Thank you

I've made this Thank You card following the current sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches.  I've used the last few snippets of a lovely pink glittered card that I bought ages ago and the last snippets of a textured brown card, so I'm also heading to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 5" x 5" white silk
Dies: Creative Dies 'Thank You' (magazine freebie), Memory Box 'Chloe Stem', Spellbinders Nestabilities A2 Matting Basics B
Snippets: Brown texture and pink floral glittered card

I die cut five oblongs from the pink glittered card and attached them down the left side of the card blank.  The Chloe Stem and Thank You were die cut from brown card and attached to the card - simple!

Kath x

Butterflies, Margins and Mint

Once again my box of upcycled cards has come to the rescue!  I used one of last year's birthday cards to make this card for the Butterfly Challenge ' M is for Margins and/or Mint', following the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches.  I'm also entering the Alphabet Challenge 'B for Beautiful Butterflies' and the Allsorts 'Wings' challenges.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white linen
Dies: Memory Box 'Isabella Butterfly' and Pippi Butterfly, Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Squares Large
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Card: White linen
Other: Upcycled birthday card, Wink of Stella

I cut a strip from the front of the birthday card and attached it to the side of the card blank.  I then die cut and embossed three squares from the mint section of the card front and attached them with foam tape.  I die cut three Isabella butterflies from white linen card and highlighted them with a Wink of Stella.  Three Pippi butterflies were die cut from the pink/mint sections of the birthday card and attached over the Isabella butterflies, before being attached to the squares.

Kath x

Happy 3rd Birthday

I made this card for my great niece's third birthday using a lovely LOTV pre-coloured topper and am entering it into the ABC Challenges 'D is for Delicious' (birthday cake is always delicious!) and the Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenges.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Thomas the Cat' pre-coloured topper
Die: Memory Box 'Classic Numbers', Signature Dies 'Star Bunting'
Card: Lime green matt
Paper: Lili of the Valley 'Perfect Pair'
Other: Wink of Stella

I layered pink patterned paper onto lime green card and attached it to the card front.  A strip of co-ordinating stripe paper was layered onto lime green card and attached across the card.  The topper was trimmed slightly, attached to lime green card and attached to the card front.  I die cut the bunting and number '3' from lime green card and attached them onto the image.  To finish I highlighted Thomas, the icing on the cake and balloons with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

For a Child

I would like to share some exciting news - I've been invited to join the Winter Wonderland Design Team and am a member of the Snowflake team.  A big 'thank you' to the rest of the DT for inviting me and for your words of encouragement.

This week's Winter Wonderland challenge is 'For a Child' and we are sponsored by All Dressed Up who are offering two digis for the lucky winner.

For my card I've used this lovely Marianne Designs 'Ice Skating Don' stamp, one of my favourites especially as it was a magazine freebie!  I've just used two colours on the card to keep it fairly CAS.

Card blank: 6 x 6" white silk
Stamp: Marianne Design 'Ice Skating Don' (magazine freebie)
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Squares Large, Snowflake (magazine freebie)
Punch: Woodware Large Snowflake
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Colouring: Promarkers
Card: Red matt, white silk
Paper: Turquoise Merry Christmas (magazine freebie), Marianne Design 'Wintertime'
Other: Diamond Stickles, Turquoise gems, Wink of Stella

I trimmed the Merry Christmas paper, layered it onto red card and attached it to the card front.  I cut a strip of hearts from one of the Wintertime papers, layered it onto red card and attached this across the lower part of the card front.  The image was stamped onto white card and coloured with Promarkers, matching the clothing colours to the colours of my paper and card.  I die cut and embossed the image, layered it onto red card and attached it to the card front with foam tape.  I highlighted Don with a Wink of Stella and added Diamond Stickles for the snow around his feet.  I die cut a red snowflake and punched two red snowflakes, these were highlighted with a Wink of Stella before being attached to the card.  To finish I added turquoise gems to the centre of the snowflakes.

Kath x

Take me to Church

The current Merry Monday challenge is 'Take me to Church' and, once again, it was my upcyling box that saved the day with an image for me to use.  I'm also entering the ABC Christmas Challenge 'F is for Frills or No Frills' (I've obviously gone for the No Frills option again) and the Christmas Card Challenges 'Anything Goes' option.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Card: Gold mirri, red hammer
Other: Christmas scene (from my upcyling box), gold peel off

The lovely image was already highlighted in gold, so I trimmed it slightly before layering it onto gold mirri and red hammer card.  This was then attached to the card front.  To finish I added a Christmas peel off to the lower corner. Why are the quick and simple cards often my favourites?

Kath x

Happy Easter

This is my final Easter card using a lovely Lili of the Valley pre-coloured topper which was one of the die cut sheets I chose as my prize from the Lili of the Valley Spring Challenge.  I had over 40 sheets of toppers from their online store, so you'll be seeing lots more LOTV cards on my blog!

