Woodware Design Team Challenge - Thank you

For this challenge I thought it would be a nice idea to make a set of mini cards. If you made a few you would always have a card at the ready.

I was looking through my box of punched shapes when I found the hearts and a trio of tortoises all beautifully coloured in. The light came on... it flickers at the moment! and this idea came up...

Simple and effective and a good way to use up these bits and pieces.

The tortoise comes from this set:

FRCL164 Sammy Snail and Friends

And the greeting comes from this set:

FRCL094 Thank You For...

I coloured them in using Tombow markers and I have added some Diamond Stickles and Glossy accents to the eye and little hearts. These tortoises are meant to be fun and funky!

The ribbon is from the Woodware gingham collection of ribbons and simply tied in a double knot.

The greeting set I have used is perfect for outside and inside wordings. It's about all the things you say thank you for in everyday life e.g thank you for listening or for your smile or for being you. I haven't used it for a while but it was perfect for this.


Pop along to the Woodware Blog to discover more ways to say thank you...

Elegant reindeer

This one of my all time Christmas favourite sets.
FRCL143 Winter Wonderland


It does not need much in the way of colouring. I like to stamp it in black and add light washes of a single colour as in this card where I have used teal. For the moon, grass and trees on the teal panel I have used a Starlight Black Brilliance inkpad. Its a dark silver or pewter gray. 


Yes... the cute rabbits come in the set. This set is all about building a scene so the elements vary in size and some are solid. There are greetings included in the set and I have used one on the main panel.

The main part of the card is a 14.5 cm square card but I have cut off a section from the front panel. Then I have made a smaller card for the main reindeer panel. That card is stuck to the inside of the card and it opens the opposite way. I think the photo just about shows the mechanics...


I have used 3mm 'Nailheads' for the corners and added one for the reindeer's nose to glow! The silver card adds to the wintery effect.


The trees could be used all year round and not just for Christmas...

Woodware Design Team Challenge - The richness of red

I think this is what the challenge meant?... Maybe it was supposed to have more red in it (lol) but still I enjoyed making this card. It was quick to make and I think the end result is quite effective.

I have used a wood mounted stamp so it's an early design;

FRW001 Noel Sampler

It's one of those stamps that doesn't really need any colouring in so it's ideal for a last minute Christmas card.

I stamped it using a 'Rocket Red Brilliance' inkpad. As I wanted the red border to match on the matting and layering I cut a piece of white card and sponged the edge with the same ink. It's a great tip if you cannot find a piece of matching card stock.

The paper is from the 'London' collection of Woodware papers. Of course there has to be some bling... red 'Nailheads' and look at that wonderful ribbon! For a final touch I glazed over some of the solid areas with a clear Sakura glaze pen.

This is the challenge for the week so pop along each day to the Woodware Blog to see other fab ideas.

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Look what I did with my tin

Apologies as I know some of you might have seen this tin before but I am snowed under with sample and magazine articles to complete. I think... well I know that Christmas day will be a rare day off in the coming weeks!


I have used elements from this set:
FRCL157 Time for a Cuppa
as well as 'Chippies', Nailheads and papers to decorate my tin. The silver Nailheads almost look as if they are part of the original tin. Being silver they are very versatile in that you can alter the colour to suit by using Peel off's pen, Sakura Identi Pens and alcohol inks.

 I have painted the 'Chippies' with acrylic paints. The paint goes on very well - no lifting or buckling!

I also like 'Brilliance' inks on the 'Chippies'. Woodware have two alphabet packs both containing two sheets with two complete aphabets.I have also used the 'Bracket' frame on the tin.

I have filled the tin with some individual special tea bags. So a perfect gift for a tea connoiseur!

Think outside the tin...

Pop along to the Woodware Blog for other ideas all this week using tins.

Girly tags

Two girly tags using one of my early clear set from my collection: FRCL034 Girlie Fun

I have stamped on pale lilac card with a 'Victorian Purple' Brilliance ink pad and used some of the ink watered down to add some shading. The highlights and stitching are added with a white pen. The Sakura Gelly Roll white pen is excellent for this and I do recommend it.

