Eiffel Tower Tea Set Card

I’ve got to admit, I’ve been holding out on you guys. I often post my cards to Instagram and forget to post them here. Sometimes I don’t even remember to take a photo of them with my good camera and all I have is an iPhone pic! So this summer, I am resolved to find all the cards I’ve made in the last while, about 6 months I think and post them all! We shall see how long this particular resolution lasts!

This card was for the spring Coffee Lovers Bloghop. The Eiffel Tower is by Hero Arts, (I’m so used to Instagram that I almost typed #heroarts!) which I airbrushed in tan to get as close to the colour of the real tower as possible. Did you know that it is painted in an ombre of tan? But metallic tan of course. To save time, I die cut the tea pot and cup (dies by Poppy Stamps) with coaster board so I wouldn’t have to layer so many die cuts. Just snag a few every time you go out to a restaurant or bar! Most die cutters will get through it in just a couple of passes with a shim.

The background is text paper from PTI but it looked too plain so I airbrushed some of the colours from the patterned paper on it. At the bottom I added a fabric doily; sadly most of it was covered by the flowers.  I finished the card with some crystals, silk and paper flowers along with some die cut flourishes.

I wonder if some of you are curious as to why so few of my cards are my usual shabby chic style. There are a couple of reasons. First, many of the stamps I get in my Hero Arts and Simon Says Stamp kits don’t lend themselves to shabby designs. I wish I was like Melissa Philips and I could make a shabby card out of nearly any stamp set! But alas, I lack that particular talent. Also, I’ve been trying to sell my cards and the over-the-top shabby ones I love to make don’t sell very well. I will always be a shabby and elegant designer at heart but I have been enjoying making some cards that aren’t as ornate and girlie. Oh, I guess there is another reason. I’ve been colouring a lot and not finishing those cards! Especially since I’ve participated in the last couple of Kathy Rascoosin’s 30 day colouring challenges. That’s another goal of mine, to turn those coloured panels and backgrounds into cards!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Awareness Inspiration

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness week, Bonnie asked us to use pink while making an inspirational card this week. This may seem like an unusual sentiment along with the cancer awareness ribbon but I thought of it as the perfect card to celebrate a treatment victory, big or small.

I’ve been making a lot of clean and simple or graphic cards lately so I was feeling the pull of freestyle collage and my simple shabby signature style. When I am trying to design in this style, I usually reach for Maggie Holmes and My Mind’s Eye. Today Maggie won! All the papers and most embellishments are from her line. The tag was cut at the top with Tag Classic 2 from Neat n Tangled and at the bottom with a die from Select-a-Size edge dies from Concord & 9th. Then I added a whole bunch of bits and bobs. The awareness ribbon die is by Lifestyle Crafts. I think they are now part of WRMK so you may not be able to find that exact die.

For this shabby/freestyle design, I first decide what elements I have to have. I started with the tag, the background and the awareness ribbon. Next I needed to fill some space in the background so I added the washi and glitter tape. Next I selected the chipboard element that looks like a banner with the heart and white sentiment. To bulk up the tag, I added some filler on both sides; on one side some corrugated cardboard with Finnabar patina paste, on the other a tag I decorated with lace, rickrack and twine. Last I added the flower die cut, vellum leaf, twine on the big tag, the tiny bit of mint lace and finally the sequins and gems.

This is the perfect theme for October. Come on over and play with us at Crazy 4 Challenges.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Celebrate Everyday Moments

I’m so excited to finally show you one of the cards I made for SCS in January.

 

I started with this glorious cupcake paper from Bo Bunny. It uses so many of my favourite colours too! Mmmm. I love when pastels are accented with a pop of a bright or darker colour in this case the fuchsia! While not a big fan of black it works perfectly here! The oval die cut which I think is either sponged or airbrushed with a tiny bit of colour, makes a perfect mat for the cake slice inside a cloche! Some gold thread makes the chipboard (Bo Bunny) pop too! I just can’t stop adding gold! I’m so glad that gold is the trend right now and not silver as I definitely prefer the warm shimmer of gold, rose gold and copper!

