April Rudolph Day

It's the fourth Rudolph Day of the year and another card using die cuts (die cutting is my RD theme this year).  I used a poinsettia die and lots of snippets to make this CAS Christmas card.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white hammer card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Square STAX Die-namics', All Occasion Dies 'Small Poinsettia' & Memory Box 'Mini Holly Leaves'
     Snippets of red pearlescent card, white hammer card and gold mirri card

I die cut a square from white hammer card, layered it onto a slightly larger square of red pearlescent card and attached it to the centre of the card blank.  I die cut and embossed the three different size poinsettias from red pearlescent card, layered them and attached them to the centre of the square.  To finish I die cut holly berries from gold mirri card and attached them to the centre of the poinsettia.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Alphabet Challenge - P for Poinsettia
     As You Like It Challenge - Clean & Simple or Fussy & Fancy (it's always CAS for me - if I try a fussy card it always seems to look messy)
     Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Positively Poinsettias
     Rudolph Day - April Challenge
     Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Christmas Foliage

This is my last post for a few weeks as we're off on our travels on Sunday.  We're starting with a visit to our families, then a couple of days at Portmerion before heading to Angelsey for three weeks.

Kath x

Cross Stitch Red Poppy

This lovely RTO cross stitch kit was another charity shop fine - a 75p bargain!   This is the first RTO kit I've bought but it was a joy to stitch as it was very good quality and contained Zweigart fabric, DMC threads and John James needle.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     RTO 'Poppy' cross stitch kit
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Square STAX Die-namics die
     Snippet of white hammer card

After completing the stitching I washed it to remove the creases in the fabric and set it aside.  I used the stitched square die to cut an aperture in the front of the card blank.  I trimmed the fabric and attached it to the inside of the aperture.  To finish I used a snippet of white hammer card on the inside of the card front to cover the back of the stitching.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Little Red Wagon - Make it Sew (I've used cross stitch and a stitched die)

Kath x

Get Well Wishes

I've been having a play with my new Uniko Flower Power stamps and made this Get Well card for a friend who's not feeling too good at the moment.  These Flower Power stamps are currently my favourite stamps as they suit my CAS style - the sentiment stamps also stamp really well, even on hammer card.

To make this card I used:
     5.5" x 4.25" white hammer card blank
     Uniko 'Flower Power #4' & 'Flower Power #6' stamps & coordinating dies
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & out Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics' die
     Versafine Vintage Sepia, Olympia Green and Habanero ink
     Snippets of white hammer card and white matt card

I green ink to stamp the leaves onto a snippet of white matt card and cut them with the coordinating die.  I used brown ink to stamp the flower outline onto another snippet of white matt card and then stamped the solid flower onto the top with orange ink, before cutting the flower with the coordinating die.  I die cut a snippet of white hammer card with the largest stitched rectangle die and placed it into my MISTI.  I placed the sentiment along the lower edge of the panel and the flower outline in the top corner before stamping them with brown ink.  The panel was then attached to the front of the card blank.  I attached the leaves to the card and then used a foam pad to attach the flower.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - CAS
     Stamping Sensations - Animals, Flowers and Birds
     Uniko April Challenge - Flowers
     We Love Stamping - Favourite Stamps 

Kath x

Happy Anniversary

I've used a lovely Uniko 'Ink & Flip' stencil to make this anniversary card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Uniko 'Ink & Flip Geometric Heart Layering Stencil'
     Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' die
     Hobby Art 'General Greetings' stamp
     Distress Inks - Ripe Persimmon & Worn Lipstick
     Versafine Onyx Black ink
     Woodware 'Heart' punch
     Snippets of white and black matt card

I used Ripe Persimmon ink to stencil the heart onto a snippet of white card.  I cleaned the stencil and flipped it to stencil it again with Worn Lipstick.  I then fussy cut the heart and set it aside.  I cut a snippet of white card with the largest stitched die and placed it into my MISTI before laying the heart onto the panel so I could see where to place the sentiment.  I removed the heart and stamped the sentiment with black ink.  The panel was then attached to the centre of the card blank.  I attached the heart above the sentiment with foam pads.  To finish I punched two tiny hearts from black card and attached then to the stencilled heart

I am entering the following challenges:
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Die Cuts and/or Stencils (I've used both)
     Allsorts - Stencils/Masks
     Alphabet Challenge - H for Heart
     As You Like It Challenge - Clean & Simple or Fussy & Fancy (my favourite is always CAS with lots of white space on my cards - if I try to make a fussy card they always seem to look messy)
     CAS on Friday - Use a Stencil
     Krafty Chicks Challenge- CAS
     Simply Clean & Simple - Anything CAS Goes

Kath x 

Merry Christmas Tree

I've had this Christmas tree die for a while, but this is the first time I've used it.  I thought it would be perfect for a quick CAS Christmas card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" kraft card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Merry Tree' die
     Snippets of kraft card and white matt card

I trimmed a snippet of white matt card to 5" x 5" and then a snippet of kraft card to 4.75" x 4.75".  I die cut the Christmas tree from the kraft card before layering it onto the white card and then attaching it to the card blank.  I die cut the tree again from a snippet of white card before inlaying the white tree and the small infill snippets of kraft card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Kraft and White
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Die Cuts and/or Stencils (I've used die cuts)
     Alphabet Challenge - C for Christmas Tree
     As You Like It Challenge - Clean & Simple or Fussy & Fancy (my favourite is always CAS - if I do make a fussy card I'm never happy with it as they tend to look messy!)
     Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Rockin' around the Christmas tree
     Cut It Up Challenge - Starts with a 'C' (I've chosen Christmas)
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - CAS
     NBUS - Challenge 73 (my new, to me, Christmas tree die)

Kath x   

Framed Floral Card

This is the first time I've used this lovely Spellbinders die that I won earlier in the year and I can see it becoming one of my favourites.  I've used my new die with some snippets to make a small notecard.

