, then placed them both in a lacy circle die cut as a frame and then on to my background.  I finished the card by my usual edge piercing to frame and soften it.  If the weather isn't giving you flowers, then at least I can today!  All for now, Sue x