More Swaps

Hello, Crafters.

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's swaps I shared with you. I have some more today.

Sharon Fuller - used the Waterfront Stamp Set and the Sale-a-bration (SAB) stamp set called Amazing You. I haven't played with the Waterfront Stamp Set yet and have seen some really beautiful projects made with it. 

The stamps are very much water coloured images, which really play together exceptionally well. The sun image Sharon has used to create a background is from Amazing You, and not a connection I would have made but it's an excellent choice - in fact, it's an excellent card!

Karen Franks - made the first of two unicorn cards I received which uses the stamp set called Magical Day, which is available as the Magical Day Bundle. Yet another set I have but haven't played with yet! 

The rainbow stripe has been made with stripes of cardstock. I think the unicorn's mane has been coloured with watercolour pencils.

Pauline Barnfather - has also used the Magical Day Stamp Set as well as the SAB Amazing You Stamp Set for the sun stamp for the background, as well as the sentiments.

To colour the unicorn and the layer the unicorn has been attached to, Pauline has used the Brusho Watercolour Crystals.

Pauline has also painted over the unicorn with her Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. The unicorn is layered onto a piece of Island Indigo Cardstock, (CS) and the stamping has been done using Bermuda Bay Ink.

Susanna Tolkien - has used another SAB stamp set which is called Party Pandas. I have to say the selection of stamp sets available as free gifts in the Sale-a-bration catalogue this year is absolutely brilliant! I love cards that are plain and simple, and pandas help with this as they are black and white! I'm not sure which black ink Susanna has used. It depends on what she's painted the red heart with - Marker Pen = Basic Black Archival Ink; Stampin Blends = Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.

I would assume it's Basic Black Archival Ink and Real Red Marker Pen, because I think it'd be easier to colour such a small area like the heart with a Marker Pen, rather than a Stampin' Blend. The top of the panda layer has been wrapped round with Linen Thread and then mounted onto alayer of Basic Grey CS.

Bridget Metcalf - also used the Party Pandas for her swap but make a bookmark instead of a card front. Bridget heat embossed the panda using black embossing powder and then fussy cut him. The black embossing really has made the panda stand out brilliantly! She punched a heart, using Red Glimmer Paper, instead of colouring it, although I'm not sure which punch - or possibly a die - the heart is from. The balloon, party hat and gift have all been fussy cut from the Birthday Memories Designer Series Paper (DSP). This is a charming bookmark and I'm really pleased that Bridget had the patience to fussy cut 84 pieces to make twenty-one swaps!!  Bridget has also done a brilliant job on shadows behind the panda. As well as grounding him, she has also added a shadow all down the right-hand side of his body and behind the balloon. Superb attention to detail!

Pip Todman - has been extremely generous, and made a complete card, rather than just a card front. She has used another SAB stamp set called Heartfelt Blooms. This stamp set is extra-special because it's a first! It has been produced by a new digital method which I understand is being patented by Stampin' Up!

Pip has used Wisteria Wonder for the image and the card base, then added Bermuda Bay for the layer behind the image, the sentiment and the little accent. On the first layer of Whisper White CS, Pip has adhered a strip of Whisper White CS that has been dry embossed using the flowery embossing folder in the Petal Pair Embossing Folders.  

I hope you've enjoyed sharing my swaps as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you. Don't forget, if you'd like to be part of the team to join in with events like this, I would love you to join my team. Email me at janb@janbcards.com if you'd like more details.

Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

Celebrate You Brayering

Hello, Crafters.

When I made the bottle top card at Team Training on Sunday, I knew I wanted to make a video showing how to do the brayering.

I really love the ombre effect our sponge brayers create, and I just had to share it.

I remember the first time I used our sponge brayers, I was totally bowled over by the results I achieved. 

At that time, I used them to colour our ready-made boxes, and the colour saturation I achieved was fabulous.

I decided to use the "celebrate you" part of the bottle top card design, but then added my spin to it.

The stamp set that co-ordinates with the Celebrate You Thinlits Dies is called Amazing You, and I chose to use the flower and the sunshine stamps. 

Altogether yesterday I made four of these cards, but I ruined one of them - really ruined, totally past being rescued! 

It was the first card I'd made, and I decided to use my Fine-Tip Glue Pen to paint the Daffodil Delight ½” circle I'd adhered into the centre of the sun! 

Once I'd finished, I put the card on the shelf so it could be left to dry without being damaged! Some hope! 

I needed to check something on the card, but I foolishly put it down on my table rather than back on the shelf once I'd finished! 

You can see the card in the video, but I forgot to photograph it to share it here.

When I brayered the CELEBRATE and the YOU, I decided to do YOU much darker than the CELEBRATE as I felt it was the more important word out of the two of them.

I stamped the flower on the left-hand side, and coloured it using our Marker Pens. 

