Kool Kitty Musings

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Hello and welcome to what will be this year's Christmas countdown series on my blog.

Last year I aimed to make a Christmas card a week and shared them all in the run-up to Christmas 2020.

This year I wasn't really feeling the Christmas crafting spirit in the early months of 2021 and by the summer, I definitely wasn't in a Christmas mood.

So, instead, I decided that I would try my hand at making at least 5 cards in one sitting in 12 different designs inspired by my favourite card makes from previous years and some new designs thrown in for good measure.

As many people will know, I am not very good at bulk cardmaking. I often find assembly line cardmaking sucks the joy right out of it for me, and many of my card designs don't really work for making multiples.

So I've chosen a few clean and simple projects that use up papers that are to hand (so they aren't all necessarily matchy, matchy) as well as lots of dies and stamps of course!

Kicking us off, we have the return of a Christmas card staple - mini houses!

Here's a closer look at one of the cards:

Paper: Crate Paper - Bundled Up (r), Basic Grey - B-Side (r)
Stamp: Mama Elephant - Holiday Messages
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Stars (r), Neat & Tangled - Skinny Strips (r), Poppy Stamps - Townhouses, The Stamp Market - Jumbo Tag

I cannot tell you how much I love this combo of the Jumbo Tag from The Stamp Market being used to showcase the snowy nighttime street with those Poppy Stamps town houses.

The tag works great against any patterned paper background you have in your stash, especially from old 6x6 pads like the Bundled Up collection from Crate Paper that I used here.

It's also great for adding a really long sentiment strip to your card to divide up the space on the tag, and thankfully the Holiday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant has the perfect sentiment to fit that strip.

I covered up the hole of the tag with a stitched star popped up on 3D foam tape, and as a finishing touch, each of the cards in this collection has coordinating enamel dots to decorate the sentiment strip. I have a lot of enamel dots in my stash, but really wish manufacturers would just release sheets of these small ones, as those are the ones I use aaaaall the time.

Until next time, happy festive crafting!

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Mama Elephant - Holiday Messages stamps Shop at: MISC | SHC	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Stars dies (r) Shop at: MISC	Neat & Tangled - Skinny Strips dies (r) Shop at: MISC	Poppy Stamps - Townhouses dies Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Jumbo Tag dies Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Lawn Fawn - Glue tube Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Ranger - Multi-Medium Matte adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2021 Card Challenge - December Prompt

Good evening all!

I'm posting this a little early, as I'll be starting a new series on my blog tomorrow as we count down to Christmas.

The last prompt for this year's card challenge embraces the festive season here in the Northern Hemisphere:

{Pinterest pin}

And of course the focus colour had to be festive too, because it's: Red

As always, I have a few ideas to get you started, but as you can see from the image, there are lots of everyday elements that can work for clean and simple designs or really glammed up creations, and not just Christmas cards:

• Stars - whether as an aperture opening, cookie, starry sky, dimensional ornament, or lots of stars in sequin/confetti format for a shaker card, stars are such a versatile design element this time of year.
• Baubles - you could cut several circles in the same size and score and crease them to make dimensional baubles similar to honeycomb paper, use ephemera or stickers to create "ornaments" that hang from a branch, add a button and twine to the top of a circle aperture to create the look of a bauble, or how about taking inspiration from the images/patterns on the baubles hanging on your tree and featuring them on your card?
• Pine boughs and pine cones - there are so many pretty papers, dies, stamps, embossing folders, and stencils that you can use to create a focal point, border, or background for your card with this staple winter foliage design element.
• Snowflakes/a dusting of snow - the snowflakes on the biscuits and that dusting of icing sugar could be easily interpreted with snowflake patterns, die-cuts, sequin mixes, glitter, even 3D puffy paint.
• Winter village/church scene - keep things super simple with white silhouette houses/buildings against a blended sky/contrasting paper, or do you have gingerbread houses and other wintry embellishments that would fit the bill?
• Lace/stitching/twine - feature a decorative lace edge, some hand stitching, anything with that embroidery look, twine on tags/buttons - so many possibilities to make your card look truly handmade or to bring some extra detail and dimension to your project.
• Coffee pot - a vintage coffee pot certainly is a great vessel for a festive floral/foliage display, but there's no reason you can't use a trough/window box, jar, watering can, vase, or bottle to hold winter foliage, branches, poinsettias, etc. You could even create a mini wreath to hang from a door or tree.
• Gift box - include some presents on your card, or perhaps create a dimensional card similar to an exploding box. With some nifty scoring, there are many types of pop-up cards that will fit in a standard envelope, ready for the recipient to pop them up on their mantelpiece.
• Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle - those fairy lights are a great reminder that festive crafting is the ideal time to get the sequins, glitter, and even tinsel twine out. Glam up a tag and use that as the topper on your card or go to town adding Stickles, Glossy Accents, and other media as the finishing touch to your creation.

