It's a White Wedding….

Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

Happy Saturday! I hope there is lots of crafting going on this weekend.

We were recently asked to make a wedding card for somebody for a wedding they are attending this month. We really enjoy doing projects like this, because we think it is a compliment when somebody asks us to make something crafty for them. 

We thought it would make a great post on the blog, so you can see what we have been up to. It is another joint project from us and on this occasion we did not have a design in our minds before we started. All we knew was that we wanted it to be in either cream or white pearlised card and wanted to incorporate an embossing folder to add texture.

As you can see from the photograph above we went with a very simple colour theme. I think it is always very interesting when you limit the colour combination on a craft project and in this instance the  main colour is white with a hint of silver.

The card itself is made from Crafter's Companion Centura Pearl 300gsm card and the colour is 'Snow White Hint of Gold'. Using the same card and Creative Expressions Heart Lattice embossing folder we created the top layer. Once the card was embossed we then die cut out Sweet Dixie's Floral Heart Frame which created a heart shape in the card, again in the same Centura Pearl card. Behind the heart cut out we put a piece of silver swirl texture paper to create contrast. We then stuck down the embossed card layer with Scotch Double Sided tape and using STIX2 double sided foam pads stuck the heart die cut out over the top of the shape in the card to create a 3D effect.

Using the Wild Rose Studio Dies, 'Little Butterfly' and 'Peacock Butterfly', we die cut one of each in the Centura Pearl card and one of each in the silver swirl texture paper. Using glue dots along the bodies we stuck the silver paper butterflies over the Centura Pearl butterflies. The self adhesive pearls on the floral heart are white 8mm and the ones on the body of the butterflies (which hopefully you can see) are 3mm, both from Creative Expressions.

The sentiment proved the most difficult as we really could not decide what to do. We went quite subtle in the end and I think it works really well. We cut out a small circle die, stamped a Wild Rose Studio sentiment using a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad and heat embossed it using WOW!'s Metallic Silver embossing powder. We used the STIX2 Foam pads to stick it to the card, again creating a 3D effect.

Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

Finally to add some finishing touches to make the card a little more special, we used a butterfly stamp from the 'Lovely Garden' stamp set by STAMPENDOUS! to stamp a butterfly on the inside of the card and the envelope in metallic silver. 

I hope you have enjoyed today's post.

Dan

x 

What a Lovely Garden….

Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

We are really big fans of Jumbo Cling Stamp sets and the matching dies from STAMPENDOUS! They are versatile to use in lots of different craft projects.

So using the 'Lovely Garden' stamp and die set we did a joint project and something a bit different for tonight. A craft project in a frame! You can see the finished piece in the photograph above.

The first thing we did was to stamp the large and medium rose, along with some leaves and the butterfly using a Rangers Archival Wendy Vecchi Ink Pad in 'Watering Can' on smooth white stamping card. The grey colour can be a good alternative to a black ink as it is a little softer. 

Next we die cut out the stamped images and coloured them using Tim Holtz Distress Inks in a variety of pinks such as 'Victorian Velvet' and 'Spun Sugar' and greens such as 'Mowed Lawn'. 'Mustard' was used to highlight the leaves and flowers and 'Seedless Preserves' (deep purple) which adds depth again to both the flowers and leaves.  

For the butterfly we used a combination of blues including 'Salty Ocean', adding the orange of 'Spiced Marmalade'. We used a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, which is great because it is small and round and easy to work with.

WOW! Ultra High Clear Gloss Embossing Powder was used in conjunction with a Watermark VersaMark stamp pad to give the die cut images a ceramic look, which creates a beautiful shine.To make the centre of each of the flowers I used Rangers 'Daffodil' Liquid Pearls. 

Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

To stick the large flowers and leaves to the white mount board we used Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue. The smaller roses and butterfly were stuck using STIX2 Double Sided Foam Pads to create a 3D look. This was also used on some of the larger roses around the edges to make them look more realistic. Mount board was used for the background because we were going to put it in a frame. In fact mount board is really good for using as a background on craft projects as it is sturdy but not too thick.

The picture frame we used is made out of a plain white wood moulding and was made in our Photography Gallery in Wanstead, 'Eighyfour'.

Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson

We had fun making this project, especially using the new products from STAMPENDOUS!

We hope you enjoyed tonight's post. Look out for another post on Friday night.

Lyn and Dan

x x x

PRETTY IN PINK….

 Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World © Lyn Wilkinson All Rights Reserved

I always associate the colour pink with the word pretty, so when we decided to make a 'pretty card'  the colour theme was obvious. We also decided that we do not use background papers enough. So what do you get when you put the two together? You get the card in the above photograph….Pretty in Pink!

The card itself is made from smooth white 300gsm card, the background paper is from a Phill Martin Setimentally Yours Designer Paper Pad called Graceful Butterflies & Dragonflies. The paper in the pad is 8x8 inches and is 170gsm premium paper which makes it suitable for lots of different projects. It features 4 designs in 6 different colours and you get two sheets of each, so 48 in total and the pad also coordinates with other products from Phill's Graceful Range.

We used an embossing folder from Creative Expressions called Large Heart Lattice which is a favourite of ours as it gives a beautiful effect, which I put through our Spellbinders Grand Calibur. The paper was stuck to the card using Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue, which I think is a must for any crafter as it is easy to use, adheres really well and is clear when it dries. To give the card a 3D look, you will see a middle panel was also created and stuck to the card using STIX2 Double Sided Foam Tape.

The dies used to create the toppers are both from Wild Rose Studio called 'Peacock Butterfly' and 'Flower Circle', to match the butterflies on the background paper. We used a selection of Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads in various pink shades 'Victorian Velvet', 'Spun Sugar' and 'Picked Raspberry' to colour the die cuts, blending them with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool which is perfect for this type of work. 

Using WOW! Ultra High Clear Gloss Embossing Powder we gave the butterfly and the outer edge of the flower circle a 'ceramic' look. The middle of the 'Flower Circle' was then stamped with a sentiment stamp from from Wild Rose Studio using a Tim Holtz Distress Pad in 'Victorian Velvet'.  The 'Butterfly' and 'Flower Circle' were then attached to the card using STIX2 Foam Pads. Finally we added some Mini White Pearl Swirls from Creative Expressions to the body of the butterfly and to create it's antenna.

We hope you have enjoyed tonight's post and it has given you some ideas.

Lyn and Dan

x

www.craftboutique84.com

I Couldn't Leave the Boys Out….

 Photograph World© Geoff Wilkinson - Design World ©  Danielle Wilkinson -  All Rights Reserved

I told you I wouldn't leave the boys out didn't I? So here I am with my second project using the 'Ornate Pram' Speciality Die from Wild Rose Studio. I used our 'Spellbinders Grand Calibur' to cut the die and again I have to say it did the job beautifully.

I used a smooth white 300gsm card for the base and also for the top layer with the pram die cutout. As I chose a pink and white colour theme for the baby girl card I posted on the blog on Friday, I decided to go for a blue and white colour theme for the baby boy card. As you can see from the photograph I used a blue and white striped card under the top layer and stamped the sentiment on white card also on top of a strip of the same blue and white card. I used 'Scotch Double Sided Tape' to stick all the layers. 

I die cut the 'Ornate Pram' in blue pearlised card along with another new Wild Rose Studio die for 2015 called 'Vivianna Corner', which as you can see I used on one of the top corners. To stick down the pram die cutout I used 'Cosmic Shimmer Acrylic Glue'. To stick down the 'Vivianna Corner' 

I used STIX2 foam pads, adding a 3D look to the project. 

The sentiment itself is made up of two stamps from Wild Rose Studio's 'Vivianna Greetings' clear stamp set, stamped with a Versa Craft 'Midnight' ink pad. I often like to create different layers in my projects to make them more interesting, so again I made this 3D by using the foam pads.

For the final touches this time I used some Creative Expressions 5mm white self adhesive pearls in the corner. In the centre of the wheels on the pram and the top of the 'Vivianna Corner' I added blue diamantes. Sparkly, I love it!

This card took a little longer to make than the baby girl card because as you can see it is bigger and there is more on it, even though the prams are in the same place on both. I just wanted to demonstrate that you can use the same die to create different looks.

Look out for a new project post on Friday night.

Happy Crafting!

Dan

You can find us at:
 'eightyfour' 
84 Nightingale Lane, 
Wanstead, 

London E112EZ 

Tel: 0208 530 1244  

www.craftboutique84.com

PaperArtsy Is The Bee's Knees….

                             Design and photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Firstly I have to apologise for this post going out later tonight that I said it would on Tuesday's post, but we have been very busy bees (I know, I know, not a great joke). 

