Happy 10th Birthday LOTV!

Hello lovely people,

I took the opportunity of the extra crafting time over the Easter break to make a card to celebrate LOTV's 10th birthday and for a couple of challenges.  I decided on a shabby chic look so the edges of the DP have been distressed, inked and stitched.  I also stamped a little scroll detail in 2 corners.

I experimented with a few new things on this card, one of which was adding a little pull-out tag.  Its a great way to add an extra little message and makes the card more interactive :-)

I also added lots of pretty flowers and another first for me... some pins to add to the shabby chic look.

This is one of the older LOTV stamps in my collection but I like to go back and make sure the older ones get loved too!
Of course, the shabby chic feel wouldn't be complete without a little scattering of Frantage so that's in there too!

Card recipe;

Image: Cake glorious cake - LOTV

DP: Vintage summer/autumn basics - Maja Designs

Lace: Hermione - The Ribbon Girl

Flowers: all from Wild Orchid Crafts

Seam binding / twine: The Ribbon Girl

Pins: Teardrop ivory pearl pins - The Ribbon Girl

Tiny tag: Sentiment tags (set 24) - LOTV

Large tag: cut by hand and letters are a Quick Kutz die alphabet

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/50/000/51/21 & R30

Hair: E42/43/44

Cake: YR30/E81/E41

Top / candle: B41/91/93/95

Skirt / cake icing: RV91/93/95

Flame: Y21/23/YR23

Wings: RV0000/000/91/93

Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

I hope you are all having a lovely Easter weekend :-)  I have been up to my parents with Dr Hubby and my brother and his girlfriend were there too.  We had a lovely time including an Easter egg hunt - you are never too old for one of those!  Ooh, and I made some mocha cupcakes decorated with mini eggs...yum!

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;

1.  LOTV (10th birthday card)

2. Inky Chicks (shabby chic)
3.  Bunny Zoe's Crafts (distress)

Wanna dance?

Hello lovely people,

I think I'm on a roll after posting 2 cards on Tuesday and I was crafting up a storm yesterday on my day off!  But today it's all about a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme is...

ANYTHING BUT SQUARE (and no rectangles either!)

I have used my favourite (ok, my only) large shaped Go Kreate die for the base shape... must get my hands on some more of these!

I also used a new Saturated Canary image that came on a CD-ROM with a magazine and has been on my 'must colour' list for a while now.

Card recipe;

DP: XOXO - American Crafts & Back to Basics - Bo Bunny

Seam binding: Tulip Pink - The Ribbon Girl

Shabby white Frantage

Sentiment: Kaisercraft clear mini stamp set

Dies: Precious stars - Memory Box

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/50/51/21 & R30

Hair: E57/59/49

Eyes: E55/57

Lips: R30/32

Tutu / shoes: R81/83/56

Leotard: W7/9/100

Ground: W0/1/2/3

I thoroughly recommend a visit to  In The Pink to check out the fabulous shaped creations from my teamies; they really are wonderful :-)

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;

1.  Simon Says Stamp (happy birthday)

2.  Divas by Design (anything goes)

3.  Saturated Canary facebook challenge (anything goes)

Blue Monday?

Hello lovely people,

Apparently today is supposed to be the most depressing day of the year, also known as 'Blue Monday.'  Well, I had a very busy day in work but overall not particularly depressing ... especially since I had an e-mail saying my new Maja DPs are on the way to me from the fabulous Live and Love Crafts!

I thought I would share something blue with you but hopefully it won't depress you!  I made this card for the lovely Lisa's birthday :-)

I got the gorgeous deep MS edge punch for Christmas and cut away part of the front of the card then punched the edge so some of the inside of the card was visible.  The photo above is the card laying flat and below you can see it popping open a little.

I don't usually decorate the inside of my cards but in this design the inside is very much part of the overall design so I added a panel directly under the image panel for a greeting and popped a bit of seam binding underneath.

You may just be able to see that I curved the greeting a little by popping some foam pads under the centre.

I think this sweet image from LOTV makes a lovely winter birthday card although I am quite glad we don't have any snow yet this year!  I added a little sprinkling of Frantage round the edge and some liquid pearls to the snow.

Card recipe;

Image: Snow Queen - LOTV

DP: Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Design

Punch: Fans and flourishes - Martha Stewart
Dies: Precious stars - Memory Box
Sentiment: Mini clear stamp sent - Kaisercraft
Frantage: Shabby White - Stampendous
Seam binding / twine: from The Ribbon Girl
Button: from stash

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/21/11

Hair: E40/41/42/43

Dress / shoes: B91/93/95/97

Soles of shoes: W4/5/6/7

Socks / fur: W00/0/1/2 (&B91 on socks)

Crown / stars: YR30/Y21/Y23

Ground: W00/0/1/2

This was a card I was really pleased with (even though it's not pink!) and will definitely be doing this style again :-)  It also has lots of my fave things on it - stitching, Frantage, seam binding, twine and a LOTV image...I was quite sad to part with this one!

I hope you all had a completely uneventful and non-depressing Blue Monday!

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;
1.  LOTV (anything goes)
2.  A Little Bit Crafty (celebrate)
3.  Divas by Design (use ribbons)
4.  Sweet Stampin' (your fave style - pretty and girly)

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

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

A little bit shabby

Hello lovely people,

So today is a super lovely Thursday as not only is it time for a new challenge at Lili's Little Fairies but I have a couple of days off work - hurrah!  Providing Mr Blogger does his thing I will be spending a few days with Dr Hubby and my Aunt-in-Law when this posts :-)

I guess you are all waiting to find out our theme this week, well it is...

