Oriental cards

 Finally made some cards recently, I know the recipient of one of these has opened it so I can publish it now.

I used pages from a book I bought as background papers, love oriental books as the papers are often really thin but smooth so take inks etc really well.

I also added images I matted and layered and some embellishments in the bottom right.

Now off to make more cards, I may be on a roll!!

kyla

Japanese inspired card

I am trying to use up my stash as I have amassed far too much over the years.  

This card is made using a page from a book (love the script) as the background and I matted and layered a Japanese image adding a dimensional topper (I cut the back post off so it sits a bit more flush against the page.

A clean card which for me is unusual (I nearly added some ink around the edges but resisted!)

Happy crafting

Kyla

Birthday cow card

I made this card recently for my mates birthday.

I love the saying "call when its time for cake"!

The background is once again my paint sprays this time with some watercolour splashed over the top.

I fussy cut the cow out and mat and layered the sentiment onto green foiled card and edged the card with the chisel tip end of a promarker, which if you draw it along at an angle is really easy to get a nice even line all around your card.

Happy crafting

Kyla

This is a really late post as I just realised that I forgot to blog about the cards I made in February for valentines day (or any other reason as they are always blank inside so can be multi use).  I die cut some painted card and used my craft sewing machine (a small mini cheap one I bought a few years ago for paper crafting only rather than using my decent sewing machine as paper and card created a lot of fluff and blunts the needles SO quickly if you want to use them on fabric after-so I keep the 2 separate) to add a zig zag stitch all around the edge and left the threads dangling.

Then I added a strip of patterned card down the edge to bring it all together.  

Quite plain and simple but I quite like the added dimension of the thread.

Kyla

Mermaids for free

If you popped by my desk on Wednesday you may have seen a roll of paper and some backing paper (on the left hand side of the desk).

This is what I made from them.

I am not a great one for cute cards but I spotted some girls wallpaper samples with mermaids on and thought a free sample would make a couple of cards and as a bonus I was able to use some of my 12x12 scrapbook papers as backing papers.

I managed to make 3 cards from the free sample in total, not too bad and saves me buying any cute toppers or backing papers (that to be honest I would struggle to use for anything else and I like my stash to be multipurpose where I can).

Wallpaper samples can make some really great cards and is a way to keep costs down and add them to stash you already have to help use up those papers etc that sometimes we just fall out of love with and struggle to use.

Do you have any top tips to use up stash that maybe you have fallen out of love with?

Happy crafting

kyla

Robot cards

I forgot to blog a couple of cards I made a few weeks ago.

I was using up some card blanks I have.  I rarely buy patterned cards but these silver space ones really caught my eye.

I made some toppers from some images I found on line, tinting the images to give them a slightly retro feel and added a small MDF embellishment next to the greeting

I think these cards are perfect for small boys or girls-or even older ones as I work with a lot of engineers who would like these!

Happy crafting

Kyla

Silver cards

 So at the WOYWW crop the lovely ShazSilverwolf brought her dies with her and I cut a TON of these (I tried purchasing the die at the NEC show but none of the stalls had one for sale-good job as now I have lots in different colours!!).

I thought that these would be suitable for both male and female cards (and both silver since they were inspired by Shaz!).

The top one is in silver and on a plain white card.  I am not great at doing plain cards but I think this one works ok.

This one is on holographic card and backed with a slightly metallic grey card with some bradless brads just to add some dimension.

That's it for now,

Happy crafting

Kyla

Multi layered scraps

Thought I would post one of my latest cards I made.

The background is an old 12x12 patterned scrapbook sheet I no longer like that I gesso'd, painted, wiped back, stencilled, stamped and collaged!

I then added an off-cut from an Angelina fibre die cut butterfly that I made for a previous card and attached it with coloured mini staples.

I added a butterfly with some foil adhered for a little bling and stamped a sentiment on the bottom left.

I got suitably inky and covered in paint so I was a happy bunny!

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Finding the right words

Not blogged for a while as it was hubby's birthday and I was busy planning (and celebrating of course) so I thought I would do a quick update.

I was looking to make some Mothering Sunday cards the other day but instead ended up with a sympathy card!!!  I have no idea how that happened, but those sort of cards are always handy to keep and never easy to make so I suppose it was a win/win in the end.

I have also spent a lot of my free time over the past week sorting out my craft room and stash as we had some new storage delivered so I hope to share that for this weeks WOYWW if you'd care to pop back then.

Hope you have been having a lovely weekend-I went on a leather workshop yesterday and today have been ironing and catching up on missed episodes of the Great British Sewing Bee - rock and roll!!

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Raindrops keep falling on my head

"Raindrops keep falling on my head" so the song goes-I don't know about that, but it has gotten mighty chilly recently (but then it is January in the UK so I am not sure why I should be surprised!)

 I thought I would take a break from posting Christmas present makes (I think there is only one more to go) and post the finished cards from the colouring in I was doing on a previous WOYWW.

To the stamped and coloured image I also added some glossy accents and a strip of scrap paper with some scrap lace over the top (I am trying to make cards from mainly my scrap box in January and so far I have made about 15 - its a big scrap box!!)

 The leaf is made from a tomato puree tube cut open, cleaned, flattened, dyed with alcohol inks then die cut.

 This one is using my new rain drop stamp as a background (at the last WOYWW crop I saw Shaz Silverwolf's stamps and fell in love with ALL OF THEM!!). I thought it would add some interest to the background without having to cut up any more precious card!

I thought these cards would be good for a variety of occasions from Valentines right through to "I'm Sorry".  Cards without words is sometimes all you need to let someone know you are thinking of them.

Happy crafting

Kyla

 

Lip balm holders

 Hello, finally getting through posting all the presents I made for people at Christmas (sorry, I keep trying to mix the posts up with some journaling and cards).

These were an idea I found on Pinterest, they are lip balm holders using some scraps of fabric left over from previous projects, some cotton inside (so they are lined even though the only way you can see the lining is if you take out the balm and peer inside), some thin stabiliser and a D ring.  They don't take too long to knock up and I think they make a really cute stocking filler.  

I also made a bright and cheerful desk calendar (free standing A frame sort-no idea what they are called!).

 Just a couple of small fillers or handy gifts for friends (I even had a male friend who is a cyclist mention they use lip balm on the morning commute to work so I think I need to keep my eye for 'manly' prints so I can make one for him).

A short and sweet update today, happy crafting

Kyla