Kitty Hug

Hi there!

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, but I'm back.

I have a friend, Lindsay who is a big cat fan and we met up a couple of weeks ago after not seeing each other for a couple of years. She had bought me the most adorable Winnie the Pooh mug and I wanted to make her a cat themed card to say how nice it as to catch up and thank her again for the mug.

I had recently purchased a cute cat stamp by Impression Obsession and decided it would be perfect for her card.

What you need...

Stamps:

Kitty Hug (D21359) - Impression Obsession

Dainty Swiss Dots - Altenew

Ink pads:

Onyx Black - Versafine

Patterned paper:

Into the Woods Remix 6x6 Petite Paper Pack - Lawn Fawn

Card stock:

Paradise - Hero Arts

Passionate Pink - Gina K Designs

White

Embellishments:

Black hemp cord

Extras:

Adhesives

Tools:

Big Shot - Sizzix

What you do...

1 Stamp the kitty three times, once onto Passionate Pink card, once onto white card and again onto the orange grid patterned paper.

2 Fussy cut the cat from the orange grid paper and the sign from white card. Layer onto the Passionate Pink layer. Fussy cut this out.

3 Stamp the Dainty Swiss Dots onto Paradise card. Trim to it measures 3¾" x 5½" (9.5cm x 14cm) and adhere centrally down a white blank 4¼" x 5½" (11cm x 14cm).

4 Wrap black hemp cord several times around the blank (under the kitty) and tie in a bow. 

I was trying to go for the pop art look with the style and colours on this one. I ended up snipping through the loops of the bow as I thought these looked a lot like whiskers. My cat Zuzu must have approved as she tried to rearrange them!

I really enjoyed playing with this cute stamp and the fussy cutting wasn't too difficult. This would look great coloured in with alcohol markers or watercolours to represent the colour of the recipients cat. Lindsay's cats aren't ginger, I just loved the patterned paper and thought it would work well the pop art look I was going for.

Lindsay loved it (as did her cats).

I am entering this card into the Anything Goes Challenge #422 over at Crafty Creations and the Creative Fingers Challenge #210 over at Creative Fingers.

Got to sign off, magazine projects to get on with. I'll be back soon with another card to share. Take care and thanks for popping by!

Goth Rainbow

Hello there!

I am back with something a little bit different. You may or may not know that I am a heavily tattooed, pierced, always wears black Goth (I do not possess any coloured clothing, apart from one little dress that has skulls and roses on it) and I'm proud to be one.

Well, a lot of people who know me are always surprised that I do such bright and colourful cards. I do love colour, especially lime green and shades of aqua/teal - just not on me.

I am so loving all the rainbows and bright colour schemes that is around at the moment in the card making world and I truly hope that these will never go out of favour. However, I did wonder what a rainbow would look like if it was Goth.

To all those closet Goth rainbows out there, I have made a card just for you...

What you need...

Stamps:

Rainbow Wishes - Concord & 9th

Dies:

Clouds - Paper Smooches

Ink pad:

Obsidian Amalgam  - Gina K

Card stock:

Black

White

Embellishments:

Silver Mix Pearls - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Extras:

Rub-on lettering

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 6.5" x 4.5". Stamp the arches of the rainbow in black ink, alternating between solid and patterned arches.

2 Die cut two clouds and fix at the ends of the arches.

3 Stamps some raindrops in black ink under each cloud and a heart under the smallest arch.

4 Apply the lettering around the top left of the largest arch. Add some silver pearls to decorate.

5 Mat onto a black 5" x 7" blank.

I had to go large with this card to fit the rainbow in as this is quite a large stamp set. I love the fact that you can mix and match the arches.

I do have some smaller rainbow stamp sets, so I might have to make them Goth too.

This was just a bit of silly, but I hope I have done those Goth rainbows (and Goths) proud!

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon with another brightly coloured make.

Carrot Bunny

Hello and Happy Easter!

I'm back with another cute bunny card. This one uses quite a lot of die cuts and features the Carrot Bunny die set by Sizzix as part of their new 2021 Chapter 1  release. I decided to cut a Polaroid frame using an old die from Paper Smooches to make it look like a cute photo.

