Clouds and Rainbows Bookmarks

Hi there

I've been busy making more bookmarks this weekend.  This little collection I started yesterday and the first few took me a little time to make while I figured out the best way to put them together.  I then continued with a few more today and those came together a little quicker.

They all follow the same basic design, but all differ slightly in the placement of the stencilling and die cuts, have different designs on the reverse and I've added a selection of ribbons and twine.

For each I began by inking up the cloudy backgrounds using a stencil.  I then die cut the rainbow from six different pastel shades of textured paper, and put these all together in different sequences of rainbow order. I adhered the rainbow strips in different positions on the backgrounds and die cut the tall tag to create the base of each bookmark.  I then partially die cut more tags, just using the bottom half and used cloud dies to cut different variations which were then layered up on the base of each bookmark.  I die cut more tall tags from different patterned papers and adhered these to the back.  Each was finished with grosgrain ribbon and some twine.

The next three were the ones which I made today and I changed up the backgrounds by stencilling the clouds in different pastel shades, and placing the rainbows lower down to show more of the background.

Materials used:

• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tags Duo, Stitched Rainbow; Lawn Fawn - Puffy Cloud Borders
• Stencil: MFT - Cloud
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar
• Coloured Cardstock: Papermania
• Patterned Paper: DoCrafts - Designstax: Boofle
• Accents: Grosgrain Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Doodlebug

Thanks so much for looking.  I'm having great fun making these bookmarks, I hope you like them.  

Book Worm Bookmark

Hi there

You may be glad to know (!!) this is the last of my recent bookmark makes, but I had such fun making them I think some more may be created very soon! 

This little guy has been in my stamp stash for years and I've only ever used the set once before so I think he deserved an inking!  And for this one I used the tall tag die with the fishtail which came in the duo set with the other die I've been using.

I began by stamping and colouring the book on a die cut panel of white cardstock.  This was then masked and I ink blended the background in a neutral shade and then blended through a woodgrain stencil with a shade of brown.  I then stamped, coloured and die cut the book worm and adhered him onto the book.  I stamped the sentiment and then die cut a second panel from green polka dot paper and adhered this on the reverse for a cleaner finish.  I then added some gloss to his glasses.

I finished by adding some brown grosgrain ribbon through the slot and tied this with some co-ordinating green twine.  Here is the reverse view...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Bookworm and Bookworm Additions
• Stencil: Funky Fossil - Woodgrain Background
• Ink: Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo; Clearly Besotted - Bookworm
• Coloured with Copics
• Accents: Glossy Accents; Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

That's all from me today.  Phew!  That was a lot of posts today, thanks so much if you're still with me!

Leopard Print Bookmarks

Hi there

More bookmarks, and these were quick and easy makes.

All of these use the same animal print stencil which is the part inked in black.  The brown ink on two of the designs was added using an ink dauber.

For this traditional colourway, I cut the reverse layer from some darker brown cardstock...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Leopard Animal Print
• Ink: Distress Ink - Black Soot, Rusty Hinge
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

For this one, I stencilled directly onto some watercolour-effect patterned paper, and backed it with plain white cardstock...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Leopard Animal Print
• Ink: Distress Ink - Black Soot
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Patterned Paper: Papermania - Capsule Elements: Pigment
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

This one has the additional brown ink added with a dauber and the back panel is cut from the same pink cardstock...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Leopard Animal Print
• Ink: Distress Ink - Black Soot, Rusty Hinge
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

I hope I'm not boring you with these! lol  There are a few more individual ones still to come :)

Mermaid Bookmarks

Hi there

Back again with more bookmarks, these all have a mermaid theme.

All of these were created in the same way, the panel ink blended with Distress Oxides and then stencilled using silver pigment ink.  All were backed with the same patterned paper and have the same ribbon and twine accents.

