Black And Gold Best Wishes

Hi guys,  a Labels 24 modified buckle card for today.  I think this label shape really surprised a lot of people.  At first glance it is rather plain.  I have to admit that I thought that too.  However, once you start playing with this die shape, you will find that it is a very useful shape.  Here, I have cut two frames and used them woven together.  I stamped my sentiment on milk coloured card and embossed it before sliding it through my label shapes.  I used a faux letterpress technique and inked my embossing folder with clear perfect medium.  I inserted my card into the folder and transferred the ink to the card when I ran it through the Grand Calibur.  I used clear embossing powder to accent the embossing.  I mounted my focal element on to a background of three decorative papers cut into strips with a fork on one end.  I have used these papers on numerous occasions and I always get emails about them.  I purchased these while in the States and they are from Hobby Lobby (I think it is their store label called Paper Studio).  It is nice though that the pattern is quite small which is nice for card makers.  I added a messy bow of black vintage ribbon and topped it with a fancy bow and a couple of stick pins.  I finished off the card with Cosmic Shimmer black PVA glue dots as an accent.  All for now, Sue x

Blue And White Cascade

Hello crafty friends!  Cut, Fold and Tuck dies for today in a cascade across the card.  This is a fun way to use the smaller dies in the sets.  Each one of these has been cut using double sided paper that has sticky adhesive sheets adhered to it on either the lighter blue or the darker blue coloured side.  Once cut, the backing paper has been removed and clear micro beads have been stuck to the paper.  Then the dies have been folded and tucked, exposing the alternate side of the paper.  A small pearl has been glued to the centre of each die.  The background has been prepared by embossing it with the paisley embossibility and cutting it into three strips and mounting it with 3D foam for dimension.    I stamped the sentiment in the corner below the paisley background and tied a double bow using the blue and white grosgrain ribbon.  A fancy button and two crystal stick pins were added as bow accents.  The finished beaded dies were glued to the background in a waterfall fashion across the card.   Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA glue dots were added to the edge and a small spray of pearls to finish the card.

An upbeat card for any occasion.  All for now, Sue x

Beaded Petticoat Card

Hi guys!  An all occasion card for today, not even a sentiment on it!  I started with a floral background paper and applied a piece of sticky adhesive to it.  Simply peel off the backing paper and dip it into the clear micro beads to coat it and give a great texture to your background.  You can see it more clearly in the second picture below.  I stamped the Bella Rose from Heartfelt Creations, coloured it with pencils and cut it out with the matching die shape.  I cut out two of the Bella Rose swirls and inked and stamped it through the dies.  I dyed some American seam binding with Antique Linen distress ink, tied it into a bow and scrunched it for a shabby chic look.  I added two crystal stick pins and a button with twine to complete my focal element.  For the bottom of the card, I cut three borders using the heart edgeability insert and triple scallop edge.  I matted milk coloured card behind the heart inserts for a contrast.  I like the petticoat look that the multiple borders give.  A sentiment could be added quite easily to the upper corner or as a tag hanging from the bow if desired.  Hope you like it!  All for now, Sue x

Shades Of Purple

Good Monday morning!  Back to one of my favourite dies from Heartfelt Creations for today's card.  The Decorative Oval Window is a really versatile and fun die to use.  I love it because it can be used as intended as  a window or simply a fancy frame or take it apart and use it as a swirl for accent pieces. Not to mention, it leaves a gorgeous negative piece as an aperture too!  I picked purple shades for this card, starting with a pale lavender for my background.  I embossed it with the So Trendy embossibility folder for my largest background piece.  I cut a smaller piece of the same lavender card and attached a piece of sticky adhesive sheet to it.  I embossed it with the Enchanted embossibility folder, then removed the backing paper and adhered the clear micro beads to it.  I stamped my sentiment with black archival ink.  I cut out the oval window die and inked it with Dusty concord distress ink while in the die.  I hand cut around my sentiment so it would fit in my window nicely once I nipped out the crossbars.  I used mounting foam on the back of my window to raise it for dimension.  I tied a messy bow using the purple vintage ribbon (it looks a bit blue in the pic, but it is purple) and added a button with Bakers Twine and stick pins to it. I added a few flatback pearls as accents and pierced the edges to finish it off.  Like most of my cards, a simple sentiment change and you have a card that would work for all sorts of occasions.  All for now, Sue x

Lindsay's Encaustic Art

Good Sunday morning!  I know that I have not been able to do justice to the gorgeous colours in the background of this card with my photo, but I wanted to show off the work of a friend of the blog.  Earlier in the year, Rosemarie Fishlock sent me some of the encaustic art pieces that her daughter Lindsay had done.  Let me tell you, they were simply stunning!  She is a very talented encaustic artist.  The colours in this background piece are silver and purple for the most part with a bit of gold added to it.  I wanted to use a few of these pieces in my cardmaking, but as I sat down to create, I found that I just could not do justice to them!  I decided on this layout as it was quite simple and allowed most of the background to show through the die shapes.  I cut two Floral Oval dies, using a simple oval to cut the centre out.  I crisscrossed them for interest and mounted them with foam on the background.  I stamped my sentiment and embossed it with silver powder, then cut it out with the ribbon banner die and mounted in the centre of my oval frames.  I added a few black rhinestone swirls to the top and bottom corners and left it at that.  I pierced the edges to form a frame.  I truly love that the crafting community is such a sharing and giving place and Lindsay and her encaustic art treasures are a great example of this!  Thanks Lindsay and Rosemarie!
  On another note, it's Sunday and I know the list of winners will seem a bit sparse compared to last weeks never ending list, (which, by the way, we still have not had all of the winners check in to claim their prizes!), but here goes:

The winners of this weeks comment game are:
Sylvia Crane!!!
Max's Craft Creations!!!
Brakkers (Anne)!!!

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

Black And White Easel Card

Hi guys!  I have an easel card for you today and it is one of those cards that I really wish you could see in person!  It is very tactile with loads of micro beads and embossing and layers.  I'll do my best to explain it to you so hopefully that will help.  I started with the Carnival Dreams die and used a piece of black glitter card with a piece of sticky adhesive sheet attached to the back of it and cut my shape.  Once cut, I peeled off the backing paper and adhered the clear micro beads to the back of the glitter card.  Then I did the folding and tucking of the cut parts of the die.  I used one of the smaller dies in the opposite direction so that the glitter card became the back of it this time.  I glued it to the centre of the larger piece for a contrast and added a pearl in the middle.  I cut a small piece of white card and embossed it with the Paisley embossibility.  I used this piece to attach my cut, fold, tuck focal piece to and then on to the front fold of my easel card.  I added a white Moroccan border and faux stitched around the edge to complete the top portion of the easel card.  On the bottom, I cut a piece of white card and added a sticky adhesive sheet to it.  I cut two Moroccan borders out of black card and placed them on the sticky white card facing each other.  I dipped the entire piece in the micro beads to fill in the remaining areas.  I taped this piece to the bottom of my easel card. I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the Moroccan accent piece and inked it with Black soot distress ink..  Then I cut one more of the Moroccan accent pieces in black.  I crossed them linking the arms top and bottom and added it to my card with mounting foam to use as the base stopper piece.  There are a few close up pics below. 

I hope you are having a nice weekend wherever you are!  I am feeling so much better now too and want to thank everyone for their well wishes!  All for now, Sue x

Peach Bauble Blossoms

Morning everyone!  Bauble Blossoms for  today!  I haven't shown anything using these dies yet, I don't think.  I have to be honest and say that I did not get on with these dies straight away.  They took a bit of playing with before I was happy with them.  That being said, I do think they are a very pretty flower and found them very relaxing to sit and make.  For me, these dies gave better results when I cut two of the flower strips and offset them on top of each other and rolled them.  I was struggling with the spacing a bit when used singularly and my petals were stacking up on top of each other.  When I offset them to begin with, then rolled, I liked the way the flowers came out better.  I used both of the bauble blossom set one and set two for the flowers on this card.  I liked the mixed assortment of the styles in my wreath.  I picked two shades of peach for the flowers and white for the centres.  I first embossed the top half of my card with the Flora embossibility folder for texture.  I stamped the bottom corner with my sentiment with a black archival ink pad.  I used a piece of the peach fizz vintage ribbon as a separator between the two sections.  I added a messy bow using the peach and some white vintage ribbon and topped it with a fancy pearl button and a couple of stick pins.  I made eight of the bauble blossom flowers, using the various styles and arranged them in a wreath fashion on the top of my card.  I pierced the edges of the card to finish it off and give it a nice frame.  I hope you like it!  All for now, Sue x

