Shaving Foam!

What a fab afternoon I have had today!  And this is the card that started it all off.  This is the beautiful card I received from Zoe, from my card swap group.  I was fascinated by the background, and she told me it had been made using the shaving foam technique.  She briefly explained how to go about it, and after checking out a couple of videos on Youtube, I thought I would have a go.

 

 

I used the Stampin' Up reinkers that I had (Brights), and created two different coloured backgrounds,  The first one used Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight.  I realised after a few tries, that I needed to swirl it a little bit more, so I had another go, this time using Tempting Turquoise, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive and Pacific Point.  This batch looked much better - more marbled and less splodgy.  And here are the four cards I made from them.

 

Each one is different and I'm pleased with them all, but my favourites are definitely the blue ones.  I know I will be having another play with this technique, and I may even use it for my scrapbooking.  What has been really lovely today, is just having the opportunity to play - usually I make cards for a specific reason.  Today, I could just enjoy getting messy and experimenting, with no pressure. 

Apart from the reinkers and shaving foam, I also used:
Card stock : Real Red, Bermuda Bay, Basic Black and Digital Smooth card stock.
Stamps : Gorgeous Grunge, Petite Petals, Butterfly Basics, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Crazy About You and Sheltering Sky - Stampin' Up, as well as Your Special Day by Marion Emberson.
Sequins, Gems, Punches, Dies and Glossy Accents.

Hope you like them and thanks for dropping by,  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Take care

Michelle x

Card Swap Group - 3 and 4

Well after quite a delay I'm posting photos of the last two card swaps.  This is May's card from Zoe, and I really love the colours she has chosen - I'm a big fan of peacock colours, so it fits the bill perfectly.  Apologies to Zoe for posting it so late - I've been a bit snowed under for the past few weeks.

 

 

June's card is from Sue and I love the colour she has chosen - Soft Sky by SU.  I was intrigued by the flower element - it's made from air dry clay and pressed out from an embossing folder - must try that technique.  What you can't see from the photo is the embossing on the flower on the right hand side and the inside is beautifully decorated too.

And here's the card I made for Jane.  The theme was embossing, either heat embossing or dry embossing - I hope the scored lines count!  I chose Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar - the new SU In-Colours - they go together so well.  I used the flourish type stamps from Floral Words by Marion Emberson, and the butterflies are Papillon Potpourri (SU).  The sentiment is from Marion Emberson too - Find Joy Everyday.  I'm really pleased with this card and may make a couple more for my box of stock cards.

Well, I'm off to help out at our school's summer fair - we certainly have the weather for it.  Have a great weekend and see you soon.

Michelle x

Sparkling Ornament

Good morning all.  It's a thoroughly miserable one here in Hertfordshire, it has rained non-stop since I woke up.  Poor Edward is playing football in it, and poor Mark, because he is watching him!  Emily and I are curled up in the warmth, watching last night's Strictly Come Dancing - it's a hard life!

 

Today's card features the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set again.  I stamped the bauble three times using Garden Green and cut it out using the corresponding Holiday Ornaments Framelits (fab!).  I scored them down the middle and glued them together to make a 3D bauble (you can't see it from the photo - sorry!).  I added some glitter on the middle bauble. 

 

Whilst that was drying, I embossed a panel of white card with a Merry Christmas embossing folder from Sizzix, which I then mounted on to Garden Green card stock.  This in turn was mounted on to the white base card.  I stamped the sentiment (from Marion Emberson's Sparkling Christmas set) in Red Riding Hood on a strip of white card, which I then mounted on matching red card stock.

 

The sentiment strip just overlaps the edge of the card and is tucked behind the ornament.

 

Hope you like it.

 

 

 

Well I must go and put the finishing touches to the Toffee Apple Flapjack I have  made for a bonfire party tonight - just hope the rain stops,

 

Tomorrow I am back at work, but on a brighter note, UPS will be delivering my latest Stampin' Up order - happy days :)

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and take care.

 

Michelle x x

Ornament Keepsakes

 

Hi again.  Here is another Christmas card that I would like to share with you.  It's made with the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set that is featured in the  SU Autumn/Winter seasonal catalogue.

 

I stamped the images using Brilliance ink pads to get a pearlised look.  The ribbons were hand drawn using a silver metallic Promarker and I added a little bit of diamante bling at the top of each bauble.  I used blue pearlised paper for the mounting.  The sentiment is from a new set by Marion Emberson called Sparkling Christmas.

 

As you have probably noticed I'm not particularly fond of traditional colours or images.  Most of my Christmas cards use blue, purple, pink and silver.  I also like lots of white.  However, as I am making cards to sell, I am going to have to bite the bullet and dig out those reds, greens and golds - watch this space!

Take care and I hope you have had a good day.

Michelle x

Beautiful Butterflies

Gosh, it's been a while.  Life has been pretty hectic over the last two weeks - the final weeks of term at work are always completely full-on.  I've had to stay late, go in early and give up an evening for recent school events, but it's been fun.  Now, however I have two weeks off and I am going to try really hard to enjoy them!

