Floral Thank You

Hello lovelies!

I needed a simple and quick thank you card, so I decided to raid my stash and I came across a cling stamp that I've had for some time and not used (yes, I know, I'm naughty for doing that). 

I wanted to keep the card really simple with a Kraft blank and delicate white inking. I also decided to make the envelope too.

What you need...

Card stock: Kraft

Patterned paper: Darks Color Basics Paper Pad 12" x 12" - K&Company

Stamps: Small Striped Flower (CG256) - Hero Arts; Many Thanks - Paper Smooches

Dies: Labels Fancy #2 (with stamps - 657582) - Sizzix

Ink pad: Pure White Pigment Ink Pad - Avery Elle 

Envelope maker: Envelope Punch Board - WRMK

Gel pen: bright pink

Adhesives

What you do...

1 Create a top fold blank in Kraft card 8.5cm x 12.5cm.

2 Stamp the flower at the lower left corner making sure it goes off the edges. Stamp the sentiment in the top right corner. 

3 When the ink is dry, colour in the centre of the the flower with the gel pen.

4 Following the guide on the Envelope Punch Board, cut a piece of tan patterned paper, score, fold and stick to form the envelope.

5 Stamp the label in white ink onto Kraft card, use the coordinating die to cut it out. Stick centrally to the front of the envelope.

I think making your own envelopes is a great way to use up those papers that you like, but wouldn't use as a scrapbook page or add to a card. The Envelope Punch Board makes it so easy as it has practically every size you could want printed on the maker, plus it has the punch to cut out the indents where the score lines meet and one to round off the flap.

I really enjoyed making this little card, one tip I will give you is that the white pigment ink can smudge. I give a light squirt of hairspray to help fix it in place - it also makes the card smell nice!

Thank you for popping in and I'll be back soon - ta ta for now!

Say Cheese!

Hello crafty peeps!

As usual, because it's a Bank Holiday here in ol' Blighty the weather is miserable and wet. I can't ever remember an August Back Holiday where the weather has been glorious!

I'm just about to start my card for my new Cosmic Colours Challenge (#17) which starts tomorrow, but I thought I would share an amusing little card with you. It stars some funny fruit from one of my fave brands - Paper Smooches!

What you need...

Stamps: Fruitastic, Alphadot - Paper Smooches

Dies: Polaroid - Paper Smooches

Patterned paper: Brights Color Basics 12x12 Paper Pad - K&Company

Card stock: white, black

Washi tape: red stripe, black stripe, black hounds tooth

Baker's twine: black, orange

Ink pad: Onyx Black - Versafine

Embossing powder: Detail Clear - Stampendous

Promarkers

Gems: black

Adhesives

What you do...

Stamp and emboss an apple, lemon, orange and peach onto white card.

Colour in and cut out.

Die cut two Polaroids, one in black and one in white. 

Stick the fruit onto the black centre so they overlap the edge, trim away the excess.

Stick lime paper at an angle onto a top fold A6 blank, snipping away any excess.

Attach the white Polaroid frame, insert the fruit section and stamp a sentiment at the bottom.

Tie a length of black and orange twine around the top of the blank.

Add three pieces of washi tape and black gems for the eyes.

This card, along with another two in the set, featured in the September issue of Crafts Beautiful. 

Okey dokey! I'm going to sign off now. Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon with the Winner and Top 3 of the current Cosmic Colours Challenge and the new palette for Challenge #17!

TTFN xx

Good Cluck To You - Doodle Pantry/Incy Wincy

Heevnin crafty chums!

We have a lovely challenge for you this week at Incy Wincy - Old MacDonald had a Farm and our sponsor is Doodle Pantry.

I chose Quirky Rooster and Hen. This download comes with several images (some in colour), background papers and sentiments.

I used the cute little hen (I'm biased), here she is...

Image by Doodle Pantry - Coloured in by me!

What you need...