I added some narrow washi tape above the patterned paper just to help it look more finished then some ribbon and glitter. The pink Distress glitter was adhered (Scor-Tape) to the card right next to the ribbon and trimmed on an angle so it almost appears that the ribbon has a glittered edge. Really Reasonable Ribbon has some awesome deals on the lovely paper flowers I used on this card; their colours compliment the paper perfectly!

Another chipboard piece provides a sentiment I really believe in. My religion doesn’t celebrate holidays or even birthdays so we really have to take advantage of smaller moments to celebrate and enjoy. It certainly makes things less stressful to celebrate a lot of small moments rather than just a few huge ones. A sprinkling of sequins and gems from Lucy’s Cards provides some sparkle and bling to this fun card!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Finally!

It’s been an amazing 6 months but sadly my term at SplitcoastStampers is over. Fun doesn’t even come close to describe my time with the Dirty Girls. The themes were so creative and allowed us so much free rein to come up with truly awesome creations! Now that my term is up, I am free to blog my cards!

This box was absolutely one of my favourite creations. It seems anytime that I work with Maggie Holmes products from Crate Paper, I make something I REALLY love! The box was plain so I covered it with some 12x12 paper from the Bloom collection. Everything else except the ribbon, buttons, sequins and sentiment are from one Maggie H collection or another. Layering all of these beautiful embellies made me so happy! I can’t wait until a friend or family member has a baby so I can give a sweet little gift in there.

I will be coming back later in the week with some more cards and a book review (or two!). I have boys and they really aren’t into the crafts I do. But I’ve been contacted by a publisher and given some books to review for free. While I was given the books, I was not required to review them favourably or otherwise, and everything I write is my unbiased opinion.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Paris Sending Hugs Card

It’s time for another Crazy 4 Challenges card! This week we were challenged to make a card using a travel destination, any city, country or place.

Of course, my romantic, shabby chic and summer-loving self immediately thought of the beach and Paris. Hard to chose but Paris won as I hadn’t made a shabby card in a while. It’s pretty hard for me to make one without tons of dimensional flowers but using Webster’s Pages paper helps a lot as the paper already has many shabby elements on it.

Do you know what colour the Eiffel Tower is? I thought it was silver/raw metal colour but actually it is painted three shades of bronze. The bottom is the darkest and the top is the lightest. Apparently this enhances the look against the sky. When I found that out, I tried to mimic this in my die cut (Hero Arts). I added silver distress stain to the top and copper to the bottom leaving the center plain. Then I added bronze over top hoping the colours below would blend with the bronze on top. It didn’t work as I had to add too many colours of stain to get a solid look but it’s still pretty!

Want to get all my posts by email? Be sure to check out the email sign up widget on my sidebar!

I added some stamping, the clock, flourish on the left, the birds at the top and bits of script and postmarks. On the background paper I added gold crackle paste through a doily stencil. I hope you like how this turned out! I kinda love it! We would love to have you join us this week. Any destination, maybe your dream vacation? :)

Enjoy, Rebecca

Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Welcome to my entry for this season’s Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop. As usual, I went for a shabby theme this time.

I started by choosing a paper pack, the Bloom collection by Maggie Holmes from Crate Paper. She is one of my favourite designers EVER! The gorgeous paper I used for the background has been calling my name for along time but it is VERY busy! So I spread some gesso over the middle 3/4 of the paper. Some of the pattern shows through but not all. Over that I added some light embossing paste through a Prima stencil. They make the best shabby embellishments EVER! I added glitter and embossing powder to the paste. That’s the gold roses you see in the background.

Next I layered a bunch of embellishments and my focal tea cup and saucer (Altenew). Most of the paper pieces are Maggie Holmes embellies, the trims are from my stash, the washi is from Recollections. I hand calligraphed the sentiment with Dr Ph Martins iridescent ink. Last I added a bit of shimmer with a Wink of Stella pen and some gems from Lucy’s Little Things.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Beachy Cake Box

Hi! I have a beautiful cake box video up on SplitcoastStampers today! You can see it by visiting this link. Cake Box SCS.

Here is a sneak peak! Go check it out!

Thanks for visiting and have an awesome crafty day!

