Big and Beautiful Scalloped Ovals

These Grand Nestabilities once again make a quick and dramatic card.  One to make when you do not feel like challenging yourself, or simply need to come up with a card quickly.

Out of the centre of an A4 sheet of cardstock (I chose this amazing aubergine colour), I cut out a size 3 die from Grand Nesties Scalloped Ovals. 

The remainder of the page I dusted with talcum powder and stamped with the Hampton Art dragonfly 

using Versamark and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Lapis Black, which is fast becoming my favourite as it turns slightly green and iridescent. I cut the sheet in half through the centre of the oval aperture to create the "doors".

Then from a contrasting cream colour I cut out sizes 4 and 2 scalloped ovals from the same sheet. One for the stamped layer inside and the other as a frame for the front of the card. I cut the frame in half down the centre and attached to the "doors". With a low tack tape I stuck the two doors together to keep them in place while I fixed them to the card base. 

I stamped a scene used one from my own collection onto the cream scalloped oval using Encore Silver Metallic ink and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Metallic Powder. 

I used Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour Paints, my old favourites, in Rose Hue, Holly Leaf and Orange Sunrise which mixed with the green gives a limey green for a little light variation. 

I matted the scallops to the card base and used a couple of pretty brads which look like buttons when the card is closed.

There you go quick and easy, sometimes it has to be - right?

Enjoy Linda xx

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Proud as a Peacock

A little story to make you smile for which my daughter will probably never forgive me!!

Some 5 years ago on a sunny Boxing Day morning, a peacock walked up my drive and adopted me. Yes, I say adopted me as he is most certainly ‘the boss’. 

A few weeks later my daughter Melanie arrived from the UK in search of sunshine. She arrived in Cape Town after a 12 hour flight and then had a 5 hour drive to where we live. On arrival she was greeted by myself and my ‘new friend’ and exclaimed “Oh look Mum a penguin!” Education is a wonderful and expensive thing. Let’s hope it was ‘jet lag’. We named him, very imaginatively, Pete.

Just recently I was in the UK for 2 months and when I returned Pete had grown a new set of tail feathers and strutted very proudly into my office demanding food with menaces - no change there then.

To progress, when I saw this Creative Expressions Art Nouveau Peacock set amongst my ‘home work’ on my return I was delighted and determined to express his grandeur.

So, I cut out 2 gold squares using the Spellbinders Grand Squares, folded a quarter inch on one of them and joined them at the back with double sided tape to create my card base. 

For the background, I die cut a smaller square from purple card stock. This I spritzed with Cosmic Shimmer sprays: Blue Lime and Ancient Copper and left it to dry. 

Meanwhile I cut out a smaller purple square and another gold square.  Using Versamark and Cosmic Shimmer gold embossing powder I stamped the peacocks, patterns and sentiment. 

Now comes the part I enjoy most, which is to paint them. This time with Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Drawing Ink: Peacock Teal, Blue Blush, Lime Burst and Meadow Lush (from the Persian and Garden sets) and left to dry.

Persian

Garden

Going back to the now dry spritzed purple backing sheet. I stamped it with Versamark using the feathers from the peacock set and embossed them with Cosmic Shimmer Lapis Pearl.

This small piece of old gold ribbon I found in a draw (when I was supposed to be tidying up) and it works perfectly with a couple of Chinese coins and a bit of gold twine. Fixed to the back of the top layer and using a little mounting tape to raise it I was finished. 

What do you think? I think Pete would be proud!

Enjoy playing around with your versions and let us know how you get on.

Linda

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Crafty Tales from the Wilderness

 You may not know that Linda, the creative half of Crimson Cloud, lives in South Africa, in an area very appropriately called "Wilderness".

Here is the first of a new monthly newsletter, written by Linda,  "Crafty Tales from the Wilderness", which I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did!

Crafty Tales from the Wilderness.

