New Baby

No not me silly!  Having said that I do have two adorable 4 month old kittens.  Bamboo and China were rescue kittens and we adopted them from the Cats Protection Axhayes Centre, near Exeter.  They are beginning to settle into their "forever home" with us.  

Both are very timid but will eat out our hands if we offer a treat in the form of a biscuit.  We renamed our kittens Misty and Milo. At first Misty would snatch the biscuit with her paw because she didn't want to get close but now she takes the biscuit from my fingers.  Her brother Milo is a little less timid although neither are ready to be picked up.  

When they are both distracted with bowls of food we sit on the floor next to them and stroke their backs.  They don't seem to mind this and hopefully it is having some affect in socialising them.  

In fact today has been a breakthrough for Milo.  I came down to give them their lunch and they were both sleeping in their beds.  Milo woke when I got close to him and rolled over and allowed me to gently stroke his tummy.  Then after feeding them both Milo stayed by my side and allowed me to stroke him for a few minutes. 

Milo

The strangest thing happens when we feed them something other than cat food.  We have cooked them chicken and they both produce a very strange growl in excitement. We know this isn't aimed at each other. It is rather quite odd!

Misty

So the real reason for naming this post "New Baby" is that I am going to share with you cards I am making which have a "new baby" theme.  

I have some new dies from the Signature Collection by Sara Davies at Crafters Companion that are perfect for this called "Little Angel". They even match a paper pad that I have had for several years that has elephants and giraffes on too.  I have been wanting a giraffe and elephant die but until now had been holding out for ones I really liked.  

I am going to challenge myself to see how many cards I can make from these dies before I get bored and post them on this page as I make them, starting with the first which is this one.

Crafters Companion's gallery of Little Angel sample cards can be viewed here .  The other day I made washing line cards and today it was chests of drawers.  

I used my Cameo Silhouette to produce the card templates from a template I downloaded from the Silhouette Design Store.  I also downloaded a coat hanger and resized it to fit my clothing I cut out from the dies.

I really want to have a go at a wardrobe next based on a stepper card design.

For this washing line card I used a peeloff sticker and had some leftover peeloff bits that worked well as pegs.  It made the card less bulky than using tiny small pegs.

Be sure to  let me know what you think.

Sunday 16th October - here are a few cards I have made during the week/weekend along the same theme.

This embossing folder by Crafter's Companion reminds me of a baby blanket.

This background has been created using an embossing folder with clouds on by Crafter's Companion.  I chose yellow to match the paper's background.

The long awaited baby's wardrobe card!

Combining my new dies with existing card stock to make fun cards.

This is a tri shutter card I have made using a template and cutting it out on my Cameo Silhouette.    

With Sympathy

If, like me, you are not good at drawing, an alternative is to use stamps then colour the image in with either water colour pencils, colouring pens or water colours.

Today I am sharing with you a card I made doing just this, using my water colours.

The image is a stamp from Sheena Douglass floral stamp sets that I have stamped using embossing ink, then embossed.  This was done on watercolour card because the next step was to paint with my watercolours.

It makes a pretty with sympathy card.

And here is another using the Lily stamp.  It was fun blending the colours on the petals.

I hope you like them.

Owl always love you

Now that I have stopped making Christmas Cards for a moment I have a card to share with you that was made using my Cameo Silhouette.  The design was downloaded from the Silhouette store and then resized accordingly.  The background was created using one of my favorite Tattered Lace embossing folders that has a woodland theme about it with owls of course.

Owl always love you

Hepatic Lipidosis

I have been making Christmas cards over the last month by the dozen so I haven't been blogging as I am not ready to share these with you just yet.  It is surprising how long it takes to photograph, capture details of my cards by logging them and finishing them off with card inserts and cello bags to keep them fresh.

It has also been a tough month or more looking after our very poorly cat.  I have often been up more than once in the night when he has felt poorly or hungry and encouraging him to drink.

But just over a week ago we said goodbye to our cat Zorro who had been ill for the last four months with a failing liver condition they call Hepatic Lipidosis, known commonly as fatter liver.  Apparently it is one of the most common liver diseases in cats. The condition affected our cat's joints and produced muscle wastage and made him jaundice.  His hind legs became unstable when he walked.  He had an appetite but eating just made him feel sick.  In the end we had narrowed his diet down to tuna, chicken and prawns which were less likely to make him feel poorly. 

