Magnolia Lane Simple for Saturday #1

 

Simple white embossed magnolia images on Crumb Cake card...

Coloured in with Whisper White craft ink... using my trusty Aqua Painter... and then left to dry...

Then Petal Pink and Mossy Meadow ink applied using Sponge Daubers...

So simple, quick but very effective... and very therapeutic to create too!

Magnolia from Good Morning Magnolia...

Greeting from Kindness & Compassion

Floral Statements Duo

Couple of simple little Floral Statements cards that I made earlier in the year ...

First up... Memento Black stamped HELLO image plus Aqua Painter water colouring... on a simply blank Very Vanilla notecard...

And second up ... a white embossed THANKS on a Crumb Cake panel...with a bit of Aqua Painter colouring in... mounted onto a Powder Pink mat and then onto a Thick Very Vanilla A6 card blank ...with a Powder Pink felt In Color Bitty Bow to finish off...

Actually this is the card that I made and then decided to start Whisper White aqua-painting before colouring in... as in this card here...

Floral Statements Duo

Couple of simple cards to say a quick hello... Same but yet different...

Edited to Add... the Clearance Rack has just been updated... more details on today's post here...

First up ... just white embossing on Crumb Cake... with white craft ink coloring on the flowers then Aqua Painter water-coloured over with Tranquil Tide, Pink Pirouette and Berry Burst... Matted onto white... set on a Crumb Cake card...

Second up ... the same... but plus Crumb Cake sponged Fresh Florals Designer Paper... set on a Tranquil Tide card blank...

Floral Statements oh so simple...

Simply white embossed on Crumb Cake... on a Whisper White panel... onto a Crumb Cake card... you really don't need to do anything more with this beautiful greeting!

Though I do highly recommend colouring in the flowers if you have a bit more time... click here for details on that... 

The coloured version was so popular I thought I should share the even simpler one!

And a couple of tips for you if you like "looking" around my blog... 

I couldn't find the coloured flowers version by searching in the Search box on here... but I remembered my Pinterest board onto which I pin all my projects... and it took me seconds to find it on there! Click here for the "Made at The Craft Spa" board... 

Or click here for my "Tutorials at The Craft Spa" board... I am adding to that one somewhat more ad-hocly at the moment... but they will all get on there eventually! 30 or so on... 100s to go!

Or just click here to follow me on Pinterest.... 

And finally.... I should be back to normal service very soon... been such a busy few months... my feet will be so glad to see the ground for a change!

Half Full Thank You

Another card made with the Half Full stamp set... proving it's all year round appeal and value....

These are actually some of the Thank You cards I sent out for some of my early September orders... as I was on a bit of a role with this card format...

More details about this card shared here with the Christmas version.... just the colours being different... with Sahara Sand for the wine in the glass... and Dapper Denim for the bottle cap, mat and greeting...

Although the eagle eyed amongst you may spot that I used Tranquil Tide for some of the mats! Both work...

Half Full for Christmas....

Back to the Half Full set... and a different christmas version.... with a few of my favourite colours!

A three layer card this time... set on a small square Sahara Sand card blank... (10.5cm square for A4 card -with 10cm Tranquil Tide mat & 9.5cm Glossy White Card stamped panel...or 4 1/4" Square if using US Letter -with 4" Tranquil Tide mat and 3 3/4" Glossy White stamped panel)

With a Pool Party sponged aperture...  sponged Crumb Cake bottle label... aquapainted Tranquil Tide bottle... Cherry Cobbler red wine & foil bottle top... with the glass lightly water coloured in Soft Sky ... and all over Wink of Stella ... and a stamped and hand cut sprig of holly to finish...

Like an even simpler card... check out the previous one layer and two layer versions shared earlier by clicking here... 

Floral Sentiments - Subtle Colour on Neutrals...

Just realised I didn't share this card with you when I posted my series of Floral Sentiments cards earlier in the year...

This was a simpler more straightforward version of this one... and I think I decided that I had posted a few cards that looked quite similar... so I resisted to post at the time... and then I forgot! But this was actually one of my favourites of my makes.... clean & simple with just a bit of subtle colour!

Embossing and colouring details here...

Flower Shop & Fresh Florals U Fold Card

Quick post today... as Wimbledon calls!!

Another U Fold (aka Bridge Fold aka Centre Box Fold) card... click here for the tutorial... this one using the 3cm high front panel again...

Using Fresh Florals papers, Flower Shop & Pansy Punch, Happy Birthday die, Silver Glimmer Paper and Clear Faceted Gems - and the new 2 1/4" Circle Punch...

Happy Birthday die cut and then snipped into 2 to form a long thin greeting instead of the short fat as it comes version .... aqua-painted Tranquil Tide on white for the Happy.... and Silver Glimmer for the Birthday...

Simples...

And it all folds flat for putting into your standard C6 envelope...

Embossed & Aqua-painted Floral Statements

Thought I would try out another experiment seeing as my aqua-painted Floral Sentiments card with sponged Fresh Florals papers posted here proved so popular...

Again on Crumb Cake... but heat embossing the image this time... and using softer pinks for the flowers... pretty!

So first the image was heat embossed in white... then Craft Whisper White was aqua-painted over all the flowers and leaves... followed by colouring the flowers with the Powder Pink marker pen... then aqua-painting Berry Burst at the tips and shadows and Tranquil Tide for the leaves...

Finished off with a very careful " wiping" away off the ink from the white embossed surfaces...

Matted onto a thin border panel of Whisper White... then onto a Fresh Florals paper panel brayered in Crumb Cake ink... and mounted onto a Tranquil Tide card blank...

Watercolour Pencils # 4 - on Vellum

Carrying on sharing another project from my Watercolor Pencils Introduction class... this one caused a real WOW but is incredibly simple!

