More Xanthine

I made this card for the 'X for Xanthine' Butterfly Challenge using a Pippi butterfly and corner die-cut which I had made for yesterday's card and then decided not to use.  I'm also entering the current Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge and paying my final visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 8" x 4" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Happy Birthday to You'
Dies: Memory Box 'Pippi Butterfly' & Wild Rose Studio 'Corner Flourish'
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Lemon/white
Other: Cream gems, Wink of Stella
Snippets: Dark green paper and yellow card

I covered the front of the card blank with the lemon/white paper and then stamped the Happy Birthday and strip of stars in the centre.  I stamped the 'Happy' onto snippets of dark green paper, cut out the letters and paper pieced them onto the card.  The die-cut Corner Flourish was attached to the lower edge of the card and cream gems attached to the flower centres.  The Pippi butterfly was attached to the top of the card.  To finish, I added a Wink of Stella to the butterfly and centres of the flowers.

Kath x

X for Xanthine

The current Butterfly Challenge is 'X for Xanthine' .  Before we all ran for the hills, Mrs A explained that Xanthine is the yellow matter found in certain plants and for this challenge she wanted to see yellow butterflies and also a splash of yellow on our projects.  I've chosen to add my yellow with backing card and sentiment.  I'm also entering the Allsorts 'Anything but Christmas' challenge and as my card uses lots of snippets I'm paying another visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white linen
Dies: Memory Box 'Isabella Butterfly' & 'Pippi Butterfly', Tattered Lace 'Mini Celebrate and Butterflies'
Paper: Turquoise butterfly patterned paper
Snippets: Yellow and brown card

I trimmed the top and right edges of the turquoise butterfly paper to fit the yellow card, this was then attached to the card blank.  I die-cut three Isabella butterflies from yellow card, three Pippi butterflies from brown card and three mini butterflies from brown card.   These were attached to the card front.   I die-cut the sentiment from both brown and yellow card, attaching the yellow on top of the brown to give a shadow effect.

Kath x

Just wanted to say ...

I made this notelet to send to a friend and as I used snippets of paper and card I'm paying my first visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  I'm also entering the Allsorts 'Anything but Christmas' challenge.

Card blank: 5" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Hobby Art 'General Greetings'
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Other: Embossed, die-cut card front, Basic Square Iris Folding pattern (from 460 Iris Folded Cards to Make by Maruscha Gaasenbeek & Tina Beauveser)
Snippets: Strips of paper, gold card

I trimmed the die-cut card front slightly so it was the same size as my card blank and then stamped the sentiment in the lower corner.  As the aperture was slightly larger than the iris folding pattern, I outlined the square with strips of brown paper.  I then used the strips of papers to make the iris folding pattern and added a small piece of gold card to the centre.  After completing the iris folding, I attached this to the card blank with double sided tape.

Kath x

My Five Favourite Christmas Cards

I'm linking to Debbie's blog with my 'Favourite Five Christmas Cards' for 2015 - it was quite a hard choice this year, but these are the ones I've chosen.

January Rudolph Day

I made this card when I was GD for the January Rudolph Day.  I liked it so much that I made several more as I love the preloved Magenta stamp and it didn't take too long to colour the images.

July Rudolph Day

Another Rudolph Day card using a preloved Personal Impressions stamp and a magazine freebie stamp.  I stamped these poinsettias and took them on holiday so I could colour them in the evenings, so it also reminded me of my lovely holiday this year!

A Country Christmas

I chose this card as it was made entirely from freebies - paper, stamp, die and twine.  I will be doing a lot more thrifty crafting next year!

V for Very Cute

I bought some cute LOTV toppers and used one of them for this card to send to a friend who has a dog that loves Christmas presents.  The snowflake die was also another freebie!

Sparkles Christmas Die-Cuts

I love die-cutting and this card was made entirely from die-cuts - Memory Box, Spellbinders and another freebie.  I made fifteen of these cards for all of my neighbours this year.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Christmas.

Kath x

Santa's House

I made this cute card for my great niece and thought it would be perfect for the current ABC Christmas Challenge 'Y is for Youngsers' and the 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown 'Pick a Previous 2015 Challenge' and I've chosen the July 2015 'Snowman' challenge.   The paper and card are from my snippets drawer so I'm also popping over to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk
Embossing folder:  Crafts-Too 'Twinkle'
Other: Helz Cuppleditch's 'Santa's Workshop' die-cut decoupage topper
Snippets: Gold mirri card and red/gold swirl paper

I embossed the front of the card with the 'Twinkle' embossing folder.  I layered a snippet of red/gold swirl paper onto gold mirri card and attached it to the card front.  The base of the topper was layered onto gold mirri card and attached to the card with foam tape.  The various layers of decoupage were then added using silicone glue.

