Nautically Just for You

I  hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday – what a treat it is to get an extra day off. I do  hope you all get a bit of time to do some crafting, that’s what helps me to relax with the added benefit of creating something beautiful.    

Today’s card my latest Design Team card for Creative Studios and  is a simple fun one, and what could be more nautical than the  very classic red white and blue? The 'Just for You' stamp just cries out to be the central element on a card. This card started life as a dark blue 7 x 7  card blank. I cut a white mat and I pierced around the edge with my Piercing Ruler this it such a simple way to add extra detail to a card.

I cut a red mat to fit  inside the piercing  and then a white mat to go inside that. This mat I put through my embossing machine with the Netting Mask. I kept the mask in place and then I inked through the mask with Distress ink onto the raised bits to add interest to this layer.

With a Spellbinders label die (this one is one of my favourites and you will see it a lot) I cut a red shape and I inked through the die with the same ink as the mask. On some white card I stamped the 'Just for You' stamp with Cobalt Archival ink and heat embossed it with an embossing with a Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder that has a blue sheen. I placed a smaller matching label die and tape it in place , with low tack tape, over the image. Once this was cut and embossed I inked through the die with the same ink. What I tend to do with ink is I mix a few colours together on my blending matt to get the colour I want and then I keep going back to it until I have finished a project. This is the perfect way to ensure my ink matches. Everything was stuck together with 'Cosmic Shimmer Clear PVA glue', as I said a nice simple card.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Don’t forget to check back everyday for a new creation from our wonderful Design Team. We post everyday Monday to Friday and there are often extra posts from Sam. You can also follow us on Facebook. There are so many ways to keep in touch.

Thank you for looking and leaving comments.

Jackie

Click here to visit the Creative Studios Site and Shop

Beach Hut

I haven’t made many home décor items but I am finding them fun to do especially with these nautical stamps. You could see this little beach hut propped up on the counter when Sam was demonstrating on Create and Craft.

I started with a plain wooden birdhouse shape that I bought at a local store. First I painted it all over in white acrylic paint and then left it to dry for at least an hour. I wanted the paint to be very dry, no stickiness at all. I used low tack masking tape to mark out the lines - I started from the middle and worked out as it makes it easier to space. Then I painted the exposed part with a blue acrylic paint, I also painted the roof blue. I removed the tape and waited for it to dry once again.

While it was drying I stamped and heated embossed the Lighthouse stamp and the anchor from the middle of the Just for You stamp. I coloured them with Promarkers and then cut them both out. Once the shape was dry I used a dark blue permanent ink and stamped the Netting Stamp randomly all over it, it actually came out a lot lighter than I expected .

I stuck the Lighthouse and the Anchor down first. Then I cut two lengths of the  Cord Burlap and created a false knot with them. I like this knot as it will lay flatter than an ordinary knot and it a lot less technical than it looks.

 Here are some picture instructions of how to make one - it really is super easy and I’m glad my daughter suggested using it.

 

You cut two lengths of  Burlap that when folded in half will stretch around your project and fold them and lay them together as in the first picture. Overlap the loops. Pull one of the loops through the other as in picture three, but not too far. Then you need to grab the two ends and pull them through the loop. Pull both ends and you have a faux knot.

To attach it I used super strong ‘get’ glue as nothing else would hold it. I did wait for this to set before doing anything else. There is a lot of waiting around for this type of project but you can start it off at the beginning of a craft session and just keep going back to it, that way it doesn’t seem like such a chore, or maybe use it as good excuse to watch a bit of telly in the meantime.

Once the Burlap was set I added the final decoration which included some die cut seaweed, some dried flowers we had in the house, and some large and small shells we happened to have. The flowers and seaweed were stuck down first then I added the big shell and the little shells on top. The very last thing was to add some white Flat Back Pearls since I think they look a bit like bubbles.

So that is how you turn a birdhouse into to beach hut, and I am really happy with the result, especially since it can be hung in our bathroom and fits with the colour scheme there. 

Thank you for looking

Jackie

You can visit Sam's shop here:-

Happy Father's Day Inspiration

Here is my latest card for the Creative Studios by Sam Poole Design Team. 

Men’s cards are never easy to make but these nautical stamps are ideal. This time I started with an 8” x 8” pearlised pale blue card blank. I do have a bit of a thing for square cards. I cut graduated matts in black and then blue. On the blue matt I pierced the edge using my piercing ruler (I think this helps add a bit of extra detail), then I cut the final black matt to fit inside the piercing.

or the main background I inked a piece of white card with blue and green inks using some cut and dry foam. Once this was dry I took the Netting Stamp and I stamped all over the page with Perfect Medium, I covered this with White  Detail Embossing Powder and heat embossed it.

All the focal elements I stamped with Colbalt Archival ink then I heat embossed them with a Cosmic Shimmer iridescent embossing powder that has a bluish tinge. I cut the Lighthouse, the Father's Sentiment and black matt for the Lighthouse out using some nesting Spellbinders dies, I also inked through the dies with Distress ink. The Happy Father’s Day banner, that come with the Ship in the Bottle stamp set   I cut free hand and I inked the edge with Distress ink. The anchor is cut from the middle of the ‘Just For You’ stamp.

I stuck this all together with Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue. I did add some Silky Crush ribbon (that I think looks like water) to the side of the card. I think my dad would be delighted to receive this on Father’s Day.

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and for any comments you care to leave.

Hugs, Jackie

Ship in a Bottle

This is my first card made for the Creative Studios Design Team. 

I started with a card blank 7” x 7” and I cut a black matting layer. For the next layer I cut a piece of pearlised paper just slightly bigger than the Netting Mask and I inked the paper with browns and greens. Over the top of this in brown ink I stamped lightly  the Father sentiment and the Ship in the Bottle stamp. I did like the Father sentiment very much and I kept wanting to add it to every project. Once everything was dry I embossed the paper with the Netting Mask to give it a soft texture.

Next I stamped the U-Mount Tree Bark A6 Rubber Stamp on to some textured brown card with brown ink; I then trimmed it and I cut a black matt for it. I stamped the Ship in a Bottle stamp onto white card with brown ink  then I  heat embossed  it with clear embossing powder. I used  Promarkers to add a little colour to the design. The Ship in the Bottle image is so easy to cut out. I stamped the Father Sentiment on to white card in brown ink and then I heat embossed it with clear powder.  I cut the sentiment out with a tag die and I inked through the die with  a Distress Ink.

Then came the fun bit, putting it all together. Firstly I stuck the black matt to the card and the wood panel to its black matt. I used foam pads to stick the boat on the wood panel  to give it some heightOnce this panel was complete I  attached it to the pearlised paper. I took some of the Natural String Burlap and wrapped it round the pearlised paper and added the tag. Once this was done I could stick the paper to the card; this way there are no untidy ends from the Burlap.

The final touch was to add some Self Adhesive 3mm White Pearls in the corners of the wood panel.

That was my first Design Team project finished. I have made some other things that I am very keen to share with you over the coming weeks.  Sam is  on Create and Craft next Saturday 10^th May at 11:00am and 4:00pm.  Maybe you will be able to see some of my cards too. 

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Hugs Jackie

Nautical Stamps by Sam Poole

Hi Everyone

These are the stamps that I have been working with for the last couple of weeks. They are aimed at Father's Day. Today is the first day they have been shown anywhere.




This is a picture of my cards in a box getting ready to be sent to Sam so that she has them when she appears on Create and Craft on 10th May.

Sorry to be a tease. I can start posting proper pictures from next week. My first post on Sam's blog goes live on Monday.

Thanks for looking

Jackie