Move it, baby!

Been waiting for a call to job interview all morning, but it seems it's not happening. Well, had to guess as much, I'm probably the worst application writer in the world (and besides they probaby got someone on internal transfer anyways). Means I'll unemployed for a bit longer. Which also means no early meanings, more time to craft and more time to loiter at home. Unfortunately it also means less income and with all that wonderful stash out there that's a bit of a drag...

I'm off to Helsinki today, my brother is moving flats and I'm making myself useful (now that's new!). Too bad I'm not likely to get to drive the van, I genuinely like it :) Since my aunt's birthday party is coming up on Saturday, I probably won't be bothering returning to Tampere before that. Even more exciting is the fact that I have to make her present (a minalbum) away from my desk and, yikes, stash! Since I don't want carry extra, I'll be trying to digiscrapping for the first time. Let's see how that goes...

Peek-a-boo - P*skarteluhaaste #3

This week's challenge in P*skarteluhaaste #3 was animals. I first thought of making a card especially for the challenge, but I've been suffering from a serious lack of initiative for the past month, so I'm bit pressed for time right now and decided to use a card I'd already made.

Stamps: Penny Black Tulip Jungle/Woodware Tiny Phrases
Ink: Versamark
Colours: Derwent Inktense/Pebbles Inc.
Vellum: Studiolight

I first thought of trimming the image into an oval, but it would have been too big for the card blank. No harm done, since I realised that this is a stamp that can be cut out without leaving the white edges, nice! Which also means that this probably would work perfectly when layered, have to try that sometime... I fixed the image with a foam pad and used Glossy Accents as glue under the image (have to use that more often, love how the paper doesn't buckle!), otherwise the vellum is loose (well, of course I folded it around the spine and fixed it there with double-sided tape, but...).

I've been wanting to cut windows into vellum to show the card blank underneath ever since I read a couple of Julie Hickey's books, so I finally did it here. Would probably be easier to cut the window before attaching the vellum onto the card blank, but hey, I make these as I go, so these things happen (more often than not). As it was, the window was bit too much on the right, so I had to snip a bit from the left edge, the result is A-OK. I added a dash of pink chalk behind the greeting to make it pop better.

Baby animals

I made these cards for my friend who needed two new baby cards. These were mystery babies again, so no blue or pink just to be on the safe side. My friend hinted that one of the cards could well sport zingier colours instead of the baby pastels, so that's what I did.

Papers: DCWV Pocketful of Posies/HOTP/Sense(?)
Stamps: Penny Black/Finnstamper
Inks: Versamark, ColorBox
Colours: Derwent Watercolour

Again a Penny Black image (they just are so darn cute), coloured in with watercolour pencils and water brush. I used a free template from SCP for the flower stem, but I didn't have large enough scalloped circle so I drew a bigger circle and fitted the scallops of a template along the rim. I stamped the greeting onto a snippet of the same paper as the flower stem, embossed it with clear embossing powder and fixed it onto a small tag, which I knotted around the stem. A piece of violet organdy ribbon finishes the card.

I also made two other cards for my friend to choose from. They had the same colours, but in pastel shades. These were a bit simpler. I used 3D stickers on puched white circles (cardstock and dotty vellum) and the same free templates for the flowers. Again the small tags, but this time I stamped and embossed onto the vellum, and the violet ribbon but this time grossgrain instead of organdy.

Papers: HOTP, Rayher
3D stickers: Eno Craft
Stamp: Finnstamper
Ribbon: Rayher

Quilty kitty

I stopped my friend from buying a birthday card for her friends girl, just innocently offering to make one. After bit of prying I'd learned that the birthday girl liked cats, so I knew just which the card to make. I found this cat from CMPC # 51.

Although the model cards used the template in 100% and 200% copies, they didn't work with this card (100% being too small and 200% too large), so I copied it in 150%. I cut the sections of the kitty from different patterned papers, inked the edges and pieced them together onto white paper. I drew in the details, used a circle cutter to make the ball and added a puffy sticker (I drew around with a black fineliner to make it pop out better). Panels of green patterned papers and fake stitching make the background.

Papers: Dovecraft Pheobe and Lilykate/ DCWV Floral Prints/Tiimari/Digital Scrapbook
Ink: Colorboc Cat Eyes (cocoa)

Lace 'em up!

