I love you - A Craft Artist 2 project tutorial

Hi all

Here's another tutorial for you. I have again used a digi kit from Sahlin Studios with Craft Artist 2 professional. You don't have to use the content I have or indeed follow the design to the letter, I want you to be inspired to create with any of the digi kits you have and make it your own .... unleash your creativity. Maybe you will be inspired to do a real life page using my design for a scrap lift or combine the two and go hybrid.

This is the project I am going to put together for you

I Love you

 



I have used the Grandma's dresser digi kit from Sahlin studios, an eclectic mix of stuff! My page set up is actually a 5 x 5 card.

 

I added the background from the kit and then added the card from the embellishments. I wanted to put this card in a frame, it doesn't always have to be a photo! As I needed the intelligent digi frame to recognise the card as a photo though I needed to convert it so while it was selected I went to the top tool bar and clicked tools, from the drop down I selected convert to picture and clicked ok in the pop up box that appeared, this meant it was now a photo ....

.... and when I dragged and dropped a frame onto it the card snapped into the frame which I then resized and positioned. You will see I have left a gap at the bottom ....

.... This was to allow space for my sentiment from the embellishments, there are lots of cross stitched words in the kit in black and white that can be recoloured as I did here by selecting red from the colour box. The black and white embellishments recolour very differently.

I then started building onto my design. I added the string behind the frame to lift it off the page.

And then I added the lovely metal heart on top remembering to shadow it to bring it all to life.

The circle of the heart was crying out for something so I added a crocheted rose creating more layers to the page.

And then grounded the rose by using the leaf embellishment in the kit. It has a button on it but by arranging the leaves behind these are not seen. (I added 3 of these)

The bird sat perfectly on top of the rose and broke up the line of the heart and with a shadow looked ready to take flight.

And then I wanted to add more interest to the background to finish my design so I used the typed word embellishment arranged all the way to the back layer. To save me copying and pasting I clicked on the stamp mode tool on the 3rd tool bar while the embellishment was selected and stamped the words all over my page, then arranged each one to the back.

 

And that was the front of the card simply done but with lots of layers and textures. Remembering this was a card template I decorated the insert and the back of the card for a professional finish!

 

I hope you feel inspired and see how quickly a project can come together sometimes! Thanks for popping by, I hope you are well and happy! I will be back soon so as ever, until then,

Happy Crafting

Love

MJM x



A Black & wite Froggy Christmas

Hi all
Time to deliver a project of the day over at the Lily pad again. Some super simple but stylish black and white Christmas cards


As ever a more detailed post can be found on the Banana Frog blog.

Well it’s time for this froglet to hop off the lily pad I’m afraid. After much soul searching and juggling of time I have decided with great sadness after 2 ad 1/2 years it is time for me to step down from the Banana Frog DT and have said my fond farewells over at the Lilypad today.

Thanks for stopping by and hopping over to the Lily pad, I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Tweet and fluffy

Hi all
Today is my turn to share a pick of the day over on the Banana Frog Lilly pad. I decided to create some fun and fluffy cards this month


As ever the stpby steps can be found over on the Banana Frog blog .... enjoy!

Sorry this is fleeting, my old nemesis time seems to be getting the better of me at the moment but never fear ... I will win eventually and I'll be back to tell the tale :)

I hope you're well and happy, thanks for stopping by and until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Froggity blog hop!

Hi all

It's that time of the month when the froglets leap from their Lilypads and share some work with you on the Banana Frog blog hop. You can start at the beginning from the frog blog if you have just happened to visit, if you're here on the hop I hope you're having fun :)

This months theme is Summer so I made some summery cards to share with you ...


I like the clear fresh look of the acetate and love adding a splash of colour to acetate stamping with some alcohol inks.


Happy Days card


This is super simple. Using the Totally Tropical stamp set, add some different coloured stayzon to the large corner stamp and stamp twice onto your acetate. I really like mixing inks on my stamp to get a shaded, multi coloured image. Top tip, when stamping onto acetate get right over the top of your work and stamp straight down positively but not too heavy handed as the stamp will slide!


