Hello 2018!

Hello lovely people,

So, it's that time again...to make New Year's Resolutions, right?!

Nope, I really don't need to make resolutions that I will break or resent, so as we all embark on our journey through 2018 I am just aiming to be happy, do lots of what I love (crafting of course!) and spend time with friends and family :-)

One thing I definitely love is all the fun I get to have as part of the Design Team for Lili of the Valley and I'm happy to tell you that the first release of the year will be here soon!

There are some fab new Oliver and Jasmine images, and seeing as I often go for the girly images, I thought I'd change it up this time so here's Oliver...!

Well, I think Oliver is looking very stylish here, in fact I think this image is sooooo bang on trend and would suit many a teenage lad!

The teenage boy sentiments also from LOTV are the perfect partner for the new Oliver images.

I've added a few Nuvo drops and I think I may be starting a new love affair with them as they are so perfect for adding a little touch of detail...as long as I can decide where to put them - lol!

I'll be sharing more of the new images over the next week or so, and do check out what the rest of the DT and Collective have been making too!

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

Lovely things I've used;

Oliver Cool - LOTV (coming soon!)
Teenage boy sentiments - LOTV
Beachside 6x6 paper pad - Lawn Fawn
A2 Stitched rectangles set 2 - My Favorite Things
Nuvo crystal drops in Caribbean ocean (gloss)

Copic colours;
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Hair: E53, E35, E59
Jeans: B93, B95, B97
Jacket: W3, W4, W5, W6
Orange details: YR14, YR16, YR07
Glasses: W5, W6, W7 & B0000, B000
Shoes: W00, W0, W1
Ground: W00, W0, W1, W2, W3

Coffee boy

Hello lovely people,

I have had a short working week as I had Monday/Tuesday off to catch up on my crafty projects, and am now enjoying a relaxing weekend at my parents' house.
I attended a great workshop on Saturday with my Mum and my fab crafty friend Debs, and we had a wonderful time getting inky and covered in glitter!
We walked to a brilliant local firework display in the evening and have been indulging in lots of gorgeous home-cooked food courtesy of my Mum; the white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry puree was a real highlight :-)

While we are sat relaxing with a coffee I thought I'd share the card I made for my brother's birthday.  He loves coffee just like me so I had a great reason to use my fab Greeting Farm stamp set again.  Last time I used it the end result was rather more girly as you can see here.

I coloured this with my Inktense pencils and am delighted that I have now figured out how to add finer details like the shadows that the hair casts on the face and clothing folds.

Since I was doing a masculine card I raided my stash of corrugated card again...I love this stuff!  I am pleased to report that I managed to buy some corrugated card and whilst it's not quite as distressed as this lovely recycled packaging, the colour is perfect and I guess I can have fun distressing it myself!

I hope you are all having super weekends whatever you are getting up to.

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

Card recipe;

Image: Mini-remix brewtiful - The Greeting Farm

DP: Accomplished - Authentique

Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl
Faux hessian - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: Happy circular sentiments - LOTV

Dies: Cosmic star set - Memory Box

Inktense colours;
Skin: Baked Earth, Madder Brown, Saddle Brown
Hair: Oak, Bark, Ink Black
Jumper: Deep Indigo
Trousers: Oak
Shoes: Ink Black
Coffee cup: Oak, Iron Green

Gamer Andy

Hello lovely people,

Today I have another commissioned card to share with you and this one was for a little boy who loves playing computer games.

I have to admit that stars are my 'go to' for adding detail to boys cards but in this case they worked especially well to match the stars on the DP.

I had a few images in mind for this card but this one was the winner and oh my gosh, isn't he adorable?!

Card recipe;

Image: Polka dot pals Andy - Little Miss Muffet Stamps

DP: Home for the Holidays - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: Teenage boy sentiments - LOTV

Dies: Cosmic star set & Precious stars - Memory Box
Paperclip: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E53/57/59
T-shirt / stars / socks: R27/46/39
Pyjama bottoms / T-shirt circle: B23/26/29
Lightning bolt: Y23/35/YR23
Game controller: W1/3/4 & W7/G07/B24 for buttons and W00/1 for joystick
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

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

Which way now?

Hello lovely people,

Tonight I have a very quick little post for you with a CAS card I made for my nephew.

I used a freebie alphabet stamp set to add his name to a blank tag - the font matches the LOTV tag sentiments perfectly!

