Shabby Chic with Lace

 My NZ swap group theme this month was "Use Lace" - it could be real, paper lace, lace stamp or dies/punches.    

I decided to go a bit shabby chic.   I found some beautiful patterned paper that had a lace design on it. I added some lace along the top and bottom.  Many years ago I got a roll of lace - around 250 metres - enough to last at least 2 lifetimes!   I used some double sided tape to put it down and then added some glitter which stuck to the little bits of tape showing.  I added some glue in odd spots and sprinkled with more glitter.   I added a ephemera butterfly that I had blended over some brown ink.   Added a foiled sentiment and some gold gems.

It's nice to try different types of cards and although I'm a more CAS card maker, I was pleased with the results of this.  

Shabby Chic/Distressed at Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog.

 Hi there.  Time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' challenge.  Our theme is Shabby Chic/Distressed.

My card is similar to one I did a week or so ago.   It is a Sepia looking card. 

I started by taking some watercolour paper and wet it thoroughly.  I then used some Walnut Stain Distress Ink smooshed onto my glass mat and painted it onto the paper.  Once it dried, I took a Kaisercraft set (English Rose) to stamp the roses in Versafine Onxy Black.  I stamped the lace stamp in the Walnut Stain ink, the flourishes in Gathered Twigs DI and also in Versamark and white embossed.  I used the Gathered Twigs to stamp a word stamp from Catherine Pooler - Birds of a Feather.  I stamped the sentiment from Altenew's Classic Beauty set in the Versafine Onxy Black and clear embossed it.  I took a white gel pen and went around the edges on the rose and leaves.  I trimmed the panel with a Gina K die and added to a Kraft card base.  

Do come and join us at Sweet Stampin' for our challenge.  

WWC 269 - Fifth Week - Anything Goes Challenge

Hi there... it's time for our weekly challenge at Watercooler Wednesday... And as this is the 5th week of the month - bonus time - It's an Anything Goes....

Today I'm sharing a bit of a Shabby Chic card.... I have been watching a NZ craft company who have been doing card class on Facebook.  This card is one of the classes.

It's a bit of a fancy fold card.  The ribbon keeps it closed.  I chose to use some patterned papers from a Die Cuts With a View pad called "Spring Fling"  I took three different patterns to make each of the layers.  My base is some vanilla cream card to match the colour on the papers.  For my centre panel I used two the same papers so I could cut out the flowers to layer.  The only stamping on this is the little sentiment stripe from an Altenew stamp set called "Hello Gorgeous"    As the paper has glitter on it, I only needed a few Lucy's Little Things - Ice Cube gems.  to finish it off.

I've sent this to my Dad and Ngaire in Upper Hutt - just to give them a big hug.  I ring Dad every week, but I think he'll love getting this from me. 

Utterly Distressed at Sweet Stampin' Challenge

Hi there. Time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' and this week our theme is Utterly Distressed....

However before I start, I just want to remember ANZAC Day today... to celebrate the servicemen and women who fought during the wars... in particular WW1.  Our world is the better for their sacrifices.

 

So back to the card I made for this challenge.   I've gone shabby chic again... not really in my comfort zone, but doing a few of these lately. 

 I took some pretty patterned paper and after trimming it to size, I tore around the edges.  I added the chiffon ribbon and black cord around the middle and then built up the other elements.  Half a torn doily, the little elephant charm, the chiffon ribbon bow, the pearl embellishment in one corner and three pearls in the opposite corner and the butterfly.  Finished with two sentiments from Altenew's Watercolor Halftone stamp set.  

Do come and join us at Sweet Stampin' Challenge this week.  We would love to see your Utterly Distressed projects. 

Playing the Piano...

Hi there... well I wish I could play the piano.... I know the notes and keys but I simply can't read music smoothly... Anyway today's card I'm sharing is a Piano Card.   This came about as a NZ based craft store - Craftables has been having a bit of an online card classes and has provided the instructions for some of it's kits - not the full kit, just the instructions for around $5 each.  I have been watching some of Paula's classes and decided I wanted to try the Piano Kit - so purchased it.  As it did not have all the papers etc, I improvised with what I could find in my stash.  (Believe me I have TONS of patterned papers so wasn't hard to find something suitable)

So here it is....

