Special delivery

Hello lovely people,

Wow, it got cold!  Really really cold!  That's not a complaint though, and the thick frost was soooo beautiful when I went out for a little walk yesterday.  I think my heating stayed on all day though - lol!

And I stayed tucked up in my craft room :-)

It seems like I haven't done that much colouring lately, maybe because I am focusing on quicker makes for Christmas and maybe because I've had some new stash that has pushed me towards other techniques/styles such as die cutting and chipboard shapes.

Whatever the reason, I think I need to get back to more colouring so on that note I have a card with colouring to share today!

I made this a few weeks ago for a commission and I think baby girl cards might just be my fave type of cards to make...well, there's so much cuteness and pink you can add!

I just realised that this image is no longer available from LOTV (not even in digi format), which is very sad because it's such a gorgeous one.

Since I have this as a rubber stamp and was using such pale papers, I opted to colour it with Inktense pencils and was especially please with my first attempt to colour a cardboard box with them!

Once the colouring and basic layout was done it was on to my favourite bit of the creative process...flower arranging!  It's also probably one of the bits that takes me the longest because the flowers all have to be just right and I'm such a stickler for co-ordination!

I hope everyone's week is going well and if not, sending hugs your way.

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

Card recipe;

Image: discontinued (by LOTV)

DP: Vintage baby - Maja Design

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

Dies: Precious stars - Memory Box
Silver baby feet charm - The Ribbon Girl

Inktense colours;
Skin: Baked Earth, Carmine Pink, Madder Brown, Saddle Brown
Jumper / bear: Carmine Pink
Box: Tan, Saddle Brown, Oak
Label / ground: Indian Ink

My 'trademark' - can you guess?!

Hello lovely people,

It's half way through the week and so far I have completed a few tasks;
- I decluttered our en-suite cupboard and organised the remaining items into some new plastic bins; I LOVE to have new storage for things!
- I ordered a new side table for the lounge
- I updated my Folksy shop with some new cards

Other than that I may have got a little sidetracked by crafting - lol!

While I try to get a few more jobs done today, it's time for a new challenge for you at As You Like It and our theme is...

YOUR 'TRADEMARK' STYLE...
...i.e. what defines your style 
...and don't forget to tell us why!

Our sponsor this time is Digi Stamp Boutique with a £10 voucher

My trademark has to be stitching since it is on almost all of my cards, no matter what style.  I love the subtle detail it adds and the way it 'finishes' the edges.
I also find it very therapeutic as I do all of it by hand!

The card is for someone leaving to have a baby and since they don't know if it's a boy or girl I went for neutral colours.

I was excited to play with my new co-ordinating stamps and dies for this card and I wasn't sure if paying extra for the dies would be worth it but it totally is!

I wouldn't usually go to the bother of fussy cutting the elements, but the dies make it so easy, which means I can create a design like this one where I have raised up the babygros slightly on foam pads.

I am continuing my current love affair with Frantage, but I do like to be quite sparing with it to add just a hint of detail.

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 & sentiment: Little bundle stamps and co-ordinating dies - Lawn Fawn (from Dies to Die For)

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

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

Dies: Scallop circles - Tonic Studios, Circle stax - MFT Die-namics

Charm - Baby time charms and spacers - The Hobby House
Frantage shabby white embossing enamel

CAS babygro

Hello lovely people,

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

FOR A CHILD OR BABY
Don't forget we want to see more pink than any other colour!

Our fabulous sponsor this time is Little Miss Muffet Stamps with a £6 voucher

I enjoy making fussy & fancy cards but sometimes it's nice to do something a bit different so it's a super simple design from me today.

I used foam pads under the central circle and babygro but for the main white panel I added 2 extra squares of card with apertures underneath as it gives a neater and flatter finish than ton of foam pads!

Card recipe;

Babygro: cut with Cricut (Straight ffrom the nest cartridge)

DP & twine: from stash

Dies: circle stax - MFT Die-namics, Heart of hearts - Impression Obsession

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted

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,

Circular baby girl card

Hello lovely people,

I spent most of yesterday doing one of my favourite activities...shopping for crafty stash!
I went to The Paper Craft Show at the National Motorcycle Museum with my Mum and came home with lots of lovely new things to play with.  I'll share some pics and my thoughts on the show in another post.

My head is now buzzing with ideas for using my new stash so while I have a play, here's a new baby card I made using LOTV products for the image and tag.

I wanted to make use of my new-ish large circle dies and do a circular base shape, but did wonder how I would make it stand up straight!
I eventually settled on cutting the bottom of the back layer off to make sure it would stand up straight; what does anyone else do?

I paper pieced the onesie as this is a great way to get a perfect match to the DPs and I still added some shading for definition.  How cute is the teeny heart print for baby girl clothes?!

