Cards by Messi Jessi

Promarkers - Card Test

2010-07-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

Hi all! As I'm still a relative newbie one of the things I still need to work on is my colouring with Promarkers, as I've had mixed results so far and a number have ended up in the bin! I had some time tonight so thought I'd do a bit of a card test, to see which card or paper works with Promarkers the best. I thought I'd share this with you in case it helps you or you have your own suggestions from your experience.

The first card was basic, cheap uncoated card I picked up in The Range (200 gsm). The second was Ryman's coated art card (200gsm), which I had seen discussed on the Docrafts forum as good with Promarkers. The third was Copic marker paper I picked up in a local craft shop, which is only 70gsm. The image (Gorjuss Girl - sitting) was stamped with Memento ink and coloured with the following Promarkers: Hair - tulip yellow, honeycomb, burnt orange. Dress/tights - pastel blue, powder blue, denim blue. Skin - ivory, satin, dusky pink.

The colouring technique was as advised in the excellent tutorial by Nic at Coop's Cluttered Corner - all over in the lightest colour, then medium colour almost all over, then a little of the darkest colour, then all over with the lightest colour again in circular motions to blend.

The first set of images shows the full image, taken with the same camera at the same time.

Uncoated

Rymans

Copic

The images below show a close up.

Uncoated

Rymans

Copic

The last images show the reverse of the card/paper, to show you how much ink bled through.

Uncoated

Rymans

Copic

It was immediately clear that the uncoated card was simply rubbish! Though blending was easiest with this card, the ink very quickly bled over the lines and smudged the Memento ink a little - the amount of bleeding is really clear in the reverse image. The colours also looked very washed out.

The Ryman's card stood up much better. There was no bleeding over the lines and blending was still easy as the card is very smooth, though the colours tended to blend a little too much for my liking as a lot of the contrast between the lightest and darkest shades was lost. The colour vibrancy was a little better than the uncoated, but still a little washed out.

I was immediately struck with the vibrancy of the colours with the Copic paper, especially with the red hair. I didn't use any more of the 'burnt orange' than on the other cards, but it is much more prominent on this paper. Blending did take a little more work with this paper, but as the ink dried it seemed to blend itself a little. The paper is coated on the reverse so it doesn't bleed at all, as seen in the reverse image.

Overall, I was happiest with the result with the Copic paper, although it is very thin at 70gsm and would need to be mounted over another piece of white card so it doesn't end up see through on a finished card, and it is a little more expensive - I think I paid £4.99 for a pad of 50 sheets. I think I will use this in future when I am able to mount it over another piece of card, but for images where I want to cut closely round the edge I will use the Ryman's card.

I'd love to know what you think, and if you've done your own tests to see how the results turn out. Ta ta for now!

Forever Friends Wedding Easel Card

2010-07-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi again - two posts in as many days, there must be something in the water! I eally enjoyed making this card, I feel if there's one occasion when you can go to town on a card it's a wedding!

The FF bride and groom image was printed from my FF CD rom, there's a great wedding section on this and everybody loves Forever Friends! It was cut out using one of my new Labels Nestabilities and the 'out of the box' technique that I first saw by Jenny at My Inky Hands - thanks for this! It was easy to do and worked really well to let the rain of the dress 'fall' out of the picture.

The blue flourish background paper was also printed from the CD, and the larger flourish paper was some embossed card stock I bought from Craftwork Cards. This is great as you get a selection of embossed dots, flourishes and flowers in 8" square, perfect for those larger 8" cards. They also sell 6" and 8" card blanks and envelopes too at great prices (no connection, just a really satisfied customer!). I highlighted the embossing with distress ink.

The ribbon strip had lace and ribbon attached as well as a string of pearls, which after much fuss I managed to adhere with silicone glue. Finally a wonderful flower that I won in a blog candy as well as turquoise card candy were added.

On the inside of the easel, I printed a verse from the CD and cut it into a shape from a template and inked it. The 'on your wedding day' sentiment was also from the CD and this time was cut out with patterned scissors. The full card is shown below.

The wedding itself was lovely, in a converted barn hotel in the middle of nowhere with gorgeous roof beams and brickwork, and the bride looked amazing!

Angel Birthday

2010-07-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

This card was made for my gorgeous 4 year old niece's birthday last week, whose nickname is 'angel'. I had downloaded this digital image a while ago (sorry - can't remember where from!) and was hanging on to it with making a card for her in mind.

The image was printed and coloured with pink ProMarkers (looks orange on photo but it it pink! I need a new camera...!), then mounted onto oval white glitter card cut with the Coluzzle circle and oval cutter. The card front was covered with spotty and dotty pink paper and a glittery ribbon added. The sentiment was stamped with a Papermania alphabets stamp set - this was the first time I had used this and was really pleased with the clarity of the letters - before colouring with pink glitter gel pen. Again this was cut round and mounted on white glitter card. To finish the glittery effect, silver glitter glue was added around the dotty paper and some chrome card candy and flower added.

She loved the card, but only really noticed it for a second before getting back to the brand new guitar and microphone set that she had received for her birthday! She's not only a little angel but will probably be a little pop-star one day too!

Butterfly birthday club - Screen technique

2010-07-23T02:33:00.000-07:00

Hi all! It's been a little while since I've posted - been so busy crafting I've had no time to upload anything!

This card was made a couple of weeks ago for Carrie as part of the birthday club she is running - check out her blog for more information. The card was inspired by the beautiful card made with the screen technique by Nic that I first saw at her blog, Coops Cluttered Corner, which comes from a tutorial by Jane at Whiff of Joy.

Carrie loves purple, so I thought I would go with an explosion of purple butterflies. I'm not sure it came out exactly as I had it pictured in my mind, but I hope Carrie likes it all the same.