The background of the photo is a piece of pale pool card with some subtle blending at the top and the main background of the card is stamped in black ink using the Dainty Swiss Dots stamp by Altenew.

What you need...

Dies:

Carrot Bunny by Tim Holtz (665213) - Sizzix Thinlits

Heartfelt by Tim Holtz (660233) - Sizzix Bigz

Polaroid - Paper Smooches

Stamps:

Dainty Swiss Dots - Altenew

Happy Happy Happy - Lawn Fawn

Happy Happy Happy Add-on 

Ink:

Garden Patina Make Art - Wendy Vecchi

Obsidian Amalgam - Gina K

Card stock:

Black

Burnt Orange

Green

Lime

Orange

Pale Pink

Pool

White

Embellishments:

Black cord

Extras:

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Die cut the bunny from white card, his eyes/nose/mouth from black and his cheeks/ears from pale pink. Cut the main carrot from burnt orange and orange card and the foliage from green and lime. Assemble the bunny and the carrot.

2 Die cut the Polaroid frame from black, white and pool card. Blend the Garden Patina ink across the top of the pool section.

3 Attach the bunny to the pool panel at an angle so it overlaps the bottom edge. Trim away the excess. Layer the black frame onto the white one and stick onto a piece of white card, trim away any excess. Attach the bunny panel into the frame.

4 Stamp the Dainty Swiss Dots onto white card with the Obsidian ink and trim to 4" x 5¼" (10cm x 13cm) and mat onto a 4¼"x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) blank covered with pool card.

5 Adhere the bunny panel centrally to the top of the blank. Add the carrot, tucking it under the bunny's arms. Die cut three small hearts in pale pink card and fix to the panel. Wrap and tie black cord around the base of the blank and tie in a bow at the right.

As Paper Smooches is sadly no longer trading, the Polaroid die is now unavailable, however there are some cute die sets by companies such as Sweet Pea Designs, Mama Elephant and Lawn Fawn. You could easily make your own by die cutting a square from a rectangle of card.

The Carrot Buuny die set also comes with a larger carrot so you can have two bunnies side by side holding it. So cute.

I am going to enter this card into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Well thank you as always for stopping by, I really appreciate it. I will be back soon with another card made using the Nuvo Glimmer paste. It is similar to the one I recently posted, but has different wording and colour scheme.

Enjoy the rest of your Easter!

Easter Bun Buns

Hello there!

I can't believe Easter is upon us already, it only seems like yesterday it was Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I'll be starting Christmas projects for Crafts Beautiful and PaperCrafter soon - eep!

I would like to share with you today, a card I made for my mum. We were chatting on the phone as I made it, so I thought it only fair to post it to her. She loved it. 

This card is slightly different from the usual cutesy, pastel Easter cards and is a more fresh, modern, bold card.

What you need...

Stamps:

#51 - AALL & Create

Dainty Swiss Dots - Altenew

Bunny Hop - Newton's Nook

Dies:

Peek-a-boo Pets - Avery Elle

Heartfelt (660233) - Sizzix

Ink pads:

Mermaid Lagoon - Tim Holtz Distress

Tumbled Glass

Onyx Black - Versafine

Promarker:

Baby Pink

Embellishments:

Black pearl

Washi tape:

Black/white striped

Card stock:

White

Pale pink

Extras:

Masking Magic - Gina K

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 3⅛"x 6¼" (8cm x 15.5cm) mask off 1½" (4.5cm) across the bottom.

2 Stamp the first bunny above the masking in black ink, stamp again onto masking paper and cut out. Apply the mask over the bunny.

3 Stamp the second bunny so he sits just over the first, stamp again on masking paper and cut out. Apply the mask over the bunny. 

4 Die cut a speech bubble from masking paper and position above the bunnies.

5 Blend the Tumbled Glass ink from the top of the card followed by the Mermaid Lagoon. When dry, stamp the Dainty Swiss Dots over the inked surface with black ink.

6 Remove the masks. Use the Baby Pink marker to add colour to the bunnies ears, nose and cheeks. Stamp a sentiment in the speech bubble.

