Christmas samples.... yes in June Night Before Christmas

It's that time of year in the crafting world where believe it or not we start thinking about Christmas cards !! As part of Tattered Lace's 2nd Christmas launch this year I'm sharing my DT samples for their next Christmas collection this year called " The Night Before Christmas."

This collection launches on Create & Craft TV on 

I had the following samples to work with:-  Night Before Christmas Collection - 3D Decoupage Winter Holly,  A Star is in the Sky 1 & 2, Unity Snowman, 3D Decoupage Snow Berries, with Snowflake Flexi  Frames dies.

3D Decoupage Winter Holly

Also using part of the Tattered Lace Tall Stepper die for the card base. The Holly berries were printed onto glossy cardstock using their matching charisma downloadable for free direct from the Tattered Lace Website under downloads. I also used some sprigs of the white winter berries.

Instead of using the charisma papers I printed the holly onto plain colour core card stock, adding a little glossy accent to the berries on my circle card.

The Christmas sentiment is from one of the Dreamees Christmas stamp sets.

For my open hymn book card I used the Tattered Lace Notebook die with the holly dies which were printed onto bright white smooth cardstock.  I changed the colour a little in My Craft Studio Elite for a more vintage look.  This time adding the red berries which were printed onto glossy card and papers from the free Tattered Lace downloads / My Craft Studio.

The hymn book papers were also a free download sourced online with a plain embossed layer which was one of Tattered Lace's older embossing folders.

Next we have the Unity Snowman along with the Snowflake Flexi  Frames for my shaker card.

The papers were free downloads from My Craft Studio.

For a slightly different look, I used the outer unity die to cut an aperture in my topper. I intended it to be a snowball but thought a patterned snowflake paper would look better.  Also using the red berry dies. The card shape is from the Tattered Lace Fine Filament Portifino die set.  Christmas backing papers by the Dreamees.

I wanted a lot of dimension on the topper but didnt want to see a lot of foam tape so started to look around for something suitable to use. I came across some white pom pom brading from a Gingerbread Christmas Hobby House collection that I had. Hobby House do some amazing embellishments. I thought they would be perfect as they resembled little snowballs.... I have these strange ideas.... a lot!

Next I went for a slider card using backing papers from My Craft Studio again and adding some stickles in frosted lace for a more opaque snowy finish.

The Unity Snowman comes with a jacket, but I looked at it and thought penguins, so I gave them some googly eyes to give them a little more personality.  Papers again from My Craft Studio and stole a snowman's scarf for one of the penguins. The red berries die just gives the card a nice frame around my window card with more frosted lace on the acetate windows.

Well, now I'm on a role, not quite sure where this was taking me but going with the idea of changing the jacket into penguins, for a quirky Christmas card, again using My Craft Studio papers. I have also used the flexi frames, white berries and the flowers were from the Rainy Days Storybook die set.

The flowers have been die cut from white vellum and an accent of shimmer from my spectrum noir sparkle clear overlay pen (use this pen all the time). I embossed the top part of the card base with a  Tattered Lace Christmasy embossing folder.

Moving on to the A Star is in the Sky 1 - which is the nativity scene set. Here I have used it as a silhouette on black card stock.

I used the charisma with this die set for a Christmas decoration. I found this hanging lightbulb in a craft shop. Adding some natural dried fibres - sisal which I thought added to the straw effect for a nativity scene. I think this is widely available in craft shops, The Works and the Dreamees also stock it.

Using the A Star is in the Sky 2 die set - Church.   I incorporated it with set 1 in my easel card

This set comes with nested church dies and this lovely detailed panel that you can die cut and use mirri card behind like I have or used the matching charisma for a stained glass window effect. I have used the white berries and a lacy panel from the tall stepper card set.

I have used a colour core textured linen cream card stock for the card base.

Inside the easel I created a nativity scene using the decoupage A Star is in the Sky 1 with the charisma and backing papers from the Tattered Lace downloads.

I created a little hinge on my card to accommodate the decoupage.

I also added some sisal to the base for card for some texture for straw and a wooden star above baby Jesus.

To show you the other way to use this A Star is in the Sky 2 die set I have used the rest of the dies to make a church shaped card. I have used the matching charisma which has been printed on vellum, so the light catches the panel like a stained glass window. Great card shape for a wedding card too.

Finally, another shaped card with an idea I had in my head. I used the nativity backing papers from the Tattered Lace downloads page and printed them onto acetate.

Then I matched them up and stuck them to a set I had printed onto paper, before backing them onto mirri card, Now I had little stained glass windows. When I tried them on just the acetate, I lost the details of the image on the dark card.

