Kool Kitty Musings

Hey Little Magpie August projects - Summer Red Raspberry by Jillibean Soup

Well it has been one tiring week so far! I've had a couple of very long work days that have left no real time to unwind with a bit of crafting.

I had really hoped to get a brand new card made in time for this week's Daring Cardmakers dare which is all about featuring some fruit on your cards - thank you Jo for that one! :D

But had I had time to make a brand new card, I still would have used this aptly named collection by Jillibean Soup which was the focus of my August projects over on the Hey Little Magpie blog.

So for my Miss Cheaty-Pants entry into this week's Daring Cardmaker's dare I am sharing this card from that crafting session as it just fits too well not to!

Paper, stickers, ephemera: Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry
Stamp: Avery Elle
Die: MFT
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam tape

I mean come on! Just how perfect is that raspberry paper and those little berry-relate stickers, not to mention the raspberry die-cuts. So, so lovely indeed! :D

Here are the other cards I made with the collection:

Paper, wood veneer, ephemera: Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry
Stamp: Avery Elle
Dies: MFT, PTI, Lawn Fawn
Enamel heart: Hey Little Magpie
Other: 3D foam tape, glitter paper

I really liked the journaling card paper in this collection - it has some very card-friendly texts and sentiments on it, that hello sunshine card was just begging to be used with my trusty Lawn Fawn sunshine die!

In fact the journaling card paper makes for some very simple yet pretty card ideas:

Paper: Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry
Other: 3D foam tape

Paper and foam tape - that's all that was needed here... I just love the grey tones against the watercolour pastel shades. So pretty.

And finally, perhaps my favourite card of the lot:

Paper, ephemera: Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry
Stamp: MFT
Dies: PTI, Lil' Inker Designs
Enamel dots: Basic Grey
Other: 3D foam tape, sewing machine

I just had to use those floral and leafy die-cuts to make a little decorative frame for my greeting, plus those little butterflies which are also from the die-cut pack add a great finishing touch.

And well, I just love that aqua paper against the vibrant pinks and greens!

So, if you are in the mood for more fruit-filled creating ideas, you definitely need to head on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog!

Have a lovely crafty weekend, I'll be working all of it by the looks of it, but I shall definitely be wishing for some crafty time!

Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Whipped Cream Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Stick Of Cinnamon Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Sliced Banana Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Red Wine Paper
Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Fresh Yogurt Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Bite Size Bits Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Frozen Red Raspberries Paper	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Soup Label Stickers
Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - 6x11" Cardstock Stickers	Jillibean Soup - Summer Red Raspberry - Pea Pod Die Cuts	Hey Little Magpie Enamel Hearts - Rainbow Colours	American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad
Lawn Fawn - Spring showers dies	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	Papertrey Ink - Medium scallop border die	Avery Elle - Cake & Candles stamps
My Mind's Eye - Kate & Co - Cambridge Court - Enamel Dots	MFT - Die-namics Fishtail Flags Layers STAX dies	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set	Basic Grey - Candy Buttons - Red/pink enamel dots
Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	Papertrey Ink - Small scallop border die	MFT - LJD Birthday Greetings stamps	Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink

InLinkz.com

Hey Little Magpie project catch-up - July

So time for another catch-up from my recent Hey Little Magpie projects.

This post is image heavy - but all the info can be found here in my original post over on the Hey Little Magpie blog.

July was the month of a very special event in my family - my brother's and now sister-in-law's wedding! And what a wonderful event it was.

I wanted to make a couple of special gifts for them.

One was using the Marquee Love letters by Heidi Swapp for their favour table.

Here they are after I assembled them at our June crop:

They're just the contents of the box plus a sheet of silver glitter paper and a sheet of pink glitter paper. They looked lovely on the day I just hope the photographer managed to snap them in their full glory. :D

And in addition to those I made the mini album with photos from the happy couple's pre-wedding photo shoot.

All the products were from the Fancy That collection by My Mind's Eye.

I'll let the pictures do the talking now. ;)

Phew!

That was a lot of photos to take!

Naturally there was also a wedding card to make, and I've already shared it here on the blog, but here it is again in context.