I decided to paint a second flower so that I could fussy cut it, and adhere it on top of the first flower, with the petals curled up slightly. 

This allowed me to be more relaxed about colouring the flower on the card base, so I could focus my attention on the flower that was being adhered on top.

I toyed with the idea of wrapping ribbon around the top two layers, but decided it would take too much prominence, and leave the YOU in the shade somewhat! 

One of my favourite alternatives to using ribbons, is to adhere two or three slim strips of parallel cardstock, which is what I did.

I made two cards in Pool Party and two in Sweet Sugarplum - Pool Party is definitely my favourite!

I think because it's softer, my basic colouring skills are less obvious! 

Overall, I'm very pleased with the outcome of today's card, and I think recipients will be pleased to receive it!

This morning I'm off to the hairdressers - more valuable crafting time lost, but it has to be done! LOL!

That's it from me today. Until tomorrow, Happy crafting.

JanB.

Amazing You Birthday Card

Hello, Crafters.

I'm pleased to say that yesterday I was able to my accounts organised ready for my accountant to do my tax return for me.

It is said that if you set goals, you're more likely to succeed if you write them down, as well as telling somebody. 

Therefore, my goal for the next tax year, which ends for me on 31st March 2018, is to have them ready for my accountant within four months, that is by 31st July 2018. 

Eeek! I've told you!! I have to do it now!! I'll put it on the calendar, so I have no excuse for not doing it!

Hubby has a day off work today, and we're going into London to see Cirque de Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall, and then out for dinner! 

It's years since we've done this! 

Anyway, it means I had to be super organised, and have two blogs scheduled! 

This morning's blog happened on time, and I'm about to write my blog for tomorrow moning! 

The card is ready, so I should be fine! Let's see if I can do it!
 
For today's card I used the beautiful Sale-a-bration (SAB) Stamp Set called Amazing You. 

There's a fabulous card sample in the SAB catalogue (page 16) showing how this stamp has been used to stamp several images on the top layer of the card - it's stunning!

Using Basic Black Archival Ink on Whisper White Cardstock (CS), I stamped two images, and coloured them using my Tempting Turquoise Marker Pen.

I die cut them both using the Stitched Shapes Framelits Oval Die no. 3, and then adhered them on scalloped Tempting Turquoise ovals I'd die cut using the Layering Oval Framelits Dies, scallop no. 5. 

I chose the Happy Birthday sentiment from an hostess stamp set that's in the Annual Catalogue called In the city. 

I die cut it using the smallest oval die from the Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies. 

Next I adhered the sentiment to a Tempting Turquoise CS scalloped oval. 

I started with a Whisper White CS card base, with a layer of Tempting Turquois CS, and a top layer of Whisper White CS, which I dry embossed using the Petal Burst Embossing Folder.

I adhered all the layers together using Tombow. 

Using Dimensionals I adhered the two Amazing You Flower images to the card front, making sure I left enough space to fit the sentiment in without them over-lapping each other. 
 
Before I adhered the sentiment to the card front, I added a strip if Tempting Turquoise CS across the centre of the card.

This is a technique I often use if I don't have any ribbon in the correct colour! 

Finally I adhered the sentiment over the "ribbon" using Dimensionals. 

To decorate the inside of my card, I adhered a layer of Tempting Turquoise CS, and then I adhered a layer of Whisper White CS on top. 

Using Basic Black Archival Ink, I stamped the flower in the bottom right-hand corner.

I already had a third painted flower, which was leftover from the beginning when I'd stamped three images, so I could have some practice getting some dimension on the flowers using my Tempting Turquoise Marker Pen! 

Rather than waste the flower I fussy cut it, and adhered it on top of the unpainted image - I think it worked well. 

I did think about adding some Basic Rhinestones to the front of my card, but I hesitated - at least it's something I can add later if I change my mind.

I really like Tempting Turquoise but I don't use it any where as near as I should do! 

Before I go, I'd like to remind everyone about the two part Prize draw I'm running during January 2018. The full details are on my promotions page - just click the tab above.

Briefly, part one is for everyone who shops in my online store during January. 

Everyone's name will go into the draw, with extra entries for every €65/£50 spent. 

This figure is cumulative during the month. 

One lucky winner will get the Large Letters Framelits Dies and the co-ordinating Letters for You Stamp Set.

To be able to shop in my online shop, you need to have an address in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Austria. (Unfortunately, these are SU rules - I'm sorry)

Part 2 is for everyone outside the area I'm allowed to sell Stampin' Up! products. 

All you need to do to enter, is to leavea comment in the box below, and I will put your name in for a chance to win a box of my hand made cards, and a surprise gift that is something typically English.

Don't forget to check my Promotions page for full details. ☺ 

I hope you have a great day, and until tomorrow, happy crafting!
 
JanB.