3 Step Stamping Colour Combinations - The Sweet Life

I recently purchased a floral stamp set that requires 3 step stamping, which is a new concept to me, mainly because it requires a degree of precision and colour co-ordination, both of which come fleetingly to me.

One evening I decided to sit and stamp as many colour combinations I could think of, now please bear in mind that this decision may or may not* have come about after drinking a glass of wine.
*it did, and it was two glasses.

I advise you of this because, some, if not all of the samples are stamped squiffily, I like to think that the jaunty angles add 'movement' to the piece and are in no way a reflection of my poor workmanship, and some of the colour combinations are examples of my journey into colour theory. Fine, have it your way, I am guilty of being drunk in charge of an acrylic block.

For your viewing pleasure I present the result of that evening's 'work'

Whilst there are a few misses my favourites are all on the third row down and the dark green rose. Of course there are hundreds of other colour combinations and I mainly explored the monochromatic side but I look forward to experimenting more and hope to buy some more stamp sets which require more than one level of stamping.

I also managed to get around to making a card. The background is also an example of 3 step stamping and I was pretty pleased with how it came out (it was my first attempt) and the rose just added the perfect finishing touch, it's one of my favourites in a long while and no doubt will be made again and again in different colour combinations :)

Thanks for looking,
Ang x

Taking Inspiration #1

Do you use Pinterest? I am an avid pinner, however after I have pinned something I don't often return to it, well, except for recipes. I see so many pretty pictures that I add to my inspiration boards and never get around to using them as actual inspiration. With that in mind I have decided to try using different pictures from these boards more when I am crafting in the form of a 'taking inspiration' challenge.

Here is my first prompt;

Source: arosynote.blogspot.co.uk via Angela on Pinterest

First of all I loved the soft pretty colours, the delicate layers of the ranunculus flowers and the pale blue wash on the cup, I also about the stamps I have that I could use to mimic the pattern on the cup.

I pleated some crepe tissue paper by hand and then dyed it with various different shades of pink inks and sprays. I stamped the background using PTI Daydreamer for the circles and a small floral flourish from Peace, Love & Joy. Unfortunately I should have stamped off the paper on the top of the card to make it look more grounded but I am happy to add another card to the almost always empty birthday section in my card holder.

I then loosely used the following picture for the next card;

Source: weheartit.com via Angela on Pinterest

 

I actually only made this to try out my new Rosie Posie stamps from Papertrey Ink, speaking of which I received this package of goodies a couple of months ago...

 

I am ashamed to say that I haven't used half of this stuff yet and I'm already preparing to put together another order for my birthday next week! I need to schedule myself in for some crafty time so I can give these babies a real workout!

Thanks for reading,
Ang x

Easter Catch Up!

Ok, I know, I know, Easter was a while ago and I am only just getting round to posting this!

First up is this bee-ee-ay-utiful card from the very talented Nat over at Kool Kitty Musings, isn't it gorgeous? My favourite part is the sweet little nest with the darling blue eggs, just perfect!

I saw these pretty decorated egg cartons on pinterest and it sparked my imagination

Source: dolliesdaughter.typepad.com via Angela on Pinterest

Source: uk.images.search.yahoo.com via Angela on Pinterest

Source: dolliesdaughter.typepad.com via Angela on Pinterest

Source: uk.images.search.yahoo.com via Angela on Pinterest

Here is my version that I sent to the lovely Nat.

 

When I saw these cute chocolate eggs for sale on the run up to Easter I knew what I wanted to do with the boxes. Egg 'n' Spoon from Cadburys, just a teensy bit yummy!

I tried spray painting one of the boxes but the smell was horrendous so I covered the second box in a layer of gesso then 2 coats of white acrylic paint.

I then filled each cup with little treats and goodies. I am so pleased with how it turned out, I have one more box left and I can't wait to make another!

Thank so much for reading, have a great week!

Ang x

PS - How did I forget to post THIS Easter fail?

At the time it all seemed like such a good idea

• ingeniously (and I use that in the loosest possible sense) using passé fibers to create a nest? Check.
• adding hand coloured little feathers? Check.
• badly coloured eggs? Yup.
• poorly executed ribbon banner? Uh huh.

I was quite proud of it, until I looked at the photo and all I saw was a tangled mess of *cough whisper* pubic hair. Poor ink choices, colouring, and the banner? Nope, sometimes you just have to learn a lesson and this lesson was 'throw it in the bin'!

