Rusty old cogs with Garage Gears dies

I've wanted to have a play with these cogs for a long time but couldn't justify getting the whole bundle - and this is one case where three of the dies just wouldn't work well without the co-ordinating stamps.

Downline to the rescue again! One of my team members, Ian, kindly die-cut some cogs for me so I could make this card for a cyclist friend's birthday.

I used a really fun technique which was demonstrated by Kim Fee at OnStage Birmingham last November; the technique stuck with me and I've been eager to try it.

You start with a cog - mine was made from Crumb Cake cardstock - and sponge in your chosen colours. I used Early Espresso, Copper and Cajun Craze. As you go along, you add some Versamark and clear embossing powder, then brush some off, randomly. Repeat and you get this lovely rusty effect.

The cogs can be cut apart if you’re careful. The small cog looked a little ropy when I detached it from the main die-cut, so I simply hid the ropey bits behind the greeting. Nobody will know unless you’re like me and tell them!

And I've said it before but don't feel bound to stick to Suites and products designed to co-ordinate with each other. For the background of this card I used an image from Countdown to Christmas – you wouldn't know it was a Christmas stamp set. 

 

Wet on Wet watercolouring with Accented Blooms

Look closely at the punched "Hello" panel on this card and you’ll see two shades in action. I inked up the whole stamp using Pumpkin Pie, then added some Poppy Parade around the bottom with a sponge dauber. I love the ombre effect it creates and it’s ever so simple to do.

The image itself is embossed in white then coloured in using a wet on wet watercolour technique – always fun... if a little unpredictable! Once it had dried, I went back and added some stronger splashes of colour.

Behind the image I’ve stamped some Artisan Textures splatters, just because I could and to break up the large expanse of Very Vanilla.

Flowering Desert Week: when two heads are better than one

I made this card by stamping the cactus onto Wood Textures Designer Series Paper, but I didn’t love it. I was all for rejecting it when my friend Kelly said it needed a Very Vanilla flower. It made all the difference and there we have it – rescued from rejection!

Note the Braided Trim – this is a carryover item from the Autumn/Winter catalogue and still available. Don’t miss it, as it’s gorgeous.

Nine Lives: simple and stepped-up

A simple cat card... and a stepped-up version for the more avid crafter. For the simple version, I left the Big Shot in the craft room and stuck to stamps, ink and paper. However, I did make the cat into a tabby using the clever two-step stamps in the Nine Lives stamp set. I stamped in Gray Granite and added just a tiny touch of Pool Party around the base.

For the stepped-up version, I coloured the cat using Stampin’ Blends and cut out my layers using the fabulous new Rectangle Stitched Framelits. I used Braided Trim instead of Linen Thread, added a background of Wood Textures DSP and finished off with some sequins. Which one do you prefer?

By the Bay Sale-a-Bration stamp set

This was my joint first choice out of the Sale-a-Bration brochure... luckily my order meant I could earn more than one freebie.

Every £45 you spend during SAB (Jan-Mar) earns you a freebie from the brochure. I highly recommend By the Way, used here on a product-heavy card which we made at Crafty Friday.

Look out for two carryover items; the Sprig Punch and Braided Trim, both still available from the Autumn/Winter catalogue.