Amazingly I got this Valentine card made well in time and wasn't rushing around at the last minute trying to come up with an idea like I often am. Rather than do the usual Copic colouring, I decided to keep to a simple graphic design and use the opportunity to play with some techniques instead.… Continue reading Black ice Valentine
This 3D embossing folder faux cast iron tutorial caught my eye in a Pinterest email and, rather than just file it away as I usually do with these things, I actually got out my Big Shot, some black card, embossing folders and gilding wax, and had a play. This technique would work better with the… Continue reading Watercolour butterflies
It's my younger nephew's 17th birthday and, short of inspiration, I turned to my collection of things that have caught my eye while reading blogs or Twitter. Nothing specific leapt out at me, though there was a technique that used inked-up embossing folders to create a simple card and that reminded me that I haven't… Continue reading Metallic cogs
I don't think I've ever felt less Christmassy. Really not helped by catching this horrible cold that has been going around and then, just as I thought I might be on the mend after two weeks, getting a 24-hour stomach bug that wiped me out for another week and then, just as I'm starting to… Continue reading Embossed Christmas tree
It’s that time of year again, when I have to come up with an idea for cards for twins. I’ve been playing with foil and Minc mist recently, so I thought I’d put the experimenting to good use and create a foil rainbow across the two cards as a background for some Copic colouring. How:… Continue reading Birthday: Twin rainbow
So many new ideas to try in this class. The next step on from just having a plain acetate card base is to have an embossed one; it’s an interesting technique, but it does warp the acetate so, depending on the embossing folder used, it could be more appropriate for creating embellishments. How: For the… Continue reading Embossed acetate cards
What: Testing out a new technique for creating backgrounds with Distress ink, Perfect Pearls and an embossing folder. (Note to self: remember to actually post things and not just leave them in my drafts folder.) Inspired by: Jennifer McGuire’s faux textured metal paper tutorial. How: This is a surprisingly straightforward technique. Mask off around the… Continue reading Technique: Faux textured metal backgrounds
What: When I heard that the theme of Kathy Racoosin’s pop-up challenge was going to be “lines”, my brain started ticking over. One of my current aims is to use some of the pieces I have in my stash; both painted backgrounds and images I’ve created for previous colouring challenges. I coloured a full set… Continue reading Birthday card: Pisces
What: Day twenty-six of the second Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge. A birthday card for a cat-owning friend and one of my favourite cards. How: The first thing I did was stamp each of the cat stamps on masking paper and fussy cut them out. The background panel was built up from the bottom… Continue reading The Daily Marker 30 day colouring challenge #26
What: My other half's nephew is getting married, so I had to figure out how to make a wedding card. How: I started with the idea of heat embossing flowers in white on vellum, fussy cutting them out and arranging them on a white-on-white stamped background. Try as I might, I could not come up… Continue reading Wedding card: Vellum flowers
Crafty Rat 