I used dark blue card for my layers to make it suitable for a man and perfect for The Male Room 'Easter' challenge.  I'm also entering the Cuttlebug Mania 'Happy Easter', Allsorts 'Easter' and A Gem of a Challenge 'Easter' challenges.  The card, paper and peel offs are all from my snippets drawers, so I'm popping across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 7" x 7" white silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Spring Bunnies with Eggs' pre-coloured topper
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Squares Large, Lacy Squares & A2 Matting Basics B
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Snippets: Dark blue card, Wild Rose Studio Valetta Garden paper, Easter and zigzag peel offs 

I layered the paper onto dark blue card and attached it to the left side of my card.  I would have liked to cover the whole card with this bright paper, but I had to do the best I could with a snippet!  The topper was already die cut, but I placed it inside a Classic Square die, taping it so it wouldn't move, and then embossed the edge.  This was layered onto a die cut and embossed dark blue Lacy Square and attached to the card front.  I die cut and embossed a small oblong from dark blue card and attached the Easter peel off, I then attached it to the card with Pinflair glue.  To finish I attached a narrow zigzag peel off to a very thin strip of blue card and attached it to the lower section of the card.

Kath x

Blog Candy Winners

Thank you to everyone who has left a comment for a chance to win my Spring blog candy and a big welcome to all of my new followers.

The winner of the Spring blog candy is:

Liz

As I reached my target of 100 followers (I now have 118!) the winner of the Joanna Sheen £10.00 gift voucher is:

Barb

Congratulations to Liz and Barb!  Will you both please email me at kmbuckell@btinternet.com with your addresses.

Kath x

Black, White & Silver Christmas

The current challenge at Merry Monday is 'Black, White, Gray/Silver' and I struggled with my first few attempts as the cards looked more like sympathy cards than Christmas cards!   I then found this lovely image in my upcycling box and thought it would be perfect.   I'm also entering the ABC Christmas Challenge 'F for Frills or No Frills' (and I've obviously gone for the No Frills option as I'm not a frilly, fussy crafter!) and the Christmas Card Challenges 'Anything Goes'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Card: Black Moondust
Other:  Black and white image and white/silver card (both from upcycled Christmas cards)

I trimmed the white/silver card to a square, layered it onto black card and attached it to the card front.  The image (which already had the red heart attached) was trimmed to a small square, layered onto black card and atttached in the centre of my card.

Kath x

Christmas Angel

I made this card for the current challenge at Winter Wonderland which is 'Must Have a Charm'.  I'm also entering the Christmas Card Challenges 'Anything Goes' and Little Claire's Designs ' Anything Goes' challenges.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Christmas Angels' Art Pad
Card: Dark blue mirri, matt silver
Other: White ribbon, silver snowflake charm, Wink of Stella

I trimmed the Angel image from the Art Pad and layered it onto matt silver card.  I made a bow with  long tails from a piece of narrow white ribbon and threaded the snowflake charm onto the ribbon so it was tied into the  knot of the bow.  I wrapped the ribbon tails around the bottom of the image before layering it onto dark blue mirri card and attaching it to the card front.  To finish, I highlighted the snow and angel image with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Partridge in a Pear Tree

The current 52 {Christmas} Card Challenge is 'Green and White' and I've made this card following the current sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches.  The card was from my snippets drawer so I'm also heading off to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 5" x 5" white hammer
Die: Partridge in a Pear Tree (magazine freebie)
Snippets: Green pearl and white hammer card

I die cut the Partridge in a Pear Tree from both the green and white card.  The white silhouette of the die was trimmed and layered onto green card before being attached to the card front.  I then inlaid the green die cut into the card.  I removed all the small sections from the white die cut and inlaid them into the spaces on the card.

Kath x

Holly Tree

I've used one of my favourite Christmas tree stamps to make this card for the Merry Monday 'Buttons' challenge and the ABC Christmas Challenge 'E is for Embossing'.

Card blank: 7" x 5" white silk
Stamp: Woodware 'Holly Tree'
Embossing: Crafts-Too 'Twinkle'
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Card: Red pearlescent, white silk
Paper: Hot off the Press' Cardmakers' Ultimate Pack - Floral', Wild Rose Studio 'Always and Forever'
Other: Diamond Stickles, Gold nailheads, Red heart button (upcycled from Christmas card), Wink of Stella

I embossed the white silk card and trimmed it to size.  This was then layered onto red pearlescent card and attached to the card front.  I glued green pattered paper from the Hot off the Press paper pack and red rose paper from the Wild Rose Studio paper pack onto thin card.  I stamped the tree on the green paper and the bow, holly leaves and star on the red paper.  I cut out the tree, pot and star and attached them to the card with Pinflair glue as they were attached onto the embossed background.  The holly leaves were fussy cut, shaped and also attached with Pinflair glue.  I added gold nailheads to the tree and outlined the swirls with Diamond Stickles.  The holly leaves, pot, bow and star were highlighted with a Wink of Stella.  To finish I attached the red heart button to the pot.