I used the A Star is in the Sky 2 die as the main topper with the matching charismas printed onto bright white 110gsm printing paper and made another set to cut up for a little stained glass nativity.

Some early Christmas inspiration for you 

Happy Crafting!

Music lovers birthday card

This months challenge over on Let's Craft and Create blog is   "you're the man"

So with that in mind, my DT card that I am sharing is a music oriented one.

 Sometimes male cards can be challenging to make if you are looking for something a little different, so a music themed card covers male, female and teenagers.

I have used my Visible Image stamps which work perfectly for this style of card onto a Tim Holtz distress oxide background.

For the background, I used Tim Holtz distress oxides in candied apple, salty ocean, peacock feathers, wild honey and twisted citron.

I tend to use two colours at a time on a craft mat, spritz a little water to bring out the chalky colour in the inks and add a few drops of glycerine which helps the inks blend together. Although these inks layer up brilliantly, I would recommend that you dry each layer first before adding more colour, this will lessen the risk of "muddying" the colours.

I tend to do all my backgrounds at the same time and each one is always different. If you work on a larger piece of card, you can cut it down to your desired size catching the colourway you want.

The largest stamp from the Visible Image Ripple Effect background stamp set was heat embossed using cosmic shimmer metallic copper embossing powder on both sides of the card to give the illusion of sound waves. Then I used the Visible Image Music on World off stamp set to form the rest of my card.

I used a combination of stamping and heat embossing with black versafine ink and embossing powder for some more texture and some glossy accent on the music notes.

I do love Visible Image stamps.  They have a very unique style about them and are extremely versatile as well as being strong and very detailed.

Have a look at the inspiration provided by the rest of the design team on Let's Craft and Create Blog this month and the entries for this months challenge.  There is a prize for the winning entry.

Happy Crafting

Vintage - monochrome card

Sharing my DT card for the challenge over on Daisy Chains Blog Challenge this month with the theme  "monochrome."
I decided to make a vintage style card in sepia tones using a Visible Image stamp set -  Capture the Moment with rich cocoa memento ink.

Using some backing papers from my stash and a square stitched die I teamed these up with a negative stamp on some acetate from Inkilicious

.

I finished my card off with some vintage photo toppers.

Have a look at the rest of the design teams inspiration for this month over on Daisy Chains as well as the blog entries.

Happy Crafting

Tattered Lace Raspberry Rose DT samples

Sharing my DT samples from the Tattered Lace Raspberry Rose collection launching on Create & Craft TV tomorrow at 8am.

I had the following flower dies to work with:- Climbing Rose, 3D Decoupage Gardenia Diamond & 3D Decoupage Magnolia Diamond. 

3D Decoupage Gardenia Diamond

These dies have so much detail and have been printed onto bright white smooth 190gsm card using the matching charisma papers downloadable for free from the Tattered Lace website. Also using the backing papers from the collection. The little bumble bee is also part of this collection.

Using both the diamond frames, which have been snipped into to join them up

I have used the Tattered Lace Fine Filament Portifino die set and added an acetate panel to the front of the card.

The large square lacy edged die also makes a great insert for the card. The edges of the petals have been inked to add a little depth.

This time I have just used the flowers to make a flower ring without the diamond frame and used the Tattered Lace Filigree Lace die set.

The Tattered Lace Climbing Rose die, such a pretty rose with so much detail. used with the tall stepper die set from the Tattered Lace Pressed Rose collection and the Diamond Fresco Frame, along with the backing papers from the collection.

Using the charisma papers in My Craft Studio Elite I changed the colours of the roses to create a pale blue, more vintage pink and a lavender rose with coordinating ribbons and some of those bumble bees on acetate to look like they are hovering above my open book card. I used the Tattered Lace Notebook die with some of the papers from the collection and a pink leather look paper from a previous download.

Using the oval Foundation Nesting dies with some of the papers on a satin silver grey cardstock.

The 3D Decoupage Gardenia Diamond die has been printed onto glossy card and decoupaged onto  the diamond aperture. The aperture has an apple green vellum panel and I have used the diamond Foundation nesting dies along with magnolia backing papers from the collection.

A handbag card using the Tattered Lace Dimensional Handbag die set. The magnolias have been printed onto cream velour cardstock for a felt feel to them and decoupaged before adding a little sparkle using a spectrum noir sparkle clear overlay pen. I have used Kraft card for a more rustic look and some Kanban colour core embossed pattened card from my crafty stash.

These are just a few dies from the collection that I had the pleasure to work with and hope you have liked my inspiration from the collection.

Happy Crafting