Thursday 31 January 2013

Clean & Simple 2 - Day 4

Hello Friends,

I'm back after more inspirational lessons over in the Clean & Simple 2 classroom, click on the link on my sidebar to get the details.

The lovely Kristina, made a great card, using white embossed images, bringing them altogether by drawing a white box around them, it was a super card!

I chose a sketch design, as one of the other lessons was all about water colouring and Julie used a lovely sketched flower stamp, so bringing the two ideas together, I made this.........

I might try and find some water colour paper and try and paint this image later, watch this space!

Hope you find some time to craft today.

Carole
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Clean & Simple 2 - Day 3 (card 3)

Good morning Friends,

I really ought to be doing other stuff, you should see my ironing pile and paper work pile, but I couldn't resist making another card for yesterdays class.  Shari Carroll's card was so inspiring yesterday, she used ordinary mailing labels and stamped with a sponge dauber (I'd never have thought of that, not in a million years, yet I have so many of them!).

Here is my take on her card.......


It's a bright, bright sunshiny day here at the moment, the sun is flooding into my front lounge, so I chose the window sill there to photograph my card.  I have net curtains, which I thought gave some nice shadows on my photo going across diagonally!  I'll never make a photographer, but you get the gist.

I might be back later with another card, if I can get some of my jobs done before today's class comes in!

If you haven't signed up for Clean & Simple 2 yet, you need to head right over there NOW, you are missing so much fun!

Enjoy your day and I hope you find some time to craft.

Carole
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Wednesday 30 January 2013

Clean & Simple 2 - Day 3 (take two!)

I'm back with my second card.

When I realised it was going to take me a long time to stamp a graded effect with a very thin stamp so I went on the hunt for something a little larger!

This one is obviously too big for what we have been trying to accomplish, but I'm happy with the card......



Now I'm worrying..... I'm worrying about if, I read somewhere that Clean & Simple cards should always be on white!

The technique doesn't really show up very well here, but the inked middle image in green is actually a mix between the bottom colour and the green!

I chose this sentiment, as I have a friend suffering pretty badly, at the moment, with anxiety and she might just find this card land on her door mat soon!

Now for Operation Clean Up.........you can't make a Clean & Simple card if your work space is a complete mess!

Enjoy and hope you find some time to craft very soon.

Carole
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Clean & Simple 2 - Day 3

Hello Friends,

I'm back today with a couple of cards from the lessons learned today over at the Clean & Simple 2 class.

We had 3 great lessons, but I have tried only one so far.  I know one shouldn't rush one's homework, but with several things all happening at once around here this afternoon, I felt that I rushed to make a card whilst it was still light outside to be able to photograph it!

Here is my first card......


We were trying to get a great rainbow effect mixing inks.  To tell you the truth I probably have a great stamp to do this technique with somewhere, but my stash is not all that organised and in my rush I picked this old stamp, started to pull it off the sheet and tore it, right in half - whoops!  I quickly put the two pieces together on my block and you'd never know!

I soon realised that it would take me some time to fill a page with this and I wasn't actually pleased with the lightest colour I chose, so I stamped over it again with the middle colour, which has given a blurred sort of look to the top line (another lesson)!  The card has turned out to be clean and simple but a little too basic for my liking.

I'll be back with the other card in a minute!

Carole
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Tuesday 29 January 2013

Clean & Simple 2 - Day 2

Hello again, my friends,

I'm spoiling you, my blog is like catching a bus, you wait for ages and then two turn up at once!

I know that I'm going to be very busy tomorrow so wanted to get my homework done straight away today (like a good girl would!), so without further ado here is my offering from this fabulous class............

 today was all about one layer cards, which scared me half to death at first!  I haven't done one layer cards for years and years, but they are clean and simple and that is what we are aiming for over the next couple of weeks.

I took inspiration from all three video lessons today, Jennifer used water coloured pencils, Julie made a tiny embellishment and Debby did a little bit of embossing on hers.

As soon as I saw Debby embossing, it took me right back to my early years of teaching card making lessons, even before SpellBinders!  I remembered making these plastic templates out of file folders in all sorts of shapes offered by the Creative Memories cutting system.  I worked out that if you place the smallest circle on the back of the card, turn it over and emboss it and then place the larger circle around the embossed one, this time on the front and emboss from the back you get a great perfect ring.  I should have marketed it the time - lol !!!
Luckily it didn't take me too long to find all my little templates, in all sorts of CM shapes, just perfect for the lady who really doesn't want to shop any more!  I love shopping my stash, it really makes me feel good.

The sentiment comes from a Hero Arts set, one again, I've had for ages, which is called "Huge Hugs".

Enjoy, shop your stash, see what you can make!

