Meilleurs Voeux!

Happy New Year! As the French send cards for New Year rather than Christmas, here are two using one of the new Florilège stamps 'Bonheur Chance'. I chose to re-stamp and emboss the banner with white detail powder on to red card, cutting it out and mounting it on foam on both cards. The backgrounds are both embossed (Distressed Stripes Cuttlebug folder and my new Chevron Sizzix folder) and coloured with Distress Inks, mounted on kraft cards and traced round with a white Inkessentials pen. The silver embossed tree is from a very old PaperMania set.

Bonne année! Voici deux cartes de ‘Meilleurs Vœux’ en utilisant un nouveau tampon chez Florilège ‘Bonheur Chance’. J'ai choisi de re-tamponner et embosser la bannière avec de la poudre détail blanc sur du carton rouge, le découper et de le monter avec la mousse 3D sur les deux cartes. Les fonds sont embossés en relief avec un classeur rayures de Cuttlebug et un classeur tissage de Sizzix. Je les ai ajoutés  de couleur avec les encres Distress, les montés sur des cartes de papier kraft et tracé autour avec un stylo blanc d’Inkessentials. Le sapin d'argent en relief est un tampon d'un très vieux set chez Papermania.

Entering challenges: PaperTake Weekly - anything goes; ABC challenge - Embossing; PaperPlay - Celebration; Crafts 4 eternity - Something new

Metal & grunge!

A 30-minute card using some of my favourite things: adhesive foil, alcohol inks, paint dabbers and grungeboard.
It's just occurred to me that I didn't use Distress inks on there: That's a rarity!
I was totally lacking mojo and on a very tight timeline as the birthday was, um, yesterday. So, I turned to Sketch Saturday for a layout and Tim Holtz (who else) for some inspiration. I used his September tag technique for the metal background and rubbed on (and off again) some black dabber to highlight some details. I then splodged silver dabber paint on to the grungeboard key and 21 pieces and then 'aged' them with a little more alcohol ink. I popped some black eyelets and pipe cleaner on, layered the pieces with 3D foam on to a kraft card with some metal mesh and another piece of kraft layered underneath. I'm so glad that AI and paint dabber is fast drying: It's now in the post!

I love the patina colours of the Alcohol inks - bottle, ginger, hazlenut and copper - but I think the grungeboard looks more like aged metal than the metal does!
As 'Rustification' is the current 'Simon says stamp & show' challenge, male projects at the ABC challenge and 'anything goes' at PaperTake Weekly (who are celebrating their 5th anniversary!) I'm entering this piece there too.

Une carte j'ai fait en 30 minutes: Papier alu autocollant avec des encres alcool d'Adirondack en couleurs vert (bottle), noisette (hazlenut), gingembre (ginger) et cuivre (copper):  Une technique expliqué par Tim Holtz sur son blog.
La clé et le '21' sont 'grungeboard' peints avec Adirondack Dabber argente.
Défis: 'Sketch Saturday' pour le croquis, PaperTake Weekly, projets masculins à ABC challenge et 'Simon Says Stamp & Show' pour le métal vieilli.

Embossed Mosaic

A 'back to school' page made with the association Tourc'h2Scrap who cased this page by Pat (with her agreement of course). This photo of my son, off to his first day at school in his over-sized uniform, always makes me smile.
Voici une page, thème de la rentrée. Les filles à Tourc'h2Scrap, ont pris leur inspiration de cette page de Pat (avec son d'accord, bien sûr!).

I took a page from the DCWV 'Timeless Type' which I ripped, distressed and inked then hand-sewed!
I used the green page from Tim Holtz Kraft Core pad to cut lots of squares which were embossed with different sizzix and cuttlebug folders and then sanded to let the kraft show through. I then embossed smaller squares of Bazzill Kraft which I rubbed over and edged with Distress Ink. I stamped and cut a few scalloped circles and layered all the shapes with 3D foam and embellished with buttons, string and hanging a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Muse Tokens on a brad. Finally, I stuck the page on to the Bazzill background, hiding the thread and brad ends.
J'ai pris une page du bloc DCWV Type Intemporel (Timeless Type) qui j'ai déchiré, encré et cousu à la main! J'ai utilisé une page verte du bloc Tim Holtz Kraft Core et découpé beaucoup de carrés et les embossé avec les classeurs de sizzix and cuttlebug avant de les frotter pour voir le kraft dessous. Egalement j'ai embossé les plus petits carrés du Bazzill Kraft qui j'ai encré avec du Distress Ink. J'ai tamponné et découpé quelques cercles festonnés et les collés avec la mousse 3D. J'ai ajouté des boutons, ficelle et accroché une Idea-ology Muse Tokens de Tim Holtz sur une attache parisienne.  En fin, j'ai collé cette page sur une feuille du Bazzill à cacher les extrémités du fil et de l'attache.

