A troublesome stamp.....

This stamp was a freebie but I really love the image and was determined to make a card with it.
Unfortunately it was one of those troublesome ones that I just couldn't get to stamp properly. Here are some attempts....(!)Doesn't really show in the photo's - or perhaps it will if you click on them and enlarge them- but there was always a section that didn't come out, no matter what I did!

Also, I really wanted to use my new ProMarkers :) but found out the hard way that these make the ink run, even if it says it's permanent, waterproof ink, because they are alcohol pens, Helena, and that's what they do- D'OH!!! So I have now ordered a Stazon ink pad, which should be ok with them.... meanwhile, I stamped and embossed the image (above photo) and coloured over the embossed lines. I used a ProMarker Blender to make the grass fade away a bit at its edge, then rubbed an inkpad round the edge of the card.

-(PAH! The woman in the craft shop in town said that you don't get blender-pens for ProMarkers and her chirpy-boy sidekick said I wouldn't need them PAH! When I went online to seek out colours they didn't have, I found the blender!)

I made this one into a card, but I'm not too sure about it. So it remains in my box, unused and not listed in the shop. I don't think it's good enough to sell - bit patchy on the girl's hair- but it would be nice to write a note to someone on, accompanying a pressie, say. So this is in my 'mine' box. LOL!

Don't ask about the monkey nut on the coffee table, here. I have no idea what it's doing there. We buy them to take to the park and feed to the squirrels, but...????

Still wanting to play with my new Markers, I decided to flip the procedure: I scribbled colours over a piece of card (as with the background layer on the card above) and then stamped on top. I used a ColorBox Fluid Chalk inpad for this (in French Blue) and er.... it stamped the image perfectly! Oops! Ah well, I guess this proves it isn't the stamp, it's me!!! LOL!

I inked round the edge of the card with the same inkpad.
I really like this! So I used it to make a card with, and decided to write to an old friend, Mikiko, with it. She wrote to me at Christmas and I owed her something.... she is very good at Japanese paper folding so I wanted to do something special....

You can get free template downloads like this from www.byDonovan.com

I mounted the image on an A5 piece of purple card, and added some glittery bits with a clear Sakura Sparkle pen.

I made a wrap for the card by punching a strip of vellum and securing it with a shaped paperclip.
This is how the folder closes... then it went into an envelope for sending. I hope she likes it :)

Right!
I'm off for dinner now. I'm cooking chilli :)
(TIP: add a few teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa! YUM! It really helps lift it.)

Then I need to update the shop. Here's a taster of what's going in:

Thanks again for all your comments! I love reading them :)

Notecards for Anna

Click on images to see them bigger!

One evening earlier this month, my partner and I had just walked in from shopping and he said "Ooops!" (or words to that effect) and explained that he should have got one of his sisters a birthday card. I told him not to worry, I'd make one.

Wah!

It turned out to be more than a card; a little wallet containing 6 notecards. I didn't have a plan, I just sat up most of the night, playing with my carfty-stash.

Here is the front cover....

"Anna" is written with a blank embossing pen and then heat-embossed with gold embossing powder. The wallet is made from blank green card. I stuck a piece of pink card, cut out with crimping scissors, to the front and back. On the front here I've also placed a piece of patterned contrast paper, a skeleton leaf, and a single pearl. Green ribbon is attached with brass brads and trimmed with wooden beads to prevent fraying.

Here is the inside....

I lined the card with some handmade Indian paper, which is very soft, almost tissue-like. Then I cut the green card and folded up to make two pockets, using double-sided tape to stick it in place. I covered each side with more scraps of contrasting patterns.

Here is the back........

I covered the back with a tiny stamp of a flying bird, using a watermark stamp pad. I really like this bit! Here it is, close up-

And here are the notecards I made and put inside....

They are about 3inches square. All open up double and have the small bird watermark image inside. They are all stamped and embossed, apart from the shamrock, which is drawn with the embossing pen, then embossed.

I also made a tag to slip inside to say "Happy Birthday" and signed from us both.

She rang and said she really liked it! I really enjoyed making it! -and was pleased with how it came out!