Stamp two title blocks from the Tropical Taste tadpole stamp set, again mixing the colours and then stamp the greeting from the Sentimental Style stamp set on to one of them. I have stamped two sentiment blocks so the one with the greeting will be for the front and the other one attaches to the inside behind it to cover up the glue marks, obviously it shows just plain white on the inside as the stamped side goes against the front block, but, as I have used gel glue to attach the sentiment for dimension it is quite nice to see the double stamped image. Hmmm I keep re reading this last bit .. does it make sense?? LOL


You are my sunshine card


Again another simple card but I think it has added impact with the alcohol ink. Using the Scribble Flowers stamp set, I stamped a pattern using black stayzon down one side of the card front.


Flipping the card over I then dropped on some alcohol inks in different colours and let it do it's own thing! While it dried (it doesn't take long!) I stamped the little sentiment block from the Build a Daisy stamp set, again I did this twice attaching one to the front and the other behind it


Flowers in Nature


And finally, a card that mixes a bit of all of them! I stamped the flowers from the Super Dreamy stamp set using several stayzon colours, Stamped the sentiment from Build a Daisy and finally added some butterflies from the Swirls and Butterflies stamp set. I then added some alcohol ink to the back of the sentiment area, letting it do it's own thing again and that was it, a striking card made simply :)

I hope you've enjoyed your visit with me on the blog hop and feel inspired to do some simply clear summer stamping, I feel inspired to take this to a larger project and am cooking up a layout for my Project of the Day on the 4th August so please check back then!

A lot of the froglets are very busy at the moment with summer holidays etc so this month is just a short hop, I will direct you back to the Lilypad to catch up on those you've missed or to peruse for added inspiration and don't forget to check the shop link to grab a sale bargain while you're there! thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon, until then Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Happy Scrappy stamping!

Hi all.

I cannot believe how fast time is going again and that we are already in July! I've also been rubbish at keeping in touch with you all I know, life is super busy but very exciting though. I WILL get into a better routine and pop into my little corner of blogdom a bit more often .... honest :)

Ok, so today is my project of the day over at Banana Frog, inspired by a glorious summer morning I made a 'happy card'


As ever the step by steps are over on the Lily pad and all the stamps I have used are in the sale so why not grab yourself a bargain treat or two while you visit!

Talking of projects of the day I had a lovely email from a lovely lady from across the pond the other day. She owns a FAB website called All free Holiday crafts, there are loads of great projects over there and lots of inspiration for all manner of holidays and celebrations and all free! (I spent far too long having a happy trawl around over there!) Go and check it out, and while you're there see if you can spot this


My Project of the day that went live on the Lily pad on Xmas day last year. I was thrilled skinny (oh there's a dream way to lose weight LOL) and very flattered when she asked permission to use my project on the site, maybe some more will pop up :)

Things are good at Mogford towers, busy as I said and full of craftiness that I hope to share soon!

The boys are good too


It's been a while since they made an appearance here hasn't it, haven't they grown!

Plans are afoot to take my website off line soon to give it a much needed face lift and update and I really want to re decorate here too .... now if only my old nemesis Mr time would slow down a little maybe I'll actually get there!!!

Thanks for popping by, I hope you're all well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting

Love
M x

Get your Glitz on challenge #2

Hey all

HAPPY NATIONAL SCRAPBOOK DAY!!!! Hope you've all had a little creative time! I also just wanted to drop in and let you know that the Get your Glitz on challenge #2 will go live today on the Glitz blog .... it's time for YOU to get your Glitz on and show us what you can do with yummy Glitz product, there are prizes and you will be featured on the Glitz Blog so go for it!

This months theme is clustering all the details can be found on the Glitz Designs blog ....I had a play and came up with this for my Dad's birthday card ...








.... it also goes to prove that even though Glitz product is oh so pretty it can be used for a masculine twist!

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward t seeing what you all come up with for the challenge!

