Frilly Flowers and Butterfly

Happy Monday all!  If blogger is being kind to me then you should be seeing this post as I am half way over the Atlantic on the way back home to England.  I will keep my fingers crossed and hopefully it will go up on the blog without a hitch!  This is one of my favourite cards from the last bunch I did.  I can't really say why but I was pleased with the way it turned out even if my photography doesn't do it much justice.  I used one of the Grand Impressibilities to emboss the black background.  I cut an aperature out using Labels 21 and then I cut a frame to mount over the opening for emphasis.  I used a little touch of striped paper to add some colour and I apologise as I cannot recall either of the paper names I have used here.  I used the coordinating pattern to cut the butterflyfrom the Fanciful Flight set and also to add some sprigs to the floral element.  I like to use papers like that as it just feels more balanced to be able to bring it in again in another place on the card.  The flowers were made by cutting the frilly edged ribbon down the centre.  I used about 24inches for the largest flower and about half that for the smallest flower.  Attach the redline tape to the cut edge so that it just covers the bottom of the ribbon by about 1/8th of an inch (just enough so it has something to tack on to).  Fold the very corner down so that if the ribbon would fray, it will not show, then roll to get the centre of your flower.  Once you have a small tube, then begin to add small gathers as you roll.  This will cause the flower to open up more and begin to take shape.  Do this to the end of your ribbon and try to keep the outside top edge of the ribbon relatively even (so the tape will be moving up the side of the flower a bit as you go).  If your tape on the bottom of the flower seems too thick when you are done, you can cut it down with a pair of sharp scissors.  I did try to do a visual tutorial for you on this and quickly realised that I cannot take photos and show what I am doing at the same time so I will need to enlist some help on this after I return.

I cut a few leafy pieces from the Fancy Foliage set and added some black vintage ribbon to complete the floral embellishment.  There is a close up below for you of it. I just love the little bit of waviness you get from the frilly edged ribbon for these flowers.   I added some black rhinestone swirls as a final embellishment for the card. 

I will post a sneak peek tomorrow for the shows that I will be doing beginning Tuesday evening so please be sure to check back tomorrow won't you?  All for now, Sue x

Just A Note

Hi guys, I wasn't quite sure about posting this one as I wasn't completely happy with how it came out.  I have decided to let you be judge and jury on it (be honest but be kind, I have very thin skin!)  I have used the Parisian dies for this, but rather than having them hold hands, I decided to have them hug their background colour square.  The edges of the die all tuck behind the green squares so nicely, I haven't even glued or taped them in place.  Using the small fleur de lis die from another set, I used it as an accent for the centres of all the squares.  The sentiment was stamped and cut out with one of the Parisian accent dies, then I cut two more, one in turquoise and one in olive card.  Those two were cut in half and layered behind the original by just mounting them outward a bit each time and taping them in place on the back.  I cut two Parisian border die pieces and used them on the sides of the card and laced the frilly edged ribbon through them as a holder for my bow.  I added a button and some twine for the centre of the bow (as I always feel they look naked otherwise!).  Okay, what's the verdict, what would you think if you received this one in the post?  All for now, Sue x

Floral Wreath

Hi blogland friends!  Back to an old favourite of black and cream for this one.  The background was made using the Walrus and Carpenter embossing folder to give the card some texture.  I did half of it then moved it and aligned the design and did the other half of it.  If you leave the already embossed side of your card and the edge of the folder hanging just off of your base plate, you won't get a line from your folder.  It gives you a really nice background that way.  I cut quite a few of the rose creation flowers for this one.  Each time I cut one of them, though, I placed the cream card face down on the die first then a piece of the black card on top of it.  This allowed me to cut all the flower pieces faster and I was able to ink the cream flower witrh Antique Linen Distress ink while in the die too.  I used a foam pad and a ball stylus to give the flowers some shape.  By rubbing the stylus over the back of the flowers in a circular motion while on the pad, it breaks down the paper a bit and gives them shape.  I attached my flowers around the sentiment to form a wreath and used some foam mounting pieces to give some of the flowers height also.  I added pearls to all the flower centres too.  The edgeability dies were used to cut a black border and I added a bow made from the cream crocheted ribbon.  The Baker twine in black and white added a nice little accent touch to the button so I could finish off the bow.  Of course there had to be some piercing to the card or it just wouldn't feel finished,
would it!  I hope you enjoyed todays offering!  All for now, Sue x

Grateful (In Teal, White and Black)

Hi crafty blog friends!  Back to teal again today.  It seems that I can't seem to stay away from it too long lately.  It is a nice colour though, don't you think?  I started out with a piece of white card for this one and cut the Samantha Walker Twisted Metal tag die out of it.  I kept the die in place and inked the entire background with Broken China Distress Ink to create the teal background colour.