And of course there need to be some artful wrapping of said gift:

The Fancy That collection was fab to work with and it definitely proved popular in the shop - here's what I used in case it is still in stock:

My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Pearl - Bridesmaid Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - I Do - Love You Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Tux - Best Man Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Tux - Flair
My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Kiss - The Mr Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Pearl - Bouquet Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - 6 x 6" Gold Foiled Paper Pad	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Blush 12 x 12" Chipboard Elements
My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Pearl - Mixed Gold Foil Bag	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Pearl - Gold Foil Stickers	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Blush Journal Cards	My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Kiss - Enamel Dots
My Mind's Eye - Fancy That - Blush Decorative Brads	American Crafts - 12x12" Smooth Cardstock - Stone	My Mind's Eye - On Trend - Party - Confetti Gold Foiled Paper	My Mind's Eye - On Trend - Happy - Happy Gold Foiled Paper

InLinkz.com

And as for the day itself, I took very little in the way of photos, but here are some Instagram snaps from that whole event:

Looking forward to seeing the official photos now too - with any luck I'll manage to get some copies for my own album. ;)

Ruby Rock-it blog hop!

As you may have seen on the Daring Cardmakers blog today, we're teaming up with Ruby Rock-it for one epic blog hop!

If you've joined me from Christine's blog - a very happy hello from me here in the UK! :D

We were lucky enough to be sent some great products by Ruby Rock-it earlier this summer for some DCM dares and it's now time to share the last of our projects. :)

Here are the details: Enjoy the hop and leave a comment for each of our fabulous designers along the way, and be sure to leave one on your last stop on the Ruby Rock-It blog!  For those that follow until the end leaving your sweet sentiments along the way, you'll be entered to win a fabulous prize from us!  We will announce our winner the first week of September!

So on with the projects!

This card was made using Bella! glitter kraft paper, layered birthday stickers (item code: FU53), washi-style stickers (item code: FU30) and a little heart from a set of alpha stickers (item code: FUN22).

I used the washi-style strips to make a contrasting border - the bottom strip wasn't quite long enough to stretch to the other side, so I snipped it in half and hid the gap with that sentiment sticker from the same set.

The pink rosette is from the layered stickers, but I used another sticker from the set in the middle as that cute little cupcake was too sweet to pass up! Oh and I added a touch more sparkle with my trusty Stickles!

Here are the other Ruby Rock-it cards I made for our Daring Cardmakers dares.

First up was this baby card:

And then this bright and snazzy birthday card with more of the layered stickers and washi-style stickers:

I hope you've been enjoying the hop so far! Now it's time to head on over to your next stop....

Alicia's blog!

Here's the blog hop in full:

Kathy

Erin

Lythan

Pattie

Jo

Christine

Nat - Me!

Alicia

Leo

Beck

Sharon

Teresa Horner

Miri

Jenifer

Beckie

Teresa Abajo

Svenja

Shannon

Dawn

Ruby Rock-It

Happy hopping!

Let's hear it for the guys!

Friday has arrived again!

Boy are the weeks flying by... but yep, another Friday so it's time for a brand new dare over on the Daring Cardmakers blog - and this week it comes courtesy of Lythan.

We've been challenged to share a new spin on those rather tricky card projects - a card for the male of the species....

Always a challenge!

But since I needed to make a special card for a special someone celebrating a special milestone I thought I would get that special project done and dusted in good time. :)

Paper: Crate Paper, Making Memories, Studio Calico
Stickers: Crate Paper
Stamps: MFT
Dies: MFT, Lawn Fawn, PTI Lil' Inker Designs
Wood veneer: Ruby Rock-it
Other: 3D foam

And speaking of "vintage" - a lot of "vintage" items went into the making of this card, including the Making Memories postcard background paper from 2008! There are snippets of papers left over from my beloved Story Teller collection pack and stickers from my Emma's Shoppe collection pack... just goes to show there's plenty of life in those older products - just not enough hours in the day to use them all!

