Twiggy Deer

I saw a few challenges around with a deer prompt so I thought I'd dust off this old Movers and Shakers reindeer die.  I cut and layered him three times for sturdiness, coloured him with Picked Raspberry and Dusty Concord Distress Inks, and applied a few coats of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel sprinkled with a little Pastel Pink embossing powder and some gold Tempera Powder.  It's always a surprise when I use UTEE - but I'm rarely disappointed!  I just love the glossy finish and the way the colours move around in the molten UTEE.  It's very therapeutic (unless I burn a finger or two)!

I already had an aperture panel cut with this sentiment embossed in gold, so I paired it with matching watercolored panel embossed with gold twigs and used it to frame the deer.

I'd like to enter the following challenges

Christmas Crafts All Year Round August Challenge - Reindeer or Deer

Winter Wonderland Challenge August Challenge - Reindeer

ABC Christmas Challenge - P for Pink, R for Reindeer

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #122 - Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #609 - (wet) embossing

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Gorgeous Parrot!

 

This is a birthday card for a friend of mine!  Her daughter is living in Australia these days so I always like to make something for her with an Australian connection!  I wish I had taken a photo of the gift as you could have seen what inspired my choice of image and colours - a stained glass suncatcher featuring a pair of green and yellow parrots.  This is actually a cockatoo die, but I removed his crest so he looked more like the parrots in her gift! 

I colored him (and the gum leaves and blossoms frame) with alcohol markers and although I do find it easier to colour die cuts than images, I am by no means proficient at it so please don't look too carefully!  

I generated the sentiment on the computer and foiled it in gold (though you can't see because it was impossible to photograph last night no matter how much light I shone on it)!  

I was trying to think of what a parrot might say other than "hello".  I had a budgie for a few years, and he was a profuse talker (probably took after me lol)!  I should have taught him to say "g'day gorgeous" - but my Billy Boy was far too clever to be tricked like that!

I would like to enter the following challenges

As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Animal (birds esp. Australian ones)

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Frame it (this die came with its own frame)

Happy Little Stampers August Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

TGIF What Would You Do Without White Cardstock?  Use cream of course 😉!  

NBUS Challenge #41 - The parrot die is NBUS

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Snowflake Sprig

I'm still on a mission to get my Christmas cards for my Australian friends and family all done and ready to post before I head off in mid October.  I haven't sent a Christmas card down under since the beginning of the pandemic (some Mother's Day cards took over 8 months in 2020 and a birthday card in 2021 took just over three months).  I figure though if I post them from within Australia in Oct/Nov they SHOULD arrive by Christmas - no matter what problems Australia Post may be experiencing!

This one is for my sister - who I haven't seen for over 5 years now!  We talk or text daily but it's just not the same is it!  I'll be staying with her while I'm there and we hope to make a few short trips together!  

My sister loves the colour purple and I love the colour pink so this one's especially for her from me!

I'm still experimenting with CAS and I think I failed here - I just couldn't stop myself adding a little more to the right hand side of the card!  I think Fran will love it though!

Dies used : Memorybox Snowflake Sprig, Spellbinders Resplendent Rectangles

Sentiment Stamp : Waltzing Mouse Alpine Christmas

Distress Inks : Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry

A few challenges I'd like to enter are 

Happy Little Stampers August Christmas Challenge

August 2022 Rudolph Challenge

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #65

Make My Monday Challenge #181 - Christmas in August

NBUS Challenge #41 - Snowflake Sprig is NBUS

Snippets Playground #435
So many gold snippets left over from Communion Cards I made last month

Sisterhood of Crafters - Frame it

Cards 4 Galz Challenge #180 - 3 of anything - snowflakes, purple gems

 

Krafty Chicks Challenge #626 - All Occasions

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Golden Foal

For my background panel, I used three colours of blue by adding them to my craft mat and spritzing them with water, then dragging my panel several times through the mess mix!  

Then, once thoroughly dry (I also ironed it to make sure it was flat) I stamped with this Spooky Tree Image (Waltzing Mouse Stamps) and embossed in gold.

I really loved how my last card turned out, the only problem being it costs twice as much to send a square card so if I'm to make a bunch of cards in the same design, do I really want them square??   So how to make this square panel work with a standard sized card so I don't spend a fortune on postage!  

I cut a bunch of A6 panels with a square aperture on one end of the panel.  

For this card I went with a left aperture and a landscape orientation, which required a slim sentiment and this was one of the few Christmas sentiments that fitted.  I've stamped with the same colours I used to create the background.  I embossed the sentiment with clear powder on this card but next time I'll leave it unembossed - I prefer the more natural look on this cardstock.

I made this card specifically with Die Traumfabrik Challenge #107 in mind

I also designed this card with my great-nephew in mind because yesterday's card will go to his mama!  I thought it would be nice to have the two side by side with the larger horse in pink and the foal in blue!  I'd therefore like to enter it in the Alphabet Challenge -  J is for Juvenile.

I'd also like to enter the following challenges 

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #65 - Never in a Nativity!  

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #121 - Anything Christmas Goes

Krafty Chicks Challenge #625 - CAS

Make My Monday Challenge #181 - Christmas in August

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas!