It seems like ages since I coloured a Saturated Canary image and this is the first time I have coloured this little guy up; I think he was a freebie at some point.

Card recipe;

Image: Saturated Canary but not available to buy

DP: Country gent - LOTV

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: Natural button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04
Hair: E41/3/7
Eyes: B0000/000 & B91/93
Hat / trousers: B91/3/5/7
Patch / pencil / arrow: YG63/67
T-shirt: R27/46/39
Bag: E55/57/59
Map: E40/41/42
Shoes: W00/0/1/2/3/4/6
Ground: E40/41/42/43/44

That's it from me and I'm off to do the ironing :-(

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

Football fever

Hello lovely people,

It seems I've been away from blogging for a while again; this time was for the very good reason of being on holiday!  I was in Devon but the cottage we were staying in had no WiFi and there was no 3G connection to be had anywhere we went so I was a bit cut off.  On the plus side we had amazing sunshine all week and a wonderfully relaxing time :-D

So now of course it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme is...

KIDS!

We are sponsored by 2cuteink and the prize is 2 images of the winners choice :-)

I have used another of my collection of LOTV stamps that haven't seen ink and since I needed to make a football card for a little boy, well, how could I not use him?!
My stash is always overflowing with pretty girly DP and there never seems to be much in there for the boys so I grabbed a pad of this quite old collection of Maja DP recently with boys cards in mind... it works a treat!

I had a request for the footballer to be dressed in the new Forest Green Rovers kit... so, off to the internet to see what it looked like and surprise surprise... it's green!  In fact it is VERY green!  I trawled through my Copic collection to try to get a good match and it's not perfect but I think it will do.

Card recipe;

Image: Super striker - LOTV

DP: Life in the Country - Maja Designs (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Sentiment: Happy Circular Sentiments - LOTV
Dies: memory box mini star set and Precious stars (minus bows!)
Letters: cut with Cricut

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: ???
Shirt/shorts: YG13/G14/YG17 & N8/9/100
Ball: N8/9/100 & N0/1
Boots: N7/8/9
Grass: YG61/63/G94/99

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the team plus a fabulous tutorial on all kinds of masking from Deneen :-)

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

 

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  Cute Card Thursday (too cute!)
2.  Sweet Stampin' (spots and stripes)
3.  Divas by Design (anything goes)

Cheeky monkey

Hello lovely people,

Woohoo, it's new release time at All Dressed Up and we have a fabulous selection of images for you.  Just take a look...

3 Little Summer Girls

Best Teacher Ever

Cheeky Monkey

Prom Princess

I've got a bit of a stationary theme going on with my card; I started with the paperclip... and then the brad seemed like the perfect way to add the tags... and then I wanted to attach the twine without wrapping it round the panel so out came the stapler!

I chose to use Cheeky Monkey to continue with my challenge to myself to make more masculine cards... and because he is super cute!

Card recipe;
Image: Cheeky Monkey - All Dressed Up
DP: By the sea - Maja Design
Tags: set 24 - Sentiment tags - LOTV
Twine: from The Ribbon Girl
Brad: from stash

Copic colours;
Body: E41/42/43 & E43/44/47 for tummy/nose
Inside ears: R000/00/01
Skateboard / hat: W3/R27/46/89 & B34/37 & W5/7/9 for wheels
Ground: W0/1/2/3/4

Do drop in at 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 'Bling it up' 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,

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Simon Says Stamp (Father's Day or masculine)
2.  Divas by Design (red, white and blue)

Button up!

Hello lovely people,

Yes, it is Thursday once again (where does the time go to?!) so we have another challenge for you at Crafty Little Fairies and our theme this time is...

BUTTON UP!

This week we are sponsored by the wonderful Whiff of Joy...

Prize - stamp of winner's choice

I am continuing with my attempt to do more male designs and my first choice for men/boys is always the fabulous LOTV.  I had the perfect paper pad to team with this image and used some twine to add a little texture and interest.

Aw, I just love this little chap with his HUGE boat, which was just crying out for some paper pieced sails to give a nice co-ordinated look.  Oh and yes, getting the twine stuck down how I wanted was proper fiddly but I do like the end result!