Kath x

Have a Funky Christmas

I made this Christmas card for my great-nephew and am entering it into the Merry Monday 'Birds' challenge and the  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown 'Pick a Previous 2015 Challenge" - I've chosen the August 2015 'For a Child' challenge.  The card was from my snippets drawer so I'm popping over to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Embossing folder: Crafts-Too Dandilion Time
Other: Penguin topper and sentiment (make unknown), Wink of Stella
Snippets: White silk and orange mirri card

I embossed the white silk card, trimmed it to size, layered it onto orange mirri card and attached it to the card front.  The penguin topper and sentiment were layered onto orange mirri card and attached to the card.  To finish, I highlighted the penguins with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Sparkles Christmas Die-Cuts

The new challenge at Sparkles Christmas Challenge is 'Die-Cuts' and there are two great sponsors of the challenge this month.  Di's Digis are giving a $10 voucher and Crafty Individuals are giving a Surprise Prize.

This is my final month as Guest Designer and it's also my favourite challenge as I love die-cutting!   I have chosen four different dies for my card and as all the pieces of card were from my snippets drawer I'm popping across to the playground to enter the challenge at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white pearl
Dies: Memory Box 'Grand Merry Christmas' and 'Mini Holly Leaves', Spellbinders Shapeabilities D-Lites 'Garden Weave', Creative Dies 'Nesting Poinsettia' (magazine freebie)
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Snippets: Dark red hammer, green matt, white pearl and gold holographic card

I die-cut the 'Merry Christmas', trimmed it and attached it to the lower half of the card blank leaving a small white border.  I die-cut and embossed the 'Garden Weave' from white pearl card and attached it to the upper corner.  I die-cut the outer poinsettia leaves from green card.  I then die-cut and embossed three red leaves from red hammer card - these were shaped slightly before being glued together.  I used the 'Mini Holly Leaves' die to cut the berries from the tiniest snippet of gold holographic card which I had kept 'just in case I ever needed a tiny piece of card' and today is the day!  The berries were glued to the centre of the flower before it was attached to the front of the card with Pinflair glue.

I hope you like my card and look forward to seeing your creations.

Kath x

Blue, white and texture

The current challenge at Merry Monday is 'Blue and White with Texture' and I made this card following the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  I'm also entering the Winter Wonderland 'Add Some Sparkle and Bling' challenge.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Noel Reindeer'
Die: Creative Dies 'Nesting Poinsettia' (magazine freebie)
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Majestic Blue
Card: Blue mirri and white silk
Other: Blue gems, white sequins

I trimmed a piece of white silk card, layered it onto blue mirri and attached it to the card front.  I then stamped the sentiment onto white card, trimmed it to size, layered it onto blue mirri and attached it to the card.  I die-cut and embossed the large poinsettia leaf from blue mirri and three smaller flowers from white card.  These were glued together and small blue gems were added to the centre before the flower was attached to the card with Pinflair glue.  To finish, I attached three small white sequins.

Kath x

November Rudolph Day

It's hard to believe that this is the final Rudolph Day of the year!  I've made my card using a pre-coloured LOTV topper and plenty of snippets, so I'm also popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Christmas Mix' pre-coloured topper
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Squares Large, Wild Rose Studio 'Holly Vine Corner'
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Other: Wink of Stella
Snippets: Silver mirri, blue snowflake paper

I trimmed the blue snowflake paper, layered it onto silver mirri and attached it to the card front.  I die cut and embossed a snippet of silver mirri and attached the LOTV topper.  This was then attached to the centre of the card.   I die cut two Holly Vine Corners and  glued them to the corners of the card.  To finish I highlighted the image with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Thank You

The current Cuttlebug Mania challenge is 'Thank You' and as I made my card from snippets I'm also in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Stamp: Stampendous 'Thank you'
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Labels One', Creative Dies 'Corner' (magazine freebie)
Embossing: Crafts-Too 'Leaves, Kars tan embossing mat, clear embossing powder
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Other: Black gems
Snippets: Green swirl, black mirri, white silk, pink shimmer cards

I embossed the green card, trimmed it to size, layered it onto black mirri before attaching it to the card front.  I die cut four pink corners and attached them to the card, placing a black gem in the centre of each flower.   I stamped and embossed the sentiment before die-cutting and embossing it.  This was then attached to the centre of the card with foam tape.

Kath x

Season's Greetings

I've used one of my favourite stamps for this card which I'm entering into several challenges - Merry Monday  'Pink, Green and White', Alphabet Challenge 'T for 'Tis the Season' and Christmas Cards All Year Round 'Oh Christmas Tree'.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Holly Tree' and 'Christmas Bubble Tree'
Ink: Versafine Olympia Green
Card: Dark green matt, white silk
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Painted Poinsettias', Kaisercraft Christmas paper Pad (magazine freebie)
Other: Silver nailheads, tiny pearls, Wink of Stella

I stamped the tree and sentiment onto white card and trimmed it to size.  This was then layered onto pink paper and green card before being attached to the card front.  I stamped the tree, pot and star onto another piece of pink paper and paper pieced it onto the card.  The holly leaves and bow were stamped onto a green paper before being attached to the card with Pinflair glue.  I decorated the tree with silver nailheads and tiny pearls before outlining the stamping with a Wink of Stella.  When I had finished the card I noticed that my sentiment wasn't in the centre of the tree, so I stamped a small star and paper pieced it with pink paper.

