Couture Creations Dreamboat Collection at Creative Expressions (Part 1)

Blog HopWelcome to the Creative Expressions Couture Creations Blog Hop! Hopefully you got here from Pam Smith’s blog, but if you didn’t, here’s the start at Creative Expressions News Blog!

The Couture Creations Dreamboat 3-in-1 sets include coordinating clear stamps, embossing folder and dies that work together in so many different combinations.

And one randomly selected person commenting on this project before the closing date will win a fabulous prize package:
– Zentangled Saying Pre Cut Stamp
– Glitter
– Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue
– Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine Detail Embossing Powder

PLEASE NOTE:
THE PRIZE WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED – further comments are welcome, but are no longer eligible for the blog hop prize package.

If you want to sign up to follow my blog, the widget is right at the bottom of the comments… and here is my project for the blog hop:

Doilies Card
You will need:
Couture Creations Dreamboat: Doilies 3-in-1 set
A4 sheet Foundations Milk cardstock
A4 sheet Foundations Dark Roast Coffee cardstock
Ranger Liquid Pearls: Dark Chocolate
Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder: Denim Lilac Aurora
Cosmic Shimmer Angel Fibres: Enchanted Metallics
Cosmic Shimmer Specialist Acrylic Glue
Clear embossing ink (e.g. Ranger Perfect Medium)
A dark brown Distress Ink (e.g. Walnut Stain) and applicator tool

  1. Use the largest die to cut out one shape from white card stock. Ink the lower of the two medium circles on the stamp with embossing ink and print onto the cut piece, lining up the stamp to the shape. Cover with embossing powder, tap off excess and heat set.
  2. Repeat using two die cuts of larger of the two daisy type dies and emboss using the petalled circle toward the top of the stamp.
  3. Repeat using two die cuts of the smaller daisy type die and emboss using the centre of the first circle you using in 1.
  4. Finally, die cut two pierced hexagons and emboss with the pattern in the centre of the other medium circle on the stamp set.
  5. Using the embossing folder, emboss pieces of Milk card stock – you need one of the largest circle (bottom left), and two of the medium circle above. Cut these out with a knife or scissors, leaving a small border.
  6. Edge the embossed sections with the brown Distress Ink to soften them, then the embossed pieces as shown using foam pads. Top off the layer with a punched flower centre and add Liquid Pearl dots as desired.
  7. Prepare the Angel Fibre background by laying some out on a clean sheet of paper and then laying another over the top prior to ironing over with a medium hot iron – you only need to do it briefly. If heated enough, a flat sheet results that doesn’t fray. If heated too much, it will shrivel and discolour. Attach to the Dark Roast Coffee card stock with double sided tape and trim to shape.
  8. Cut a strip of Milk card stock and edge with Distress Ink. Cut a narrower strip of Dark Roast Coffee card stock and notch either end – stick down to previous strip. Cut two further brown strips, slightly wider, bend to make a bow and stick down. Add embossed and mounted sentiment and finally the two hexagonal embossed shapes.
  9. Mount all the layers together and embellish as desired with Liquid Pearls.

Thank you for visiting my blog, please leave a comment below in order to be in with a chance of winning a prize!

Once you have done that, you will need to click here to visit Donna Ratcliffe’s blog. 

To help you along the way, here is a list of the Blog Hop:-

Start page, prize details and how to take part: Creative Expressions News Blog. The blog hop started on Tuesday 19th November at 10am and ends Friday 22nd November at 5pm.

  1. Kim Robertson
  2. Pam Smith
  3. Neil Burley (this page)
  4. Donna Ratcliffe
  5. Tracy Heaton
  6. Kerry Hickton
  7. Kim Dellow
  8. Trace Metcalfe
  9. Cathi O’Neill
  10. Tracy Evans

Thank you for taking part in our Blog Hop – good luck!