Coloured Pencil Roses

Hi guys!  Everything is coming up roses today!  These are the Heartfelt Creations dies and stamps for the daily post.  I started with the decorative oval window die and cut two of them out of white card.  One of the windows, I cut directly down the centre to give me the two halves that I used on the side of the card.  I backed them with a deep peach card and mounted them to the sides of my white background piece.  I stamped my sentiment at the bottom centre in black archival ink.  The second window, I nipped the inside crossbar out, added mounting foam and secured it between the two half pieces.  On a separate piece of kraft card, I stamped the bella rose stamp three times and the small bud once in black ink.  Using coloured pencils, I toned all three roses to match my peach background colour.  I used a bit of white pencil to help give the roses depth.  Using the matching rose die, I made a template by cutting it out of copy paper.  The template allows you to lay it over your image and see exactly where the actual cut line will be.  Once it is lined up where you want it, pop your die back in to the template and tape it into place.  Cutting out the roses this way ensures that you have them right each time.  I cut several of the little thorny bits to add around my roses too as filler.  I glued my roses inside the centre window in a pleasing arrangement.  I tied a bow out of the white silky crush ribbon, added a button with Bakers twine and attached it to the top of the card.  I did this card as a demo on one of the shows, but changed it around so the bow was at the bottom and the sentiment was at the top of the card.  I liked it much better this way, but we gave the card away and I never got a picture of it, sorry.  I pierced the edges to finish it off.  All for now, Sue x

Crosses, Really!

Hello crafters!  I thought that I had already posted this one, but I have searched back through and can't seem to find it anywhere.  I know at some point I will probably post something twice, it is bound to happen eventually, but I think I have managed to avoid it with this one (I hope).  This was a really fun card to make and these are the kind of cards that I really enjoy showing because I think it helps you to see your die collections in different ways (again, I hope).  I have used the ornate cross from the Cross collection set for this card.  I cut four of them in black and nipped away the bottom section of each of the crosses, overlapped them in the centre to form a completely new shape and design.  I stamped my sentiment on milk coloured card and cut it out using Labels 24.  I inked it lightly with broken china distress ink while in the die.  I used the label shape to trace around and make a template for my faux nestie which I cut out and mounted behind my sentiment.  I topped my newly designed crosses with it.  I also used the largest size of the Labels 24 to emboss into the background so it just peeks out from behind my focal element (it is difficult to see in the pic).  I added a band at the bottom of the card that started with a wide piece of milk card, topped by a piece of black card.  I used my edgeability insert on the top and bottom of the black card to cut out a design.  I tied my aqua coloured silky crush ribbon around the centre, showing my cut out inserts above and below it.  I topped the ribbon piece with a double bow, two decorative stick pins and a fancy black button.  I pierced all the way around it to finish it off.  Are you looking at those dies differently now, I hope so!  All for now, Sue x

Take Wing And Fly

Good morning all!  I am feeling like it is time for a girly card full of flowers and lace and delicate die cuts so I hope this will fill the bill!  The last two POTW shows that I did were so close together that I didn't even have time to show all the cards from the first one.  I was going back through my pics and have found a bunch of them that I totally missed and this was one of them.  I also wanted to show this one because the lace that I used on this card is now available through Creative Expressions.  Isn't it pretty?  So if you like it, please ask your nearest stockist to order it for you.  It is our new teardrop lace and it is available in cream or black.  I used a bit of silver ink on the cream one for this project and it matches very nicely I think with my pink and grey combo here.  I picked a couple of decorative papers from my stash for this one.   I used the pink polka dot pattern as my background, but added a panel of patterned grey to it for interest.  Finally, I added a  panel in pale pink and cut four of the decorative corner dies from heartfelt Creations in white.  I linked the edge piece on each one to form a square and glued it to my panel to create a lovely lacy frame for my sentiment.  I stamped the sentiment in clear perfect medium and embossed it with silver powder. Using the Bitty Blossoms dies, I made several flowers out of the grey background paper and one white flower out of glitter card as a focal point.  I added a few glittered leaves to the flowers. From the Wings of Hope set,  I cut two butterflies, one out of the patterned background paper and one out of the white glitter card.  I mounted them together in the upper corner, bending the wings a bit to show off the papers.  Finally I finished the card with Cosmic Shimmer silver PVA glue dots around the edge to frame it.  Hope you were in the mood for a girly one today!  All for now, Sue x