Kath x

Thinking of You

The current challenge at The Male Room is 'Remembrance or Sympathy'.  I made this card with peel-offs (something I haven't used for a while) and snippets of card so I'm off to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Card: Silver mirri
Punch: Woodware Crafty Edger 'Ribbon Cassette'
Other: Magenta Style '3D flower' (name unknown) and Woodware 'Sympathetic Thoughts' silver peel-offs, Diamond Stickles
Snippets: White card

I used the Crafty Edger on a piece of silver mirri, trimmed it to size and attached it to the card front.  I then attached a piece of white card over the silver mirri it so it covered the ribbon holes.  The main flower was attached to the left side of the card  and the sentiment in the lower corner.  I attached the flower layers onto snippets of white card, fussy cut them and attached the layers with Pinflair glue.   To finish, I added Diamond Stickles to the centres of the flowers.

Kath x

Butterflies and Zig Zags

Samantha sent me these beautiful butterflies with the candy I won on her blog - perfect for upcycling for my card for the current Butterfly Challenge 'Z for Zig Zags'.  The card and paper are from my snippets drawer, so I'm off to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 5" x 5" white silk
Other: Upcycled butterfly topper, turquoise nail heads, Wink of Stella
Snippets: Turquoise card, beige zig zag paper

I peeled the butterfly topper off the backing card that Samantha had written on and layered it onto turquoise card.  I trimmed a snippet of zig zag paper, layered it onto turquoise card and attached it to the card blank.  The butterfly topper was then attached with foam tape.  I highlighted the turquoise on the butterflies with a Wink of Stella and added the nail heads.

Kath x

Huge Noel

I made this card for the Less is More 'Paper Piecing' challenge.  I love paper piecing as it's a great way of using snippets, so I'm also heading across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Huge Noel'
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Card: Gold mirri
Snippets: White silk, red snowflake and green star papers, gold ribbon

I stamped the 'noel' onto white card and then stamped two of the small sentiments above and below.  This was trimmed, layered onto gold mirri and attached to the card front.  I stamped the 'noel' onto snippets of red and green papers which were then paper pieced onto the card.  To finish I made a small bow from a snippet of gold ribbon and attached it to the top of the bauble.

Kath x

For a lovely couple

I made this card to send to my nephew and his wife and will enter it into the Winter Wonderland 'Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas' and Allsorts 'Christmas' challenges.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk
Card: Red matt
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Painted Poinsettias'
Other: Kanban 'Cosy Christmas' sentiment, red gems, red ribbon, Wink of Stella

I layered the paper onto red card and attached it to the card front.  The sentiment was trimmed, layered onto a small piece of pink paper cut from a second sheet of robin paper, then red card and attached to the card front.  I attached a red bow to the sentiment and gems to the top and bottom corners.   To finish, I highlighted the sentiment, robin and flowers with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Sparkles Christmas Decorations

This is my second month as Guest Designer at Sparkles Christmas Challenge.  Our challenge this month is 'Christmas Decorations' and we have two fabulous sponsors. Crafter's Companion are offering a £10.00 voucher and Deedee's Digis are offering a $25.00 voucher.

Any type of craft creation is allowed for the challenge - this can be an actual Christmas decoration or a decoration as part of a card design - I decided to make a card with one of my favourite Memory Box dies.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk 

Dies: Memory Box 'Traditional Ornament' and 'Lydia Ornament, Presscut 'Merry Christmas'

Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat

Card: Cerise and gold mirri, white silk

Other: Cerise ribbon, sequins

I die cut two Traditional Ornaments from cerise mirri card and die-cut and embossed two Lydia Ornaments from gold mirri card.  I glued the gold die cuts onto the cerise bases and then fastened cerise ribbon to the rear.  I attached the ornaments to a square of white card and fastened the ribbon onto the rear of the card.  This was then layered onto a slightly larger square of cerise mirri card and attached to the card front.  I made two small cerise bows and glued them to the top of the ornaments.  

I die-cut the Merry Christmas from both cerise and gold mirri card, attaching the gold on top of the cerise to give a shadow effect.   I then attached the sentiment to the lower edge of the card.  To finish, I added three pale pink sequins to the card.