Right, well I shall leave you to browse the lovely projects over on the Daring Cardmakers blog - I'm off out for my birthday meal tonight so it's a nice way to start the weekend, even if I will be working some of it. :)

Crate Paper - Story Teller collection kit	Studio Calico - Abroad collection pack	Crate Paper - Emma's Shoppe collection kit	Making Memories - Passport collection kit
My Favorite Things - Just My Type dies and stamps	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set	Papertrey Ink - Medium scallop border die

InLinkz.com

Looking forward to a cinema outing...

It's been a busy week on the work front so far and with this whole self-employed you're-you're-own-boss malarkey I've not really had a lot of down time - other than catching up on my daily fix of guilty pleasure reality TV while eating lunch and dinner.

Namely the compulsive viewing that is I Found the Gown and Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta!

Do not judge me.... :D

But I seem to be finding more shows to add to my Tivo list on TLC! Heaven help me!

But what's the point of guilty pleasure viewing unless it really is a pleasure that you can watch with super speed fast fwd when needed? <g>

So yes, tomorrow night is cinema outing night with my friend Kelly and we are off to see this:

Have been looking forward to seeing it since the first trailers came out - it looks good and I have heard good things! I just wonder if they will keep the name of the original 60's show's big bad... T.H.R.U.S.H... hm... we shall see! :D

Anyway, I have a few more things to do on the PC tonight, then it's time for a soak in the bath and bed. The end to a thrilling Wednesday. ;o)

Hey Little Magpie project catch-up - June

It's time for another catch-up post sharing the projects I made for Hey Little Magpie this summer. My June projects were all about those lovely and very handy Standouts that Crate Paper does.

The full details can be found here. :)

So I used a mix of the new summer Poolside line, plus the Maggie Holmes Confetti line and a few paper picks from the Craft Market collection.

Let's start with the Poolside projects:

Paper: Crate Paper
Standout: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Dear Lizzy
Die: PTI
Enamel dots: Simple Stories
Other: 3D foam

I wanted to bring a bit of fun texture to the card that would feature this ice cream accent, so I cut lots of scallop strips from the dotty background paper and layered them up. And the Fine & Dandy Thickers elements provided the ideal sentiment. :)

The kite Standout had me thinking clouds and sunshine:

Standouts: Crate Paper
Papers: Crate Paper
Dies: Lawn Fawn, MFT
Other: 3D foam

I loved the combination of kite and sun Standouts with the dies and sentiment from Lawn Fawn.

Next up another Poolside card featuring the fab camera Standout:

Papers: Crate Paper
Standouts: Crate Paper
Dies: Spellbinders, Lil' Inker Designs, Pebbles Inc
Stamp: WPlus9
Alpha stickers: Basic Grey
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

I loved the combo of the pinked circle to frame the camera a bit like the flash from the bulb together with the flower Standouts that match the background paper.

Next was a project that wasn't a card for a change! It's a pillow box that I cut from the gold foiled dot paper and added tails to the rosette Standout to give the pillow box a bit of glam.

Paper: Crate Paper
Standout: Crate Paper

Then it was onto more cards this time focussing on the Confetti line.

Paper: Crate Paper
Standouts: Crate Paper
Stamp: PTI
Dies: Pebbles Inc, PTI
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam, Corner Chomper

I wanted to totally go layer crazy on one card, and this is the one! each layer around the frame is popped up with 3D foam tape and the final frame is cut with the Polaroid die from the Jen Hadfield Cottage Living set.

And finally, there was a cheeky card in preparation for Father's day.

Paper: Crate Paper
Standout: Crate Paper
Dies: Avery Elle, Lil' Inker Designs
Stamps: Avery Elle
Other: 3D foam

I used the toothpick banner Standout to decorate the stamped beer bottle and added a glitter pretzel for good measure, as you do!

