Saturday 28 December 2013

Tags

Hello lovely people,

It was back to work for me on Friday but I thought I would prolong the festive spirit just a little longer and share the tags I made this year.
I decided to make my life as easy as possible and go for the same basic design in 2 sizes and just make each one a little different with the DP and snowflakes.
I used a circle die to cut the semi circle at the top and then cut the fishtail at the bottom by hand.


...


I used a variety of white organza and satin ribbons plus a little twine to tie them onto the presents.  Sorry for the poor photos but the light was terrible and I couldn't fit these all in my light box...and I couldn't wait any longer to get on with opening the presents!



Tag recipe;
DP: Maja Designs Vintage Frost Basics
Dies: Impression Obsession small snowflake set

I would like to enter the tags in the following challenges;
1.  LOTV (anything but a card - hope it's ok that I just used the sentiment stamps)
2.  Cute Card Thursday (anything goes)
3.  Top Tip Tuesday (Christmas)

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend; I am having a quiet one in my craft room playing with my new craft goodies :-)  Although I have stopped for the evening now as I'm not sure crafting whilst drinking mead is a good plan!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 26 December 2013

Fairy magic

Hello lovely people,

That's it; Christmas Day is over for another year and I hope you had a fabulous day with your loved ones.
I had a lovely quiet day at home with Dr Hubby and my parents, eating lots of yummy food and sharing a few drinks.  I even snuck into my craft room for an hour or so, making for a perfect day :-)

I have a card to share today with a GORGEOUS little fairy drawn by the talented Wendy Burns of All Dressed Up Stamps.



Isn't she a cutie?  She isn't available in the shop so I apologise for teasing you but I just had to share her with you anyway!  I paper pieced the wings and added a few pearls to the butterflies.





Card recipe;
DP: MME
Sentiment: Kaisercraft mini sentiment stamp set
Fancy edge: Martha Stewart edge punch

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/000/00/11/21
Hair: E57/47/49
Dress / bow: R37/39/89
Butterflies: YR30/Y21/Y23/YR21/YR23
Ground: T0/1/2

Today I will be checking in with all of Dr Hubby's family including our niece and nephews so it will doubtless be a much noisier affair than yesterday and involve more toys!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 19 December 2013

Crafty Little Fairies - anything goes

Hello lovely people,

Christmas is so very nearly here but there's still time for one last challenge at Crafty Little Fairies and all the pink and blue fairies are joining in this time with our theme of...

ANYTHING GOES

We are lucky enough to have TWO sponsors this week;



Now, I am very happy to report that I finished all my Christmas cards and they were all posted on Monday :-)  However, I have a habit of buying lots of Christmas stamps and not getting round to using them all, and this year was no different with a gorgeous James bear stamp from LOTV un-inked.  Well, that just wouldn't do so here he is...



It is a bit of a 'greatest hits' card for me with my fave Maja Design papers, my fave snowflake dies and some seam binding tied with twine but it all just works for me :-)
James is in his favourite blue scarf and hat and there is a touch of sparkle from some Stardust Stickles on the snow.



Card recipe;
DP: vintage frost basics - Maja Designs
Dies: small snowflake set from Impression Obsession

Copic colours;
Fur: E40/41/42/43
Hat  /scarf: B91/93/95/97 & T0/1 on furry bits
Mallet / signpost: E44/47/49
Sign: T8/9/10/100 (hat) & YR18/27 (nose) & T0/1/2
Ground: T0/1/2

This challenge will run for 2 weeks to give all of us Fairies a chance to rest our wings over Christmas and we will be back with a new challenge on 2nd January 2014!  There are so many gorgeous cards to inspire you over at Crafty Little Fairies and I hope you find some time over the festive period to join in :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx


Challenges I am entering;
1.  Inky Chicks (Christmas)
2.  As You Like It (fave Christmas stamp - well, for now it is because I am so happy I finally got to use him!)
3.  Papertake Weekly (last Christmas)
4.  Top Tip Tuesday (snowflakes)
5.  ABC (blue, bows and bling)

Sunday 15 December 2013

A Dressy Christmas

Hello lovely people,

Are you feeling festive yet?  I certainly am and have been busy today writing my Christmas cards and making tags for the presents :-)  And if you need a little something else to get you into the festive spirit then how about a new challenge at All Dressed Up with the theme of...