As You Like it Challenge - Favourite Domestic Animal (and why)!  This little foal is every bit as majestic as his mama!

 Crafty Animals Challenge #64 - Anything Goes as long as it includes an Animal!

Stamps used : WMS Spooky Tree, WMS Compliments of the Season (sadly WMS long ago closed its doors but they're still my favourite stamps)

Dies : Crealies Nested Squares, Nested Rectangles; Charlie & Paulchen Skandi-Pferdchen

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Golden Skandi Pferdchen

Desperate for Christmas mojo, I checked out my favourite Christmas Challenges and then set about creating a card which would fulfill as many Challenge Criteria as possible!   

 The first challenge I wanted to comply with was the August Colour Challenge at 52Christmas Card Throwdown - Pink, Purple and Gold!  Mmmm heavenly combination no??

I'm in the middle of overhauling my craft supplies and I found a small embossed square card which was part of a set I bought ages ago!   The front and back were both embossed with gold so I cut it in half to make two panels and added Picked Raspberry and Dusty Concord distress inks to my craft mat, spritzed and dragged the card panels through.  I used the first panel on this card - watch this space for the second panel!

I knew I wanted to use this Skandi Pferdchen die I bought from Charlie und Paulchen earlier this year,   which also gave me the opportunity to enter NBUS Challenge #41

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #65 is Never in a Nativity!  I'm pretty sure there weren't any horses in the nativity - especially Scandinavian ones!

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #121 is Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge prompt this week is "Christmas" so I'll be entering there as well! 

I'd also like to enter Crafty Animals Challenge #64 which is Anything Goes as long as it includes and Animal!

And the current challenge at As You Like it - Favourite Domestic Animal!  The horse is such a majestic creature don't you think?

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Snowflakes in August!

 

The heat of the last few weeks has made me feel so lethargic and motivation is pretty low right now but since I'm hoping to go to Australia in October and I want to have a Christmas Card Making Fundraiser as soon as I get back, I have to get cracking with my kits!    It will also be a good chance to post my Aussie cards in Australia while I'm there - I think some of the cards I sent last Christmas arrived in March! 

This simple but effective drifting snow flake card is always well received and I know it will go down well in the kits!  I used a variety of snowflakes in the background for these cards.   The first one I forgot to stamp before I assembled it so I had to add a computer generated sentiment.  I created the sentiment with WordArt, made the text box brown and the writing white.  Then die cut it with a really small rectangle and applied glossy accents!

This one I remembered and so could use one of my many lovely Waltzing Mouse Christmas Stamps - so sad Waltzing Mouse Stamps closed down!

The main snowflake is from the Spellbinders Snowflakes 3 set but you can see it's been overlayed with another snowflake (also from Waltzing Mouse Stamps) the others are miscellaneous sets.   The distribution of snowflakes was much better on this second card - it pays to make more than one of a card so you can improve on it don't you think!

I'm entering my cards in the following challenges (the link is in the title under the images)!

Papercraft Challenges #84

Peace On Earth Challenge #21

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #607

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge #121  - Anything Christmas Goes

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate

Bright Fall

 I am honoured to have been selected for the 613 The Avenue Design Team!  The sponsor this month is Mirtillamente.

I was bowled over by the vibrant colours in this Bright Fall Digital Paper Pack!

I thought the darker paper would be perfect for a "hidden sentiment" and this"grateful" sentiment from Winnie and Walter seemed the logical choice!  

I'm planning a trip to Australia in October and my sister (who I haven't seen for 5 years) and I are busily planning our agenda so I'm feeling pretty grateful at the moment.  I also just received my 4th booster shot yesterday and while the vaccine wasn't all we had hoped for in early 2021, I am grateful that I live in a country where I have the opportunity to receive it!  I am also grateful to be able to share my creations in such a wonderful, supportive community and to Chana in particular for giving me the opportunity to be in in the 613 The Avenue Create Design Team!

As with most of my cards, the idea changed as I went along!  I had intended to make a penny spinner card but forgot (I'm blaming the heat) to cut a track before I created the hidden sentiment!  Actually I got right up to foam tape stage before I realised!  So I decided to go with a bookmark instead.  This leaf wasn't my first choice - I was going with yellow (which is why the hidden sentiment was backed with yellow) but I just wasn't happy with the yellow leaves and realised pink would be a much better colour choice!  I distressed some light pink card stock with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink to get the mottled pink effect on the leaf! I also added glossy accents.

I created a bookmark from some snippets left over from cutting the panel using the SugarPea Designs Open Book set (two bookmarks back to back with a black one in between) and added a black tassel.  I added a magnet to either side and covered these with some pink card stock to make them a little more presentable (I would have coloured them black if I had found my black permanent pen).  There's a magnet between the card panel and the card base and another one behind the leaf - 4 in total!   I wanted to make sure the bookmark was anchored to the inside of the card but could also be removed!  The leaf can be attached to the bookmark or stay in place on the card front or be used as a fridge magnet!  You can add the bookmark to the card front or use the bookmark to magically move the leaf around on the card front!  I love magnets don't you?

I would like to enter my card in the Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #435 - to use die-cuts or stencils!  

I'm thrilled you stopped by and hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you and perhaps we can get better acquainted!  

Kate