To make this card I used:
     5.5" x 4.25" white matt card blank
     Spellbinders Designer Series 'Framed Floral Card Front' & My Favorite Things 'Fishtail Flags' dies

     Sizzix Framelits 'Floral Hello' stamp
     Versafine Vintage Sepia ink
     Snippets of white matt card and Lili of the Valley 'Antebellum' paper

I used both the floral panel and the frame to cut a snippet of white paper.  After removing all the small pieces from the panel I attached a snippet of turquoise paper behind the panel and attached it to the front of the card blank.  I used brown ink to stamp the sentiment onto another snippet of white card and then cut it with a fishtail flag - moving the die so I could shorten the length of the flag.  The flag was then attached to the top of the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Die Cuts and/or Stencils (I've used two dies)
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Daisy Chain Challenge - Not Square
     NBUS - Challenge 73 (I've used my new Spellbinders die)
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 504

Kath x

Merry Christmas Poinsettias

I enjoy stitching small designs and have a drawer with lots of small pieces of cross stitch waiting to be made into cards. I've spent a few hours today making some of them into cards.

To make this card I used:
     5.5" x 4.25" white matt card blank
     Christmas Cross Stitch Favourites 'Poinsettia' cross stitch chart by Debra Page 
     Snippet of aida
     DMC threads
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics' die
     Snippet of white matt card

I used the chart in the magazine to stitch the lovely poinsettias.  To make the frame I used the rectangle die on a snippet of white card  My rectangle die was the correct width (one block wider than the stitched frame) but was too deep so I cut the top half of the frame and then moved the die so it was the correct depth before cutting the lower half.  I then trimmed the frame so it was slightly smaller than the card blank.  The stitching was attached to the rear of the frame and then to the centre of the card blank.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     As You Like It Challenge - Cute or Floral (it's definitely floral for me as I love flowers and floral designs are my favourite to stitch)
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Positively Poinsettias
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Christmas Foliage

Kath x

Sending Hugs

I was lucky to be the winner of the Uniko 13th Birthday Linky Party and received an eGift code. I chose to spend my prize on two sets of Flower Power stamps and coordinating dies.  The pretty flower and lovely sentiment were perfect for this notecard for a friend who's having a difficult time at the moment.

To make this card I used:
     4" x 4" white matt card blank
     Uniko 'Flower Power 1' (sentiment) and 'Flower Power 6' (flower and stem) stamps and coordinating dies
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Square STAX Die-namics' die
     Versafine Spanish Moss and Habanero ink
     Snippet of white matt card

I used the stitched square die to emboss a frame in the centre of the card blank and then placed it into my MISTI to stamp the sentiment in green ink in the lower corner. I used orange ink to stamp the flower onto a snippet of white card and the green ink to stamp the stem and leaves.  These were cut with the coordinating dies.  I attached the stem onto the lower corner of the embossed frame and attached the flower with a foam pad.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Any Occasion
     Allsorts - Spring Flowers
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Feminine
     Simply Clean & Simple - Anything CAS Goes
     Stamping Sensations - Flowers

Kath x

Big Birthday Wishes

I needed another male card and used my 'go to' die for masculine cards - I also used lots of tiny snippets, including my last piece of this lovely blue and gold pearlescent marbled paper.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" kraft card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Big Birthday Wishes' die
     Snippets of kraft card, cream matt card, gold pearlescent card and blue and gold marbled paper (sorry, but I forgot to take a photo of my snippets!)

I trimmed the snippet of kraft card so it was slightly wider than the die and cut the large sentiment from the centre before attaching the panel to the front of the card blank.  I attached the snippet of marbled paper to cream card and die cut 'BIG' before inlaying the letters into the front of the card.  I die cut the rest of the sentiment from gold pearlescent card and inlaid them.  I then inlaid the small pieces of kraft card into the letters.  To finish I trimmed two narrow strips of gold pearlescent card and attached them down each side of the sentiment panel.  

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Birthday
     Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 503

Kath x

Iris' Card

Although I've not done much papercrafting over the last few weeks as we've been away in our campervan, I have stitched a lot of small designs which will be made into cards.  I always take a few of these small designs away with me for when I want a change from reading a book!

The lovely floral design is from Carolyn's Garden by Serendipity Designs - another of my charity shop finds - and will be a birthday card for my friend Iris.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Carolyn's Meadow 'Iris' cross stitch kit
     Small piece of white aida 
     Extra DMC threads to match colours in kit
     Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' die
     Snippet of white hammer card

The kit has been started but the stitching didn't look like mine, so I used a small piece of white aida and some extra threads to stitch the design from scratch.  After completing the stitching I mounted the fabric behind a stitched square aperture that had been die cut in the front of a 6" x 6" white hammer card blank.  A piece of the same card was attached inside to cover the back of the stitching.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     As You Like It Challenge - Cute or Floral (I love to make floral cards - whether stamped or stitched - mainly because I love flowers and gardens. - although I do make cute cards for the small people in my family)     
     Beautiful Blossoms - Anything Floral Goes
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes

Kath x