Thanks a bunch - Craftwork Cards

I have no idea where the last week has gone. All I remember  of it was the dull, miserable weather having to put the light on throughout the day and how cold it was - yes, I am moaning....

That's the great thing about crafting, its cheers you up when your down.
Just browsing paper and stash cheers you and once I had decided it didn't take long before I was  cheering myself by making some Thank you Cards - always handy to have ready when you need one.

I have used pretty floral papers from Craftwork cards, nice fresh colours and you can't beat flowers
My favourite colour - Turquoise and you have a recipe for the perfect card.
I've added a Tattered lace die cut into the mix to lift and seperate(as we used to say)
The ideal thank you card for anyone who has helped you out, given a gift or if you just want to send a card to someone for being a friend

I love the fresh colours and it makes me happy just looking at it.
You can see the dimension from this side angle photo.
You will find this and many more of my cards in my newly opened

ETSY SHOP
Have a great week, it can only be better than the last one.....
Happy Crafting
ju x

Seahorses......

I would love to have an aquarium, but I don't have the time to put into one, I just love seahorses, and when we go to the garden centre I can spend most of the time looking at them, while hubby is off looking at bags of compost.

So I have made my own aquarium in these cards, my under the sea versions, using my loved distress oxide inks, ink tense pencils, white graphmaster pen a little water spritzing and lots of imagination

layer upon layer of stamping and colours
and having lots of fun, which is what crafting is all about....

You can find these for cards for sale in my Etsy shop thanks for looking and come back this way again soon
Happy Crafting ju xxx

Keeping your Watercoloured or Spritzed Images Flat!!!

Keeping your image flat once you have watercoloured or spritz your card isn't easy.

The old fashioned method was to place it under a pile of books for the duration, just like we did when pressing flowers.(the good old days lol)

The Modern Method is to pass it through your die cutting machine, as long as your plates have no indentations in them I find it works well to an extent.

I have the ebosser and so I have 2 large thick plates at the bottom of my sandwich, in which I place my pieces of card
also at the end of the night I place all my card pieces in little piles between the sandwich and then place my ebosser machine which is very heavy on top.

I also place them under my workmat when I am at my workdesk,
altho this sometimes means I forget about them and find them again when its too late, as I did with some christmas toppers I was making. I have just found some layered between scrap paper, ah well they will help me towards next or should I say this years cards......

How do you flatten your images???

This week I have been playing around with shell stamps, heres a sneaky peek, and you will find them in  my ETSY SHOP now open and ready for sale.....

Happy Crafting
ju x

Dreamcatchers....

I've been doing a little research into dream catchers its nice to know a little back history when there's an image you like so much
 dream catchers

There are many interpretations of the Dream catcher, I find them romantic, a part of the past which has nestled into our modern culture.
 In some native american cultures, the dream catcher the inanimate form of the word for spider is a hand made willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. The dream catcher may also include sacred items such as certain feathers or beads. 

On this card I finished off by adding tiny dots to the background and lines on the feathers with the White Graphmaster Acrylic Marker it comes with a black, gold & silver in a set of 4 and are lovely fine lines.



The Dream catcher - Another form traditionally hung over cradles as protection, it originates in Ojibwe culture as
 the "spider web charm"  or  "dream snare",  a hoop with woven string or sinew meant to replicate a spider's web, used as a protective charm for infants.
Many different options as to beliefs with these fascinating hand crafted items
The circular shape of the dream catcher represents the circle of life, with no beginning and no end and how forces like the sun and moon travel each day and night across the sky.
This is significant to many native american cultures they believe that death is a part of life and that the spirit lives on. The dream catcher is woven to resemble a spider's web, and a single bead represents the spider.
 The web catches the bad dreams during the night and disposes of them when the day eventually comes.

I love the background on this card, thats the great thing about Distress Oxide Inks you have fun playing and never know what your going to end up with.

These cards will be for sale in my
  Etsy shop next week so If you know someone who loves these as much as I do send them my way, thank you.
Happy Crafting
julie x

There's a whole new season to look forward to.....

Its been such a long time since I have been here in this special little space, to my own little world of craftiness, it looks nice and inviting and its good to be back.
This is the start of a whole new season, and I want to start spending a little time on me (and you too) and enjoy a little peace and tranquility, if only for at least 30 minutes each week.
I'm wanting to get back into playing and getting messy and showing some ideas along the way

Today is the most awful day outside, January wet windy and miserable so lets get messy with these ink pads and have some fun x

Fun backgrounds with Distress Oxide Ink Pads

I have added them onto a Gelli plate, smooshed them around, spritz with a fine water mister smooshed with my finger and then placed my white card on top before pressing lightly to pick up the inks

 The 3 paper prints are from right to left, 1st to 3rd, as you can then add layers of other colours once it has dried.

 Here I have added more of the pink, before stamping with the
Marianne Designs Stamp set

I added colour by painting with the Oxide inks, and adding some shadow with a inktense pencil
I love the colours on this, only fault was I dropped the word stamp right at the end and it printed onto the sheet,(right at the centre top) lightly but you can still see it, I tried to cover it out by dotting some blue ink over the top but it still shows so this will end up in the bin, but I shall make some more of these to show you over the next few days, hopefully this time in perfect condition... lol cant stick a butterfly over this mistake.
So heres to my first post of the year, with many more to come hope you enjoyed it and call back to see some perfect examples over the next few days   
Happy Crafting  julie xxx