Thursday, October 27, 2011

Cards From Long Ago

I just had to post these lovely cards that someone kindly loaned to me.  They are wedding invitations and I think RSVP cards and they date back to 1911-1916.  It is amazing to see that in those days there were such delicate embossing tools. It is difficult to show how small they are so I will give you the dimensions. To the right, the card on its own is 6 x 5cms.    In the photo below, the cards at the top of the picture are 8 x 10cms and two laying down are 6 x 9cms. Thank you Gail for lending me these very special cards. They are gorgeous.

Monday, October 17, 2011

October 11 Workshop

Hello once again,
Well Christmas is drawing closer and closer and other than making Christmas cards at my workshops I have not really thought about it. I see the christmas decorations are all out in the shops.  I swear each year slips by faster than the year before.
Our October workshop went well.  We made a Christmas decorative gift box which was made with the Mini Milk Carton Die. Susan Joyce showed us how to make the little gift box with the lid which prompted me to make this little item. I noticed that Susan had also shown these on her blog previously and I found the instructions on how to make it on KB Papercrafts. You can adjust the size of your box as well so you can have it tall or short depending on your choice. They are so easy to make and once you make one you can make a whole lot ready for your Christmas gifts for work buddies etc. You can see I also made one using Concord Crush & the new Flirtatious DSP.
The next card was one I made using the Well Worn DSP and have put it through the Square Lattice Folder using the Big Shot. (My lovely Big Shot that I received at half price, what a bargain and it is quieter than my old one). This card is very, very simple and one that you can whip up in a few minutes. I used for this card the following products:-
Cardstock: River Rock, Early Espresso
DSP: Well Worn
Stamp Pad: Early Espresso
Stamp Set: Perfect Punches
Accessories: 1/4" Grosgrain Early Espresso Ribbon, Round Tab Punch, Extra Large  Oval Punch.

The last card was one I received in the 2011 Convention Swap from the very talented Cathy Clark.  I just love the colours.  This happens to be one of my very favourite stamp sets, French Foliage and for those of you who know me I just love autumn colours. Unfortunately since this card was made and unknown to me until last night that the Brushed Copper no longer exists.
This card was made using the following products:
Cardstock: Basic Black, Cajun Craze, Brushed Copper, Brushed Gold, Always Artichoke
Stamp Pad: Basic Black
Stamp Set: French Foliage, Heard From The Heart, Woodgrain
Accessories: Word Window Punch, Black Brads.
I really enjoyed making this card and thank Cathy for such a gorgeous idea. Love it!
We always have cuppa and cake at half time and this time once again the girls were guinea pigs with a new recipe.  I found this recipe in the free Coles Spring magazine. It was a Pineapple Upsidedown Cake.  The recipe was easy but take a tip from me. Do not use a spring cake tin. I dont know why I used it but I lost some of my juice while cooking. Anyway it did not take away the lovely tasting cake that it eventuated into. I think it was one of my best at my workshops. I think the girls will agree as well.  The cake did stick slightly in the middle when I turned it out but I managed to salvage it. I am sure you can find the recipe online if you cannot get one from your local Coles store. If not email me and I will send you the recipe.
Well thats it for now for me. I am going to catch up on all the kits I hve left over from over the years instead of having them laying around as they have done. I made 17 cards on Saturday night along with dropping keys off to our son after his trip to Bali. They were there when the Earthquake happened and they said it was very scarey.
Anyway must go. Thanks once again for popping by :)