Kath x

V for Very Cute

The new ABC Christmas Challenge is 'V for Very Cute' and I used this pre-coloured LOTV topper for my card.   I'm also entering the Christmas Cards All Year Round challenge which is 'No Stamping'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white pearl
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Christmas Cuties' pre-coloured topper
Die: Snowflake (magazine freebie)
Card: Dark pink moondust
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Painted Poinsettias'
Other: Clear gem, Diamond Stickles, Wink of Stella

I trimmed the paper, layered it onto dark pink card and attached it to the card front.  The topper was layered onto dark pink card and attached in the centre.  I die-cut the snowflake, attached it to the corner of the topper and added a gem to the centre.  To finish, I highlighted the image with a Wink of Stella and Diamond Stickles on the snowflakes.

Kath x

N for Numbers

The current Butterfly Challenge is 'N for Numbers' and as I used some snippets I'm popping across to see Di in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.   I'm also entering the Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge.

Card blank: 7in x 7in white silk
Stamp: Hobby Art 'Happy Birthday'
Die: Memory Box 'Pippi Butterfly'
Embossing: Cuttlebug 'Number Collage'
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia
Card: Dark brown
Snippets: Lili of the Valley 'Perfect Pair' green and pink papers, white card

I layered green paper to brown card and attached it to the card front.  I embossed a snippet of white card with the number collage, layered it onto brown card and attached it to the card front.  As I didn't have any very dark brown ink, I inked my stamp with Onyx Black and then Vintage Sepia before stamping the sentiment.   This was then trimmed to size, layered onto brown card and attached to the card with foam tape.  I glued two snippets of pink paper together to make it double-sided and then die-cut the Pippi Butterfly, before attaching it with Pinflair glue.

Kath x

October Rudolph Day

It's time for another Rudolph Day card which I'm also entering into the Christmas Cards All Year Round 'No Stamping' challenge and the Winter Wonderland 'Jingle Bells' challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Scalloped Circles Large
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Card: Red mirri
Paper: Helz Cuppleditch 'Santa's Workshop'
Other: Helz Cuppleditch ' Santa's Workshop' glitter decoupage

I layered a square of bell paper onto red mirri card and attached it to my card blank.  I die cut and embossed a scalloped circle and attached it to the front of the card.  I decoupaged the glittered wreath and attached it to the centre of the scalloped circle.

Kath x

Black and Orange

The current Cuttlebug Mania challenge is 'Black and Orange' and as I'm not a Halloween person I've opted to make this note card.  I've used snippets of card for my sentiment so am also popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  Kath has also pointed me in the direction of the Allsorts challenge which is 'Orange/Purple/Black - all or any two' so I'm also entering that challenge (thanks Kath!).

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Going to Seed'
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Ovals Small and Classic Scalloped Ovals Small
Embossing: Stripe/floral embossing folder (magazine freebie), Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Card: Orange and black
Other: Black gems, Sakura black glaze pen
Snippets: White and black card

I embossed the orange card, trimmed it slightly before layering it onto black card and attaching it to the card front.  I used the Sakura pen to highlight the dashes on the folder and added gems to the raised dots.  I die-cut and embossed a snippet of black card using the scalloped folder.  I then die-cut and embossed a snippet of white card and stamped my sentiment.   The sentiment was attached to the scalloped black oval and attached to my card.

Kath x

Happy Birthday to You

I made this card for my niece's husband's birthday and am entering it into the current Less is More 'Masculine' challenge and the Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge.  I'm also paying another visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk
Stamp: Hobby Art 'General Greetings'
Punch: Woodware 1" square
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Card:  Dark red hammer card
Snippets: Black  and white card, Wild Rose Studio 'Man About Town' papers

I punched sixteen squares from the papers (some so small I had almost thrown them away!) and attached them to black card using Collall All Purpose Glue which allowed me to move them into place on the card.  The black card was trimmed and then layered onto red hammer card before being attached to the front of my card.   I stamped the sentiment onto a snippet of white card, trimmed it then layered it onto black and red card before attaching it to the card front with foam tape.

Kath x

Embossed Butterflies

The current Butterfly Challenge is 'E for Embossing' and I made this card following the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.   The card and paper were all from my snippets drawer so I'm also popping over to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Stamp: Butterfly sentiment (magazine freebie)
Embossing: Butterfly embossing folder (magazine freebie), clear embossing powder
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Snippets: White silk and green card, strip of floral paper

I  stamped and embossed the butterfly sentiment before trimming it and layering it onto green card.  I embossed a square of white silk card with the butterfly embossing folder and then attached it to green card.  The strip of floral paper was also attached to a strip of green card.  Following the sketch, I attached the strip of paper to the card front and attached the embossed square above it.   The butterfly sentiment was then attached using foam tape.

Kath x

T for Transport

The current ABC Christmas Challenge is 'T for Transport' and I've used this lovely upcycled image for my quick and simple card.   I'm also popping across to see Eve in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" cream hammer
Other: Upcycled Christmas card
Snippets: Gold and black mirri, black ribbon

I trimmed the image then layered it onto gold and black mirri card before attaching it to the card front.  I made a small black bow from a snippet of ribbon and attached it to the card.  Simple!

