Flower power

Hello lovely people,

Ooooops, I am rather late with this post so I'll get right into it...

Our new challenge at In The Pink is under way and our theme this time is...

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

Our fabulous sponsor this time is Bugaboo Stamps with a prize of 7 digi's of the winner's choice

This circular image drew me straight towards using my fave shaped base to set it off and I like the striking combo of pink and black but with some sparkle to keep it nice and girly!

This pretty silhouette image from Bugaboo would look great just as it comes but I decided to add a little extra pinkness!  I coloured the spheres and added sparkle over the top, and little pink Nuvo drops to the starburst centres.

I have been waiting for just the right project to use this gorgeous sparkly ribbon from The Ribbon Girl and this was definitely the one!

I made the tiny word stickers on my computer :-)

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

It's all about the crafting for me this weekend with a craft room day today and a trip to a craft show tomorrow - yay!

I hope you all have fabulus weekends whatever you are doing :-)

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

Card recipe;

Image: Dandelion butterflies - Bugaboo

DP: magazine freebie

Ribbon: 38mm pale pink sugar sprinkles sheer ribbon - The Ribbon Girl

Twine: Cotton candy pink Bakers Divine Twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Large frilly frames #10 - Go Kreate, Circle STAX - MFT Die-namics, Tiny butterfly set - Impression Obsession

Nuvo crystal drops in Gloss Carnation Pink - Tonic Studios

Nuvo glitter drops in White Blizzard - Tonic Studios

Copic colours;

Spheres: R81

Dreaming of Summer

Hello lovely people,

I have my family visiting today and am planning to have a pretty chilled out day just catching up and eating cake :-)

It's Creative Inspirations challenge time and this week we are playing Bingo, so you just need to choose any 3 items in a line (horizontal/vertical/diagonal) to include on your project.

We are sponsored this week by All Dressed Up with a prize of 2 digi images of the winner's choice

I have chosen the 'button/twine/white' line and just in case the white space around my image wasn't sufficient to count, I also added white dots around my image...which I think turned out really prettily so I must do this more often!

You know I like a bit of a hair challenge and this certainly fitted that category!

This image is 'Dreaming of Summer' hence the post title and I think we can all relate to this...roll on Summer please!

Card recipe;

Image: Dreaming of Summer - All Dressed Up

DP: Yours truly - Pebbles

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: mini stamp set - Kaisercraft
Button: from stash
White dots: Gloss white crystal drops - Nuvo drops by Tonic Studios

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04
Hair: E53/57/59
Dress: R21/32/35
Butterflies: R81/83 & BG53/57
Leaves: G24/28

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,

It's Summer!

Hello lovely people,

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my happy news from my last post; it's so lovely to be able to share it with you and to have your support :-)

My first aim when I got back from holibobs was to do some crafting but the gorgeous sunshine put paid to that plan, in the best possible way!

Instead I have been tidying the jungle where my garden used to be - lol!

I did eventually do a little crafting yesterday evening because it is Creative Inspirations challenge time and our theme is...
SPRING INTO SUMMER
So we want to see any creations with a Spring or Summer feel

Our sponsor for this challenge is My Mum's Craft Shop

I'm continuing to challenge myself to try new styles so I was having a play with this pretty flower stem die and discovered some freebie papers on my desk that provided the perfect backdrop for them; isn't it great when that happens?!

 I love how striking the black borders and die cuts look against the white card and pretty DP :-)

The sentiment stamp is an ordinary straight line stamp but it's really easy to curve it as you stick it down on the acrylic block and I used the edge of the circle die as a guide to make sure it follows the curve of the aperture.

Card recipe;

Dies: Circle stax - MFT Die-namics, Tall Chloe stem - Memory Box, Butterfly dies set - Impression Obsession

DP: freebie with magazine

Sentiment: from Wire roses set - Woodware

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,

Butterfly wishes

Hello lovely people,

My holibobs is in full swing and I'll share some pics soon but for now I just wanted to stop by and share a card.

For ages I have been wanting to try out some card designs using just die cutting and large sentiment stamps and I finally did it!

I didn't even use any DP, just white card and aqua pearl card with a little embossing and some pearls to add some more texture and detail.

I got to use lots of my favourite dies especially the pretty butterflies and of course, I had to sneak in a little stitching too!

Card recipe;

Sentiment panel: cut with Cricut (Lacy labels cartridge)
Dies:Trellis square base die set - Tonic Studios, Leavenworth butterfly trio - Memory Box, Leaf and swirl - Magnolia Doohickeys
Embossing folder: Flowers - Crafts Too!

Sentiment: Wonderful day - Inkylicious
Pearls: from stash

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

That's a lot of hair

Hello lovely people,

A big thank you for the lovely comments on my last blog post and it's nice to know people are interested in what I'm up to!

A few people commented on how tidy my crafting space was, so let me tell you that it only looks like that when I have just finished a project and tidied everything away ready to start the next one.  When work is in progress the desk is barely visible because I like to surround myself with all the bits and pieces I might use!