Vintage or Shabby Chic

Our sponsor this week is Live and Love Crafts and their store is stuffed full of gorgeous treats for our lucky winner to splurge on :-D

The LOTV Pretty Vintage stamps are totally perfect for this theme (the clue is in the name!) and I haven't made a new baby card for a while so here you go...

I used plenty of TH Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap round the edges of the DP and used the same ink to stamp a faint border onto the DP for extra shabby chic-ness.  Of course, it wouldn't be complete without a smattering of Frantage round the sentiment and also on the flowers :-)

Card recipe;

Sentiment:  Pretty Vintage Sentiments - Congratulations from LOTV

DP: Maja Designs Vintage Spring Basics (available from LLC)

Background stamps: Grunge Corners from LOTV

Flowers / pearls / pearl brads: from Wild Orchid Crafts

Swirls: Marianne Designs Creatables - Anja's Vintage Swirls

Frantage: Stampendous Shabby White (available from LLC)

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Live and Love Crafts (warm or cool colours - as you can see I have gone for cool)
2.  Wild Orchid Crafts (anything goes)

Check out all the lovely shabby chic and vintage creations from the rest of the Fairies and then let your imagination run wild with pretty vintage colours and shabby embellishments :-)

Thanks for visiting,

Hugs,
Kat xx

Christmas Angel

Hello lovely people,

I apologise for my erratic posting at present - I did posts 3 days in a row at the end of last week and then...silence!  I have to admit that I have been rather enjoying the sunshine and spending less time in my craft room than usual :-)

I did pop in for long enough to create something for our new challenge at Totally Gorjuss where we have the theme of...

Christmas in July!

If you are a regular visitor you will know this is my second Christmas card this year so I shall now consider myself well ahead of the game and not touch my Christmas stuff until December... yeah, that's a good plan!

We are sponsored by the totally wonderful Saturated Canary this week so I am sharing a card using one of the fab Christmas images.

I had another play with my Frantage and got a lighter sprinkling this time round - this stuff is seriously gorgeous!  I am going to need more colours...
I also kept the colour palette really limited as I love the frosty look for Christmas cards.  I added a little Glossy Accents to the baubles but, as usual, it doesn't show up in the photos.
Here's a closer look anyway at this sweet angel;

Card recipe;

Image: Christmas Angel from Saturated Canary

DP: Maja Designs Vintage Spring Basics

Swirly edges: Spellbinders Nestabilities Timeless Rectangles (cut up into bits)

Frantage: Stampendous shabby white

Snowflakes: Quickutz die

Pearls: from The Hobby House

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/51 & R30

Hair: E41/42/43

Blue bits: B0000/000/00 & blender

Grey bits: T0/1/2 & blender

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Saturated Canary (glamour and glitz)
2.  A Little Bit Crafty (die-ing for it)
3.  Papertake Weekly (die-ing for a punch)
4.  Divas by Design (anything goes)
5.  The Ribbon Girl (blue and white)

For more Christmas inspiration pop over to Totally Gorjuss and see what my teamies have created.  And don't forget that if you join in our challenge you could win a prize from Saturated Canary :-)

I think it is set to rain tomorrow so maybe I will actually get some more crafting done!  Not that I am going so far as to request rain for this purpose of course - that would be madness!

Thanks for visiting,

Hugs,
Kat xx

What's new?

Hello lovely people,

The last few days have been very exciting as I have had several parcels of craft goodies delivered!  I often end up ordering lots of stuff all at once and then the fun starts!  I was also lucky enough to win some fabulous candy from Jen of The Tiny Blue Butterfly; if you haven't seen her beautiful CAS cards then I suggest a visit to her blog...after you finish reading my post of course :-P

So, some of the things I have treated myself to include;
- the final set of Copic sketch markers so I now have them all :-)
- some fab dies
- some frantage (eventually took the plunge!)
- an enormous load of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts - well they were on sale so it would have been rude not to ;-)
- a huge pile of Maja Design papers as they are my favourites

Ok, after all that waffle I do have a card to share with you using just a few of my new items;

I had a go with the Frantage and got it all over my craft room floor and myself but had a lot of fun doing it!  I think  need a little more practice to get a slightly lighter scattering but I'm pretty happy with my first attempt and it is soooo pretty!
Talking of pretty, here is a close up of little Ava;

I have used lots of layers as usual but without matting them onto Kraft card or inking the edges for a change and really like the subtle effect.  You can see some of my new flowers on the corner of the card and one has had a little Frantage treatment as well :-)

Card recipe; 

Image: Ava from Saturated Canary

DP: Maja Designs - Sofiero (limited edition) - available from Live and Love Crafts

Seam binding / flowers / pearls; from Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: from my candy win

Frantage: Shabby White from Live and Love Crafts
Sentiment: from LOTV
Leaves: Memory Box Lavish Branch die
Butterflies: Impression Obsession die

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/51 & R30

Hair: E51/53/55

Eyes: B91/93

Pink bits: RV11/32/34

Green bits: G40 & YG61/63

Shoes: E42/43/44

Pale grey bits: N0/1/2

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;

1.  Saturated Canary (Celebrate)
2.  A Creative Romance (ribbon or twine - both in my case!)
3.  Sweet Stampin' (butterflies and bows)
4.  The Ribbon Girl (add a bow)
5.  ABC (quite a few layers)

Thanks for visiting and for sticking with my super long post today.  I hope to be back soon to share some more new stuff with you all :-)

Hugs,
Kat xx