A circle was cut out from the front of an 8" square card blank with my Coluzzle circle cutter (love this!) and also from the purple mat and embossed white layer for the front. A ribbon and bow were fixed before adhering to the card front. I screened off the same circle on the inside of the card and stamped flourishes in purple ink and clear embossed them. The sentiment was then stamped and embossed in a slightly darker purple ink, and the entire circle inked a little with Milled Lavender distress ink.

I made various purple butterflies by stamping and embossing on different papers with different powders, and fixed these around the edge of the aperture with glue dots. Finally I raided my stash for any purple embellies I could find (I may have gone a bit OTT with these!) such as sequins, flowers and little fabric butterflies. Finishing touches were glitter glue and some gems.

Blog Candy Winner!!

2010-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Firstly I must issue a BIG apology for the lateness of this post! The blog candy entries closed on Sunday evening, and as I have been away sunning myself in Bournemouth I clean forgot to draw the winner. Sorry all!

However, we now have a winner and courtesy of the random number generator at www.random.org the lucky entry is.....

Number 1 - Lisa!

Congratulations Lisa, please email your address to cardsbymessijessi@btinternet.com and I will post your candy asap.

I will be back by the weekend with some new cards, including one for a wedding I am going to on Saturday and my 4 year old niece's birthday next week.

Till then....

My first blog challenge win!

2010-06-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to learn that I won the challenge at 'A Spoon Full of Sugar' (good luck/best wishes) with my Sugar Nellie Blossom card - I'm so pleased as this is my first challenge win!

My prize is $15.00 of digital stamps from Firecracker Designs - their stuff looks great so I will enjoy spending it.

Thank you A Spoon Full of Sugar!

June friendship swap - Smile acetate window card

2010-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

I made this card last week for Sue (Rachelsmum on DC) for the June friendship swap, and I thought it the perfect occasion to make this cheery friendship card. It is based heavily on a design by 'whimsical' Wendy Nasmith, one of my favourite internet bloggers who also does fantastic video tutorials on YouTube - check them out here. Wendy has been really inspirational to me as a newbie crafter, and taught me so much!

The background was stamped directly onto a 6" square card base using Papermania Hampstead stamps with orange, olive green, purple and black ink (set of 'Ink it up' mini pigment inks from The Range). Circles were then cut out of the card front using my favourite Coluzzle circle cutter, something else I first saw used on Wendy's tutorials. Coordinating circles were then cut out of matching orange and purple paper to stick on the inside of the card, along with edging circles for the apertures on the front.

A sheet of acetate was then adhered to the reverse of the card front and the edges trimmed to fit. Finally the sentiment was stamped on the inside of the card and white gel pen highlights added to the edging circles.

I was really pleased with how the backing paper turned out as it was my first attempt at making my own stamped background, and thought it fitted the card really well. I hope Sue likes it!

Challenges:

Colour create # 47 - Mad as hatters (orange black green purple white)

Two quick cards in unusual colours

2010-06-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

A couple of challenge blogs are running challenges with unusual colour combos, so I though I'd give them a go. I'm not sure about the result - what do you think? They will be sent as thank you cards to fellow DCers who have been very kind to me, so I hope they will like them!

Number one was inspired by the challenge at Creative Inspirations to use turquoise, gold and cream only. I found this pretty turquoise paisley paper in my stash so combined this with a stamped and gold embossed paisley image for the topper. Finished with card candy and gold lace ribbon.

Number two was inspired by the challenge at C.R.A.F.T. to use black, lime and lilac. I was also inspired by Sally at Cards for all Reasons to use my Papermania Hampstead flower stamps coloured with promarkers and added gems. Finished with spotty lilac ribbon and green card candy.

Challenges:

Card one: Creative Inspirations # 66 - turquoise/gold/cream
Card one: Friday Sketchers # 108 - sketch
Card two: C.R.A.F.T. # 56 - Black/lime/lilac
Card two: Sweet sketch Wednesday # 55 - sketch

Sugar Nellie Blossom "Good Luck"

2010-06-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

Update: I won the challenge at 'A Spoon Full of Sugar' (good luck/best wishes) with this card - my first blog challenge win! I'm sooooo pleased!!!

Good morning on what is yet another gorgeous day! This card was made for a colleague at work who has got a new job - I always find it so much harder making cards for work colleagues because you have to try and do something that the whole team will like, not just the person receiving it! I was asked to make something with an underwater theme as she likes scuba diving, but I didn't have anything suitable so she's getting sugar nellie instead!

The background is Core'dinations chocolate box card stock, crumpled and sanded to reveal the pink core. The pink paper was stamped with mini flowers in pink all over and both this, the border strip and the edge of the image and embossed sentiment were inked with tattered rose and brown corduroy distress ink. The image is Sugar Nellie 'Blossom' and is coloured with promarkers, I wasn't very happy with the colouring but I'm still learning I suppose! Finally flowers, card candy and stickles were added to finish. Let's hope she likes it!

Challenges:

Blue blog candy

2010-06-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Update: This candy is now closed and the winner has been posted above. Thanks for entering!

As promised, I am giving away some blog candy to celebrate finishing my studies for the summer and having my time free for crafty fun. I was inspired by the gorgeous summer weather when compiling the candy, as the sky at my home in Norfolk was such a gorgeous shade of blue and I love the sea at summertime too, so I chose a blue theme for the candy.

Sorry it's not the best candy, I haven't got a very big stash yet being a relative newbie and must have picked out everything blue I have! I don't mind though, I wanted to thank all of you who are kind enough to follow my blog.

