Mother of Pearl Caught in Crystal

Hi bloggers!  Today's video features a technique that I recently came up with while having a play in my craft room.  It gives you a lovely way of adding something interesting to your backgrounds without taking away from your focal elements.

The winner of this week's Wednesday card giveaway is:

Lynda Mellor!!!

Congratulations!  Please email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your card.

 The finished dimensions are 7 1/4" x  7 1/2" in size.  All for now, Sue x

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Christmas Double Day

 Hello there my crafty friends!  Both cards today are more on the CAS (clean and simple) side, no flowers, no extra frills and loads of white card!  I started this one by cutting an aperture in the middle of a piece of coconut white card with the oval from the Peeking Snowflake die set.  I added mounting foam to the back to raise it.  I used one of our newer embossing folders called Star Swirls to emboss the piece of white card that I seated the aperture over.  I cut a slightly larger piece of white card and added the aperture to that leaving room below for my Peace sentiment.  I cut it in both black and white and used the black one for an offset shadow behind the white one.  Next I inked some white card with Forest moss and crushed olive and cut several of the Holly Spray out of it.  I tucked it around the left side of the oval as an accent.  I cut two of the Dove Of Peace in white.  I sprayed one with adhesive and coated it with Diamond Sprinkles, then attached just the bodies of the second one to it so that the wings were free to pull forward.  I added the dove to the centre of the oval and finished the card with several white mats, including a paper pierced one.  The finished dimensions are 8" x  8" in size.  Scroll down to see card number two.

 Card number two also started with an oval aperture cut in the centre.  Next I embossed the entire piece with the Snowflake Lattice embossing folder.  I raised it with foam to create a recessed aperture opening and added small 3mm white flatback pearls to all the embossed junctions.  I used the Lattice Snowflake die and cut it out of aqua card.  I covered a piece of white card with a sticky adhesive sheet and cut an oval out of it.  I peeled the backing paper off and attached it to the back of the Lattice Snowflake and coated it with Diamond Sprinkles.  I glued it into place in the recessed aperture opening.  I used the two larger ovals from the Peeking snowflake and Lattice Snowflake die sets to create a thin frame.  I added mounting foam to the frame and added it around the aperture.  I cut several of the peace die and layered them up, then sprayed the top with glue and coated it with Diamond Sprinkles as well.  I placed it on a small oval in the centre of the frame.  I finished it up with a white, aqua, white matting and my usual piercing.  I liked the simplicity of the design, but you could easily add some snowflakes or poinsettias if you want to dress it up a bit more.  The finished dimensions are
6 1/2" x  8" in size.  I hope you have enjoyed another double day!!   Have a favourite?  All for now, Sue x

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Inlaid and Embossed

Hi crafters!  Another festive card for today's video offering.  This is a really good technique to add some texture and interest to your backgrounds.  I hope you enjoy it!

The finished dimensions are 6 1/2" x  7 1/2" in size.  All for now, Sue x

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Wednesday Weekly Card Giveaway

Hi bloggers!  These weeks seem to be flying by,  don't they!  I feel like it was just yesterday that I was offering the last giveaway card!  It's Wednesday once again and time for a new card giveaway and today's offering is a simple yet elegant card made using the Canadian Background.  I selected milk card and peach card for this one.  I started by cutting the Canadian background out of milk card.  Next, I cut the background into strips, following the lines of the design.  I backed three of the strips with another piece of milk card and added mounting foam to the back of them to raise them for dimension.  I cut another Canadian background, again out of milk card, but this time, I backed the entire background with peach card.  I attached it to a larger piece of milk card and then added my three strips down every other row, leaving a row of the background showing through in between.  I added cream flatback pearls to the raised strips as embellishments.  I made a flower from milk card, using the Perfect Peony Complete petal die set and inked the edges with Tattered Rose before assembling.  Once assembled, I "sugared" the flower with Iced Snow and allowed it to dry before adding it to my card.  I seated it on some cream tulle and added some Maidenhair fern as accents.  I stamped a sentiment and cut it out with the Pierced Flags die set.  I made two matching stick pins and added them in behind the flower.  I finished the card with a milk mat which I paper pierced, then a thin peach mat and a final milk mat.  The finished dimensions are 5 3/4" x  7 3/4" in size.  If you would like to be included in the drawing for this one, just leave me a comment.  I will post the winners name on Saturday's blog post.  All for now, Sue x

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Let it Snow

Hello bloggers!  We are heading into a batch of my Festive die videos, but this is about the time that we should think about getting our Christmas cards done (or at least started!)  I hope that these next few weeks of videos will give you some ideas and get you going!

 The finished dimensions are 7 1/2" x  8 3/4" in size.  All for now, Sue x

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