The papers are very early Magenta papers. The tag was cut using a Sizzix die. One of my all time favourite dies. I remember buying it in the US and being thrilled with it... how things have moved on since then!

Woodware Design team Challenge - Sketch

How about some bright colours to cheer us up during these short grey days!

Another card using some of my black Peel Off's:

Funky Flower Windows - 94091B

As usual I have not followed the sketch rigidly but adapted some of the elements. I sponged bands of Brilliance 'Pearlescent Thyme' ink at both ends of the panel for a softer look. My band in the middle goes behind the main image instead of in front.

The greeting is from this stamp set:

FRCL129 Garden Greetings

Instead of working with white card I have used Woodware pale green pearl card for the background behind the funky flower window. The Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens work really well on this card as it is coated and less absorbent. 


I have also used a green Stardust pen for some sections of the leaves to contrast with the Glaze pens. In the spaces between the flowers I have used a pale blue Glaze pen to create a faux mosaic effect. I prefer this to filling the spaces completely. I do love using the glaze pens with Peel off's as they work perfectly together.


Pop along to the Woodware Blog to see other ideas on how to use this sketch.

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 - Tags for gifts

A modest offering this week as I must complete cleaning and setting up our single stamps for the Spring release.

I've used a set from last year's Christmas release which is great to play with:

FRCL184 Christmas Rounds

I went for square tags and used up some scraps which is good as otherwise they just sit in a big box! 

As I was stamping the circles I thought these would also look good on the envelopes for my Christmas cards. There is even a wording 'Do not open until 25th of December'. 

Please pop along to Woodware blog to see other samples from the design team.

Snowdrops

I thought you might like to see another winter card. This card uses another element from this set;

FRCL101 A Winter's Day. 

It's like a tiny scene from the garden. There is also something magical about Snowdrops in the snow. This card was part of a group of cards I made to show how to use all the elements in this set. I posted another card just a couple of days ago using the 'Robin on the watering can' element.

I used 'Inktense' pencils for the colouring. As the name suggest you achieve deeper stronger colours then with normal watercolour pencils. I do enjoy working with them. You can purchase them in sets or individually.

Another Robin

This little robin come from this set;

FRCL101 A Winter's Day

I used the wordings from this set for my large Robin card on the previous post. I love the font. I wish my handwriting was as good as that!

This is another lovely traditional set. The images in the set are considerably smaller and would be good to practice colouring. 

You can actually use this element and the single robin and snowdrop in the set to create a larger scene.

I should have straightened the ribbon before taking the picture!

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Pick one colour and go with it

I decided to go for green which I thought no one else would choose but I was beaten to it! I've used my 'Robin on a boot' stamp which is one of my favourites from this Christmas release. It involved quite a bit of colouring but makes a substantial card.

The code for the stamp is;

FRS210 Robin on a Boot

I've stamped using the 'Pearlescent Ivy' Brilliance ink pad. It's a muted green as the ivy in the name implies. I chose pale green card for my base.What a difference this makes from stamping on white card with black ink!

To add the shading you could use ink from the pad and dilute it with water. Instead I used one of the Sakura Dark Stardust pens '734 Dark Jade Star'. It is a perfect match for the ink. You cannot tell from my picture but it leaves a shimmery effect as you paint. It also spreads more easily than the ink from the pad.I have added white highlights with a Sakura White Gelly roll pen.

For finishing touches I've used some 'Diamond' Stickles, ribbon and Mark Richards pale green dots.

The greetings come from another Robin set;

FRCL101 A winter's Day

Don't forget that you could use this stamp for a gardening greeting card. After all they do call the Robin the gardener's friend!

Pop along to the Woodware Blog to see other versions of the challenge by the design team.

Wine Buff- Three for the men!

This is the second card from the Workshop I mentioned in the previous post. This card is actually a money /voucher wallet. So you could give a voucher for some special wines inside the card to make it that bit more special! When I cut the card I left an extra piece on the back panel to create flap which I folded to make a pocket inside the card.

After square cards I do like tall skinny cards. It's quite a different shape to play with in reference to the layout.