Kath x

May all your dreams come true

I often struggle to make cards for men, but in a recent Making Cards magazine there were some fabulous pre-coloured images and I've used one to make this card for my nephew's birthday.  I'm entering the current Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge and taking my first trip to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Most Wonderful Birthday'
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities A2 Matting Basics B
Embossing: Clear embossing powder, Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Other: Making Cards magazine 'Stunning Scenes', Card Candi
Snippets: White and kraft card, beige paper

I trimmed the beige paper, layered it onto kraft card and attached it to the card blank.  The image was die cut and embossed before being attached to kraft card.  This was then attached to the front of the card.  The sentiment was stamped onto white card and embossed with clear embossing powder.   This was trimmed, layered onto kraft card and attached to the card front with foam tape.  To finish, I attached Card Candi to the top right corner of the card.

Kath x

Sparkles Christmas Distress It

I'm so pleased to be Guest Designer at Sparkles Christmas Challenge for the next three challenges - thank you to Caz for inviting me. This month's challenge is 'Distress It' and we have two fabulous sponsors. Fantastic Ribbons are offering a £10.00 voucher and Marianne Design have a surprise prize.

Those of you who follow my blog will know that I'm not a 'Distress It' type of crafter, so I'm feeling a little out of my comfort zone!   I decided to use the last few sheets of a Kaisercraft paper pad which had been a magazine freebie last year and one of my favourite Woodware Christmas stamps to make this card.

Card blank: 6" x 6" kraft

Stamp: Woodware 'Christmas Date'

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Tim Holtz Distress Ink Bundled Sage

Paper: Kaisercraft 'Christmas Collections' paper pad (magazine freebie)

Other: Diamond Stickles

I trimmed a dark maroon and a floral sheet of paper to layer onto my card blank.   I distressed the edges of each paper with the blade of my craft knife and inked the edges with Bundled Sage before attaching them to the card.  I stamped the image onto a sheet of beige paper, distressed and inked the edges and then layered it onto a piece of maroon paper which had been distressed and inked in the same way.   This was then attached to my card.  I stamped the holly and numerals onto green and maroon papers.  I cut these out and paper pieced them onto the card using Pinflair glue under the leaves to give some dimension.  To finish I added Diamond Stickles to the snowflakes.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's cards for this challenge.

Kath x

September Rudolph Day

It's hard to believe this is the ninth Rudolph Day of the year!  My card uses a lovely cross stitch from one of my upcycled Christmas cards a friend sent me last year.  I'm also entering this card into the current challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown which is 'Real Stitching' and I'm popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop with my snippets.

Card blank: 5" x 5" dark red hammer
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large and Classic Scalloped Circles Large
Punch: Woodware squared corner
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Other: Upcycled cross stitch Christmas card
Snippets: Dark red hammer card, gold swirl paper

I trimmed a piece of gold swirl paper slightly smaller than the card blank, punched the corners and attached it to the card.  I made a frame with the circle and scalloped circle dies and attached this to the cross stitched candle.   I then attached the topper to the card with foam tape - simple!

Kath x

Butterflies and Knots

A big 'thank you' to Mrs A for inviting me to be her Guest Designer again on the Butterfly Challenge.  I chose the letter K (for Kath) which Mrs A says is 'K for Knot'.  I took the inspiration for this card from Becky's New Year's Resolution - her scrap cards are fabulous and a great way of using snippets too!

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk 
Die: Memory Box 'Pippi Butterfly'
Punch: Woodware Super Duper Square punch
Card: Black matt
Paper: BoBunny Isabella paper stack (magazine freebie)
Other: Pink and grey ribbon, Sakura Micron pen

I punched nine squares from various papers from the BoBunny paper pack and drew two squiggly lines around the edge of each square with the Sakura pen.  I attached a piece of ribbon around the two plain squares and knotted a smaller piece of ribbon around each one.   I attached the squares to the black card using Collall All Purpose glue, as this allowed me to move the squares to make a close fit, and then attached this square to the card front.  I backed two small pieces of paper with white card (to give it some strength) before die-cutting two butterflies and attaching them to the card.

Mrs A has set a great challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's cards over the next two weeks!

Kath x

Fashion Girl

The current Cuttlebug Mania challenge is 'Wheels'.  I don't have any suitable stamps or dies, but I found this pre-coloured topper which had been a freebie with Making Cards magazine and thought it would be perfect for my card.    I'm also entering the Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge and I'm popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop as I've used snippets on my card.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk
Image: 'Fashion Girl' pre-coloured topper from Making Cards (magazine freebie)
Stamp: Hot off the Press
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities A2 Matting Basics B and Spellbinders Borderabilities A2 Curved Borders One
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Memento Gray Flannel
Paper: Lili of the Valley NitWits 'Perfect Pair' (magazine freebie)
Snippets: Dark grey mirri card, pink glittered paper

I covered the card front with the white heart paper and then used the plain die from the Borderabilities set to die-cut the edge of the green paper.   As the die didn't cut the paper as wide as I needed, I used a craft knife to follow the line of the border and then attached this to the card front.  I used the plain and scalloped Borderabilities dies to cut a snippet of pink glittered paper - again this wasn't as wide as I needed so I cut it in the middle as the topper would cover the gap - this was then attached to the card covering the join between the two papers.

