Stamped Christmas Cards

I have been playing with inks and stamps to make cards for Christmas this year.

The cards are from a mix of manufactures, mostly old sets from years gone by.  When I make my Christmas cards I do enjoy getting out my festive stash, not seen since last January when I completed my Christmas Journal. 

The first card is a simple layered Christmas rose by Altenew with a sentiment from the Lyrical Script set a clean and simple design.

This card has a focal stamped image by Do Crafts, I used my MISTI to stamp it in a variety of colours and add sequins and Nuvo drops to finish it.  Underneath I stamped the design using an Anna Griffin Noel stamp in slightly lighter shades.

Next, a very pale stamped card with Pink Paislee stamps, the background was repeatedly stamped to cove the card front in a pale Altenew ink in pink, The lights and sentiment are also Pink Paislee, again sequins, pink this time, finish the design.

My final cards use a stamp set I use almost every year. I can't recall the manufacturer, but they were UK based, sadly my stamps are starting to degrade a little, I'm not sure how much longer they will last. I used a background stamp heat embossed in an irridescent gold; the words are Latin "Gaudete" meaning rejoice.

More heat embossing with the same Gaudete stamp in white this time used as a resist to Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens used as a watercolour.  The pictures were coloured very simply with Muji pencils...I'm not really an alcohol pen person!
Looking at the amount of Christmas papers and dies I have, I think I need to dip into these for my next set of cards.

Rainbow Backgrounds

I have not been very well since Christmas, and have not even felt up to crafting much.  Most of the posts of late have been of things I made ages ago...my stash has been sitting on the kitchen table just making me feel guilty.

To help me to feel better, I was encouraged to take up making things again.  On the positive side, I had seen lots of demonstrations of techniques on the TV, and these cards made use of a very expensive set of pens  the kids bought me for my birthday last year, but had seen little use.  I saw Sheena Douglass show how to use them on water colour paper; she added a small stripe of ink from the red pen at the top, and then used water to move it across the top inch or two, then under it I added the next rainbow colour in the same way, and blended it into the first colour.  This carried on until reaching the bottom of the page.  Once the sheet dried, the glitter on the pens looks amazing; you can't really see it on the photos.

 Sheena showed how to make the moon by using water on a brush to move a circle of the paint away, making the clouds in the same way.  I loved the effect, so I made a few backgrounds and used them for card fronts, stamping onto and die cutting.

As the backgrounds are so sparkly, I kept the rest of the card pretty plain.  The flower silhouettes are cut from Tim Holtz wildflowers, and the sentiment is a docrafts one, heat embossed in white.  I used an anti-static bag before stamping, as the watercolour card can hold onto the powder in the wrong places, and my MISTI to overstamp on the rough surface a few times.

The sympathy stamp is (possibly) from an Altenew set... I thought it stood out well over the blue foreground.  My colleagues from work have sent me some lovely cards and flowers, so I hope to send these off in the next few days to show my gratitude before I get back to work in the near future.

First Communion

I seem to have been making lots of cards recently, and while I had my card making stash out for Easter I decided to produce this one to fulfil a request my Mum had made for a first holy communion card.

The background is an Anna Griffin embossing folder, inked, along with an embossed and sanded oval sentiment.

The cross is the same one I used on my Easter cards, cut with a Sizzlits die, and I added punched flowers, a bird and a label with a hand written message. Finally, a green doily completed the background.  I hope she likes it!

New Baby

I got busy this weekend making cards, a few for Easter and a couple of others too.
A friend of mine at work gave birth to a baby girl this week; her second child.  I made her a card using an Anna Griffin embossing folder and sentiment. the image is stamped onto a circle with a die cut scalloped circle in the background.

The stamps are from a set called 'Little Sprout' by Unity, I stamped them and coloured them with Artiste pens...my colouring skills are not great but I hope Michelle likes the personal touch as the stamped family matches her own.

Inside the card, I wrote a message using one of my brushscript pens...it was one I remember being on a card we were given when I had our second baby.

Looking at the card reminds me how time has flown as I joined the school I worked in 6 years ago. Michelle was the other Year 4 teacher with me, so she really helped me to settle in and to get through Ofsted. At the time she was a 'Miss', and in six years she has married and is now a mum of two. You can say one thing about teaching, time doesn't stand still in the job.

Happy 80th birthday

I never forget my Aunty Margaret's birthday as it falls on Burns Night.  This year is a special birthday, so I made her a special card. She has a great fondness for purple, so I used purple cardstock from Natures gallery A4 pack (Papermania) to emboss with an Anna Griffin folder.

The background paper is by Graphic 45, as is the bird and nest image.  I made the flowers using an ancient Xcut quilling die, rolling up the strip the die cut and gluing with a hot glue gun.
The age is stamped, and I added two stamped sentiments inside.

I added a metal snowflake for this winter birthday:I hope she likes the card!

Embossed cards

I took a look in the box I store my cards in at the weekend and noticed that some looked a little tatty or out of date, so spent the weekend putting together a few more to top up the box for the months ahead.