Digital stamp: Quirky Rooster and Hen - Doodle Pantry

Card stock: white
Patterned paper: Greenhouse by Carolyn Gavin - K & Company 

Promarkers: Bright Green, Ivory, Lime Green, Magenta, Mandarin, Moss, Oasis*, Walnut
Baker's twine: bright pink
Button: bright pink
Adhesives

* Limited Edition Colour

What you do...

Re-size the image and sentiment, print and colour.
Mat the sentiment onto an A6 top fold blank.
Cut out the hen and adhere to the blank near the sentiment with foam tape.
Hand cut scallops along on edge of dotty paper and stick to the top of the blank.
Cut a banner shape from cactus paper and fix to the top right of the blank.
Wrap twine around the top of the blank three times, thread through a button and tie in a bow.

Sadly the Greenhouse paper pad by K and Company is no longer available, I've had it in my craft stash for quite some time. Even then I had to have it shipped over from the US (so glad I did). There may be one or two out there on the Internet if you have a good search.

Click on the Doodle Pantry badge to take you to the store. There are oodles of cute and fun images.

The Incy Wincy DT have come up trumps again with some absolutely gorgeous makes this week. If you are looking for inspiration then pop on over for a peek!

Well I'll sign off for now. Thank you for stopping by and happy crafting! xx

Cosmic Colours Challenge #6

Hello my lovelies!

I'm back with another challenge, this one being #6! As Halloween is fast approaching I decided to go with a colour palette that would suit the occasion.

This month you have two colour palettes to choose from (I couldn't decide which one to go with). There is a lovely purple/orange themed palette and a beautiful black/rust themed palette.

You don't have to make Halloween themed cards, any occasion is welcome.

Here is the first palette...

Produced Hues 3 - Design Seeds®

What I've come up with...

I used an image from Creepy Li'l Grumpies by - Smeared Ink, Halloween (Kelly Panacci) 12" x 12" Speciality Paper Pad -  K&company, Promarkers, purple twine and brads.

The second colour palette...

Happy Halloween - Design Seeds®

My make for this one...

For this card I used the moon and cats from Halftone Halloween (Tim Holtz) - Stampers Anonymous, Promarkers, black lettering and gems

The creator of the winning card will receive some craft goodies and they can grab a Challenge Winner 'brag badge' to proudly display on their blog.

Three runner up cards will be chosen and they can grab the Challenge Top 3! 'brag badge' to proudly display on their blog.

There is also a 'play along' badge that you can grab if you wish. The codes can be found in the 'Cosmic Colours Challenge Badges' page.

The challenge will run until 31st October 2014 - 23:55 (GMT)

I can't wait to see what you come up with. I'll be back later with the winners from challenge #5! xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Blast From The Past!

Heevernin peeps!

I hope you are all having a good week so far. I've just posted of another couple commissions to Crafts Beautiful today for the December issue. So I can now catch up on a couple of things :o)

Talking of Crafts Beautiful, way back I illustrated some cool Halloween drawings for the '7 Ways with Witchy Motifs' project October 2012 issue. I really loved these cards and as Halloween is fast approaching I thought I'd revisit and share a few of the cards.

Here are the actual layouts in the magazine...

...and a few close up shots that I took...

Here is a close up of the cute little froggy...

You can still download the templates from the Crafts Beautiful website, just sign up for free and then you can download templates, patterns and papers! Click here to take you to the October 2012 template download page.

This is what the templates will look like...

The templates are downloaded as a PDF, you can then open it up and print off the images onto card, colour in and cut out.

I've enjoyed going back to some of my early makes. I had great fun illustrating, designing and creating this set. I can't pick a favourite as I love them all.

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon :oD xx

A Krafty Thank You!

Aft'noon peeps!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I've been busy making a rag dolly. I made several of them a few years ago and my mum always said she would like one. Well, I've finally got round to doing her one.

When she's finished I'll take a few photos and will post them for you to see. I can't give too much away or post the photo's until I've given to mum (my mum reads this blog).

As the posts regarding the projects I did for the March 2012 issue of Crafts Beautiful have gone down so well, I thought I would share another with you all (I did seven for the Card School - floral cards using one paper pad).

What you need...

