Card Making Haul - June 2013

Hello, there. As the title of the post suggests I am here with my June Card Making Haul video. I accidently *cough*  bought a fair amount this month without meaning too (I guess most crafters say that don't they?!) so here is what I got ...

 

Products mentioned:

Hope you enjoyed watching. I just wanted to remind you that Google Reader will be retiring on Monday, so if you currently use that to read my blog please could you follow by other means. I have a link to Bloglovin, Feedburner and to follow by email on my sidebar. I would be delighted if you still chose to follow me using one of those or by whatever means you chose! I am not a 100% sure yet whether Blogger Reading List is going as well. We will find out on Monday I guess. Thanks so much for visiting me today. Hope you are having a lovely weekend so far.

Ava Loves To Celebrate - DTDF

Hello there, today I am sharing the card I have made for the DTDF Blog using products from DTDF. I have used Uptown Girls Ava Like To Celebrate by Stamping Bella - these images are really big. I think that is what put me off inking this beauty up before, however, I had fun colouring her in!

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Thanks so much for visiting me today, I hope you are having a lovely week so far. Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Jen - LIM

Hello there, when I saw that the latest challenge over at Less Is More was to make a Birthday Card for Jen I had to play along. Jen is an exceptional card maker and I truly admire her style, not only that but she is a very lovely person too! I hope you are having a lovely Birthday in Istanbul Jen!

 

I decided to try something different for my card and cut a panel from the card and to add a vellum cardstock piece cut from the SSS Circle Border die. The butterfly is a Studio Calico wood veneer that I have covered in Zig glitter - so pretty!

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Thanks so much for visiting me today, hope you are all well. I just want to thank those who have commented on my post below. I am glad it has helped some people and thank you to those who have given me some more suggestions.

Cardstock Comparison

Hello there, a while back I mentioned that I was looking for an alternative cardstock to Papertrey Ink's Stampers Select white cardstock. I love the cardstock; it is thick, it works well with Copics (in my opinion) and great for stamping too. The only problem is the shipping cost from the US to the UK.

So I decided to go on the hunt for alternatives. I ended up trying out 16 different ones (including the PTI one) with various results. I would like to thank everyone who commented on my post that I put up on my Facebook page giving me suggestions for what to try out. I would also like to thank Maria, Stephanie and Carol for sending me some of their cardstocks to try - really kind of you ladies.

My main purpose was to find a cardstock that could 1. be used for card bases i.e. it had to be thick enough 2. that it was good for stamping and 3. that it worked well with Copic Markers.

Here is what I found out ...

 

So in conclusion I didn't find a cardstock that held up to Papertrey's Stampers Select for the three things I wanted it for. Saying that though, I found I quite liked the Neenah and X-Press It cardstocks for Copic Colouring - shame they didn't come in thicker weights. I like the Simon Says Stamp 120lb, CC Designs Copic Quality and Bazzill Card Shoppe for card bases - they are all nice thicknesses. For an overall cardstock I quite liked the Anna Marie Designs 300gsm and for stamping with block stamps using Hero Arts inks the best cardstock by far was The Glitter Pot's Bleed-Proof Card.  

 

Shame that I couldn't take elements from them all to make one super cardstock!! So as I said in the video I have made an order from Papertrey Ink, it will probably be my last unless they change their shipping. When that supply runs out I am sure I will end up doing this whole process again!

 

I would love to hear your thoughts, what is your favourite cardstock? Thanks so much for visiting me today, sorry it is a long post and a long video but I wanted to be thorough and I know a lot of people were curious to what I found out.

Father's Shirt

Hello there, today I am sharing the card I made for my Dad for Father's Day. When I was young I always remember my Dad wearing bright Hawaiian shirts - the brighter the better for him; so I couldn't resist making one for his card this year. I have used the fab Clearly Besotted Stamps Super Dad set. The shirt has been stamped and cut out using the co-ordinating die and I have cut out the pocket too and popped this up with a 3D foam pad. The buttons have been stamped separately as well - it really is a great mix and match set.