PPS - I also give up on trying to fix the fonts and font colours on this post.

Feelin' Green

Green is one of my favourite colours and I love any reason to go with a monochromatic green scheme and last week I had two, a friend's engagement and the Moxie Fab World Ombre Challenge!

Here is the card that I came up with;

One look that I really like is pleated crepe paper, unfortunately I neither own the aforementioned product nor own it in several different shades of green, so I decided to make my own. Usually you can make it with double sided tape, however I end up all fingers and thumbs and it does not pleat right, I like a nice old fashioned box pleat.

I took a long strip of white crepe paper, approximately 1 1/4/" wide and used a long running stitch by hand to tack the pleats in place. I then coloured 5 pleated lengths using promarkers (colours used: Lime Zest, Meadow Green, Leaf Green, Grass and Forest Green). I adhered the strips to a panel of card and mounted it on a card base, I finished the pleats off with some gems in co-ordinating colours.

I did not have any co-ordinating ribbon so I coloured some 12mm Faux Silk Ribbon with a Lime Zest promarker. I added a little silver charm and a small sentiment label, with the decoration stamped in 3 different ink shades.

 I had a little bit of fun with the envelope too!

As I had some ribbon left over I thought I would make a litle seal for the envelope.

Phew, all done, I must admit I am a slow cardmaker and this took me a couple of days, I am so pleased my friend liked it and of course, it matched her beautiful peridot engagement ring. I have just realised I should have posted this yesterday on St Patrick's Day!

I also had some fun yesterday discovering my card from this post in Papercraft Inspirations :) and if the magazine has brought you here, hello, thanks for visiting!

 

Don't have Papercraft Inspirations in your area? Would you like to win a set of this month's Country Companions stamps and mini papers? (yes, I bought 2 copies) Just enter a comment to win, a winner will be chosen on the 31st of March.

 

Have a great week,

 

Ang x

 

Edited to add: Here is a very poor quality pic of the stamps and papers!

 

Love This>Written On Ribbon.

I am a new customer to Wplus9, my first purchase was the fabulous Folk Art Florals which I adore and I have just purchased the gorgeous Written on Ribbon stamp set and die and could not wait to combine the two together, these really are wonderful stamps.

Here are two cards made with the two sets;

 

I think the ribbon banner and die cut have a truly classic feel, and, I would love to try and use it to recreate a more 'traditional' tattoo art style, I also think it will work perfectly on male cards. It is so versatile that I can't wait to try some more styles when I next have time to craft.

 

I haven't even begun to use all of the images in Folk Art Florals, I have to say that this card is one of my favourite inspiration pieces for this set.

 

Source: stampawaywithme.blogspot.co.uk via Angela on Pinterest

Do you have any favourite cards made with this set? Be sure to share them in the comments :)

Happy Mother's Day

They can go by many different titles in their life, nursemaid, chef, teacher, taxi driver, cleaner, supporter, friend, but, most commonly known as Mum.

It's that time of year where we celebrate those wonderful women who brought us into this world, or to give thanks to those special women in your life who have been there for you whenever you have needed them.

Mother's Day is celebrated in the UK and Ireland on Sunday March the 10th. Originally Mothering Sunday had it's roots in the church, however by the mid 1930's the custom had largely declined in the UK and Europe. During WWII US soldiers re-introduced the holiday to the UK and by the 1950's it had a resurgence of popularity and was celebrated on the fourth Sunday during Lent to bring it in line with the centuries old tradition of Mothering Sunday.

In the USA, Canada, Australia and in many other countries Mother's Day is celebrated on May 12th 2013. If you are interested in learning more, why not have a look here.

Without further ado, here are the cards I have created for those special women.

This card for my Mum was created in part for a challenge earlier this year, for more details, hop on over to the original blog post here. Along with the card I also made this pretty pouch to contain it;

 

 

The next two cards are newer creations.

 

This one is for my Nanna using Papertrey Ink's Spring Friendship Fillers and coloured with Promarkers.

 

This is for my Mother In Law using Papertrey Ink Year of Flowers Morning Glories, I stamped them on vellum and lightly coloured them with Promarkers, when the card is opened for display it gives a subtle stained glass effect.

I had best be off, I need to find that perfect present to go with the cards!

