Hello all, I cannot believe it's been so long since I updated my blog. Christmas was lovely, very quiet but that's how I like it, with lots of chance to craft - cards, calendars and some knitting in there too. I was very busy with orders from my Facebook page, I really hope that all the recipients liked there gifts.
I also had some good news in the run-up to Christmas, Papercraft Essentials magazine named me as a runner up in their Papercrafter of the Year competition, so I received some lovely new crafting goodies and had my worked published in the magazine. You can see my entries in this months issue (76) and my work is pictured on page 25. I'll share with you some close ups of my entries and a little bit about what inspired me to create them.
This entry was made using one of the Gorjuss Girls playing cards, I thought the images on them were so beautiful they would make fantastic toppers. I paired it with purple, black and green - a great combination that looks a bit gothic, but not too dark (with using purple). The background layers have been hand stitched with metallic threads to give some texture and a little bit of bling without being too sparkly. It's topped off with a handmade flower, paper lace and black pearls. The idea was to be something for a gothic princess - bit girly, bit punky
This next creation is a calendar threaded with grosgrain ribbon ready to hang wherever takes your fancy. This is a picture of my little man, taken when he was about a week old and smiling in his sleep. The papers are from DCWV Green stack and I think the colours are fantastic, I love the fact they are so bold, but the neutral background to the pattens makes it easier to mix and match and layer up with embellishments in co ordinating colours. I think the hand made flowers in red and turquoise fit well with the papers and the colours in the photograph - an important part of using photos is making sure that the colours complement the overall design, just like any other topper that you would use.
My final entry is something very pretty and girly. The image is stamped and coloured with Copic pens, which I love for getting a crisp finish in a design. It's mounted onto layers of soft lilac and grape cut out with nestabilities dies - though one layer is made by using the die as a template and cutting out by hand so the borders between layers weren't as large. The papers are by Prima, I think the designs are very soft and delicate that they lent themselves well to keeping the range of colours very small - just using the lilacs with white, like a monochrome colour scheme. It's made up onto an easel card base, with pretty lace and handmade ribbon bows to finish off. There are some pretty gems on the bottom layer alongside a hand stamped sentiment, which I think adds just the right amount of bling. I think it's a very versatile image/ style that could be used for a little girls birthday card, or a thank you card for a bridesmaid.
I hope you've enjoyed looking at my entries and that they've inspired you in some way. Take care everyone, I'll share some more of my designs again soon xxx
