Vintage Nature

Thanks to Brenda and her gorgeous projects (see here and here) using their products, I've recently become a fan of Nicecrane Designs, owned by the lovely Ignacio. Once I saw his gorgeous butterflies, I knew I had to have them, and on browsing the site I discovered so many more equally lovely designs. They are all in the form of downloads (instant gratification!) and many have a vintage feel.

Like Brenda, it is unusual for me to make cards with little or no stamping on them, but Ignacio's designs are so pretty, I had to make an exception for them! I ordered several sets, and Ignacio also very generously sent me some freebie sets too. (NB. I have not been asked to promote his products, I'm just telling you about them because I like them!)

Anyway, once I'd got them downloaded, I set to work to make a few cards. Now, I struggle with cards for men. Or rather I did! Nicecrane has some lovely Old Map images. They're sold as bookmarks, but I made mine into a card.

I did do a bit of stamping here! The base card was stamped all over with an old freebie map stamp from Craft Stamper Magazine, with the bookmark image matted on to a thin gold border and placed on top. I didn't want to detract from the image, so the only embellishment is a little sentiment banner. (Banner stamp:Waltzing Mouse, sentiment: Clarity Stamp, a freebie from a show.)

Nicecrane has several sets on a nature theme, which is right up my street. My favourite is called "Colorful Nature", with vintage-style images of birds and animals. I used the four bird pictures to make a set of cards. It looks as though I cut them out with a Nestie label die, but though I have one of those it was the wrong size, so I just cut away each corner with a round hole punch.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot just a teeny-weeny bit of stamping (a tiny border by Waltzing Mouse)! Apart from that, the images are simply mounted on to a background cut with Martha Stewart punch-around-the page punches, and each is matted on different coloured Bazzil card which I inked around the edges to continue the vintage feel. I think they make a pretty set.

Thanks for looking!

Stamping Sensations August Challenge

It's August, so time for another challenge at Stamping Sensations. This month our theme is right up my street! It's

*** WINGS AND THINGS AND A TOUCH OF VINTAGE ***

Another chance to get out the butterfly stamps, and I couldn't resist this gorgeous new one from Inkylicious. It's called "Vintage Butterfly" - what could be more perfect for the theme!

I stamped the image with Versamark ink on to patterned paper (Webster's Pages) and embossed it with clear ink to act as a resist. Then I painted over the whole thing with gesso, wiping it off where it was covering the embossing.

Next I cut a small panel of the patterned paper, matted it with a thin gold border and placed it alongside the image. Having slightly distressed the edges of the paper, I then matted the whole picture on to some Bazzil Basics card, the border being cut with a Martha Stewart punch. To embellish the card, I made some paper beads, using the same papers.

The card was completed with some ribbon (two separate pieces, one on top of the other). The yellow ribbon is quite old, being inherited from my mother, although I don't think it's actually vintage! Apart from the butterfly stamp, all the materials used are old stash. I'm trying very hard not to buy new stuff and to get some of the old used up (though some, like the butterfly, are simply NOT to be resisted!) and so far I'm not doing too badly!

Of course, you want to know about this month's prize, and it's a cracker! Our lovely sponsor is Crafty Devils, and they have generously donated a £35 voucher!  They are one of the UK's leading papercraft specialists, supplying over 10,000 products for card making, stamping, scrapbooking, die cutting and more, so the lucky winner will definitely be spoilt for choice when it comes to spending their voucher.

Please do pop over to the Challenge Blog to see what my talented teamies have made to inspire you this month. I think this is going to be a very popular theme, and I can't wait to see all your lovely entries. Don't forget, it doesn't have to be a card, it can be any type of project as long as it follows the month's theme, and you can enter up to three times, so more chances of winning that great prize or being in our top three!