Rebecca

Spring 2017 Coffee Lovers Bloghop!

I am just under the wire for posting this! I love making cards for this bloghop that is held once each season, 4 times per year.

I’ve been doing way too many CAS cards lately for my shabby loving heart to be satisfied. So lately I’ve been working my way back to bows, flowers and fancy die cuts.

Isn’t this totally me? I paper pieced the cups using the Simon Says Coffee and Tea stamp set. The lids are Copic coloured to help them match the cups and labels. I added some coloured leaves, flowers, a couple of wood embellies and a little shaped paper clip. Some twine and a sentiment stamped in cute colours (thank you Mme. MISTI) completes this shabby card. Oh and I tucked in an epoxy brad too. It was a bit aged from the sun (I have tons of light in my craft room) but since I was using vintage papers with ivory undertones, it all worked out just fine.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered In: Coffee Lovers Bloghop

Layered Violette Card

It’s been a while since I made a truly shabby card dripping with mixed media and vintage-y goodness. So I took some time between design team gigs to make this fun card using a new-to-me JustRite stamp set.

To start, I used a palette knife to spread three colours of paint on the background. Then I mixed up some custom modeling paste with a dye reinker applying it with a Tim Holtz stencil. When that was dry, I added more stenciling, the letters, with just normal paste then applied gold embossing powder and heat set it. It will bubble a lot but in the end it looks really dimensional and interesting. If you want a smoother result, let the paste dry on its own, then heat set the powder.

Then I started to layer all kinds of fun bits and bobs. The colouring (Prismacolor) was already done another day so I just had to die cut the Voilette panel and add some glass glitter to the edges. It took a while to decide where everything was going to go, I kept adding more then laying the panel on top, then I would take it off and level all the layers out with pieces of fun foam.

To finish this card off, I added some brads, flowers and ribbon. I especially love how the metallic and glitter washi tapes look peeking out here and there. The gold straw is also a favourite. I took a blue and white flowered straw and painted it with gold leafing paint!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered In:

Simon Says Monday Challenge-Layer It

Shabby Frame Floral Card

This week at Crazy 4 Challenges we were asked to make an owl card or if you don’t have any owl images, use any bird.

I dug out this VERY old Basic Grey paper that I ADORE! The pack has the lovely name, Porcelain. This particular sheet features tons of birdcages and birds. I had to work hard to not cover too much of the paper. The frame is a Spellbinders Label 55 with an oval cut out and a border die with sponging to show off the tiny sweet hearts. The leafy die is by PTI. I tucked in a few bits of seam binding ribbon and added a charm.

I hope you will play along this week! You may find birds hiding out in interesting places if you look hard in various different stamp sets.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Shabby Fall Branches Card

I was looking at a few challenges and trying to come up with a card that would fit. While pulling some supplies, I realized that now that I’m on two design teams, I don’t just make what I feel like making much anymore!

So I just started creating with what felt like fun! In the end it turned out it did match one of the challenges after all! The greenery and pinecones were handmade using Susan Tierney Cockburn dies. It definitely takes a while to make the pinecones but I thought they turned out very cute and pretty realistic. I used my little Delicata copper ink pad to highlight the tips of the scales.

For the background, I started by adding gold crackle paste through a script stencil. Then I added more stenciling through a Moroccan style stencil with green ink. Some random gold splatters, clear crackle paint and evergreen ink competed the background. The cluster in the corner includes burlap, twine, ribbon, a gold stamen bunch, tiny flowers, lace, cheesecloth, the large fabric flower and the greenery and pinecones. I also dabbed some gold Stickles in random places all over the card. Finally I added sequins, a butterfly sticker and a bit of brown ink distressing.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in: the Paper Players Tic-tac-toe challenge #319

I used die cuts, pine and ribbon if that wasn’t obvious!

Shabby Pastel Clock Card

I’m often inspired by many different things. One day it’s a new supply, the next it’s a sketch. Maybe the following week it’s someone’s card I want to CASE. This time it was a sketch. I made this ages ago so the linky is long closed but it’s too pretty to not share it!

