Washi strips card

Washi is a type of paper made in Japan. Its used in many traditional Japanese arts.  I do love the feel of the paper, almost like fabric. They also come in the most fabulous colours and designs. I have to admit that I am a hoarder of speciality paper like washi and printed designer papers. It hurts to even cut out a tiny weeny strip. But its time I used all these papers that are just sleeping in my cupboards.

So here is a card made from washi strips. Let me tell you, cutting the first strip was indeed painful! I used lengths of matching mizuhiki cords in between the washi strips. Mizuhiki is another favourite of mine, if you aren't aware, they are colourful Japanese paper cords made of rice paper. The strips of washi are laid upon broad double sided tape (other side stuck on a piece of card. The cords needed a bit of glue to help them stay put as the sticky tape was not enough. Once ready, I cut a neat rectangle to fit my card base. I also layered the washi rectangle onto pink Bazzill card. The overall colours are so pretty.

Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment to say hello!

Sweet little girl

Here is a sweet little girl who's sure to brighten up your day. I adore this image which is a digital one by Mo's Digital Too. A joy to colour. I have used Prismas colour pencils blended with Sansodor. Take a look.

Sweet or not? Thanks for popping by, please take a minute to say hi!

Oriental cards

Here are 2 oriental cards I made recently. I do enjoy oriental themes although its hard to achieve the clean and simple look. In the first card I used a stamp from About Art Accents, stamped in 3 different shades of green. Added a little coin (sorry don't know what the chinese characters mean) but its a nice accent.

In the 2nd card I stamped the koi in pond stamp by Elusive Images on transparency (acetate sheet) then coloured the koi with irridescent paints. This was layered on a light blue mottled paper which I thought gave a watery feel to the card. Attached the acetate to the card with eyelets. I love the way it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you like these two cards.

Cute cards AC021 & AC022

Here are two cards that are so cute. I do love the little girl, she's called Daisy and the stamp is by Sugar Nellie. Its one of my most used stamps. The other is a cute hedgehog, another well used stamp. Both were stamped on watercolour paper and coloured with Distress Inks.

Size 14.8x14.8cm

Size 12.8x16.4cm - SOLD

Something for a guy AC020

I found this shirt tutorial on Jan Tinker's blog. Its a fun card to do although I found attaching the tie not easy. Nice card for guys, I will probably try it out on other colour combinations. There are quite a few variations of shirt templates/tutorials on the web so I hope to try other designs as well. I do like origami so a bit of folding in a technique always attracts me :)

Burgundy quilled flower card AC019

I made a simple quilled design today. I enjoyed making it but I still find putting the design together a bit fiddly, mostly with applying the glue. I'm always worried I've not applied enough glue. Once its done, it does give me a sense of achievement as always. The petals are actually burgundy but the colour doesn't show up very well in the photo as it was late in the evening when I took the photo. Card size: 10.5 x 21cm

More Medallion cards

Here are 2 more medallion cards. Instead of layering, I stamped on transparency then applied glitter. You need a fine tip to apply the glue to the various sections. Also important is to apply the lightest coloured glitter first so there is no contamination from darker colours. Using transparency gives a jewel like appearance, its very pretty. Unfortunately, its also difficult to photograph. In the top card, I used quite a few colours of glitter and in the bottom card I only used 3 colours.

AC017

AC018

Thinking of You AC016

Here's a pretty card which combines lace and ribbon, which I did some time back. The background was a bit fiddly but I wanted a girly effect. Hopefully I have achieved it. This little girl by Sarah Kay  is one of my favourite stamps because she is so darn cute! The image was coloured with Prisma colour pencils. Prima flowers were attached with brads. Since I started quilling, I can think of so many ways of combining it with stamping, especially as embellishments. That means I have the choice of making my own flowers rather than buy Primas, now that's a great money saving idea! So that's going to be my next project.

Size: 12.8 x 16.4cm

 And a close up of the details:

Medallion card AC015

This is a longer post than usual, hope you won't be bored!! As I haven't done a medallion card for awhile, thought I would resurrect it. Medallion stamps usually have intricate images and are quite large. It allows you to cut up different sections and then layer them together to form 3D images. Using foam pads gives more interesting effects. The fun is in finding ways to create the different layers. To make medallion cards you stamp multiple images then its a matter of cutting up the different sections. You can either colour in the sections or add glitter. If you don't want  layers, you can just use the whole image on its own. Stamping on transparency and adding glitters on the reverse gives beautiful effects.  I have taken a few extra pics to show what I mean. In this instance I have embossed the image with white embossing powder. I have decided to use 3 pastel coloured cards - green, pink and ivory and leave it plain as I want a soft effect. Unfortunately, it didn't photograph very well.The stamp is by Creative Expressions and is called Butterfly Begonia.

This is the first layer, full image embossed in white. Then it is cut up to form the layers.There is no hard and fast rule, all depends on how many layers you want. The more you look at it the more your eyes will see different ways of separating the image. Because of the multiple layers the end result can be quite a 'high' card which is fine if you're giving it away by hand. Otherwise you need to box the card which is fun as well because you get the chance to make your box and decorate it.

In this photo I have cut up the images into separate elements. Now you can colour it with your favourite medium or you can add glitter which will be stunning.Next step would be to attach foam pads on the back and then put them together. You must add enough pads to give the support or else it will not hold up.