You could also use this card for someone retiring or if someone you know is moving to France. 

The stamps used come from set FRCL107 Wine Buff

Go back to Wine Buff post one to read more detail on the colouring.

Wine Buff- Two for the men!

To continue with the theme of 'Wine Buff'. This is a card I made for a workshop at Dawn Bibby's establishment. It showcases a very different colour scheme using the FRCL130 Wine Buff set.

As with the card in the previous post I have started with a pale blue base card for my stamping. I've stuck to lime green and blues for my colour scheme. So basically I've kept to the colours in the background paper for colouring in. I like the fresh, crisp look of the card. A little raffia instead of ribbon is a bit more manly!

Wine Buff- One for the men!

As I was digging into one of my many sample boxes looking for spare samples for a new retailer I came across this card which I created for one of the Woodware supplements. 

I thought I would showcase it as not everyone sees the supplements and we all struggle for ideas for mens cards. 

I've used set FRCL130 Wine Buff to create the card.

As well as the three main images you have a border stamp with names of different wines and other wine related elements such as the cheese and corkscrew in the set

I don't always work on a white base card for my stamping. It's quite nice to use a base card that relates to your colour scheme which in this case is pale lilac. This means your background is instantly coloured in. I've combined it with a teal green, burgundy or claret red and brown. For the colouring in I've used 'Inktense' watercolour pencils and a white gel pen for highlights.

woodware Design Team Challenge - Traditional Christmas

Traditional Christmas to me means red, green and images that remind us of why we celebrate the season. So I went for greenery, candle and doves. The set I have used is a couple years old but still lovely to use.

FRCL104 Peace on Earth

I have use Tombow pens for the colouring but not directly to paper. I have scribble a little on a tile and picked up the colour with a wet brush. With this method your colours will always be more intense than if you use watercolour pencils or paints.

I've added a hint of glitter and Mark Richards gems to the corners.

The background is made up of strips of torn red card and a beautiful Magenta vellum. The thin red strip and the panel have secured the vellum to the card.

Why not pop over to the Woodware Blog to see other ideas from the design team

Tin too!

As promised yesterday another tin! This time I have used my 'Patchwork dove' [FRS107]. I love this stamp... keep coming back to use it over and over.


I think it would be a really nice idea to enclose a CD with a collection of photos for 2011 or a collection of Christmas photos. If you do not scrap very often [Like me] it would be a simpler option! You could add 2011 to the tin using stamps or die cuts.


Something to think about... 
If you didn't see the other tin pop back to yesterday's post.

Craftbarn Demo

A quick thank you to those who came to say hello at The Craftbarn Mini Fest on Sat 5th November. I had a really nice day. 


The theme was for gifts so for the occasion I had decorated some round tins using papers from the 'My Minds Eye Range' - one of the 6 by 6 paper pads. I did my paper piecing... you know how much I love this technique! I used one of my sets from the 'Patch a' range. In this case 'Patch a Bauble'
FRCL209 Patch a Bauble.
Another tin tomorrow...

Robins and a bird cage!

I was asked about using my birdcage and birds stamps for a Christmas card by Christina at 'A Maze of Memories' and this is what I came up with.
I use this set to stamp a background on craft card with a VersaMark ink pad:
FRCL174 Holly Swirls
The greeting is from this set:
FRCL207 Ribbon Banners
The birdcage and birds stamps:
FRS205 Ornate Birdcage
FRS206 Birds


The heart brooch is made from a large metal brad and some Mark Richards gems and metals. It's inspired by a good friend and co-designer for Woodware Jane Gill.

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Sketch

 Another sketch this week and I am first to showcase my version. I have not done Peel Off's for a while so I thought I would use some of my mushrooms:
93198B Mushrooms and Toadstools
If you look at the sketch layout over on the Woodware blog you will notice that instead of putting lots of layers in my matting I have chosen a wavy strip of craft card for the middle of the card and use faux stitching to make it stand out. 
The greeting comes from this set;
FRCL207 Ribbon Banners

A close up to show you my colouring. I used Copic markers and I have glazed over the colouring with my trusted Sakura Gelly Roll clear glaze pen. The glaze really brings out the colours of the Copic pens. This also shows how you can use your Copics pens with Peel Off's but they do need to be black ones.


