Pollyanna Pickering - Part 2

From my beautiful delivery of card toppers by the very talented Pollyanna Pickering, I decided to make a couple of cards....

See my previous blog on Pollyanna Pickering to find out more :)

Last year for my birthday, my Mum bought me this Wild at Heart pad which my Pollyanna Pickering toppers matched perfectly...

I find men are always harder to make cards for, so these lovely wildlife designs and papers work great..

Here's what I used:

Background card stock from the Wild at Heart pad - We saw this collection in Eason's in Rushmere.  I'm sure any of you crafty folk will have something similar at home, and there are always digital designs online that you could print unto your own plain card stock.

Toppers and sentiments from the Pollyanna Pickering sketch book range... you can check out Create And Craft here to see the range available.  I don't think they are still doing the kit that I bought though, but I'm sure there are other websites and shops who stock her products too.  And you should also be able to purchase the cd roms and print off your own toppers.

mini cross stitch design

Ribbons and gems and any other accessories you'd like to add.  I bought these ribbons (a metre of each) in coordinating colours (45p per metre in Horace McMullan's, Dungannon). By the way, this is where I buy all my cross stitch embroidery thread - they are THE cheapest anywhere (even online)!!!

Card making is only as complicated as you want it to be... if you're a beginner, it really is just a matter of measure, cut and stick!

Fold in half and using double sided tape,
stick your topper unto a contrasting
colour of card

Measure your card to the size you want

Attach 3D foam tape to the back of your
topper and stick it unto your folded card

I stuck the little fox using 3D foam pads. And I stamped an image of some reeds on the left hand side for some extra dimension in the scene:

The only fiddly bit in this, was tying the bows... I bought this handy little bow maker on Ebay for a couple of pounds... but seriously, I've seen people use a comb and even the prongs of a fork!!

I managed to make a video and hopefully it shows you how easy it is to make the perfect bow... hope it helps :)

You can experiment and use 2 ribbons at once, or wrap the ribbon around the pegs a couple of times to make a fuller bow.  There are no rules :)

And that's it... I usually use silicon glue to stick my ribbon bows in place, but a good dab of PVA glue will do the trick, just hold it there for a while or set a heavy book on top of it!

Silicone glue in a craft shop is expensive... so I buy mine in a hardware store for a fraction (seriously, a fraction) of the price... There's a slight smell, but it's gone once the glue dries!

Finishing off with a Happy Birthday sentiment and some gold gems down the side...

The otter one was another cross stitch project and using another card from my Wild at Heart pad and Pollyanna Pickering otter background.

Hope you liked my card....

Check out my blog later in the week to see what else I've been up to, or bought! lol

Thanks for stopping by :)

Combining Hobbies - Photography

Hi everyone...

I've deviated from my subject of Pollyanna Pickering and over the weekend, decided to do a little bit of photography... I was afraid of missing the snowdrops at their peak...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love photography... I only got into it in 2012, but it's something that I love, love, love... if you want to check out my photos... here's a link to my Flickr account: Glenda's Photos

So, anyway, much to my mother's reluctance (but under her careful supervision) I was allowed to wander round her garden and pick a few of her spring flowers... only a few - seriously, she followed me!!!

But, with that in mind... I thought I'd combine this hobby with my card making one...

And here's the card I made....

And here's how I did it...

First of all, my best friend bought me a light box for Christmas (very thoughtful)... what a fantastic little piece of kit this is...

A really simple idea... a foldable white box, with a row of lights along the top:

Then using my Canon 60D, I set up the spring flowers in a vase and took a few pics:

And this was the resulting photo that I posted on Flickr:

To make the card... I printed my image off on to 4 x 6 inch glossy photo paper (it's heavier than paper, more like a card weight). And trimmed it to size...

Then layered it on black card stock and using double sided sticky tape, positioned it on my white card blank.

I then stamped a sentiment unto the image... in hindsight and for future reference, do NOT use a solvent ink like Stazon on glossy paper, as it will lift the coating! (I'll remember that one!) ah well.

Then I stuck some black ribbon on the bottom and tied a knot to one side, and stuck a few diamante gems around the image:

Hope you like it and if you get chance to take some photos of your spring flowers, I'd love to see them :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Pollyanna Pickering

I have a disease... A serious one... And it's costing me a fortune!

There's just something about coming home from work and finding a wee package delivered through the door. And so, I keep ordering more crafty stuff even though my house is coming down with it LOL

Here's my problem...

If you've never heard of Pollyanna Pickering, then you're missing out, because Pollyanna is a world famous wildlife artist, She never paints from photographs, but travels around the world and paints the animals as she sees them, directly in the wild - as it should be :) But, she's also a conservationist and rescues many wild animals..   She's an amazing woman and I admire her so much.

This is a link to her website: Pollyanna Pickering - definitely worth a visit :)

and here's the reason I'm highlighting her work...

