Diamond Anniversary

I made this card for my aunt and uncle to celebrate their Diamond Anniversary - it doesn't seem 60 years since I was their bridesmaid!

To make this card I used:
     8.25" x 5.75" white matt card blank
     September Stitches '60 Anniversary' cross stitch chart
     White 14 count aida
     DMC threads
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Square STAX Die-namics' die
     Snippet of dark grey textured card

After stitching the design I set it aside to make the frame.  I trimmed the grey textured card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank.  I didn't have a rectangle die of the correct size, so I used the largest square die to cut the first half of the rectangle before moving the die and cutting the second half.  I used strong tape to fix the stitching to the rear of the aperture and then attached it to the card blank.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Triple B Challenge - Birds, Butterflies & Blooms (I've chosen the blooms option)   

Kath x

Change Happens!

There are a lot of autumnal challenges at the moment - perfect for this lovely Crafty Roo Designs stamp set I won earlier this year in a blog challenge.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Crafty Roo Designs 'Wreath' stamps
     Versafine Vintage Sepia ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail Embossing Powder
     Copics - R04, YR04, YR16 & Y17
     White and dark brown matt card

I trimmed the the white card to 5.25" x 5.25" and placed it into my MISTI before stamping the wreath with brown ink and embossing it with clear embossing powder.  I put the panel back into my MISTI to see where the position the sentiment stamps.  I then stamped these with brown ink and embossed them with clear embossing powder.  I coloured the leaves with Copics before layering the panel onto brown card and attaching it to the card blank.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Color Hues - Amber & Burnt Red
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Autumn
     Daisy Chain Challenge - Autumn
     Try It On Tuesday - Autumn's Beauty
     We Love Stamping - Shades of Autumn

Kath x

Double Frame Birthday

This birthday card uses a white die cut circle and a stamped flower image from my 'I'll use it one day' box.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white matt card blank
     Altenew 'Whimsical Flower Arrangement' and Clearly Besotted 'Modern Calligraphy' stamps and coordinating dies
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Versafine Vintage Sepia ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Copics
     White matt card
     Wink of Stella

The circle had been die cut with the largest die, so I used the next three sizes to cut two frames, these were attached to the centre of the card blank.  I used brown ink to stamp 'birthday' onto a snippet of white matt card and embossed it with clear embossing powder before cutting it with the coordinating die.  The flowers had already been stamped with brown ink an cut with the coordinating die before being coloured with Copics.  I placed the card blank into my MISTI and placed both the flowers and 'birthday' onto the card so I could see where to place 'happy'.  I removed the die cuts and embossed happy with brown ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I attached the flowers and 'birthday' with foam tape and finished by highlighting the flowers with a Wink of Stella.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Little Red Wagon - Stitches
     Seize the Birthday - Double Frame
     Simply Clean & Simple - Anything CAS Goes

Kath x

Happy Birthday to You

I made this birthday card with more oddments from my 'I'll use it one day' drawer.  This one uses four dark brown die cut birthday sentiments, cut for a project a few months ago and not used. 

To make this card I used:
     7" x 7" white matt card blank
     Lawn Fawn 'Giant Happy Birthday to You' die
     Craft O'Clock 'Plum in Chocolate' paper
     Dark brown matt card

This paper is a lovely 250g weight, so it didn't need to be attached to card to strengthen it.  I trimmed a sliver from each side of a piece of patterned paper so it wouldn't catch on the sides of my Cuttlebug and then die cut the sentiment from the centre.   I set the sentiment and small pieces aside and attached the panel to the centre of the card blank.  I inlaid one of the brown die cut sentiments into the front of the card, together with the small pieces from the patterned paper.  The remaining three brown sentiments were layered with the patterned sentiment on top.  This was than attached to the front of the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     AAA Birthday Card Challenge - Big and Bold
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Your Favourite Technique (die cutting is my favourite technique, especially inlaid die cutting)

Kath x

Home Sweet Home

I made this card for our new neighbours and have used a lovely design by Durene Jones, using a free chart on her Facebook page.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white linen card blank
     Durene Jones 'Home Sweet Home' chart
     14 count white aida
     DMC threads
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Snippet of white linen card

