Snowy cabin

Greetings dear readers - welcome to yet another Christmas card post!

I was delighted recently to have won at The Artistic Outpost referral programme, and even happier still to select my choice of their gorgeous stamp sets as prize (not easy to choose from fab array!). After lots of deliberation I went for the 'Midwinter' set and now love it. I bet the occupants of this cabin are blissfully content in their isolation.

The top circle is Stardream card cut with a Cheery Lynn die. I stamped the cabin image and embossed with Stampendous 'Twilight' EP. Did lots of frantage for the snow 'blizzard'. Painted gesso for the snowy foreground and coated it whilst wet with Distress glitter in 'Clear Rock Candy'. Also glittered the roof, windows and tree branches. Next inked the circle edges with Versamark and embossed with Judikins 'Silver Twinkle' EP. The two sentiments are from the AO sets 'Midwinter' and 'Snowy Woods' and are embossed as per cabin, silver ringed again and dotted with sparkly gesso. Sentiments also have faint shadow inked snowflakes.

The lower circle is cut using a Noor die. Again I've embossed the edge with 'Silver Twinkle' EP and glittered it too with more 'Clear Rock Candy'. The two circle layers are each propped on cardboard circles and foam tape to heighten dimension.

For the blue 'galaxy' layer I inked white CS with a combination of Distress Inks 'Chipped Sapphire' and 'Stormy Sky', Perfect Pearls mist 'Perfect Pearl' and Distress Stain 'Picket Fence'. I then gave it 3 coats of UTEE for a good thick glaze. Whilst the UTEE was hot I sprinked on silver glass glitter and little stars. Then edged it with Idea-ology silver tinsel.

Added metal key and little star brads from stash as finishing touches.

Thanks so much for visiting - I genuinely appreciate all the lovely comments you leave me.

Have a Happy Day!

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Artistic Outpost December Referral - Anything Goes using AO
Vintage Stamping Challenges - Cold and Frosty Colours
Stamping Sensations - Free and Easy
Country View Challenges - Bah, Humbug!
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes
C.R.A.F.T. - Use Metal / Add a charm
Kaboodle Doodles - Start of Winter
QKR Stampede - Starting to Look a lot like Christmas
Everybody-Art-Challenge - Winter
Live & Love Crafts - Stardust

Tea for Two

Hello and welcome! Thanks so much to all the lovely ladies who have signed up recently to follow.

Papers: Maja Design 'Vintage Summer Basics'.
Stamps: Hero Arts and Wendy Cotterill.
Inks and Powders: Ranger Archival (by Wendy Vecchi) 'Cornflower Blue', Archival 'Rose Madder', Versamark and Stampendous Clear EP. UTEE on the tea china. Ingvild Bolme Chalk Edger 'White'. Stampendous Frantage in 'Shabby white, pink and blue'. Roses dabbed with 'Snow-tex'.
Embellishments: Doily available here. Spoon charm available here. Flowers and lace from stash.
Dies: Cheery Lynn 'Mini Pearl French Flair' and 'Horizon Coved Rectangle'. Spellbinders 'Romantic Rectangles'.
Vintage Image: Many thanks to 'History in Photos' Blog.
Template for side step card: Many thanks to 'Bubbly Funk'.

The little details:

This card took quite a while to get together! It is my first attempt at a side step card so it took a little practice. Also, distressed inked edges and 'aging effects' were abandoned in favour of clean lines with slightly chalked white rims. The papers and photos were frantaged.

The china tea cups took a few tries because I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients ... I followed the wonderful Sherry Hickox's tutorial for 'Faux Crazed Porcelain'. I tred to subsitute with products I had but couldn't achieve clean stamped images. In the end I skipped the element of crackle paint on board and instead stamped onto white specialty paper, coloured in the flower petals using watering pen, heat dried and fussy cut out. Then gave them two coats of UTEE treatment. I adapted the 'faux' technique by popping the UTEE'd china into the freezer for 5 minutes. I then snapped each so that they have 'faux' cracks.

It's a beautiful sunny and mild day here in Dublin. I hope the sky shines on you wherever you are.

Finally, don't foget about your chance to win my 1st Blogaversary Candy - please click here.

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Frilly and Funkie - Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Inspiration Journal - Falling for Faux
Vintage Udfordring - Folding Techniques
Live & Love Crafts - Inspiration Collage (using pink roses)
Crafting Musketeers - Vintage
Crafts 4 Eternity - Cute Kids
SSS Wednesday - Use a product from SSS - UTEE
Cherish This - Memories for Life - Åpen utfordring

Vintage Bridal Veil

Hello all you lovely readers - welcome to another post. There are lots of wedding related challenges at the moment so here is my vintage wedding card.



