Play day Sunday

My new My Craft Studio CD rom Men-y Happy Returns and Finest Filigree arrived yesterday, so I've been playing.  Here are 4 quick cards just using the images as they come. 

These are two male cards made from the element sheets

The next two are Butterfly cards from the Finest Filigree CD, I have used two images on the yellow one to give a bit of dimmension

There is a scroll in the centre of the butterfly for the message to be written on.

I've been baking - Coffee Kisses

I've been baking some coffee kisses, this is a receipe from my Grandmothers old cook book, and a family favourite.

Please feel free to use this receipe to try some for yourselves.

You will need:

4 oz butter

3 oz sugar

1 egg yolk

8 oz self raising flour

1 desertspoon coffee granules dissolved in a tiny amount of hot water

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, add in the egg yolk and dissolved coffee.  Work in the flour until it all comes together to form a dough like pastry.

Tip onto a floured board and cut into an equal number of pieces about the size of a walnut.

Put onto a greased baking tray and bake at gas mark 6 for about 15 minutes,  (they will be soft at this point).

Allow to cool on a wire cooling tray (they will be firm when cold), and then sandwich into pairs with coffee buttercream, dust over with icing suger and ENJOY!

Suze

Distress inks swatch book

Following an article in the Craft Stamper magazine from April, I have made this Distress Ink Colour Swatch book.  It allows me to ensure that I get the right colour each time to co-ordinate with my project.

Each colour swatch is made up of 3 x 2 inch squares.  Each one is then coloured with the ditress ink in a different way.  On one square the direct to paper technique to get the deepest colour, and the other two squares being coloured using the distressing ink foam pads, then I sptitzed one with a fine mist of water, and blotted it with kitchen paper, the last square had a swirl image stamped on it using the same ink pad.  When all are dry, the three squares are stuck to a piece of card measuring 2 inches by 6 inches and a hole punched at the top for the ring binder.

Lastly the colour labels were downloaded from the Rangers web site and stuck onto the swatch.  I made a front and back cover from chipboard and the whole lot is held together with a ring binder.

As the swatches are ring bound I can add more to the swatch book as I collect more colours.

Birthday cake

I've been to Cornwall on holiday for a few days, and just before we went I was asked to make a cake for a gentleman who does not like icing, only buttercream.  This is what I came up with.

I made a whisked sponge and filled with jam and buttercream.  I have put a coat of buttercream all over the cake and covered the sides with chocolate finger biscuits.  The ribbon is partly to hold the biscuits into place as the cake has to go on quite a journey to the party. 

I haven't made a birthsday cake for a while, as I don't do so many now, but I am pleased with the result of this one.  (I have to say I was reluctant to do it, as we only came home late on Friday evening).

Whisked sponge receipe:

I make two seperate cakes and this makes one 9 inch cake
3 eggs
3 level tablespoons sugar
3 rounded tablespoons self raising flour

Whisk together the sugar and eggs until very thick and fluffy and pale in colour.  Sift in the flour and fold into the mixture.  Cook in a lined tin for about 15 minutes at gas mark 5.  Make a second cake, allow both to cool before sandwiching together with a filling of your choice.

ENJOY!!

Not much time this week

I've not had much time this week to add to these ramblings of mine.

I managed to plant a few strawberry plants yesterday, and made a couple of cards last night, one was a Wedding card with the Owl and the Pussycat as a theme. 

My daughter helped with this card, as she had the Sizzix Owl Halloween die cut which we put to good use.  We printed the Owl and the Pussycat poem to use as a backing paper, and then pleated a paper frill to go behind the topper, most of which was touched with Distressing inks.

The inside of the card had a picture of the Owl and the pussycat in an etching style.

The card is for a work colleague of mine and I usually put severl pages inside so everyone can write in the card, it was very well received when I took it into the office this morning.

Inspired by Spellbinders Demo

I was watching a Spellbinders demo and was inspired to look at the dies I have and this is what I have come up with.

I have used a mixture of Spellbinders Nestibilities, Marianne Creatables and Embossing folders.  The inks I used are all Distress Inks, and I just love playing with them and the colours are Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmalade and Old Paper.  The corners are cut with a Martha Stewart round the page punch.

The sentiment stamps are from Lili of the Valley.

Faux Enamelled and Crackled Embellishments

I thougt I would show you how I make the faux enamelled embellishments and crackled embellishments.They are vey simple and can be made to totally co-ordinate with your card.

You will need some small card shapes, I have used the smallest Nestibilites shapes, stamps, distressing ink, permanent ink and glossy Accents or Crackle Accents.

First decorate your shapes any way you like, I have used distress inks to make an edge and then stamped the images over the top using permanent ink, it is important that you use pernament ink or it will bleed when you cover it with the top coat.

To cover the shapes either with glossy accents or crackle accents, it is best to draw a line of the accent round the edge of the shape and then fill in, it at first appears to be milky, but it will dry clear.  Leave to dry, I usually leave overnight to ensure they are totally dry.

    

To enhance the crackles, rub over with a distress ink to show the crackle effects more.

The Crackle Accents is a one step process, and has a bit of flexibility when dry.  It is thicker than the Glossy Accents and goes on milky in the same way.

Here are two cards I have made using the embellishments.



As you can see the effect is totally different, the embellishment on the ship card used Glossy Accents, and the butterfly on the other card is using Crackle Accents.