We have lots of lovely suppliers at Craft Boutique at 84 and PaperArtsy is no exception. As you can see from the photograph above, they produce great products for all craft projects, working in conjunction with some great designers. 

The newly released A5 JOFY rubber stamp set from PaperArtsy, JOFY Collection 30 is so much fun to work with. Designed by Jo Firth-Young it contains nine stamps individually trimmed on EZ mount. I wanted to try out the new postcard tags (available in manila and white) that we are now selling in the Wanstead shop and online. I used the honeycomb stamp with a Versafine 'Vintage Sepia' ink pad, to create the background and then combined that with one of the text stamps which I stamped using Rangers Archival 'Watering Can' and lastly added some of the smaller bees using a Rangers Archival 'Jet Black' ink pad.

I then stamped the larger bee, beehive and both sizes in the honeycomb stamps. Then I coloured them in using  some of the PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic paints. I used 'Tango' and 'Yellow Submarine' to colour the bodies of all the bees, 'Chocolate Pudding' and 'Brown Shed' for the beehive and a mixture of 'Pumpkin Soup' with some other shades of brown for the honeycomb pieces. I applied all the paint using a water brush, which at the moment is my favourite way of working with the paint to create shading.

I cut out all the images I had stamped, covering the  large honeycomb shapes in Rangers Glossy Accents giving them a shine to contrast against the smaller shapes. Finally I used STIX2 foam pads to create a 3D effect and stuck all of my cut outs to the postcard tag.

I was really pleased with the finished tag, I had been wanting to use Jo's bees for a few weeks, so was finally excited to be able to do a project. It reminds me that Summer is on it's way!

I hope you have enjoyed tonight's project, look out for some exciting posts over the next few days.

Dan

It Certainly Is STAMPENDOUS!

                                           Design and photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Last week we posted a project where I had used some of the latest products to come into the shop, a Jumbo Cling Rubber Set and co -ordinating die from STAMPENDOUS! They really are great to work with, so I have used another one for tonight's post. This time it is the 'Hummingbirds' set as shown in the picture above. 

I stamped the flower and leaf image directly onto a light green piece of lightweight card which using Scotch Double Sided tape (this is used by Sue Wilson on most of her craft projects and has recently become a favourite of ours) I stuck it to the white card itself, which is a 300gsm smooth card. 

I then stamped and die cut some additional flowers and a hummingbird. For all the stamping I used a Rangers Archival Wendy Vecchi 'Watering Can' ink pad to create a more subtle look. For colouring the flowers I die cut, I used various Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads in 'Seedless Preserves',    'Victorian Velvet' and 'Picked Raspberry' working with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, which is great because it is small and round and easy to work with. 

A technique I like to use is highlighting the centre of the flowers with a small amount of yellow, which I did by using Rangers 'Daffodil' Liquid Pearls. I simply squeezed a small amount in the middle of each flower and dabbed it off immediately with kitchen towel. It leaves traces of the yellow behind, which is very easy to do but very effective. 

To colour the hummingbird I used a variety of 'PaperArtsy Fresco Acrylic Chalk' paints such as 'Hey Pesto' and the newly released 'Blue Glass' applied with a water brush. I also used various PaperArtsy paints in green and pinks to colour the leaves and flowers I stamped onto the green card, again using a water brush which is a great way to blend colours. 

I wanted the additional flowers and hummingbird to stand out more so I used Rangers Inkssentials Glossy Accents which created a beautiful shine. I stuck the flowers and hummingbird to the light green background paper using Stix2 foam pads to create a 3D effect. Finally for some finishing touches, I put a small pink self adhesive pearl in the middle of each flower and used a white pearl in the bird's eye.

The wording is part of a rubber stamp set from PaperArtsy, E Lin Brown 06 which I stamped with Versacraft Ink Pad in Spring Green. This stamp set contains 7 different sentiments individually machine trimmed on EZ mount and retails at £19.99, available from our shop in Wanstead and on our website.

I hope you have enjoyed tonight's post, we will be posting another project on Friday evening at 6pm and it really is 'the bee's knees….', that is a little clue. 

Happy Crafting!
Dan

SPRING SALE STARTING SUNDAY 10th MAY

WE ARE HAVING

A

SPRING SALE

AT OUR

WANSTEAD SHOP

UP TO 30% OFF ALL CRAFT PRODUCTS

SUNDAY 10th MAY TO SUNDAY 31st MAY 2015

THE SPRING SALE IS ONLY TAKING PLACE AT OUR SHOP IN WANSTEAD, THIS OFFER DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY PRODUCTS ON OUR WEBSITE.

