More shows....

Hi there


First of all, a massive and heartfelt Thank You to everyone who took the time to send messages of support and words of encouragement ahead of my first shows on Create and Craft over the Easter weekend. The shows were great fun and I was looked after unbelievably well by the lovely people in Create and Craft TV land. I did five shows over the weekend and the early part of last week. I was bowled over by the fantastic feedback I received. I had a ball, even though I was unwell during one of the shows - but just minutes later, I was fine!

I didn't post an update straight away as I first needed to speak to the guys back at Crafting.co.uk and Tattered Lace and listen to how the experts felt the shows had gone. I had a very positive meeting on Tuesday in which we looked at a plan for the next few months which will allow me to gain lots more experience of being in front of the cameras.

I've been asked to go back tomorrow (Saturday 8th April) at noon to present a Sapphire die cutting machine 60 minute Craftdown show. Later on at 5pm I'll be presenting a Ribbons Galore 60 minute craftdown show with the wonderful Bow maker, in which we'll be showcasing some fantastic deals on ribbon. I hope you can find time to watch!

Just to keep you up to date I'll be doing some shows on Sunday 17th April introducing the new Tattered Lace 'Tuck in' dies, along with some other fantastic new dies. These are a brilliant new range of dies that add so much dimension and texture to our cards. I feel excited and privileged to be able to present these new dies so soon after their launch. No time for a rest after that though - I'm being kept really busy as I'll be coming up with some new ideas for demonstrations which I'll be presenting on Sunday 24th April when I'll be doing some Border Embossing folder shows! As showtime draws nearer I'll try to give you a sneaky peak on this blog of the sort of stuff I've come up with.

I'd better go now as I still have lots to do before tomorrow. But thanks once again for your kind words and support, your messages mean so much to me. I'll post again soon with some card pictures that hopefully you'll find interesting.

Thanks for popping by,

Corrine xx

Love is in the air...

Hi

It's often the case that the calendar dictates what sort of cards we make, and when we make them, and Valentine's Day is a good example.



I couldn't share this Valentine's Day card with you before now because my husband reads my blog!  That was a little frustrating, but never mind...

Still, perhaps it might give you some ideas for next year's Valentine's Day - or you could always adapt it when you need a card for that special occasion, such as an anniversary.

Its a very simple card but I felt it was effective - and my husband must have thought so too, because he was bowled over when he opened the envelope.

I don't know why but I always regard red and white as being the 'traditional' Valentine's Day colours, so I kept to those.  By embossing one white layer I was able to lift the card by giving it added dimension, which I felt gave it some additional interest.


I used more layers than I normally would but it gave depth to an otherwise flat card. I graduated the layers by just 0.5cm at a time. It also meant that I was able to be economical with my card stock and cut some of the smaller layers out of the bigger ones - as the next layer hid the gap and stopped the card becoming too heavy. The filigree heart at the centre was cut out with a layer of 'Stick it' so that I could add my usual glitter.

I know that many people who make cards struggle when they try to decide what to write in the card.  It's not surprising really - if you've been with someone for over 20 years it can be hard to come up with some loving words you've not used before.  My advice is, don't panic, and write truthfully from the heart.  You can spend days coming up with a clever verse but often those three little words 'I Love You' speak volumes... Alternatively Google is a wonderful tool!¬

I hope you like this simple card and, as always, I'd love to read your comments.

Thanks for popping by

Corrine x

Spring is in the air!

Hi there

Happy New Year! This is my first post of 2016 and when i made this card last week Spring seemed to be very much in the air due to the incredibly mild weather we were having at the time. Its amazing what a difference a week can make though - the temperatures we normally associate with this time of year have finally arrived and there's a very definite nip in the air now. But I still like this card and at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, I'm really pleased with how it turned out. 


The focal point of the card was made using the Floral Flourish Edge die from Tattered lace. I thought I'd try something different with this die and see what I could achieve. I hope you like the finished card as much as I do. Let me know what you think.  

To make the card I cut out and embossed the Floral Flourish Edge three times in white card and then I cut out and embossed just the flower elements - again, three times, but this time in yellow.

Picking out the foliage on the white die cuts I coloured these green to match the card stock I'd picked using my Spectrum Noir pens - I used JG1.

Next I turned my attention to the card base. I like making quite large cards so using an 8 inch card base I created three matting layers, one each in green, yellow and white. I decreased each one by just 5 mm so they were quite fine.

Now for the tricky part.  For the top layer (white) I embossed the diamond pattern (I used an embossing folder from Crafts-Too) and then cut out a 13.5cm circle in the centre. Laying the white layer on top of the yellow card, to ensure it was positioned correctly, I then cut out a 11.5cm circle from the centre of the yellow card. Repeating the process again I then cut out a 9.5cm circle from the centre of the green layer. 

These were layered up using double sided tape with a piece of acetate behind the bottom (green) layer. I wrapped around some sheer white ribbon and some thinner green ribbon on top.

After applying some Detail Glue to the back of the three white die cuts I arranged them around the edge of the yellow layer in a circle. I hope the picture shows you how. This meant that the die cuts overlapped, but that was good because it meant that I could add some dimension. Again I was able to create dimension by only partially glueing on the yellow flower elements, bending the unstuck parts for added height. 

I cut a 'Happy Birthday' sentiment out of the waste from the green and yellow card and layered them up, slightly staggered, to give a shadow effect. This was stuck onto the acetate.

Once I had stuck this on to my card base I was able to add Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle PVA Glue dots on to the die cut and randomly across the acetate and at all of the cross over points on the embossed diamonds. 

A double bow and embellishment was added to finish off the card.

Spring might not yet be here but this card cheers me up and reminds me that it's just around the corner!