Contents include: ribbons, sequins, card blanks and envelopes, flowers, die cuts, card candy, peel off stickers, designer papers, handmade papers, some Laura Ashley flocked papers and some Core'dinations black magic with blue on the other side. Close up of the smaller items below:

To enter you must be a follower and create a post or sidebar link on your own blog back to this candy, then add the link to your blog or post using the Inlinkz at the bottom of this post. If you're not sure how to create a sidebar link Angie has a tutorial on her blog here.

Submissions will close on Sunday 11 July at 7.30pm to coincide with the end of the world cup - when hopefully England will be lifting the cup! The winner will be chosen by randomorg - good luck everybody!

Gorgeous gifts from fellow DCers

2010-06-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you two cards I received from DC friends. On the left is the June friendship swap card sent by Sue (aka Rachelsmum), which is lovely. You can't really tell from the photo but the image section is recessed, which I thought was so clever. The image is very sweet too, and perfect for a friendship card.

On the right is a card from Maureen (aka Cakelady) that came with my prezzie for winning her June GG challenge. This was my first ever challenge win and I was so pleased! Maureen's card is stunning with lovely colours and a gorgeous stylish girl - I'd like to think I was as stylish as that but sadly not!

Thank you ladies - it's been great getting to know people on the DC forum and making such great friends xxx

I'm back!!!!!

2010-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, hope you are all well!

Just a quick post to say I'm back from being stuck writing essays at my computer for what seems like forever! I'm sooooo glad to have my freedom back, much as I love studying and I really want my degree it has been very hard work, especially in this second year and working a full time job as well.

The last two evenings I've been making a card for a birthday club I've joined and one I promised to make for a fellow DC'er's hubby and I will be uploading them once I know they've been received. I seem to have a very long list of cards I have promised to make that I need to be getting on with! It's also taking me a while to catch up with everything - I love reading all your blog posts and commenting on your wonderful cards, but I also need to catch up on paying some bills and everything else I've been putting off!

I'll leave you with a teaser... to celebrate the end of my studies for the year I will be putting together my very first blog candy to thank those of you kind enough to follow my blog for the support you have given me and your kind comments on my cards. Look out for the post over the weekend sometime!

Teenage boy birthday - Sports Car

2010-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Card made for Andrew, age 13 (son of Jill-from-before on the DC forum). He likes cars, so I picked this Ford GT image and coordinating paper and topper from the MCS Collector's Edition CD. The background image was printed directly onto an A5 card blank, and the whole car was embossed with Versamark and clear embossing powder to make it glossy. Finally the sentiment was designed in MCS using a free font (birth of a hero).

I love this too, as I'm a big petrol-head myself!

Challenges:

Gorjuss girl challenge card

2010-06-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

I made this card for Cakelady's Gorjuss Girl challenge on the DC forum, as well as a few others. The challenge was to use a recipe - roses, pink, purple, a sentiment and butterflies, which I managed, as well as being a shaped card - which I didn't! (But it is a top-fold, which I haven't done many of so maybe that counts!).

The rose patterned papers were from the My Craft Studio Cross Stitch CD, and the image is Gorjuss Girl 'purrfect friend' minus the cat, and was coloured with Promarkers. I used watercolour paper with Promarkers for the first time on this card, and was really pleased with the result as it blended really well.

Embellishments are a triple-bow in white organza with small roses added to the centre, butterflies were stamped on white card with versamark, embossed with clear powder and inked with Tattered Rose distress ink. The sentiment was made with rub on alphabets, which were so easy to use and finally Stickles was used round the edges and on the butterfly bodies, and card candy in the bottom corner.

This is a very pink and girly card for me, but it will be lovely for my teenage niece's birthday coming up soon.

Challenges:

Secret Slider Magic Father's Day Card

2010-06-13T04:16:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share a card with you that I found extremely difficult to make, but I am so pleased with the finished result! It's for my father-in-law Dave, who loves beer and anything with a bit of a novelty factor, so I had this idea of a slider card with a beer glass that fills itself up - but then I had the trouble of trying to achieve it!

I saw the concept of secret slider cards demonstrated by Nancy Watt on Create and Craft - they are also called 'magic cards'. I found a tutorial after much searching on the Split Coast Stampers resources page, but unfortunately the dimensions given weren't large enough for the A5 size card I wanted to make, so I had to adapt the tutorial and just try it and see.

Here is the 'before' image. The basic components were a beer glass digital image - one printed on inkjet acetate and the second on paper, which was coloured with Promarkers. You need to lay the clear image on top of the coloured one and fix them at the top so they stay perfectly aligned. The bottom of this section needs to have tabs at the sides, to stop this section from pulling all the way out of the card.

And here is the 'after' image - the main problem I had was making the sliding bit move smoothly, as my first attempt went in the bin! I realised I would have to use shaker tape between each of the panels to allow room for the slider to move freely.

By cutting the bottom off the card it allowed it to fit in a C6 envelope even with the tag sticking out of the top. I'm really pleased with this one, frustrating as it was, and I know Dave will love it!

Challenges:

And the award goes to....

2010-06-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

Angie!

I would like to give this 'Design Queen' award to the fabulous Angie at Angie's Craft Hideaway, a fellow Docrafter and blogger who produces the most wonderful creations.

Angie, this award is for you! You have given such great support your fellow blog buddies by designing amazing blog banners, backgrounds, profile piccies and more. You have gone that extra mile by creating tutorials to help us all a little way along being as talented as you. And what's more you have asked for nothing in return.

Not forgetting your own creations! Your blog is fantastic, your cards so brilliantly crafted and your very own Heartfelt Bears digi images are just the cutest little creatures!

Please accept this award from me, on behalf of everybody you have helped and in the spirit in which it is given. All that is left to say is

My first blog award!

2010-06-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Alizabethy who has nominated me for a blog award!!!

I now have to tell up to six outrageous lies about myself, and at least one outrageous truth, or switch it round and tell six outrageous truths and one outrageous lie.

