Helping hand...........

Recently I popped over to Scrapbook Stamp Society, and treated myself to some new digi's , yum yum!
I bought a large Digi, called Fairy Dust collection by Morgan Fitz-simons, and used 1 part of the digi, to create this card for you to look at.

A5 piece of card, scored to form an A6 card base.
Mbossibilities folder by Spellbinders
3 Cool Grey promarkers. 2,3,4
Tonic Flower Punch.
Lace
Black gems
E-craft,
Digi image by Morgan Fitz-simons.

The E-craft doesnt come with an optical eye, but it is possible to get it to cut around a shape that you have printed out, I need to play a bit more before I do a video on it, lol.
But I got the e-craft to cut around the hand for me! Woo-hoo!!
Target for the day achieved, okay its not perfect, but trying to figure out the correlation between where my printer prints, and where the E-craft cuts is difficult! And then the brain got itself all confused, and I couldn't think any more!

I carefully trimmed around the hand I wanted to use in My Craft Studio Elite, (Keep an eye on the end of this post!) and printed it out from the Digi by Morgan Fitzsimons. Then cut it out with the E-craft.
Coloured it with the Promarkers, and added the black gems, Lace and Flower.
Then I used the e-craft to draw and cut the tag sentiment. The E-craft does this differently to the Silhouette, as the Pen and Blade are in the trolley part of the machine together, so you dont have to swap one out to use the other.
I embossed the base card with the folder, then assembled it.


Right for those of you who have paid attention: I am giving away 3 CD's and a reference sheet. I received them in the Goody Bag at the Doncaster Workshop, as I already have them.
Now I am NOT giving you my copy! As I wouldn't part with it! But I am giving away the spare set.

The Quintessential Country Garden Double CD set is heaving with Fabulous Floral Images, I have used it for some Custom cards, which I dont photo, once you have one of my cards made for you, that's it, I never replicate them, wether I am proud of them or not, they never get made again.
But back to the disk's, one of my Favourite collections by MCS, some vintage themes, pretty themes, men's theme's, you name it it's all here, fab butterflies, and birds, and obviously Flowers. As the new program Elite was released in April, and this tied in with the move to QVC UK, for new users they sent it out with the quick reference sheet, and a video on how to use it, so you have the complete package, and are able to play with the program in the same way I do.

So to enter just leave a comment at the end of this post saying you would like the disks, this will run for 2 weeks, then I will get Youngest to draw a name out the hat, and sent out. (mainly coz I have no idea how that Random Org thingy works, oops!)

hugs to all

Lou

New Tutorial

Hi everyone,
Well welcome to my blog if you haven't been here before, but have followed some links, I hope you will settle back and allow me to entertain you with my various ramblings?

First up, if this is what you are looking for.....................?

then you need to pop over here:
                                                          

And if you're after this?

Then here you go, just save the image, Right click on it, then save as, and save it as what ever you want, and you have got what you came for, but in the meantime why not have a nosey around, and see what else there is to see?


So not a lot to report apart from projects that got put on the back burner for some emergency intervention, they're not quite ready for publication just yet.
Health is same old, same old, adjusting slowly, but wish various letters would hurry up!
The Olympics were wonderful, and the closing ceremony superb. What memories we will have, even if you don't "do" sport, the excitement was infectious, so much so, that certain young people not too far away are going to Hockey Training at the start of the new Season! Yes! The family tradition is still going strong, lets hope both boys, though Middlest does actually play, just needs a new team having left College, carry on with my favourite game, I did even hold a stick ( Mrs Franklands' old one, yes I still have it!) the other day, showing youngest and a neighbour how to hold the stick, and hit the ball, though middlest was a bully and tried to tackle me, haha didnt succeed Boyo! But Youngest and the neighbour are now Hockey mad, yippee!!
So the question now is do I buy a proper Hockey ball? Hmmn damage to cars verses the thwack of Stick on cork? Nope, sorry the Thwack wins every time!! Just got to make sure my car is away from the danger area, lol.

Hugs to all, and hope all the returning athletes get home safe and sound. Dont forget the Para-Olympics in the next few weeks, keep an eye out for my Fellow EDS'ers and give them a cheer!!

Hugs

Lou

The inside and the outside...........

..............Well I made these 2, as a means of showing FG what could be done with an electronic  Cutting machine.
These were made on my Craft-Robo SD 330-20, using a design from the Silhouette store, on 250 GSM cardstock.
The difference between the Craft Robo/Silhouette and the E-craft is the fact that the E-craft doesnt use a matt, and can cut anything up to 1mm in depth.
Silhouette/Craft Robo matts are a problem for me, either they are too sticky and tear the project, or they don't stick enough and the project shifts on the matt and tears.
The E-craft can have a similar problem with slipping, and I have found that firstly loading from the back can help with that for some reason, and if loading from the front I use one of the cheap, thin cutting matts designed for Kitchen use (you know the very thin ones, that can be rolled up), to stabilise the project, or an alternative is actually to use a coated card stock as a stabilising sheet, as the coat tends to grip the project slightly. When I have used a coated card stock, I was very surprised to find absolutely no marks on the base sheet!
Anyway, to the cards, and you will see why I labeled this "the inside and the outside".