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Thank you for visiting me today, hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Hello - DTDF

Hello there, today I am sharing a little notecard I have made for DTDF and the DTDF Blog. I have first taken the MFT Happy Hellos Die-Namics set and die cut this from a piece of white cardstock. I have then added a sheet from the Echo Park Bundle Of Joy Girl Dots & Stripes Paper - love this pad! underneath with 3D foam pads. The panel has been added to a card base and then finished off with MME Enamel Dots.

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Thank you so much for visiting me today, wishing you a lovely day!

Honeycomb Butterflies + Video

Hello there, when I saw that the latest Less Is More Challenge was to use hexagons I couldn't resist playing along. I have used the Clearly Besotted Stamps Honeycomb and Butterfly Wishes Dies and combined them with one of my favourite PTI sentiments.

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+ Paperchase Transfusion Space Dust Vellum

If you would like to see how I made the card, here is a little video showing you how I did it ...

Thank you so much for visiting me today. Thank you to those who have inquired about my allergy testing. They did find one additional allergy to go along with the other two that I already knew about. I still have some further investigating to do on the subject though. Have a lovely day!

Forever Flowers

A couple of weeks ago I posted a card that I had made using the His & Hers concept of card making. That was the 'his' card but I completely forgot to post the 'hers' card so here it is. As you can see I used the same layout for both the card base and the stamping but with very different results. I am definitely going to try this again.

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Thank you so much for visiting me today, hope you are having a lovely weekend!

CBS Bonus Die Release

Hello there, just thought I would pop in to let you know that Clearly Besotted Stamps have released a ton of new dies to co-ordinate with some of the already released stamp sets. If you are a fan of co-ordinating dies and stamps you will love these! Here is a quick video showing you them up close ...

 

Hope you enjoyed watching and I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Yellow Butterflies

Hello, my name is Michelle and I am obsessed with butterflies! :0) Sorry to use them again but as soon as I saw the latest CASE Study Challenge I had this idea in mind. 

I love the sketch that Lisa Spangler used on her card and thought it would look pretty with butterflies. I loved her background too. I have used the Hero Arts Envelope Pattern on mine and inked it lightly with PTI Lemon Tart ink. It is very subtle but I love the effect and I just love those butterflies!

Because you cannot really see the background effect in the top pictures I just wanted to darken one to show you:

 

Thanks so much for visiting me today, I really do appreciate it. Today I should be getting some sort of results from my allergy testing, thank you to those who sent wishes. Have a lovely day!

Thank You Enough - DTDF

Hello there. Today I have a quick card to show that I am sharing on the DTDF Blog, using the beautiful Memory Box Isabella Butterfly die. The sentiment is from the MFT Polka Dot Greetings stamp set.

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As always, thank you so much for visiting me today, it really is appreciated.

29 Again?!

Hello there, this is the card I made a while ago for my Dad for his Birthday but I forgot to post it. There is a running joke with my Dad that he is at least 10 years younger than his age; he refuses to believe that he is getting old! So instead of putting the age he actually is I went with a little joke instead. I think he appreciated it!

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Thank you so much for visiting me today. Hope you are all well. I am currently undergoing allergy testing this week so I do apologise if my posts are a little sporadic.

Clearly Besotted Challenge

Hello there, today the CBS team have a new feature to share with you. It is the Clearly Besotted Challenge. It will be a monthly challenge for CBS fans (more info below). The theme this month is a nice easy one to start with - 'Anything Goes'.

 

My card for the challenge uses the beautiful With Love stamp set. I stamped the image and sentiment using Versamark and then embossed with white embossing powder. I then got inky and used Tim Holtz Distress inks over the top.

