Flowers for a friend

Hello lovely people,

It's a doubly exciting Friday today as I have next week off work and I am sharing a card that I am really really pleased with, using some gorgeous new stash :-)

This is my Dies to Die For DT card this week so as usual you can find all the product links at the end of my post.

These floral stamps and dies were a big hit with quite a few of the DtDF DT and I have to say I was smitten too!  I tried stamping them in different colour inks on different colours of card and colouring with different mediums, and all versions looked lovely!

I had to pick just one though for my first card and decided to go with white heat embossing on Kraft with Copic colouring.

I was delighted when I found the perfect matching papers to use with the Kraft flowers and then even more so when I realised my new word dies would look lovely on here...it's fab when a card just comes together so nicely!

As you can see I got a little dimension in here too by layering some of the flowers on different heights of foam pads and stacking up 3 of each of the letters.

If I've tempted you with any of the lovely supplies I've used then you can go straight to the individual products via the thumbnails at the end of my post or just pop over to Dies to Die For and have a little browse around!

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

Copic colours;
Pink: R81/83/85
Aqua: BG11/13/15

Lovely things I've used;

Fancy flowers - My Favorite Things	Fancy flowers - My Favorite Things	Accomplished - Authentique	Words for friends - My Favorite Things
Happy Everything - Mama Elephant	Bazzill Kraft cardstock

InLinkz.com

Little Sweetie

Hello lovely people,

I very much enjoyed a day of crafting yesterday, especially as Dr. Hubby was nowhere to be seen for most of the day since he was happily playing a newly released, and much anticipated, game for the Playstation 4!

I had a lovely time experimenting with some more of my new stamps :-)

Now, it's time for a new challenge at As You Like It and we have a lovely theme for you...

YOUR FAVOURITE...FLOWER
...and don't forget to tell us why it's your favourite!

Very appropriately given our theme, our sponsor this time is Wild Orchid Crafts with a £12 voucher

My favourite flower might be a little predictable but it's roses, even more from a card-making sense than IRL!
I love the way roses can be used on both modern and vintage style designs and of course, I love to use 3D roses on my creations, but I have them on the image and papers here too!

It's quite a 'classic Kat' kind of card but I did do a couple of tiny things differently to usual.

The biggest difference is the use of Inktense pencils to colour the image rather than my Copics, and I have to say I am loving these more and more.

I feel happy that I have now figured out how to get a nice flicking effect on the hair which I think adds a lot of texture.

I used a darker Distress Ink to edge my papers and image to give more of an 'antique' feel, so this is Gathered Twigs instead of my favourite Frayed Burlap.

I also didn't take the twine across the entire card...ok, that's a VERY tiny difference - lol!

It's funny isn't it how we all have our favourite die cuts that get used a lot and some that don't...but just sometimes are perfect for a project.  That was the case with this corner die cut that I really like but don't use a lot as it often doesn't seem to suit the card...I hope you agree it found it's niche here!

I have still used my beloved Maja DP but this is some that I haven't used before even though it's from quite an old collection and I am loving the deep blue.

I hope you will pop over to As You Like It and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team :-)

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

Card recipe;

Image: Sweetie - Wee Stamps for Whimsy Stamps

DP: Vintage Autumn - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Filigree corner - La La Land

Inktense colours;
Skin: 1800 Baked Earth, 1520 Carmine Pink, 1740 Saddle Brown
Hair: 1740 Saddle Brown, 1730 Oak, 2010 Sepia Ink
Dress / flowers: 0830 Navy Blue, 0840 Iron Blue
Leaves: 1540 Light Olive

Baking apron

Hello lovely people,

It's Creative Inspirations challenge time and we have the theme...

SHAPE IT UP!
(NO SQUARE CARDS ALLOWED!)

Our fabulous sponsor for this challenge is Live and Love Crafts with a £10 voucher

I have made a couple of apron shaped cards before and I really don't know why I don't make more of them because I always love the way they look and you can do quite a few themes with them.

As you can see, this one has a hint of a baking theme but is mostly just pretty and flowery!

I used oval dies to create the apron shaped base card and the matching shaped piece of DP to cover the front.

I loved choosing the embellishments for this card and although I have used real lace for previous designs, the Kraft borders make a really good alternative. 

The teeny rolling pin is my favourite bit of the card and is the perfect size to wrap a sentiment banner round :-)

Card recipe;

DP: Coffee in the arbour - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Old Swedish lace & Tea label tags - Magnolia Doohickeys, Numbers - Tonic Studios, Alphabet soup - Memory Box, A nice cuppa die set - Stampin' Up
Rolling pin - Miniature rolling pins - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted
Ribbon: from stash

The DT have made some wonderful samples to inspire you so pop over to Creative Inspirations to take a look :-)

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

Cake and bunting

Hello lovely people,

Important date alert...Midday on 28th January is the launch of the new trio stamps from LOTV.
They are so gorgeous I would not be surprised if they sell out super fast so make sure to get your hands on them quick!
Just to get you excited, I have another sneak peek for you of one of the images from the Time for Tea trio....mmmmm, yummy cake :-)

I had a heap of pretty papers out on my desk as I started planning this card, and I only ended up using a tiny piece of 1 paper!  Not like me at all but I had a flash of inspiration and ended up with this CAS design, which is also a nifty way to use up a scrap of DP :-)

All the trio images are fab and really versatile but I will always have a soft spot for anything with cake and bunting on it...two of my favourite things!