Plus I need to nominate seven creative writers who might be into doing this, post links to their blogs and let the blog owners know.

So here goes... can you guess which one is the odd one out - and is it a truth or a lie...?

I am fluent in four languages
I was a cheerleader for a football club
I have never read a book from start to finish
I once appeared as an extra on Eastenders
I have run a marathon in under 5 hours
I used to work at a theme park dressed as a chipmunk
I have six brothers and two sisters

And now for my nominations...

Nic at Coops Cluttered Corner - for her fantastic colouring with Promarkers, check out her tutorials, they're great!
Angie at @ngie's Craft Hideaway - for all her help with my blog, check out her fab digi images
Teresa at Craftingallday Creations - for her wonderful support and for making some of the best Tilda cards ever
Janet at Pink Gem Designs - for having some of the best stamps I've seen yet, check them out
Smiffy at Smiffy's Cards - for some of the best distressing work I've seen yet
Kay at Crafty Spider - for being such good fun and having some of the coolest altered art and canvasses
Kathleen at Kookaburra Crafts - for having loads of challenge blog links and some of the best male cards

Thanks to you all!

Beautiful butterflies

2010-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

This card was so much fun to make! It was made for 15 year-old Alison, daughter of Jill-from-before on the DC forum. This was my first attempt at embossing, and wow! I love it! I have to say I borrowd the idea for this card from a YouTube video by hungryheffy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yf0iq7eJuY), as I needed some help before trying embossing for the first time.

The stamps are Papermania doodles, and were stamped with Versamark watermark ink and embossed with clear powder. Masks were then put down at the edge of the card and where the sentiment was going to be, before inking the card base using cut'n'dry foam and Tim Holtz distress inks (shabby shutters, stormy sky and chipped sapphire). Finally the masks were removed, before stamping the 'happy birthday' sentiment. My fingers were very inky by the time I'd finished this one, but I don't mind - I think it was worth it!

Strawberries & Cream

2010-06-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

When I saw the theme of this week's Allsorts challenge - Strawberries and Cream - I knew I had to make a card for it! These are my favourite summer treats - British strawberries are the best!

Strawberry paper and main pre-coloured image were printed from MCS collector's edition CD. The brown Core'dinations card stock was distressed and sanded to reveal the pink core. Finally a brown ribbon was pleated (with some difficulty!) and attached. The photo has come out a bit orangey, but it is pinky red in real life, promise!

This will probably be my last card for a couple of weeks as I'm back to work on Monday and have 3 assignments due by 22 June (bad times!) but once that's all over I'll have the whole summer to craft to my heart's content (good times!).

Challenges:

Purple roses

2010-06-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Card made for Maureen's challenge on the DC forum, which was to create a shaped card, with purple and pink, birds or butterflies, roses and a sentiment. This was quite a recipe, and I only managed purple, pink and roses, and the card is a top-fold although I'm not sure this counts as a shaped card!

Papers were Papermania Heather collection, with the rose image printed from MCS collector's edition and coloured with Promarkers. Finally small roses, ribbon and buttons were added as embellishments.

Challenges:

Girls 18th Birthday

2010-06-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

This card was made for Naomi's 18th birthday, as requested by Noreen (Followyourdreams) on the DC forum. A square card blank was layered with a piece of Core'dinations chocolate box card, crunched and distressed with Tattered Rose distress ink by Tim Holtz.

The floral shoe image (chosen especially for Naomi) was printed on vellum from the MCS collector's edition CD and blinged up with some pink gems before fixing to a cream mat, which had been inked round the edges. Brown and pink ribbon were added, as well as a special '18' brad that I made using the Papermania 'build a brad' kit. It's very girly, and I've heard from Noleen that she liked it.

A is for... @ngie is fantastic!

2010-06-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

After all the help Angie (JustAng on DC forum - Angie's Craft Hideaway) has given me making my blog look fantastic, I just had to make her a thank you card!

I picked this image, which I hope she likes, from the MCS collector's edition CD and printed it before colouring with ProMarkers (I'm already an addict!). A piece of Core'dinations chocolate box card stock was used as a base, with the bottom of the card front cut short with victorian style border scissors and a cream piece of card fitted behind to make the card whole again. The image was inked round the edges with Tim Holtz distress inks (brown corduroy and barn door), and layered over a piece of the same core'dinations card turned the other way, which I had crunched and inked. Finally I customised a piece of white satin ribbon and made a paper flower with the inks. Angie should have received it by now, and I hope she likes it!

Summer fun

2010-06-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Card made for a couple of challenges using the wonderful free 'Summer Wave' digi image from www.someoddgirl.com.

Image was coloured with Promarkers and cut out using my Coluzzle circle cutter (love this!). Sunshine paper printed from MCS Collector's Edition CD, with the patterned paper from my stash. The sentiment was stamped with the peg alphabet stamps I bought from C&C. I liked how the bright colours on the card came together, although I had to print and colour the image twice as I messed the first one up! (They don't call me Messi Jessi for nothing!).

Entered into the following challenges:

Deco Black White & Red

2010-06-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

This card was inspired by Clare's weekly sketch challenge on the DC website and I thought it a perfect excuse to try out the free Debbie Moore Black & White CD I got with this month's Crafts Beautiful magazine. I had always admired Debbie's designs on C&C, and snapped up the chance to try them out for myself!

All papers and the focal image were printed from the CD, with the swirls on one and the lady's dress coloured with 'Poppy' promarker to tie in the splash of red. Matting was on some gorgeous black glitter card I got in a matt pack, and finished with white organza ribbon and a red feather from my stash.

This card has been entered in the following challenges:

Father's Day - "One of the Lads" Digi Challenge

2010-06-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

Card made for my father-in-law and entered into Lisaxx's "One for the lads" digi challenge on the DC forum. This one was soooo hard to put together! It took me ages to be happy with the papers, style and layout.

