Tattered Lace Charisma Collection Carnations - April 2015

Hi, hope everyone has had a good week.

It has been so long since my last blog post but family illness has meant that I have had less time than usual to post.  Going to try and catch up a bit now!

This set of samples was lovely to do.  I love making cards with a floral theme and especially like making flowers, but as I work full time I am often stuck for time.  This was a great way to make 3D flowers without spending hours and hours making them.  I also love the effect of decoupage but am not great at cutting out, but it is the fiddly bits that make the decoupage come to life ... so decoupage dies was an idea I loved straight away.  I also liked that you could either leave them completely flat or lift up all the little petal edges, which I thought looked much better.

I thought I would do more of a 'recipe' style of what I used on the cards and then a brief explanation ... if anyone has any questions or queries, then give me a shout.

8x8 Card

Martha Stewart Border Punch - Optic Dot

Nellie Snellen Multi Frame Dies - Squares

Paper from Charisma Collection CD

Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation

Tattered Lace Die - Ornate Leaves

Tattered Lace Embossing Folder - Fretwork Lace

This was a really simple idea but trying to fit it on the page in real life took a bit of squishing.  If I was more of a measuring person, I would have measured the card down the middle and cut it a bit thinner!  I worked out in the end though, what do you think?

A4 card
Matchbox design found online
Paper from Charisma Collection CD
Sentiment from PC
Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Vintage Photo

Loved doing this one, as I don't often do inky stuff.  Didn't bother to line the drawer, I just printed the same design on both sides of the card.  Instead of using the whole decoupage design for the top of the box, I used one whole one and then a few sections to finish it off.

8x8 Card

Paper from Charisma Collection CD

Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation

Tattered Lace Die - Free Die from Tattered Lace Magazine issue 10

Tattered Lace Embossing Folder - Fretwork Lace

This card is really simple, just a few mats and layers and some glitter but I thought it was a really pretty colour way.  Again I used one whole decoupage and then a few smaller sections.  The second picture shows the detail really well, I especially liked the white bobbly bits (I'm sure there's a more technical flower name!) which I would definitely have cut off if I had to had cut them out.

A5 Card

Die-Namics Die - Pierced Fishtail Flags

Inkylicious Stamp - Happy Birthday

Paper from Charisma Collection CD

Ribbon from stash

Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation

This was another of my favourites and although you cant see it very well above, it was actually printed on pearl paper and card which gave it a really soft look.

A4 Card
Joy Craft Die - Card Stand 6002/0122
Paper from Charisma Collection CD
Spellbinders Die - Scalloped Labels 1
Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation

Saw something similar to this on Pinterest and had to have a go!  I did have to change the handle to a strip of card rather than a ribbon so that it would stand up a bit.  I also cut a Joy card stand so it could be displayed rather than lying down.  If I do this again I would pop the gift in and make a card that also fitted inside.

8x8 Card
Paper from Charisma Collection CD
Ribbon from stash
Sentiment from PC
Tattered Lace Die - Charisma Collection Carnation
Tattered Lace Die - Ornate Leaves

This one I would never have made if you had to cut it out!  Again I used one whole decoupage and different sections for the corner and the sentiment.  Had a bit of a faff trying to make the middle of the ribbon narrower without it bulking up but, as everyone knows, Pinflair glue holds anything!

No out and out bloopers this time although I did have to do a lot of tucking and 'encouraging' with the first card as I should have cut the middle vertical strip a bit narrower.

Thanks for reading, have a great week and if you get a chance, let me know what you think.