I haven't used my Cricut for ages, probably because it was on the floor due to lack of space on my desk.  It now has a space to sit on my new desk so I hope I will use it a bit more.  I think lettering is one of the most useful things I can do with it and that's what I used to personalise this card.

Card recipe;

Image: Rocking horse - LOTV

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Nesting circles - Tonic Studios, Circle stax - MFT Die-namics
Lettering: cut with Cricut (Lyrical letters cartridge)
Stars: from stash, painted with white acrylic paint

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Shading on babygro: RV91/93
Horse: W00/0/1/2/3 & W5/7/9 for mane
Rockers: E41/42/43/44
Bridle: RV91/93/95
Teddy: E40/41/42/43
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

I hope you all have great weekends whatever you may be getting up to...and haven't got too soggy with all this rain!

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

Rocking those baby shoes

Hello lovely people,

I feel like my head is buzzing at the moment with all the crafty ideas I want to try...and there's not enough time in the day for them all; I'm sure you all know that feeling!

I never really make New Years Resolutions but I hope in 2016 to try more non-card projects, share some tutorials with you all and maybe finish my colouring classes at Kit & Clowder?!

I would say I'd like to use up some of my stash but I'm trying to be realistic here!

I think I need to go and jot down some of the ideas in my head, so while I do that, it's time for a new challenge at In The Pink

Our theme this time is...

ANYTHING GOES!

Don't forget we want to see more pink than any other colour!

Our fabulous sponsor this time is The Ribbon Girl

with this fab prize bundle of gorgeous pinkness (contents may vary)

I definitely want to do more fancy fold designs in 2016 so I'm starting with a simple one.  This rocker card is just a circle folded in half - easy peasy!

A little tip for adding the scallop layer is to flatten the circular base out before sticking it in place and then you can be sure that it is nicely in the centre of your design.

As usual, I inked the edges of the DP but left the white details clean for a nice contrast.

If the lettering looks a teeny bit wonky, that's because it's only blu-tacked in place so that I could switch 'new baby' for a personalised name if desired.

And of course, I couldn't resist just a teeny bit of hand-stitching ;-)

Card recipe;

Image: Girls shoes (retired stamp) - LOTV

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

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Old Swedish Lace - Magnolia Doohickeys, Precious stars and Alphabet soup - Memory Box

Copic colours;
Shoes: R81/83/85 & W00/1

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.

Ooooh, and a last bit of exciting news...the lovely In The Pink hostess, Rizzo, has very kindly made me co-hostess :-)  Happy dance ongoing...

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

My favourite colour

Hello lovely people,

This is an exciting day for me as I was asked to join the wonderful ladies at As You Like It and of course I said yes immediately!

This is a challenge I have enjoyed playing along with many times so I am delighted to be part of the team now :-)

My first challenge with the DT has the theme of...

YOUR FAVOURITE SINGLE COLOUR

We are sponsored by Sweet Pea Stamps with a $20 voucher

If you know me at all you will know what my favourite colour is....
PINK of course!

Pink comes in so many lovely shades and just goes so well with the pretty, girly style of cards that I love to make.

It is also an essential for new baby girl cards!

I am totally in love with the Vintage baby papers from Maja Design and the little strips at the bottom of each sheet are so useful...you can see a bit of one I used here for the 'It's a Girl' banner.

I had been looking for some cute baby feet charms for a while and came across a fab selection pack of baby charms from The Hobby House; aren't these feet adorable?!

Card recipe;

Image: Congratulations sentiments - LOTV

DP: Vintage baby - Maja Designs (available from Live and Love Crafts)

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

Lace: Chantilly cotton lace (Jane) - Crafty Ribbons

Charm: Baby time mixed charm pack - The Hobby House

I hope you will pop over to As You Like It to check out the fabulous projects from the rest of the team and see what all our favourite colours are :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
Papertake Weekly (don't be a square)
Moving Along With The Times (baby baby)
Simon Says Stamp (get in shape)
Fab 'n' Funky (flower delights)

It's a boy!

Hello lovely people,

I'm back at work and still trying to wade through all the e-mails and jobs that built up while I was on holiday :-(

On a much more pleasant note, it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

NAME THAT TUNE
Don't forget to tell us which song has inspired you!

We are sponsored by Stamp and Create with a fabulous prize of a $20 gift certificate :-)

The song that inspired my creation is Babe by Take That as I was a HUGE fan in my teens...and then again when I was a bit older when they re-formed!

Soooooo..it's a new baby card!

I grabbed this cute stamp in my last LOTV splurge...it was quite a big splurge so I have a few more new ones to use yet!
I always seem to be asked for lots of new baby cards though, so it was a good buy.

I love that the Maja Design papers have little strips at the bottom and I have popped a few foam pads under the middle of it to add a little dimension.

