Anita’s Gem Wheel – The Art of Cobwebs

I rarely make Christmas cards. You can buy a box of Christmas cards so cheaply that it kind of feels like it’s a bit wasteful to spend lots of money (not to mention time) to make them myself. We crafters know exactly how much it actually costs for our supplies – and believe me it’s not cheap!

But this year I thought that I could justify making them as I had a plethora of card stock, and I if I used my Card-io stamps then I could make them really cheaply, with very little in the way of adornments or embellishments. (Watch out for more about Cardio stamps soon. I’m going to do a write-up in my ‘Craft Products I recommend’ category on my blog here – so look out for that one.) Over the next few days I’ll post a card a day of a selection of the Card-io cards which I’ve made for friends and neighbours this year.

Today is the turn of the Christmas Wreath Card.

Pretty, isn’t it! And yet it’s made SO simply that you probably wouldn’t believe it. Made using just four tiny little clear stamps. The only embellishments on this card are some pale pink flat back pearls (used as little berries on the wreath), and a tie of a tiny bit of ribbon for the bow on the top of the wreath – oh, and a little sprinkle of some glitter.

I know that in the photograph the wreath looks as if it has quite some depth – but it’s actually totally flat, apart from the pale pink pearls. The clever bit is in the stamping. If you use a second and sometimes third generation of stamping then you’ll ‘build in’ some depth. If you look around the edge of the card itself, you’ll see what I mean by ‘second generation’.

You can see a dark stamped image … but between the darker images, you’ll see a second, paler image. Well – that’s second generation stamping. I stamped the image once, then without inking up the stamp again, I stamped the image again – this time pressing just a little harder on the stamp to ensure that the image printed out. This is what gives a depth to a stamped image. It looks like something is there, in the background.

Because the wreath is a little more heavily stamped, you don’t see the second generation stamping too easily – but it’s there. It kind of tricks your brain into thinking that what you’re seeing is actually a shadow of the darker stamped image, and so makes the darker images look as if they’re dimensional and stand out proud of the card. Hence the deception of depth.

Crafty stuff I used to make this card:

White 6×6 ready scored card stock.
An assortment (4) of small individual Card-io stamps
Whisper Archival Ink Pads (a pinky peachy raspberry colour and a dull brown)
Memento Ink Pad (in a warm brown)
Ranger Archival Ink Pad (black)
Pinflair Glue
Translucent Glitter Dust
Anita’s flat back pearls from their Gemstone Wheel.
Short length of tartan/plaid ribbon.

This was a really quick to make card and it didn’t need any die cutting, measuring, cutting (other than the ribbon) or any great deal of ‘working it out’. I knew I wanted to make a wreath. I knew I wanted it to look festive but in colours other than red and green (so over-used at Christmas!) – and I wanted the edges of the card to be coloured to tone with the wreath.

I had such a fun time making this … but then … I was using Card-io stamps, and I always have a fun craft time with them. But I’ll do you a write-up about them and then you can make your own decision on whether to buy some for yourself!

Wishing you a blessed and trouble-free Tuesday, love from ~

There was a supplement with my Sunday Newspaper this week which had a nicely written article about the war years, and accompanying it were some fabulous pictures of posters from the same time. They absolutely fascinated me. I was sat there, with my magnifying glass out, reading each poster with gusto. (They were all printed small size – hence the magnifying glass!)

Well they obviously had an effect on me because I sat in my craft room with just one thought… make a card which had a vintage feel about it. Something which had that wonderful romantic feel about it, but a card which could be sent even to a friend for a birthday or any other reason.

I started with my stash of card stock, looking for ditsy prints. I chose a Tilda, duck egg blue with a little flower pattern down the side, and another Tilda print from the same range, this time with teeny tiny ditsy flowers on it. They needed ‘ageing’ – so I firstly took my scalpel to them both and roughed up the edges. Then I chose two colours of dye pads and blended around the edges.

I used Memento Dye Ink Pads in Rich Cocoa and Rhubarb Stalk.

I wrapped the duck egg blue card stock with two short lengths of narrow lace, then attached it to a craft card which I’d already scored ready to make the card. (The finished card will measure 5½” square).