7 Trim the panel to 2⅞" x 6" (7.5cm x 15cm). Add a strip of Washi tape across the base of the blank, under the inked section.

8 Die cut a small heart in pale pink card stock and add to the lower right, overlapping the Washi tape. Add some black pearls to decorate and mat onto a white 3⅛"x 6¼" (8cm x 15.5cm) blank.

As I have quite a lot of American products which are in imperial measurements, I am finding that by making my blanks/panels in inches they are more aesthetically pleasing and easier to work out. If I do use imperial measurements, I will always try to add the nearest measurements in centimeters.

I must admit I do prefer working in imperial anyway. It think this stems from being brought up by my grandparents. Even now, if I do any baking I work in pounds and ounces.

The stamp set with the bunnies unfortunately doesn't have a name. It is packed with the cutest images from the two bunnies, to a panda, racoon, elephant and a bear. It also has some fun sentiments and little add-ons such as party hats, presents and a balloon. The AALL Stamps all seem to just have numbers and not names

I hope you liked this 'different' Easter card. I have one more to share with you which also includes a cute bun bun, but uses mainly dies.

I am entering this make into the Crafty Creations Challenge #419 - Anything goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

I am also entering this make into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you for stopping by! 

Leafy Heart

Good morning all!

Wow! It is a very, very cold and frosty day here in Norfolk. Yesterday afternoon I had taken a friend shopping and the temperature had dropped from around 6°C to 1°C in about 10 minutes. It went from being a bright blue sky to a low lying, freezing cloud.

I've just been out to give the girls some warm porridge. I also now have a pheasant (whom I have named Wilf) residing in the garden. As I live in a rural area and the shooting season is well and truly upon us, he is more than welcome to live in my garden. 

Tomorrow I have to put up some temporary covered housing for the girls as the dreaded Avian Flu has struck again. Everything has to be disinfected and foot baths organised to help keep the risk of infection down. I don't think a lot of people who go out and get chickens on a whim realise some of the things you have to do, especially if your girls free range like mine do. Oh well :(

I want to share with you today a card I made for a dear friend a couple of weeks ago. As the card was for a male friend, I wanted to keep the colours quite masculine without being boring.

What you need...

Dies:

Fall Leaves - Waffle Flower

Stamps:

Painted Shapes - Concord & 9th

Happy Happy Happy - Lawn Fawn

Patterned paper:

Into the Woods Remix 6x6 Petite Paper Pack - Lawn Fawn

Ink pad:

Dark Chocolate - Gina K Designs

Card stock:

White

Embellishments:

Droplets Crystal Clear Hearts - Little Things From Lucy's Cards

Natural twine

Extras:

Foam sheet

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Die cut the leaf outline in white card and the background of the leaf once in foam sheet and once in striped paper. Assemble the leaf then back with the foam.

2 Create an 11cm x 14cm white top fold blank and stamp the heart from the Painted Shapes set centrally at the top in Dark Chocolate ink.

3 Fix the leaf to the heart.

4 Stamp the sentiment underneath the heart.

5 Add a bow made from natural twine to the base of the leaf and add some Crystal Clear Hearts to decorate.

I am a big follower of Cathy Zielske on YouTube and she did a wonderful card using this die set and paper pad. So I used her make as inspiration for my card. You can find her tutorial here.

The colour scheme of the paper pad is perfect for those masculine cards and the plus side is that the patterns aren't overly cutesy or girly.

Well, I think that is me for now. I will be hopefully back soon with some Christmas cards (life just keeps getting in the way).

Thanks for popping by. Keep safe and warm!

Home Sweet Home - Concord & 9th

Good morning!

It's been a few weeks since I last posted...time, where does it go? Some friends of mine recently moved from the village down to Surrey so I thought I would make them a new home card.

I've had the Floral Print Silhouette Stamp set from Concord & 9th for some time and have been itching to use it. Like most stamps and dies, you know exactly what occasion or project they will be perfect for. I decided to team the stamp set up with a set of dies by Sizzix called Townhouse which has several cute little houses you can cut and assemble.