At the weekend my "crocodile dundee" South African husband announced that his sister in law's sister's daughter, husband and daughter were on their way from Cape Town to stay with us for the weekend! We live in the Wilderness, South Africa so guests are rare and always welcome - a time to catch up with what is going on outside in the real world! 

They arrived and were a delightful couple with the most beautiful child I have ever seen. Waist length blond curly hair, dark brown eyes, bare foot, tanned and without a shy gene in her body. I introduced her to my family of teddy bears and we were soon new best friends.

South African Princess

Her parents were going to referee a Duathlon race the following day.  Marcus, (Dundee)  was telling this four year old about the wonders of Auntie’s craft room and its contents. In less than a nano-second this complete stranger of 4 years old decided that she was not going to the race and wanted to stay with her new auntie and friend.

In spite of having raised 4 children myself, I am not what you might have called a conventional mother! But I love children, and the new niece-in-law, as we decided she was  (or at least that was as far as we could calculate from the family tree), assured me that their little princess must have picked up on that fact and has never stayed with anyone so willingly or so soon before! I wonder what else she may be picking up on??

She appeared in my very sleepy bedroom at 6.30 the next morning and declared I must "get up, clean my teeth and get dressed OK!"   Soon over to the craft room we go - which is fine as I have just arrived back from the UK and am weeks behind with work. In my naivety I sort her some paper, stamps, ink pads and gluey, glittery stuff and sit down at my desk - planning a productive morning of work.  After at least, now let me think.... 2 minutes I realised this working thing was not going to happen as I seemed to be attached by a ‘bungee’ to the child on other side of the craft room. 

The adult in me said “embrace the moment, it isn’t often you get to spend time with an innocent 4 year old and teach her stuff”. This lasted a further few minutes as now we are both bored as she will not stick stuff where it is supposed to go or round the right way and I am having a major OCD moment.

So - Plan B! “Let’s take the basket and go for a walk in the woodland to look for pine cones, mushrooms, fairies and the Gruffalo” says Princess. CBeebies has a lot to answer for.

We’re off - all is going beautifully the sun is shining, my three dogs are excited (if a little tired of Fairy Princess’s new power of calling them back from their explorations every 30 seconds for nothing. They look at me in total confusion and decide to ignore both of us from then on.)

We found lots of pine cones which we of course stamped on first (to make sure there were no scorpions underneath), pixie hats (gum tree seeds but really look like pixie hats), mushrooms and a site where the fairies must have been having a party as there were lots of pixie hats in a clearing where the sun was shining through the dappled leaves.

"Let’s dance" says the Fairy Princess "as it is so lovely and bright we can join the party, we just cannot see the other fairies".  As she is dancing and twirling her lovely long blond hair I spot the largest Puff Adder I have ever seen not 12 inches in front of her.

STOP!! I scream and quickly pick her up and throw her over my shoulder, backing up and going around the rear end of the snake. Now my dangling princess can see the snake behind her and is hysterical - as I suppose any normal child would be. 

Having traumatised this poor child I am now trying to persuade her it is safe to get down but no, she is convinced every hole in the ground has a snake in it and I must run through the woods to save us! Now I do a little Yoga most mornings but nothing to prepare me for the mad Indiana Jones rush I have to take through the bush to stop this poor child from screaming. Finally we reach Mr Dundee’s workshop from which he has emerges to see what all the noise was about that has disturbed his quiet morning’s work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We told our story and he said “don’t worry, I will go and get rid of him”. How could he? Now I have to take Princess back to the work shop and explain how “of course we are all God’s creatures but some of us are easier to live with than others and would you rather the snake killed the dogs”. Does that sound convincing? No, she didn’t think so either.

We spent the rest of the day online researching Puff Adders as this is now her major interest. What happened to the fairies and the pixies?  After a couple of screaming fits during the course of the afternoon because I was ‘out of sight’ despite professing she was “no longer afraid of snakes”.

Finally her parents arrived back home. I plied them with glasses of wine and dinner whilst princess told them of her adventures.

Dinner was wonderful, the company great and I hope they forgive me for putting their child into therapy!

