New Year Irresistible cards

Posted on December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 by Mo Rootes

Well, Christmas is over and the New Year is rapidly approaching. This year a group of us are gathering at a friend’s house to see in the New Year with a pot luck supper. Even better, we all live in the village so no one needs to drive. Happy Days…

To mark the occasion I decided to make each couple a New Year card.

In my stash, I found some Irresistibly Yours dsp from the 2015, Sale-a-Bration brochure and although this dsp is now retired, you could substitute a pattern from the Color Me irresistible Specialty dsp, found on page142 in the annual catalogue. This lovely paper is amazingly versatile as it can be sponged, spritzed, water coloured or inked in any colour to match your project.

I chose the starry pattern for my cards as this reminded me of fireworks and long nights. I sponged each piece of dsp in either Soft Sky, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Rich Razzleberry or Calypso Coral ink using Stampin sponges. I then stamped the sun image from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set with Crushed Curry ink. Using a piece of kitchen towel I wiped over the inked and stamped dsp to remove the excess ink from the embossed areas, revealing the glossy white stars.

I die cut the 2016 using the Little Numbers Thinlits and Gold or Black Glimmer cardstock and added the HAPPY from the Crazy For You stamp set.

I mounted the dsp onto and added the panel to Thick Whisper White cardstock bases with dimensionals. Inside the card I stamped the happy new year greeting from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set. I tamped the sun image from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set inside each card and on the envelope as a finishing touch.

New Year cards

I am really happy with the cards, love the colours and a sparkly glimmer paper numbers. Really hope my friends like them. I hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year

Mo x

Cutie Pie Christmas Packaging

Posted on December 27, 2015December 29, 2015 by Mo Rootes

Still on the theme of Christmas and inspired by my upline Mikaela Titheridge http://thecraftyoinkpen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/christmas-gift-packaging-voucher.html, I decided to make some Christmas boxes using the Cutie Pie die set. I bought this set a while ago but this is the first time I have used it and I have to say I love it.

Cutie Pie Christmas

The boxes are so easy to put together and the shape is much more versatile than it appears at first glance.

The first Cutie Pie box I made was a CASE of a project on Mikaela’s blog.

I used the retired Naturals White cardstock which I absolutely loved. I was so sad when this retired from the catalogue in June. You could however, use any cardstock for this project. I used the large snowflake from the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink. I randomly stamp the tiny snowy star image from the same set in Sahara Sand ink as a background. To give some dimension to the box I attached one of the larger Snowflake Elements with a glue dot and added a basic rhinestone for the obligatory Christmas bling. A piece of retired Cherry Cobbler Ribbon was used to tie around the box.

I decided to try the box again in a different colour and with different ribbon on the same cardstock. I used Cucumber Crush, one of the 2015 – 2017 in colours for the stamped snowflake and added a smaller wooden snowflake from my stash with a dimensional. I coloured the wooden snowflake using my Craft Whisper White ink and added a basic rhinestone. The background snowy stars I again stamped using Sahara Sand ink. The soft bow was made using the Dotted Lace Trim in Cucumber Crush. I think this colourway looks very fresh and modern compared to the richer Cherry Cobbler version, loved them both.

Mo x

Christmas Twist-Topped Boxes

Posted on December 23, 2015December 29, 2015 by Mo Rootes

Twist-topped box in 3 sizes

I love Christmas and this year it will go on until the end of January 2016 …. Whoo hoo. I have been asked to do a workshop for a group of local crafters who meet monthly to create a stock of Christmas goodies for their church Christmas Fair. I have been asked to come up with some new ideas for them to try.

First out of the starting block is a tall thin box inspired by Lea Denton – The Crafty Spark

. The box measures 1¼” wide by 1¼” deep by 5¼” high with the twisted top adding another 1½”

Like Lea, I used Night of Navy cardstock and stamped the 2 smaller snowflakes from the Flurry of Wishes stamp set in Versamark Ink. I then heat embossed with silver embossing powder, I love the effect this gives, so sophisticated, festive and shiny. The twisted top closure of the box was tricky to master but looked amazing when I finally got the hang of it. I loved the shape of the box and decided to try shrinking it down.

The second box is also 1¼” wide by 1¼” deep but is only 4” high with the twisted top adding another 1½”. I used Pool Party cardstock and the characters from the Snow Place stamp set. Using Pool Party ink I stamped the snowflake cluster from the stamp set onto the Pool Party cardstock to give a muted tone on tone effect. I stamped the penguin, the large snowman and 2 of the smaller snowmen using the Basic Black Archival Ink and die cut them using the co-ordinating Snow Friends dies. I stamped all their really cute accessories using Real Red and Pool Party ink before die cutting them. I couldn’t resist die cutting a top hat for the large snowman from the gorgeous black glimmer cardstock, which is sadly, retiring from the catalogue on the 4^th January 2016. Such a fun looking box which would be great for a child’s stocking.

I couldn’t resist shrinking it again…I know, I need to get a life… This final box is 3” high with the other dimensions remaining the same. I used Real Red cardstock for this last box and used it to showcase the Merry Moments dsp. A simple but lovely box.

This is such a versatile box and could easily be adapted for any season. I love them all and hope you do to.

Mo x