 When you remove the die you end up with that lovely white border left from the edge of the die.  The inner die piece was stamped with the sentiment and inked lightly with the same colour to highlight it.  I mounted the negative background piece over some black glitter card and attached the sentiment in the centre.  Using the white frilly edged  ribbon, I tied a big bow at the bottom of the card.  I cut several of the floral anemone die in white and teal card and removed the centre of each petal by folding it back and snipping it off.  I layered up the pieces and offset them slightly and glued them together.  I had a black fancy button in my craft stash that I glued in place for the centre of the flower.  There is a close up of it below for you. 

I pierced around the edge of the black card that I layered it on and added some black rhinestones in each corner to finish it off.  I really liked the way this one came out, probably because it was teal, who knows!  I hope you like it too.  All for now, Sue x

More Lace Doily Fun

Good morning all!  I had a good rummage around and finally found the picture of this card that is another version of the card I posted on Tuesday.  I cut the lace doily motif dies in half again, but I mounted the borders over the edge of them this time.  I used the smaller lace doily accent pieces to create a fun corner piece for interest.  I used the really small accent piece to top it and bring some more red into the card for balance.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with labels 22 and inked around the edge.  When I demoed this, I used the black soot for this which I prefer to the Fired Brick used here, but I didn't photograph that one before they sent it out to an email recipient (you have to be quick and I wasn't!)  I used the black rhinestone Nestabling to give it a more focal centre and I cut a second labels 22 in black as a mat and turned it in the opposite direction.  Both this card and the previous version are extremely quick to make and work well for both male or female depending on the colour and the sentiment used, don't you think?  All for now, Sue x

Tan And Turquoise!

Hi my crafty friends!  I hope everyone is bright eyed this morning!  We are having a bit of a turquoise and tan day today.  I was having some fun here mixing and matching different patterned papers from my stash (did you spot the houndstooth, I told you I can't pass it up!)  The two tan prints are the front and back from some My Minds Eye paper I had while the turquoise paper is from another company, but I really liked the way they looked together so voila a card!  I had a play with the dies to make my focal element and decided on labels twenty for the background piece.  I cut a frame using labels 18 on the outside and labels 22 on the inside of the frame to give it a different look.  In my typical fashion, I added three of my handmade vintage ribbon rolled flowers as an accent to the top.  I added a few pieces from the foliage set as accents to the floral corner of the card and balanced it with a textured bow of frilly edged ribbon and vintage ribbon in the opposite corner.   A very easy card to put together as it is just a bit of matting and layering different papers and doing the same with the Spellbinders dies too.  Hope it's not too girlie for you!  All for now, Sue x

Lace Doily Fun

Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone is doing well and fine!  I have a little bit of news for you today.  I am scheduled to be back on Create and Craft (or rather Ideal World TV) a week from today.  Now as most of you know, I am visiting my parents in Florida at the moment.  I will be back in the UK on the 12th and I have shows scheduled for the 13th and 14th!  Hopefully, I won't be too jet lagged to make sense as I demo (no promises though! LOL).  The shows start at 5pm on the 13th (so at least I will be able to sleep in a bit) and then there are shows all day on the 14th.  Check the schedule on their website the day before for the specific times as I haven't been given a final schedule yet.  I have been crafting while at Mom's so I have a bunch of new cards to show for it too.
   As for today's card, I was having a bit of fun with the Spellbinder's Lace Doily Motifs and Accents.  The lavender background is two of the doily motifs cut in half and mounted with the lace edge to the inside.  I used the border dies to edge the card in black and frame it.  I cut another lace doily in white for the focal element.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the Picot edge circles and inked it with Dusty Concord while it was still in the die.  I did a bit of matting and layering and added  a few pearls to the corners to finish it off.  I did do another slightly different version of this card as a demo on one of the shows.  I will see if I can find it to post this week and you can see another version.  It's fun if you own this set of dies to see some different versions. 
   By the way, this is one of the few dies that does require a bit of work to get it out of the dies sometimes.  Like the fancy tags that one of the followers left a comment about, you can help these dies to release if you use either an anti static pad on them or I rub them with a piece of wax paper before cutting them.  You can loosen them by rapping them on the edge of a table too.  If you use paper rather than card you will more than likely rip them.  Try a card that is about 250 gr. weight with these intricate type dies.  If anyone has any other methods that work for them, please share them as I would love to know what works for other people too.  All for now, Sue x

Fanciful Flight

Good morning blog friends!  As you can see, I really love this butterfly from the Fanciful Flight set so it is back for yet another appearance.  This time, I have cut the die from some Graphic 45 paper that I am also very partial to using.  I used the same paper for the background and all three of the butterflies.  I cut a frame from the Grand squares and mounted it up with foam pieces.  I stamped my sentiment on matching tan card and cut it out with Labels 18 and used a bit of Antique Linen Distress ink to add a highlight while it was still in the die.  I cut a mat using the larger size of Labels 18.  I added some pearl swirls for accent to the side of the frame too.  I decided on adding a little mat of teal to pick up the colour in the flowers and add some interest too.  A very easy card to put together if you are in a hurry but need something nice  for a special recipient.  I just love that butterfly, don't you!  All for now, Sue x