My plans are to rest, relax and read (currently reading The Hunger Games series - amazing!), and to craft - card making and scrapbooking.  We are going to try and chill out at home.  Edward has to revise for exams at the end of April, and Emily needs time to sort out her sleeping - not being able to sleep at night and then crashing til the afternoon is not great - so a new bed is going to be bought.  Mark has some time off over Easter - not to rest and relax though, he is going to lay a new deck as our current one is rotting away.

So here are a couple of cards I made last weekend using the new Butterfly stamps from Craftwork Cards.  Actually the card was inspired by one I saw Julie Hickey make on her recent QVC appearance.  I've used Melon Mambo ink from Stampin' Up for the first one  and the second one is a Versamagic ink but I can't remember the colour.  I've cut round the edge of the main butterfly to give it some dimension and given it a little bling on the body.  The sentiments are also from CC.

Apologies that the photos are not great.  They are scans of the cards and they don't do the cards justice.

I hope you are having a jolly weekend.  We've had a lovely day with friends.  Shame the weather has taken a turn for the worst.

Take care and thanks for dropping by.

Michelle x

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mums out there.  I hope you are having a day of relaxation and pampering, or at the very least, you have had a cup of tea made for you!

Yesterday I went to my second Scrapbags scrapbooking crop.  I enjoyed it much more this time as I was better prepared, both with equipment and with layouts to make.  It was great to spend a day away from the hubbub and just quietly craft.

Here is the card I made for my Mum (I obviously have a thing for blue at the moment!). Most of the products I used are Stampin' Up.  I used the Fresh Vintage stamps from the Sale-a-bration offer, as well as Dots, Dots, Dots.  The ink colours are Pacifico Point and Baja Breeze.  The coloured card is Bazzill Basics and there are some gems from Mei Flowers.  The "Mum" sentiment is from a set of alphabet stamps by Marion Emberson (I think!).  I used a Fiskars punch to punch the scallop edging.  Hope she likes it.

I have had some lovely presents from my children, but am yet to have a cup of coffee made for me.  Oh well, I live in hope I guess!  I'm spoiling myself by drinking Prosecco and watching Pride an Prejudice.

Thanks for dropping by.  I love to hear your comments, they mean so much.  Have a good day.

Michelle x

From the Heart

Here is the card I made for Mark for Valentine's Day (bit late to share, but never mind!).

I made the card blank from a sheet of Kraft card, it's a 14cm square.  I used my new Nestabilities to punch out the hearts.  Then I cut a square of red glitter paper slightly small than the card and stuck it behind the cut outs.  Finally I stamped the sentiment (from a set by Marion Emberson) and drew in the stitching effect.  Simple but effective.

Hope you are having a good day.  My boy is back from his skiing trip tomorrow morning, and I am champing at the bit to see him.  It's been a long week with no contact at all and I miss his cuddles.  No doubt he will be shattered from an 18 hour coach trip from Italy, but I am sure the lure of his Xbox will keep him awake!

Thanks for dropping by.  Take care.

Michelle x

Craft Fair Goodies

Morning all.  Phew, it's been quite a busy weekend in the Frecklepuss household this weekend - well mainly for me actually.  With just one week to go before my craft fair, I have been frantically trying to get everything finished off and packaged.  I'm now finally able to show you some of my creations.

These six packs of cards are my new designs of note cards.  Apologies for the quality of the photo.

Here are all the note cards in more detail.  For this first one, I used some paper that was a free gift from a magazine. These free papers are ideal for this sort of thing.  I made a paper ribbon from black card stock and punched the tag from my new EK Success punch (a really useful one).  The sentiment is stamped from a pack of clear stamps I have had for a while - not sure who they are by.

This next set is very Cath Kidston-esque!  The papers were another free gift, but they are actually from Craftwork Cards.  A bit too floral for me personally but ideal for this look.

I used up scraps from one of my all time favourite paper stacks - Making Memories Boho Chic.  This nine square style is so easy to make, but very effective.  I finished it off with some Prima flowers and a little bit of bling.

Another Cath Kidston inspired look, same papers as before.  The scalloped edges are punched with my favourite Fiskars punches.

Again. more free papers and Fiskars scalloped punch.  The daisy is a Martha Stewart punch which I haven't used nearly enough.  The sentiment is from a Marion Emberson set of stamps.  I added a touch of glitter glue in the centre of the flowers.

And finally, same as above really except that I added a couple of Petaloo flowers as a focal point.  I think the sentiment is a Paula Pascual stamp.

These kept me busy for a while as I had to make five of each design.  I have made matching notebooks which I will show you another day.

I did find time to go to the cinema to see the next instalment of the Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 1.  I had booked the tickets weeks ago because I wanted to see it the weekend it was released.  It was a great film and now I can't wait for Part 2.  I will probably have to read the books again soon (have lost count of how many times I have read them!).