The beer glass digi stamp was coloured with promarkers (many thanks go to Creative Coops for the tutorials) and inked round the edges with brown corduroy distress ink. The paper was from the men's freebies in creative cardmaking magazine, but they were too bright so I crunched and distressed them. That's it! A simple card, but as we all know men's cards are so hard to do!

Other challenges:

Crafter's Companion Challenge #1 - Popcorn

2010-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

I was determined to make a card to reward myself for finishing an essay, and thought the first Crafter's Companion challenge was a perfect excuse! The challenge was to use this sketch with a Crafter's Companion image, so I chose this lovely one of Popcorn.

I made an 8 x 8 card blank from two sheets of A4, layered with pink paper inked with Barn Door distress ink. A piece of handmade paper (Poundland) was used down the left, and a coordinating hearts paper from the Popcorn range at the bottom. Embellishments were hearts and sequins from my stash. This is my first challenge entry, so I hope it goes down OK!

Also entered into:

Crafty Cardmakers: Challenge 22 - Least and Most

Little Red Wagon # 31 - Altered Embellishment

Text sentiments - extra help

2010-05-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Many thanks go to Rachel at Critchley Creations for her fabulous tutorial on making stylish text sentiments on the computer - the full tutorial on her blog is linked here.

I've been having a play with this technique, which I really love, and came up with a way that made it a little easier for me to place my text in the right places.

When you are setting out your text, if you draw a shape, such as a circle, square or rectangle (depending on the type of card you wish to make), then fit your text to the edges of this shape, it will space it out so it looks even to the eye. Then if you delete the shape afterwards, it looks pretty good!

Before:

After:

I was pretty pleased with the results, and will definitely be using the technique on a card soon - thanks again Rachel!

RAK Card for Jayme

2010-05-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

This is a RAK card I made for Jayme after seeing this post at Stamped Art by Lisa. Extract from the page:

"I am having a special event for my sister Jayme. She is in her early 50's and has terminal lung cancer. To make it worse, her sweet dachshund Molly passed away a couple weeks ago. Today we learned her cancer has spread to several other areas and her time is running out. I am asking for all my card making friends to send her a fun card...not really get well cards obviously, but something pretty or funny that will make her smile. She is a frog collector so frog cards would be awesome! I have been blessed by all those I design for to have a wonderful offer of blog candy. Details are below on how to enter. I will choose a winner June 2nd."

This was a card of firsts... first RAK, first easel card, first Promarkers card, first Distress Inks card... I hope Jayme likes it!

The image was printed as a digital stamp from the MCS collectors edition CD then coloured with my new Promarkers. The backing paper was also from the CD, the lily pad image printed onto green pearlescent paper. The whole thing was then inked round the edges with Tim Holtz distress inks (shabby shutters, scattered straw and brown corduroy). After matting and layering, the card was done!

Neutral Flowers 8" x 8" Card

2010-05-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Card made with papers and topper from the new My Craft Studio Collector's Edition CD.

To make the base card I printed a sheer floral backing paper on both sides of two sheets of A4 white card stock, then cut one to 8" square and folded the other around. I covered the join with a thin strip of gold paper.

The bottom of the card is cut from a blown-up topper and edged with gold lame ribbon. The topper was inked round the edges and mounted on gold paper, with gold glitter added to the centre of the flower.

Finally, the sentiment was stamped with black ink. A lovely card for a colleague's birthday at work, as I thought it feminine but not too girly.

Beer Glass Congrats Card

2010-05-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

This card was made for a male colleague at work who had got a new job, and as he loves his real ale I thought a beer themed card would be perfect! The card used elements that came free in the male themed 'Lets Make Cards' magazine - perfect for Father's Day too.

The background was made by matting the special beer label paper onto gold and then an A5 cream card blank. I then drew the beer glass shape onto acetate and cut out, then traced it onto brown paper to make the liquid, and white paper with a rounded top to make the foam. The biggest problem I had was how to attach the paper to the acetate, so I cut a small strip of acetate to look like the thicker glass you get at the bottom of a glass and stuck this behind the large acetate glass. The silicone glue I used made the acetate smear, but this was OK for the thick glass illusion. I then stuck the beer label on top of the acetate, and this gave me two 'hidden' fixing points for the paper - behind the label and the 'thick' glass at the very bottom.

The label was then matted and layered onto green and gold paper, and attached to the finished card along with a 'congrats' sentiment.

My colleague loved the card, and everyone in the office couldn't believe I had made it!

Forever Friends Anniversary Card

2010-05-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

This was the first card made with my new Forever Friends CD from Create and Craft TV - and what an occasion, my 3rd wedding anniversary coming up in a few days. I just hope my husband doesn't see this before the day and ruin the surprise of his very own handmade card!

The centre image was printed on gloss paper and carefully cut out. There are so many fantastic images on this CD, which is why I instantly love it! This was matted on dark silver-grey paper, with the corners chomped, then some hearts backing paper from the CD. Finally this was matted on dark pink backing paper from the CD, then a sentiment typed with borders added, all coloured to match, and an 'on our anniversary' sentiment typed in a matching oval then matted and layered.

This was all mounted on a dark silver grey A5 card blank - a nice big card for a special occasion. I am really lucky as a local shop is clearing out their paper and card stock at 20 sheets for £1 - I need to go and buy more before it runs out!

First ATC

2010-05-04T12:58:00.000-07:00

After visiting 'www.docrafts.co.uk' and finding out about ATCs I had my very first attempt. They need to be 2.5" x 3.5" in size, and as far as I can tell there aren't many rules!