Mum and I were watching the Create and Craft channel on TV last week, I don't watch it that often (too tempting) and normally only for inspiration, it's usually too expensive to order from too, but...... the deal that popped up on screen was just too good to miss, so in a very hurried but unanimous decision, I logged into my account and we agreed to go halves LOL

And here's what we got, for £12.99 (I know, big spenders, eh?) and that included delivery.  

50 sheets of Pollyanna Pickering wildlife designs:

We split the 50 sheets, (there was a little bit of to-ing and fro-ing until we both came to an amicable compromise LOL) and I'm very happy with my half now and with each sheet having at least six toppers, that's a whole load of busy nights ahead crafting! LOL... These will work well with natural and neutral colours, and I might even incorporate some of my cross stitch projects (see yesterday's blog)!


Better go get started... thanks for stopping by...

Glenda

My Cross Stitch Projects

Hello everyone,

Something brand new this evening....

Thought I'd try a wee video - my very first one (apologies for the unsteadiness, the clicking, the nervousness and the accent lol).

These are just a few (a fraction) of my smaller cross stitch projects. I'll post another video of some different ones another time.  All stitched from some of the most popular cross stitch magazines on the market..  World of Cross Stitching, Cross Stitch Crazy, Cross Stitch Gold, Cross Stitcher and Cross Stitch Collection.

Due to copyright, I can't give you the charts, but there are loads of free downloadable charts online - here's a great website if you want to give it a go.. Free Cross Stitch Designs

Once I finish my design, I iron Vilene (special sticky sided fabric) on to the back, it stops it fraying and stiffens it so I can cut around it and then mount unto a card with 3D foam.

I might actually do a cross stitch class some evening, so if you're interested, please let me know!


Cross Stitch is super easy and once you get the hang of it, you may want to go bigger:

These are just a few I've done over the last 15 years or so, and I have loads of pictures stitched that are still unframed :)

Thanks for stopping by and check out my blog tomorrow..... got something in the post today that I want to share with you all :) :)

Glenda

Paper Pricking - Tutorial

Hello again everyone - Got a super easy tutorial today...

Paper Pricking

This doesn't require a lot of materials, but looks really effective using metallic threads :)  If you don't want to do the stitching, then coloured gems placed around the pattern can look just as pretty... I've got a few examples of each if you scroll down to the bottom :)

Materials used:

Pricking Stencil - This is one I bought years ago, but they are readily available on Ebay if you search
for "stitching stencil".  If you don't have one... don't worry, you can design a pattern really easily or use the one that I've drawn out here:

A pricking mat - I use an old mouse mat (the spongy ones) cut up.

A pricking tool, or a long pin with a ball head (easier for holding)

Metallic thread and fine needle - I bought my threads in Bargain Buys in Rushmere, 15 spools for £1

Coloured gems - you can usually find these in any bargain store. Poundland have them in around the nails and beauty section - I should have named my blog "The Frugal Crafter" LOL

Card blanks - I've used a 5 inch square card, but you can use any size or shape :)

Various coloured card - cut to slightly smaller than your card blank

so lets get started...

Line your stencil or template up with your card - best to tape it in place with a piece of masking tape...
stick the tape to the back of your hand a couple of times to remove some of the tackiness (less chance of it ripping your card when you peel it off again). You can use sellotape this way too.

Then using your pin, just punch down through each dot into your card. When you have that section pricked, just remove your template and place it down in the next corner.  If your stencil is not symmetrical, just turn it over to the back to make a mirror image.

Repeat this process for all 4 corners and this is what you should now have:

If you are going to stitch through the holes... thread up your needle with a colour of thread to match or compliment your coloured card, bring the needle up at the first hole...tape your thread to the back and skip 3 or 4 holes (but remember how many you skip and stick to this number) and bring your needle back down again.

for example: up at 1, down at 5, up at 6, down at 2, up at 3, down at 7 and so on, skipping 3 holes each time.  and just follow the line of your holes/dots.  You can always stick a gem in any area that seems a little awkward.  And just tape your thread at the back when you're done. Careful not to tape it over the back of the holes as it might show through.

Using double sided sticky tape, adhere your card to the card blank... I always find coloured card looks best on white.  I also used a similar colour of marker and drew a thick border round the edge and I've stuck a diamante gem in the centre of each stitched section.

Then just decorate the centre of your card with any embellishment.  I used a cross stitch design... once stitched, I ironed on some vilene interfacing (special fabric that stops it from fraying - here's a link: Vilene Interfacing) to the back to stiffen it, then cut around it and mount it to the card with some 3D foam pads.

I can't give you the chart for this as there are copyright laws, but there are loads of books
and magazines available with images just like this... It's a fantastic hobby and I'll be featuring
more of these in my upcoming posts :)

Then stamp a greeting and that's it, all done :)

Here's a few more samples with different colours and ideas:

The white with a touch of silver make this one look quite delicate

I used a metallic pink thread, but it just looks silver in the photo

I didn't get this card fully completed, nothing is stuck down, but you get the idea, right? :)

Let me know what you think, and if you give it a try, I'd love to see what you come up with :) :)

Have a great day,

Glenda