Dinosaurus birthday!

One of our grandson's turns 3 today so, among all the things I have been making and not blogging, I thought I would share his birthday card...

We bought him dinosaur-themed books so that dictated the subject matter! I started off with Basic Grey Archaic dino stamps but the skeleton style of those didn't seem suitable for a 3-yr-old so I turned instead to my old CuttleKids dies and cut the layers of the dinos and trees from them. Then I used the Sketch Saturday layout #221 and it all fell in to place! Also entering the Basic Grey challenge (anything goes) despite only using a bit of Basic Grey in the end!
Used: Tim Holtz (Lost and Found) for the dinosaurs and writing; Bazzill cardstock and Basic Grey (Basics spotted paper) for the background layers;  kraft card blank; glossy accents; Diamond Stickles; EK Success scalloped border punch; ColorBox chalk ink (Chestnut Roan); Perfect Peals Mist (Kiwi).

Vive la France!

Tim Holtz's July tag is a patriotic one and I have made my French version: July 14th is the National holiday in France, the day in 1789 that the Bastille was stormed and celebrates France becoming a republic.

I have kept my tag quite close to Tim's as I had the materials: One thing I didn't have was 'canned air' so I improvised with a bike pump and the nozzle that we use on the rugby ball! It would have been comical to watch me juggling those, pumping like crazy over the alcohol inks, but it worked!
Layers of card, layers of inks: Entering Simon Says Stamp & Show challenge 'Layered'.

I used: Kraft tag cut with the Sizzix Tag die; Kraft core cardstock; Glossy Cardstock, Alcohol inks - Water Melon, Sailboat Blue, Metallic Silver & Blending Solution; Distress Stain - Picket Fence, Broken China & Barn Door; Archival Ink - Jet Black; Hampton Art Stamps - Travel; Mirror card cut with Upon A Time Sizzix die; Tim Holtz Distress Tool and idea-ology - Trimmings, Muse Token, Adornments,  Trinket Pins & Word Bands.

May & June 'Tim' tags

Humble apologies as I know I've been a bad blogger again. After techy problems earlier in the year I've been so busy making and teaching that I haven't got round to blogging what I've made: Crazy I know!
So, without further ado, here are both May and June's tags following Tim Holtz's 2012 tags.

May's tag has a sewing theme using Tim's stamps and also a faux porcelain technique using UTEE in the melt pot. Using different paper flowers, mine are more like glass than porcelain but still show the lovely colours of the Spring Distress Inks.

June's tag features a black & white photo coloured with Distress Inks and Cut'n'dry pen nibs. I used a vintage photo of a Breton woman wearing traditional Fouesnant clothing (our area of Brittany). The marble technique used on the background tag is explained on Tim's blog.

Both tags are decorated with Tim's Idea-ology embellishments.

Grungy Monday #39

We were challenged by Linda for this week's GM  (sponsored by Simon Says Stamp) to use Tim Holtz's technique to create plaid with alcohol inks. I used my results for the backgrounds on these quick cards. I'm not sure why they are so different in colour as they were made using the same inks but it is possible that in my "Where's the glossy paper hiding? ... Ah, found 2 pieces" moment that they weren't both the Ranger glossy paper I thought they were!
For the first card I also used yesterday's Sketch Saturday #199:

 Used: Ranger Alcohol inks (bottle, terracotta, denim, hazelnut, sunset orange, sailboat blue, citrus), Blending solution and Glossy paper; Stamps: Car: Tim Holtz; 'Wild Bouquet': Hero Arts and text: Compagnie des elfes;
other inks: Stazon (Jet black), Momento (Sweet Plum), Distress Ink (Black Soot); Cuttlebug embossing folder; Paper scraps: K&Co and GCD Studios; gems: Dovecraft and MME; flowers: Dovecraft.