I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting!
Love
M x

PS I have used Glitz Designs;
Love games papers; damask and stripes,
Love Games peek-a-boo
Love Games Glitzer
Love Games paper layer
Love Games cardstock stickers titles
Laced with grace clear stamps
Afternoon Muse glitzers
Teeny alphas in cream
Black frosting

Old Techniques and favourite stamps!

Hi all
It's my turn to share a project over at the Lily pad. A revisit to an old chalky technique and some of my favourite Banana Frog stamps


As ever the step by step instructions are over on the frog blog so why not hop on over and check it out, and while you're there snag a bargain, there's an AMAZING sale on stamps in the shop!!!

I hope you're well and happy, I'll *see you* soon, until then Happy Crafting
Love
M x

a JOYous day at IACW

Hi all

It's this months post over at It's a creative world for the simple things project. A project that lasts all year and explores the simple things in life with a word prompt every month.

This month the word is JOY and here's my take on it



I wanted to record one of the days of my life when I felt I experienced real JOY and happiness when I became trainer for the day with the Dolphins at Xel Ha ecological park in my beloved Mexico.

I created a push me pull me card so the picture popped out to reflect the elation I felt that day. Push me pull me's are so easy to create and when you discover the secret ingredient you'll say no way like I did .... well, maybe you will! I am always amazed at how simple the mechanisms are for interactive cards. To see how easy they are pop on over to IACW to see the post and wallow in the rest of the inspiration over there from the rest of the oh so talented creative girls.

Today I'm busy preparing for a Serif Digtal scrapbook artist 2 show for Create and craft TV on the 23rd at 8am and a Purple Cows show at 9am eek!!

Thanks for popping by, I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting!

Love
MJM x

A Christmassy colour focus

Hi all,
Well it's colour focus time again over at the Lilly pad with Banana Frog, I can't believe that means another month has gone ... this year is going fast isn't it .... or is it just me? Anyhoo hop on over to the Lillypad to see a pic of our colour focus inspiration and check out the other talented froglets interpretation of it then hop back here and I'll share more step by step piccies of my project ... see you in a mo :)

..... Oh good your back, Some lovely stuff there isn't there! Ok so as promised here's my project in a little more detail ...


I'm really loving all the new Christmassy Frog stamp sets and feel I maybe having a seasonal month with my Lilly pad lesson coming up and my Project of the day later in the month .... well tis only 3 months away eek! So let's get started on those Christmas cards!


The ingredients for the reindeer card are the Banana Frog it's Christmas deer stamp set, Big and Juicy waterfall ink pad, a speedball brayer (my new toy :)) some silk art card, black card, white stayz on, perfect medium clear ink, blonde moments black embossing powder, some rbbon and a bit of bling.


1st up I taped a piece of silk art card to some scrap paper (I taped it to a 5'' square size) and then cut a mask from a post it note to add as a moon.


I took my brayer to my ink pad and picked ink up from the dark blue side towards the middle. The big tip when making a graded effect is to take the hard edge off the inside edge of the brayer by spinning it on some scrap paper to take the ink off the end of the roller. I went across the square at a diagonal ...


...then spun the card round to repeat the same thing on the other corner until the ink met in the middle.


I trimmed the silk art card down to it's 5'' square and then removed the moon mask and added some of the oh so cute tiny stars from the stamp set using white stayz on.


I stamped the deer image with some clear perfect medium and embossed it in black to create a strong focal point. I also made sure the antler overlapped the moon to create a bit of drama to the scene and tie the image together.


Using a bit of offcut from the silk art card that had been coloured when I was brayering, I stamped a sentiment from the stamp set with the prefect medium and embossed this. I cut it down and mounted it onto some white card with a decorative edge courtesy of my Purple cows trimmer.


I made a large white mat with a decorative edge, added a ribbon to the blue square and built up the pieces on foam pads for dimension. The finishing touch was a little bit of bling .... well it is Christmas :)

Moving onto the yellow and red I picked out from the colour focus inspiration..


This time the ingredients are the same as above but this time I used the Banana Frog Christmas Elegance stamp set and Big and Juicy mountain meadow ink pad.