 Here is the inside of one card sheet and the outside of another!
Both are a pearlised base Card, embossed with the Crafts Concept Funky Poinsettia embossing folder after cutting, and mounted onto a heavy weight Green Card base. A few Gems and some glittery ribbon from my local market finish it off.

Again the inside of one and the outside the other, same as the one above, but this time with the addition of a bit of red Glitter in the stars.

Right that's it for me, hope you like them, I have to finish getting stuff organised in here, and stuff taken to the charity shops, so I have some room to play, and I can get on with my DT work!

I am entering these cards in the following:
  Chocolate, Coffee and Cards Challenge #19 Emboss It
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #145 Anything goes
Fun With Shapes and more Challenge #115 Split negative challenge
The Poodles Parlour lets see those Die Cuts



Hugs to all,

Lou

2 different stamps, 2 different views.

Evenin'.
Well as the title says this is using 2 Stamps by Susannah Style, which I picked up at Doncaster, and hadnt got round to playing with, well until Linda came round to play that is!
So having mounted one of the stamps so she could use, it, I just had to mount up the other, and of course, as they were both mounted up it would have been churlish of me not to give them a quick try!
At the moment I am enjoying my Mica play, so I stamped them both up, twice, with Flitter Glue, from Indigo Blu, on Landscape A6 card bases. Then one set I Flittered, and one set I mica'd both giving different results.

This one, was using Mica to dust the glue, for the design, then using the mica again to create a background of a late winter sun, just breaking though the misty cloud. I added some glitter under the feet for the crisp snow.

 Again the same stamp, but this time Flittered with Lancashire Rose. I then masked it off, and used the small trees and deer from the Katy Sue Designs Winter Wonderland Silhouette stamps to create a background, stamping with Pumice Distress ink, and again some glitter to create the snow lines.













This one is the Bauble stamp, again Flittered with Lancashire Rose, and the smaller bauble stamp was stamped with Versamark, and clear embossed.
I then coloured the background with Pine Needles Distress ink.

A much gentler version this one. Mica, and I also used mica to create the glow around the bauble. I used small amounts of clear glitter to some of the snowflakes that make up the Bauble. A small piece of gold peel off for the "string", and a small bow to complete the card.

Challenges for these cards:
My Mum's Craft Shop, Christmas Challenge  #69,
Just keep on Creating Christmas Challenge
The Paper Shelter Round #76
Tanda Teaser 200 CAS

Hope you like them, I have to go do some emails and such, and create some more cards for your delectation, will be back soon, xxx

Lou

Something a little bit different!

Well, when putting my wonderful E-craft through its paces for my mate Linda, the other day, I used some doe-flex to illustrate a point!
Basically I wanted to cut a design on the E-craft in Doe-flex, something I have done before, and was seriously impressed with.
My view with the types of digi cut out files, is this: If I bought a Toaster, then I would expect it to toast all sorts of bread, not just Warburtons. So I took another design I had bought from Silhouette Studio, and adjusted it for the e-craft to cut out, primarily because the CR 330-20 WONT cut Doe-flex!
So I cut the design, and then did this with it:

Rather stunning eh?
I used the doe-flex mask as a stencil, and used used a Versamark ink pad to "glue" in the gaps, on some black paper.
Next up were my Mica Powders, and a small soft brush, and I daubed some mica in places, trying to create a sunset behind the boy and his dog.
I edged the design with a Letraset Fine line peel off, and then used the Ecraft again to cut out a 7" diameter circle, to frame the design.
I created an 8x8" card base in Black Card, and then mounted the focal point and frame on sticky pads for dimension. All that remained was to add some flourishes which were in my Stash from about 3 yrs ago, and some gems, and job done!
I do hope you like it, I really like the effect it has created, and Boy does it catch the light!

Here's the list of Challenges I have entered with this card:
Creative Inspirations: challenge 175 Anything Goes
Fab 'n' Funky Challenges:  133 Use Pearls or rhinestones
hugs

Lou

oopsie, had to check, oh dear!

Well the title says it all really! I had to check wether or not I had actually posted this card! How bad is that? In fairness I made it 2 days ago, the night before my mate turned up to play, and it was put to one side for later, lol, so I am only a day behind!

