Cardmaking Paradise

Yes, that's somewhere we've all been! But it's also a lovely, friendly community of crafters I am very proud to belong to.
It began with many of us meeting up on a few different online craft forums over the years then one of us, Sara Sandberg, took the mighty step of starting her own craft forum.
Recently the name changed to Cardmaking Paradise, along with Sara's online crafting magazine which is growing into something rather fab. Here you get product reviews, templates for cards, projects etc and it's just a great resource to have at your fingertips.
Sara asked me to become a Design Team Member a while ago - I said yes but then didn't do anything for her for ages! Finally,though, I have started to make a few things to be shown in the magazine and here are my efforts to date......

This wooden peg is a 'giant' one, available from the Craft Barn. You can dismantle it for decorating though I was a bit like a chimpanzee trying to do an intelligence test when I came to put it back together again - LOL!
I got there in the end.
I painted the peg with Eco Green Acrylic Paints. The bottom edge there is made using copper metal embossed with swirly Cuttlebug E.F. and die cut using Tim's Scallops On The Edge Die. The Swallow is a Sizzlets Die and the sentiment stamp is by Stamping Sensations.
Inside the peg, I stamped a music background - it's unmounted and I can't remember who made it now; I've had it ages...you know how it is!

It was a gloomy dark day - you know the kind we had a lot over this long, long Winter - when I took these photos so apologies for the dark quality of them.

On what I consider the back of the piece, I stamped Stampendous Wavy Music, adding the dots left over from Tim's scallop die to highlight some of the notes.

I painted freehand stripes of gold and copper acrylic paint on the sides and grunged up the metal clip with some alcohol inks.

The best fun was playing with the Tim Holtz die which I painted with dark brown acrylic paint into which I sprinkled some Embossing Powders and heated till they bubbled. I love this effect and have Lin Brown to thank for that technique.










The next project was to make and decorate a card case for the magazine.
And here it is - I won't waffle on about this one. To get the template and many other fab templates, visit Cardmaking Paradise and subscribe to this great magazine!

You may or may not recognise the Japanese calligraphy stamp on the spine as part of the freebie stamp from October 2009.
Bird stamp (and most of the other stamps I used) from The Orient set by Simple Expressions - now sadly no longer in existence.

I should add that these photos are NOT the ones Sara took for the mag. I take full responsibility. Was in a bit of a rush, hence the badly set up background!!! Click on any photo to enlarge.







Then came Mother's Day. Even though I'm quite old I'm very fortunate to still have my mother, whom I love dearly. I made this card for her from a shape we made at our local Stamp Club - a Side Step Card.
I was feeling bold and OTT when I made this ....you may be able to tell ! LOL

 Yes, it was another dark and dismal day when I took these photos! Flower stamps by Hero Arts and Penny Black.  The big ones are coloured with Staedtler Chalk Pencils.

I didn't have a Leaf stamp in the right style so I just drew one.









Thanks for coming over and I'll have more in a few days since I have just been on a brilliant workshop with the brilliant Jo Capper Sandon. I'll post the resulting book covers very soon. Watch this space..........