For this card I just wanted to cut the house silhouette and use a couple of the inner pieces to add some detail. The stamp set comprises of three layers that you stamp in different colours. They need to be lined up perfectly to build up the whole image. A stamp positioning tool is really helpful when using this set.

I chose a black background for the main stamp section and added a lovely sea glass colour for the blooms and lime green for the foliage. This created a beautiful crisp, fresh image.

What you need...

Stamps: 

Floral Print Silhouette Stamp Set - Concord & 9th

Dies: 

Townhouse (661378) - Sizzix

Circles

Ink pads:

Onyx Black - Versafine

Sea Glass - Gina K

Key Lime

Clear Ultra Slow Drying Embossing Pad - WOW!

Embossing powder:

Opaque Bright White Super Fine (WL01SF-O) - WOW!

Embellishments:

Droplets - The Stamp Market

Card stock: 

White

Black

Other:

Foam sheets

What you do...

1 Use a stamp positioning tool to stamp the first layer of the floral image with black ink. Next, line up the flower section and stamp in Sea Glass. Line up the foliage layer and stamp in Key Lime ink.

2 Die cut the stamped panel with a circle die. Die cut the town house with the gable roof and small heart from the centre. 

3 Use the large heart from the set to cut a section around the small heart from the positive piece.

4 Die cut a smaller circle than the stamped section from a foam sheet, then cut a house from the centre of it. Attach the foam to the back of the stamped circle making sure you line up the edges.

5 Attach the stamped gable decoration and the heart section to the die cut foam pieces cut from the house.

6 Create an 11cm x 14cm white blank and adhere the stamped panel at the top. Add the gable and heart details.

7 Cut the 'Sweet Baby' stamp in half and use the 'Sweet' portion and the 'Home' stamp to create the sentiment. Ink up with clear embossing ink and emboss with white embossing powder and trim.

8 Mat the sentiment under the house panel and add some clear droplets to finish.

As more American products are getting popular over here in the UK, I am finding that I want to use the US A2 card size to create my makes and these obviously fit the American full dies and stamps better than the UK A6. The nearest cm equivalent is 11cm x 14cm. 

I actually find this a lovely size to work on. This card size still fits nicely into an A6 envelope. As I always make my own blanks, using US A2 isn't an issue for me. I do like to make more unusual card sizes and make my own envelopes if needed.

Also, don't be afraid to cut into your photopolymer stamps. Providing you cut between words, you can  make the stamp go further and it can always be used as intended when lined up on an acrylic block.

I really enjoyed making this card and the stamp set is lovely. I hope Rosanna & Simon like it. I am going to miss them.

Thank you for stopping by. I have been making lots of simple and quick Christmas cards using pre-printed die cuts, so I will be back soon to share them with you. TTFN!

          

Moonlight Deer

Good afternoon!

I'm back with another Christmas card. PaperCrafter asked some of its designers about their Christmas card makes for a feature in the current issue (#152). At the time I was working on a lovely card featuring some reindeer, a gorgeous moonlit sky and snowy background.

What you need...

Dies: 

Delightful Deer - My Favorite Things

Birch Trees - Mama Elephant

Stitched - Paper Smooches

Circles - Sizzix

Stamps:

Christmas Sampler

Ink pads:

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Blueprint Sketch - Ranger

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Salty Ocean

Onyx Black - Versafine

Masking paper:

Masking Magic - Gina K

Card stock:

Brown

Tan

White

Embellishments:

Itty Bitty Stars Rainbow Delight - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Gel pen:

White UM-153 - Uni-ball Signo

What you do...

1 Cut an 11cm square of white card. Cut an 11cm square of masking paper and die cut a 9cm circle in the centre. Place over the white card stock.

2 Die cut a 2.5cm circle of masking paper and place within the circle.

3 Blend the Blueprint Sketch and Salty Ocean inks within the circle making it lighter around the inner circle. Remove the masks.

4 Create a 12cm x 14cm white blank and mat the blended panel centrally at the top.

5 Die cut three birch trees in white. Place one at the left. Use the curved stitched die to create a snowbank approximately 5cm deep and attach to the bottom of the blank. 

