Keeping it simple...

When I do my demo's, I like to cater for all abilities of cardmakers from beginners to the more advanced, and the two cards today are aimed more at the beginners.

This card uses some of the lovely Christmas time papers and decoupage sets. I love the traditional look of this range. The card above has some very simple matting and layering.

This is the decoupage in a little more detail. All the decoupage is already die cut, so all you need to do is pop it out and get going on your project.

This card is the new style dimensional card from Docrafts. They stand up nice and tall and have quite alot of depth to the card.

Here you can see all the five layers together.

I'm working on more samples for my demo at the weekend, so I'll upload them as soon as I can.

Happy Crafting everyone!

Embossed sleigh

Well... I'm not sure what happened with my prescheduled post .. but it's here now. Sorry it didn't upload as promised!

There's something quite magical about sleigh's at Christmas.. well, I think so anyway. So when I got this stamp in the Goody Bag from Docrafts, I had to ink it up straight away and get it stamped! 

I decided to use silver embossing powder and pigment ink to give it some shine, and in the photograph below, you can see what detail there is in the stamp. I cut out a second layer of the sleigh (my poorly fingers!!) and layered it up. I love the fact you can add some dimension in this way. I didn't want to make the image too fussy, so I added an effect on the background card to lighten it a little.

I hope you like today's card.

This weekend, I'm up at Lambton Garden Centre, in County Durham doing a demo from 10am to 4pm on Saturday. If you're passing, it would be lovely to see you. I must fly now to get cracking on some sample making.

Happy Crafting everyone!!

Sharing a Photo Tutorial with you all

Would you like to take photographs for your blog that look like this - which has a cluttered background,

Or this.... which has a lovely white background and no interference!

I personally think the second one looks better - no clutter, just the card.. I don't like scanning my pictures much either, because they glare with the light and spoil the cards a little, but if this is the only thing you can do, then you have to do it. (just use a photo editing program to alter the levels after.. lol)

So here's a little tutorial for you today... this is how I take my photographs (mostly!!).

Now, you'll see clearly if you check 'em out...  which ones on my blog are taken with this set up and which ones haven't .. lol..

Enjoy your tutorial..

This is my set up..

Now, as you can see, I have two lamps - one is a standard bendy lamp with a normal light bulb in it, normal 60w. The other lamp which comes in from the front is my Creativity lamp I bought to use in my studio because it has a daylight bulb in it and my previous lamp is in pieces!! - you don't need this, just another angle / bendy neck lamp is absolutely fine. Generally, I am photographing in daylight anyway, never usually at night, so all you are needing is extra light.

Now, this is a photograph of a card without the set up, clearly showing the problem of a cluttered background...

And this is a photograph of a card using the set up.

Now then - a few pointers.

For mine, I decided against using a box with the sides and top cut out, and lined with white papers, basically for storage reasons. My studio is not all that big, and I would have problems storing it. I went to my local Range, and bought some white Foam Mount Board - this has a plasticky outing (so easily cleanable) and has a foam core, so even when I have cut my slots for the lamp (I have one in the top, one in the side for different positioning) it is very self supporting, but I can tape it together randomly with a bit of masking tape and then take it apart to store it. It's slightly larger than an A4 size, which is perfect for cards.

The other thing that I tend to do is to use a piece of white printer paper taped onto the back of the set up, around half way up the back, sloping gradually and taped to the bottom section too. This makes sure that the light is even and not too harsh into the edges.

For those that like to 'fiddle' with their photographs and put in watermarks etc, as I tend to do, then you can use a photography program like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or even better than purchasing (more money for craft supplies!) you can download a fantastic little program called Gimp from the internet. This works exactly the same as photoshop, which I have, but is totally free.

I'll also just mention cameras.. if you do take a photo with a point and shoot type camera, then see if you can turn off the flash - it will make the colours of your cards look more intense. I personally use Canon EOS DSLR cameras.. the one that is designated for my card photography is my 400D because it permanently has my macro lens on it, so I can go in really close for the little details.

So.. go enjoy your photographing, and hope you enjoy this little bit of help xx

it's Bath time..

Today I'm on my road trip to Bath - but first, I'd like to show you my card that I left you with yesterday.

This is the card in full. I used one of the new Kinetic card kits that are available, and it moves by pulling the little tab on the side.