Blingy Angle Approach

Hi there!  It's Monday morning and I hope that this card will keep the blues away for you! I started with a piece of gold card and applied strips of sticky adhesive to all four sides (removing the backing paper as I went and overlapping the corners).  I applied the Luna Silver mica flakes to the  sticky taped edges to create a border for my card.  Next, I used the Angle Approach from the |Cut, Fold, Tuck die sets and cut the largest one out of white card.  I folded all the pieces and tucked them in to place where they belonged.  I cut a another piece of gold card and placed a sticky sheet on the back.  I peeled off the liner paper and added a piece of white copy paper to the back.  This gave me a two toned piece of card that I now used to cut another of the large Angle Approach dies from.  I folded back the gold side and tucked them in place.  I offset this to the first one I cut and mounted it directly on top giving me a more detailed look.  I folded down the centre pieces so that the gold showed and placed a pearl brad through to hold them in place.  I tied a double bow from the white frilly edged ribbon.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the smallest Moroccan accent piece.  I cut one more of the same piece out of gold this time and offset it with my sentiment to give it a shadow.  I mounted these in the centre of my bow and added two pearl stick pins to finish it.  I pierced around the edge of my card to complete the overall card.  I hope it is blingy enough to start your Monday off nicely!  All for now, Sue x

Home Sweet Home

Happy Sunday morning!  You are going to like today's post because I am finally getting caught up on the comment game winners!  I just want to say thank you for all your comments and emails wishing me well.  I must confess that I am doing  better, but still not back to where I would like to be.  It has been very frustrating to feel so tired, congested and dizzy for the past few weeks, it has really put me off my game!  I haven't been very good keeping up with emails so I hope you will forgive me.  I will get to the long list of winners at the end of the post, but for now a quick rundown of today's card for you.  I started with a piece of decorative kraft card as my background.  I stamped my sentiment in the corner and I distressed the edges with my scissors to give it a real shabby chic look.  I cut a strip of harlequin kraft paper and adhered a strip of sticky adhesive paper to it.  I peeled off the backing side and put the sticky side down in my clear micro beads to coat it.  I wrapped some Bakers twine around it several times and tied a bow, topped with a tiny satin flower out of my stash.  I attached the strip to my background, then matted the entire piece on black card.  I cut three of the houses from the Home Sweet Home die set after I stamped them all with "hello".  I cut out three roofs for them out of coordinating decorative papers and attached a small button to the chimneys of each.  I used the paisley embossibility folder to give texture to all the houses before mounting them on my card.  I slightly overlapped my houses in a three piece cluster and added three buttons in the corner to finish my card.  Very different from my usual type of card, but I am trying to show a wide variety so there is something for everyone's tastes.

Now for the Comment game winners!  Starting where we left off last, the winners for the week of April 30 to May 5th are:

Sandybee!!!

Lacelady!!!

Joan B!!!

We also had several posts that qualified for extra drawings.  They are:

April30th:

Scottish Crafter!!!

Lara B!!!

Wendy L!!!

May 1st:

Lycar123!!!

Clarissa!!!

Frances Joy!!!

May3rd:

Su!!!

Emily H!!!

Dolphin 66!!!

The comment game winners for the week of May 6th to 12th are:

Sazzle!!!

Ger!!!

Shahab!!!

Several posts that qualified for extra drawings are:

May 8th:

kelly!!!

auscrafts!!!

Dawny T!!!

May 9th:

Phil D!!!

Felicie!!!

hot potato!!!

Comment game winners for the week of May 13th to 19th are:

Rufus!!!

Marie F!!!

Gay New Malden!!!

Extra posts that qualified are:

May 17th:

Sisters Craft Cafe!!!

Erica!!!

Deniseann!!!

Congratulations to all the winners!  You must email me at americansue1@gmail.com to confirm your address and claim your prize.  Prizes will not be sent out, however, until I return to the UK in June.  All for now, Sue x

Thinking of you Always

Hi guys!  A quick distressed shabby chic card using the Aster Flower topper and jewelled fantasy die sets. I started with a piece of taupe coloured card and stamped my sentiment in the bottom corner.  I stamped my feather from the Design Element stamp set with Antique Linen around the bottom too.   Next,  I used a piece of Kaisercraft paper and cut it into three pieces and matter them with milk coloured card.  I mounted them with 3D foam slightly apart for my background.  I wrapped a piece of teardrop lace and a strip of beaded fringe from my stash around the bottom of the card and taped it to the back.  I added a bow of American seam binding.  I cut three of the Aster toppers (different sizes)out of coordinating Kaisercraft papers and added them to my bow, stacking them and offsetting them. I added a large half pearl to the centre.   I cut two of the jewelled fantasy feathers and added them to my focal element for interest.  I used my scissors to distress the edges of all the matting pieces and finished the card with a spray of pearl swirls.  All for now, Sue x