Paper: Cara Marie 12" x 12" Paper Pad - K and Company

Card stock: Kraft, white

Punch: scallop border

Stamps: Big Sentiments - Personal Impressions

Ink pad: Olympia Green - Versafine

Gems

Adhesives

What you do...

Make a Kraft card blank 8.5cm x 13.5cm and cover the top two thirds with the Kraft floral paper. Punch a scallop border along a piece of white card and fix to the blank under the patterned paper. Arrange and attach some die cut flowers so they overlap the border.

Finish with a sentiment stamped in the lower right corner and add a few gems to embellish.

There you have it! A quick and simple card that can be rustled up in next to no time. I'm not sure how available this paper pad by K and Company is now, you might find the odd one out there in Internet land. You could use any floral paper collection that you have in your stash (or maybe see somewhere, which is a good excuse to purchase).

The Cara Marie pad did come with sheets of pop out die cuts; if you choose a floral paper that has quite big blooms, you could cut a few of them out an use in place of the die cut flowers. There are some gorgeous papers out there that just scream to be cut up, plus it makes the paper go further!!

Okey dokey.....back on with the dolly. Thanks for dropping by and I'll be back soon :o)

Hello

Hi peeps!

Ooh! This is a late one. I'm not going to bed just yet, I'm wide awake and I'll only toss & turn if I do go and then I will get frustrated and have to get up again anyway. The best thing to do is to say hello to all my lovely followers out there in blog land (or wherever you wonderful peeps follow me from).

This is another card I did as part of the seven card set for the March 2012 issue of Crafts Beautiful, using some beautiful papers from K and Company.

What you need...

Papers: Cara Marie 12" x 12" Paper Pad - K and Company

Card: white

Stamp: Big Sentiments - Personal Impressions

Ink pad: Vintage Sepia - Versafine

Adhesives

What you do...

Create a white blank 8.5cm x 13.5cm and cover the top with a piece of the tulip paper 8cm x 10cm. Attach a length of the large die-cut card frame over the join.

Layer up a few of the matching flowers, then cut some extra leaves and a stem. Arrange on the patterned paper making sure one of the flowers lies over the border. Finish with the sentiment stamped in the bottom right corner.

Pop on over to the Crafts Beautiful website to download free, papers, templates, patterns, ideas and inspiration. You need to sign up to be able to download, but it is free and easy to do. The web address is http://www.craftsbeautiful.com.

I hope you like this simple little card. It just goes to show you don't need a load of stamps or dies to create a card; one lovely patterned paper pad can work miracles.

Just before I go, don't forget to get your comments in before the end of 31st March to win the blog candy (click on image in the sidebar for details).

I'm off now to make a cup of tea. Thanks for visiting and sleep tight! xx

Happy St Patrick's Day #1

Good evening chums!

Well, did you all have a fab St Patrick's Day yesterday? Simon & I did. Our friends Liam and Alan had an Irish themed get together last night (Liam is half Irish, half Yorkshire - now there's a combination).

There was eight of us and we had lots of Guinness, Champagne, Irish food, wine, Irish music, wine, limericks, wine, Irish songs, wine, Irish jokes, wine, daft hats, wine and Irish whisky. Liam even wore an Irish kilt and went shopping to Waitrose in it! Apparently he got quite a few stares. It was an absolutely fantastic night, thanks lads :o)

I would like to share with you one of two cards I made. This one I sent to our friends June and Stephen up in Yorkshire, Stephen is Irish and I always send him a card for St Patrick's Day.

I don't have any four leaf clover stamps so because the leaves are basically heart shaped I used a heart from one of the delicious stamps sets by PaperArtsy to create the clover. The border stamp in the set is just perfect for the stem.

What you need...

Stamps: Squiggly Ink Love & Kisses (SILK1) - PaperArtsy

Papers: Poppy Seed - K and Company

Promarkers: Bright Green, Green Shoot, Leaf Green, Lime Green, Lime Zest

Ink pad: Onyx Black - Versafine

Punch: corner rounder

Button: black

Twine: white

Ribbon: green

Adhesives

What you do...

