Winter Deer

Christmas 2018 is coming up so fast and I don't really have time to blog as well as create, but I thought I'd make an exception for this card as it fits with the current theme of my favourite challenges  Double D Challenges - Run Run Rudolph.  Here's the photo inspiration! 

I softened the background by overlaying vellum on white card stock.  To really make the Birch Trees stand out I double layered them.  For "stretchy" die cuts like these I find that makes them more stable. 

Die and Stamps : Impression Obsession Birch Trees (also includes the bird), Tim Holtz Deer (Movers and Shapers), Simon Says Stamp Wavy Scallop Stitches

WMS Flurries (sentiment)

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave an encouraging comment or just click the "Like" Reaction!

Kate

Just the Ticket

I was inspired by the current Global Design Project to make this all-purpose card for an upcoming market.  The colours and the "wonderful" scripty sentiment are what caught my eye, as well as that bold border (for which I used some photo corners instead)

Stamps and Dies : WMS Old Country Roses Stamp Set and Matching cut files (many WMS products were re-released under the Gina K label when it closed its doors);

WMS Pretty Panel;

Quickutz Photo Corners

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave some feedback.  I can't tell you how much your kind words brighten my world!!!

Kate

A Quilted Card

My lovely niece and God-daughter is expecting her first child in December and I was recently selling some of my cards at a local market, when I saw this funky modern baby quilt at a neighbouring stand.  As is usually the case (and I don't think I'm alone in this)  I spent everything I had made (plus my considerable float) to buy it.

This card really was a labour of love - not just for my soon-to-be new great-nephew but also for the quilter and her gorgeous creation.  I went though all my stamps, selected patterns which represented the patterns on the quilt and embossed them with many different coloured embossing powders, ink colours and card stock until I was happy with the mix.  I then used the second smallest Spellbinders Postage Stamp Square die to create the swatches.  I also found a punch in my collection (which I had forgotten I had - sound familiar) to create some smaller swatches and superimposed them on the larger swatches.

The stitch lines around the swatches were made using a Paper Smooches die set.  I used another die from the same set to create a row of cross-stitches on the envelope.  I had plenty of swatches left over so will use one of them as an envelope seal.  

The border of the quilt is a grey polka dot, so I matted the panel on grey polka dotted paper and used the same paper for this Welcome sentiment from Lil' Inkers Designs.  As it was sitting astride swatches, I  layered up 3 grey card-stock die-cuts under it to give support and height.  

There are striped and spotted papers and patterns used in the card, so I thought I would enter it in the current Double D Challenge Stripes and Dots

I just noticed that the current challenge for Time Out is Colourful.  So I'm linking up there as well

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave some feedback.  I can't say how much I appreciate your kind words and support.

Kate

The Right Shoes

I just saw a fun challenge over at Double D Challenges - If the Shoes Fits.  

I've had the idea for this card in my head since buying this Marianne D Ballet Slippers Die early this year, so this challenge gave me the perfect excuse to make it up.

I came across the quote on the internet and made it up using WordArt in the Word Processor.  I'm not sure to whom it should be attributed.  I believe Marilyn Monroe said something similar as did Bette Midler.  In any case I think it's even more appropriate for Ballet Shoes - the dedication and drive needed for ballet will definitely help a young girl conquer the world!

My husband's niece is a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet and I have watched her determination to excel in ballet with awe for over 2 decades.  When she gained entry to the prestigious Australian Ballet School, when she was given a position in the chorus, then a solo role and more recently when she has danced the principal role.  She has danced danced all over the world - Paris, London, New York, Japan, San Francisco and Los Angeles and we're extremely proud of her!  

Here's a photo of her taken recently in a principal role - gorgeous isn't she.  

Supplies : Marianne D Ballet Slippers, Spellbinders Doily Accents (Border lace), Marianne D Ballerina 2 (used to create a funky foam stamp used on envelope).

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave some feedback.  I can't tell you how much your kind words brighten my day!

Kate

Spectacular You

It's been a while since I've posted anything but hopefully the creative drought I have been experiencing lately has broken.  I certainly hope so!  I have a market coming up this weekend and I have a half empty carousel to fill!!!

I created this eye chart using Wordart within Microsoft Word.  It took a while until I was happy with the graphic but now that it's done, I can easily reproduce it.  

The spectacles are from a SugarPea Designs set called Brainy Bookmarks.  I layered 4 of them up for dimension and coated them with glossy accents.  The matching stamp I used on the envelope (also on the inside) are from the coordinating set Read Between the Lines.  

The panel was cut with a WMS Stitched Rectangle and is matted with the coordinating Scalloped Rectangle.  

Two challenges lined up beautifully.  Less is More Challenge #379 was to use Black and White + one other colour.

while CAS-ual Fridays CFC207 was to use Mint with Neutral Colours (IRL it is more minty green than it appears under the artificial light I've used to photograph it).

Thanks for stopping by.  Your visit and feedback mean the world to me!

Kate

Caps Off

My eldest son graduates from the University of Aberdeen with first class honours next Monday.  I thought the occasion merited a special graduation card.