From Me To You

Morning all!  This card was truly a lark as I looked at the Aster flower topper dies and thought "they look like flames."  As a way to illustrate what I am always going on about (looking at your dies in other ways), I thought I would make the card and use them as flames.  I decided to go for neutral tones and picked five decorative papers to use as candles.  I started with pieces that were about 4 inches wide and of varying lengths.  I wanted the candles to be sturdy enough to survive the plane ride home so that is why I used the size paper I did.  By rolling it in to a candle, it was very dense and rigid.   I cut a large Floral Oval out of milk coloured card, inked with Antique Linen and used as a backdrop for the candles.  I cut one of the largest Aster topper flowers and cut the petals apart to form my flames.  I used a bit of glue on the bottom and inserted them in to the end of my candles.  I used a piece of my old dictionary as a background for the card.  I stamped my simple text on the top and bottom of the card.  I inked a piece of American seam binding with antique linen and tied a double bow.  I spritz it with water and scrunched it for a shabby chic bow and added a button with a piece of twine to finish it off.  A fun and quick birthday card for the guys in our lives I think!  All for now, Sue x

Green And White Thank You

Morning my crafty friends!  A green and white thank you card for today.  I embossed the background with the flora embossibility folder.  I added two strips of green card on the sides.  I cut four Moroccan borders and and wove them together, two on each side, creating a different look for the borders.  I added some large half pearls in the centres of each of the Moroccan scallops..  I cut two of the largest Moroccan motifs and offset them so the scallops were alternating them and mounting them in the centre of my background.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the smaller size of the Moroccan motif.  I inked it while in the die with pine needles distress ink to match my sides.  I mounted it with 3D foam in the very centre of my focal element.  I tied a double bow out of green frilly edged ribbon and added it at the top of the card, topped with a sparkly embellishment.  Hope you like it!   All for now, Sue x

A Bit Of The Bling!

Hi everyone!  This one has loads of bling, doesn't it!  I started with a faux letterpress technique for the background.  |I inked the negative side of the heart embossibility folder with Antique Linen distress ink.  I ran the folder through and transferred the ink to the white card to create my background.  I started with a piece of taupe card large enough for the largest size of the Floral Oval die.  I cut a piece of the self adhesive sheets and applied it to the taupe car.  I cut the Floral Oval out of this piece.  Using a craft knife, I cut the centre of the oval right on the piercing holes.  Once apart, I peeled the backing paper off the centre oval and coated it with the gold mica flakes.  I peeled the backing paper off the edge piece and coated it with clear micro beads.  I put the two pieces back together and mounted it in the centre of my background.   I added a small piece of decorative paper to the bottom of my background and cut two Moroccan borders to separate them.  I tied a double bow from the champagne coloured frilly edged ribbon as an accent.  A fancy button and a couple of crystal stick pins finished off my bow.  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the floral oval die and inked it with antique linen.  I cut another one the same size in taupe, cut it in half and used it as an accent to mount behind my sentiment.  I mounted this piece off centre of the background die with the beads and mica flakes.  I added three small pearls to the top corner, some pearlie swirlies top and bottom and pierced around the edges to complete the card.  Hope you enjoyed the bling today!  All for now, Sue x

Happy Flowers

Morning my crafty friends!  I love these flowers, they are really happy flowers.  You just can't help but smile when you see them, can you?  My Mom always had a big pot of Marguerite daisies by the front door when I was growing up so it must be why I love them so much!  This is a really simple card as I have embossed the background with the Elegance embossibility folder (using the opposite side from yesterday's card).  I cut a strip of black card and matted it with white and then a golden yellow as a base for my focal strip of daisies.  I cut six of the daisy from the Floral tag set.  I inked three of them using Scattered Straw distress ink on the petals to use as bases for the other three.  The daisies used on top, I inked the centre only and nipped away all the inner petal pieces leaving the outer ring of each petal.  I used a piece of mounting foam to mount them a top the first set of daisies so the petals showed through creating depth (see close up below).  I wrapped a piece of white edged organza around my card and tied it in to a knot (no bow this time).  I stamped my sentiment and cut it out with the matching daisy tag.  I inked the sentiment area and the flower with Scattered Straw and Shabby Shutters for the leaves and tied it to my knot with a bit of Bakers Twine.  I added some pearl swirls and pierced the edges for a quick finish.  I hope the daisies are making you smile too!  All for now, Sue x