I used the Matting Basics dies for both the topper and the sentiment.  I die-cut and embossed the topper and grey mirri card, the topper was layered onto the mirri before being attached to the card front.   I stamped the sentiment onto a corner of the topper sheet of paper before die-cutting and embossing it.  This was then layered onto an embossed die-cut of grey mirri card and attached to the card front with silicone glue to give depth.

Kath x

A Country Christmas

The current challenge at Christmas Cards All Year Round is 'A Country Christmas'.  I always like red and kraft for 'country style' cards and have used several magazine freebies and upcycled twine for my card.  I'm also entering Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge where 'Anything Goes'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" kraft
Stamp: Hot off the Press (magazine freebie)
Die: Nordic Christmas (magazine freebie)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Card: Red card
Paper: BoBunny papers (magazine freebie)
Other: Upcycled red twine (from a packet of biscuits!)

I trimmed the paper to size, layered it onto red card and stamped the sentiment in the bottom corner.   I die-cut the heart from a sheet of patterned paper from the same pack and fastened the twine behind the heart before attaching it to the square.   The end of the twin was fastened behind the patterned square before I attached it to the card blank.  To finish, I attached a small twine bow to the heart.

Kath x

Pillar Candles Trio

I bought the Pillar Candles Trio die in a bundle of pre-loved dies earlier this year - this is its first outing so I'm entering Darnell's NBUS Challenge again.  I've used colours from the current 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown challenge which is 'Red, white and any colour but green' (I've chosen gold) and as the paper and card were from my snippets drawer I'm paying my last visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.   I was about to publish this post when I saw that the new ABC Christmas Challenge is 'S for Silent', which is no sentiments or text, so I'm also entering that challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Dies: Memory Box 'Pillar Candle Trio' and 'Mini Holly Leaves'
Snippets: Red & gold paper, white card, gold mirri card

I layered a piece of paper onto gold mirri card and attached it to the front of my card.  The Pillar Candles Trio was die-cut from red paper and gold mirri card and the Mini Holly Berries from gold mirri card.  The candles were attached to a snippet of white card, this was trimmed to size, layered onto gold mirri card and attached to the card front with Pinflair glue.  To finish I attached holly to the bottom of the candles.

Kath x

Oh! Christmas Tree

I've made this card for Sparkles Christmas Challenge 'Oh! Christmas Tree' and have used the current sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches.  I've had the Christmas tree die for a while but have never used it so I'm entering Darnell's NBUS Challenge.  The paper and card are from my snippets drawer, so I'm also popping over to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk 
Stamp: Hot off the Press (magazine freebie)
Die: Marianne Design Creatables 'Christmas Tree' and Snowflake (magazine freebie)
Ink: Versafine Majestic Blue
Snippets: White pearl card, tree paper, blue gem

I trimmed the tree paper to size, stamped the sentiment along the bottom and attached it to the front of the card blank.  I die-cut two Christmas trees and one snowflake and attached them to the card following the sketch.  The bottom tree was attached directly onto the card and I used Pinflair glue on the second tree to give a little dimension.  The snowflake was attached by the centre only and to finish I added a blue gem.

Kath x

Stitched Butterfly

The current Butterfly Challenge is 'Y for Yarn' and I've used embroidery thread for my stitched butterfly.  The paper, card and thread are from my snippets drawer, so I'm also popping into the playground Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  I'm also entering Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Stamp: Woodware 'Going to Seed'
Dies:  Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large and Classic Scalloped Circles Large
Embossing: Clear embossing powder, Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Imperial Purple
Card:  Dark purple card
Other: Stitching Cards stitched butterfly pattern, pricking tool and mat, lilac gems
Snippets: White card, striped paper, embroidery thread

I layered the paper onto purple card and attached it to the card front.  I attached the butterfly pattern onto a snippet of white card and pierced it.  I then stitched it with lilac embroidery thread following the stitching instructions provided with the pattern.  The butterfly was then die-cut, embossed, layered onto an embossed scallop circle of purple card and attached to the card front.   I stamped the sentiment onto another snippet of white card and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  This was die-cut and attached to the card in the same manner as the butterfly, although I used foam tape to give some dimension.   To finish I added small lilac gems to the butterfly body and antennae.