Here I have finished putting the layers together and used it to decorate a card front. In the middle I added a pink gem. Below is a full view of the finished card.

Size of card: 14.4 x 14.4cm

Hope I haven't made it sound difficult because its really easy to do medallion cards. The are endless possibilities. You don't have to stop at a card, you can use the stamp to make background papers or gift wrapping (which of course you can do with most stamps). But you can also use just the central part of the image on a card or make embellishments to decorate your scrapbook pages. I will post more examples on another day. Please ask if you have any questions or leave a comment, would love to hear from you. Bye for now :)

Two little girls AC014

Here are two little girls all dressed up and going somewhere. Bought this stamp because I loved their dresses  and of course they are cute. Stamp is by About Art Accents. I came across the ribbon with purple roses by chance and decided it was a useful standby. Its very pretty, should have bought more. I thought the verse suited the image. The lattice border is done with a Martha Stewart punch.

 Size: 14.8 x 14.8

Sweetie cards AC012 & AC013

I just can't stop making these little girl cards. They are sooo cute and a dream to colour with any medium. Whenever I want to relax I reach for my prismas or distress inks and start colouring. For this reason I have a box full of stamped images which is quite handy. Mind you, since I started learning quilling its fast becoming my No. 2 relaxation - there's something about rolling those strips of paper (I know its sad isn't it? ;-)  Coming soon Quilled Cards! You must check out the quillers (is that the right word?) on the sidebar - they produce some amazing work and are a true inspiration.

Top image is by Mo's Digital Pencil Too and the other is a Sugar Nellie stamp. Thanks for looking.

                                                            AC012 Size: 14.4 x 14.4cm

                                                       AC013 Size: 13.5 x 13.5cm

Easel Card AC012

Here is a fun card to do. Very simple as well. Want to try it? For instructions Click Here
I coloured the image with distress inks then it was just a matter of choosing the layers. You need to add a border, embellishments or other decorations so the front piece can be propped up. Folds flat for posting so its great.

Size: 10.9 x 13.9cm

Vintage AC011

Hello, I'm back after a few days break. Its nice to have a break but I find it disturbs the flow and its hard to get back to crafting/blogging. I want to share this card I made a while back. As sometimes happens, I was just playing with my stamp and suddenly it all came together. Its lovely when this happens as its usually a quick card which means I haven't spend time contemplating the design. Actually my cat helped me, no kidding. I left the layout on my desk while I made a cup of tea. When I got back my cat had moved the main image and it did look better in its new place! My cat, Ally is a genius!

I used soft colours on the lady. The cuttlebug embossed layer has been lightly sponged with ink. Added a bit of lace and punched border. I liked how it turned out.

Size: 16.4 x 12.7cm

Teddy's day out AC010

Another cutie image coloured with Prismas. I coloured it to match the background papers. My first attempt at drawing grass as teddy needed to be "grounded'.

The butterfly punchie has 2 pearls stuck on it. The border punch at the bottom is the popular Doily punch by Martha Stewart. I love this punch and its been much used in my projects. Card size: 12.7 x 16.4cm

So sweet! AC009

This little girl is so sweet. The background designer paper is by K & Co. As it already had lots of details it was easy to just add the image and some embellishments.

Another view - I added pink gems to the flower centres. The leaves are punchies and I embossed them on the reverse to give some dimension. Card size: 14.3 x 14.3cm

Black and white AC008

Black and white theme this time with a stamp that I've had for ages (but unused!). Remember how gorgeous Audrey Hepburn was in Breakfast at Tiffanys? One of the 'bestest' movies ever. The background of glittered circles reminds me of Christmas baubles. I thought this could be for guys or girls. For guys I am thinking I will have an insert with the words '...wanna buy a nice girl a drink' or '...heard its your birthday today'. Haven't decided what to do for girls. What do you think? Another square card (love them) size 14 x 14cm.

Hydrangea AC007

A really simple card. I always feel I must add lots of embellishment to make a card interesting but sometimes less is more. This is a digi image of a hydrangea (unfortunately I can't remember whose it is) which I coloured with Prisma colour pencils. Also added 3 purple gems.

A closer look at the image. This is a square card 13.5 x 13.5cm.

Something different AC006

I've been meaning to try out this technique with Distress Inks and here's the result. Its quite easy and fast. I used 4 different colours of ink for the background then sprinkled some water on it to give the speckled effect.

 A fun technique and a bright cheery card. Size: 15 x 10.5cm

Big Hugs AC005

Another Sugar Nellie stamp - sweet little Daisy (that's her name). Coloured with Distress Inks as usual. The ornate photo corner was done with a Cuttlebug die. Paper roses from my stash. Hope you like this card.
Size: 12.5 x 17.7cm

STATUS: SOLD

Hello from the heart AC004

 

  

Today I decided to do a floral card. I used the stamped images to mask before stamping a row of flowers. They were then coloured with Distress Inks. Added a bit of glitter and some gold perfect pearl in the centre. The background looked a bit white so I swiped some ink to fill in the spaces. Turned out real pretty which is quite satisfying as I was only playing around with the stamp. Card size: 16.4 x 12.7cm

Status: SOLD