CLEAN AND SIMPLE

As usual, there are 2 newly released images and I have used the gorgeous All Dressed Up for Christmas.  This classy image works really well on CAS designs and is pretty speedy to colour.
I am going to put my Christmas decorations up later - not sure I will look as elegant as this lady; I would probably just fall off that pile of presents - lol!


I have kept the colouring to mostly black and white with just a couple of pops of red.  There are some little spots of glitter on the wings and the stars although my photography skills have yet again failed to capture them!


Card recipe;
DP: December Documented - Simple Stories
Twine: from The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;
Monochrome sections: C series
Red: R29/59

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Bunny Zoe (wings)
2.  Divas by Design (anything goes)
3.  Cute Card Thursday (Christmas catch up)
4.  Sweet Stampin' (last minute Christmas)

The rest of the Dressy Girls have made some stunning CAS cards so do head over to the All Dressed Up blog and check them out.  The challenge runs until 14th January so you have plenty of time to get creating using any of the All Dressed Up images in a CAS style :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 12 December 2013

I'm dreaming of a PINK Christmas...

Hello lovely people,

I think I actually have enough Christmas cards made now but that hasn't stopped me making a few extras seeing as I have so many lovely Christmas stamps and some gorgeous Christmas DP!

So, if you are still enjoying making Christmas cards then our new challenge at In The Pink is perfect for you with our theme of...

PINK CHRISTMAS

I think pink is a fabulous choice for Christmas cards (surprise surprise!) and I just happen to have a wonderful selection of pretty pink Maja Designs paper to choose from ;-)






I really wanted to have a go at paper piecing this image as I thought it would look good and be a great way to have the presents co-ordinate with the rest of the card.  It was a weeny bit fiddly to do but I love the finished result :-)   I added details with my Copics and some Stardust Stickles to the scarf.

 I have made a border with my individual snowflake dies again and also used them behind the sentiment.  I've kept the layout really simple this time, just adding my fave ribbon/twine combo to finish it off :-)




Card recipe;
DP: Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Designs
Dies: Memory Box small snowflake set 

Copic colours;
Penguin: T8/9/10 & YR21/31 & T0/1/blender
Present details: R56 & E47
Scarf shading: RV91
Ground: T0/1/2/3

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Sweet Stampin' (ribbons)
2.  A Gem of a Challenge (anything goes)
3.  Papertake Weekly (Christmas creatures)

So come on and show us your pretty pink Christmas cards and if you are in need of any more inspiration, head over to In The Pink and see what the rest of the Pink Ladies have created :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Monday 9 December 2013

A bit of fancy folding

Hello lovely people,

Oh dear, it seems I'm going to have to apologise again for not visiting you all as much as I would like and not posting much of late.  You see, there's this little thing called Christmas on the way and it has somewhat distracted me recently!  On the positive side, I think I have completed all my Christmas shopping and made all the cards I need :-)

So, I am sharing one of my Christmas cards today and it's another fancy fold card.  This is a buckle card that I first saw on Lynsey's blog here and thought it was soooo gorgeous that I just had to give it a go.


The buckle strip tucks in behind the image and into a slot cut in the front section - all the instructions are on an All Dressed Up blog post here.  The card will stand up if you just pull the buckle open a little.  You will see that I moved the buckle up a bit higher than on Lynsey's card; it's easy to adapt the instructions to do this.