Please click on photo to enlarge as the tulle to the right of card becomes clearer.

Firstly I layered silver cardstock onto white CS base. The next layer of pink paper is made by my own fair hands - talk about hand crafted! (I attended a workshop last year as to how to make paper from pulp and fibres - this is the result - any little flecks are part of the organic process). I've embossed the pink layer with Cheery Lynn's 'Petite Hearts' embossing plate.

The photograph is a free image (sorry did not note source) that I adjusted to faded black and white. Printed this on handmade paper (not by me) in keeping with the vintage look. I cut the photo frame using Tim Holtz baroque and mini baroque dies and then ran it through my Tim Holtz damask embossing folder. I then followed the steps in Shelly Hickox's fab tutorial on 'Faux Tarnished Metal' - take a peek here for details. I previously used the technique in my post here, it's very effective and done with ink, embossing powder and Utee.

Stitched some lace that I had been saving for a wedding card to form a veil having made a little head-dress of pearls and roses. I was so pleased it worked as a veil as it is scalloped on both edges. Decorated veil further with a pearl flourish to the base/train. I wanted to do something different for a bouquet so decided to go with a message in a bottle! I printed out 'Sealed with a kiss' on handmade paper and placed it and some flowers into the little vial - leftover from a workshop. The cork stopper looked wrong (plus Frilly and Funkie have limited colours in their challenge) so I gave it a few coats of Metallic Distress Stain in Brushed Pewter. Added a little lace bow and heart charm and mounted on some tulle and 2 hearts that I cut using Sizzix Bigz Primitive Hearts die. Covered hearts with pink CS and translucent patterned paper.

Finally I scrunched some tulle and attached underneath the cardstock to right of card. Completed with pink ribbon along top and bottom of card that I adorned with pearls .

Thank-you for visiting my blog, your visits and comments are genuinely appreciated. I won't be present in blogland too much over the coming week but I will do my best to maintain visits. Have a lovely Sunday.

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Frilly and Funkie - A Time for Weddings
It's All about the Vintage - Spring Romances / Weddings
Vintage Udfordring - Wedding
Simon Says Stamp - Take A Picture
Sugar Creek Hollow - Clean It Out

Doves of Peace

Greetings all - today 12.12.12 is the last posting day to the North Pole so be sure to get your letters to Santa in the post!

I am really pressed for time today (who isn't!) so will be brief and just give card ingredients as follows;

Stamps - Penny Black 'World Peace' (3040K), Flourishes Stamps - Antique Map, Stamped Sentiment by Crafty Individuals
Inks - Versamark (for clear emboss resist), Distress Metallic Stain in Brushed Pewter, DI in Chipped Sapphire
Embossing powders - Judikins Silver Twinkle, Stampendous Twilight
Lots of UTEE for Dove image and sentiment
Bird cage die cut glittered with Silver Twinkle
Backing paper for bird cage a free image courtesy of the wonderful Astrid of Astrid's Artistic Efforts
Doves punched with Fiskars / Jenny Bowlin sqeeze punch and glittered with Distress Dry Glitter in Clear Rock Candy
CS - Stardream and Curious Metallic
Other - glass glitter (Stampendous), bells, pearls (Kaisercraft), clock hand charm (silvered and glittered), Corner punches by Fiskars, Stars

Thanks for taking the time to visit today as I know everyone is super busy at the mo! Hugs to those lovely people who leave comments or better still become followers. It means a lot!

Have a great day.
Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges;
Fashionable Stamping Challenge - To Die For
Penny Black Saturday - Glitter and Sparkle
Penny Black Allsorts - It's Your Choice
Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Celebration
Sweet Stamping Challenge - Dies and / or Punches
Crafting Ireland - 12 Days of Christmas
LEJ Designs - Sentimental
No Matter Which Challenges - Christmas
Glitter n Sparkle - Use some metal
ABC Christmas Challenge - Y is for your favourite punch/die
Creative Card Crew- Use A Star
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas with a background twist
Inspiration Emporium - Inspiration Journal - Joyful Creations

Let's Ice Skate

Happy Sunday everyone! I am delighted to see so many visits, comments and new followers. I appreciate them all and thank everyone for hopping on board!

I saw and saved an ice skate shaped card some time ago (can't remember from where). I printed out the shape and cut templates for the skate and boot. I am forever bookmarking tutorials and was glad to put one of them into practice today - please see Shelly Hickox's tutorial on Faux Tarnished Metal here as it is so effective.