6 Add some snow in the sky with the white gel pen.

7 Die cut the two reindeer and assemble.

8 Add the two remaining birch trees and one of the reindeer.

9 Create another smaller snow bank and fix to the bottom of the blank along with the remaining reindeer.

10 Add a sentiment to the bottom left. Finish with a few stars.

I'd taken some extra photos of the process in case they wanted them for the feature, so rather than waste them I thought it would be a good idea to use them in these instructions.

I was so pleased with this card and the colour scheme is crisp and fresh.

Also in the magazine I have an adorable reindeer card. This one showcases a spin element where several reindeer dance around Rudolph sitting the middle. This is featured in my monthly Step by Step tutorial, where you can learn a technique in 9 steps. It is simple to make and such fun to play with.

PaperCrafter issue 152 is out until 15th October. For more ideas, free templates, projects and inspiration why not pop over to the PaperCrafter website?

Well, this has been quite a long winded blog post. I normally don't do posts about my magazine makes but I just wanted to share this adorable reindeer spin card with you.

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon with another make.

Rainbow Unicorn

Good afternoon blog friends!

I'm back with an adorable make using a stamp and die set that I have been itching to play with. I have had it some time, but a friend asked to make a card for her granddaughter's birthday. As she loves unicorns I thought this was the perfect set to use.

What you need...

Stamps:

Decorate A Cake Stamp Set (CM438) - Hero Arts

Dies:

Decorate A Cake Frame Cuts (D1741) - Hero Arts

Promarkers:

Fresh Bloom*

Magenta

Mandarin

Yellow

Lime Green

Cyan

Cool Aqua

Purple

*Limited Edition

Ink pad:

Obsidian Amalgam Ink Pad - Gina K

Sprinkles:

Let's Polka - Little Things From Lucy's Cards

Patterned paper:

Really Rainbow 6x6 Paper Pad - Lawn Fawn

Card stock:

White

Font:

Enjoy Writing - Khurasan

What you do...

1 Stamp the cake and add the eyes and icing. Stamp the flower cluster, the large flower, the horn and two ears.

2 Colour in the images and cut out using the coordinating dies. Assemble the cake.

3 Create an 11cm x 18cm white card blank. Cover the bottom 6cm with rainbow paper.

4 Print a sentiment, trim and fix to the rainbow section with foam pads. 

5 Attach the unicorn to the top of the blank and add sprinkles around the image.

The font that I used is for personal use only, I must point out that I do not make cards to sell and I did not charge my friend for this card, so the use of this font was for personal use. Free fonts are okay to use for personal use, however if you do sell your cards, then you will have to purchase a commercial use version. To access this and many more by Khurasan check out FontSpace  or dafont.com, 

I decided to go with a tall blank for this make. Tall cards seem to be making a come back at the moment, I remember when tall slim and DL sized card were all the rage. 

I was really pleased with how this card turned out. The photo doesn't really do it justice and it is so cute in 'real life'. Needless to say, my friend was very pleased with it.

Okay, I'm going to sign off for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I'll be back soon.

Thrilled To Be Picked

Good afternoon!

I hope you are all well. I have a cute little card to show you today. It is an adorable little carrot design from a stamp set by Paper Smooches. I have wanted to use this little chap for a while and I finally got round to it.

What you need...

Ink pad:

Onyx Black - Versafine

Embossing powder:
Detail Clear - Stampendous

Stamps:

Vegtastic - Paper Smooches

Dies: 
Vegtastic Icons; Clouds - Paper Smooches
Square Small - Gina K Designs

Copic:

Yellow Green YG03, Grass Green YG17, Celadon Green YG25, Cadmium Orange YR07, Chinese Orange YR09, Caramel YR14, Blender 0

Card stock: 

White, Kraft, Pale Aqua, Dark Brown

What you do...

1 Stamp the carrot with Onyx Black and whilst still wet apply embossing powder. Heat to set. Die cut the carrot.

2 Cut the medium frame once in pale aqua and once in dark brown. Cut the dark brown piece in half to form a 'hill' and stick to the pale aqua panel.