This shaker card actually has 5 sections. I die cut the clock (PTI)from kraft cardstock and fun foam. I wanted to make the shaker so some of shaker goodies would always be inside the areas where the numbers would go. So I removed some of the foam ‘boundaries’ between the number areas but left some in so there are 4 sections plus the middle. This way the shaker bits wouldn’t all settle at the bottom! Does that make sense? I removed some of the bits of foam so I was left with 4 sections. I figured that adding sequins to each of 13 sections would be a pain!

I added embossing paste to the background paper (My Favourite Things) and added some gold glass glitter while it was still wet. It looks like wet sand on the background here but it’s much prettier IRL. The clock die cut was accented with gold embossing powder on the inner and outer rims. For finishing touches here are some paper flowers, glitter washi, lace, a doily (PTI), gold twist twine and some sari ribbon.

Enjoy, Rebecca

CASE the Designer

I found a new-to-me challenge blog, Global Design Project a short while ago. This week their challenge was to CASE one of their designers, Steffi Helmschrott. Her card was so pretty, I just had to play.

The day I made this, I wanted to do something mixed media, but I couldn’t decide what to make. When I saw this challenge, it was so perfect! I started with white cardstock on a kraft base. But I didn’t want to just stamp or stencil ink on the background so I added some gold crackle paste (Prima) through a stencil (Tim Holtz). Then I added a postmark like you can see on her card but went a bit further and added a few more as well as some cancellation stamps.

For the green I added some leafy die cuts (PTI) and instead of the butterfly, I added a lovely lacy flower (Prima). For finishing touches, I sponged some ink on both the card base and on the focal panel. I added a gold embossed sentiment on vellum and some sequins. The button in the middle of the flower was originally plain wood so I coloured it with a gold paint pen so it would match better. I had so much fun playing with this challenge. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in: Global Design Project #44

Baby Girl Carriage Card

Since I made a couple boy baby cards last week, I had to balance my stash out with a girl card!

I started with some baby paper but I couldn’t find a pink ink to match so I started looking through some other papers. Wow do I have a lot, LOT of paper! Stuff I’d totally forgotten about. It was like shopping without paying anything! This paper isn’t baby at all but so soft and pretty.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered In: As You See It Sketch, Simon Says Stamp Monday and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday-Use Felt, Craft Rocket Challenge-Use Flowers

Glitter Wreath Winter Card

Welcome to another The Shabby Tea Room Challenge! WE have a FABULOUS inspiration photo for you this week! I know it’s a busy time for most people but I hope you can join us!

I stamped the background with some tone-on-tone sketchy snowflakes. I’m afraid it’s very hard to see. Then I swiped the edges across my Versamark ink pad and sprinkled on some white embossing powder. It looks like that snow stuff stores spray on the corners of their windows in the winter. The card base was sponged with tone-on-tone ink as well using a diagonal stripes stencil. The sentiment was heat embossed with platinum embossing powder.

The wreath was formed from pine branch die cuts covered in silver and aqua glitter. I added lots of pink star confetti die cuts the two deer and lots of sequins. Last but not least I added the silver string. You can see the sparkle somewhat but it’s so amazing IRL!

Isn’t this photo lovely? I wish I’d had a ballerina to use for mine! So head on over to TSTR and take a look at the super talented gals projects! So much wonderful inspiration! You can post any kind of crafty project in any style! Be inspired by the tree, the holidays, the colours, the lace or the ballerina! Or something else I missed! Be sure to leave the design team some love while you are over there!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in:
CAS-ual Chic 06 Snowflakes
Friday Mashup – Use Dies
Sparkle and Shine Challenge
Simon Says Wednesday “Let it Snow”

RECIPE
Stamps: SSS (sentiment) and unknown snowflakes
Ink: blush, aqua-PTI, Versamark
Paper: blush, aqua, hibiscus-PTI, white scraps, teal-Bazzill
Accessories: white pine bough-ELizabeth Crafts, Deer-Impression obsession, Fun-Fetti stars-CAS-ual Fridays, ModPodge, flower sequins-Paper Sweeties, platinum sequins-Theresa Collins, clear sequins-Lucy’s Cards, Platinum and white Embossing powder-Hero Arts, stencil-MFT, string-SU!,  clear wink of Stella pen, Martha Stewart glitter

Fall Thank You Card and Candle

We have another fabulous inspiration photo this week at The Shabby Tea Room. I love the softness of the photo and the fall colours.

I decided to make a card and a candle as a gift. It will probably be a hostess gift at some point. I added lots of sparkle using gold glimmer mist and a Wink of Stella pen. The ribbon on the card is sari silk ribbon I bought from eBay. It’s so lovely to work with.

The background was stencilled with ink then I stamped over it before I removed the stencil. Then I sprayed it with gold glimmer mist. I also added some to the card base.

The candle is one from the dollar store in such a cute little tin. I added paper to the bottom and wrapped gold twine around the lid. On top I added layers of paper, seam binding ribbon and a cute little apple die cut. If you die cut corrugated cardboard and it flattens too much, use a fine tipped embossing stylus to pull up the bumps.

I love having small gifts on hand to use in a pinch. Do you create items to have in your stash besides cards?

We’d love to have you join us this week at the The Shabby Tea Room. You don’t have to make a card, make anything you like! We love to have as many participants as we can get, new friends or old.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered in:

CAS-ual Fridays Chic Challenge: Tic Tac Toe (closed)

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Throwback – Autumn

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Anything Goes

Paper Players Fall Thank You Cards

Graphic have embedded links to challenges.

RECIPE
Stamps: French script-SU!
Ink: Antique linen, vintage photo distress, kraft-PTI
Paper: chocolate CS-PTI, vanilla, olive, various browns CS-SU!
Accessories: fall dies-Echo Park, leaves-Elizabeth Craft, sentiment-Mama Elephant

Beach Paradise Mixed Media Canvas

I’m planning on painting a large three-part canvas for my bathroom. To test out the paints I bought and to help me know what proportions of colours I’d need to mix, I painted this much smaller canvas board.

For the background I spread an uneven layer of texture paste not covering it all up as I like the canvas texture. Then I went over that with a great stencil from Red Lead Paper Works and more embossing paste. Next I painted it with acrylic paints, first the sand (a mix of unbleached titanium white and metallic gold), then the sky and finally the sea. The metallic-ness of the gold got a bit lost in the mix so I dry brushed the sand with the gold paint.

It wasn’t enough gold for me so I went over it with gold Gilder’s Paste and that turned out much more shimmery. The gold sat up on top of the lettering and looked so pretty! So now I had my trial for my larger canvas. I remembered to write down my approximate paint mixes then decided to embellish it as it turned out so well. I will put it up downstairs during the summer months. I’ve added air dry clay shells, Prima flowers, sequins and shell beads, buttons, ribbon, real fish net, rhinestones, die cuts, twine, wood veneer, a coin, brads and a pearl stick pin.

The shell ‘sequins’ area really cool. They are real shell beads called heishi beads and basically look like sequins! I got them at Art Beads.com and I highly recommend them for any application. I might even use them in a shaker card! I know this is out of season but honestly, I could make beachy themed items all year! And I probably will! Stay Tuned!

Enjoy, Rebecca

Entered In:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Throwback. I forget when it was but this was for the Paradise challenge.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

RECIPE
This is a pretty big list. Let me know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to know about.

Fall Mixed Media Canvas

Wow, it went from almost summery to SNOW in less than a week! Seriously? Gotta love southern Ontario ‘autumn’. So with a chill in the air, I made this super shabby fall decor piece for The Shabby Tea Room this week.

I started with a plain white canvas-covered board. I prefer the look of a wood frame canvas but boards are not only easier to work on but it was all I had in this size! I applied strips of music, text and scrapbook papers along with washi tape and lace with gel medium. Then I went over it all with a light coating of gesso. Next I added watercolour in long thin streaks.  Some overlapped the lace but most was on the canvas itself. For the foliage, I die cut plain ivory cardstock and coloured it in with gilder’s paste using both antique gold and patina which is the mint colour you also see on the canvas.