In the beginning he had more good days than bad but this gradually switched around sometime mid August.  A few weeks back we had booked him in for a visit with the vet thinking this was it but before the appointment came round he picked up again and we delayed the inevitable.  That was was until last Monday.  I returned to work that day having spent a fortnight at home with him.  He had not eaten or drank since breakfast and the signs were there that he had had enough.  It was clear he wasn't looking after himself and his coat was knotted in several places and he seemed exhausted.  That evening we rang the vets and asked for an appointment to have him put to sleep.  

Well that was just over a week and it has been a hard week.  I am still listening out for him and feel lost without him.  I miss all the lap cuddles we enjoyed together.  I miss his calls to me and him following me around the house. I bonded so deeply with Zorro and feel he will always have a special place in my heart.  

He was cremated yesterday by a pet crematorium in Christow and my husband collected his ashes today.  We had a tiny pouch of ashes to put alongside his sister so they now share the same casket.  

I am grateful to have enjoyed three weeks annual leave with him recently, making the most of the time we had together. Its strange that we both feel that he hasn't left our side even though he is no longer with us.  

In memory of Zorro born September 1999 and died 12th September 2016.

My Pebeo Experience

Inspired by artist and demonstrator, Sheena Douglass, I spent some time creating canvas boards working with Pebeo Products.

Cern Releif
Acrylic Dyna Paints 
Prisme Fantasy in turquoise colour
Gold metal leaf
Buttons
Stencil
Modelling paste

This first one is on a canvas board 10x10cm. The smaller size canvasses are a good place to start whilst you are building your confidence.

I used a stencil to create the foliage and a gold pen to catch the glint from the sun as it was dropping in the sky.

 I played around with where the light was coming from on this next one.  

With this next one I was having some fun using some transparent cerne relief outliner and PVA glue to create the squiggly lines.  Once dry I was able to paint with irridecent acrylic paint and use some Prisme Fantasy paint. The canvas was painted black to begin with.  I then created the circular shape with modelling paste and allowed it to try before continuing.  I like it and may have another attempt at it now. 

Now the final canvas.  This one is larger, 10"x7". I started off by painting my canvas black then used some modelling paste through a stencil to create texture.  Next I laid out some buttons and adhered them into more modelling paste.  I then did the same with some string.  Once dry I was able to lay down some cerne relief on top of the string so that when it became dry and tacky I was able to lay my gold metal leaf over this.  

When dry I used my irridescent paints to paint the canvas.  

I think I did Sheena proud and would like to thank her for the ideas and getting me started on this journey of using acrylic paints in my mixed media.

In high tide or low tide I will be by your side

Good morning fellow Crafter's. I am sharing with you a card I have made with a beach scene. I have a set of matching stamps and dies that are a perfect size made by Justrite.

I tried a new technique for creating the background. I stamped the stencil with embossing ink before placing it face up on the die cutting plates. Then I gently placed the card stock on top before completing the sandwich for embossing. The effect of doing this forced the ink into the areas that were to be embossed. The cardstock was then coated with embossing powder in lavender then heat embossed.

After first stamping and then cutting out the shells they were coloured with H20s.

The frame was cut from Sue Wilson's square frame dies and I made the background using Imagination Crafts spray ink.

Pixie Powder Celebration

Last year I started using Brushos which is a powdered paint for backgrounds in my cardmaking.  The tiniest amount sprinkled onto card and then sprayed with a fine mist of water can create stunning backgrounds.   

Creative Expressions has developed this concept a stage further and added mica to give it a pearl finished and called it Pixie Powders.  The powders come in nice bottles with a nozzle tip so it is easy to shake out the tiniest amount.  When the colours blend the effect is gorgeous.

I am going to share with you today cards I have made where I have used the Pixie Powders to create wonderful backgrounds.

To make the background I needed some coloured tissue paper to match my pixie powders, a piece of acetate, some clear varnish lacquer (Cosmic Shimmer) and Pixie Powders.  I used Lava Red, Candy Pink and Rich Gold Pixie Powders.

