Thursday 25 July 2013

A Hello from Norway

Wow, it has been a while since last time I posted something, shame on me.

I have had the urge for playing with Lou`s Stall card tutorial since I got my eye on her card. I think this is such a fun card to make something a bit different.

And when I got my new digi bundle, Mannequin,, I really had no choice, my head started spinning. So I downloadet the images, printed out this Saloon image and started to play. 

Both the card and the image cried for something,  or a little Steampunk inspirated. Lucky me, I had some paper left from the Steampunk collection from Graphic45.
So I made the card base first, and it wasn`t too difficult, it was really fun :-) 
I had printed out two of the Saloon images and inverted one. So I colored them in with my copics, glued a plastic stip between and had them back to back. 

Here is a close up of the dress.
The colours I used are:
Dress: BG57 - BG75- Atyou Spica Turquoise
Hat: Y32 - YR12 - YR65 - E97- 
Flower: RV95 - E004 - R56 - G24- Atyou Spica - Pink and Melon
and the greens are: G43 - G24
The plastic stripe was for having the image standing by itself. I also cut between alle the small little lines... that took some time.
When this was made I started to play with the embellishments. I had some chipboard gears and I wanted to try out the Tattered Angels natural aged painted system, so I started and, yes I was satisfied with the result and it was fun.
For the rest I just digged through my stash and took what I though could be Steampunk. Some feather, leaves , flowers, metall cears and some stickers from Jolee.

Here are some more pictures of my project.

 A close up from above

Here is the front of the card.

This is the back of the card.

I had a really fun couple of evnings making this card and hope you get some inspiration for trying to make this. And I would love to see what you do with it.
This card  I made for my own amusement and I want it for myself. So it stand on my bookself.

So girls, go to your craftroom and make pretty stuff for yourshelf and have fun. 
Don`t forget to give us a link to your project so we can see what you come up with.

I have more ideas for this bundle so, I will have more inspiration in a couple of days. 
But first I have to make a couple of wedding card for a friend.

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Mannequin: NEW DOWNLOAD BUNDLE!!

I am super excited today! Why? I hear you ask. Well, because we have a brand new bundle of digital goodness for you: "Mannequin"; created by the wonderfully talented Louise Brigden, who is behind all the Charmed Downloads. 

Create fabulous fashion cards with this super duper collection, and guess what! Each image works our at just 75p each!! Yep, you heard it correctly, 75 pennies, hard to believe I know :) 


 

I had to get creating and made two very easy to make cards. My first card uses paper piecing. I used a textured paper from the new Lillibet collection, absolutely perfect for the dress. I have layered it twice, and left the second layer unstuck at the bottom for a lovely 3-dimensional effect.  The collection has each image in two formats: JPG and PNG, so the transparent PNG format is perfect for printing on patterned paper like this.



 All the paper is from the Lillibet collection (12x12 pad), as is the metal butterfly. I used the Bop Dress Mannequin here. Metal brad in butterfly is Basic Grey. Other products: Small Paper Rose - Cream Lace - Cream Pearls.


 My next card uses the "Dressing" Mannequin.  I have used the following here: Marianne Design Dies (Ivy and Petra's Bridge (LR0276) ) - Flower Soft Polar White - Red and Gold Stickles - Marianne Lace - Basic Grey Paper - White Pearls.


These images really are amazing. One of the best things about digital images is that you can use them time and time again, you never run out; PLUS you can get exactly the size you need for your project.  Go get them! :)

Don't forget to link your creations to us, we would love to see what you have come up with, and you could appear in our customer gallery on the main site.

Thursday 18 July 2013

Die-Cut Paper Piecing

Our fabulous Louise Brigden has put together a superb tutorial for you, showing you how to use die-cut  paper piecing on your cards. Click here to see the class.


Tuesday 16 July 2013

Using Complex Paper Designs on Cards

Have you ever sat there with a sheet of paper where the design was so big you just didn't know what to do with it? Our lovely Louise shows you how you can use such papers on your cards and achieve outstanding results. Click here to see the tutorial.