Die cut a solid Detailed Dragonflies dragonfly in Vellum ... Bermuda Bay pencil scribble all over the wings... Pacific Point pencil scribble over the tips and next to the body... apply water using an Aqua-painter to activate & blend both together... (NOTE- the vellum really curls as you apply the water... lots off oohs in the room!!)...  so dry off with a heat gun to straighten it as much as possible...

Die cut a Thick Whisper White smaller Detailed Dragonfly... scribble Bermuda Bay pencil over the body and activate using your Clear Wink of Stella to get shimmer at the same time...

Shape both dragonflies with your bone folder... Adhere both together using the body area... 

Stamp your white mat - greeting from Rose Wonder & Bermuda Bay used here...

Adhere dragonfly to your mats and apply gemstones to finish...

For Info - Card is a 10.5cm (4 1/8") square card with a 8cm (3 1/8") white mat and 8.5cm (3 3/8") coloured (Bermuda Bay) mat. You get 2 white cards & mats nicely from a sheet of A4 Thick Whisper White cardstock

Watercolor Pencils #3 - Mediterranean Moments Cafe Scene...

The Watercolor Pencils and Mediterranean Moments are a match made in heaven for me! Along with the Watercolor Paper and the Aquapainters this time...

Can't say I am renowned for my watercolouring skills - but even I can make a half-decent job using these pencils..!!  And more importantly for me... really enjoy it too!!

And I will admit.. I love love love this little scene... but there again I have spent so much of my time on holidays in France over the years... it would be very hard for me to not love this set!

Things to spot here.... terms all made up by me... though there are probably some official watercolouring jargon terms for them too...

(1) Light, Medium and Dark Colouring/Shading... extra light touch for walls (Early Espresso) and pavement (Basic Gray)... medium touch for tablecloth and harder touch for seat cushions (both in Bermuda Bay)

(2) Spot Colouring... spot the geraniums in the planter under the window... just little spots of colour drawn direct with a hard touch of the Real Red pencil over the previously watercoloured (Old Olive) greenery... and no water add to those spots...

(3) Gel Pen Highlighting - impossible to see on the photos... but I added highlights to the chairs, windows and table legs using my (retired but never far away from me!) Signo gel pen... (though I do have a few gel pens left in stock....)

(4) Sale A Bration promotional Designer Tee stamp set greeting used... just the right size and font! (Yours for free with a £45 order until 31st March) Can't believe how much I have used this set... without a T-shirt in sight so far...

Remember that I am still running the Watercolor Pencil Class if you missed last weeks'... just email me to book in...

Watercoloured Joyful Nativity

I have a Beginner's class next week focusing on the Joyful Nativity stamp set... so here is another sample for you... actually two...

And I have to admit defeat on my inspiration... I saved this gem off the internet onto my iPad... and ... though unusual for me... I had to CASE it... 

But there is no watermark... and I cannot find it shared online using Google Images either... so I cannot credit the original designer... but thank you whoever you are... I really love this card design! Please let me know if it is you - or if you know who it is... as I would love to be able to give due credit...

And for the rest of you.... Which do you prefer? Star in the circle or dotting the J???

Oh and what did I use? Night Of Navy ink and card mat. Aqua Painter water-colouring using Pool Party and Night of Navy

Thoughtful Branches Apple Tree

Now there is an enormous amount of activity going on behind the scenes at The Craft Spa!! 

The Autumn Winter pre-order box has turned up and I am gleefully coming up with ideas... creating... and will be back to share some great projects with you soon...

But for a few days I am concentrating on making.... and not breaking off to photo and blog... I find that my flow is SO much better that way....

So in the meantime I am scheduling and  sharing some more Training makes... first up 3 more cards with Thoughtful Branches... Remember only available this month... and I don't want you to miss it... as it really is fabulous and incredibly versatile...

First up... the apple tree behind the picket fence... this was CASED by Julie from the uber-talented Stampin' Up! 2016 Artisan Design Team member Jessica Winter in Austria whose original card can be found here...

The background is Aqua Painter watercolored Pool Party and Wild Wasabi on Watercolor Paper.

The Crumb Cake picket fence is made using the new Classic Label punch...just so perfect for this fence style... and very good for labels too!!

Though when I got home I just had to gloss up those apples with the Precision Fine Tip glue.... they look good enough to eat!

See you tomorrow!

More Super CAS Butterfly Basics

Thought I had better keep these Butterfly Basics samples all together... particularly as each one was demoed on the day of the class ... so I did end up making quite a lot of variants as I just had to finish them off...... 

These three are all the same apart from the addition of the butterflies and the Tip Top Taupe greeting used...

First up using the small punched butterfly from Butterfly Basics in Rich Razzleberry, Sweet Sugarplum and Pink Pirouette. Along with the greeting from the hostess Time of Year stamp set..

Next up, Rich Razzleberry stamped and die cut butterfly (again Butterfly Basics & Butterflies dies) Wording from the Butterfly Basics set too...

And lastly... new Stylised Birthday greeting stamp and Bold Butterfly die cut butterfly. 

Interestingly I missed this greeting stamp in the new catalogue... luckily a few of my ladies pointed out the error in my ways!!! Bit of a go to stamp for me now.....

And a Tuesday Tip for you.... this last butterfly is die cut and then just watercoloured using the Aquapainter in Pool Party on the body and wings and then Mint Macaron on the tips of the wings... great inky fun! I then added a few Rhinestones Basics Jewels for a splash of shine on the wings and body....

Happy Home - Pop Out Swing Card

Clean & simple standard sized Pop Out Swing Card for you today .... featuring a simple framed Hearth & Home window scene ... 

Sky and grass care of Timeless Textures...and sea care of my trusty Aqua Painter... and of course sea and clouds Wink of Stella'd to finish ...