Happy crafting!

DCM - Show us your stockings!

Good morning!

This week over on the Daring Cardmaker's Blog, it's all about stockings - including those of the Christmas variety. :)

Surprisingly, I didn't have as many Christmas Stocking items in my stash as I thought, but I did have three on a sticker sheet from Crate Paper's Merry Days collection that were just perfect for creating a festive little scene:

Paper: Honey Bee Stamps - Fresh Brewed, Crate Paper - Falala (r), Crate Paper - Merry Days (r)
Stickers and ephemera: Crate Paper - Merry Days (r)
Dies: Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder, MFT - Tiny Houses

I created a little wooden shelf using woodgrain paper and a woodgrain die (for added texture) from Honey Bee Stamps.

Then I found some papers that would work as a good wallpaper background.

I hung the stockings from the shelf and added the sentiment to look like a hanging picture, plus little green trees as ornaments on the shelf.

Definitely a nice quick make which is very welcome this time of year, and it's always good to make a dent in the sticker and paper stash!

Make sure you check out the lovely projects from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	MFT - Tiny Houses dies Shop at: EH | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: EH | SSS	Honey Bee Stamps - Fresh Brewed 6x6 paper pad Shop at: EH | MISC
Crate Paper - Falala - Very Merry paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Merry Days - Tinsel paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Merry Days - Ephemera (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Merry Days - Cardstock stickers (r) Shop at: MISC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Silver, Aqua, and a Dash...

Good morning!

For this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge, we are working with colour combos of silver, aqua, and a dash of something else...

Stamps: PTI - Brushed Birds, The Greetery - Put a Bow on It
Dies: PTI - Brushed Birds, The Greetery - Put a Bow on It, Hello Bluebird - Holly and Pine, Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Rectangles, Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Holiday Greens
Stencils: The Greetery - Frosty Flakes
Other: Distress Oxides

Sadly, the return of photographing in winter daylight yields rather disappointing results! This card is much more sparkly and vibrant in real life.

I started out by using watercolour paint over the Frosty Flakes stencils from The Greetery. How I wish we could get Pixie stencil spray in the UK to hold detailed stencils in place, but for this look the blue wash through the more detailed elements create a nicely frosty look.

After some more paint and ink splatters were applied, I set the background aside to dry and got down to stamping the sparrows with Distress Oxide ink with ink daubers. I also inked the Holiday Greens branch in various shades of green and brown before leaving them to dry ready for some glittering.

The bow was stamped several times with Lawn Fawn Kiddie Pool and Sage Leaf, I also gave it a good splattering of aqua toned paint before leaving it to dry.

Then followed my glittering session with Rock Candy glitter, and while those elements were drying, I cut some lovely pine boughs from Memory Box silver glitter cardstock to arrange behind the bow when finally assembling the card.

Make sure you check out the lovely projects from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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PTI - Brushed Birds stamps Shop at: MISC | SSS	The Greetery - Put a Bow on It stamps Shop at: MISC | SHC	PTI - Brushed Birds dies Shop at: MISC | SSS	The Greetery - Put a Bow on It die Shop at: MISC | SHC
Hello Bluebird - Holly and Pine dies Shop at: MISC	Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Holiday Greens dies Shop at: AZ | SBC	The Greetery - Frosty Flakes stencils Shop at: MISC | SHC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Antique Linen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Frayed Burlap Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Ground Espresso Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Iced Spruce Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Pine Needles Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Rustic Wilderness Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Walnut Stain Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Weathered Wood Shop at: EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Kiddie Pool ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Sage Leaf ink pad Shop at: SBC | SHC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Taffy Shop at: AZ | EH | MISC	Tim Holtz - 4.25 x 5.5 Distress Watercolor Cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Memory Box - Festive glitter pad Shop at: EH | MISC	Tim Holtz - Distress Glitter - Clear Rock Candy Shop at: AZ | SBC
Dr. Pj. Martin's Bleed Proof White watercolour Shop at: AZ	Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36-pan watercolour set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Ranger - Glossy Accents Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Ranger - Multi-Medium Matte adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Sponge daubers Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | SBC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC