Another baby card

Happy Sunday everyone. Hope you have a nice day planned. I have a day at my desk , some of it making samples for an upcoming demo in February and some of it work! Never mind! Yesterday I had a day of indulgence as I went to the Creative Stitch and Craft Show at Sandon Park with a friend. Topped up with some essentials like double sided tape and card for matting and a few treats too, some new stamps I didn't know I needed but I did (you know the feeling) and a couple of Memory Box dies I had been hankering after. Too much temptation and not enough money as always, but I suppose learning some restraint is good for the soul!

Anyway here is my card for today! Another baby card which couldn't be more different from my last! This one much simpler and I was so pleased with it I made two! The first one a blue version was made to celebrate the arrival of my lovely crafty friend Lesley's grandson Charlie. I haven't met her daughter Jenna and her husband, but we all like to celebrate the joys of our lives with each other so I wanted to send them a card.

I stamped this Sugar Nellie Little Cotton Rabbit image onto watercolour paper. Now I know I often mention my love of rabbits and it was while I was surfing for rabbit related blogs I came across the blog of Julie Williams, the most talented knitter you can imagine. Julie knits these most perfect cotton rabbits and I can only dream of getting my mitts on one, because they are in such incredible demand she has to set up a lottery to choose the people who can buy them. So I have to satisfy my yearnings with a peek at Julie's lovely blog from time to time which you can find here! Julie knits as a way to unwind a little (if you will pardon the pun) from the pressures of being mum to a little boy with autism. She also supplies hand knitted gorgeousness to a number of shops. So I was delighted to find Sugar Nellie had made some of Julie's little rabbits into rubber stamps. Sadly I think these may now have been retired.

Anyway back to the card. I coloured the image with Coloursoft pencils and then cut it out and mounted it onto a kraft card blank. I added a sentiment from an unknown stamp, which I bought unmounted from E Bay. However, I think I have since see a Hero Arts version which is very similar. It is an image of a vintage pram and these are just the words from it. Obviously, the version I made for Charlie's arrival was in blue, while this was shades of pink.

Elaine x

Is it springing?

Nature seems to have got the idea it is spring round here which is a little crazy. There are primroses and daffodils in flower, catkins are bursting forth, although the snowdrops seem a little reluctant. I even saw a magnolia tree in flower at New Year and the birds are singing their heads off.

We have had some amazing sunsets and with the last few clear nights it has been light when I have left work which is heartening. This morning though, we had the most incredible frost. It lifted quickly and I only got a couple of pics of these frosty topped teasels when I dashed outside in my slippers with the camera!! I love teasels they are so architectural.

To celebrate the hope of spring at least here is a card I made quite a while ago with some lovely stamps from Chocolate Baroque. Anyone who knows me well knows I adore rabbits, we have had some very special pet buns, but every year we manage to get one or two wild ones to hand feed from us in the garden which feels very special.

I used a little wooden heart and some lovely paper daises to add a little extra. I shaded using my favourite Adirondacks. Sorry if I have shared this one before.

Looking forward to spring really springing!

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Elaine x

A baby card

This is a card I made for a friend that had a baby back in October. This is not my normal style, but suited the recipient very well and was really appreciated.

This is another 8 x 8 easel card. The image is a Mo Manning digi stamp called Baby Flora I think, coloured with Promarkers. The main papers are DCWV Sweetness collection. I decorated with a range of paper flowers, punched butterflies and leaves, delicate lace, pink ribbon and gems. I computer generated the baby's name and date of birth. 

Elaine

Happy New Year

It's the last day of my holiday from work. Like lots of us I want to try and get fitter this year, I need to lose weight and get more exercise! So I started today as I mean to go on and we went for a walk. Next week I am starting a zumba class which should be fun!

I snapped this pic with my phone, so I was quite pleased how nicely it came out!

2011 was a horrid year for us, I am so hoping this one will be better. 

Wishing you and yours a great year ahead.

Elaine

Bee boxes

Just before Christmas, I shared a canvas I made as a DT project for Chocolate Baroque with the gorgeous honey bee plate. Here is another project I made with the same set, three tiny boxes.

I used three graduated sized papier mache boxes which I pained with acrylic paint. I stamped the bee and honeycomb design onto tissue paper with Stazon and added this to the box lids with Mod Podge. Once dry, I added Distress Ink watercolouring to add depth to the cells of the honeycomb and used a white pearlescent reinker to paint the bee wings. I added gold microbeads to the stripes on the bee bodies, using pva to stick them in place. When these were dry I added a glossy accents layer on the tops of the boxes.

These boxes are tiny, but would be nice for gifts of jewellery or other little treasures. 

Do check out these great stamps here.

Elaine x

It's beginning to look a lot like ...............................

In our house Christmas decorating gets left until the last minute as I use quite a lot of evergreens and if I put it up too soon, it is brown and crispy in no time! So yesterday and today I have been doing all my last minute prep and cooking and generally getting in the festive mood.

I've been cooking to Christmas CDs, watching lovely Nigel Slater on the TV, giving myself a break watching The Polar Express and doing the last minute decoration on our Christmas Cake.

This isn't a traditional Christmas cake as I don't like the strong taste, this is a fat and added sugar free Molly Cake.You can find the basic recipe here, mine is an adaptation.  I use golden raisins, dried apricots, glace cherries, crystallised ginger, pineapple, mango and orange peel and walnuts. All mixed together with a paste made from dates, ground almonds and orange juice. I topped off the cake with toasted marzipan and more fruit.

Finally to finish, a Christmas card I made for my special crafty friend Judith.  Not my usual style, but I fancied trying a Christmassy version of what I call the Magnolia style. I loved these rich colours. This is an 8 inch square easel card, the image is from Mo Manning and the sentiment is a Waltzing Mouse stamp.

Whatever you are doing for Christmas I hope you have a happy one with your loved ones. We have a quiet day planned tomorrow, with a couple of good films, books and our feet up. It has been a very hectic time lately, and I can't wait!

Elaine x

Honey Bee Canvas

Glenda has launched some gorgeous stamps over at Chocolate Baroque this week. One sheet honey bee is right up my street. I love bees and like to watch them at their work in my garden.

This is one of my favourite creations with these stamps. I used an 8 x 8 canvas which I covered on various shades of orange, buttermilk and yellow acrylic paints. I cut a piece of tissue paper larger enough to cover the canvas and stamped all over it using black Stazon. I stuck this to the canvas using Mod Podge and covered the whole thing with more Mod Podge. I added colour by watercolouring with Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks. I added more colour by sponging at the edge.I highlighted the small bee wings with a white pen. I then stamped lots of the large bees on white card and coloured the bodies with a marker. I covered the bodies with glossy accents. I made wings by stamping them into angelina fibre and ironing it into shape. I stuck these on around on the canvas with silicone glue. Finally I added the words in a chipboard bookplate which I stuck on after adding honey coloured brads.

Thanks for flying by - hope your Christmas preparations are on track.

Elaine x