A clutch of cards...

I have to admit, post-Creativa, I have crashed this week and have a nasty cold to show for it. Nonetheless, I have had a card-making session today. I started by listing the current challenges from those challenge blogs listed on the right, took all the inspiration my foggy head could take and then settled down to get these three made:
Après Creativa, je reste tranquil cette semaine sans chois: J'ai attrapé un rhume. Mais, aujourd'hui, j'ai consulté les blogs de défi (la liste au droit de mon blog) et j'ai créé trois cartes: 


Using Sketch Saturday challenge #198 and the Drunken Stampers #84 'Thank you' theme:

Used: Dovecraft gold card blank and cream card, recycled cardboard and piece of fabric, Inkadinkado stamp embossed in gold and cut with Nestabilities, flowers from Dovecraft Tea Party and Kaisercraft, text stamp by Aladine, inks: Walnut Stain Distress ink and ColorBox Chestnut Roan chalk ink.


For Sunday Stampers 'Misty' theme:

Layers of Perfect Pearls Mist on paper allowed to 'catch' overspray and also used to blot from a template used on another sheet: Part of a bigger piece created some time ago, I saved this bit for a card background. I added a band of purple Bazzill, text (compagnie des elfes) and twine (Dovecraft Tea Party) with a HeroArts-Sizzix Butterfly from the Butterflies #3 set. I love these stamp and cut sets: So easy!

and, for Simon Says Stamp and Show 'Anything goes' and PaperMinutes 'Cardboard' theme, a male birthday card:

Literally using scraps of paper (K&Co ?) and card with Tim Holtz 'Bitty Grunge' stamps and Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Text stamp by Aladine.

Creativa Brest: 8-11 mars 2012

Look at all the women queueing to wish me a happy birthday! OK, I'm joking, but it was my birthday and my husband was very amused at people queuing to get in: Seemed perfectly normal to me!
La ligne de femmes qui attendent pour le salon à ouvrir, et sur mon anniversaire aussi!

I was delighted to see so many friends and customers, some I met in person for the first time. After the stress of preparation and setting up, I spent 4 happy days chatting about the shop site, demonstrating some techniques, discussing products and new releases and, of course, selling lots. On-line is great and very convenient but I love the direct contact with customers. Some folk have already been back in touch with orders or commented on the photo on the Facebook page: Thank you for all the support !

J'ai été ravi à voir beaucoup de mes amis et mes clients, certains qui j'ai rencontré en personne pour la première fois. Après tout la préparation et installation, j'ai été très heureux dans les quatre jours à discuter le site de la boutique, les produits, les nouveautés, faire les démonstrations, et, oui, vendre aussi. Certains de vous a déjà fait une commande cette semaine ou me laissé un commentaire sur Facebook: Une grand merci à tous et particulièrement à mon mari et mon fils et mes amis, Karine et Anne, qui m'ont aidé sur le stand.

Here's another photo of one corner of the stand: We were still setting up so I wouldn't let my husband photograph the unfinished other parts!
Voici une photo d'un coin du stand: C'est le jour d'installation donc mon mari été interdit de prendre les photos d'autre murs!

Tea for Two

This is my second card using the new Dovecraft 'Tea Party' papers, stamps and embellishments. I used the sketch on Stamp with Fun for the layout.

Used: Trimcraft card; Tea Party: papers, stamps, doily heart, stickers; Basics III Blossoms, Nestabilities Circles, Scallop Circles and Ovals; Archival Ink (Sepia); Distress Inks (Frayed Burlap, Tattered Rose, Festive Berries) and lace from stash.

Challenges entered: Stamp with Fun: sketch; Creative Stamp Friends: inspired by a song: "Tea for Two"; Crafts & Me: Lace:  Creative Inspirations: Anything goes; PaperPlay: Something old (lace, text stamp and card), something new (Tea Party collection).

Ma deuxième carte avec le nouveau collection 'Tea Party' de Dovecraft: Prochainement sur le site.