I have used this LOTV image every single year since I got it and although it's hard to choose just one favourite, I think this would be it!
The stocking is paper pieced with matching DP; doesn't it look cosy?  Do you think I could get one in my size?!
I also added some fine white glitter to the fluffy bits on the stocking top and hats but as usual it's not showing up as well as I would like in the photos :-(


I kept the embellies simple, just some snowflakes and a swirl; I didn't want to cover up the gorgeous DP too much to be honest!



Card recipe;
DP: Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Designs
Dies: Memory Box small snowflake set, Spellbinders timeless rectangles, swirl cut with Cricut

Copic colours;
Bunnies: E40/41/42 & Rv0000/000
Hat (upper): B91/93/95 & T0/1/2
Hat (lower): B95/97/99 & T1/2/3
Leavs: BG93/96/99
Berries: R39/89
Bow: R89/RV99
Boot shading: T3/4

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  A Creative Romance (sparkle at Christmas)
2.  A Little Bit Crafty (Christmas cheer)
3.  That Craft Place (Christmas)
4.  ABC (A is for almost Christmas)

I hope you are all getting organised for Christmas and feeling the festive spirit!  Next on my list is to get some decorations up!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 5 December 2013

Candy Stripes at Crafty Little Fairies

Hello lovely people,

I am having a lovely couple of days off work at the moment and trying to get organised for Christmas...not sure I'm succeeding all that well!

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at Crafty Little Fairies and our theme this week is...

CANDY STRIPES

So we are looking for stripes of white and another colour, usually red, or maybe some actual candy canes on your creation.  I had to rummage for quite some time for something suitable before I remembered some Christmas DP I had left over from 2 years ago.  It was one of my favourite DPs and there were only scraps left so I had to be quite creative in using them.



This theme was the perfect excuse to use one of the Saturated Canary images that I got on a CD ROM with a magazine because she has a candy cane!  And she is just adorable and fabulous fun to colour up :-)


I'm enjoying making different fancy fold cards at the moment so did a stepper design here; it's great because once the panels are stitched and layered they don't need a lot of embellishment.  I did break out my new holly vine die which I have been waiting for the right card to use!


Card recipe;
Image: Candy Cane Elf - Saturated Canary (not available in the store)
DP: North Pole collection - Crate Paper
Dies: holly vine - Memory Box
Fancy edge: Martha Stewart edge punch

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/000/00/11/21 & R30
Hair / boots: E44/47/49 (& black on boots)
Eyes: E43/44
Red on hat / leggings: R27/29/39
Green hat / leggings / dress: YG13/17/67
Candy cane: R24/27/29 & C00/0/1

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes)
2.  Divas by Design (feeling festive)
3.  As You Like It (fave digi - I adore the Saturated Canary images as they are so beautiful and fun to colour and the newest addition to my collection is always my fave!)
4.  The Ribbon Girl (christmas)


The rest of the Fairies have made some lovely candy striped cards so do pop over to Crafty Little Fairies to check them out.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 28 November 2013

Shhhh...

Hello lovely people,

I can't believe it's time for another challenge at In The Pink already and our theme this week is...

EMBOSSING

So, this can be dry embossing or heat embossing or both as some of the Pink Ladies have done!

Even though I still have tons of Christmas cards to make I took a little break as I really wanted to use this fab Saturated Canary image.
No surprises that I have gone for Frantage as my embossing; I am a little bit addicted to the stuff!  I like a little sprinkling round the edge of the main image but this time I also added it on the corners of the DP and love how it turned out :-D

 The image is mainly coloured with Copics but I did paper piece her jumper and just added a tiny bit of shading to it.


I was in the mood for a little distressing with this card and roughed up the edges of the DP with a Tim Holtz tool and then inked and stitched them.  I used a die to cut the flowers from scraps of co-ordinating DP; it's always nice to use every last bit of DP!