This gorgeous butterfly was stamped in black ink with a stamp from a set by the Glitter Girls, then coloured with glitter gel pens. I made two so I could decoupage the wings on top for a bit of dimension. The backing card was inked with a make-up sponge and blue ink, with corners stamped in the same blue ink and embellished with mini gems.

Beatrix Potter Cards

2010-05-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

These cards were made using the free Beatrix Potter kit from 'Lets Make Cards' magazine.

The first was made as a side-stepper card with coordinating backing papers from the kit and a lovely Jemima Puddleduck image. I picked up a fantastic tip for making side-steppers - use the ratio '3-3-4-4-7-7' to score the stepper side, then cut between the first and last score lines. This ratio can be used for any card size, just use a calculator to divide your total card size by these numbers, and use the figures to measure your score lines.

The next two cards were made using the same kit - such a fantastic kit with tons of papers, images, die-cuts and embellishments. I barely even touched the kit to make these 3 cards, and they were really quick to do.

Pop up balloon card

2010-04-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

For my nephew's 8th birthday I knew I absolutely had to create a balloon themed card, and I had an urge to make a pop up card - this was the result, which I'm really pleased with.

The pop up centre was created by scoring and folding 4 x 2cm panels in the centre of the card blank, to create an 'M' shape. Each of the little balloons was cut out from a template, two per balloon, on various brightly coloured card. Each pair of balloons was stuck together with a thin strip of acetate in between them. A run of double sided tape was placed inside the 'M' fold, and the acetate strips stuck in a line at various heights. The rest of the 'M' was then stuck together, leaving just one raised section with the balloons sticking out.

The front of the card was finished with three larger balloons mounted on foam pads. All the balloons were highlighted with a curved exclamation mark to give 'shine' to each one. Finally, star shaped beads were threaded onto a double thickness of embroidery thread, fixed to the back of the balloons and the stars stuck down with glue dots.

Pink Tri-Fold Shutter Card

2010-04-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is definitely my absolute favourite card so far! It is for my niece's 13th birthday and I know she'll love the girly design.

After getting dimensions for the shutter on the internet, I cut my white card blank. After spending ages choosing matching papers, I matted and layered panels for each section of the card. I then chose some suitably girly embellishments from my craft box, including bows, flowers and butterflies.

The centre panel on the front of the card is cut from a piece of pink card embossed with a cuttlebug folder, then lightly inked over with silver stamping ink. The same ink was used to stamp the sentiment on the back panel. The detail of exactly what is on each panel can be seen better in the picture below.

The only problem I had with this card was it's thickness - it was too thick for a standard DL envelope, so I had to make a box envelope without any template. Easier said than done! I am very pleased with the finished result - I know my niece won't get anything else like it!

Sweet Birthday

2010-04-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed making this card - it's definitely one of my favourites! It was inspired by digital stamps of some sweets that I got as a free download.

I created a sheet of digital sweets on an A4 sheet, they all come black and white and the same size, so I resized them to make them different sizes. I then sealed the page with acrylic sealant spray, and after drying coloured them in with my Derwent watercolour pencils.

I also printed the word 'sweet', again as a digital image. I also coloured this with watercolours to start with, but didn't like the finish so went over with glitter gel pens to make it bolder.

To finish, all the sweets and the sentiment were matted and layered before adding to an A5 card blank, over a strip of complimentary green dotted card highlighted with green dotty ribbon.

It took a while to lay out all the sweets, but once I had laid them out roughly and was happy, I stuck them down - some flat and some on foam pads. I really like the effect, and it will be a good card for just about anybody!

Card Sketches

2010-04-06T04:37:00.000-07:00

A selection of my own card sketches for you to use as inspiration for your creations...

Top 10 Newbie Card Making Tips

2010-04-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

Having made around 10 cards now, I thought it would be a good time to share my 10 top tips for beginners.

Tip 1 - Set up a suitable work area: Space is always at a premium, but you still need somewhere to make your wonderful creations. I use my dining table, but be sure to use a cutting mat to work on as you will scratch your table otherwise! Good lighting is essential, especially when cutting with a knife to be able to see where you're cutting properly. Use a lamp for extra light if needed.

Tip 2 - Storage solutions: Places to store all your crafty bits and pieces without taking over the whole house! I used an old make-up case as my main container as it's large and has a tray to store tools like my scissors, bone folder, paper-piercer and watercolour brush. Small tupperware tubs are great for embellishments, and clear plastic bags for smaller embellishments, sequins, gems and ribbons, as well as being cheap.

Tip 3 - Use the right adhesive for the right job: A lesson quickly learned when things you've stuck come unstuck! Use tape runner for sticking paper to paper, and paper to card. Double-sided tape is best for card to card, ribbon to card, and sticking down flaps of homemade envelopes. Glue dots are fab for small embellishments. Silicone glue is a great heavy duty tool, for sticking to anything to glitter card and larger embellishments. Top tip is to use silicone glue with a cocktail stick to either create blobs for dimension, or smear round the edges of mats that haven't stuck to the edge properly.

Tip 4 - Measure twice, cut one: The old DIY mantra works for crafting too! If you're not comfortable cutting by eye, measure your work using a ruler or a grid style cutting mat. Mark your measurements on the back to avoid marking your work. Choose your cutting method wisely - a craft knife and ruler is very reliable but a little slow; a guillotine is faster but unless you've got a good one may not give a perfect right-angled corner; scissors are good for anything that isn't straight.

Tip 5 - Sketch away! If you're short of inspiration, use card sketches. These could be your own, using a little notebook to draw your sketches for future use when you're on the bus or laying in bed. There are also a lot of sketches available on the internet posted by other card crafters - just Google 'card sketches' and select 'images' at the top of the search results page for some great examples. My own card sketches blog will be available soon.