This time I picked up ink from the yellow end of the ink pad towards the centre (again spinning off the hard edge of the yellow ink at the end of the brayer) And I made a vertical coating of ink.


Again I flipped the card round and repeated the process to colour the other half of the card.


I ripped down the edges of the card (towards me) to reveal the white core and then stamped a line of the baubles from the stamp set down it. I love the Merry Christmas sentiment in the set, simple and stylish! I then added some of the small snowflakes into the gaps using black archival ink.


I brayered a smaller square of silk art card with the yellow and red colours again the same way I did the blue square above. I then stamped the other bauble from the stamp set with perfect medium and embossed it in black.


Cutting the embossed bauble out I added it to the centre of the strip on a foam pad to create a focal point for my card.

And that's it! some Froggy Christmassy fun. I love the simple graphic look of Banana Frog stamps and I like the fact that they allow me to create simple, contemporary, stylish cards.....among other things like my Christmas table lights and the goodies I'm cooking up for 2 more Frog blog posts this month .... watch this space :)

Thanks for popping by, I hope you feel inspired to create and I'll see you soon. Until then Happy crafting!

Love
M x

Froggity Blog Hop!

Blimey O'Reily can you believe this has come round again? Where did the last month go?? And I'm sure Bev at Froggie HQ is wondering where the last 4 years went as she celebrates 4 years of gorgeous Froggie-ness!

So, it is the monthly frog hop from Banana Frog, (clicking on that link will take you to the list of blogs if you've missed out so far!) So without further ado, and with that darn Stevie Wonder song stuck in my head! lets wish Banana Frog HAPPY BIRTHDAY (or maybe that should be hoppy birthday :))

Predictable I know, but I made a Birthday card, but not just any birthday card, a Kool laminated, hidden message floating in mid air type card :)



This is the front and you will just have to go through the post to see the inside LOL



So first up, one of my favourite things to do with my stamps, as I've said before, making my own patterned paper! A birthday party isn't complete without cake so I started with the 2 small cup cakes from Cupcake Greetings stamped randomly on to some thin white card.



Next, an addition of polka dots stamped with green and pink neon ink using the small dot from Make a Chain, an oh sooooo useful stamp set!



Pro markers at the ready my PP is coloured in.



The alphas for my card come from the Budmo Jiggler stamp set (love that name!) and Steel Fish ouline. I stamped the Budmo Jiggler alphas with lime brilliance inks and coloured in the dots with a yellow pro marker ... hmmmm looks like a certain logo LOL (and hands up at this point that was a complete accident!)



And what party is complete without balloons? Can you guess which stamp set I used? ... the balloons come courtesy of the Retro Baubles stamp set and that lovely neon ink again :)



To assemble, I cut 2 strips of matting and layering that would fit inside my Purple Cows Kool laminator pockets, cutting the front at 5'' and the back at 6'' so the front strip would take the HAPP and the Y fitted at the end of the back strip ... why?.....



So when it's opened the Y completes the message inside the card, and that's when you get to see the 'balloons' in all their glory :)

A couple of eyelets and some colourful ribbon forms the hinge of the card. I love the way it looks like the card is 'floating' in the laminated pockets and love that I can use my Banana Frog stamps not only to create my embellishments and alphas but also that I can create my own paper to fit an occassion!

So what will you create when you win one of the £100 giveaways over at Banana Frog? Today is the last chance to enter so what are you waiting for? Leave a comment on the frog blog here for the chance to win £100 of stamping goodness and while you're at the Lily pad why not shop? That way you automatically get entered into ANOTHER £100 giveaway ... shimples! Go on you know you want to!

Ok so you have your entries in to win some goodies... what now? Well after leaving a comment on this post for the chance of winning a free stamp set of your choice!! hop on over to the lovely and oh so talented Antheas blog to see what stamping goodness she has to share!

Thanks for hopping by, see you soon, until then Happy Crafting!

Love
M x

ps While you're reading this I'll be at the ideal world studios showing off some Purple cows tools!! I'll be live on ideal world at 2pm then on the repeat at 5pm on creat and craft :)