With the ditsy flower card stock, I curled the edges and corners by gently pulling and curling them between my index finger and thumb. I then wrapped a wider, short length of lace around the ditsy flower card stock, and fixed it to the duck egg blue, using Collall glue. (I love Collall all-purpose glue. It’s not an instant fix, it gives you just enough wiggle time – but it’s an instant fix within a minute. So if you use it – get your wiggle done asap!)

The little postcard was cut from another piece of Tilda cardstock, and I just inked around the edges (again using Rhubarb Stalk) and blended, then curled the edges and stamped ‘for you’ using a sentiment from a gorgeous little selection of stamps from the Lillibet range. Originally the sentiment read: ‘Just for you” – but I snipped the ‘Just’ off (I kept it and still use it when I need to) so that I had more options with the stamp. I then fixed it in place.

Then came the flowers…

I sorted out a little selection of paper flowers which I’ve had for … ohhh, for ever! but realised that I had no leaves of the right size so I called on an old trick I’ve used for donkeys years. I got out my tins of silk flowers and looked through them for flowers which I could cut up to make leaves. I didn’t need tons, just a handful of small and slightly bigger than small …. I then ‘dyed’ them using my ink pads:

There’s one green leaf in the photo above – which is one of a few that I dyed before I thought of taking a photograph to explain what I was doing ….. So the flower heads you see – the white and purple – are going to become leaves, using the two ink pads you see in the photo. Memento New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves.

Now – before I show you the next photo, if you try this yourself, you’ve got to HAVE FAITH.

If you try this yourself . . . You’ll think at first that you’ve completely messed up and made the worst leaves in the whole world – but give them a few minutes and they become much nicer.

Here’s what happens when you first do them . . .

Don’t they look awful? They’re too strong. Too … aw, just ‘too’! But … have faith. Put them to one side and get on with something else. Don’t keep looking at them. Just leave them alone and do something else.

While they were doing their ‘thing’, I got on with the card.

I wanted to add a little glamour – but not too much. So I decided that I’d add a very gentle twinkle to the card by using a Graph’It Glitter Ink pen, in Silver. I touched really lightly all around the distressed edges of the cardstock – VERY lightly. It left behind it the faintest twinkle, but it was enough to make it feel ‘perfect’.

I’m not sure if you can see it in the photo above, but if you click on the photo, it will open up much larger and you’ll then be able to see the faint twinkle to the distressed edges. (Don’t forget to click back again so that you come back here). You’ll also be able to see that I lightly dragged the same pen over the embroidery on the lace you see in the photo. It just gave it that teeny bit of twinkly glamour which I wanted to add to the card.

Now then . . . . Do you remember those awful, horrible looking leaves? Well this is what happened to them after a few minutes . . .

See what I mean about having faith? Those leaves are all made from petals of flowers. The larger ones in the first photo are the very petals you saw before they’d been attacked with the ink pads. I just inked them. Snipped them, and then left them alone while I did something else. Voila. Instant leaves.

The green twiggy things are Blossom Twigs from Anna Marie Designs.

The two hat pins: The one is a heart-shaped regular, but fancy, dressmaking pin, but the other, the beaded hat pin was in a little set I bought from Hobbycraft about 10 months ago, for just £2 for a set of six. (They were my bargain of the day, in the sale!)

The pink Dragonfly is one of a small selection which I’ve had in my stash for ever and ever and I can’t even remember where I got them from.

The Pink; Rose; Cream; Lilac; Blue; Red pearls which I’ve used as the centre of the flowers, and on all four corners of the card, are from a wheel of pearls made by Anita’s (I bought them from The Range – although you might be able to buy them from other places). There are literally hundreds of these little pearls, in an amazing array of colours (all colours in one wheel – and more colours than I’ve used here) for £3 (English pounds). You even get the storage wheel – imagine a grapefruit cut through the centre so that you can see all the segments – well that’s what this wheel is like, and each segment contains a different colour of pearls. It’s a totally fabulous design idea and I love the pearls. Oh .. here y’ go … I found a link: http://www.therange.co.uk/anitas-assorted-coloured-pearl-gemstone-wheel//the-range/fcp-product/67347

And that, as they say, is ‘it’! One Vintage, made For You, hand-made card.

I really like this little card. I wasn’t sure I was going to, about half way through, but I kept on with it and I’m now thrilled that I did because it’s darling. My mum would have loved this card. So .. Mum … this one’s for you!