Tip 6 - Stamp away! If like me you can't draw, using either rubber or digital stamps and painting them with markers or watercolours will make you an artist. Use permanent dye ink with rubber stamps to ensure the ink doesn't bleed, and seal printed images with a heavy coating of acrylic fixative spray.

Tip 7 - Matting for professional results: By layering your elements on contrasting mats, your results will look more professional as well as adding extra interest and weight to your finished cards.

Tip 8 - Follow the rule of odds: Odd numbers are always more pleasing to the eye than even numbers. When adding embellishments, making cut-outs or panelling your backgrounds, use multiples of 3, 5, 7 etc for a well finished look. Another design rule is to cut shapes or layer backgrounds with a ratio of 3:2. For example, cutting a topper to 6" x 4", or covering the front of a card blank with 2/3 one colour and 1/3 another.

Tip 9 - Add highlights to your designs: Using glitter gel pens, sequins, ribbons, bows and gems to add highlights and glitz to your designs creates a wonderful finish. Add just enough but not too much - be careful not to go too glitter-mad!

Tip 10 - Sign your work: To let your loved-ones know the hard work, love and effort that you have put into their card, add your signature to the back of the card. I bought some simple 'Handmade by' stickers that I just write my name on and stick on. Alternatively you can buy custom rubber stamps from eBay that would add a more professional finish.

Decoupage butterfly

2010-04-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

I wanted to have a go at decoupage, and thought this simple butterfly image would be a good one to start with.

Decoupage
Using an A4 decoupage sheet - not die cut - I started by cutting out the elements with a cutting mat and craft knife. This wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, just a matter of taking your time.

I mounted the back piece (vase-shaped) flat to a piece of lemon yellow vellum, before layering the elements with decoupage pads. I used a mixture of 1mm, 2mm and 3mm pad thicknesses, using the thicker pads on the larger background elements and smaller ones for the foreground elements. I learned that some pads are much easier to get the backing off than others, so will make sure I buy good quality pads in future.

Finishing
To finish the card I mounted the image and yellow vellum to a cream A6 card stock again using decoupage pads for dimension, being careful to only place the pads behind the image where they wouldn't be seen through the vellum. I really like using large decoupage pads for mounting larger images and mats as they ar far more stable.

Finally I adhered another piece of yellow vellum at the bottom of the card using tape runner - it won't matter if it shows through as I will add an appropriate sentiment here when I eventually give the card to somebody. The end result was a very sweet card with a wonderful 3D finish, and I'll definitely be doing decoupage again!

Stitched flowers card

2010-04-06T01:59:00.000-07:00

really enjoyed making this card with the stitched flowers technique - and it was a lot easier than it looks!

Card Stitching
Using a free pattern from Card Inspirations, I taped the pattern over a piece of thick white card stock. I placed this over a piece of foam before piercing with a paper-piercing tool.

When complete, I started stitching using one strand of embroidery thread, taping the thread to the back of the card. You need to be really careful when pulling the thread through as it knots easily - tip is to keep your fingers inside the loop to hold it until it's nearly all the way through. I used the stitching pattern on the diagram to make the flower petals and centres, then back-stitching for the leaves. I have previously been a cross-stitcher so this was quite easy, if a little time-consuming.

Finishing
To finish the card I cut round the stitched image and mounted it on a piece of complimentary red card, then mounted this on some patterned green paper. I wanted to keep the card quite simple so as not to detract from the stitched design. The design was then mounted on a large square card blank, created with the help of my Dovecraft GoGroove - this is a fantastic bit of kit that allows you to make various sizes of card and matching envelopes.

I also used the GoGroove to emboss the bottom of the white card stock with some flowers for a little added interest, before attaching a red fabric butterfly to finish the card.

Digitally stamped butterfly with watercolour pencils

2010-04-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

This fun card was again created with a digital image and watercolour pencils - fast becoming one of my favourite techniques!

After printing and setting the image (read how here) it was coloured with Derwent watercolour pencils. I could have done with more colours then the 12 that I had for this image - I may have to invest in a larger set of pencils! To brighten the image I used glitter gel pens to pick out highlights, such as the shadow on the wings, the body and antenna.

Finishing
A white A5 card blank was covered with a panel of dark purple embossed paper to mirror the colour of the butterfly. A circle of silver paper was covered with a layer of paler purple before mounting to the card. The circles were achieved with a circle cutting compass - these are OK for circles where the middle won't be seen as they leave a small hole in the centre.

They are very fiddly and not easy to use but do improve with practice. I have seen another system called the 'Coluzzle circle cutter' but these are discontinued in both the UK and USA, although I may try and get one off eBay USA. This uses a circle template and swivel blade, and won't leave any holes in your circle. Failing this I may get the Fiskars cutting system, which is widely available but I'm not sure I'll want to keep buying templates for it.

Finally the card was finished by mounting the butterfly image to the card using 3mm thick decoupage pads, and a silver 'happy birthday' peel-off sentiment.

Digitally stamped girl with watercolour pencils

2010-04-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

This card was one of my first attempts at using Derwent watercolour pencils and proved a great learning experience!

Printing
The first challenge was how to use the pencils with a printed digital stamp without smearing or running the black ink. The image was printed on 160gsm good quality image paper from Staples. I tried heat setting the printed image but this didn't work at all. I then saw a tip on another blog to use an acrylic sealent to fix the paper after printing. I wasn't sure what to buy in the craft shop, but decided on an artists fixative spray in the painting section. After testing different amounts to spray on it was clear the best finish came from spraying a very heavy coating to soak the paper. This is best done outside as the spray is very strong!

Painting
After drying I painted the image with the pencils. Taking one colour at a time (my first learning point - I only bought a set of 12 pencils and could really have done with a few more, particularly skintones) I began lightly adding colour to the image and blending it with a watercolour brush and water. I found a watercolour blender worked well too, but a more blended effect was gained with the watercolour brush and water. Really great depth was achieved by adding extra colour in the shadow areas, e.g. under the chin and picking out lowlights in the hair.