There seems to be a lot of talk in the news recently about mortarboard throwing being banned.  Not sure what Aberdeen University's policy on this is but I thought it would be fun to make a card on which Gavin can toss a mortarboard cap as much as he likes!  

Alcohol inks was the challenge for "Just Us Girls" this week which inspired me to make the background from various alcohol inks - Pool, Sandal, Willow, Lemonade and a touch of Silver.  I do love making these backgrounds, they look like polished marble to me.  Stamping on them is very tricky however.   I thought I'd use my Tim Holtz stamping platform in case I had to repeat the stamping (which I did).  Unfortunately the glossy paper still slipped, and I ended up with a slight double image.

Here's a close up of the stamped image and the background.  I stacked the Mini Mortarboard up 4 times to get a nice substantial thickness.  I glued a mini magnet to a circular piece of acetate and another magnet to the back of the mortar board (making sure the polarities were correct).   The spin channel was cut with two Spellbinders Petite Ovals using the partial cut method.

Supplies :

Impression Obsession Mini Mortarboard; Katzelkraft Mini Capitals

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave a comment.  

Kate

Country Train

I've had this Quickutz Train die for many, many years.  I think I bought it at the same craft fair I bought my first cuttlebug.  I cut four trains from red, green, blue and yellow cardstock and then switched various elements around in the different colours until I was happy with the results.  It's a bit fiddly but it is cute when assembled.  I gave the engine and the carriages a good coating of glossy accents for extra wow.  

The clouds were sponged in using Salty Ocean DI and some die cut Memory Box Puffy Marshmallow Clouds.  The hills and fence were die cut with the MFT Rolling Hills and Fence dies.  There's plenty of room for personalisation at a later date when it's needed!

I'm entering this card in The Male Room Challenge # 87 - Little Boys

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave some feedback.

Kate

Getting Krafty

I have been itching to use these lovely Elizabeth Craft Dies since I bought them last January!  I knew I wanted to do something simple and thought I'd try kraft on white.

The Current Timeout Challenge gave me the perfect opportunity with their current "Inspired By Words Challenge"

I'm getting ready for an artisan market I help organise with various artisans from different fields all local to Luxembourg.  I haven't had a lot of time with Simon's recuperation from surgery so I'm having to work late into the night making enough cards to sell.  I liked the simplicity of this design so much I decided to make up a batch of others with various sentiments.  

Supplies : Elizabeth Craft Designs Pair Of Leaves; Crea-Nest-Lies 44 and 52; WOW! Vanilla White Embossing Powder; XCut Herringbone Embossing Folder; Sentiments from WMS Teeny Trees, WMS Big Day Today, WPLUS9 Funky Flowers

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave a comment,

Kate

Ship in Port

I have a fundraiser market coming up shortly and I've been busily trying to stock up on cards to sell.

My first port of call when I'm in need of inspiration is usually the Viva la Verve Sketch monthly sketch and as usual Julie Tilman did not disappoint.

Viva la Verve May 2018 Sketch

That banner got me thinking nautical!  Initially I was going to to make a masculine (probably Father's Day card), but ended up with this encouragement card instead which I thought would be perfect for a young person (male or female) about to fly the coop!

Stamps and Dies : Verve Strong Anchor and Matching die set; Verve Stitched Pennants (some creative die cutting to make it this long); WMS Safe Harbour Sentiments

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave a comment,

Kate

Push Biking up Daisies

Last week summer finally seemed within our grasp and it was easy to imagine sunny blue skies and fields full of daisies - this week it's a little more difficult.  

The fluffy white clouds were made using a die cut WPlus9 cloud border and Salty Ocean DI.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Other Supplies

Dies : Marianne D. Vintage Bicycle; MFT Rolling Hills and Fence; Frantic Stamper Village Sky;

Stamps : WMS Old Country Roses (Sentiment); Jaine Drake (Sarah Hurley Special Editions) On Your Bike (Envelope and Inside)

Inks : Charcoal Colour Box Fluid Chalk (sentiment); Smoke Blue Versacolor (Envelope and Inside)

Putting my spin on it

A quick post to show you this card I created last week.  It was for 10 year old basketball fan.  I downloaded an image of a basketball court and a basketball inserted them into a word document, resized them and printed them on white cardstock.  I die cut the basketball with a Spellbinders Circle die, coated it with glossy accents and sprinkled ultrafine glitter while it was still set.  I attached a brad to another circle and attached this circle to the back of the basketball - giving me a basketball brad!

I attached the basketball brad to the centre of the court, added a 1 cut Sizzix Serif Number 1 and added the court to the card blank with dimensional to give the brad freedom to move.

Pretty simple card really. Here's a basic video of the card in action!

Thanks for stopping by.   If you want any further information, just drop me a line and I'll try to provide it!

Kate

A Shiny Red Apple for the Teacher

Pretty soon it will be time to thank all those wonderful people who put so much energy and time into educating our children - I will be relying on this Verve Teachers Count Stamp set quite a bit in the next few weeks.