Card recipe;

Image: Rocking horse - LOTV

DP: Vintage baby - Maja Designs (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: circle stax - MFT Die-namics

Letters: magazine freebie
Wooden star: from stash, painted with white acylic paint

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Babygro and bridle: B91/93/95/97
Horse: W00/0/1/2/3/4
Mane: W4/6/8
Teddy: E41/42/43
Rockers: E41/42/43/44
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team plus the most wonderful tutorial from Deneen on creating a mini album :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
Simon Says Stamp (fave technique/product = stamping and colouring with my Copics)
Moving Along With the Times (inspired by a song...as above!)
Craft your passion (anything goes)

New baby girl

Hello lovely people,

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

LUSCIOUS LACE

Although I love lace I don't actually use it all that often on my cards but it is the perfect addition to a new baby card, as are pretty flowers, swirls and a light sprinkling of Frantage.
Much as I love colouring, I also really love these big sentiment stamps from LOTV :-)

It's been a while since I did any arty shots of my cards but thought it might be nice to show the gorgeous flowers a little closer.  I have really become a big fan of these and the roses are my favourites :-)

I have also started adding charms to a few more of my cards and don't you think these teeny baby feet are adorable?!

I also added a simple little tag underneath the sentiment panel.  The letters were stamped and cut out individually; I didn't worry about them being perfect squares as I think it just adds to the shabby chic look!

Card recipe;

Image: Congratulations statements - LOTV

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Lace: Laila - The Ribbon Girl

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Dies: leaf and swirl - Magnolia Doohickey, mini heart collection - Memory box
Charm: feet charm - The Ribbon Girl
Frantage: Stampendous shabby white frantage from Live and Love Crafts

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 and from our guest designer :-)

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

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  A Creative Romance (pink)
2.  Divas by Design (anything goes)
3.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

Baby bunny

Hello lovely people,

Yes, it's that time again where we share some gorgeous new images with you at All Dressed Up and this time they are all themed for new babies and baby showers.  Just take a look at this bunch of cuteness...

A Star is Born

Future Little Crafter

My Baby Shower

Night Night Little One

And this time we also have some matching papers for you;

If anything there has caught your fancy then head over to the shop to check it out but first, here's what I made...

As usual I have added lots of stitching detail and used die cut swirls to frame the image - I really like how this turned out :-)
Here's a little angled shot so you can see the stepper layers...

Card recipe;
DP: Petal fresh - LOTV
Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Loopy edge: Martha Stewart edge punch
Dies: leaf and swirl - Magnolia Doohickey

Copic colours;
Fur: YR30/E41/42
Inside ears / feet: R0000/000/00
Flower: B41/91/93 & YR30/Y21

Do pop over to All Dressed Up to see what the rest of the Dressy Girls have created; they are all stunning! While you're there, check our our current 'Anything but a square' challenge and we'd love to see you join in for a chance of winning 3 images of your choice!

Don't forget to swing by our Facebook Group to share your creations and chat to fellow All Dressed Up lovers :-)

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

 

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  Divas by Design (anything goes)

2.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

3.  The Ribbon Girl (anything but square)

4.  Pile It On (stitching)

So special

Hello lovely people,

Happy New Year!  I was unlucky enough to have a stomach bug for the last few days of 2013 but in general it was a pretty good year.  I have lots of gorgeous new crafting goodies to play with - some from my lovely family and some that I couldn't resist getting for myself as a Christmas treat!  I hope you did too!

And now it's time for our first Crafty Little Fairies challenge of 2014 where we have the theme of...

STARTING OVER

So, we are thinking new baby, new home, new job or anything else new that you can think of!

Our fabulous sponsor this week is...

I sent this card to friends of ours who had their little girl very prematurely 3 months ago when she was finally able to go home from the Neonatal Unit just in time for Christmas :-)

This is from the recent release of gorgeous baby stamps from LOTV and I can see myself using it a lot!  I even pushed myself to do a faint blue background as I thought it might look odd without and I'm actually pretty happy with it.  It seems to have bleached out in the photo below though :-(

Card recipe;

Image: Balloon basket - LOTV

DP: Sofiero collection - Maja Designs

Ribbon / pink thread: from stash

Dies: Precious stars - Memory Box, Timeless rectangles (used as borders) - Spellbinders

Sentiments: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Frantage: Shabby White - Stampendous

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/21/11

Blanket: RV0000/000/81

Basket: E40/41/42/43

Ribbon: T0/1 & R85

Background: B0000/000/0

So, make it your first New Year's resolution to pop over to Crafty Little Fairies and see what the rest of the Fairies have created and I hope they inspire you to join in with the challenge.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2014 filled with lots of crafting!

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;

1.  Simon Says Stamp (something new)

2.  That Craft Place (anything goes)

3.  Totally Gorjuss (new)