Monthly Archives: April 2012

As promised here is one of the beautiful sample cards made by Clare Rowlands from Sundays Designer Day. This is the same criss cross design as the card everyone made in the afternoon – but change the colours, characters and details and it looks so very different.

 Here are close ups of all the little details. The edges of the insert has been punched with the pretty Martha Steward Lace Doily punch and the side has been decorated with punched leaves and little birds (from the Molly Blooms Birdhouse on a Branch stamp):

 Clare has used Molly the Chef as the main stamped character. I like how she is feeding a little bird, and notice how Molly is ”standing” on  some leaves rather than just floating in the air!

Clare has used her Apple Pie, Milk and Eggs stamps to create extra interest on the right side of the insert. Glossy Accents makes the bottle of milk look like it is made from glass. Sweet how the bird is pecking the milk lid!

The sentiment is also one of Clare’s stamps, but has again got the extra detail with the scalloped circle and another bird. I am sure you will agree this is a gorgeous card and I hope the close ups will give you lots of ideas for your own cards.

I was really inspired by Clare’s demo and class – and couldn’t wait to make a card myself using Clare’s tips and style.

Here is the class criss cross card in pinks on the right, and here is my “boy” version in primary colours on the left – totally inspired by Clare’s design.

 I really enjoyed making this – although I haven’t quite added enough colour to George’s cheeks, and I completely forgot to add the brown faux stitching!

I decided to use George the Magnificent for my main character on my insert. I paper pieced his trousers and cloak using patterned paper from the paper pack. I coloured the rest of him with Promarkers trying to ensure I used no more than four colours (it’s OK to use different shades of the chosen colours) – a tip from Clare. I have added Glossy Accents to his boots.

 For the lower section of the card I used Stanley the Sea-lion! I added Glossy Accents to his nose and the ball. I positioned him on a scalloped circle as per the original design, and also added the tickets in the same position.

 Rather than a star on top of my twine bundle I used a large button. I love that twine bundle that Clare showed us!

Mary hand cut the bunting to match the bunting on the original card for me, and I just punched the holes, inked the edges and threaded it onto the twine. Voila – card finished. And I loved making it!

Clare’s TOP TIP for me personally was showing us how to press the distress ink pad onto the craft sheet, and then picking up the ink using the blending tool, which avoids harsh edges. I tried it with this card and was very impressed with the difference. Thanks Clare!

I will have lots more of Clare’s creations to post during the week…

Thank you to everyone who braved the rain and howling wind to join us today. We had a lovely day with Clare Rowlands, who designs the gorgeous Molly Blooms stamps.

Clare bought loads of fabulous projects with her for us to admire.

Her are a few photos of the tables at the start of the day:

Clare shared lots of tips and ideas during the morning. Here are a few of our local crafters watching the demo:

Even though it was Carolyn and Megan’s day off they joined us too – as we all love the projects Clare creates!

Fortunately Sarah had made plenty of home made cakes – Lemon Drizzle, Banana Bread and (my personal favourite) Gingerbread.

Clare’s morning demo covered all sorts of techniques. Here we are being shown how to mask images:

Clare mainly uses Copic markers to colour her images with – but the process is exactly the same when you are using Promarkers. Here Clare is showing how to colour skin. Tip: stamp with Memento rich cocoa ink rather than black for a softer image!

Here Clare is showing us how to mix colours directly on the pen:

Clare showed us how to colour clothes. Tip: Always choose the patterned paper for your project BEFORE colouring your image. This way you can ensure the colours you use will be perfect. Tip: limit your colour palette to four colours only (different shades of each are OK, but limiting the number of colours you use will give a more professional finish to your project)

Clare’s projects are a joy to look at because of all the little details. Here is a simple sentiment – but Clare showed us how to really show it off :

 Here is the (not quite) finished card that Clare was making:

In the afternoon  Clare ran a workshop and everyone made a beautiful Criss Cross card, embellished with Molly, George, and a rather cheeky monkey! Here is a photo of everyone at the beginning of the class when Clare was explaining how to put the cards together.

This was the beautiful card that everyone made. Clare has left this with us so you can see it on display in the craft room.

Here is a close-up of the lower section of the card. Lots of gorgeous details:

This is the insert that fits inside:

 Here is a close-up of George. Clare added some Glossy Accents to his boots to make them shine. The “stitching” is a new stamp that Clare has designed which lots of people have requested so I will be adding that to the order next week.

Although I took lots of photos during the afternoon I managed to catch everyone with all sorts of weird and wonderful expressions – not always flattering, so am only posting two pictures that passed the “censors”!

Mel is using her metallic Promarkers to colour her small stars:

 Here Clare is helping Janice with threading her Bunting!

And finally we have a winner of the free raffle to win this Molly Blooms Goody bag. The first name out of the hat was …Jeanette Thompson!!  Jeanette had evidently told the girls earlier that she never wins anything…wrong!

Can I thank everyone who visiting us today and supported the demo – and HUGE thanks goes especially to Clare. It was a great day and Clare and I are going to try and sort some dates out for a return visit in the Autumn – with perhaps something a bit special added in too!

I have taken lots of photos of the stunning projects Clare bought to show us so will be posting them over the next few days.

If you would like to visit Clare’s blog you can find it by clicking here:

http://mollybloomdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

We are delighted that Clare Rowland, who designs the Molly Blooms range of stamps will be with us (all the way from Lancashire!) this Sunday.

Please call in between 10 am and 12.30 for some stunning inspiration. Clare’s projects are fabulous!

We will also be serving free home made cake with tea and coffee, plus there will be some special offers too!

Here are a couple of tasters taken from Clare’s blog featuring her latest stamps from “The Big Top” collection:

Why not visit Clare’s blog for a taste of the treat we have in store at A Maze of Memories:

http://mollybloomdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

 If you are lucky enough to have a place at the afternoons workshop with Clare you will need to bring the following

Promarkers in pinks, reds, greens, skin tones, browns and yellow. A white gel pen and your favourite pair of scissors for cutting out!

Hope you enjoy the following sneak peaks of what you will be creating:

Please note that because we are running the workshop on a SUNDAY class times are slightly different to usual. The workshop will start at 1.30 pm and finish at 4 pm.

Everyone is invited to call in during the morning – so we hope lots of you will be able to join us.