The Glossy Apple from 3 thicknesses of white cardstock using a Sizzix Original Die.  I coloured it with various alcohol markers and applied several coats of UTEE to make it nice and shiny.

Here's the sketch I used for some much needed inspiration to jumpstart my flagging mojo!

Viva la Verve April 2018 Sketch

I think bringing the teacher an apple is an excellent tradition that should be brought back in!

Less is More Challenge #369 Bring Something Back

The SSS Wednesday Challenge wants us to add some Texture

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Add some Texture

Other Challenges

PINspirational 6th Anniversary Anything Goes Challenge 

Happy Little Stampers April Anything Goes With Dies Challenge

Supplies: 

Verve Teachers Count Stamp Set;

Spellbinders M-Bossabilities Numbers & Letters;

Sizzix Originals Small Apple;

Crea-Nest-Lies XXL #21 Stitched Circles

QuickCutz Nesting Squares #2

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave a comment,

Kate

Amazing Bee

I've had most of the elements for this card lying in a box ready to be assembled for ages while I waited for some inspiration.  In the end I decided on this sentiment from Verve's Beautiful Things set.  After all a bee hive is a pretty amazing structure and a bumblebee's flight is supposed to defy the laws of physics isn't it!!!

There were a couple of challenges that caught my eye this week and for which this card may qualify

Make My Monday Challenge #68  - Things with Wings

Time Out Challenge #107 Spring (no optional twist here I'm afraid)

Casology Week 295 Believe 

The Male Room Challenge 83 - Symmetry 

PINspirational 6th Anniversary Anything Goes Challenge

SSS Wednesday Challenge - Add Some Texture

Verve April Diva Yellow

Supplies :

Verve What's the Buzz Stamp set and matching dies; 

Verve Beautiful Things Stamp set; 

Spellbinders Labels 4 and 14, 

Craft Emotions Honeycomb Background Die;
Glossy Accents and Rayher Ultra Fine Glitter on the Wings

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave a comment,
Kate

Making a Spectacle!

A while back a friend of mine asked if I could make a card for her daughter who was a reading enthusiast and ever since I have been looking for suitable stamp and/or die sets.  So when I saw the Read Between the Lines Stamp Set from Sugar Pea Designs I just had to buy it.  

I had some 12x12 sheets of striped paper which I cut on the diagonal for the background layers to get that air-mail striped look.

Supplies : SugarPea Designs Stamp Set, Crea-Nest-Lies Dotted Rectangles, Memorybox Stunning Spectacles, BoBunny Stamps freebie (the Crown), Adirondack Eggplant Dye Ink for the first card, Versamark and WOW! Blueberry embossing powder for the second card.  

Thanks for stopping by, especially if you take the time to leave a comment,

Kate

Polaroid Memories

I've not had much energy or inclination for crafting while I've been nursing my son through his longer than anticipated post-surgery recuperation, however I did get this card made for my brother's 50th birthday recently.

I used the camera and polaroids dies from the Sugarpea Designs Polaroid Journal Card.  There is a smile sentiment as part of the set but I chose to use this earlier purchased Impression Obsession Die instead.  I have to say it was fun making up the little camera and reviewing 50 years of memories.  I just love that photo of him when he was a toddler - he was so cute, and that family photo of his confirmation (I took the photo so I'm not in it but I was his sponsor).  There was a photo of the two of us out on the town and a photo of him as godfather to my eldest son. I also found and a great photo of him and our late dad taken in happier days.

There are lots of things I would redo if I made the card again (getting that big polaroid exactly straight was difficult - I'd just put it askew with a piece of wash tape if I had to redo it) but I'm glad I had the idea to add mini polaroid memories - what a great way to personalise a card!  I'm sure he'll love it!

Thanks for stopping by - especially if you take the time to leave a comment,

Kate

The Bee's Knees

I haven't had much time for crafting this year while I'm nursing my youngest son after surgery on his leg and foot.  Whenever I've started contemplating a card, I'll hear "Muuuuum" and that will be the end of that train of thought.  However after 3 weeks of being post-op and no return to school in sight (and a trip to the Expo Creative where I treated myself to some new goodies), I was determined to start something on the weekend and was finally successful in finishing something.

I bought this new honeycomb die with the express purpose of using it with this fabulous Verve "What's the Buzz" stamp set and matching dies and I wanted to use it first.  One of my favourite places for sketch inspiration has always been the Verve team so when I saw this sketch from Julee at Viva la Verve, a card started taking shape. 

Viva la Verve January Sketch Challenge 

Not a very traditional Valentine's Day card, but I'm not one for lot's of red love hearts anyway.  This one is certainly eye-catching (in a 'scuse me while I get my sunglasses kind of way).

I almost used a feather but this scroll die was another newbie so I thought I'd use it instead. 

Here are some of the other challenges I'm entering

Cuttle Bug Mania's Valentine's Day Challenge

SSS Wednesday "Layer It Up" Challenge

Addicted to Stamps "Anything Goes" Challenge

Happy Little Stampers "Anything Goes with Dies" Challenge

I love that you stopped by and appreciate all your comments.  

Have a great week,

Kate