New Card Designs

Having run out of inspiration with the existing card making materials I have (and there are a lot of them!) I went and bought some more and my inspiration has returned.

I was looking for a flower silhouette stamp to stamp on background paper. I didn't find exactly what I had in mind but I did get this stamp which I have been experimenting with.

This card was stamped with black ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder - both the flower and the flourish behind is done in this way, and then some pearl dots and glitter were added to brighten it up.

I then used the same stamp and some brown ink. I then used my shimmer chalks and perfect pearls to create the background. A piece of yellow ribbon and some pearl dots finish off the card.

I also bought an unmounted rubber stamp - which I have not used before but I really liked the design so had to have it. Again I have made two cards so far with this stamp.


This card was made with the rubber stamp, stamped in clear ink and then brushed with purple perfect pearls. It went a bit splodgy but it adds to the vintage effect.

I then stamped the image with my brown ink pad and using a sponge, distressed the background card and edge of the blank card with the same brown ink.

I have also fallen in love with a company called Little Claire Designs (no it's not me - it's just a coincidence). I found some gorgeous peel off's to suit many different occasions and here is what I made.

This one is for a wedding, with a stained glass window as the main feature. The flourish was embossed in all 4 corners and some bells and peel off hearts added at the end.

I was also looking for some ideas for children and found these peel off's. They are coloured brown, so rather than just have the outline of the image I used my transfer sheets (which I have finally found after hunting around for ages) and transferred the whole image across.

There were some lovely hedgehog images too which I have made up into small cards measuring only 4 inches square. Again I used the whole image rather than just the outline.

And finally, some peel off's for men were found and I used this car image to make a male birthday card. This time I did take just the outline sticker and colour it in.

These are just a few of the new bits I bought so watch this space for some more new cards!

Claire

Personalised cards

The requests for personalised cards have been going strong over the last two months. The first one I had a request for was this one:

I did have to change it afterwards though as the lady requested a bike - I thought motor bike but she actually meant a push bike! Silly me, I need to ask more questions in future but seeing as she requested it while her husband was in the shop we had to be a bit discreet!

I now have a regular card requester! The first one she requested was this one for her god-daughter's first birthday. I'm not very good with baby cards but I am very pleased with this one:

There were then another three cards requested - a wedding and 2 birthday cards that were needing to be identical. Here is what I came up with:

I did have to make the birthday card for Jon twice - here is the one I made first but it wasn't quite right (I like it however!)

And then I had to make Spencer (my other half) a birthday card. I fell in love with a clear stamp set when I was pricing them and putting them out so I bought it and made this card. It has certain meaning for us both which made it even more special and now I can make lots of cards with the stamps. It's new from the Tulip range and all their products feature the girl, boy and the dog. They have some elements range which are ready made decoupaged toppers which are ready glittered and have tiny gems on them - they really are gorgeous!

And here is one, that hasn't been made for anyone but I am really proud of it! Again I bought the stamps in my shop (Prestbury Crafts and Gifts) and it's a new range of Papermania stamps design by John Byars. They are designed so they look like sketches and are perfect for the males in your life. One range is cars and the other shows sports and hobbies, including bowling, a guitarist and this one of a hiker. I distressed all the card using shimmer chalks and am really pleased with the outcome:

I know have to work on a bunch of cards for a friend, a 100th birthday card, a new baby card for my regular requester and a holy communion card! So lots to do. If anyone would like anything please email me on claire@prestburygifts.com

Getting closer to shop opening - more cards made ready!

Here are just a few of the cards I have made recently - I have made so many and keep forgetting to take pictures of them!

The last one is my favourite - I have borrowed a heat embossing gun and I love it! The end result is very professional and it makes a good wedding card.

Now I need to think of a name for my craft part of the shop - any ideas welcome! I have a few but am not quite sure yet.