I found some flocked PP from a Die Cuts With A View pad.  I used the template to cut the 5" x 5" black card to size and then added the flocking to the top panel.  I added the white and black keys below the top bit.   Next I did the inside

I printed off some vintage music paper I had in my computer and trimmed it to fit inside.  Added a white piece on the other side of the lid so you can write your message.  Then I added the little leg that held it open.  Once all that was done, it was time to decorate the top. I found some flowers in my drawer and added with some die cut stems and leaves.  Added a ribbon and the little clef trinket.   Not my usual CAS style but nice to challenge myself with something a bit different.   Paula's classes are very chabby chic - both her card classes and her scrapbook layout classes.  You'll probably see a few more of these shabby chic cards coming up. 

Thanks for stopping by.   I'm getting a few cards done for upcoming DT work, so enjoying some crafting today 

February Card Chain Challenge

Deborah has shared all the CCC cards for February (here) so I can share my card for Lucille.

Deborah always give lots of choices in the challenge.  Use a sketch, or colours or a theme or use a particular product..  One of the themes this month was sewing and one friendship, one of the products twine and this was the sketch

And so to my card

A little shabby chic using PP from Couture Creations. The die cut is also from Couture Creations and I used PP for it as well.

And here is the amazing card I received from Shawna

 

There is still time to sign up for March CCC over on Deborah's blog  It is so much fun to receive a card in the post. 

A Shabby Chic Christmas

It's a new challenge at Southern Girls Challenge today... Our theme is Girly/Shabby Chic. 

Our 2 super fabulous sponsors for this challenge are.....

 

I was lucky to get to work with an image from Lacy Sunshine called Curly Sue Victorian Christmas

Shabby Chic is a genre I find difficult but was really pleased with the results I got with this one.  I found some pretty PP and a chipboard frame to show off my girl.  I made the poinsettia with a couple of punches and some gems.  Added some dark green die cut leaves and a Spellbinders fancy label.  

Do come and join us with your Girly or Shabby Chic cards for the challenge.  It's on for three weeks, so plenty of time to have a play.

A Little Shabby Chic

Shabby Chic is a genre I love looking at but which I find challenging to do.  My friend Sue is a master at this type of card.  So here is my meagre effort.

I started with a piece of the glossy card stock I had made with the wax paper resist and some Lemon Drop ink from Jenni Bowlin.  This time I just crumpled the wax paper before ironing it onto the glossy card.  I then used Stazon ink to stamp my image.  It is a stamp from Rubadubado ~ a NZ stamp company.  It is a delightful old fashioned image.  I added a touch of colour with a Tombow Marker.  I then prepared the background card by embossing it with a Cuttlebug folder and used some Victorian Velvet distress ink to colour.  I used the ink to also colour the punched flowers to make the roses, the doily and the ribbon.   I added some lace along the bottom of the focal image and some gems along the top.  I place it on a bit of an angle on the base.    This card took me quite a while to get done... what with waiting for the ribbon to dry and to make the flowers.  But I have to say I am quite happy with the result.

I'm suffering from a chest cold at the moment... barking like an old dog... luckily today I didn't go to work... we had to travel about one and a half hours south to Hamilton to a funeral.  It was the mother of our good friend, Yvonne.  Milly was nearly 92 and had had a very good life.

Thanks for visiting today.  I really appreciate each and everyone of you.

A Little Shabby Chic.

By the time you read this, Christmas will be done and dusted for another year... Hope Santa was kind to you and you got to spend time with family.

It's mid summer in my part of the world and I'll be sunning myself at the beach.  We are heading off for 9 days holiday at a beach town around one and half hours north of my home.    Looking forward for the break away

So onto today's card. It's my day over at Little Blue Buttons Stamps.  This one is a little shabby chic.