Today I do have a card to share with you, and it's a 'just for fun' card because I really wanted to use this fab image and yes, it's *those* papers again...I love these so much!

I thought I'd do a bit of hair colouring practice...ha ha, I'm not one to go for the easy option...
...several hours later I was pretty chuffed with the results :-)

Even if I did accidentally colour bits that weren't actually hair on the left hand side - ooops!  It looks ok, so I'm not too worried.

I didn't feel like 3D flowers would really work on this design so I had a dig around in my box of dies and found these cute cloud dies which I hadn't used yet, and then the word die which just looked so sweet layered on top - ahhhh, so nice when it all comes together :-)

Card recipe;

Image: Chasing Nova - Make it Crafty

DP: Summer crush - Maja Designs (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Dies: Hellow words - Paper Smooches, Puffy clouds - Memory Box, Old Swedish lace - Magnolia Doohickeys

Ribbon: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E53/57/59
Dress: B52/BG72/75 & B0000/000/52
Butterflies: R20/32/22 & W10
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3

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

Challenges I am entering;
Papertake Weekly (animal magic - mine are butterflies)
The Ribbon Girl (anything goes with an image)

A present for you

Hello lovely people,

I have scheduled this to post while I am at friends; we are planning a nice long walk and then we will be busy making their Save the Date cards for their wedding next year :-)
We are also having a BBQ...I hope the weather is kind to us!

I'm sharing another card for the LOTV Design Collective and first off I have to say that the image is now retired so I'm sorry if I'm tempting you with something you can't have :-(

This was actually going to be a CAS design but then the layers crept in, so it's not really any more...although I did avoid the temptation to add a load of flowers!

I've covered the ribbon and the butterflies with Wink of Stella and I think you can see some of it in the close up!
I also cut out and layered up the butterflies for a little bit of dimension.

I thought I'd keep with the butterfly theme and use my new memory Box butterfly dies - they do have little bodies as well but I actually really like them without!

Card recipe;

Image: retired stamp - LOTV

DP: Pastel dreams (Nitwit collections) - LOTV

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: tea label tags and old Swedish lace - Magnolia Doohickeys, Leavenworth & Cascadia butterfly trios - Memory Box

Sentiment: from Happy bear stamp set - LOTV

Copic colours;
Bunny: E40/41/42/43
Present / butterflies: BG10/11/32 & BG15/18 for spots
Ribbon / butterflies: R81/83/85

Grass: YG61/63/G94
Wink of Stella (clear) on ribbon and butterflies

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

Challenges I am entering;

Spring colours

Hello lovely people,

It's been a lovely weekend and I was even in my shorts for a walk in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon!

Now I have some fab news to share...

I was delighted to be picked as guest designer for Bunny Zoe's Crafts Challenge and this month the theme is...

SPRING COLOURS

To me this means fresh green and pretty soft pastels, and you know, I think Spring is really here now :-)

I have been admiring the Whimsy stamps Sylvia Zet images for quite a while now so I chose one to use for this card and I think it's safe to say I have a new stamp addiction!

Heres' another peek at the pretties I popped on here...yes, it's those butterflies again!

Card recipe;

Image: Dyanne - Whimsy stamps (from Bunny Zoe's Crafts but currently unavailable)

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: heart flower lace - Magnolia Doohickey

Sentiment: clear mini sentiments - Kaisercraft
Charm: small butterfly charm - The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E41/43/47
Dress / hairband / shoes: BV00/02/04 & R81/83/85
Wings / flowers / socks: BV0000/000/00/01 & RV0000/000/R81/83
Flower stems: YG61/63/67
Ground: YG61/63/67/G99

I wish you all some Spring sunshine and hope you have a great week!

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

A country bike ride

Hello lovely people,

Oh, I did miss my little craft room while I was away and it was lovely to be back in there colouring and creating on Sunday while Dr. Hubby played on the PS4 :-)

I hope you all had lovely weekends too!

And now it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday where our theme is...

USE AN ACTION IMAGE

We are sponsored by Zlatoena's Design with a prize of 2 digi images of the winner's choice

I was over the moon to finally get my hands on the Go Kreate die shapes that I have wanted for about 2 years so they had no sooner hit my doormat than they were out on my craft table and being put to good use!

Now, I have lost count of how many times I have said this recently but this is the first outing for this cute stamp which I have had for many months!

I was all ready to add some pretty flowers to this card but to be honest they didn't really work; the outer die shape is not actually that big and the image is a fairly large one, so flowers would just have made the card look too crowded.

So, I just settled on adding some teeny butterflies instead.

Card recipe;

Image: Annabel pedal power - LOTV

DP: Life in the country - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)
Lace: from stash (find similar at The Ribbon Girl)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: For you circular sentiments - LOTV
Dies: butterfly die set - Impression Obsession

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E21/25/29
Dungarees / bows: R27/46/39
Jumper / shoes: YG61/63/67
Dog: E42/43/44 & E40/41
Light grey bits of bike: W0/2/4
Dark grey bits of bike: W5/6/7
Tyre: W6/7/10
Basket: E40/41/42
Puddle: BG70/72

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team and there are some great tips for you too :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Winter Wonderland (tie a bow)
2.  The Pink Elephant (girly girl)
3.  Deep Ocean (our furry friends)

Dreaming of summer

Hello lovely people,

Time has flown by yet again and it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday.  This time our theme is...