Kath x

Thank You Snippets

The current Alphabet Challenge is 'A for Anything Pink' and I've made this card using lots of pink snippets so I'm also running across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Dies: Creative Dies 'Thank You', Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Hexagons', Tattered Lace 'Mini Butterfly'
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Snippets: Lili of the Valley 'Perfect Pair' papers, white card

I trimmed a piece of white card, layered it onto pink paper and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut and embossed eleven small hexagons and attached them to the card.  I glued a snippet of dark pink paper onto white card (to make it more rigid) then die cut 'Thank You' and attached it to the lower corner of the card.  As the papers are single sided, I glued two small snippets of green paper together and die cut the butterfly, this was then attached above the sentiment.

Kath x

Christmas Lace

The current challenge at Winter Wonderland is 'Use Some Lace' and my first challenge was to find some lace!  This scrap was lurking at the bottom of my ribbon drawer and I made the card following the current sketch at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown.

Card blank:  7" x 5"  silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Warm and Cosy' pre-coloured topper
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities A2 Matting Basics B
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Card: Red hammer
Paper: Hot off the Press Floral Cardmaker's Ultimate Pack, Hunkydory Traditional Christmas (magazine freebie)
Other: Stampendous Fun Flock, Upcycled Snowflake,  Wink of Stella

I trimmed a piece of spotty paper from the HOTP paper pack, layered it onto red card and attached it to the card front.  A strip of Hunkydory green paper was layered onto red card and the lace wrapped around the lower edge, this was then attached to the card.  I die cut the topper (it was originally a square) and embossed it before layering it onto red card and attaching it to the card with foam tape.  I applied Fun Flock to the top of the stocking and the hat bobbles and then highlighted the image with a Wink of Stella.  To finish, I attached a snowflake (upcycled from one of my Christmas cards) to the lower corner.

Kath x

Welcome Spring

I love daffodils as they always make me think that Spring has arrived, so I've used a cute Lili of the Valley pre-coloured topper for my card.  I'm entering the Cuttlebug Mania 'Welcome Spring' and Die-Cut Divas 'Something Spring' challenges as well as the Lili of the Valley 'Spring Challenge' and the ABC Challenges 'C for Cute'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Image: Lili of the Valley 'Bunny with Daffodils' pre-coloured topper
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Labels One', Tattered Lace 'Mini Butterfly'
Embossing: Crafts-Too 'Leaves', Kars tan embossing mat
Card: Gold matt, white silk

I embossed the leaves onto white silk card and trimmed it around the edge of the embossed area.  This was then layered onto gold card and attached to the card front.  I used masking tape to hold the topper in the Labels One die (the topper was a square and was only just wide enough to fit the die) and then die cut and embossed the image.  I die cut and embossed a larger Label One from the gold matt card, layered the image on top and attached them to the centre of the card.  To finish, I die cut a mini butterfly, shaped the wings and attached it to the card.

Kath x

Glitter and Grape Butterfly

A friend liked my White on White birthday card, but as she likes sparkle I've made her a similar card with lots of glitter.  I'm entering the current Butterfly Challenge 'G is for Glitter and/or Grape' and also the Allsorts 'Sentiment in Focus' and Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenges.

Card blank: Cream pearl
Dies: Memory Box 'Grand Happy Birthday' and 'Pippi Butterfly', Tattered Lace 'Mini Butterflies'
Card: Purple glitter, cream pearl
Paper: Lili of the Valley 'Timeless Victorian'

I layered a piece of lilac paper from the Timeless Victorian pad onto glitter card and attached it to the card front.  I die cut the Grand Happy Birthday from cream pearl card and the lower section from glitter card.  I attached double sided tape across the back of the cream die cut and inlaid the glitter letters.  This panel was then trimmed to size and attached to the lower edge of the card.  I die cut the butterflies from glitter card and attached them as shown.

Kath x

Elegant Reindeer

I've just bought some new die storage so have had a good sort through my dies.  I came across this Elegant Reindeer die which had been a magazine freebie ages ago - perfect for Darnell's NBUS Challenge (for those who don't know, NBUS is 'Never-Before-Used-Schtuff'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large & Classic Scalloped Circles Large, Creative Dies 'Elegant Reindeer' (magazine freebie)
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Card: Snippets of white hammer, red mirri, brown and gold card

I die-cut and embossed a circle from white hammer card and a scalloped circle from gold card.  The white circle was layered onto the scalloped circle and attached to the card front.  I die cut the Elegant Reindeer from brown and gold card and attached it to the circle, inlaying a gold scroll in the reindeer body.  I die cut an extra couple of snowflakes (these are also on the same die) and attached them to the card.  To finish, I die cut the bow from red mirri and attached it to the reindeer.  I was going to attach a red gem to its nose, but didn't have one small enough so will keep this as a flat card for cheaper posting.

Kath x

Spring Blog Candy

I had so many lovely comments for my New Year Blog Candy that I thought I would offer some more to celebrate the start of Spring.

If you would like a chance to win, this is what you must do:
1. Be or become a follower of my blog with Google Friend Connect
2. Add the photo to your sidebar and link back to my blog
2. Leave a comment below before 04:30 GMT on 20 March (the Spring Equinox)

I will choose a winner at random from all comments that have been left and will publish the name of the lucky winner on 20 March.

As I now have over 100 followers, I will choose another winner for a Joanna Sheen £10.00 gift voucher.

Good luck!
Kath x