First I took the acetate and spread a layer of clear vanish lacquer (Cosmic Shimmer). Working quickly I then sprinkled the powders randomly over the acetate.  The glue had the effect of making the powders spread, pretty much like water would.  I then laid a piece of pink tissue paper over the back of this.  When the lacquer was dry I trimmed off the excess tissue paper and the background was ready to use.  This is how it looked.

This image is the front and the one below is the back.

I used my Striplet die "Jubilee" from Sue Wilson to create the layer that sits over the pink background.  This was matted and layered onto card then finished with a flower made from tissue paper.

The next card is very different but again I used the Pixie Powders to create the background.  This time the colours used were Aqua Lagoon, Midnight Blue, Teal Wash and Peacock Green and green tissue paper.

I used dies from Sue Wilson's Greek Collection. I fell in love with this background die the moment I saw it and combining it with this technique for the background works particularly well as it allows the light to pass through.  I also used the border die from this collection to add drama down the side of the card and finished it off with the tag.  

These are my favourite colour combinations and I simply adore how this card has turned out.

FabrIc Painting with Starlights Textile Fabric Paint

I've now moved on from painting cushion covers to my own clothes.  I brought some fabric paints this week from Imagination Crafts called Starlights Fabric Paints.  It is a water based paint with metallic sparkles and has a binder in it so that the paint is washable.  

I have plenty of old T Shirts in the wardrobe that needed a new lease of life and now they have them, take a look see!

This was the first one I made using a stencil from Imagination Crafts.  I started with the white pearl paint then some cyclamen then a tiny bit of sax blue in the middle.  The colours blend really well together.

Here I used another stencil from Imagination Crafts which is one of my favourite stencils.

After trying the paints on a few T Shirts I got out an old pair of jeans and found my poppy stencil from Clarity Stamps.  I love the dark topaz (browny paint).

This is another favourite stencil of mine from Imagination Crafts.  I used three colours on this working them lighter as I got towards the centre of the image.  Again, I used dark topaz and then used some orange and gold.  I feel like sewing on some sequins in the centre of the flowers.

I just love how this one turned out.  Here I used two colours, silver and the sax blue.

And finally another favourite stencil of mine was used to decorate this T Shirt.  I used the sax blue and green which are perfect for peacock feathers.  I may sew on some sequins on this too as it will make it look even more amazing.

Paper cutting with the Silhoutte

I am really keen on the idea of trying papercutting.  I have been collecting inspiration on Pinterest.  However, instead of cutting out with a scapel, I plan to use my Silhouette to make all those intricate cuts for me.  All I have to do is design something!

Okay so lets start with something simple that involves joining (or welding as the term is known) several elements together.


I start with a heart shape.  I only need the outer edge so I create two.  I place the smaller one inside the larger one and when I weld them together and now I have what I need for the edge of my papercut.

Next I try different fonts until I find a font that will look good when I nudge the letters close up and then weld together.


Next I play around with different leaves and flowers but finally settled on one image that I particularly like.

I then resized it to fit inside the heart and found a spot where the text would fit in the available space.  The text, flower and heart shape were welded together and this is the end result.  I have framed it so it can go on the wall.

Papercraft Garden Bench

I don't mind a challenge, especially if I think it is achievable.  Despite still being a novice with my Cameo Silhouette I have produced some stickers for a local choir and recently set myself a  challenge of making a 3D garden bench.  This came about because I didn't want to wield a scalpel!

I had been inspired by a bench that Neil Burley had made for Craftwork Cards.  It was one that started out as a window box card.  Paul saw beyond this and created a sweet little bench.

I too could have made one with the window box cards but as soon as I set about using my scalpal I knew I would not be able to do a very neat job.  This is really a job for the Silhouette.

I wanted my bench template to be cut from cardstock no larger than a standard A4 size of card as this is what we all have to hand.

I had a go at creating my trellis panels for the back of the seat.  It took the longest time.   After a few alterations to the design and template I came up with this little beauty. Now it may have taken me 4-5hrs to perfect and a few minor tweeks to each version before I was content with the design, but I have to say I am very pleased with it and inspired enough to have a go at making an edge-able card next.

Well, what do you think?