Boutique Birthday Card

I made my daughter's birthday card earlier this year using inspiration from this kit's samples.

When you make cards for family and friends, sometimes it can be challenging to find the inspiration for something new each year.

I used the Blossom Boutique Purple Dress Design Cardmaking Mini Kit; it's a gorgeous digital download kit by Opulence by Design Crafts.

I've also added Amanda's Fussy Cut Perfect Petals Print, cut & form purple flowers in PDF format, which has an additional 2 bonus plain sheets.

These beautiful flowers have their own faux gem centres that you can add glossy accent or glitter glue to highlight, or just add your own gemstones as I have done.

I have also edged my flowers with my favourite Sakura Twilight glitter gelly roll pen, but any fineline glitter pen will highlight your blooms. I've also seen Amanda foil the edges of these flowers, and they look gorgeous. Look out for the YouTube video on that.

To recreate the posy of flowers in the corner of the card, I have chosen the Fern Leaves. These are quite fiddly to cut out, but if you use a little green ink, not only will it cover any white edges, but it will create some tone in your leaves too, giving a more natural look.

I used one of the toppers in the kit and printed it out 3 times to recreate the decoupage layered dress effect that  Amanda demonstrated in her Blossom Boutique Dress Tutorial blog post.

The tutorial was really helpful inspiration for recreating her ideas. Sometimes you can look at your papercrafting kits and not know where to start crafting.

I've used a Tiny cherry blossom flower punch, which is really handy for little blooms on your cards, and a mix of little flower dies in my craft stash to decoupage the dress and add a few accents to my flower posy.

These small flower dies are invaluable and often the ones you lose. They may not look much in your die sets but are so handy for projects like this.

The papers in this mini kit are beautiful, and I've layered them onto gold miri card with white organza ribbon. The large topper has been mounted on foam pads.

I've also made a gift box for my card. I really enjoyed making this one.

Thanks for stopping by today to view my little crafty space.  I don't make as much as I used to these days, but I still try to continue to share what I create.

Opulence by Design Crafts has a fantastic variety of digital download kits for your crafty needs, along with a mini blog for inspiration and handy tips.  They also have a variety of crafting booklets for those who can not print their crafty designs. I use a lot of their designs because I really enjoy crafting with them.

 

 Have a great day and weekend too, whatever you have planned for yourself.

Happy Crafting

Challenges

CD Sunday Plus -AG

Allsorts - Feminine

Allys Angels AG

Digi Chooseday - AG

Crafts Galore - AG

613 Avenue Create - AG

Crafty Catz -AG

Classic Designs - AG

A Place to Start - AG

Decorated MDF Gift Boxes

I had a few small MDF gift boxes sitting in my craft box for a long time, waiting to be decorated, so I thought it was time to use them.

For the front of the boxes, I used the dragon images from The Dragon Breathing Courage & Creativity digital download collection by Opulence by Design Crafts.  

 

I use a Canon Mega Tank inkjet printer to print these images onto rice paper, and I also used it on the base of my boxes with the dragon skin design from the same collection. It's one of my fav papers as I love the faux texture for my boxes.

My decorated dragon box can be found here from a previous blog post.

Lidl offer a cracking selection of art products from time to time. I bought a set of metallic paints by CreaBox a year ago, and unfortunately, I have used the last of the metallic green from this set, which you can see on the book box trays. It has obviously been a favourite colour of mine.

These little boxes came as a set of 3 from The Works, but I had to throw the smallest one away as it was so badly split on closer examination; it just wasn't worth decorating. As suggested to me, I will look out for boxes in charity shops or just look for better quality ones.

For some added texture around the edges of the book boxes, I used a touch of Pretty Gets Gritty's mousse in Sea Glass.

Apparently, these drawers are just the right size for a collection of mini figures. 

I just added some glossy accents to the top of the boxes to finish them off.

For my second project, I found a nice little MDF Treasure chest in Hobbycraft that would work well with the fairy image that I had intended to use.

I chose the Fairy Wishes & Pixie Kisses 8 x5 inch PDF Petra print from Opulence by Design Crafts for the lid of the chest. It's a beautiful digital download that is also available as a one sheet wonder greeting card. The treasure chest has also been given a light coat of white gesso to help highlight the rice paper image.

On the sides, I have used A Spectrum of colour Script paper pack. This is such a versatile digital download kit to have in your crafty stash.

I painted the inside of the chest and base with a blue Metallic pearl acrylic paint.

This little girl loves fairies, so I thought a little treasure chest would be ideal.