Card recipe;

Image: Time for tea - LOTV

DP: Pastel Dreams (retired) - LOTV

Dies: MFT Die-namics circle stax

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted

Copic colours;
Cupcake case / hearts: R81/83
Cupcake frosting: RV0000/000/R81
Cherry and decorations: R85
Bunting: BG53/57 & R81/83
Plate: B000/BG53
Sky: B0000/000
Table: W00/0/1

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

Mistletoe kisses

Hello lovely people,

That's another couple of study days at Bath completed so my next challenge is to complete my Christmas cards! 

While I am drowning in Christmas images and glitter it's time for a new challenge at As You Like It and our theme is...

YOUR FAVOURITE...traditional or non-traditional Christmas colours
...and don't forget to tell us why it's your favourite!

We are sponsored by Crafty Ribbons for this challenge

I often favour non-traditional colours (well, you know how much I love pink!) but this year I found some really lovely papers in reds/greens/creams so it's traditional all the way for me!

How adorable are this couple?!
A great image for a first Christmas as Mr & Mrs.

I think these colours look especially lovely teamed with Kraft card for a really cosy feel and I am glad I bought a few more red roses in my last flower order!

Card recipe;

Image: Happy Kissmas - LOTV

DP: Glad Tidings - Dovecraft

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Natural button twine - The Ribbon Girl
Dies: Tilda lace - Magnolia Doohickeys, Holly vine - Memory Box

Sentiment: generated on computer (font - Parisienne)

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair (girl): E51/55/57
Hair (boy): E55/57/59
All red bits: R27/29/46/59
All green bits: YG93/95/97
Shirt: W00/1/3
Trousers: E41/42/43/44
Shoes: E43/44/47
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

I hope you are all feeling festive and ready for the big day...not long to go now!

Do pop over to As You Like It and check out the gorgeous Christmas projects from the rest of the team :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;

Christmas angel

Hello lovely people,

It's December!  I have no decorations up, a grand total of 18 Christmas cards made and 2 presents bought - eek!
Ok, that last one is not really a problem as this year we decided not to do Christmas presents other than a small token gift if desired and that could be handmade.

Today, I am sharing one of the few Christmas cards that I have made and I have used lots of lovely LOTV products.

I recently got some larger size circle dies and knew they would pair well with my favourite fancy shaped base.



I think this little cutie is now discontinued...so sad as she is beautiful and really lovely to colour...I do love rich red against Kraft.

I kept the flower detail sweet and simple to complement the design.  I had a little restock of 'essentials' from Wild Orchid Crafts last week and popped a few new items in my basket too...the teeny little white flowers on here are my new favourites :-)

Card recipe;

Image: LOTV (discontinued)

DP: Krafty Christmas - LOTV

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Natural button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Family sentiment tags - LOTV

Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Lace: Sylvie Chantilly cotton lace - Crafty Ribbons

Dies: Circle layering die set - Tonic Studios, Large frilly frames #10 - Go Kreate

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: ??? (probably E51/55/57)
Cape / headband: R27/29/46/59
Wings / dress / candle holder / ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4
Candle: YR30/31/Y35/YR18
Stars: YR33/Y35

I know some of you will already have seen this on facebook but I am over the moon that I passed part 1 (of 3) of my prescribing course :-D
Now for part 2!

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

CAS flowers on Kraft

Hello lovely people,

I have a pair of cards to share with you today that I made a few months back when I was having a play with some new Clearly Besotted stamps.

I thought these stamps would be perfect for cute CAS designs, which I would really like to do more of as a change to my more fussy stamped and layered cards.

I have always loved the look of colouring on Kraft especially with white embossed lines.  It can be tricky to choose colours that work well as lighter colours just look a bit muddy on Kraft, so the first one I did was a nice hot pink...are you shocked?!

I decided these would make perfect birthday cards for a couple of wonderful blogland friends so I did another one in blue...to better suit the recipient!

I also made the blue one up slightly differently with a white border and think they both look good.

To get the flower stems all lined up at the bottom, I just masked off the bottom of the Kraft card with some scrap paper.  TOP TIP: Do not do this with a Post-it note if you are going to emboss...the powder will get stuck to where the note was...Doh!

When it came to stamping the sentiment, I just moved the scrap paper down a little and used that as a guide to placement.

