Patch Snowman

It's amazing how using a different colour scheme changes a stamp. After showing you my pastel snowman I thought I would show you a more traditional colour scheme. Don't you just love the bubbles [Glitter Domes] coming out of his pipe!

Valentine Card

I made this card for one of the magazines last year. I love the simplicity of the tags and the three strips of  paper for a background. Less is more as they say.


It's the same set that I have used for the Woodware Challenge card that will be posted this Friday so pop back to see how different the two cards are colour wise.


It is such a versatile set. I used the colours of the papers to guide my colouring. I had just started to use Copic pens at the time. My handmade colour chart helped me select the right pens for the job.

Down on the farm...

This is a card I made when I was fixated on easel cards! Still like to make them but at that time all I wanted to do was easel cards. 

I've used one of my 'Tots' sets:

FRCL167 Garden tots

For the colouring I've used my Copic pens and a Sakura Gelly Roll white pen for the highlights.

I generated the wording on the computer as I do not have a stamp with those words! I print it on the same card as I'm using for the card itself so that it co-ordinates.

All the borders are created with Martha Stewart punches: grass, farm animals and fence. The farm yard animal punch was a bit of a luxury buy as I mainly wanted it because it goes so well with this stamp set. I have used the grass and fence borders a lot.

All the elements such as the bush and chickens are in the set. The 'tot' can be a farmer or gardener and the little girl with the watering can is very sweet. I did add the birds with a fine line Sakura Micron pen.

This sort of card brings a smile to your face!

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Sketch

 This week's challenge was another sketch. You can see the actual sketch layout over on the Woodware Blog. My version has changed the layout of the background slightly. It didn't help that the main panel should have been the other way up!! .... but still I was really pleased with the outcome. 


I like this set as it's a complete change from all the other images that are popular at the moment. There are nice elements to play with to create borders and backgrounds.

 FRCL158 African Holiday is the name of the set I have used.


The gated card meant that I cut through the middle of the background panel before  sticking the sections on the card. I'm always into square cards but at the moment it's gated square cards.


I've chosen quite a bright colour scheme that reflects the beautiful african textiles you see in programs about Africa. These are also colours found in the African national flags.

I've stamped using the Brilliance Coffee Bean inkpad. I started off on white card and used a black inkpad and the effect was just not in keeping with the African theme.


It's not easy to see but I have used my clear Sakura glaze pen to highlight some of the colouring. 


I used a green Sakura Identi pen to colour over some gold 3mm Metals.


I opted for raffia instead of ribbon again to keep to the African theme


If you enjoyed my take on this week's sketch why not pop over to the Woodware blog to see other versions of the sketch.

Master Builder

Thought I would show you what I built on Saturday afternoon![and evening].


I did say this blog would be purely for cards but I was so pleased with the results of my hard labour... that I had to share with fellow pen lovers.


You need two A1 sheets of 5 mm foam board approximately [some spare for any mistakes], good strong PVA, craft knife with a nice sharp blade and a long ruler.


Each cubby hole is about 4" by 4" and 15 cm deep. Don't ask me why I mix inches and cms when I work... it just gives a bigger range of measurements... I think!


I cannot take credit for the idea as I saw and spoke to Alexandra Kamann at The Glitter Pot and she had built one. So I had to give it a go. I was fed up with the plastic boxes. In the USA you can get units similar to this... well I didn't want to pay the money to ship + taxes either... so here you are. Please don't count the pens!! Watch out for a ribbon reel holder....