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The Clearly Besotted Challenge will run for two weeks, closing on the 23rd June 2013. The winner will receive five stamp sets of their choice and we will also be picking a Guest Designer for the month of August from the entries. If you would like to have a chance at being GD please add GD after your name when entering. For more details on the challenge please visit Stephanie and also please check out my teamies cards as well - Aimes, Caryn, Debby, Mandy and Maureen.

I really hope you can all play along with the challenge. Thanks so much for visiting me today.

How I Make Videos

Hello there, I have had a few questions recently on how I film/make videos. There are two types of videos that I make - unedited videos like hauls and edited card making tutorials. For the first one I use my iPad propped up using the Apple iPad cover. You can see a picture of how I do this HERE.

 

For the second type I use a Sony Handycam camcorder and film from above my desk. I have two shelves above my desk on the wall so I attach my camera to one of those. I have a shelf bracket/monopod from Vanguard. I bought mine from HERE. It attached to a shelf really easily and you can extend it quite far out. The camera attaches to the end so you can film from above.

 

Because you are effectively filming from upside down, you will see that the picture is upside down. When you use your editing software you need to remember flip the picture back the correct way, which can be easily done with any movie making software.

 

When it comes to editing there are various different programs you can use. If you have a Mac I would suggest iMovie and if you have a PC Windows Movie Maker. These are both free and good for starting out. I currently use Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Suite but there are lots of different ones available in different price ranges.

Here is a quick video showing my set up:

 

Hope you found that helpful? Thanks for visiting me today, have a lovey weekend!

Inspired by Butterflies - DTDF

Hello there, today I am sharing the card I made for the DTDF Blog yesterday. I have used one of the older MFT Stamp sets - Inspired by Butterflies. I still think it is so pretty.

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Thank you so much for visiting me today, hope you are all well.

To My Friend

Hello there, if you have been following along with all the Clearly Besotted Stamps Teasers this week then I am sure you will be delighted to know that they are available in the shop now. My card today uses the new Building Blocks II set along with the new For Everyone set. I have combined these with the gorgeous Butterfly Wishes Die set.

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Here is the video showing you the products up close, hope you enjoy! ...

 

As always, thank you so much for visiting me today. My DTDF Post will be up tomorrow instead of today. Hope you have enjoyed the CBS teasers. Have a lovely day!

Make A Wish

Hello there, welcome to another day of CBS teasers. The stamp sets are being revealed over on Stephanie's blog today (they will be in the shop tomorrow) but the DT still have some teasers to show you. For my card today I am using the Make A Wish stamp and co-ordinating die sets. I have combined the balloon with the sentiment from the Twinkle Toes set.

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Thank you so much for visiting me today. Pop back to me tomorrow for my release video and last teaser. Have a lovely day!

Birthday Blog Candy Winner

Apologies for the delay in getting this up but random.org has picked a winner of my Birthday Blog Candy 2013 and it is ...

 

 

MELANIE B

 

 

Please could you email me with your address Melanie.
Thank you all who entered and left me such lovey messages. They were so appreciated :0)

April Showers

I have another CBS Teaser Time card to share with you today. Foir my card today I have used the April Showers stamp set and co-ordinating die. Don't you just love the font on that sentiment? I have added some Sakura Gelly Glaze to the rain drops which gives a nice sheen to them.

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Thanks so much for visiting me today, remember to check Stephanie's blog daily for teasers and my DT teamies Amy Wanford & Mandy Gill have teaser cards for you today as well.

CBS Teaser Time

If you are a fan of Clearly Besotted Stamps I am sure you have seen that we have started a new feature; It is called Teaser Time. This is where Stephanie and the rest of the DT share some of the new soon to be released products with you. The new stamps and dies will be available in the shop on the 6th June. Here is my card for today, I have used the new You Are stamp set and combined it with the sentiment from the previously released Happy Days set.

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Other DT members sharing Teasers today and the last few days are Debby Hughes, Caryn Davies. and Mandy Gill. Be sure to go and see their amazing creations! Have a lovely day!