FAVOURITE COLOUR COMBO

We are sponsored by
The East Wind

with a prize of 3 digital images of the winner's choice

So, what's my fave colour combo?

Pink, of course!

Ok, I know that's just one colour, not a combo!  I have a few colours I like to team up with pink but at the moment I am really loving pink and blue.

And you can tell how sick I am of cold winter weather as I have gone for as summery an image and card as possible!

I had the idea to pop the fence die cut up on foam pads to add some dimension and it worked so beautifully; I do love it when a plan comes together :-)

I brushed some Wink of Stella over all the flowers but can you see it in the photos?  Nope!

Card recipe;

Image: Pink lemonade Tilda

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: leaf and swirl, and lovely fence - Magnolia Doohickey, mini butterfly set - Impression Obsession

Circular sentiment: For you circular sentiments - LOTV

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E55/57/59
Top / glasses / trousers: R81/83/85
Trousers: E40/41/42/43
Shoes / bow / straw: B0000/000/41
Drink: YR30/31 & T0/1/2
Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team and there are some great tips for you too :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
1.  As You Like It (matt or shiny? - matt all the way for me because it gives a 'softer' look to my cards, even the Wink of Stella is a really soft subtle sparkle!)
2.  Fussy and Fancy (things with wings - butterflies)
3.  Winter Wonderland (lots of layers)
4.  Simply Magnolia (anything goes)

Explosion of pink

Hello lovely people,

Before I get on to business I want to say sorry for not being around much lately and not visiting all your fabby blogs as much as I would like.  I'm having a bit of a busy period and will be round to see you all soon :-)
Thanks also to all my wonderful new followers and I'm so happy to have you here!

Ok, the main reason I'm here is, of course, that it's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this month is...

BUTTONS AND BOWS

A little while ago I made an explosion box card for someone in work and another colleague saw it and promptly comissioned TWO of them for her daughters' birthdays.  So, here is the first one.  To be honest I think it will be a bit unappreciated by a 2 year old but hopefully the adults will like it!

As with the previous one, the butterflies are 'floating' on acetate strips around the little fairy.  You can see that a little better in the close up here...

I'm sure you're eager to see this super cute fairy close up so here she is...

In case you're also eager to see the 'construction work' then here's a shot to show the inside with the 2 struts that I attached everything to...

Card recipe;

Image: Wryn - Fairy Friends - Tiddly Inks

DP: American Crafts

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Scalloped edge: Martha Stewart double dot edge punch

Grass / butterflies: cut with Cricut

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E21/25/29
Dress / shoes: V20/22/25
Flowers / dress frill: R30/R21/R32/R22
Mushroom: E40/41/42 & E42/43/44

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 don't forget to give a warm welcome to our two new Pink Ladies :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;

1.  A Gem of a Challenge (It's summer time)

Scrap n' Art with All Dressed Up

Hello lovely people,

Thank you for stopping by and I have a very special project to share today as one of my cards has been published in the latest issue of the Scrap n' Art online magazine.

Scrap n' Art is an electronic magazine packed with articles, tutorials and inspiration all the paper crafter and has a reader base of over 20,000.

Wendy Burns and three brand new, exclusive All Dressed Up images are being featured in the current issue plus several of the design team have submitted projects.

The three exclusive digis are:

Love My Teddy

Princess for a Day

Too Good to Eat

These three digital images are currently available only by subscribing to Scrap n' Art.  Your subscription entitles you to a monthly magazine for $24/year or you can try it for $5 for one month and you can access tutorials, inspiration, editorials and downloads.

For my card, I used another cute image currently available in the All Dressed Up Etsy store called Little Flower Girl.  I went for a taste of summer with this design, choosing bright colours and florals.

I just LOVE this little lady's gorgeous huge sun hat although it was a little bit of a challenge to colour!  I cut out an extra flower for her hat and popped it up on a 3D pad, then added liquid pearls to the middle of the flowers in the basket.

I've used my fave twine and flowers combo to embellish; I'm still loving the 3D flowers right now!

One more shot from the side so you can see the stepper design I used;

Card recipe;

Image: Little Flower Girl - All Dressed Up

DP: Park Bench - Echo Park

Dies: leaf and swirl - Magnolia Doohickey, butterfly set - Impression Obsession

Edge punch: Scallop dot - Martha Stewart

Flowers: all from Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;

Skin: E0000/50/000/51/21 & R30

Hair: E41/Y21/E42/E43

Dress / hair bows: BG10/11/13

Bag / ground: W0/2/3/4

flowers / hat / bow on bag: Y15/19/YR14

Leaves: G46

Bird: E42/43

I am back from my holiday now and feeling very refreshed but that will probably only last until I get into work on Monday morning and see my inbox!

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

Hugs,

Kat xx