Carole
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Clean & Simple 2 - Day 1

Hello Friends,

I'm back with my homework all complete from yesterdays class over at Online Classes.  The lesson was all about craftsmanship, we often think of clean and simple cards being quick but actually to get perfection, we need to take a little more time and care!

Here is the card I made using one of the sketches provided to us in the classroom.......


I've made this a special card for a very special lady who has just finished her Ph.D. in Biochemistry.  I can't wait to put it in the post addressing it to Dr...........

I've used American Crafts white card stock, my Silhouette Cameo to cut the microscope and aperture, the background stamp is from Tim Holtz's collection called Wallpaper and Wood and the ink is Pretty in Pink from Stampin' Up, as is the sentiment.

Hope it inspires you to take the class or make something today.

Carole
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Busy, busy, busy!!!

Hello my Friends,

I've popped in today to share with you all the information of three (yes three) classes I've signed up for.

Firstly I signed up for another class from those lovely ladies over at "Online Card Classes" called "Clean & Simple 2", it started yesterday and am already behind with my homework!

Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to sign up for one of Lain Ehmann's scrapbooking classes over at "Layout a day" which is due to start this coming Friday, called "LOAD213 ScrapHAPPIER".  This is a month long scrapbooking event where I learn I new page layout each day - I'll never keep up but I will try!

and......

This morning, I woke to an email from another of my favourite crafters, Stephanie Ackerman, who has announced a new class she is offering called "52 Card Pickup".  I know I'll never keep up with that either, but I feel it worth paying the class fee just to drool over her amazing work.  I love the inspiration she gives, not only through her amazing art but the beautiful things that she says and messages reminding us of what is important, so I am REALLY REALLY looking forward to spending time watching this one and perhaps will manage to make a few ;) !

Oh, there's another......I almost forgot......

A while a go I took a great online scrapbooking class called "Pretty Paper Party" by the lovely, bubbly, Shimelle.  It was a great class to use up that pile of patterned paper.  She emailed me recently asking me if I wanted to receive all the prompts and information again - for free as I'd taken the class a while a go.  I've found it really great to read the prompts and watch her videos again, a great class to try and it's only £12, if you live here in the UK!

Now I just have to decide where to start...........perhaps my homework from the class I mentioned first!  If I make anything, you can be sure to find it here later!

Have a great day and consider signing up for any of the above classes, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Carole
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Wednesday 9 January 2013

Hero Arts, Sympathy card

Hello Friends,

One of my dear friends mum passed away yesterday.  I haven't stopped thinking about my friend or her family since I heard this morning.  Sometimes I do find it difficult to design cards (especially this type) and today was one of those days, a day when I just couldn't even begin to think of what to use out of my stash to make a card, as my heart was just a little too heavy to think.

I Googled sympathy cards and found this card, which I decided to 'CASE'!

For sympathy cards I often use soft purples, I find purple tones to be soothing in some way, so here is my take on the card I saw. in purple..........


I used rubber stamps from the Hero Arts set called "With Sympathy" (CL476), all the card stock and ink is from Stampin' Up.

I hope to back soon with a couple of birthday cards I really must get made ;) !

Happy crafting.

Carole
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Friday 4 January 2013

Sizzix Floating Frames 3-D (Pop-Up)

Hey Friends,

Happy New Year to all my lovely blog readers and apologies for going AWOL for longer than (even I) expected!

I was struggling with a little inspiration yesterday, I finally had my "office" back, after the holiday season and after the last of our guests had left, so I called my mate Peg.  We got chatting about what she'd been making recently and it transpired that I had the exact same Sizzix die as she had been playing with, she sent me a couple of pics of a card she had made and I was on my way, this is what I made using a die I'd had for absolutely ages and hadn't used since I first bought it, thanks to my mate Peg.........


The front of the card is very simple but the pop-out in the middle is quite exceptional.....well I think so anyway, here it is..........



The "K" and the "e" are initials of the lovely people I want to thank and thought this card would be ideal!

My first card really needs to be put in the post, so whilst I still have it here, I spent this afternoon having another play with the same Sizzix die and made this lovely birthday card using the same layouts........


I spent a little more time on the front of this one, as I stamped those flowers, cut them out by hand and embossed them from behind with an embossing tool and soft mat.  I also inked the edges of the butterflies and embossed them from behind too.

This is a picture of the middle of this one.......


I stamped and hand cut another flower for the left side of the floating frames and stamped the greeting on the right.

If you pop over to Peg's blog, you could leave her a comment and ask to see the one she emailed to me which gave me the inspiration for these two fabulous cards!

Hope to see you all at my crop on 26th Jan - Stampin' Up's Saleabration will be on then, don't forget I can take your orders for that and Peg will place them on our behalf!!!

Carole
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