Bloomin' Great Day

Good morning all!  I actually got up and dressed yesterday for an afternoon brunch with my Mom for Mother's Day (the sun is shining, who knew!)   Still not 100%, but feeling a bit better each day (the room is still swaying though!)  I thought this would be a good card for a Monday morning.  It seems very cheery, the kind of thing you need to jump start a Monday morning,  I hope.  I started with a piece of white card.  I inked the Elegance embossibility folder on the negative side using Antique Linen distress ink.  I inserted my white card and embossed the ink on to it in a faux letterpress technique.  I wanted the background to stand out a bit so that is why I picked a white card rather than a cream coloured card.  Usually this technique looks best when done tone on tone though.  I had to do this twice to cover the size card that I wanted for my background which was approx. 6" x 8".  I used the Cosmic Shimmer pearl PVA glue to make dots on all the centres of the circular designs and the middle of the floral designs on the background, leaving it to dry for several hours.  I stamped my sentiment on decorative paper, wrapper it with the green Bakers Twine (from the earthtone set) and attached it just above centre on my card.  I used the small centre piece from the Aster Flower topper die set and cut six of them, two in decorative paper and four in golden brown card. I attached the flowers on the left side of the card in an "L" shape.   I cut two of the Bauble Blossoms die in green, inked with forest moss and then cut them apart to make leaves that I glued around the flowers.  The centres of the flowers were done using Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue and sprinkling the Tarnished Bronze Mica Flakes over them.  I pierced the edges of the card to frame and finish it off.

Kraft Card Cut Outs

Hi guys!  Still feeling under the weather, but did manage to get out of bed today, even answered a few emails, but not caught up on them all yet. Thank you for all your well wishes, they mean so much.   I know that you would understand if I missed a blog post, but I have to blog, it is so much a part of me now.  I am putting off the comment game drawings until I feel better as that does require more energy than I can muster at the moment.  I hope you will understand.  The good news is that there will be loads of winners when it happens!  For today's card, I started with kraft card and cut all the aster flower toppers out of it in a random pattern.  I repeated the smaller one.  I stamped my sentiment in the lower corner and wrapped some Bakers Twine around the card above my sentiment and tied it through a button.  I used a white gel pen to make faux stitching lines around the edge and all the flowers.  I cut out matching flowers out of black and took off the inside petals on all of them.  I used a black and white decorative paper to put behind the kraft card and show through my aster flower openings.  I placed the black flowers over the matching flower cut outs and added a fancy button in the centre of each of them.  I pierced the edge to complete the card.

The last of the cruise pics as I didn't take too many, but Nigel and Leonie and the rest of the C & C crew were enjoying the final night dancing and having a good time. 

The final pic as we disembarked on Tuesday morning after a late night!  All for now, Sue x

Just Because

Hi guys,  I am going to make this rather quick as I have been sick for the past few days and today was spent sleeping all day!  I think that maybe I have a good case of jet lag and cruise lag and I'm feeling ever so dizzy!  If it gets worse tomorrow, you may just get a card pic and no text!  A quick rundown for this card, though.  I embossed half of the background and cut it on the diagonal.  I added some blue to the top to match my ribbon.  I cut the largest Floral Oval out of decorative card, topped it with two Moroccan accent pieces and my sentiment stamped and cut out with a small Floral Oval and inked.  I cut one of the nautical borders to run diagonally with my embossed background.  Ties a double bow and added some stick pins.  Some pearlie swirlies along the border finished off the background and the paper piercing competed the card.

Here is Sheila in Hamburg in the town centre.  It was very pretty ,but since we were there on Sunday, nothing was open!

This is the Police building in the centre.  Quite spectacular isn't it?

Back on board the ship, the waiters paraded around the room with the lights off with their flaming Baked Alaska.  All for now, Sue x

Life's A Beach!