 

The background is one that Olga designed and which I have recoloured in blues.  I stamped the Kaisercraft sentiment  and then added some blue ink all around and in places with a stencil or two.  The whole panel was then embossed with a folder.  I printed out the Vintage Dress form (Available here as a digital stamp or here as a rubber stamp) and used some Copics to colour.  The blue wasn't quite right, so I smeared some Gesso over it to tone it down.  Then I added Stickles to the wings and some Glossy Accents to the hat.  The finishing touch was some twine and a vintage button. 

Enjoy the Holiday season. 

A little bit Shabby Chic

I haven't been feeling very crafting for a little while now... so today I have a card to share,  that I made a few weeks ago.

The PP is from a pack called an Edwardian Ladies Diary.  I trimmed a piece to use my background and used a Fiskars punch down one edge.  I then used some of the PP to punch some flowers.  I added them to some fawn Prima flowers and added a pearl brad.  I die cut a Spellbinders die cut and stamped a Hero Arts big sentiment. I added pearls under the sentiment and down the side.

I'm hoping that I feel like crafting soon.... I've got some DT work to do.  Yesterday I lay on my bed when I got home and one and a half hours later, woke up!  Work has been very stressful with some tight timelines.  Was feeling a bit out of my comfort zone and didn't cope with it well.... things are getting better this week thank goodness.

Thanks for visiting. 

Shabby Chic Butterfly

The current challenge over at A Blog Named Hero is all about Shabby Chic or Vintage style cards.  I like this genre but an not always as successful at it as I'd like.  I find the layering of many layers difficult to do.  But a challenge is a good thing....

I have a My Mind's Eye PP pad called "Follow Your Heart" and the papers are just perfect for this genre. I used this one as my base for the card. I cut a doily die from Die-Namics from cream card and stamped Hero Arts Starburst in Antique Linen distress ink. I punched a second piece of the PP and laid it across my card with some ribbon. The two butterflies from a HA stamp/die set stamped and cut from some more of the PP. I edged with Worn Lipstick ink and layered the two together with some gems ( saw Betty do the other day.) Stamped the sentiment and added the silver bling flourish.

The ABNH have been giving some great inspiration and instructions on how to make shabby chic/vintage cards.  Well worth having a look at their blog.

Not sure what is going on with blogger.... last night I had major issues with it... so if you didn't get to see my post about Paula's scramble, feel free to pop over here.

And did you see my little sneak peek about over at Die Cut Diva's blog... I'm hosting March's challenge and we've managed to secure a sponsor....  can you guess who?     Hop over to the blog on Friday to see what the challenge theme is and who our sponsor is....

Thanks for stopping by today.

Dawn

The Big Reveal.... my Shabby Chic card....

Got it finished last night, photographed and then today when I got home decided it needed some more bling... so here it is, in all it's finery.....

The pièce de résistance is that wonderful flower.....

I had some instructions from the wonderful Sue ( aka Scrumplescrunch) a while back on how to use the Tim Holtz/Sizzex Tattered Floral dies and watercolour paper to make these and haven't had too much success till now... mainly I think I wasn't patient enough to let the petals dry.  Basically, you smooched the petals after lightly spraying with water and the secret to success... LET THEN DRY OVERNIGHT!!!!  It works.  I had used some soft pinky watercolour paper ~ again after instructions from Sue.... edged with some red ink and once dry and put together... a touch of Stickles and some iridescent medium.

My background paper was the rest of the watercolour paper over-stamped with a variety of stamps... A script from Hero Arts, Dots and Cross stitch from a Bo Bunny set and the butterfly and trail from Kaisercraft.  The base card was a pearlescent one that came with a magazine I got this week.   I tied some lace into a big bow and made a little tag for the sentiment.  I finally added a few pearls for the bling.

This is being entered into Our Creative Corner ~ Hosted by the lovely Sue this week with her Shabby Chic theme and also into the monthly challenge over at The Crafter's Cafe... butterflies and hand made flowers.  