Ever since I saw this card design by Enfys Cashmore in PI #53, I knew it would be a perfect card for my friend, since one of our best times together involved dancing Scottish folk dances in corsets (yes, you can survive dancing through a ceilidh without loosening your lacing, I'm a living proof of that). Unfortunately it was almost a year to her birthday at the time, so nothing else for me to do but wait...

I changed the colour scale to suit my supplies. This was the first time I actually bothered to get my sewing machine out and use it in a card, mainly because it's from 50's or 60's and thus not of plastic but iron and weighs a ton (I need one of those little plastic minimachines that are no good in real sewing but ideal for card making). The card blank follows the curve of the corset, although for some reason I had to leave the front cover a bit shorter than the back (probably just me being a miser). I've tried to look for more of that turqoise dotty paper, but to no avail, seems it's out of stock everywhere...

Papers: Rayher, CMPC
Ribbon, eyelets: Paprus

Have a goth day

I've been saying over and over again that I'm not too keen on 3D decoupage, but when I saw this one at my local craft shops's window I took it all back (at least for these designs). This time I even took the trouble of hiding cut edges with a black marker and even bending the pieces a little (normally I don't bother, but with people it's useful).

As a proper goth should, I went for a monochrome look. I wanted something bit rugged for the card, so I used a piece of bubble wrap to stamp a background for the boy and tore and chalked the edges (I used grey). Since straight edges would have looked dull on the stripy paper, I took the liberty to cut them with scalloped scissors (although it's not especially goth) and inked them with a white Cat Eye (like I did to the black card blank as well. Dymo was ideal for the greeting but I needed to make it pop from the card, so I backed it with white scraps from the decoupage sheet (a bit of recycling here as well :) ). Since a goth needs his studs, I fixed a piece of ribbon with silver brads.

3D sheet: Card Deco(?)
Paper: DCWV Black & White Prints paper stack
Scissors: Fiskars
Chalks: Pebbles Inc.
Inks: ColorBox Cat Eyes, Versamark
Ribbon: Reprint
Brads: Tiimari

Gecko greetings

I experimented with multiple inking here. I use Distress Inks for the background lizards and then dabbed different ColorBox Cat Eyes on the lizard. I think it would have been if I had started with random pink dabs and continued with different shades of green. As it is, the pink doesn't really show. I was surprised how little I managed to smudge the inkpads, good for me. To add some tecxture, I embossed the lizard with clear embossing powder and mounted it with a large foam pad.

Stamps: Finnstamper
Inks: Distress Inks, ColorBox, Fluid Chalk

21 again

I know women usually start turning the same age year after year at 29, but my friend obviously felt that to be a bit too much, hence the 21 again.

I chose gingham card blank to go with the party's garden party/picnic theme. I used cheery and summery colours with a hint of black to accent. I'd have wanted to use puffy and shiny letters, like thickers, but didn't have those, so I tried to make my own again. I cut them with Cricut from chipboard and coloured them black. I tried to achieve the puffiness with Glossy Accents, but one coat wasnt thick enough. Two coats didn't dry, the first coat just turned whitish, so I just had to peel Glossy away, re-colour th letters and start again. This time I used clear embossing powder, but since it wasn't UTEE, the result wasn't too puffy (although it was shiny). I used a black mini brad above the "i" to tie with the stars in the stamp

Paper: BoBunny Ella Butter Blossom
Stamp: PaperArtsy MN 28
Flowers: Prima

Missed you

A couple of my friends had been on working holiday in Down Under for almost a year, so when they finally returned from the other side of the globe, some serious partying ensued... I wanted to make a nice and cheery card to tell how glad we all were that they were back home.

I cut a freehand scalloped edge on one corner of the card blank and fixed stamped flowers on top with foam pads. I spelled the greeting with rub-on letters and since the inside of the card is visible, adhered a panel of pale green paper inside the card.

Papers: HOTP, Tiimari
Stamps: Inkadinkado Doodle Flowers
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Rub-ons: All My Memories

Par avion

Another balloon card for my pilot-to-be brother (I seriously need to think something else for him next year...), but I'll let it pass. The frog is actually a sticker, not stamped image, I'm again amazed how little the edges do show on the finished card. Of course the joy of colouring the image in is missing, but these stickers are quick and easy to use.

Sticker: Penny Black Stickeroos Pond-side Celebration
Paper: DCWV Floral Prints
Greeting stamp and plastic tag: Morning Star Stamps
Ink: StazOn