After stitching the design I set it aside to make the frame for the card blank.  I trimmed a snippet of white card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and die cut the largest stitched circle from the centre.  I trimmed the fabric so it was a little smaller than the frame and attached it with strong tape.  The panel was then attached to the centre of the card blank.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Little Red Wagon - Stitches (my card used both cross stitch and a stitched die
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes     

Kath x 

Birthday Butterfly

I've not had much crafting time lately, mainly due to visits to our mothers and medical appointments, which has been very tiring.  However, I've emptied my 'I'll use it one day' drawer and decided to use all the oddments so I can empty the drawer.  This card uses an Ink & Flip butterfly and a die cut sentiment.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white linen card blank
     Uniko 'Ink & Flip Geometric Butterfly' layering stencil
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Square STAX Die-namics' and Creative Expressions 'Mini Expressions - Stacked Happy Birthday' dies
     Brilliance Pearlescent Olive and Pearlescent Purple inks
     Snippets of dark purple pearlescent card, white linen card and white matt card

I die cut a stitched square from a snippet of white linen card, layered it onto a slightly larger square of purple pearlescent card and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut 'Happy Birthday' from purple card and attached it to the lower corner of the panel.  I used purple ink to stencil the butterfly onto a snippet of white matt card before cleaning the stencil, flipping it and stencilling it again with olive ink.  I fussy cut the butterfly and attached it to the front of the card.

I am entering the following challenge:
     Addicted to CAS - Happy
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Birthday
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Triple B Challenge - Birds, Butterflies, Blooms (I have used a lovely Uniko stencilled butterfly)

Kath x

Happy Birthday Mum

I made this card for Steve's mother using a lovely Uniko stamp and die set.

To make this card I used:
     7" x 7" white matt card blank
     Papercraft Society Uniko 'Floral Butterfly' stamp and coordinating die
     Clearly Besotted 'Happy Birthday All' stamps
     My Favorite Things 'Fishtail Flags' die
     Versafine Imperial Purple and Vintage Sepia ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Copics - G02, RV02, V04, Y08, Y35, YG03, YG23, YR62
     Wild Rose Studio 'Butterfly Garden' paper
     Green textured card and white matt card
     Wink of Stella

I layered the paper onto green textured card and attached it to the front of the card blank.  I used purple ink to stamp the butterfly and sentiment, but as the ink was too bright I overstamped it with brown ink before embossing it with clear embossing powder.  I die cut the butterfly with the coordinating die and coloured it with Copics to highlight the colours in the backing paper.  The sentiment was cut with a fishtail flag die which I shortened so it was the right size for the sentiment.  This was layered onto green textured card and trimmed before being attached to the lower edge of the card.   I attached the butterfly along the centre of its body and highlighted it with a Wink of Stella.

I am entering the following challenges:
     AAA Birthday Card Challenge - Big and Bold
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Birthday
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Triple B Challenge - Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (my card has butterflies and blooms)

Kath x

More Than One Die Cut

I was pleased when my To a Deer Friend card was a winner of the Cut It Up 'Emboss It' challenge and the team invited me to a Guest Designer on a future challenge.  I chose the 'More Than One Die Cut' theme and have made a Christmas card which uses four dies.

To make this card I used:
     5.5" x 4.25" white hammer card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics, Memory Box 'Traditional Ornament', 'Lydia Ornament' & 'Crisp Bows' dies
     Snippets of gold mirri card, blue and gold marbled paper and white hammer card

I die cut a stitched rectangle from white hammer card and then die cut the Traditional Ornament from the lower edge before attaching the panel to the front of the card blank.  I die cut the Traditional Ornament from a snippet of blue and gold marbled paper and inlaid it into the front of the card.  I die cut the Lydia Ornament from gold mirri card and used my tan embossing mat to emboss the design on the bauble, this was attached to the ornament with Artist Tac.  I die cut a Crisp Bow from gold mirri card, snipped the tail so it fit inside the panel and attached it to the top of the ornament.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Christmas
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     Simply Clean & Simple - Anything CAS Goes
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 542
     Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Your Favourite Technique (die cutting is definitely my favourite)

