One card this week! It is a very special card because it was for my dads 90th birthday. He is an avid reader and his birthday present included some books so I made him a bookmark, with a special vellum pocket on the second panel of the three panel card to pop it in. Everything I have used, including the bookmark die and tassels come from Uniquely Creative. The paper is from a collection of theirs called The Story Garden. Next week ..more cards made with this collection… I hope you have all had a safe, and happy Easter..til next time , stay safe..
There comes a time in every cardmakers calender when they have to do mens cards and mine was this week when it was time to book my June craft fair spot. Mens cards are always last on the list! This year I had some new dies to use so made it a lot easier, and I had my very old stamps which are dug out every year, stamped and coloured and teamed up with newer purchases to refresh the look. I kept the general layout very plain cos blokes really don’t like fussy! Next Saturday I have our first crafty girls gathering of the year so I have been very busy organising that and I am so looking forward to catching up with all the girls. Til next time….
I have trouble making mens cards. I think it’s because with female cards, flowers, butterflies, and birds are universal, whereas with men there isn’t a universal fit. Not all men like football, or fishing etc, so when I saw these tool dies from kaisercraft I thought I could make a few mens cards with them. These cards were actually in a class I taught. We did some embossing with kaisercraft embossing folders to add a little texture, and I also used a cogs die on the lower card. I designed the card on the top left to look like a tool box. It is just a basic stepper card, with strips of cardstock to represent the drawers. I got back from my cruise on Thursday, and yesterday was spent grocery shopping and washing clothes. After beautiful weather on the cruise and calm seas I have come back to the middle of an extreme heatwave and it is a shock to the system! My classes on board the ship were well attended and I met many lovely ladies, and gentlemen! I havent yet ventured into the craft room, but by tomorrow I will be creating again – I have itchy fingers! Til tomorrow….
Two cards today because I have been missing for a few days, very busy at work putting out lots of new stock, and buying quite a bit of it! We are back to Kaisercraft golden Grove which was one of the ranges they released last month, and is full of lovely rich autumn colours. IThe top card is a card I made for my uncles Birthday, he is a gardener and I thought he would enjoy the imagery and colours reflected in his garden. It’s all 12 x 12 sheets from the range as well as the matching collectables. The lower card also uses pieces from a 12 x 12 sheet, with a flower and butterflies fussy cut from one of the sheets as well. If you look closely you can see some little rain drops ( or dew drops) which I made using some clear Nuvo. I have been experimenting with Nuvo, it comes in a huge range of colours and is very much like Liquid pearls, but better value, larger colour range and holds the perfect dome shape better…can you tell I am a fan? It comes in metallic ,glitter ( much better than stickles), pearl and clear . I have also been trying to clean up the craft room, but that is not going so well, too many distractions! Til tomorrow….
The final male card in this group is a die cut one. I used Paper Rose Tool set die and Pegboard die and Kaisercraft Occasions die for the sentiment. The patterned paper is a scrap of woodgrain paper. I die cut the tools and sentiment from some silver cardstock, and distressed and inked the edges of the woodgrain paper. The next series will be Graphic 45 Portrait of a lady, because I know some of you are waiting to see what I have done with that collection!Til tomorrow….
Due to a lack of male themed papers I have had to resort to stamps today! This is an Art Impressions stamp and I coloured it with Copics, and fussy cut around the image. I broke a golden rule and coloured first, then had to hunt around for papers to match, luckily I had some stampin up papers which did the job. The sentiment is die cut from a Kaisercraft die,and I popped the image on the card with 3d foam pads.Til tomorrow when we will finish this very short male themed series!
Today’s card was a quick and easy card of layering and stamping. I used a stamp set from Stampin Up called Vertical garden, and stamped the greeting and topiary tree straight onto the cardstock. I stamped the pot again on a scrap of paper, fussy cut and popped it over the top of the green stamped pot with 3d foam squares. I am thinking of doing a similar design for one of my cruise cards…I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday in the craft room, but today we are going out and about for a drive out of the city to see the autumn colours..til tomorrow….
Todays card is one I taught yesterday in my class at Paper Flourish.It is a very simple one that doesn’t require a lot of product. I used two different sized fish tail dies ( kaisercraft) to make the shirt, and ran the larger piece through a Couture Creations pinstripe embossing folder.The bow tie was made with a template, but I do have a Stampin up punch that would have done the trick and you can also get dies ( I saw a paper rose one) that would also work.I just had to add three pearls to finish this quick and easy design.Quick post today as I can smell my cake baking in the oven – might be time to take it out! til tomorrow….
Helens Card Designs 