New goodies have arrived!!

The new Couture Creations embossing folders have just arrived at Crimson Cloud .......

along with the beautiful Creative Expressions coloured dazzlers!

Hope you like them!
xxx

Guardian Angel triple easel card

This is a very decadent Christmas card - using my new favourite technique of using rock salt with shimmer sprays.

To create this card, spray three A6 sheets with Cosmic Shimmer Mist. I used Lilac Night, Blue Lime and Midnight Blue. While the ink is still wet, sprinkle with some rock salt and leave to dry.

When dry, brush off the salt - you will find that the salt has dispersed the ink giving a "galaxy" effect.

 Cut out two of the spritzed sheets with the beautiful Spellbinders Fancy Lattice die

Meanwhile take the Spellbinders Marvelous Squares die set 

 and cut out two of the largest dies in a coordinating pearlised card stock.

Make three creases at 1” intervals at the top of one of the squares. Fold over the three creases forming a little box onto which you will attach your upright square with the remaining base facing forward. 

Cut the same size out of your spritzed paper and trim slightly smaller than the background so that when you glue the frame and background together you will not see the edge of the lattice paper.

Now using the largest die with the second largest together cut to form the frame and layer the back lattice and frame together and fix the whole thing to the base with the box, remembering to keep the base facing forward onto which the next stage will fix.

Repeat the whole process to create  your second and third easel panels.

Take the Noel sentiment from the Crimson Cloud Guardian Angel stamp set 

and emboss onto your front panel.

With the second smallest Marvelous Squares die cut a background for your star from Crimson Cloud Stag and Sentiments Stamp Set

Cut out the two smallest square dies together to make a frame for the star and attach to the largest stage.

Your three ‘little boxes’ can now be glued to each other lining them up on the right side and only apply the glue to the over lapping area.

Stamp the Guardian Angel onto a piece of card and cut it out. This shape can now be used as a template to cut out your angel from the spritzed paper. I used a little piece of card rolled up and glued to the back of the angel to off set her. 

All that is left to do now is decorate with gems or pearls of your choice. I also used some of the negative corners from the number four die to pretty up the front corners on top of the ribbon.

The card will stand quiet steadily as long as you do not over work the creases as this will break down the integrity of the card and it will lose its strength.

I know this because………..:-)

I hope you enjoy making this unusual Christmas Card which can be adapted to any theme.

Linda xxx

Autumn Colours

This week I entered a card in the the Allsorts challenge blog. The theme was Autumn Colours.

Here is my entry

I am seriously into clean and simple designs at the moment!

For this card, using the Spellbinders Fall Foliage set,

I die cut a leaf from a sheet of white card and then embossed it. I inked my sentiment with rainbow ink pad and stamped it next to the leaf aperture. I pricked holes around the edge of the white panel using a pricking tool.

Using the same rainbow pad, I inked a large sheet of white card with a brayer and matted the topper using foam pads to give dimension.

And that is it - super-quick and simple!
Mel x

The Elephant's Ear

We took some good friends who were new to Africa on their first camping safari to an area in the Eastern Cape, South Africa called Addo National Park. It is home to some two hundred elephants who roam totally free to breed and live as families - which is something they are so amazing at that we could all learn a lesson or two from! 

The guy, John, I have known all of my adult life and he is a born comedian - never serious. The Lady was, shall we say not at home in the wild, and in fact had not experienced nature any closer than the National Geographic channel.

Deciding between us that elephants are a safe option for their first venture into the wild (well, everything is relevant) off we go. We spend the day driving around the park and observing the elephants from a safe distance, watching them help each other out, and the hierarchal respect that they have for each other.

Now it is time to 'make camp' and supper. We pitch a tent for ourselves and sacrifice the security of camping on top of our vehicle to our increasingly anxious friends. Nothing I feel that a good meal and a few drinks won’t sort out!

Now in Africa there is no gradual descent into the night. The sun goes down and it is a black out but the sounds, oh the sounds, are magnified a thousand fold! The monkeys laughing, elephants trumpeting and all manner of nocturnal wild party life.

Supper over and after a great deal of leg pulling and lots of laughter we retire. We settle our friends in their double bed on top of the Land Rover and climb into our very small one man tent on the ground. We snuggle up and look forward to a much needed good night’s sleep, we hope.

At first we were laughing at the noise which had started in the ‘luxury accommodation’ on top of the Land Rover but soon realize that in spite of the laughter there was a potential war going on next door. We could over hear: 

"You go!" 

"No you go!” 

“ Do you think I am mad?” 

The voices were becoming louder and louder. 

"What kind of a man are you?" 

"A very scared one! - What kind of a wife are you, you want me to get killed?"

Realizing that this was getting past a joke Marcus was elected (there is no democracy in these situations) to go sort them and the problem out. He tactfully asked 

"What seems to be the problem?" 

"There’s a bloody elephant outside the tent is the problem and this clown won’t do anything!"

"Too right!! says poor John who is now having his macho manhood slanted. 

"I didn't see any elephant" says Marcus. 