Sunday 14 July 2013

Marianne Creatables

Hi Folks, Louise here, long time no see! I hope you are all well and enjoying the summer sun - if you are enjoying the sun I guess you won't be reading this, however, I will continue for those of you who would rather Blog  hop than get all hot and sweaty on a deckchair.
Recently the lovely Karen sent me the most amazing DT package so that I could create some lessons for you to view in the shop. It was filled with all kinds of treasures from the Graphic 45 Bohemian Bazaar collection which has now gone down as one of my all time favourites. I love the vibrant colours and the Bohemian pattern styles. Nestled in amongst the Bohemian treasures I found something to feed my Die addiction. Karen (bless her!) gave me the Marianne Creatables Dies - Small Ovals! 

There are so many embossing dies on the market nowadays. I love them all but my favourites are the Marianne dies, the detail is spot on and they always seem to cut cleanly. I have put a lesson together using these little lovelies and is will soon be on the way to Karen to put on the site but in the meantime here is a look at how gorgeous this set really is:

Gorgeous yes? I paired the die cuts with a stamped image of Annie (only available from Charmed Cards and Crafts) and some paper flowers. Job done. With great products the hard work is done for you.The background paper is from a Bo Bunny Double Dot Paper Pad.
I hope I managed to inspire you. Happy Crafting Folks. xxxx

Tuesday 9 July 2013

Marianne in July...

... and with crafting companies July does not necessarily mean summer! The July release from Marianne Design has a bit of both: everyday products intermingled with Christmas and winter products., it's a really great selection. 

 

 (products used in card above: Ivy Corner, Tiny's Hearts, Vintage Cutting Sheet 1)

Marianne does not just do dies, no no no, she also produces adorable stamps, papers and great accessories such as lace, charms and pearls.  As well as a wonderful selection of dies, this release sees snow paper and designer pearls:


  
 

 We love the stamps in this months releases. They are cling mounted rubber stamps, and great value with a vintage Christmas image and a lovely sentiment for each set:





The cut-out sheets with their vintage images and the paper pads are just lovely, each image on the sheets makes a perfect centrepiece for a card:


Here are some fantastic card examples using the Marianne July releases:


 



 

This beautiful card uses the following from the July releases: Petra's Bridge (LR0276, Petra's Fence (LR0278), Vintage Christmas Pictures 1 (VK9529








 The card above use a variety of the amazing Village dies, as well as Christmas Village Decoration Set (COL1330), Snowpaper  and Snowflake and Tree Pearls





 


There were some fantastic project ideas from Marianne Design there featuring the July releases. Pop over to our shop to see more intermingled with the products. A fantastic release by Marianne.

Monday 8 July 2013

Basic Grey Carte Postale

Today we are featuring the other new collection from Basic Grey: Carte Postale, a fantastic collection to use for your travel and adventure projects. Basic Grey always provide a super variety of products for each collection, enabling you to complete stunning projects. Carte Postale comprises twelve 12x12 double-sided papers, as well as a handy 6" x 6" paper pad, plus a plethora of coordinating elements, here are some of the products from the range:

 
As always we have the papers available in single sheets, as well as the collection pack.

Embellishments are plentiful, with new additions such as the introduction of themed packs, you may have noticed them in the Capture release featured on the blog yesterday.

 

 

The Metal Flair self-adhesive buttons:
 
Carte Postale has it's own journal. The journals includes 3 double-sided pocket dividers, 10 double-sided cardstock pages and 10 double-sided journaling page, so ready for you to get stuck in :)

The collection also includes stamps created in collboration with Hero Art, renown for their high quality products:



 The Basic Grey design team have been busy as always and created some stunning projects to share with you:








A super collection I am sure will agree.


Sunday 7 July 2013

Basic Grey Capture


 

The spotlight today is on one of the latest Basic Grey releases "Capture". This is a new venture for Basic Grey, responding to the need for a journalling range and deviating from their usual paper collections. The collection comprises binders and journals, along with a plethora of coordinating products, such as papers, themed embellishment packs, pocket assortments, sticky notes, tracing ruler, inserts, labels, tabs and more; it really is a complete solution. 






  




















Here are some project examples from the Basic Grey team. They frequently use the other new collection from Basic Grey, Carte Postale, which we shall feature on our blog tomorrow.

































 Amazing work from the Basic Grey design team there I am sure you will agree. 


Have a great Sunday! Keep crafting! :)