I cut out the skate shape from grungeboard and gave it a coat of Metallic Stain in Pewter. Following Shelly's tutorial I gave the skate a few coats of silver embossing powder heating each as I went along. I then sprinkled some UTEE randomly and heat blasted it. The whole process caused the silver to bubble and tarnish beautifully. Just lovely for a vintage ice-skate.

The boot itself is cut from faux leather paper - bought in the most va va voom of Stationers - Kate's Paperie in NYC. The top of the boot is white Bazzill CS stamped using french text stamp by Andy Skinner (Simply Angelic set). Also edged boot top with silver glass glitter. I tucked in 2 types of venise lace from Linda's Funkie Junkie Boutique. Just for shopping balance the lovely lace ribbon used for bow comes from another beautiful Stationer Daintree (in Dublin). I added 3 little heart brads and bow for faux lacing effect.

The background is a square of red velvet SEI Velvet paper (love this for Christmas). I painted glue across end of the velvet and applied a thick layer of Melissa Frances mica flakes. I spent forever trying to see what worked best to highlight the red leather of the boot and eventually settled on a band of white CS stamped and embossed with Stampendous Christmas Background stamp (CRR144). All the stamping on card is done with Versafine crimson and EP is Sparkle n Sprinkle Japanese Lacquer.

Took the shine from some Darice jingle bells by dabbing with pewter metallic stain and tied them together and stitched to the white lace bow. I recently got a fab stash of freebies with an order from Crafty Individuals so stamped and embossed their lovely free Jingle Bells sentiment and backed with strip of red velvet. I punched snowflakes from CS and vellum, coated them with glue and dipped them in Distress Dry glitter in clear rock candy. Also added same glitter to rim of boot and skate for sparkle aplenty.

Lots to do today - I wish I really could skate! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Nicola x

Thank-you to the many hosts, sponsors and DTs of the following challenges that I wish to enter card to:
Simon Says Stamp - Snowflakes
Crafty Mess Challenge - Vintage Christmas
Jingle Belles Rock - December to Remember
Craft Us Crazy - Its beginning to look a lot
Crafting Ireland - 12 Days of Christmas
Charisma Cards - Christmas
Stampin for the Weekend - Let it Snow
Glitter n Sparkle - Use Some Metal
Pixie Dust Studio - Sparkle and Snowflakes
Divas By Design - Let It Snow
Alphabet Challenge - V for Vintage
Sweet Stampin Christmas - Anything Goes
Just Us Girls - Embossing
Pile It On - Embellishments

Vintage Santa

A warm hello wherever you are, especially those in parts of flood ridden Britain. Thankfully we in Ireland have not been affected by this weather despite being so proximate.

I'm well and truly now in Christmas card production mode.

Background paper is by Swedish brand Maja Design (It's Christmas Time). I have distressed its edges and dabbed with Archival sepia to age and Adirondack paint dabber for snow effect. I won some chipboard ornaments at a raffle a few weeks ago and they are coming in handy! I inked the ornament with various Distress Inks, Metallic Stains and Cosmic Shimmer Mist (Rich Gold). Then stamped Santa (Stampington and Company, St Nicholas, K5545) with Ranger Archival Sepia and embossed with Sparkle n Sprinkle Chocolate EP. I also stamped Holly leaves around Santa (Stampendous SSC1068) but these ended up being mostly covered up. I gave the ornament 5 coats of UTEE and sprinkled in a small amount of glass glitter during coats. I 'aged' two small glassine bags from The Funkie Junkie Boutique with distress inks. Next stamped two 'tickets' using some stamps from Unity Stamp Company (IB-127) - one of these is stamped on canvas tag by Maya Road. I inked the button rims with Archival Sepia and tied through red bows. Added snowflakes and branches with my ubiquitous woodware and Martha Stewart punches using paper by Maya Road and SEI Velvet. Santa's Hat is also decorated with a little metal disc by Nunn Design that says 'Believe'. I painted a metal angel with Gesso and Archival Sepia. Liberally applied Adirondack paint dabber (Snow Cap) to all elements of card. Added ribbons and completed with metal clock hands on angel. Time is absolutely crucial to Santa on the 25th!

Very many thanks for visiting.
Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges;
Our Creative Corner - ABC Challenge
Sugar Creek Hollow - Vintage Christmas
Stamping Sensations - Traditional Christmas
Vintage Stamping Challenge - Red/Green/Blue/Purple