Card recipe;

Image: Scribbled flowers - Clearly Besotted
Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Beostted

Embossing powder - Opaque bright white - Wow! - from Clearly Besotted
Pearls - The Hobby House

Copic colours;
RV17/34/69
B04/06/37

I can hardly believe what a long post that was for such CAS cards!
I think a lot of us crafters find that CAS designs take a lot longer than you think because the placement of the elements has to be just right, and also there is no room to hide any mistakes so everything has to be done really carefully!

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

Challenges I am entering;
Papertake Weekly (embossing)

Krafty Mr Snowman

Hello lovely people,

It's a bank holiday weekend here in the UK so I am making the most of it!
I was once again sampling some tasty beers at a beer festival yesterday and the weather was pretty good for it; fairly warm and no rain - hurrah!
I started today with a lovely cooked breakfast, which powered me through cleaning the bathroom, and then I've been doing some colouring.

Speaking of colouring, I do have a card for you and today I'm showcasing some LOTV products as part of the Design Collective.  I'm still on a roll with my Christmas cards so here's number 3...

I added die cut snowflakes under the ribbon to create a border effect.

I liked this design so much that I did another version with a few little twists, using different DP, twine instead of ribbon and a different tag sentiment.

Version 2.0 also has a little line of Stickles on the snow and since it looked good, I went back and added it to the first one after the photos were taken!

Do you have a favourite?  I still can't decide which I like best!

Either way I can say for sure that I love this cute snowman and he is sure to feature on a few more Christmas cards this year!

Card recipe;

Image: Mr Snowman - LOTV

DP: Krafty Christmas - LOTV

Red/white twine: Baker's Divine twine in cherry red - The Ribbon Girl
Ribbon: from Hobbycrafts
Plain twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tags: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: Small snowflake die set - Impression Obsession

Copic colours;
Snowman: W00/0/1/3
Hat: W6/7/9/110
Branches: E43/44/47
Nose: YR16/18
Red: R27/46/39/59
Light teal: BG45/49
Dark teal:BG09/B99

I'm back off to my craft room for a bit, then a roast dinner later and maybe watching a film :-)
I hope you are all enjoying the weekend whatever you are up to!

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

Challenges I am entering;

A Gem of a Challenge (do you wanna build a snowman?)
Addicted to Stamps (die cuts)

Fairy tags

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this time is...

STARRY, STARRY...PINK!

So just pop some stars on your project and of course, make sure you use more pink than any other colour :-)

We are sponsored this time by Live and Love Crafts with a £10 voucher.

I decided to make some tags for a change and although I do have some tag dies, I wanted a slightly wider tag shape for this design so I cut them by hand.

The stars are all 2 die cuts layered together for a little extra dimension and to make sure the colour co-ordinated perfectly I cut them from white card and coloured them with my Copics.

The sentiment strips have 2 foam pads in the middle to pop them up a teeny bit.

The adorable fairies are from a clear stamp set from Lili of the Valley; I have used just 3 of the fairies but there are loads more in the set plus a cupcake and tiny stars.

Each fairy has sparkly wings and a sparkly star wand; I'm loving my Glamour Dust at the moment!

Here's tag #1...

And #2...

And of course, #3...

Card recipe;

Image: Little fairies - LOTV

DP: Country meadow - LOTV

Twine: Cotton candy pink Divine baker's twine - The Ribbon Girl

Seam binding: White seam binding - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: circle - MFT Die-namics circle STAX, scalloped circle - Spellbinders Nestabilities, Cosmic star set - Memory Box

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted
Sparkle: crystal glamour dust

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E21/25/29
Pink: R81/83/85
Yellow: YR20/21/23

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

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

Challenges I am entering;

Beer!

Hello lovely people,

I am now back in the UK after my fantastic skiing trip; we were really lucky to have good snow, mostly good weather and no major injuries!

I took a break from all my pretty embellies to create this CAS card for my sister-in-law's husband; I'm pretty sure this is more up his street than flowers and lace!

There's no escaping the stitching though!

I spent a while looking at images of bottles and working out how to colour it to look realistic and shiny and am really quite pleased with how it came out.

And yes, the recipient is a fan of real ale!

Card recipe;

Image: Birdbrain brew - From the heart digital stamps
Er, yup, that's it!

Copic colours;
Bottle: YR27/E17/19/39/29
Foam: YR30/31
Label (green bits): G24/28/29
Label (red bits): R27/46/39
Label (cream bit): YR30/31
Birds: YR30/31/23/24/E35
Bird tummies: YR30/31 & YR24/27 for spots
Bird eyelids: YR24/27
Bird eyes: B0000/000/blender

Pretzel: YR27/E17/19
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4/5

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend; I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow!

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

Challenges I am entering;

1.  A Gem of a Challenge (CAS)
2.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)
3.  Papertake Weekly (Take your pick - I used Kraft)