This one used a mermaid scales stencil...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Small Mermaid Scales
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers; Versa Color - Silver
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Patterned Paper: Papermania - Capsule Elements: Pigment
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Doodlebug

This one was splattered with water droplets as well as being stencilled...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Funky Fossil - Mermaids
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers; Versa Color - Silver
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Patterned Paper: Papermania - Capsule Elements: Pigment
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Doodlebug

and this one had water droplets added for interest too...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Funky Fossil - Mermaids
• Ink: Distress Oxide - Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers; Versa Color - Silver
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Patterned Paper: Papermania - Capsule Elements: Pigment
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Doodlebug

Thanks once again for taking a look.  I'll be back very soon with more, yes, I made quite a few last weekend!

Autumnal Bookmarks

Hello again

After creating the cute character bookmarks I thought I'd make some which weren't so time consuming.  I love how they turned out but they were a lot of work.

So, as summer is now over here in the UK, and there's definitely a chill in the air now, I chose to make some with an Autumnal theme, and all of these use stencils and Distress Inks...

This one has a reverse side using the same textured cardstock as the front but is left plain...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Uniko - Natures's Treasures II
• Distress Ink: Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tags Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

I ink blended the whole stencil here so had enough to use the design on the reverse layer too...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Sweet Poppy - Foliage
• Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Barn Door, Walnut Stain
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tags Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

For this one I used cream cardstock and left the reverse layer plain...

Materials used:

• Stencil: Altenew - Leaf Burst
• Distress Ink: Forest Moss, Wild Honey, Aged Mahogany
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tags Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

and for this one I repeated the design on the reverse but with lighter ink shades (although I didn't note down which colours I used on the reverse - apologies!)

Materials used:

• Stencil: Funky Fossil - Leaves
• Distress Ink: Spiced Marmalade, Old Paper, Crushed Olive
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tags Duo
• Cardstock from stash
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique

I'd like to link these up at the Allsorts Challenge Blog: Week 591 - Autumn Colours.

Thanks so much for looking, more to come! :)

Cute Character Bookmarks

Hi there

I'm stopping by this afternoon to share something new I've been working on behind the scenes...Bookmarks!

I wanted to offer something different in my online shop, as well as cards, while still working with my stash of cardstock, stamps, stencils, etc.  Papercraft is what I love doing, so I thought this was a good direction to go in.

I've been making a few different styles/themes and in this first post I'm sharing a little batch featuring some cute characters.

Of all the designs I created, these were the most time-consuming as they all involved stamping, masking, ink blending, colouring and gloss accents.

They were all made in exactly the same way.  I began by stamping the four characters, which were then masked before stamping the books they are sitting on.  The books were also then masked before each background was ink blended with three shades of Distress Ink.  I removed the masked and coloured the images with Copic markers.  I then die cut each panel with a faux stitched tall tag die, as well as die cutting four different co-ordinating patterned papers which I then adhered back to back to create a cleaner finish.  I then held my breath while stamping the quotes on each one (didn't want to mess this bit up after so much work!)  Each bookmark was then finished with some grosgrain ribbon and tied with twine, and I added some gloss to the glasses and eyes.

Here's a closer view of each one, and the supplies I used for each...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Wise Owl, That's Genius
• Distress Ink: Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Abandoned Coral; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Coloured with Copics
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color: Color
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique; Glossy Accents

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Wise Owl, That's Genius
• Distress Ink: Worn Lipstick, Shaded Lilac, Salty Ocean; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Coloured with Copics
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color: Color
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique; Glossy Accents

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Wise Owl, That's Genius
• Distress Ink: Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Coloured with Copics
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color: Color
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique; Glossy Accents

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Wise Owl
• Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Peeled Paint, Frayed Burlap; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Tall Tag Duo
• Coloured with Copics
• Patterned Paper: Doodlebug - Kraft in Color: Color
• Accents: Ribbon - American Crafts; Twine - Hemptique; Glossy Accents

I'm linking these up at Darnell's NBUS Challenge #18 as this tall tag die is a newbie and I'm loving using it! 

I'll be sharing all of my bookmarks today, in different posts by theme.  I hope you like them.

Upcycling - Notebook Cover to Tag

Hi guys

This morning I came across the new challenge over at AAA Cards where they want us to recycle something not bought for crafting, and use it on our creations.

Firstly I kicked myself as recently, in an effort to tidy and re-organise my craft cupboard, I disposed of a few bits and pieces I had collected over time thinking they might 'come in handy' one day!  But I still did have a couple of things I thought could work.