Kath x

Robin and Christmas Wreath

I made this card with some images from a part used Hunkydory Deco Large kit snippets of card from my oddments drawer.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card bank
     Hunkydory 'When Robins Appear Deco Large' oddments
     Snippets of gold mirri card and green shiny card

I trimmed the snippet of green card to a 4" square, layered it onto a slightly larger square of gold mirri and attached it to the centre of the card blank.  As this was a part used Hunkydory decoupage kit I layered the wreath with the oddments that I had and then attached the wreath to the centre of the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - All Creatures Great and Small
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Christmas Crafts All Year Round - R is for Robin
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Kath x

Pink, Pearls and Sparkle Hello

I was pleased when my Another Christmas Pudding card was the winner of the Pearly Sparkles 'Christmas in July' challenge and the team invited me to join them for their 'Pink, Pearls and/or Sparkle' challenge (my card uses all three, although it's not easy to see the sparkle).

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white hammer card blank
     Sizzix Framelits 'Floral Hello' stamp and die set
     Versafine Vintage Sepia ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Copics - RV02, RV21 & YG23
     Snippets of white matt card, and brown matt card
     Two small pearls
     Wink of Stella 

I die cut the 'hello' square from brown matt and attached it to the centre of the card blank.  I used brown ink to stamp the flowers onto a snippet of white matt card embossed them with clear embossing powder.  The flowers were cut with the coordinating dies before being coloured with Copics.  I didn't have a piece of card the same colour pink as the flowers so I used the two pink Copics to colour another snippet of white card and then die cut 'hello'.  I trimmed the ends of the die cut and attached it to the brown frame, offsetting it slightly to give a shadow effect.  I used foam pads to attach the flowers and added two small pearls to the centre.  To finish I added a Wink of Stella to the pink flowers and pink 'hello'.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Any Occasion
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 540     

Kath x

Red Squirrel Cross Stitch

The current As You Like It Challenge is 'Favourite Wild Animal' and squirrels are one of my favourite animals as they are so funny to watch.  I was overjoyed to see a red squirrel on our visit to Angelsey last year and a friend bought me this lovely cross stitch kit so I could stitch my own red squirrel.  After completing the stitching I decided to make it into a card to give to my friend and share the red squirrel joy!

To make this card I used:

     5" x 5" white matt card blank
     Heritage Crafts 'Little Friends - Red Squirrel' kit
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Snippet of brown textured card

After stitching the red squirrel I set it aside to make the frame.  I trimmed a piece of  brown textured card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and die cut a stitched circle from the centre.  I trimmed the fabric and used extra strong tape to attach the stitching behind the frame and then to attach the panel to the front of the card blank.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - All Creatures Great and Small
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes

     As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Wild Animal (the red squirrel is one of my favourites and I was so happy to see one last year)
     Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Animals
     Try It On Tuesday - Inspired by a Song (my song is Red Squirrel by Steamer Lane)

Kath x

August Rudolph Day

I've had a little crafting time this morning so have made this stamped card for the August Rudolph Day challenge (stamping is my RD theme this year).  This card uses another of my spare stamped images from my oddments box.

To make this card I used:
     5.5" x 4.25" white matt card blank
     Rare Earth 'Winter Floral Collection' and Clearly Besotted 'Cheerful Christmas' stamps
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics' die
     Versafine Onyx Black ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail Embossing Powder
     Copics - C-1, E21, E33 & RV06 & V17
     White Fun Flock
     Snippets of white matt card and cerise mirri card 

I placed the white card into my MISTI and used black ink to stamp the birds and sentiment before embossing them with clear embossing powder.  I then used the largest stitched die to cut the panel.  I used Copics to colour the image - E21 and E33 for the birds, RV06 and V17 for the hats and C-1 to ground the image.  I layered the panel onto a snippet of cerise mirri card and then attached the panel to the front of the card.  To finish I added white Fun Flock to the hat band and pompom.

I am entering the following challenges:
     ABC Christmas Challenge - R for Rectangle
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Any Occasion
     Allsorts - Embossing - dry or heat (my card used heat embossing)
     Little Red Wagon - Anything Times Three (I have three birds)
     Rudolph Day Challenge - August Challenge
     Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Clean and Simple     
     We Love Stamping - Anything Goes

Kath x