 I really like the Anna Griffin embossing folders I bought last year with the interchangeable sentiments, so made use of these along with Papermania floral papers and some stamped and decoupaged embellishments. The embossed images were cut out with scissors as I sat in front of the TV, and then sanded to allow the white core of the card to make the image show.

Here are some close ups of my favourites, the tiger lily is a brighter Anna Griffin offering,

and I really love the blousy peony. More cards later in the week.

Finished at Last!

We were some of the latest schools to finish this summer, only ending term on Tuesday.
A few people moved on from our place, some to new jobs, others retiring.

My own TA didn't leave our school, but she has switched years to work lower down the school, which is a pity as I have really  enjoyed working with her. I made her a card to say thanks for all the help she has given to me and the children over the past three years.

The sentiment is a Tim Holtz embossed and sanded one, a new purchase! Paper is a very old Graphic 45 one.  Looking forward to a rest (after the decorating is done).

Easter cards

I made cards for Easter using Anna Griffin embossing folders, and flowers; some from the Papermania floral set, others AG decoupaged flowers.

I hope the recipients enjoy them. Happy Easter all.

Mother's and Father's Day

Today is both Mothering Sunday, and my Dad's birthday, so we will be out for Sunday lunch as a treat. The card for Mum (and Kev's Mum) were both made using Anna Griffin embossing folders and Papermania floral papers.

My Dad's card uses Graphic45 papers and a few vintage cars... typical man's card!

Looking forward to not having to cook lunch :)

More Embossed cards

I had a play with my Anna Griffin embossing folders last weekend with removable sentiments, making a variety of cards to stash away for future occasions.

No-one wants to have to send a sympathy card but they are always gratefully received, especially when they are hand made.

I used Papermania Natural  papers and 5x7 Kraft cards along with a few bows and Anna Griffin flowers and butterflies.

Some of the sentiments are the chalkboard stamps I bought a while back, they give the cards a more updated look.

 I'm still loving the faux enamel dots, they seem to be appearing on everything I make at the moment!

Spring Cards

As Easter is early, Mother's day is also early this year, In fact, it falls on Dad's birthday, so we will be killing two birds with one stone on the day with a Sunday lunch.  I spent Sunday putting together a few cards for spring, including birthdays and Mothering Sunday.

I used my Anna Griffin embossing folders with interchangeable sentiments, along with Papermaina floral papers. Cutting out the folders added to the vintage look of the cards, and I cut the roses from the paper one day while sitting watching TV.

 The enamel dots are made using the self levelling Nuovo in white by Tonic, well worth buying if you like lots of the little dots.  Just wish they made them in more colours.

Two birthdays today.

My daughter and her boyfriend both share the same birthday, he is just a year younger.
Their cards are worlds apart in appearance though!

For Hannah I went with a girly Anna Griffin card, embossed frames and greetings, roses and butterflies cut out from Papermania floral papers.

Ribbon is Anna Griffin, as is the die cut bird.

And Chris gets a far more masculine card (although they are both scientists!) Papers were Tim Holtz, and Graphic 45, and the sentiment was Anna Griffin, embossed and sanded. Shame I forgot to take a photo!

An early valentine

I busied myself making a valentine card for my husband (who else?!) today.

I had put together the typewriter a while back using a Tim Holtz die and a number of pieces of inked card. When I saw this card on the Paperchase website, it gave me the idea for his Valentine card.

As you can see, I've gone for a grungier look, to suit a masculine card, and added a few other bbits from my stash.  The stamps are a small set of typeface with a tiny punched heart at the end of the message.  Frames are embossed and cut out (new Anna Griffin set shown on QVC this week; couldn't resist) and the chalkboard messages are also Anna Griffin stamps.

Hope he likes it!

Christmas Cards 2013

This year I have still used a lot of kraft on my cards, but around half are made using a white background.

I loved the Christmas in the Country papers, with stitched and knitted Nordic images, around half my card came from this range... I especially liked the stag cross stitch stamp, it looks great heat embossed onto kraft.

The other half of the cards are from the 12 Days of Christmas range, some stamped, others embossed using folders and the trusty Big Shot... always useful when batch making cards.

Finally, I couldn't resist the new typography stamps and although I had to cut out all the letters by hand (couldn't run to the dies!)they made me remember and resurrect a card design I used a few years back with a different style of letter.

 So that's it, cards ( all 70 of them!) are done for this year. Are you making your own Christmas cards this year?

A few Cards

After looking through my files I found a couple of recent cards I hadn't uploaded here.

This one was  for Dad's birthday last weekend

And this was for Mother's Day, good job I made them before I was ill, or Kev would have been given the job of going out and buying them!!
Feeling a little better, hoping to get back to work after Easter.... I can only take so much day-time TV.

A Valentine Card

...with a difference.

It can be hard to make Valentines cards for men, I really don't like cutesy, slushy stuff, so the Papermania Chronology papers made the perfect choice for Valentine's day this year.

Along with embossing, twine and lots of inking, I was pleased (for once) with how my card turned out.