Take care
Ang x

Sharing My Excitement

You will have to excuse me, I have to share some news that was very exciting for me, my first ever published card in one of my favourite magazines!

 

I made this card last August for a Papercrafts Magazine publishing call and was so happy to receive an email telling me that it was accepted, it's been so hard to keep the news under my hat!

 

I have never submitted a card for a call before, mainly because I didn't believe in myself enough to do so, so many thoughts of the other fantastic card makers out there and how could I compete? well, I am proof that if you never enter you will never know!

 

And here is the magazine which will be kept for posterity..

 

 

And here is another card that I submitted that wasn't picked up

 

 

Thank you for letting me share my excitement!

 

Ang x x

Hero Arts Love and Lace Challenge

Here are my entries for the Hero Arts Love and Lace challenge

This is my love entry;

This is the result of my burgeoining love affair with neon. I really covet the Hero Arts Neon Inks, they shall be mine one day! I stamped the heart using the wood block Hero Arts Heart Lace K5236 and pink embossing powder, I then cut around the heart leaving a small piece attached at the top at the bottom so I could fold the heart inwards to show the neon paper underneath, I then used foam pads to add dimension and added a black heart in the centre. The sentiment was stamped with Made with Love CL491.

Here is my lace entry;

I used Doily Circle CGI68 and embossed it with clear embossing powder and spritzed over the top with spray ink. I liked the way the pink looked with the turquoise so I mounted it on a pink card base and added some pink pearls and some twine. The sentiment is from CL270 Sky's the Limit.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Ang

 

CAS-ual Fridays CFC90

In the spirit of entering more challenges I thought I would have a go at entering CAS-ual Fridays challenge to create a card in black and white and one colour of your choice. I decided on aqua as it's my favourite colour at the moment. I tried to make this super clean and simple and I am not sure if I like it or not.

Clean and simple is such a departure from my normal style, I like to embellish and fiddle, I know that you can do that with CAS style, I am just not very good at it so I end up with something very plain. Oh well, if you never try then you risk getting stuck in a rut :)

Thanks for looking
Ang

Update: 23/02/13 - Well, this came as a lovely surprise! Thank you CAS-ual Fridays.

CASE Study challenge #128

Here is my entry for this week's CASE Study Challenge featuring their latest muse, the talented Teri Anderson

and here is the card it was inspired by made by Teri

I based my card mainly on the colours featured as I love orange and turquoise together. I also added in some graph paper, added in a circular embellishment and some baker's twine. I really do love this card!

Thanks for looking
Ang

Valentine's Day Treat Bags

Being on the road in my old job meant I did not get to see my colleagues very often, now I work in an office it is nice to spend time with the same people on a daily basis. For Valentine's Day I thought it would be fun to create some treat bags for my co-workers.

These were so easy to make when you have a little 'production line' going.  I laid out the glassine sacks and sprayed them with pink misting spray and a touch of glitter varnish spray, whilst they were drying I die cut and stamped the button cards in stages, once they were all prepared it was an quick task to assemble them with some paper doilies, thread and some washi tape. I managed to make 14 of these little beauties in a couple of hours (I am a notoriously slow crafter though!)

 

I used Papertrey Ink Button Boutique for the main image on the card, the scalloped heart is an old Pink Paislee Stamp, I finished it off with PTI's Heart 2 Heart 11 for the small hearts and the love word. I used the accompanying die to die cut the hearts which I attached with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, I also coloured the staples with a promarker to make it look prettier. I finished it off with some love heart washi and a pretty pink gem.

 

I didn't have enough of the same coloured twine so I used a variety of different pink threads that I had in my sewing box. I filled these with chocolate hearts and coins, lovehearts sweets, lollipops and, the best part, a mini Malteaser bunny, those little things are seriously addictive, nom, nom, nom!

I hope that you have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for looking
Ang

 

 

Papertrey Anniversary Entry #2 - Sketch Challenge

Continuing in on the festivites over at Papertrey Ink, here is my entry for the Sketch Challenge;

I used Snowflake Flurries and the matching dies to create a fun happy birthday card, I just love this colour combination of Orange Zest and Hawaiian Shores. Here is a look at my desk during the process;

 

I am quite a neat crafter! I just can't seem to abide lots of bits and pieces everywhere, this is as bad as it gets, however I think being so neat doesn't allow my to unlock my 'devil may care' crafting side.

Thanks for looking!
Ang x