This is quite a delicate card for me, so much so that I wonder wether it is too delicately coloured, wether I should have gone for darker inks or not?
But it's made, and you should all know by now, that I am an honest blogger, and boy have I posted some humdingers in the past!
So what have we got here? An amalgamation of electronic die cutting, manual embossing, stamping using inks, and using pens.
First to be produced was the bird with the flourish tail. Its actually a design I bought from the Silhouette store, and have converted it to be cut with the e-craft, on smooth white 250 gsm card stock. Beak to tail tip it measures 5 1/2", quite sizeable really. So fine I had this lovely bird.....what to do now?
So out came Mr Happy and a Sizzix embossing folder I received in my Goody bag from the My Craft Studio workshop in Doncaster. Okay, so now it is beautifully embossed, but it needs something to make it pop!
Milled Lavender Distress ink, and a large head blusher brush, as Doncaster had completely sold out of large Brushes for ink dusting with (boy was I not pleased about that), to add definition to the embossing.
Okay so now I am working in the lilac/purple range, which decided the base card colour, and the Matt cut from a sheet of 12 x 12" Docrafts Capsule collection paper.
A lilac ribbon, and it really needed something else.....hmmn! Okay, so out came some cute little stamps I got as a freebie with Nicky Hall's Creative Chronicles magazine, again from Doncaster. Some tiny little Lavender bunches! Perfect, but they are small, and I wanted to use 2 colours on the stamps........Whispers pens to the rescue! So a purple and a green pen at the ready I proceeded to stamp a little line of Lavender bunches above where I would place the ribbon. Huffing periodically to re-awaken the ink, yes those huff pens, they're the ones!
So ribbon attached, birdie attached, gems sorted just needed a sentiment, so Heartfelt wishes from the same stamp set, and what did I do? Picked up the WRONG INK PAD!!!! AAAAARRRGHHHH!!!!
Bit late now though! I picked up the Tattered Rose instead of the Milled Lavender! Now sorry I'm no Barbara Grey, even though the stamps are clear, as my hands dont hold steady enough, so it has to stay this way, until I root out everything again, and die cut a piece to stamp on, then I can cover it up, and hopefully hide the miss match in colours!
Told you I'm honest lol

hugs to all who make mistakes, Boy do I know how you feel!
So lets see if the various members of challenge groups have a good old giggle at my mistake!
The Pink Elephant:: TPE 160, use ribbon
Papertake Weekly Challenge: Anything goes
lou xxx

Grand parents card.

Well the lovely Linda Simpson has allowed me to post this card. And if I have made a card for a specific reason, or a Commission I dont generally post them, as for me they personal and private and if the recipient wants to share then that is up to them.
I made it for Linda, as she has just become a grandmother again, and I wanted to celebrate the event a little.
But the card is made from one of Linda's stamps. Her first designs transformed into rubber!

So this one is a card base and 2 layers cut on the E-craft. The card base is a smooth white, the first layer is a bright pink, and the second is a coated pearlised card stock.
I stamped the image Linda designed, with Vintage Photo for the Stork, and Milled Lavender for the baby, then allowed it to dry for quite a bit, as its a coated stock, before getting the water brush out, and dragging some of the ink around the image for shade and colour.
The phrase comes with the stamp, and you have a choice, boy, girl or Twins, which is a nice variation.
Next was simply a matter of layering the card up, and then adding some Aurora Borealis gem stones and a small piece of ribbon.
Right I am under instruction that this has to be entered into a couple of Challenges:
so first up, and this one is easy for me to fulfill, is the Krafty Hands Blog Challenge Bling it up: Bling Obviously, and using a design from Krafty Hands! In this case, a Stamp. Right Linda I am entering it so stop mithering me now, lol, xxx
Lexi's Creations Challenge: Sparkle and Shine. Hope fully the pearlised base, and tons of Gems qualify for this one,
Tammy's Scrappin Corner: Show us your Bling. Hopefully the AB gems fall into this category, lol

I got Raided!

Help!! Some one stop her!!! Some woman's just raided my craft room, scoffed all my food and done a runner!!
Lol, not really, but I did get raided, luckily she bought her own bag, and didnt take bits I wouldnt let her have, lol, but she had fun playing, and I fed her well, lol.
So I expect to see loads of bits I recognise on Linda Simpsons blog in the next day or two, lol!
In the meantime, here's a card for one of the DT's I havent taken part in for a while: I have actually been quite poorly, and physically making a card was beyond me, but I now know what else is wrong, so am able to put it behind me and move on, so I am starting slowly with one team, then increase to two, then back to full strength again I hope!
So here is rather an eye catching image from the Scrapbook Stamp Society. Its one of those you keep looking at, and every time you look at it, you see a bit more. It's one I have had in my stash for some months, and it was only today, that I looked at it and thought A-ha!

