Welcome to my blog

I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and please leave me a comment. I always enjoy reading them, and will try to visit you in return.

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You are welcome to copy any of my designs, as long as you do not take credit for them yourself. I am very happy for you to sell them. If I have used anyone else's design, I always try to give credit where it is due. If I have missed anything, please let me know and I will put things right.


This is intended to be mainly about my crafting stories, as a personal record of what I do. However, I interpret crafting quite widely, not just paper crafting but other things too. I have a butterfly mind and like to change from one thing to another depending on what I feel like on a given day - knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, cards, baking and several others, including my favourite right now, parchment, both traditional skills and Groovi, very relaxing and calming to do.

I have decided to put some structure into my blog so that each day will have something of a theme.
Monday- for Mindfulness; Tuesday - Tidy Up Day; Wednesday - What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday; Thursday - Technique and Tips; Friday - Finish Off Day; Saturday - Start Something New; Sunday - Anything Goes
These themes are not hard and fast and will be changed if I feel the need.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

Latest cards - aging photos etc.

 This first card is from one of my own photos.  It is Archway House in Sherwood Forest, and it was a full colour photo.  I changed it to sepia (well, the program calls the colour tan - sepia was too bright), using Roxio Photosuite.  I printed it on to watercolour card, and then aged it further with Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Old Paper.  Apart from rubbing round the edges with the cut and dry foam, I also put a random light coating over most of the picture to make sure it did not look too new.  The coppery card it is mounted on is from the PDA Majestic and Stardream range - beautiful quality card and a joy to work with.

This second card was treated in the same way, and I think the steam engine fits this technique perfectly.  In this case, the topper is mounted on dark brown pearlescent card from PDA, and then onto a dark olive green card from the same range, which has a slight hint of gold in it too.

Both these cards were for birthday cards for friends, the second of which is a real steam enthusiast, so his picture is of a Great Western engine on the famous Lickey Incline, near to where we live.

I do like using my own photos where possible and altering them to create something different.  In fact, I am off now to have a real play, both with photos and with some brayering practice.  Have a lovely day, all of you.

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

Lovely cards, Maggie. I've discovered that sepia can be a bit too bright too and usually go for a browner tone. I like your techniques for aging the photographs and they do look good on the vintage tones of the matting you have chosen for them. I'm having a lovely crafty day too - enjoy yours :) Elizabeth x