Stamp the block heart four times and the border to create a four leaf clover. Colour in with shades of green, trim and round off the top right corner.

Fix a panel of lime patterned paper slightly off centre to a top fold A6 blank and mat the clover onto it.

Snip a banner from green patterned paper and attach to the top left of the card in line with the fold. Create a sentiment and fix to the blank so it overlaps the banner. Finish with a button tied with twine and green ribbon.

You could stamp the basic clover shape, then stamp four more hearts, cut each one out, colour in and layer over the original to make a lovely flower. A button or a large gem could be added to make the centre of the flower. Full of bright ideas aren't I?

So there you have it. I will be back soon with the card I made for Liam and Alan. Thanks for popping by and in the words of Liam..."ta-ra a bit!" xxx

Thinking Of You

Howdy peeps!

Isn't the weather just lovely at the moment? Everything is starting to come alive in the garden; Bren, Babs, Dolly & Hattie seem happier that the weather is a bit better. At least the breeze blowing up their fluffy pantaloons is not as cold as it was a couple of weeks ago.

They were trying to 'help' (I use the word 'help' very loosely) me in the garden on Sunday. Every time I raked things up, they jumped in the pile and kicked it all back out again. Doh!

Of course Bren (the most gobby and nosiest one) followed me around constantly and never shut up yakking all afternoon. Didn't understand a word of what she was saying...I just agreed with her.

Now on to making stuff. The card I have for you today is way back from the March 2012 issue of Crafts Beautiful. It is taken from a seven card project I did using one paper collection.

What you need...

Papers: Cara Marie 12" x 12" Paper Pad - K and Company

Card: white

Stamp: Big Sentiments - Personal Impressions

Ink pad: Olympia Green - Versafine

Ribbon: aqua

Glitter dots

Adhesives

What you do...

Cover the top two thirds of a 10.5cm x 15cm tent fold blank with the embossed floral card. Trim a length of the waste from the large die-cut card frame and fix underneath the floral panel.

Cut out some of the circle flowers and leaves from the blue floral paper and a couple of stems from the dark brown. Arrange and stick on to of the floral panel, trimming off the stems at the join.

Wrap a length of ribbon around the join and tie in a knot at the right. Stamp the sentiment in the bottom left corner and finish with a few glitter dots.

I adore this paper collection, it didn't seem to be around very long and was quite difficult to get hold of. You can still get the odd one if you browse the web. The kraft card really makes the colours pop out. This is one of my favourite projects I did for Crafts Beautiful, I'll show you a couple of more cards from the set later.

I'm going to sign off now, better get supper ready.

Thanks for popping by, until next time xxx

Celebrate Baubles!

Good afternoon me lovelies!

I have been outside enjoying the mild October sunshine with my girls.

Every time I rake a pile of leaves they follow me and scratch and kick them all over again. Sometimes I just rake up little piles to watch them do it; it's so funny. Anyway, they've had their afternoon treat of corn and they are now happily preening (or pruning as my dad calls it).

I thought I would share a little Christmas card with you. I still have some of the fabulous Peppermint Twist papers and embellishments from K & Company. Using the Retrosketches #52 as inspiration for the layout, I came up with this...

What you need...

Patterned papers: Peppermint Twist 12 x 12 Paper Pad - K & Company

Embellishments: Peppermint Twist Ornament Grand Adhesions - K & Company

Card stock: white

Cord: silver

Punch: corner rounder

Adhesives

What you do...

Stick a piece of green patterned paper 11.5cm x 11.5cm to the centre of a 13.5cm square blank. Cut four 2.5cm x 6cm strips in co-ordinating papers. Adhere down the left side of the blank, rounding the top left corner on the first strip.

Round off the bottom right corner on a piece of white card 7.5cm x 9cm, add three of the bauble embellishments with lengths of silver cord for hangers. Wrap silver cord around the bottom of the card and tie in a bow. Next, attach it to the blank so it overlaps the paper strips.

Make a small bow made from silver cord and adhere to the top of  one of the baubles to finish.