Card recipe; 
DP: a mix of Vintae Autumn Basics and Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Design
Flowers: Memory box die
Lace: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/000/00/21/11 & R30
Hair: E35/37/47
Eyes: E37/47
Skirt: E40/41/42
Bookes: RV91/93/95 & E40/41/41 & T0/1/2/3
Mug / pen: RV91/93

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Saturated Canary (distress)
2.  Bunny Zoe (shabby chic/vintage)
3.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)
4.  Top Tip Tuesday (be krafty)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Twinkle twinkle little star

Hello lovely people,

I have been playing with the gorgeous All Dressed Up stamps again and the only problem with them is deciding which one to use next!  The range of Christmas stamps is gorgeous and you haven't seen them all yet as there will be another release to coincide with our next challenge on 2nd December :-)

I have had another CAS moment with this card - I think it's because I like to let these sweet images take centre stage!
I often like to ink the edge of my DP but for CAS cards it doesn't always feel right so I have recently been dabbing some white acrylic paint around the edge instead and it gives a lovely soft finish.


This little cutie demanded a little touch of sparkle with some Glamour Dust and I cropped the star off the image then printed it separately onto DP and added it back on where I wanted it.


Card recipe;
DP: December Documented - Simple Stories
Acrylic paint: Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snowcap

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/000/00/21/11
Hair: E41/42/43
Dress: BG10/11/23/13
Bunny / ground: T0/1/2/3
Wings: RV0000/blender
Presents: R81/83/85 and as for dress

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Totally Gorjuss (a child's Christmas)
2.  Sweet Stampin' (cause for celebration)
3.  That Craft Place (stars)

If you like this card then you can buy the gorgeous ADU images in the Etsy shop, stop by our inspiring ADU blog (unless you already came from there!) and maybe even enter our current challenge.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Sunday 24 November 2013

A pink Christmas

Hello lovely people,

This weekend is a fairly quiet one at home for me so I have been doing a spot of Christmas shopping and making some more Christmas cards.  The one I have to share with you today is a simple design that I can make several of fairly quickly and easily.

I recently bought some fantastic spotty card from Anna Marie Designs in 12 gorgeous colours but no surprises which colour I reached for first!



Yes, it's James bear again but he is showing his feminine side in pink today!  I coloured him a little paler than previously and added Stardust Stickles to the snowflakes and the snow on the ground.


There are some gorgeous snowflake border dies out there but I don't have any of them so I used my favourite snowflake die set to make my own!
I also sponged some white acrylic paint round the edge of the DP to add to the snowy feel and love how it turned out.


Card recipe;
Dies: Impression Obsession small snowflake set

Copic colours;
James bear: E40/41/42
Scarf / hat: R81/83/85

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  LOTV (pink and white)
2.  As You Like It (spots or stripes - spots for me - I just think they look super stylish!)
3.  A Gem of a Challenge (sparkles)

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, thanks for visiting me and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 21 November 2013

Lace and pearls at Crafty Little Fairies

Hello lovely people,

OK, I think it's actually winter now folks and the heating is on a lot in my house but I am one of those people that always feels the cold.  I haven't quite got to the stage of wearing socks in bed yet but I'll keep you posted!

Anyway, enough of the weather and on to our new challenge at Crafty Little Fairies where we have the theme of...

LACE AND PEARLS

Our sponsor this week is Live and Love Crafts with a £10 voucher for our lucky winner and I know I could spend this in a flash - it's one of my favourite places to shop!

I really wanted to have another go at making a criss-cross card; you can see my first tiny little one here.  I was able to make a good sized one (140cm square) out of a single piece of card this time since I ordered some A3 Kraft card from Anna Marie Designs.  It is a lovely weight (270gsm) for making base cards from but works well for matting purposes too.


I cut several label shapes with my Cricut and layered them together to make a large tag to go inside - there is a blank panel to write a message on.


The image is quite small but I think it works well on this criss-cross design and the cute bear is perfect for so many occasions.