I am definitely Team Edward - even before I saw Robert Pattinson in the role.  Mark is very tolerant of my obsession thank goodness!

Well off to get back to the mundane jobs such as washing and ironing - the penance for yesterday I guess.  Have fun!

M x

A Touch of Greenery

Here's another card from my recent bout of creativity.  Again, a very simple card, and one I think would suit both male and female.

Ingredients

Stamps : All by Marion Emberson

Ink : Brilliance

Card stock from stock

I've got another card that I want to show you, that I made this week.  It fits the bill perfectly for the Less is More challenge blog - the subject being Polka Dots.  The only problem is that the card is for my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary on Monday, and the final submission for the challenge is tomorrow, and my parents do read my blog - so what to do?  Ban them from reading the blog until Monday or not submit?

This week has been half term and a bit of a funny old week.  I've had very little motivation for anything, which is a bit worrying.  My dog is going through her first season (it's a bit of an eye-opener!!), and my kids are bickering.  It almost (not quite though) makes me wish I was back at work!!

Hope you are having a more productive week.

M x

Sunshine and Flowers

This is the final card from my recent card making session.  Again I've gone for something relatively simple, although the stamping had to be done in stages and was a bit time consuming.  The whole look is rather summery which, given the weather at the moment, makes me feel a bit brighter.

Ingredients

Stamp : Sunshine and Flowers by Marion Emberson

Ink : Versamagic - Persimmon, Pretty Petunia and Oasis Green

Ribbon and card stock from stash

Enjoy the rest of your week.  Take care.

M x

More Pretties

Here's another card from my weekend of playing.  Purple is my favourite colour, so I particularly like this one.  Again, it is very simple.  I have had a lot of fun stamping and colouring, getting back to the basics and to what drew me to card making 16 years ago (although my style has changed considerably!).

Ingredients

Stamps : Thanks a Bunch by Marion Emberson

Promarkers : Bluebell, Purple and Violet

Cardstock and gems from stock

Hope you have had a good Monday.  We have had to succumb to the heating tonight.  Gosh isn't it getting chilly?!

M x

Pretty Flowers

Here's one of the cards that I made this weekend.  Quite a productive weekend actually,  I am feeling like I have my crafting mojo back - I just want to keep making cards and do nothing else! Sadly, work looms tomorrow - but hey, it's half term in 5 days - hurrah!!

Ingredients

Stamped image : Thanks a Bunch by Marion Emberson

Promarkers : Magenta and Poppy

Embellishments : Ribbon and button from stock

Hope you like it.  Come back soon for some more cards.  Have a good week.

M x

More Flowers

Another card from last weekend.  Again, I have used some of my new stamps from Marion Emberson and coloured in the image with Promarkers.  I'm rather partial to my Fiskars' edge punches at the moment, as well as a touch of ribbon.  The colour scheme is not my usual choice, but I really like it.

Ingredients

Stamp : Sunshine and Flowers by Marion Emberson

Promarkers : Amber and Fuchsia Pink

Ribbon : From stash

Scalloped Edge Punch : Fiskars

I'm really hoping to make some more cards tomorrow.  Apart from the usual washing, ironing, shopping etc, we have nothing planned this weekend, which is nice after a really hectic, difficult week.  Heigh ho - one more week until half term! 

Happy crafting!

M x

Flower Power

Had a little card making session over the weekend, getting back to my roots - stamping and colouring.  I've made no secret of my love of Marion Emberson's stamps, and I finally got the time to have a little play.  I must say I really enjoyed the simplicity of stamping and colouring and adding a little embellishment with ribbon and sparkle, and my appetite has been whetted for more cards of this type.

For today's card, I coloured it in with my Promarkers, using my favourite colours.  Obviously there are plenty of options available.  I stamped the image three times, more or less in a straight line and just used two colours so it wasn't overly busy.  I made the little bow on the ribbon and stuck it down with Pinflair glue (in a syringe) -  I am quite impressed with the glue, I've never used it before.  I added a little bit of Glamour Dust in the centre of the flowers because I do like a little bit of sparkle!

Ingredients

Stamps : Flowers - Thanks a Bunch and Happy Birthday sentiment - Sunshine and Flowers

both by Marion Emberson

Promarkers : Orchid and Mulberry

Grosgrain ribbon and jewel from stash

Glitter in centre of flowers : Glamour Dust

Hope you like the card.  I feel very pleased with how it turned out.

I hope to share with you my Flower Garden blanket soon, I just have to finish the edging.  I am so pleased that it is almost finished - over 700 hexagons completed - wow!

I am really looking forward to half term (a week and a half to go), as work is getting me down a bit, but I feel in a way that other things have turned a corner.  That small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is definitely burning brighter.  I might even start to feel that life is getting better (although now I am scared I have tempted fate!).  Maybe soon I will feel like sharing.  All I will say at this point is that it has been a very long, hard year.

Hope you are all having a good week,  Take care.

M x