Finishing
After drying, I added highlights to the image using glitter gel pens on the flowers, the girl's lips, eyeshadow and the swirly trails - not too much, just a hint of sparkle! Then came decisions on how to finish and mount the card. I wanted to make this a girly sparkly card that I could give one of my nieces for their birthday, so covered half an A5 white card blank with cream coloured glitter card. You need to use a really strong adhesive to stick this down such as silicone glue - double sided tape wasn't strong enough.

The edge of a 7cm strip of pale blue pearlescent paper was then cut with decorative scissors, before mounting above a strip of darker coloured blue card to highlight the detail. I had to stick the pearlescent paper onto another sheet of paper first as otherwise the dark blue strip would have showed through. This was mounted onto the glitter card, again using silicone glue. The edge was covered with a piece of pale blue ribbon, fed through a small slit cut in the edge of the card and secured on the back with tape. I also used a little PVA to hold this down, but wouldn't do again as you could see it through the ribbon, although this didn't matter much as very little ribbon was showing on the finished card.

The girl image was then mounted on the darker colour card before sticking to the background with silicone glue. To finish, a faux bow (a knot tied around another piece of ribbon) and three sequins with beads adhered to the middle (more silicone glue) were added to the bottom for extra girly glitz.

I'm really happy with the finished card and learned a lot making it - especially the benefits of silicone glue!

Military style male card

2010-04-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

This card was originally made as a 'Sorry you're leaving' card for a male work colleague, but after making it I didn't think it was suitable. Instead I think it will be good as a birthday card for a teenage boy.

It was made using a white A5 card blank with the corners chomped. A piece of silver patterned paper was then matted onto a navy background, and a hole was cut out of each on the right hand side. A piece of silver ribbon was then matted onto the same navy background and a knot adhered to the ribbon.

Lastly, a round silver circle was placed over the hole, and a navy circle within it and a silver star on top.

Easter Cards

2010-03-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well I have made my first 2 cards - Easter cards for my mother-in-law and grandmother. I'd love to know what you think of my first efforts!

Grandmother - a very traditional card for my 86 year old nan. I knew she'd love daffodils, so it was handy I already had this image from a card making kit I bought from eBay. The picture doesn't show it very well, but I used a basic white A5 card blank and covered 2/3 of it with yellow card stock. The remaining 1/3 on the right hand side was covered with yellow textured paper. I matted the daffodil image over the yellow card stock. I printed the 'Happy Easter' greeting with vertical text using MS Word on a dark yellow background on white card, then matted this onto some orange textured paper. Finally I pierced holes around the edge of the orange mount, drawing lines between them with silver gel pen for a faux stitching effect. Done!

Mother-in-Law: By this time it was getting late and I just wanted a quick card. I used an A5 white card blank again, and cut lots of orange, yellow and green scraps of paper to 5cm wide. I laid these on the blank, overlapping them by 2cm to leave 3cm visible. I then created a frame from yellow card with a craft knife and mounted this over yellow see-through fabric. I topped this with a fabric flower, made from 3 separate flowers held together with a cream brad. Lastly, I made the 'Happy Easter' sentiment by handwriting (I didn't have any printed greetings!) in orange gel pen on pale yellow paper and matting this onto a slightly large piece of orange card. This, along with the flower topper, was fixed with foam pads for dimension.

Card Making Newbie

2010-03-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my new blog. I am brand new to card making, having decided to take up the hobby after getting addicted to Create and Craft!

In my very first blog, I'd like to talk you through my views on all the card making essentials beginners will need from my newbie experiences so far.

Card Making Essentials for Beginners

Adhesive

It's quite clear that having the right adhesive for the job is crucial. The basics are:

Tape runner (left) - available in both permanent and repositionable. I've found that permanent is the most useful, for fixing items to cards, and I haven;t found a use for repositionable yet except when I ran out of permanent! It seems to work just as well for sticking thin card or paper to card. Both are available for around £1.50 to £1.99 a roll, but be warned - they don't last very long. I used up one roll making just one card, but perhaps I need to be a bit more frugal with it!

Double sided-tape - top tip is to buy an easy-peal version, where the backing strip is wider than the tape. This makes it come away a lot easier. I've also stocked up on some backless tape on a dispenser, which should be quicker to apply and better for larger areas than tape runner.

Glue - I've tried to avoid using wet glues as I can't be bothered to wait for things to dry! Instead I've used glue dots (see right - sometimes called sticky dots) where tape wouldn't do. These stick instantly and are really easy to use - just peel the plastic back and transfer to the back of your embellishment, before sticking to the card. I have invested in some clear and PVA glue as well, as I'm sure I'll need some at some point - I bought a cheap multipack of 4 different glues for £1.

Tools

Craft knife, cutting mat and ruler - I was a little worried about how easy these would be to use, and whether they would actually cut straight lines - I needn't have worried! With a good ruler (must be metal-edged) and firm pressure I was cutting through all thicknesses of card like butter!

Dovecraft GoGroove (left) - I don't make a habit of favouring specific brands for anything in life, but for making my first 3 cards this was essential! It's a scoring and embossing board, which allows you to make most sizes of card and matching envelopes. Easy to follow instructions are included along with an embossing stylus and bone folder. I made a large square card and envelope (5") and a 'climb the stairs' card using this excellent piece of equipment. You also are also able to emboss letters, flowers and corner pieces using just this one item. At £9.99 it was a bargain and I will definitely be using it again and again.

That's my card making essentials for beginners, along with another top tip - eBay is fantastic for getting items much cheaper than craft stores!

Till next time, Messi Jessi