Halloween Card for 21st Birthday

My Son's birthday is the 31st of October, and I have never been stuck for a theme to make his card.  This year I wanted to get all grungy and make a spooky card.

I have used Artistic Outpost's Haunted Halloween & Halloween Treats rubber stamps.  The Stamp Man big spider web rubber stamp. Tim Holtz tissue tape, & a spider My Minds Eye paper. I used Aged Mahogany, Chipped Sapphire & Forest Moss distress inks on the edge.

I used the Spellbinders Bat nested dies to cut out my computer printed greeting.

A skull and cross bones charm  is hanging from a spider web button, stuck on with Pinflair.

I used The Artistic Outpost poison bottles stamp with black glitter Heat it up! embossing powder.  A 'bewitching evening' pound shop sticker, and some spider web fleece over Tim Holtz tissue tape.

The cauldron is also part of a Halloween Spellbinders die set. I used Glitz it glitter glue for the flames.

The inside of the card is also stamped with the fabulous Artistic Outpost & The Stamp Man rubber stamps and distressed with Aged Mahogany distress ink.

I hope he likes it.

Michelle

A sweet card for Katie

A girly card for a good friend.

Image - cloloured by Promarkers

Kanban card & papermania paper
Embellieshments - Petaloo flowers, hat pins, gems, Glitter Magic, charm, straw ribbon.
Silver embossing powders
Sentiment made in Photoshop
Martha Stewart stars border punch.
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tattered Rose & Broken China.

The Hobby Room's Craft Room!

This lovely, clean, organized craft room never stays like this, it's usually covered in glitter, gems, charms, distress inks, and bits of card.

I'm completely anal about organizing colours, as you can tell from this image below. I have buttons all colour coordinated, behind the buttons are prima/mulberry/petaloo flowers in the tall coffee jars. Yes that is a lot of coffee! 

 

My little collection of various accents from crackle, glossy, snow, silver beads, mica powders, cosmic shimmer and crackle nail varnish.

The distress inks are starting to take over, I hope they don't make too many more shades.

We can't live without glitter, even the most un-girly girls can't resist black glitter.

I'm beginning to think that my skin is made of glitter, I can never seem to get it off me!

The Promarkers even have a home in some cheap Poundshop drawers. Of course these too are colour coordinated. You'll notice that I have a letter rack to the right of the drawers, with a clever use of toilet roll inserts, however, I keep meaning to stick them in properly and alter the whole thing to make it look much more artistic. I just haven't yet. When I do I will put it on here.

My current work 'washing line'. I like stamping and colouring. This is why I always have more finished images than I do cards. I always need somewhere to put them while I'm thinking what I'm going to do with them next.

I think here is the best place.

Maybe I'll put a 'what's on my workdesk Wednesday' pick up on Wednesday, just to see if it's this tidy! I doubt it. Take care everyone, I hope you like my pictures? 

Michelle x

Frog Hoppy Bugday

I made this card for a friend's birthday. She loves insects and reptiles, I tried but I just couldn't make a beetle cute!  So I drew this frog, the legs are a bit funny, but I think they work, so I left them that way. I really liked covering him in glossy accents then letting it dry and putting more glossy accents on his warty bits mixed with mica powder to give him iridescent raised warts. They feel great.

Which embossing powder do you like the look of best?

Take a look at the series of pictures below. I have used a Crafty Individuals Christmas tree stamp, with a VersaMark stamp pad and various embossing powders. I used the same card for each and each one was rubbed with an anti-static bag before being stamped.

Wow - The Wow copper embossing powder is fine, and gives sharp clear definition especially on the gingerbread man, and the slice of orange on the opposite branch. Also notice the flowers under the tree.

Personal Impressions - Personal Impressions embossing powder is not as clear, some definition is lost. But you can still see the flowers.

Debbi Moore - The Debbi Moore Metal Magic has poor definition, with pooling of the melted powder, but if you're looking for a distressed look, then this would work. However, the flowers, the gingerbread man and the slice of orange are not discernible.

Heat it up! - The Heat It Up! (gold) definition is pretty good but a little lumpy.

Cosmic Shimmer - The Cosmic Shimmer copper bronze lustre is just that, a copper bronze lustre, but the definition is fuzzy.

Ranger - The Ranger Distress embossing powder is not like how you expect it to be, but it has a nice effect. It's rough like sandpaper, and does not all melt. The definition on fine detail is fuzzy, but I guess this is exactly what this embossing powder is trying to do.

What do you think? Please take the poll to your right.

I love it when you have a job on!

3 bespoke cards

I like having a project on, especially when you're asked to make a card, all these ideas start flying in and you can't wait to get in the craft room and get started. Here are 3 I have done recently.

Bespoke Get Well Card

Digi Stamp - Cuddly Buddly Crafts, Lilyboo Designs digi stamp, Golf Boy.
Kanban paper
Embellishments - Petaloo leaves, buttons, Creative Expressions screw head brads, Dovecraft button brad, Fleur de lys charm, raffia string.
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Rusty Hinge
Corner dies - Marriane Designs
Sentiment - made with Photoshop

38th Anniversary
Lili of the Valley Stamp - coloured with Promarkers.
I love the distress ink effect of this card, and any excuse to get the sewing machine out and do a zig zag stitch on a card.  I'm really into making my own circular stamps in Photoshop too.

Bespoke Wedding Card

Image - I drew this image for a friend who is hooked on trains & Chester City!
Card - Craftwork Cards embossed white card & DCWV Old World Textured  card stack.
Embellishments - Green ribbon, pearl hearts, florists pearls, Petaloo flowers, button, clear gems, Glamour Dust glitter.
Glossy accents on the glasses, and silver embossing powders for the initials.
Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Olive & Black soot on the edge of the cards & the flourish.
Die cut flourish - Marianne Design Flourish
Sentiment - made by myself in Photoshop

Some early card makes

These are some of my early works. Using Derwent pencils rather than Promarkers.

Butterfly Gorjuss Girl
A Gorjuss Stamp, Prima Flowers, feathers, and some ribbon from my ancient collection of ribbons. DCWV, Sweet card stack.

This Woodand Folk Stamp (do crafts) is coloured using Derwent pencils, but I also used some fine tipped felt tip pens to bring out the grain in the wood.

This Tulip Papermania stamp was also coloured using Derwent pencils, but I decided that I wanted to make the tree bigger, and have a trunk! Which is not on the stamp.