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; 

Image: What the librarian reads - Saturated Canary

DP: a mix of Vintae Autumn Basics and Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Design

Flowers: Memory box die

Frantage - Shabby White from Live and Love Crafts

Lace: from stash

Sentiment: Happy Circular Sentiments - LOTV

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

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;

Image: Happy Christmas Little Star - ADU

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

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;

Image: James bear in the snow - LOTV

DP: Dottie Card (set 1) - Anna Marie Designs

Dies: Impression Obsession small snowflake set

Sentiment: Handwritten Christmas Sentiments - Pink Petticoat

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

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;

Image: You are my sunshine - LOTV

DP: Always and Forever paper pad - LOTV

Scallop square: Nestie die

Scallop edge: Martha Stewart edge punch

Lace: 18mm 'Teresa' lace - The Ribbon Girl

Seam binding: Light beige from Wild Orchid Crafts

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

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

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

DP: Krafty Christmas - LOTV

Tags: Sentiment tags - LOTV

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

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

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

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

The return of James Bear

Hello lovely people,

I hope you have been having a lovely weekend and not getting too spooked!  We went to a Halloween Party last night and the costumes were wonderful; even Otto the dog had a little skeleton outfit on!

This is Dr Hubby, and if you don't recognise the costume it is the eponymous 'superhero' from the film Kick-Ass!

I went for a more traditional Halloween costume...

Back to business though and it's on with the Christmas cards for me, using the fab new sketch from the Papertake Weekly Challenge for inspiration this time;

So, I am absolutely loving this James Bear stamp and thought he would look fab teamed with some frosty colours and snowflakes.  I have gone for several layers as usual and distressed them with a Tim Holtz distressing tool before inking them just a touch and stitching them.

I have coloured James pretty much the same as my last card using him but with a different colour hat and scarf!  I also gave the snow some Liquid Pearls treatment :-)

The snowflakes are a new die for me and wow, they are just gorgeous - so detailed and elegant :-)  I have to say that the Impression Obsession dies are always such good quality, cut beautifully and look fabulous.

Card recipe;

Image: James Bear in the snow - LOTV

DP: Vintage Spring Basics - Maja Designs

Lace - Venice Petit - Live and Love Crafts (but I can't see it in the shop anymore)

Dies: Small snowflake set - Impression Obsession (available from Dies to Die For)

Sentiment: Handwritten Christmas Sentiments - Pink Petticoat
Pearls: from The Hobby House

Copic colours;

Fur: E40/41/42/43

Scarf / hat: T0/3 & B91/93/95

'White' bit of hat: T0/1/2/blender

Ground: T0/1/3/blender

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Papertake Weekly (sketch)
2.  The Hobby House (pearls)
3.  Top Tip Tuesday (seasons - mine is winter of course!)
4.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)
5.  Totally Gorjuss (anything goes with snow)

Thanks for visiting and I wish you all a good week :-)

Hugs,
Kat xx