The good thing about baubles is that they are so easy to make yourself out of co-ordinating papers. Plus you can layer them up to give a more 3D effect.

Retrosketches have some fantastic sketched layouts, so if you like #52, then check out http://retrosketches.blogspot.co.uk/ for this and many more wonderful sketches!

That's me for now, I'll be back soon with another creation, thanks for visiting! xxx

Do What You Love

Happy Easter Sunday peepscicles!

Hope you are not eating too much chocolate. How much is too much though? I think it is down to the individual person to decide how much is too much for them.

For example, some peeps can eat more than one Cadbury's Creme Egg - I would struggle, I can just manage one, but they are lovely (for my lovely followers who live in beautiful far away places that do not know what a Cadbury's Creme Egg is; it's a chocolate egg filled with white and yellow soft fondant, they are very very sweet and only available for a short time). I like to put mine in the fridge, for some reason, when they are really, really cold they don't seem so sickly.

Also, how do you eat yours? I bite the wide part of the egg off first, scoop out the fondant with my finger (clean of course), then eat the rest of the chocolate. I usually buy about a dozen of them, and put them in a lovely bowl with lots of little Lindt chocolate eggs and bunnies, so we can dip in whenever we want.

Okay, nuff of the chocolate for now. As promised in my last post, here is another card I did for the March issue of Crafts Beautiful using one paper pad.

What you need...

Papers: Cara Marie 12"x12" Handmade Speciality Pad - K and Company (or any paper collection that has matching die cuts and embellishments)

Button: brown

Crystal gem: clear

Parcel string

Garden twine

Adhesives

What you do...

Die cut a label from embossed kraft card and mount onto the left side of a 12cm square blank, trim any excess. Wrap garden twine around the card a couple of times and tie in a bow at the right. Mount the phrase die-cut over the twine with foam pads.

Layer a die-cut flower and attach to the lower right corner. Thread the button with frayed parcel string and adhere to the centre of the flower. Finish with a gem on the sentiment.

There we have a very quick, simple, but effective card. As I mentioned in my last post, this K and Company collection is no longer available, but any paper collection that has lovely large motfis and die-cuts will do just as well.

I'd be so chuffed if you wanted to make a card exactly as I've done it, using the same papers, stamps etc. But I also post my makes to give you inspiration on sketches (card layouts), colours, themes, patterns and so on. If I have inspired you in any way, I would love to see your makes. Post me a link to your blog so I can pop in and have a look!

Well, that's me for the nonce. Enjoy the rest of your Easter Sunday, and thanks for visiting xxx

  

Life is Sweet

Aft'noon peeps!

Hope you are all having a lovely and peaceful Easter so far.

Today I have another card that I did for Crafts Beautiful for the March 2012 issue.

What you need...

Papers: Cara Marie 12"x12" Handmade Speciality Pad - K and Company (or any paper collection that has matching die cuts and embellishments)

Punch: corner rounder

Button: brown

Parcel string

Glitter dots

What you do...

Cover the bottom half of a 12cm square blank with brown floral paper and round the two bottom corners. Attach the Life is Sweet die cut to the top half and three die cut flowers in the lower left corner. Finish with a few glitter dots on the butterfly and a button tied with frayed string on the large flower. Ta da! A very quick and simple, yet gorgeous card. Great for those last minute makes.

It may be hard to get hold of this paper collection now, but you could use any paper collection that has lovely die cut phrases and large floral elements. The whole idea was to use one paper pad that had everything in it and would, of course all co-ordinate perfectly. I have another card from this set to show you in another post.

After mentioning Bazoo and the laser stare thingy in previous posts, I would like to show you a photo of Bazoo or 'HypnoCat'. This was taken not long after we moved in and she was sat on the stairs with the 'I'm just going to sit here and stare at you through the stair spindles and I will not move if you wish to go up the stairs' look.

It is very rare you can get a photo of Bazoo without the radioactive glare in her eyes.

Ready???

All I can say is be afraid, be very very afraid.

I will leave you with this image and hope you have not been too traumatised and will be able to sleep tonight. Until next time......xxx