I've edged the lid of the box with gold wax

I also had these shapes in my MDF box and thought that a hanging fairy plaque would make a nice addition.

I've added braid to the edge of the hanging plaque, and the hanging mdf fairy has been heat embossed with ice blue embossing powder.

These were fun little projects to make and have already gone off to their new home.

Thanks for stopping by today to view my little crafty space.

Opulence by Design Crafts has a fantastic variety of digital download kits for your crafty needs, along with a mini blog for inspiration. They also have a variety of crafting booklets for those who can not print their crafty designs.

Have a great week, whatever you have planned for yourself.

Happy Crafting

Challenges

Neglected Stuff- AG - MDF boxes & MDF pieces

Mix It Up - AG

Love Crafting -handmade gift

Love to Craft - AG

DLART -AG

Allys Angels -AG

Creative Crafting Uncles - AG

Avenue 613 - AG  - Front Porch Winner  

Hearts Quest Fantasy - ATG Fantasy - Legendary Honourable Mention (Dragon)

Hollywood Glamour Birthday Card

I made these birthday cards a few months ago, ahead of time, as I knew I wouldn't be crafting for a while.

For my card base, I used a 7 x 7" card base to create this shaped card and layered these beautiful papers onto gold mirri card.

From Opulence by Design Crafts Hollywood Glamour Collection, I used the Lights, Camera Action cardmaking digital download kit along with Amanda's Fussy Cut Perfect Petal Pink Flower digital download sheet.

These fantasy flowers are beautiful and ideal for foiling too; there are samples of them online. I used my Sakura Twilight Gelly Roll pen around the edges of my blooms ( I use this pen all the time) and added gems in the centres. These flowers have their own faux gem centres that can be blinged up with a little glitter glue.

The Topper was printed onto glossy cardstock.  I used just one piece of my chosen backing paper for the card (careful trimming a little off the card base and maximising the paper left for the panels meant I used all the paper and didn't need to print more off). 

The backing paper was printed on 140 gsm Pure Print Paper from Craft Master.

I bought a pack when it was on offer from Highlight Crafts, and wanted to see whether it was as good as everyone told me it was. I must admit, I was impressed with the quality and choosing a detailed design paper was a good way to test that.

I have also used an iridescent glitter pen to add some shimmer to areas of my paper (this was a Crafters Companion one that still works) and added some foliage - a few rose leaves and fern leaves.  This is my favourite of both cards and designs.

For my second Birthday card, I used the Midnight Muse Cardmaking digital download mini kit from the Hollywood Glamour Collection along with Amanda's Fussy Cut Perfect Petal Blue Flower digital download sheet.

The topper was printed on glossy cardstock, and this time I used a sheet of Pink Frogs white Pearlescent paper to print the backing paper for my card.  This paper is really sturdy and is fantastic quality. It leaves a gentle shimmer on your paper and was a bargain at £4 when I bought it!

Experimenting with different mediums to print on can really extend how you use your digital downloads; sometimes it's trial and error to see what works for you, and I have found packs of unopened printable glossy card in charity shops, which are always handy to have in your stash.

I added gems and a little shimmer to my flowers along with the fussy cut single rose leaves. Again, I've edged these blooms with a Sakura Twilight gelly roll pen. 

There are quite a few of these beautiful flowers in this range now to complement your projects; the tiny flowers were die cut from pearlescent card.

I made a dimensional envelope for both cards, and as they were hand delivered, there was no worry about them getting squished in the post.

Thanks for stopping by today to view my little crafty space. 

Opulence by Design Crafts has a fantastic variety of digital download kits for your crafty needs, including a mini blog for inspiration. They also have a variety of crafting booklets for those who can not print their crafty designs. I use a lot of their designs because I really enjoy crafting with them.

Have a great weekend, whatever you have planned for yourself.

Happy Crafting

Challenges
Creative Creases - fun folds
Creative Fingers - AG

CD Sunday Plus - AG  Top 3 Winner

TicTacToe - birthday/funfold/fowers

PaperFunDay - fun folds

AAABirthdays -flowers

Allys Angels - AG

Creative Aunts -AG

A Perfect time to craft - AG  Winner

Crafts Galore Encore - AG

Do All Creative -AG

Creative Inspirations -AG

Let's Craft and Create -AG

Decorated Mdf Storage Box

One of the things I really enjoy doing is decorating boxes, especially as they are really handy for keeping all your crafting accessories in afterwards and if you have any favourite rice or scrapbook papers that you have been sitting on because it pains you to use them, this is a good way to use and enjoy them afterwards too.