Kath x

Merry Christmas to You & Yours

The current challenge at Winter Wonderland is 'Add a Sentiment' and I've used one of my favourite stamps to make this card using the colours for the current Less is More challenge which is 'Green and Gold'.   The card and paper are from my snippets drawer, so I'm also popping across to the playground to see Sarn in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" pearl 
Stamp: Inkadinkado ' Merry Christmas to You & Yours'
Die: Spellbinders  Nestabilities 'Wonky Rectangles'
Embossing: Clear embossing powder, Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Olympia Green
Colouring: Gold gel pen
Snippets: Gold mirri and white pearl card, green/gold star paper

I layered a strip of paper onto gold mirri card and before attaching it to the card blank I scored down the edge to make a flat spine, which is a great idea I saw on Jane's blog.  I then attached the strip to the card front.  The sentiment was stamped and embossed onto white card.  This was die-cut and embossed before being layered onto a larger wonky rectangle and attached to the card front.   To finish I used a gold gel pen to colour the stars.

Kath x

A for Archway

The latest Butterfly Challenge is 'A for Archway' and as I've used snippets of paper and mirri card I'm also paying a visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 5" x 5" white silk 
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Pretty Bouquet' pre-coloured topper
Die: Tattered Lace Floral Arch
Punch: Woodware butterfly
Other: Wink of Stella
Snippets: Purple floral card, dark blue mirri card

I trimmed the floral paper and attached it to the card front, leaving a small border around the edge.  I trimmed the pre-coloured LOTV topper and attached it to the card.  The floral die cut was trimmed to remove the doves from the top and a few flowers from the bottom so it fitted around the topper - I then attached this by the inside flowers only.  I punched three small butterflies from dark blue mirri card and attached them to the floral arch.  To finish, I added a Wink of Stella to highlight the cute image.

Kath x

Let it Snow

The current Winter Wonderland challenge is 'Christmas Carol/Song' and as soon as I saw this magazine freebie embossing folder I knew I wanted to use it for my 'Let it Snow' card.  More snowflakes, so I'm also making another entry into the Christmas Cards All Year Round 'Snowflake' challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white pearl
Stamp: 'Let it Snow' (magazine freebie)
Embossing folder: 'Snowflakes' (magazine freebie)
Ink: Versafine Deep Lagoon
Card: White shimmer and turquoise mirri
Other: Clear embossing powder

I embossed a square of white card, trimmed it to size, layered into onto turquoise mirri card and attached it to the card front.   I stamped the image onto white card and embossed it with clear embossing powder.   This was trimmed to size, layered onto turquoise mirri card and attached to the centre of my card.

Kath x

August Rudolph Day

It's hard to believe that this is the eighth Rudolph Day of the year - and here is my card!  As there are snowflakes on the card, I'm also entering the Christmas Cards All Year Round 'Snowflake' challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk 
Die: Memory Box 'Grand Merry Christmas'
Punch: Woodware snowflake 
Card: White silk
Paper: Pink mistletoe and snowflake paper glitter paper
Other: Clear gems

I covered the card with the pink paper - the snowflakes and mistletoe berries were already glittered.  I die-cut the Merry Christmas and attached it to the bottom of the card.  I punched three snowflakes, attached them to the card and added clear gems to the centre of each.

Kath x

Live, Love, Laugh

I made this card for the current Less is More sketch challenge.  The papers are from my snippets drawer so I'm also in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk 
Stamp: From the Heart (magazine freebie)
Ink: Memento Gray Flannel
Snippets:  BoBunny Isabella papers 

Following the sketch, I trimmed a piece of grey floral paper to fit the bottom corner of the card and marked the top line before stamping the sentiment.  I then attached the paper to the front of my card.  I found an even smaller piece of paper which had some of the corner flowers, so I fussy cut them and attached them using Pinflair glue.   A strip of co-ordinating paper was attached under the sentiment.

Kath x

Forever Friends With Love

This anniversary card was made following the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I used one of my recent bargain purchases - I bought the Forever Friends paper pad for 50p!  I'm also paying a visit to Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk 
Stamp: Hobby Art 'With Love'
Die: Cuttlebug 'Concentric Hearts'
Ink: Versafine Crimson Red
Card: Dark red 
Paper: Forever Friends 'With Love' paper pad
Other: Wink of Stella

I layered the decorated paper onto red card and attached it to front of the card.  I cut the bears from the other papers and decoupaged them onto my card, using foam tape between the layers.  I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white card, layered it onto red card and attached it to the card.  I die-cut two concentric hearts and attached them to the left of my sentiment and added a Wink of Stella to the sentiment.

Kath x

Snowflakes

I made this card following the current sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch and as I've used snowflake paper I'm entering the Christmas Cards All Year Round 'Snowflake' challenge as well as another visit to the playground at Pixue's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk 
Die: Presscut 'Merry Christmas'
Snippets: Gold mirri card and red snowflake paper

I layered a piece of red snowflake paper onto gold mirri card and, following the sketch, attached it to the card.   I then die-cut the sentiment and attached it to the lower edge of the paper.