The chevrons, which I added to help reflect the inspiration photo, were coloured with watercolour then covered in Crackle Accents. Next I went to town embellishing the canvas using Prima flowers, gold berry clusters, buttons, sequins and a big reclaimed sari silk bow. I found quite a few sequins that matched perfectly and I was happy to find I had brown buttons in the perfect sizes for the ‘dotted’ effect I was looking for. I thought they helped by bring in the dots from the inspiration photo.

I really hadn’t planned to bring in the mint colour but I accidentally grabbed the patina (mint) colour of Gilder’s Paste before the antique gold one and I realized it brought a fresh pop to the autumn colours. So I added even more with the buttons! I die cut the ‘blessings’ letters in a more whimsical font but it didn’t work well so I tried this one. It’s way old, from Quickutz back when they had the Squeeze tool! Anyone been die cutting long enough to remember those? Ugh, I can’t tell you how many incomplete cuts I got with that thing; I have weak hands. I really like this font because its like a typewriter font but with some added whimsy. Last but no least I added a bit more texture using some brown ink and a script stamp.

I hope you like the inspiration photo and join us this week! Remember, our name is shabby, you project doesn’t have to be! We accept any type of project and any style! You know you waaaaaanna! But even if you only visit, be sure to leave the girls some love! We all thrive when we get great comments.

Enjoy, Rebecca

Shabby Clock Music Card

I’ve always loved fancy clocks. The more ornate the better! This makes this stamp/die set one of my faves.

It’s a bit hard to see but on the right is ivory cardstock with clear embossed script with soft Distress inks added overtop. I love embossed resist! So easy and looks fabulous. The clock die cut was embossed with gold. Although the stamp is only a partial stamp, I managed to use my MISTI tool to stamp the entire thing. Although so much is tucked behind the flowers, you would never know but I thought I’d tell you in case you own this stamp set.

For the clock hands, I used a red Metallic Krylon marker. I covered the brad in eh same marker. They call it red but it is really more of a very red/pink copper colour. Someone gave it to me, I have no idea if you can still get it.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: SU! script, clock-PTI
Ink: Versamark, spun sugar, Victorian velvet, scattered straw Distress, moss-PTI
Paper: vanilla CS-SU!, vintage music paper, DP-My Minds Eye
Accessories: leaf die-Sizzix, other dies-PTI, flowers-Prima, Really Reasonable Ribbon, Michaels, Etsy, lace, ribbon-stash, gold EP-SU!, clear EP-Hero Arts, thread-Gutterman, brad-stash, Krylon metallic red, gold marker

Entered In:

Simon Says Stamp Monday: use stamps
CAS-ual Chic a layered card with music theme
a sketch challenge I missed entering :(

Pumpkin Treat Box

Hello and I’m glad you are joining me for another week at The Shabby Tea Room! This week, we had a yummy inspiration photo.

I don’t celebrate Halloween so I made some fall decor instead. I plan to put coffee beans and a faux tea light in there. I took the colours from the photo and decided to use the black plus white and one other colour scheme. I just substituted ivory for the white and dark red for the yellow/orange combo. The cute little treat box is from The Cutting Cafe who is our sponsor this week. It was a breeze to print out and construct; I highly recommend you check them out!

So, I kinda wish I could have a do over on the glass glitter I added to the burgundy roses. I was a bit too much for such small flowers and while I scraped a lot of excess away, I still regret it. But it wasn’t bad enough to bother wasting the flowers and starting again especially since I attached them with E6000 glue! It’s a fabulous glue for bulky 3-D items but no way are those coming off with out major tearing.

I do hope you will play with us this week! We have fabulous prizes for the top winners. Be sure to visit the blog to see the FABULOUS creations by our awesomely talented designers and leave em some love!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: damask-Gel-a-Tins
Ink: Archival black-Ranger, Peeled Paint Distress
Paper: vanilla, celery CS-SU!, black CS-PTI
Accessories: roses- Really Reasonable Ribbon, lace-stash (from my wedding favours from almost 18 years ago!), silver gel pen-Pentel, leaf die-Spellbinders, sequins-Theresa Collins and Ellen Hutson, Glass Glitter- Recollections, Art Institute, Glitter Ritz