 Card recipe;

Image: Sailing Boat - LOTV
DP: By the sea - Maja Design
Sentiment: Happy Circular Sentiments (set 8) - LOTV

Buttons / twine: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E0000/50/000/51/21 & R30
Hair: E40/41/42/43
Shirt: B21/23/24
Trousers: B95/97/99
Shoes: E42/43/44/47
Boat: T0/1/2 & B95/97/99
Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

Head over to Crafty Little Fairies to check out the lovely creations from my teamies.  I have loads of buttons in my stash and bet you do too so I hope you will join in with our challenge :-)

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;
1.  That Craft Place (buttons)

Dinosaur onesie

Hello lovely people,

I'm back again with a card for another one of my nephews whose birthday is in a week or so.  When he stayed over at ours recently he was sporting a rather fetching dinosaur onesie so when I saw this Tiddly Inks image I knew what I had to do!
The layout is super simple with the text printed on my computer.  I love this font; it was a free one called Skinny Latte if anyone wants to know!

I had great fun using a 'dotting' technique to get a scaly texture on the outfit.  As I was uploading these pics I realised that I hadn't given him any ground to stand on...oops!

Card recipe;

Image: King of the Wild Ones - Tiddly Inks

DP: Dottie card set 1 - Anna Marie Designs

Copic colours;

Dino onesie: YG91/93/95/97/99

Spikes / blob on stick: R08/46/59 & E35

Claws: W1/3/5

Hair: E50/53/35

Crown: YR21/23/24

Stick: E35/37/47

I hope you have had a wonderful sunny weekend; I got about half of the garden tidied up, planted some spring garlic and sowed my tomato and chilli seeds - exciting!

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Challenges I am entering;

1.  Tiddly Inks (use green)

Buttons!

Hello lovely people,

I hope you are having a lovely weekend and have had good weather; the sun has been shining here all day :-D  After a few busy weekends, I am enjoying a nice quiet weekend at home, just pottering in the garden and my craft room.

Right now though we have a new challenge starting at All Dressed Up and our theme for this is...

BUTTONS

Here is the card I made which is for my littlest nephew's birthday, can you guess how old he'll be?  

I have used the adorable 'Daddy's Little Helper' as he looks so much like my cheeky nephew!

Card recipe;

Image: Daddy's Little Helper - ADU

DP: Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Designs

Tags: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Buttons: from stash

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/11 & R30

Hat / patch / dog's neckerchief: YG61/63/67/G94

Trousers / patch: B91/93/95/97

T-shirt: T0/2/blender

Boots: T3/5/7/9/100

Spade: E35/37/47 & T0/2/4 & E50/51/YR21

Dog: E57/47/49 & E34/35/37

Bird: E31/33/35 & YR21

Snail: E31/YR21/23/24 & YR0000/T0/2

Bucket: T0/2/4

Worm: YR0000/000/00/01

Carrot: YR16/18

Ground / dirt in  bucket: E40/41/42/43

This challenge will run until 1st April and don't forget you MUST use an All Dressed Up image or paper to qualify for a chance to win 3 images of your choice :-)

If you pop over to All Dressed Up you can check out all the fabulous creations from my teamies who will show you lots of gorgeous ways to use buttons!

Oh and don't forget to stop by our Facebook Group to keep up to date with all the latest All Dressed Up news and chat to fellow crafters. 

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

Hugs,

Kat xx

Back to school

Hello lovely people,

I hope you all had a lovely bank holiday weekend.  Mine consisted of a beer festival on Saturday, recovering/working (yes, really!) on Sunday and then a long walk with Dr Hubby on Monday so pretty perfect apart from the working bit.

Today I have taken a mini break from DT work to create a card for a couple of challenges and I used the current sketch from Papertake Weekly;

This was a lovely versatile sketch, which I have rotated 90 degrees to the right and angled some of the panels.  This card seemed to demand a clean layout... just snuck in a little bit of stitching and some twine!  I punched the notebook edge with my Bind-it-all and ripped the holes a little.

I don't have any kids to send back to school but I just had to colour up this gorgeously cute little chap :-)

Card recipe;

Image: Genius from Tiddly Inks

DP: Fancy Pants - Park Bench

Twine: from The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/000/00/51

Hair: E41/42/43/44

T shirt / shoes: BG10/11/13

Bag / shoes: W1-6

Ground: E40/41/42/42

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges;
1.  Papertake Weekly (sketch #82)
2.  Tiddly Inks (back to school)
3.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

Thanks for visiting and please do say hello if you have time :-)

Hugs,
Kat xx