"Well it’s just here I can even feel its ear against the tent!!

After a quick scout around Marcus finds one of the flaps to the tent untied and flapping against the side of the vehicle! 

With the marriage saved we all settle back down again but still no sleep for us that night as we could hear them laughing and squealing till the early hours. 

As daylight broke the monkeys awoke and were checking out last night’s barbecue and throwing pots and pans around. Once more there were hysterical screams from our guests! 

We packed up and went to a restaurant for breakfast for the sake of all concerned. Driving along in silence our guests who must have been totally mentally and physically exhausted exclaim “Well that was fun wasn’t it?”. 

It was fun and a memory they will never forget and memories are the sum total of your life in the end?

Linda xx

Lacy Stag

I seem to have come through my minimalist period and as is typical am now travelling in the opposite direction to more and more decadent. But, hey if you can’t be decadent at Christmas when can you?

Deciding that this Christmas I would go for a glitzy but elegant feel I created this card. If you would like to recreate it, this is how:

Cut a piece of card stock 7” x 7” and cover with double sided sticky sheet and cut to the same size.

Decide what you would like to use as your ‘night sky’. I used an elaborate lacy fabric which is semi see-through so I used a matching card stock beneath it.  

You could use any fabric or a glitzy paper bearing in mind you will use it again on your stag. Now apply this to your sticky card stock and trim to tidy if necessary.

Stamp out the stag from Crimson Cloud Elegant Stag and Sentiments Set and cut it out. 

Again I used the same colour as my sky knowing I would be able to see through the fabric. Cover the cut out stag with double sided sticky sheet and your fabric or paper and cut out around the outline.

Using Spellbinders Grand Ovals Nestabilities, cut out two ovals in contrasting colours which you will arrange on your card base create the illusion of depth and forestry. 

On the larger ‘oval’ place the large leaf from Spellbinders Foliage die set only halfway over the right hand edge and cut out, keeping the cut out to use in your ‘Christmas tree’.

Cut the leaf out again in full in a contrasting colour then fix the saved half leaf into the centre with a little transparent glue and hold for a while to make sure it is truly dry then place to one side.

On the smaller oval shape that has been trimmed to your card base, emboss with a smaller leaf from your Foliage dies to give an impression of shrubbery in your forest. Now cut out the same leaf three times in the same colour and set aside.

Layer up your oval shapes with mounting tape one on top of the other. Mount your beautiful stag and fix your ‘tree’ into the cut out area and glue only the centres of your other leaves to finish your ‘bushes’.

Using the Grand Ovals cut another shape that will line up with the top of your smaller oval and stamp with ‘Joy & Peace’ from the Crimson Cloud Guardian Angel Sentiments Set

Stamp out the guiding star from the Elegant Stag Set and cut out. Heat emboss with Encore Metallic Silver pad and Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Embossing Powder. I embossed three times to get a really smooth and 3D look. Fix this in place with a silicone glue dot.

Finally use a few bits of the left over fabric or paper to ‘ground’ your stag and decorate. 

Attach  to a 7” x 7” white card base and you’re done.

I think it looks beautiful and I hope you do too.

Enjoy,

Linda

Love Stretches Your Heart

For your Persian Prince!

Cut out the largest Grand Nesties Squares out twice to create your card base.

Cut the next two smaller sizes in the colours of your choice. 

Emboss your smallest die cut square with the Hedged Maze embossing folder and layer up onto the card base.

Now using Spellbinders Persian Accents, cut out 4 strips to the length of your square.

Layer up your strips facing each other and attach either side of the square. 

Cut out 2 Persian Motif large circles in alternating colours and arrange. 

Cut out a small circle to fit the centre of your motifs and stamp with your chosen sentiment.

Layer up with foam tape and embellish with Persian Motifs smaller flowers. Decorate with pearly glues and brads.

Punch or die cut a decorative border for the top. The border at the bottom of the card is a strip of the waste created by cutting the Accents strip and decorated with brads.

 I hope whoever you make this card for really appreciates it.

Linda xxxx

Twin Stags

This card was inspired by one of Sue Wilson's masterpieces which I adapted using the new Crimson Cloud Christmas stamps.

 To start, I stamped and embossed twice the stag from the Elegant Stag and Sentiment set and cut out.

 I then took a piece of card and attached to a double sided adhesive sheet, I cut the sheet to create two hill shapes and added glitter for my "snow".

Taking another sheet of white card, I embossed it with the Wild Poinsettia embossing folder

I stamped and embossed a sentiment in gold and die cut using the large star from the Spellbinders Holiday Tags die set

I then drew around the outside of the star die and cut out by hand to create a shadow for my star.

I layered up my snowy hills and poinsettia background onto an 8x8 inch card base.

The stags were attached using silicon glue to ensure a good hold on the glittered card.

I tied a bow using the Champagne coloured wrinkled edged ribbon

and decorated with the star sentiment and a button from my stash.

To complete, the outside edge of the card was decorated with the Cosmic Shimmer Golden Pearl pva glue

I hope you like my interpretation of Sue's card.
Mel xx