HoundsTooth Love Affair

Hi everyone!  This morning we are going to our earth tones for the day's card offering.  I have this secret love affair with Houndstooth so much so that  I can't pass it up anytime I see paper with that pattern.  So there, I've confessed (just add it to my ribbon addiction! LOL)    For this card, I had a bit of fun making new shapes.  The focal element has been cut using Labels 21 but I cut the two fleur de lis side elements out of the label shape (it is difficult to tell, but you are seeing the black from the back piece through the open negative space).  I cut the brown piece from the next size down of Labels 21 then put it back in the die vertically and cut it again resulting in the shape you see.  The two fleur de lis pieces that I cut out of the cream piece have been added to the top and bottom of the sentiment.  I ruched some amber brown vintage ribbon across the card between the two cardstocks and added a rosette made from two of the Samantha Walker Blossom dies.  A small button with bakers Twine topped the rosette to help hide the centre of the rosette.  I added some black rhinestone swirls to the bottom of the card as an accent.  For the finishing touches, I used the pearl PVA glue all the way around the centre focal element and the cream mat on the card.  Change the sentiment to suit and I think this card would work very nicely for the male in your life (and we all know how challenging it can be to do guy cards, huh?)  I hope you like it!
  We have had another winner in the comment game.  For the post of December 2nd, we had over 100 comments left so I randomly drew number 26.  This corresponds to CRAFTY MOP (there were a few duplicates and you can only be counted once for each post).  Please contact me at americansue1@gmail.com to verify your details!     All for now, Sue x

For The Bride And Groom

 Morning all!  Think December wedding for this one!  I have used the stamps from Sam Poole's wedding stamp set for this card.  I love the fact that this frame around the bride and groom is designed to be used with Spellbinders Labels 13.  I stamped and embossed it with silver embossing powder to keep with my white and silver theme on this card.  The floral frame around the card is actually made from the left over bits out of the border that you can see peeking out from underneath the floral frame.  There is a close up view below for you.  I used the lotus border die to create a border inside my square and then I attached (with glue) the four petal flower looking left over piece to the frame I made for my borders.  I added a drop of pearl PVA glue to the centres of each of these to give them a more flower like appearance.  I cut a piece of white tulle and threaded it through a diamante buckle and added a string of pearls on either side to frame it.  The very background is a piece of decorative paper that I used but I liked the way it looked similar to the Spellbinders frame around the bride and groom. I know it looks like I have way too much time on my hands!   It was a bit of a time consuming card to make but I liked the way that it allowed me to use the left over bits creatively.   Now, who do I know getting married this month, hmmm?!  All for now, Sue x

Candy And A Card!

Hello blogland friends!  It's time for candy and a card today.  I finally got my pictures uploaded on to my computer of the latest candy offering.  I put it together the morning before I left for Florida and haven't had a chance to post it until now!  Not wanting to disappoint either, I have included my morning card for your perusal too.  I really like this card because the colours in it seems so autumnal and soothing.  I like this tree stamp a lot too.  I used Labels 23 to pyramage the tree, but I left a white border on each section by inking through the die with Fired brick and Mustard yellow.  I just splodged the ink randomly while in the die to create an autumn feel to the background of the tree.  I did the same to the background with the sentiment, only keeping the colours softer and more muted this time.  I cut a Grand Labels 23 in black for the background and pierced around the edge using the die as a guide.  I finished the card by adding small black rhinestones to the corners.  If the card isn't to your taste, then how 'bout this candy offering?

There are 5 rubber stamp sets, a Rubit Scrubit pad, an adirondack ink pad, a clear stamp set, two distress inks, metal strips, distress embossing powder, glitter, gold embossing powder, an Archival ink pad, black rhinestones swirls in facing directions, an acrylic block, some buttons, clear embossing powder and a giant pile of vintage ribbon!  I loved the fact that everyone seemed so involved last time and left lots of comments so I am going to keep the game going the same way from now on.  To be entered into the candy draw, you need to send me your detail once and every time you leave a comment on the blog or email me with a comment, you get an entry.  If you check the blog daily and let me know that you have been by then you will receive an entry for each time. Simple as pie!  If you have any problems leaving a comment, then use the "anonymous" button but please sign your name to your post so you get credit for it!    All for now, Sue x

One Card, Two Versions

Hi blog friends! Here is a simple card that I did with two different versions.  I originally made the bottom card and wasn't happy with it as it felt unbalanced when I finished it.  Since I wanted to use it as a demo card to show the lovely lacy circles doubled up to make it look like a doily edge, so I decided to re-do it.  I put the heavier striped card on the background this time and I felt like it balanced out the heavy bling from the focal element.  You decide which one works better!  I cut the Labels 22 out of black glitter card and added the matching nestabling.  Then I cut two of each size of the lacy circles,  offset them and pushed the edges upwards a bit for a ruffly look.  I used the Riveria Lilac Vintage Ribbon for my bow and added one of pre-made black organza flowers to the centre.  All for now, Sue x