I really went to town with the embellishments on this one and made sure I added plenty of pretty pearls!  I even took the original flower centres out of the sweetheart blossoms and replaced them with pearls!



Card recipe;
Scallop square: Nestie die
Scallop edge: Martha Stewart edge punch
Flowers: from Wild Orchid Crafts
Pearls: from The Hobby House

Copic colours;
Teddy: E41/42/43
Flowers: RV0000/R81/83/85/R39 & E47
Grass/leaves: YG91/93

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Inky Chicks (pearls and swirls)
2.  Sweet Stampin' (tags)
3.  Totally Gorjuss (3 DPs)
4.  Divas by Design (make it pretty)

I hope you will visit the rest of the Fairies at Crafty Little Fairies as they have been hard at work creating some wonderfully pretty cards to inspire you.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Sunday 17 November 2013

Candy winner!

Hello lovely people,

Just a quickie from me to draw the winner for my 50 followers candy and to say a massive thank you to everyone who entered and, of course, to my new followers :-D

I won't keep you in suspense any further and the winner is...


Congratulations to you Sammy!  Please contact me with your e-mail address and I will organise for you to get your voucher code :-D

Hugs,
Kat xx

Friday 15 November 2013

Tra La La la...

Hello lovely people,

It's nearly the weekend but before we get to that there is the important matter of a new challenge at All Dressed Up and our theme this time is...

RIBBON and LACE

As usual, the winner of the challenge will get THREE images of their choice from the ADU Etsy store and the DT will be picking our top 3 favourite entries :-)

The DT are showcasing two lovely new digi stamps and since I have so many Christmas cards still to make I have chosen Tra La La la.

 This is such a fun image; I especially love the cute robins at the top!  I wanted to add some little pops of colour on it to contrast with the neutral colour scheme for the rest of the card.


Right now I am loving twine wrapped around ribbon/lace and the tiny tags and snowflake were the perfect addition to finish it off.


Card recipe;
Image: Tra la la la - available in the ADU Etsy store
Dies: Impression Obsession small snowflake set
Lace / pearls: from stash

Copic colours;
I have hunted high and low for my bit of paper with the list of colours I used but it has vanished.  Time to tidy my craft room?!

I would like to enter this card in the Sweet Stampin' challenge where they have the theme 'Christmas is coming' and that means Christmas songs!

Talking of songs, we are off to visit some of Dr Hubby's family over the weekend and will be going to a gig by Chaser (the hardest working covers band in South Wales!) on Saturday night where his sister's OH is the bass player - should be a lot of fun :-D

Don't forget to pop over to All Dressed Up to see the amazing cards from the rest of the Dressy Girls and
also you have just a few hours left to enter my giveaway, which I will draw when I get home on Sunday.

Thanks for visiting and your comments are always hugely appreciated,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 14 November 2013

Candy!

Hello lovely people,

This post will stay at the top of my blog until the giveaway closes on Friday 14th November so if you are looking for cards please scroll on down.

I have been meaning to do a little giveaway since I reached 50 followers recently.  It is so lovely to have people follow me and hopefully enjoy my work so I wanted to say thank you :-D

I have chosen a £10 voucher from Bunny Zoe Crafts as the prize so you will be spoiled for choice in spending it as they stock so many lovely goodies!


To enter you don't have to be a follower although of course, I would be thrilled to have you along for the ride :-)  Just pop your name in the linky tool below and if you are able to put a link in your sidebar too that would be awesome.

Thanks so much for visiting,

Hugs, Kat xx

So cosy

Hello lovely people,

I am very much enjoying this Thursday for two reasons; firstly because I have the day off work (and Friday too!) and secondly because it is time for a new challenge at In The Pink.  Pink always makes me happy :-)

So, our theme this week is...

STITCHING (real or faux)

This was right up my street of course as I very rarely make a card without stitching, all done by hand.  If you want to see my little tutorial on how I do my stitching then check it out here.