Morning all!  A bit more of the nautical theme today for you.  I picked some dark aqua card as a background for this one and distressed the edges and middle quite a bit.  I used my scissors for the edges and sandpaper for the middle to take some of the colour off.  I cut a rectangle of some decorative Kraft card that I had and cut the centre using a craft knife in to a "X" so that I could rip the pieces off giving it an irregular look.  I rolled the edges back a bit to expose the plain underside of the card too.  I used the Sea Beauty Embossibility folder to put some texture into the background piece in the frame.  I cut out one of the lighthouse dies from the Nautical Frames and Accent sets.  Using the die piece as a template, I made a larger faux piece to mat my lighthouse with.  I cut a cloud and an anchor for my frame too.  I cut a strip of hessian and removed quite a few of the woven pieces to distress it more and glued it across the background diagonally for interest.  I wrapped some Bakers Twine around the card too.  I stamped my sentiment and used the "house" square from the Home Sweet Home set to cut it out.  A bit of Antique Linen distress ink was used to highlight it.  I cut two of the flags and attached them to the side and added some Bakers twine in a bow with them.  I had a thick piece of jute that I tied into a knot on both ends and glued to the card running around the frame and sentiment to add to the fun and rustic nature of the card.  I like the way the jute, hessian and twine give the card so much texture.  I hope you don't mind a few more "nautical" themed pics now too!

As you walked in to the dining room, there was always a display of fruits cascading down.

Many of them had been carved like this watermelon, very clever!

Sam and I were with Nigel, Leonie and Shaun in one of the lounges when one of the crafters asked to have her picture taken with all of us.  We ended up passing around everyones cameras so we all had the same pic!  Unfortunately, I don't know the name of the crafter in the centre, can anyone help?  She seemed to be enjoying the photo opportunity with the C & C bunch though!

A quick pic from one of my workshops.  The restaurant was divided in to four and we held half the workshops there.  All of mine were in the restaurant, but some of the others were on other decks in the lounges.  There were 50 people in  my workshops each day.  The feedback was very positive and everyone seemed to really enjoy the classes.   All for now, Sue x

Simply Wonderful

Hi there everyone!  I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I am back across the pond now visiting with my Mom again in Florida.  I got home from the cruise Tuesday around 1pm, did laundry and repacked and caught a plane on Wednesday morning! Not sure if I'm coming or going at the moment, but I'll keep the blog going so don't worry about that!  I've got another "buckle" card for you today.  I've used the Floral Ovals again, but this time I thought that I would turn them so they were going in opposite orientations .  I cut the largest die as the main focal element piece and used a plain oval for the inside cut.  I cut two of the next sized Floral Oval, again using the plain oval die for the inside cuts.  I stamped my sentiment on a strip of gold card and cut both ends into forks.  I matted it with a piece of pale grey card to give it a border.  I laid the Oval frames out with the two smaller ones horizontally and the centre one in a vertical manner.  I used my sentiment strip to weave it through the sides of the frames and hold it in place.  I put a piece of mounting foam across the back of the strip to secure it in place and attach it to my card.   I tied a double bow with the champagne coloured silky crush ribbon and added a fancy button and two crystal stick pins.  I added a few pieces of pearl swirls to the top and bottom of the card for interest and pierced around the edge to complete it.  Very simple layout but one of my favourite ones to do.  I like the way it shows off my favourite background paper too.  I hope you aren't disappointed!

Now for a few of thew cruise pics!  Here is Sam Poole and Sheila Halliwell posing in front of one of the decorated bikes in Amsterdam.  We had a few free hours before our first workshop the day we docked in Amsterdam so the three of us took the opportunity to explore the city a bit.  There were bikes absolutely everywhere!  I suppose that is because there is little parking anywhere around the many canals that run through the city.

The architecture was stunning so I found myself snapping pics of the many beautiful buildings.  I don't actually know what these buildings were, but the work was truly remarkable, especially this one.

Here is another pic of one of the canals in Amsterdam.  You could take a cruise on one of the tourist boats here to really see the city, but we were a bit rushed for time as we had to be back for our workshops.  Our trip into town was a bit of a whirlwind excursion.

This is a pic of the front of our ship the Ocean Countess.  I couldn't get it all in the pic, but it was completely dwarfed by the Royal Caribbean ship(Vision of the Seas)  that was docked in front of it!  Our ship held about 850 to 900 people and about half of them were crafters!  Amsterdam was very pretty and the weather wasn't too bad that day.  I would loved to have time to go see the tulip fields, but maybe another trip!  More      pics tomorrow for you.     All for now, Sue x