I like to do a halo effect for the sky. I basically left a gap between the sky and the mushrooms. If you go right up and leave no gap you will probably end up having to fill the whole space to make it look right. It takes a bit of practice but is well worth learning.


The background paper is from the Oslo range of Woodware papers. One of my favourites!
Check out Woodware blog during this week to see other designs using this sketch.

Woodware Challenge - One Layer

This is by far the quickest card I have made this year!... just one layer of stamping and a few additions with a Sakura Gelly Roll white pen and 0.1 Micron black pen.
The butterfly come from this set:
FRCL155 Flutterby Butterflies
And the greeting is from this set:
FRCL200 All Occasion Bloom
I use a 'Blue Breeze' KaleidaColor ink pad  for the butterflies to get some colour variation. The antennae are easy to draw as you are going over the blue ones already there.
A little tip for getting the butterflies in formation in the middle of the card. Use a card slightly larger than you intend to end with. Start by stamping the butterfly in the top left corner. After stamping all the butterflies you can trim the left and bottom borders to match.


I would probably add some white ribbon. You know me a card is not complete without a bit of ribbon! I wasn't sure if it would be counted as another layer...


Pop along to the Woodware blog to see other variations on this challenge.

Woodware Challenge - Spooks and Treats

 We don't really celebrate Halloween in our house but for some reason or other I quite like playing with Halloween images and I like the colour palette associated with it... lime green, purple, orange and black.


My treat is a recipe for 'Witches' Halloween Brew' ... quite nasty really but I had fun putting it together!
I've combined two sets to make the card:
FRCL203 Spooky Tots
FRCL137 Treat or Trick

I have highlighted my colouring using a white Sakura  Gelly Roll pen and lots of Diamond Stickles glitter glue. I used the glitter glue in the background to create webs.


I'm really into Mark Richards 'Candy Bonbon'. That's the green and orange dots you can see here and there on the card. They have very fine glitter inside them so they sparkle and the colours are perfect for Halloween.

Here is a close up of the recipe... please don't try it at home!!!


I have grunged all the edges of the panels and stripy paper with black ink but used some lime green ink on the recipe card.


Where do the spiders come from? no not my garden... a very cheap purchase from my local Asda! I say cheap as the glitter is not very secure. When I saw them I had to have them...




Hope you have enjoyed my version of the Woodware challenge. Pop along to the Woodware blog to see other variations.

Another welly Christmas

Back again with another take on the Christmas welly!! I did have a good play last week...


I found this cute die cut teddy in my stash. It's another 'Quickcutz' die from a while back. I've used another 6 by 6 pad for the paper piecing this time from 'My Minds Eye'.
I had great fun coming up with the computer generated welly greetings.


I would love to hear what you have done with your welly stamp!

It's a welly Christmas!

I did a demo at 'Samuel Taylors' in Leeds on the 8th of October. Sue Hobbs who invited me to demo had sent me some pics of her Christmas welly. I was well impressed! so... here is my take on a Christmas welly.
I really enjoyed doing this card. Christina from 'A Maze of Memories' had given me a lovely 'Echo Park' Christmas 6 by 6 pad to play with so I had to play!!
I dug out some very old 'Quickcutz' dies for the parcels and the holly corners are made from a Martha Stewart punch and some 3mm Nailheads.
I used some larger red Nailheads to accessorise the welly. The greeting is computer generated.
What fun [lol]....

Teardrop Christmas - Orange

Another variation on the teardrop theme. This time I've used the 'Desert Heat' Kaleidacolor ink pad for stamping.


The background paper is from the 6 by 6 Basic Grey paper pad 'Nordic'.
This time I've used 'Candy Bonbon' in orange for the corners of the bauble panel.


If you want to see the other colour variations pop on to my post for yesterday and the day before.

Sorry!