So there you go.... Sue, I hope it's Shabby Chic enough.... I certainly challenged myself with this....although I still feel I could have maybe done a bit more titivating! 
Thanks for peeking in today... I appreciate all of you stopping by  leaving  lovely comments
Dawn

Inspired by.... Scrumplescrunch aka Susan....

As many of you may know my friend Susan... (Scrumplescrunch) makes the most adorable Shabby Chic/Vintage type cards... She does a lot of her own water coloured papers for backgrounds and has taught me how she does them.  Recently she sent me a wonderful Get Well card....

Isn't it just beautiful.  I adore it.  So much so that it inspired me to try a bit of Shabby Chic.

I had been playing around with some water colours the other week and made some background papers.  One of them was in my favourite purples ~ with some golden tones.
Here is my card ~ totally CASE'd from Sue's.....



I took my background and stamped a number of stamps on it.  First a Harlequin stamp inked up with Milled Lavender and Spun Sugar distress inks. These dried very light on the card but give it a subtle background.  I also stamped Hero Arts Silhouette Spray, and Old French Writing in the Milled Lavender and then the script stamp again in Dusty Concord...a little bit darker.  I made it patchy for the shabby look .  I then used my new Sew Easy tool to make the stitch holes and sewed around the card.  I added some paper hearts sponged in the purple ink, down one side.  My three butterflies are from a Martha Stewart punch and were stamped with the script stamp too and finished with a pearl.  My flower is a Spellbinders Rose die cut with some fine fabric that came with the flowers sent by my work, as is the ribbon behind it.  Just had to save these bits.  I used a lilac sparkle brad for the flower centre.  The smallest petals are a piece of card that I have distressed with the Dusty Concord ink.    Some Hero Arts lace along the bottom and a Hero Arts sentiment stamp and it's all done.  I am really pleased with the look, and am thankful to Sue for the wonderful inspiration.

Had a huge walk with hubby this morning along the beach at Takapuna. 2.5 kms ( 1.5 miles)  Did get a bit wet, but it was lovely walking along the sand.   Tonight for dinner we are heading round to our son's place.  He is cooking a roast chicken.  I've made a chocolate cake for dessert.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Dawn

Shabby Chic....

I very much admire card makers who are good at making shabby chic/vintage cards....Sue and Jacqueline are prime examples  but just google " shabby chic cards" and you get a multitude.   I was looking through an Australian Card and Papermaking magazine yesterday and was inspired to give this look a go.  This is not my usual style but in the end I was rather pleased with the outcome.... even if it took quite some time to come together.

I started with a sheet of Webster's Pages (A Sweet Life ~Home Sweet Home) which I trimmed one corner to fit.  I edged it with Peeled Paint distress and then used a blending tool to colour the bottom third of the piece.  I stamped the words "dream" and "inspire" ( Fiskars stamp set) and then just inked up the bird from a Hero Arts cling (Bird in a Circle)  I coloured the bird with some Faber Castell pencils and OMS.  I added some lace and ribbon and then stamped a clock face (Teresa Collins set) onto some of the rest of the PP.  I used a small nestibility to cut it out and pop dotted onto the card.  Once I had it matted onto the white and tan card I added some flowers and the pin ( a gift from Pia from nearly 2 years ago!) I added some brown pearls... one to the flower centre and several others on the flourish in the corner. The Webster's Pages really made it easy to get the lovely shabby chic look.  I've just bought some of their on-line papers - here.  Just waiting for my download code so I can save them to my computer. 

I am also very pleased with the photo I look of the card.  Michelle is having a give away on her blog for a light tent.  It looked really cool so I did some research and found a place in Christchurch selling them on Trade Me.... very reasonably price too... so I ordered one and it arrived this week.  Its only 30cm x 30 cm but is perfect for a card.  It comes with 4 different coloured backgrounds... white/black/blue/red.  Plus I'm sure I could make more if needed. 

Update on hubby's sister.... she is still hanging in there.... He is flying off to London on Monday evening... arriving mid morning their time on Tues.  Praying she will last till then so he can say his goodbyes.  His older brother went over on Thursday.  A very sad time for them all. 

thanks for visiting.... take care