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Saturated Canary images that came on a CD ROM with Digital Crafting Essentials magazine.  This image was my favourite not least because of the lovely hair!
I had a go at leaving white highlights in the hair to increase the contrast and add more shine and think it turned out pretty well.

I have tied the satin ribbon with button twine as this worked so well on a previous card and added some pretty flowers.  I thought a little sprinkling of Frantage would add to the snowy feel and managed not to make too much mess this time!


Card recipe;
Image: Saturated Canary (with magazine)
DP: Maja Designs Vintage Spring Basics
Dies: Marianne Design stitch border, Memory Box cherry blossom (flower centres)
Frantage: Shabby White from Live and Love Crafts
Flowers: from Wild Orchid Crafts
Ribbon: from stash
Twine: from The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/000/00/21/11 & R30
Hair: E55/23/25
Jacket: W00/1/3/4
Leg warmers / bow/ scarf: RV91/93/95
Shoes: W3/4/5
Snow: W00/1/blender

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Papertake Weekly (snow and ice)
2.  Divas by Design (something snowy)
3.  A Little Bit Crafty (sparkle and shine - the Frantage is more sparkly IRL!)

The rest of the Pink Ladies have been busy creating some lovely stitched creations for your inspiration so do pop over to In The Pink to see them.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments you leave...oh and don't forget to enter my little giveaway; the post is at the top of my blog :-D

Hugs,
Kat xx

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Hearts

Hello lovely people,

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything - I have been busy in my craft room though!

I thought I would just share a simple card I made for Dr Hubby for our wedding anniversary back in September.  He doesn't like anything fancy so I borrowed an idea from Jen Nelson (The Tiny Blue Butterfly).  She always creates the most wonderful CAS designs and you can see my inspiration here.


I cut the hearts out using my Cricut and it was a little tricky getting them where I wanted them!  Then I cut 3 separate pieces of text DP to go under the hearts so I could choose the words I wanted to be visible.
The top panel of Kraft is raised on foam pads to add a little dimension to the card.



Card recipe;
DP: Simple Stories - Documented collection
Sentiment: Kaisercraft mini clear stamp set

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  As You Like It (case your fave designer)
2.  That Craft Place (sentiment)

Before I go I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all my new followers; it makes me very happy to have you follow my work :-)
And don't forget that my candy giveaway is still running until Friday and you can find the post at the top of my blog :-D

Thanks for visiting, and for all your lovely comments,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Thursday 7 November 2013

Some Krafty colouring

Hello lovely people,

Happy Thursday! That must mean it's time for another challenge at Crafty Little Fairies and this week our theme is...

CHRISTMAS IN NOVEMBER!

We are sponsored by the wonderful Crafty Ribbons this week with a £10 voucher to spend :-)


Since you insist then here's another Christmas card...


I set myself a little challenge with this one to do some colouring on Kraft; not something I do very often but I do think it looks effective.  I have also come over all CAS and didn't even stitch on my card - shock horror!

I added a little Stardust Stickles to the scarf and snow and some white flock to the fluffy ends of the scarf.


I played around for quite a while before coming up with an arrangement that I liked for the little fishtails - CAS really isn't always simple to make is it?!


Card recipe;
Image: Penguin Presents - LOTV
Sentiment: Essential Christmas stamp set - Paula Pascual
Snowflake die: Small Snowflake Set - Impression Obsession

Copic colours;
Penguin body: T6/7/8/10 & 100
Penguin feet: Y17/19
Scarf / red presents: R27/29
Green presents: YG03/05/06
Brown present / scarf (under glitter): E30/31

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  A Gem of a Challenge (Christmas is coming)
2.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes +/- Christmas)
3.  Simon Says Stamp (keep it clean and simple)

I hope you will pop over to Crafty Little Fairies for loads more fabulous Christmas inspiration and I'm sure you must have Christmas cards to make so do join in our challenge!

Thanks so much for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave me,

Hugs,
Kat xx