High Tea!

Helens Not So Shabby…

IMG_8097 (Large)IMG_8099 (Large)IMG_8102 (Large)Here are a few cards I taught in my Not So Shabby class at paper Flourish. I call them Not So Shabby because no matter how hard I try my shabby cards still come out looking quite clean! On the top two cards we did some stitching, layering and distressing, while on the bottom card we painted our frame with prima sparks paint and did some embossing. The weather here is so strange, we have had thunder, rain and lightning this morning, but it is 35C so very hot and humid. Not good weather for anything except sitting under the air con vent! We have picked all the cherries ( 15 Kilos this year) and this morning have started picking the apricots and tomatoes so the garden is very productive just now.. Til tomorrow….

Not so Shabby…Maja Design Sofiero

_MG_1780 (Medium) At paper Flourish we have discovered some new designer paper Companies, and Maja Design is one of them. This card and box is made from the Sofiero range. Their papers ( along with Pion designs, Lemoncraft, and Mintay ) are perfect for Shabby style and vintage and I have been having so much fun creating with them all! As I said todays card is made with Maja Designs Sofiero and I have layered papers, with distresses and inked edges onto a cream card base, and added lots and lots of gorgeous flowers along with a couple of die cut leaf flourishes , a punched butterfly, some lace and pearls. Once done I realised it would never survive an envelope so made a box and did a quick bit of decorating on the lid. I have since discovered the benefits of cutting an aperture in the lid and backing with Acetate, which I have shown you on a previous post. That’s it for today…I have a trip to the dentist later but I am going to take my mind off that in the meantime by heading into the craft room! Til tomorrow…..

Prima tales of you and Me …9 and 10

_MG_1817 (Medium)_MG_1819 (Medium)I made these two shabby chic style cards with an old Prima range that I found in the craft room,lots of layering of the matching empheria and a die cut gate…I think that was a stampin Up die, a few flowers and some of the frames and swirls that I made with silicone molds and No More Gaps ( from the local hardware shop!) I painted them with some Prima Alchemy paints. A day off today, so i have done my grocery shopping, planned what we are having for tea, and now time to think about some November lessons! Til tomorrow…..

Lemoncraft House of Roses…not so shabby!

_MG_1813 (Medium) One of the classes I teach at paper Flourish is called Not So Shabby because although I love the shabby chic look I still haven’t mastered the genre and so have created my own take on it.I also need a fair bit of practise so that I can stay one step in front of my pupils so you will be seeing my progress here. This is a card I made with a paper collection called House of Roses by a company called Lemoncraft. lemoncraft have the most amazing shabby style papers and also A4 sheets full of fussy cutting options, both of which I have used on this card. I did a little die cutting ,fussy cutting, added some lace and the focal point on my card is the resin frame which I made with a silicone mold and No More gaps ( available at your local hardware store!). I didn’t paint this one , it is as it came out of the mold. It has been a busy morning full of housework, Roast is in the oven and after lunch I plan to relax in the craft room – can not wait!! Til tomorrow….

Book Cards..Shabby Chic style..

IMG_0751IMG_0753IMG_0749This week I have been making book cards. These are my new favourite thing to make ,but a word of warning …they use a lot of paper! I didn’t come up with this design, although I did modify it a little bit, one of our talented teachers at paper Flourish taught something similar this week to a group of ladies. I have also made boxes to pop the finished product in and decorated the box as well, and I have included in the box a die cut card stand to stand the book up on for display. now to the nitty gritty… there are 5 layers of card and paper, the bottom layer the card and then 4 layers of papers, getting smaller by a centimetre for each layer. I have done them in a shabby chic style so I distressed and inked all my edges with tea dye distress ink, once the papers are cut and inked I folded them in the centre and then bowed out the pages to curl them. I stuck the layers through the centre fold and put 3d mounting foam on the page edges . It was then just a matter of decoration with ribbon, flowers and various die cutting of leaves and flourishes!. The papers I have used here are from two companies – I have just discovered them and their papers are gorgeous so you will see more of them on my blog. they are Lemoncraft ( the papers here were from their range House of Roses, ) and Stamperia. The bottom photo gives you a better idea of the card upright. For now I am off to teach a retirement village calss, til tomorrow….

As promised the other shabby…

_MG_2994 (Medium)This is the second Shabby Chic card i taught in my recent class. we distressed and inked, and die cut and added lots of lovely flowers! We did also colour our flowers with some distress re inker watered down in a spray bottle and sprayed our butterflies too. If I remember correctly the paper collection is from Kaisercraft called pen and ink.

Couture creations C’est la vie (3)

_MG_9403 (Medium)Today we are having a look at another card i made with Couture Creations paper collection, matching collectables and a couple of the dies from the same collection. I love the gate die which I tucked behind the tag, and the layered flower die is fantastic. I die cut it from cream cardstock and lightly coloured the layers with victorian velvet  distress ink. the brad in the centre is a stampin up vintage brad. I have assorted greenery die cut with a kaisercraft die. I inked all my edges with Tea dye distress ink. Quick post today as I have just got home from work and have tea to organise! til tomorrow…..

Kaisercraft Romantique 3 …Another Shabby!

_MG_4257 (Medium)As you can see, the more I worked with this collection ( kaisercraft Romantique) the more I embraced the shabby! I distressed, ripped and rolled and enjoyed it so much …this card is going to be a lesson this month at Paper Flourish where I hope to inspire others to put down their scissors and use their fingers! All my edges are inked with Tea dye distress ink,and the top butterfly is from the collectables pack and the bottom butterfly is from the acetate sheet that kaisercraft brought out with the collection.Most of the flowers are by Prima, and all the leaves are various dies by Sue Wilson creative expressions. I used a flower tool die to encourage some lift and shape before inking them with my tea dye ink. Today is very very hot here and not  good in the craft room.. my glue does not like this extreme heat so it is an ideal day to pack the cruise card classes suitcases and make sure I have everything I need. Finally I  can say next month I am cruising! Til tomorrow…..

Not so shabby….

_MG_1962 (Medium)

On the previous post I explained how I made the background paper, and I used an A4 piece of cardstock. This actually gave me enough shabby cardstock to make a second card. For this one I foiled a chipboard birdcage, layered a piece of lace under one of the layers, inked around everything with distress tea dye ink, and then just layered up the flowers, gauze ( from the chemist) die cut leaves ( memory box loralai leaf branch) and ribbon bows. The weather here has been lovely…we even saw some sunshine for a brief time but it has turned cold again today, so this afternoon I am s5taying put in the lounge room, sorting out my dies into a more manageable system of storage and ability to find! Til tomorrow….