The digi is called Kinnaree, a rather unusual fantasy piece, of a woman with a birds wings and legs, not quite a Griffin, but close.
To look at the image there is a lot of detail, and it would be a big piece indeed were I to colour it, so I took the cowards way out......... I printed it on Melt dust paper, which as far as I know is a product specific to My Craft Studio. The ink lies on top of the paper, and doesn't soak in when you print it, but isn't all over tacky like a photography paper.
The advantage of this is that you can then glitter and/or emboss the image with powder, and then heat gently, until the powder melts.
This image has 5 colours of melt dust powder on it, dark green, light green, and 3 shades of blue, as I was aiming at a Peacocks colouring, and was mounted on some dark green glitter cardstock.
I created a laid back central stepper card, to display the image clearly, and decorated it with some flowers from my stash, and lots of coloured gem Dragonflies.
I hope you like my first real attempt for some months at a designed card,

hugs

Lou

what I have been doing........

Okay as you know, I vanished for a bit, basically I was unwell, and not up to doing much. But Luckily a friend of mine is coming to play tomorrow, the lovely Linda Simpson, so I have to tidy all my goodies away instead of dumping them, and get on with some crafting! As my crafty fix has come from shopping these past few months instead of actually crafting, oopsie!
I am an incredibly lucky person, as some of my friends have to be the most caring and generous people in the world, and at this point I would like to say a HUGE thank you to my FG.
Last Friday I had a big weep, as FG had bought me an E-craft as a surprise to cheer me up! Wowsers! What a surprise, and FG you are the best and most considerate friend a person could have, and one day I will get my own back, when I win the lottery I am buying you a craft room, but you may have to wait for a bit, okay?

Right here is a card I made with some of the unused crafty stash that I had bought, and the E-craft:

This is an A3 Black Card scored and folded to form an A4 card. The papers are from my Stash, some old loose ones, matted and layered with a strip of wide Silver Ribbon, from the Pound shop last year. It was a wired ribbon, I just removed the wire, lol.
The main image is some new toys from the Doncaster Craft Show. Some Sparkle Medium, Aqua Sea, and one of the Stencils by Imagination Crafts, on some of the Black Gloss card that comes with it if you buy the Starter kit. I have to admit here, that the Aqua Sea Sparkle is Youngests, oops, lol.
Basically you smooth the paste on to the stencil as you would UTEE and lift it away, scrapping every last glimmer of Sparkle back into the pot, lol.
The word is again on the sparkle Black card, but the word is a design by Silhouette, and cut on my new E-craft in Doeflex!
My Silhouette is a C-330-20, just at the change over point between Craft Robo, and Silhouette, and it doesnt cut doeflex. But it doesnt stop me buying loads of the designs from Silhouette, as some are scrummy!
But this time, I wanted a stencil, so it was cut on the E-craft using one cut, and setting 7 on the pressure, the machine is a dream! Although the software isnt as advanced as the Studio Software, it is possible to use Inkscape to adjust the chosen design to your liking before cutting on the E-craft.
For die hard Slihouette users, dont worry the Sil hasnt been got rid of! The E-craft doesnt have an optical eye so it still has its place in my craft room, and will be used, but for cuts on thicker materials, and speed, then I will use the E-craft, as its a very quick Machine!
Right if you have read this far, this is a bit of a heads up, I will be running a Candy give-away in my next post so keep your eyes open!!

Hugs to all

Lou

well I am coming back to blogging.....

Morning/evening guys and girls, been a while since I posted anything hasnt it?
Unfortunately I have been somewhat poorly, and it wasnt what I thought it was. But now I know whats wrong, I can put it behind me and move on with my life.
So I have been getting my crafty fix from Shopping for crafty goodies, and now my craft room is HEAVING with crafty stash, which needs to be used, before I run out of room!
So hopefully in the next few days I will start to post cards and bits on my Blog again, so keep an eye out!
in the meantime, I have to post this, and sorry guys for leaving it so long before getting round to doing it, I only did it to keep Linda quiet, lol.

I entered a card in the Krafty Hands first Challenge, and got placed in the Top 3, woo-ho! Ta guys!

Krafty Hands is a uk company, and you see them at a lot of Craft Fairs, and my mate Linda has started designing Stamps for them, and they are scrummy! I do have a couple of Linda's Stamps which have been here for 3 weeks and havent even come out of the packet yet, oopsie, but I will stamp them up and create with them so you can see what her designs are like.

In the meantime, if you do have a Krafty Hands disk or stamp in your stash, why not dig it out, and create something with it, that fits the current challenge on the Krafty Hands site this includes stash thats listed on the Krafty Hands website, and Crafters Companion products as well!

Right off to try to sort this mess out into some type of order so I can get creating again, xxx

Lou