I've mounted it up onto an A5 card blank and layered it simply on some greeny blue coloured cardstock. I kept it quite simple and just added some snowflakes around the edges.

isn't this Tatty Ted so sweet?

Anyway.. as I said, today I'm off to Bath to film some more episodes for Creativity TV tomorrow, so a fun filled day - I'm sure - will be had by all! We've got quite a bit to get through tomorrow, so I must fly and get some packing done!

This weekend I'm up at Lambton Park Garden Centre in Chester Le Street, County Durham. So if you're passing, it would be lovely to see you and say hello. I'm there on Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

Oops.. nearly forgot.. here's a sneeky peek of tomorrows card. I'm going to upload everything and hope (fingers crossed) that things come on when they should!

A little Tatty Teddy

Morning folks...

I want to share this little chappy with you today - isn't he sweet?? I'm definately getting in the Christmas spirit with these new items from Docrafts. And this Tatty Teddy has to be my favourite!

He's the new stamp and embossing folder that is on release now, and he's such a lovely size. My card blank is an A5 and I've embossed the background and inked around with a sponge to add a lighter colour.

I added some 3D gloss to his nose and details on the snowman costume, and finished him with a bit of glitter. I made my Tatty a browner colour instead of the usual grey, more because he was in the snowman costume than anything else and I wanted him to stand out a little.

Here's a sneek peek of my card for tomorrow.

A little card for you

I am really trying to get my blog updated on a more regular basis, but things just seem to keep getting in the way. This next week I am in Bath filming more episodes for the Docrafts Creativity TV films. I am really looking forward to it too - it's quite an experience I can tell you!

But as I said earlier, today I've been out demoing, and next week I'll be doing the same.. so I want to share a few cards that came with me on my travels.. starting with this one.

I love these big A5 stamps! They're really lovely to stamp and fill an otherwise blank card up very nicely! I have trimmed this one down a little and put some of the Me to You papers behind the image to add some colour.

 The three kings were finished with a bit of the 3D Anita's gloss.. love that stuff!

And Mary and Joseph were finished with eyes!! In fact all of my faces have eyes as it just seemed so wierd to stamp without any!

I hope you like the card.. more to follow.. until then, happy crafting and have a great Sunday!

There's been some snappin' going on...

I had to giggle to myself today.. I've just returned from a FAB day demoing down in Derby (me loves that shop!) and naughty Cheryl took a photo of me. Cheryl and the rest of the staff are really lovely, so I don't really mind that they snapped me and the customers to put on their Facebook page.. I feel quite honoured really!

So.. here's the photo for you. Not quite sure what I was doing - who knows! But everyone seemed to really enjoy their day with me.

And this one below was taken at Grimsby Crafts last week, and I think I was just about to make a card box to go with a set of 4 inch cards. I saw the pic this evening whilst doing my blog hopping.. what a suprise it is to see yourself on a site! lol.

Next week I'm doing a demo up in County Durham, at the Lambton Garden Centre.. so if you're passing and would like to nip in and say HI.. it would be lovely to meet you.

Well I never...

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Tuesday? Already?

I love Bank Holidays.. I love the long weekends, and the extra time at home as a family.. but don't they make the week go quickly? I did have a demo on Sunday at Grimsby Crafts, and a lovely day it was too! Lynne and the girls at the shop were absolutely wonderful, and the customers were so friendly and chatty.. it was a great day!

It's Tuesday already, and I'm lating posting my Challenge card for the My Time to Craft Challenge as my phone line was being upgraded this morning, so I was offline and - to my youngest's dismay! - had no internet!

Still... I'm here now, and can show you my card that I made for this weeks challenge of 'In full bloom'.

I love this poppy stamp that was bought out by Docrafts a while ago now, and I decided to use the colours of the flower for the card, so I kept it all together by using red and green as my theme.

I stamped the image twice and cut out the little bow to create some dimension to the card.

I hope you like it.. I thoroughly enjoyed making it.

Ploddin' on...

After what seems like an eternity, I finally have my new phone in my hands and so far - touch wood- it seems to be wanting to do everything I need it to do.. !

So this is really just a very quick blog post to check that my mobile blogging is still available.... And if you're reading this, then I take it that it is! Haha.