I’ll be posting five more Dreamboat Collection projects on Saturday, and my normal weekly post for Creative Expressions tomorrow (Wednesday). Keep coming back for creative inspiration 🙂

AS SEEN ON CREATE & CRAFT TV over weekend of 16th-18th November 2013.

Sparkling Snowflakes

Sparkling Snowflakes

 

A quick 3D layered collage for winter featuring heat proof acetate and embossing glitters – my design team blog post project for WOW! Embossing Powders for their Christmas & Winter challenge theme this month. More details on how I made this are over at their blog.

 

CC102 Day 5 – a big thank you from me

Chalkboard TagAt the risk of being completely cheesy  – here’s a great big thank you using my favourite technique from Creative Chemistry 102 taught by Professor Tim Holtz with his more than able assistant BTS Mario. Unfortunately I don’t have the time at the moment to do all the other technique tags given I’m taking my studio apart for repairs on Tuesday, but I had to fit this one in 🙂

 

 

CC102: Day 1

Day 1: Distress PaintsThe longer-term followers of this ‘ere blog will probably vaguely remember that I did Tim Holtz’s Creative Chemistry 101 online class last year. He’s only gone and started CC102 today – there’s thirty more techniques he’s sharing – and of course I had to sign up. So here’s Day 1: six things to do with Distress Paints. I’m not allowed to share the techniques, but you won’t need to look far elsewhere on my blog to see where I have used them with conventional acrylics. That is, all but the first – the marbling effect is unique to Distress Paints because of their make up.

 

 

Design Team Call: Second Round

I managed to get through to the second round of the Creative Expressions Design Team Call 2013-14, and the next challenge was to create a project using their ‘Belle of the Ball’ stamp set. This comes as a rubber sheet which needs cutting up and mounting on the foam backing suitable for use with acrylic blocks – some of the images could have done with a little more space round them, but I managed 🙂

The closing date was yesterday, which allows me to share the projects with you – and yes, I did more than one: one to show I can make a card, another to demonstrate I can think outside the box, and a third to demonstrate altered art and making something out of a cheap pound-shop photo frame. The centre canvas one is quite a size, and even the bow is adapted from the dress stamps. The frame one is a 4×6″ aperture, with the centre coloured dress mounted in front of the glass – printed with Versacraft black ink onto white cotton and coloured with ProMarkers.

I’ll share another tip with you – the label that accompanies the rubber stamp sheet laminates well, and the foam covered stamps stick nicely to it and the whole lot still slides nicely into the original packaging. Perfect storage solution 🙂

 

 

Autumn arrives…

Autumn arrives

It’s officially autumn here in the UK, and on cue, the sun has disappeared, the temperature has plummeted and the rain is thrashing down! I’m having a go at getting on the Creative Expressions Design Team, and submitting a last minute entry to their design team call which closes today. As part of the application, I had to create a piece on the theme of ‘autumn’ and spent Wednesday making this piece. It’s in a 50cm square frame and features a 12×12″ alcohol inked glossy background, stamped and heat coloured embossed copper leaves and stamped and outlined lettering. For more making details, read on!

Continue reading

Warm Wishes – Kraft & Kreme

I’ve been asked to do a guest slot on the Less is More blog today 🙂

This week’s theme is Kraft & Kreme, and as always, a clean and simple design is required. Ok, my design might not be so simple to make, but it’s clean and simple under the definition of lots of white space (i.e. unfilled – kraft card isn’t exactly white!).

WOW Feb 2013

 

I cut a 15cm sq kraft card to shape, keeping the oval offcut from the front. I made a mix of 50:50 WOW! Primary Bark with WOW! Vanilla and triple embossed onto the oval offcut, then whilst still hot swirled it with a metal tool. I used the same mixture to emboss the sentiments (from WOW! Merry & Bright Christmas and WOW! Everyday Sentiments) and hearts (from WOW! Gratitude) – I flexed the clear stamps on the acrylic plate to follow the curve of the card. I outlined with Vintage Photo Distress Marker and shaded with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I’m happy to create a template if anyone requires one 🙂