For those of you now searching for the 'Evergreen' Kaleidacolor ink pad I do apologise it is actually called 'Fresh Greens'. Thank you for pointing it out to me!!!

Teardrop Christmas - Green

Last Saturday I had a lovely day at A Maze of Memories. This lovely shop is situated just outside the village of Long Crendon [lovely village also]. I did a demo in the morning and a Masterclass in the afternoon. 


I caught up with lots of very friendly and keen crafters. Christina had done a super job getting the kits ready and of course there was lots of lovely cakes!


I prepared this sample for the morning demo as Christina had asked me to use the set from which this stamp comes from. So after showing you a blue version I thought I would show you a green version stamped with the 'Fresh Greens' Kaleidacolor ink pad. I've used a gold Sakura 'Metallic' pen to add the tiny dots between the teardrops and for washed gold highlight on some of the teardrops. Another variation tomorrow...

Woodware Challenge - Blue Christmas

 This week's challenge was just perfect for me as I love the colour blue. I'm a blue and silver fan rather than blue and gold. Blue is a cool colour so it goes well with cool silver.
For the two cards featured in this posting I have used elements from my set:
FRCL204 Teardrop Christmas


In the set you have two trees, a bauble, star, sparkle and two greetings.


As a set it's quite a departure for me as it's a solid design and as most of you know I love colouring in! However this stamp lends itself really well to quick cards and what I call instant stamping.

I have use a Kaleidacolor ink pad for the stamping. This particular ink pad is called 'Blue Breeze' and is made up of graded blues from light to dark. If you have never used one before it is carries die based inks and is very cleverly constructed to avoid the colours mixing in storage. The ink is also virtually  waterproof.


I used the fade out technique for the stamping which involves continuous stamping without re-inking the stamp. There is no masking involved. You might need to huff on the stamp before the third print to get the most of the ink left on the block.

Finally to decorate and complete the cards I used Mark Richards silver 3mm Metals and Blue 5mm Nailheads.
Put your metals on the teardrops before you add the Diamond Stickles glitter glue.


The 'Metals' come on a continuous  sticky strip so they are very easy to pick up and place to make a hanging string for the bauble.


For the greetings on both cards I have used one of Jane Gill's set called:
JGCL551 Christmas Verses

If you have enjoyed these cards why not pop along to the Woodware blog to see more ideas and inspiration from my fellow designers.

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Look what I did with my flock

 What a challenge!!.... I'm not a big flock person... however when I got into it I enjoyed it and it made me realise that I should make more use of my flock!
I decided to use my new Ted set which is FRCL199 Love You Ted.


I decided to flock the scalloped circle. So I applied a piece of double sided sticky paper to some black card and punched the scalloped circle [3"1/2 punch]. I then removed the backing and generously spread black flock all over it. It worked really well.

Ted was stamped on a 3" circle and I added further stamped hearts. I used brown flock on the bear. I did colour him first. I didn't smother him with flock as I did not want to loose the detail on his face. He looks kind of threadbare which make him even cuter! I used the Sakura Quickie Glue pen for this stage of the flocking and it worked really well.
I've used some of our new papers at Woodware. This sheet comes from the London Collection and is covered with lovely tiny heart flowers.
All the words come from the same set so plenty to play with!


Pop along to the Woodware Blog to see other flocked creations!

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.

Woodware Design team Challenge - Something for the boys

This is another older design from my collection and another favourite as I drew the design around the time my son was trying to learn how to skateboard. It's a woodmounted stamp:
FRW006 Skateboard Dude


For the greetings I have used words out of these two sets:
FRCL079 Male Relatives
FRCL080 Mixed Greetings


I'm not sure if the wording is up to date as it probably should have the words sick and bad on there!!

I have used paper piecing for the clothes and skateboard. The face, hands and wheels are coloured in. I have added some highlights with my Sakura clear glaze pen.


I used quite muted colours as boys do not always go for bright ones... I used stripy paper for his trousers which I thought was fun!


I've used a Woodware mini punch for the star and added some Nailheads to the corners of the panel.






Why not pop along to the Woodware Blog this week to see what other creations my team mates have put together.