So, earlier today I made two cards, here is the first.

This pretty little tag started it's life as a plastic semi-transparent notebook cover...

I started by die cutting part of the cover using a stitched tag die which I ran through my Big Shot a few times.  I stamped a sentiment onto a panel of white cardstock and then embossed with a wave embossing folder.  I die cut the flower and adhered this to the tag. The tag die didn't include the hole so I used a single hand-held holepunch to make this (lots of brute force was needed to get through the plastic!), threaded through some ribbon and tied with some twine.  With the tag being plastic I wanted to make sure it would adhere firmly so I used Glossy Accents behind the flower die and ribbon so it wouldn't show through.  There's plenty of the plastic left and I still have the other cover too so I can make more with this :)

Materials used:

• Stamp: Altenew - Hennah Elements
• Ink: Altenew - Cotton Candy
• Embossing Folder: We R Memory Keepers - Next Level Wave
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Traditional Tag Stax; Wplus9 - Flower Doodles
• Ribbon: American Crafts - Grosgrain
• Twine: Hemptique - Ruby Collection

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards - Game #73 - Upcycling

Sunday Stamps - Challenge #135 - Happy Colours

Happy Little Stampers - September Challenge - Anything Goes with Dies

Moving Along with the Times - Challenge #28 - All Kinds of Everything (Butterflies)

I'm glad I've finally got the chance to put my thinking cap on and use this.  The post about the second card I made will follow shortly.

Thanks so much for visiting today, I'd love to hear your comments.

Stamping Sensations May Challenge - Guest Designer!

Hi there

I'm thrilled to be joining the lovely design team over at Stamping Sensations as Guest Designer for their May challenge.  Thanks so much, Brenda for inviting me.

The theme for this month is

Anything Goes with a Stamp and Ribbon

Here's my card...

I've got sooo much ribbon in my stash but haven't used any on a card for a long time!  I stamped the flower image in black, along with the sentiment onto some Neenah white cardstock and die cut with a diagonal stitched rectangle.  I then coloured the Cosmos flowers with ProMarkers.  To continue with my love of creating clean and simple designs I took a small piece of yellow grosgrain ribbon, twisted it and adhered it behind my panel.  This panel was then adhered to some polka dot patterned paper using 3D foam before being adhered to my card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Cosmos, All Occasion Sentiments #6
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Inside and Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles
• Patterned Paper: Pebbles - Basics Cardmaking Pad 2
• Ribbon: American Crafts

Challenge entry:

I Love ProMarkers - Challenge #307 - Pastel Colours 

Thanks for visiting today.  And why not play along at Stamping Sensations, the challenge will run until almost the end of the month :)

Just for You

Hi there

I've found a little time this afternoon to have a play and decided I felt like I needed more practice at colouring with my ProMarkers.  I still only have about a quarter of the colours so still struggle a bit with blending as I don't have many colours that work together.

I also had a play with an unused stamp.  This is an unmounted stamp by S.w.a.l.k. so I needed to get this mounted first before I could use it.  I got in a bit of a sticky mess with my EZ Mount but got there in the end!

I stamped the image and coloured it in with ProMarkers before cutting out with a rectangular die.  I then chose some patterned paper and die cut it with a flag die, ensuring that the diagonal stripes were running in the same direction as the raindrops on the image.  I finished with a simple sentiment.  This was originally the finished card but I then spotted the challenge sketch at Seize the Sketch and realised I could enter this card if I added something to the top right corner.  After a rummage in my stash I came up with a twist of ribbon, held together with a flower head brad, in colours to match the rest of the design.

Materials used:

• Stamps: S.w.a.l.k. - After The Rain; Clearly Besotted - A Little Sentimental
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye - Vanity Fair
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Rectangles Large; MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax
• Grosgrain Ribbon: American Crafts
• Flower brad from stash

Challenge Entries:

CASology - Week 90 - 'Wet'

Charisma Cardz - Challenge #8 - April Showers

Seize the Sketch - Challenge #17

That's all for now.  Thanks for popping by and I hope to be back again soon to share more with you.  I hope you're having a lovely weekend.