Kath x

Merry Monday Christmas Tree

The current Merry Monday challenge is to use 'Light Green, Dark Green and Red'.  I've used my Tipsy Tree stamp for this quick and simple snippet card so I'm entering the current ABC Christmas Challenge which is 'Q for Quantum Leap' (I have chosen 'K for Keep it Simple') and I'm also heading to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk 
Stamps: Woodware 'Tipsy Tree' and ' Christmas Bubble Tree'
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Snippets: Red and white card, light green, dark green, red and brown papers

I stamped the tree and sentiment onto white card, trimmed it size, layered it onto red card and then attached it to the card front.  The tree was then stamped onto the various papers and paper pieced - simple!

Kath x

Summer Flowers

This card was made for the Penny Black 'Summer Flowers' challenge and I used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  I'm also entering the Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk 
Stamps: Penny Black 'Awakening', Hobby Art 'General Greetings'
Die: Memory Box 'Wicker Panel'
Punch: Woodware square
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Colouring: Faber-Castell pencils
Card: Green and white moondust card

I die-cut a wicker panel and attached it to the bottom of the card using Spray Mount.  The image was stamped onto white card and I added a hint of colour with the coloured pencils.   This was trimmed to size, layered onto green card and attached to the card front with foam tape.   The sentiment was stamped onto white card, trimmed to a strip and I used a square punch to make the fish tail - this was then attached to the card with foam tape.

Kath x

Red and Green Christmas Tree

My latest Christmas card is going to be entered into three challenges - 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown colour challenge to use 'Traditional Red and Green', Sparkles Christmas Challenge 'Ditch the Design Papers' and Christmas Cards All Year Round 'Snowflakes'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk 
Stamp: Woodware 'Bubble Bloom - Festive Tree'
Embossing: Snowflake embossing folder (magazine freebie)
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Other: Dark red card candi, green nail heads, lime green Stickles, Wink of Stella

To make this quick card, I embossed the front of the card and stamped the Festive Tree in the centre.  I decorated the tree with card candi, nail heads and Stickles and then highlighed the snowflakes with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Angel and Snowflakes

The August challenge at Christmas Cards All Year Round is 'Snowflakes' and  I made this card using the sketch at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.  The paper, card and ribbon are from my snippets drawer so I'm paying my final visit to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk 
Image:  Lili of the Valley 'Pretty Christmas' pre-coloured topper
Other: Wink of Stella
Snippets: Gold card, gold and blue snowflake paper, gold ribon

I layered the topper onto gold card, the blue and gold snowflake paper were trimmed to size and layered onto gold card.   I layered these following the sketch and then wrapped a piece of gold ribbon around the bottom before attaching it to the card blank.  I attached a small piece of ribbon to make a bow and then highlighted the angel with a Wink of Stella.  Quick and easy - in fact it took me longer to find the papers amongst all of my snippets than it took to make the card!

Kath x

Butterfly and Washi Tape

The current Butterfly Challenge is 'W for Washi Tape' and as I've used lots of snippets of card I'm off to see Eve again in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk 
Stamp: Woodware 'Tapestry Bouquet'
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilites 'Wonky Rectangles', Memory Box 'Pippi Butterfly'
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots', Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Mememto Rich Cocoa
Colouring: Faber-Castel colour pencils
Other: Bo Bunny washi tape
Snippets: White card

I embossed a snippet of white card, cut it in half (as it wasn't long enough) and attached it to the top and bottom of the card front.   I attached strips of washi tape to a snippet of card before die-cutting and embossing a large wonky rectangle.  This was attached to the card front with foam tape.   The image was stamped onto another snippet of white card, coloured with pencils, die-cut, embossed and attached to the card.   More strips of the pink washi tape were attached to an even smaller snippet of white card and used to die-cut the Pippi butterfly.   This was then attached to the top of the card.

Kath x

Pastel Christmas

The current challenge at Merry Monday is to use 'Pastels' and I've used my new Woodware stamp - my OH gave me a lots of stamps and papers for my birthday present and this is one of them!   I've used snippets of card, paper and ribbon so I'm also popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop to say hello to Eve.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk 
Stamp: Woodware 'Curly Christmas'
Punch: Woodware squared corner
Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia
Other: Wink of Stella
Snippets: White card, turquoise, pink and lemon paper, pink ribbon

I trimmed the turquoise paper to fit the front of the card and wrapped pink ribbon around the left side before attaching it to the card.  An even smaller snippet of pink ribbon was tied around this to make a small bow.  The image was stamped onto white card, this was trimmed to size and the corners punched before it was attached to the card.  I then used snippets of turquoise, pink and lemon paper to paper piece the letters, holly and stars.  The   To finish, I highlighted sections of the letters, holly and stars with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x