I gave my box a light coat of white gesso; it helps highlight the rice paper.  I usually buy my large boxes from The Works, as they are the ideal size for me, especially since I like to stack them. However, the quality of these boxes has been getting worse, and it is showing up in all their designs.

I chose these rice papers from Stamperia's Magic Forest collection, which I have had in my craft box for a while.  I particularly love this beautiful image, and I've also used the Earth Queen mould from this collection to make a shadow box frame, which I posted in an earlier blog post.

For the inside base of my box, I painted it with Finnabair Art Alchemy sparks paint in night shadow. 

I chose another rice paper from a different collection as a contrast for the inside lid of my box, and painted the edge of the lid in Miss Moneypenny from IndigoBlu.

In my box of clay and resin moulds, I found these, which I thought I could stick inside the lid after covering in wax.  I  already know what I will use my box for, so the moulds inside the lid will not compromise the contents, and as I like stacking my boxes, I try to keep outside decoration to a minimum.

I used Cadence Magic Satin Bond and seal not just to adhere the rice paper but as a top coat to seal my box.  It leaves a lovely, slightly satin finish to your projects.

My box has also been edged with gold wax

I don't keep many of the things I make, as I usually craft them for a specific occasion or occasionally on request. 

Boxes always come in handy, as you always tend to find or need something to store in them, and why not decorate them to personalise them to your choice. I just need to buy better quality boxes to decorate in the future.

Until I can get back to crafting again, I have the wildlife that come into my small wildlife friendly garden to make me smile. It's looking more on the 'wild side' this year as I haven't been able to do any maintenance in it.

When the neighbour's cat is shading itself behind the pond and waiting for all the small birds to appear, they don't all play nicely in the garden together

Thanks for stopping by today to view my little crafty space.

Have a great weekend, whatever you have planned for yourself.

Happy Crafting

Challenges

Try it on Tuesday - Make it Colourful

A Perfect time to craft - ATG

Mix it up -AG

The Outlaws -anything but a card

Crafts Galore - AG

Moving Along With the Times -Feminine

Creative Fingers -AG

Ally's Angels -AG

Rebel Girl Birthday Card

 I'm sharing a birthday card that I made a few months ago using a mix of these fantastic digi images by Polkadoodles.

Polkadoodles has a fantastic selection of stamps and digi stamps, and their MDF collection is also very inspiring for your crafty projects. 

One really useful tool I purchased from them was a magnetic die wand for picking up your fine metal dies; it certainly saves splitting your nails.

It's worth checking out their YouTube tutorials, which are always really handy when you are looking for crafty tips and inspiration.

I do love this collection of cute girls called Rebel Girls, which can be downloaded individually, and there is also a 'rebel messages with attitude pack'  that is brilliant to add to your cards and projects. They also have some great quirky quips, just perfect for teenage cards and are easy to resize too. 

For my card, I have just gone with the birthday quote. 

As you know, my colouring skills have never been that great, so I try to get away with the minimum. I've added glossy accents to her boots and sunglasses.

I have also used the Funky Flower Friend stamp along with the matching Colour & Create Stencil.  This is a brilliant little set. Not only do I love this duo flower design (there are a few of these online), but the neat little stencil fits perfectly over the flowers for you to ink through with your chosen inks, and in my case, I used distress oxides. There is even a small background stencil included.

I stamped and cut out the tiny daisy like flowers, which are so cute and make great fillers in your card projects. They have just had some glossy accent added to the centres to add some texture.

I created a background for my card using distress oxide inks and one of Durty Gurty's stencils.

I added a little shimmer to the flowers with a glimmer pen and glossy accents to the centre of the large flower to accentuate the pollen.

Just a few crystal gems to finish my card off.  In my craft journal, I've added a few of these Rebel Girls to the dividers too.

I've been quite organised so far this year, getting some cards made ahead of time and finishing a few projects, as I won't be able to craft for some time, and that goes for gardening too!

Although with this heatwave, I can't see much of that going on anyway. So much devastation has been caused globally with the rising temperatures as it is.

Thanks for stopping by today to view my little crafty space.

Have a great rest of your weekend, whatever you have planned for yourself.

Happy Crafting

Challenges

Polkadoodles -ATG   Top 2 favourites

CD Sunday Plus - ATG

Crafty Calendar - Happy Birthday

Colormyheartcolordare - Challenge 714 Colors

Festive Friday - 3 things - Pastel Colours, Flowers, Butterflies

Seize the Birthday - Square card - non-white base

Classic Designs AG