Is this why no one asks me to baby sit????????

Linda xxx

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New Hampton Art stamp and die sets

Hi Everyone,

Three new stamp and die sets have arrived from Hampton Art -

Butterflies

A Royal Affair

Flowers

These are sets of cling stamps with coordinating Spellbinders dies which fit the stamps perfectly. This means no more cutting out your stamped images by hand. The Spellbinders cut around the edge of each image giving a much quicker and more professional finish.

Here are a couple of samples made using the Butterflies set -

As you can see, you can create very different looks with these versatile stamps and dies.
Mel xxx



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A Winter's Night

Man cards!  We all say the same - they don’t go for buttons and bows.

So I decided to use my most favourite Nestabilities ever, thus far, Fleur De Lis Squares

Let’s get started, using Grand Nesties Squares I cut out 2 large squares in black and 2 smaller squares in white.

The white ones I stamped with a large forest stamp from my own stash, but you can use any branch or tree stamp to create a scene. 

I then attached them to the 2 black cards forming a border around each, which I then off set and glued together.

The large Fleur De Lis Square I cut out 3 times in black card then cut out the second largest twice in white.

I stamped one of the whites with my favourite birthday sentiment and layered onto one of the larger black die cuts.

I cut the two remaining black Fleur De Lis in half to make each corner more ornate.

On a precut shaped white card base I used the left over pieces of black and white Fleur De Lis to decorate the corners.

Quick, simple and quite masculine?

Let us know what you think and if you have any of your own ‘Man Card’ solutions.

Linda x

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Grand Ovals

Having tried these Grand Nestabilities I am amazed as to how quick they are to layer up to make an amazing card.

They work especially well if you are using a favourite stamp which you intend to paint or colour and present as a piece of art.

For this example I cut out 6 Spellbinders Grand Ovals in descending sizes in cream and red card stock.

On the red base oval, I used some of the Edgeabilities, but you can use a punch to get this decorative edge.

 After I fixed the base red layer on top of one of the cream layers I set about making my easel card. 

Make a crease 1 inch from the bottom and another 3 inches from the top and bend in opposite directions - this will give you your easel. Attach the 1 inch fold to the top of the red and cream base layer. Then fix the bottom half of the next red layer to the easel. 

Build your layers on to the card front. 

I embossed one of the layers with the Special Touch Mica Mask – Leaves.

I stamped and embossed one of my favourite flowers, Amaryllis.

I then painted it with the luscious Cosmic ShimmerDazzle Paint Poppy Blush and left to dry. 

Using Spellbinders tag; I painted around the edge to get a perfect colour match to my flower and stamped a small sentiment.

Inside I chose a couple of matching brads to keep the easel in position.

Enjoy!

Linda x

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The Joy of Grand Nesties!

Here is a demonstration of how quickly you can create an amazing background of mounts and frames using the Spellbinders Grand Nesties. 

In this case I have used the Grand Circles.

Cut 4 sizes of circles, graduating them as you go and alternating the size and colour to suit your ‘art work’. 

Then cut 2 of the largest circle to use as the card base. A smaller circle underneath which you cannot see forms the wedge to keep the card open.

I chose blue vellum to alternate with and match my Agapanthus flower. 

Although it is not very easy to see in this photograph, I have used the Creative Expressions Floral Embossing folder to give some texture to one or two of my alternating colours.

I stamped and embossed my Agapanthus and then painted it with Cosmic Shimmer Dazzle Paint Ocean Breeze 

and for the stalk Cosmic Shimmer drawing ink Meadow Green from the Garden Collection. 

Then I fixed and lifted each layer with mounting tape for a 3D effect.

I stamped my sentiment ("The poetry of the earth never dies", from British Wild Flowers by Creative Expressions) 

and die cut it using a Spellbinders tag die.

I matted and layered by circles, taking care to leave enough space to insert my sentiment tag but not so much that it wouldn’t stay up.

One simple velvet bow made it look very old fashioned almost Victorian?

Enjoy

Linda

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