3 Secure the medium frame within the large frame with masking tape and cut in Kraft card three times and stick together. 

4 Create a small 9cm x 11.5cm Kraft blank and attach the frame to the top. Insert the pale aqua/dark brown panel inside.

5 Add the carrot and two small clouds die cut from white card.

6 Stamp the sentiment underneath the frame with Onyx Black along with a small heart at each end of the sentiment.

Is he cute or what? It would also be good with a different sentiment such as 'For You' and then a packet of seeds could be popped inside to give as a little gift for a keen gardener.

Paper Smooches stamps are always a joy to colour in, I think it's because they have lovely bold outlines. I wish craft shops over here would start stocking the new collections.

Anyhoo, I'm going to have to sign off for now. I hope you like this little make and thank you for stopping by.

Keep safe and well xx

Hey, Gullfriend!

Hello blog friends!

I hope you are all keeping well. I have a cute, funny card to share with you today. It features images from the Seaside Seagulls stamp set by My Favorite Things.

What you need...

Card stock: white

Stamps: Seaside Seagulls (CS-200) - My Favorite Things

Dies: Nested Small Square - Gina K

Ink pads: Extreme Black - My Favorite Things; Sea Breeze - VersaMagic

Copic markers; C-1 Cool Grey 1, C-4 Cool Grey 4, E42 Sand White, E44 Clay, Y13 Lemon Yellow, Y18 Lightning Yellow

Masking paper

Gems; clear

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Die cut the largest square in white card. Mask off the faux stitching and a section at the bottom. 

2 Stamp three clouds in the top section and mask. Apply the Sea Breeze ink to cover the area. Remove the masks.

3 Stamp some waves and the sentiment.

4 Stamp the seagull, colour and cut out.

5 Create a 10.5cm x 14.5cm top fold blank. Add the square panel to the top and a sentiment at the bottom. Add the seagull to the bottom right of the square panel with foam pads. Finish with a gem on each cloud.

There you have it! A clean, simple and fresh card. Living near the sea I know for a fact that seagulls DO love chips (and ice-cream).

I did this card for a friend's birthday and she loved it. I hope you love it too.

Thanks for popping by and I'll be back soon! x

Thanks a Latte

Hello blog friends!

It has been some time since I last posted. We've been on holiday, had a few classic car rallies and I've been busy with magazine work. I've been doing Christmas stuff since May and the last half of the year is always extra busy as we have a couple of extra issues to get out, so that means tighter deadlines.

I made a fun little card for some dear friends, so this is what I want to show you today.

What you need...

Cardstock: Kraft, white

Stamps: Cool Beans ST-17-43 - Avery Elle; Breakfast Club - The Alley Way Stamps; Shadows - Paper Smooches

Dies: Cool Beans Ellements D1743 - Avery Elle, 3 Nested Squares Small 18009 - Gina K; Stitched - Paper Smooches

Ink pads: Smokey Gray, Vintage Sepia - Versafine; Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Copics: E23 Hazelnut, E25 Caribe Cocoa, E27 Milk Chocolate, E29 Burnt Umber, B0000 Pale Celestine, B000 Porcelain Blue, R24 Prawn, R27 Cadmium Red, R29 Lipstick Red

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Stamp the cup, labek, large heart, a double and a single coffee bean in black ink onto white card and colour in.

2 Die cut the stamped images.

3 Die cut the largest of the stitched squares in white card. Stamp a shadow in Smokey Gray at the lower right corner and a coffee stain at the lower left and upper right in Vintage Sepia. Stamp the sentiment in black in the upper left corner.

4 Assemble the coffee cup and fix to the lower right over the shadow, place the coffee beans around the base. 

5 Die cut two stitched lines approximately 1cm and 2cm up from the bottom of an 11cm x 13cm top fold Kraft blank. Fix the coffee panel above.

6 Finish with two coffee stains at the lower right corner.

And there you have it, a perfect card for coffee lovers. Sadly The Alley Way Stamps is no longer in business, so this stamp set is no longer available. You could draw in some coffee stains or dip the base of a small glass or espresso cup into brown ink and 'stamp' the stains.

John & Peter were thrilled with the card as I was thrilled with the handmade chocolates they got me for my birthday.

Well, that's me for now. I will try and post again soon, thanks for stopping by!