Sheena's Perfect Partners

                                          

  Design and photograph world ©  Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved

Whether you are a fan of flowers or not when doing your craft projects, it is hard not to be a fan of the wonderful Sheena Douglass and her Wild Rose-Briar Stamp set and matching Wild Rose Die used on the card in the picture above. 

They are from Sheena's 'Perfect Partners' range and as soon as we saw them at the craft trade fair we visited in February, we knew we had to stock them. Not only are they easy to use, they are very versatile to work with and can be used to create some beautiful projects. The A5 unmounted stamp set includes 5 stamp images and 2 sentiments, retails at £9.99 and the die set containing 4 individual dies retails at £19.99. Both are available to buy from our shop in Wanstead (they will be on the website soon), we also stock other designs from the 'Perfect Partners' range.

To make the card, the images were stamped on Sheena Douglass White Smooth Stamping Card and  I used a Rangers Archival Wendy Vecchi 'Watering Can' ink pad for the stamping. If you have looked at previous posts on the blog you will know that there are times when I like to use a grey ink rather than a black which can sometimes look too harsh. I then cut out the stamps using our Spellbinders Grand Calibur die cutting machine.

For colouring the flowers and leaves I used various Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads working with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, which is great because it is small and round and easy to work with. Some of the Distress colours I used were 'Scattered Straw', 'Mowed Lawn', 'Seedless Preserves' and 'Victorian Velvet'. 

To make the centre of each of the flowers I used Rangers 'Daffodil' Liquid Pearls. I glued the leaves directly to the card using Cosmic Shimmer PVA glue, but I wanted the flowers to stand out so I stuck them to the card using Stix2 foam pads to create a 3D effect. Finally I stamped a sentiment from Wild Rose Studio's Birthday Circles clear stamp set (there are 6 different sentiment stamps in the pack) using a Versacraft Ink Pad in Spring Green.

Sorry for such a long post but I really wanted to give you as much detail as possible.

Look out for another project on Tuesday night. Also we will be posting details this weekend on our upcoming card making workshop.

Happy Crafting.
Dan

Lyn's Happiness Card

Design and Photograph World © Lyn Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

Those of you who know me, know I love black and white together as a colour combination on all things crafty. So when I decided to do the card pictured above I chose my favourite colour combo, introducing gold as the third colour. 

The white card itself is a 300gsm smooth card. The border stamp is new in the shop, it is called 'Floral Doodle Square'  and is a pre cut stamp from Stamps To Die For, decorated with gold foil. I then 3D mounted some black card in the centre of the square and in the middle of the card placed a butterfly using STIX2 foam pads, that I die cut from the 'Peacock Butterfly' die from Wild Rose Studio which I also decorated in gold foil. 

The writing is a favourite of mine and I have used it on a previous project, but I just love the words. It is a Woodware clear magic stamp called 'Happiness Is....', which I stamped using a Perfect Medium stamp pad and then embossed with WOW! 'Ebony' embossing powder.

I never tire of butterflies....
Happy Card Making,
Lyn

Dan's Hydrangea Card

Design and Photograph World © Danielle Wilkinson - All rights reserved.

Some of the latest products to come into the shop are from STAMPENDOUS! and we are just in love with their Jumbo Cling Rubber Sets and co-ordinating dies like the set featured in the card above. This one is 'Cling Hydrangea Garden' that I have stamped and cut out. 

I used a Rangers Archival Wendy Vecchi 'Watering Can' ink pad for the stamping as I thought it was more subtle to use a grey than a black which may have looked too harsh. For colouring the flowers and leaves I used various Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads working with a Tim Holtz Mini Ink Blending Tool, which is great because it is small and round and easy to work with. Some of the Distress colours I used were 'Mowed Lawn', 'Seedless Preserves' and 'Victorian Velvet'. 

To make the centre of each of the flowers I used Rangers 'Daffodil' Liquid Pearls. I wanted the leaves to stand out more than the flowers, so used WOW! Clear Gloss Embossing Powder which created a beautiful shine. I stuck the flowers and leaves to the background paper using Stix2 foam pads to create a 3D effect. 

The wording is part of an A5 JOFY rubber stamp from PaperArtsy, JOFY Collection 26 which again I stamped in 'Watering Can'. 

Happy Card Making,

Dan