Well, here are the products I used for these projects. :)

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Standouts Layered Embellishments	Crate Paper - Poolside - Standouts Layered Stickers	Crate Paper - Poolside - Summertime Paper	Crate Paper - Poolside - Sun-N-Fun Paper
Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Life of the Party Paper	Crate Paper - Poolside - Lawn Chair Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Centerpiece Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Fete Paper
Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Garden Party Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Blast Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Ceremony Gold Foil Accent Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Jubilee Paper
Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Anniversary Gold Glitter Accent Paper	Crate Paper - Craft Market - Craftsman Paper	Crate Paper - Craft Market - Fresh Paint Paper	Crate Paper - Craft Market - Stitching Paper
American Crafts - Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy - Accent & Phrase Thickers	Papertrey Ink - Medium scallop border die	Simple Stories - I Am - Enamel Dots	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card
Lawn Fawn - Hello Sunshine stamp set	Lawn Fawn - Spring showers dies	MFT - Die-namics Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX	Basic Grey - Spice Market - Alphabet stickers
My Mind's Eye - On Trend - Party - Enamel Shapes	WPlus9 - Strictly Sentiments 1 stamps	Pebbles - Jen Hadfield Cottage Living - Polaroid Die Set	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set
Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	Avery Elle - The Man stamp set	Avery Elle - The Man die set

InLinkz.com

Over on the Hey Little Magpie blog today - August projects

Wow, firstly, I can't believe it was a year ago today that I was sharing my first projects for Hey Little Magpie!

Time has certainly flown by - I've been through every season of crafty products and collections and I am definitely looking forward to working with the new products that will be coming in (especially in the lead up to Christmas!).

But it's still August so definitely time to bask in the glory of those lush and vibrant summer colours. You can see my latest round of cards here on the blog. :D

Up on the Hey Little Magpie blog tomorrow...

I have some new summery projects featuring the lovely Summer Red Raspberry collection by Jillibean Soup. :)

Hey Little Magpie project catch-up - May

Gosh, I had no idea I had got so behind with sharing my projects for Hey Little Magpie over recent months.

Time to remedy that!

We need to go all the way back to my May projects the full details of which can be found here.

These cards all featured the gorgeous 12x12 paper pad and chipboard Thickers from the Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy collection by American Crafts.

Card 1:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Other: 3D foam

Boy did I love the aqua tones in this collection, and that candle paper in particular! It got used quite a lot. :)

Card 2:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Stamp: MFT
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

The cut-apart paper designs in the pad were great for showcasing the chipboard accents and stamped sentiments.

Card 3:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Other: 3D foam

It really didn't take much effort to create pretty looks - just layering up the papers and chipboard elements worked nicely. :)

Card 4:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Dies: MFT, Lil' Inker Designs, WPlus9, Lawn Fawn
Other: 3D foam, glitter paper

This one was a very fun one to make as I really wanted to try a technique where you die-cut into the card front but make your die-cut stand out by mounting it on layers and layers of the same die-cut cut from a contrasting colour of cardstock. It took a bit of effort, but the results were well worth it I think!

Card 5:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, Mama Elephant
Other: 3D foam

So this was a bit more in your face - that flamingo paper was needing something a tad more outrageous looking, and I think those black and white stripes did the job!

Card 6:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs
Other: 3D foam

I really like how versatile this paper pad is - the bow paper here was shouting baby card to me - as was that chipboard accent. :)

Card 7:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Dies: Avery Elle, Mama Elephant, Lawn Fawn
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

When I saw the umbrella in the chipboard set I knew I wanted to mix it up with some cloud dies and some very apt stamped sentiments.

Card 8:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Dies: MFT, Lawn Fawn
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam, Promarkers

And well, one weather-related card led to another!

Card 9:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Stamp: MFT
Other: 3D foam

I really liked the cut-outs in the papers, which included this typewriter that was the perfect size for a notelet and stamped greeting.

Card 10:

Paper: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy
Chipboard accents: Dear Lizzy - Fine & Dandy

And last but not least, another notelet to use up scraps of paper left over from the other cards. That chipboard accent was perfect for the job!

American Crafts - Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy - 12x12" Paper Pad	American Crafts - Dear Lizzy Fine & Dandy - Accent & Phrase Thickers	My Mind's Eye - Kate & Co - Cambridge Court - Enamel Dots	My Favorite Things - Just My Type dies and stamps
WPlus9 - Happy trio dies	Lawn Fawn - Happy birthday border die	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set
Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	Mama Elephant - Dainty bow die	Avery Elle - Simply Said: Love ELLE-ments die	Lawn Fawn - Spring showers dies
Mama Elephant - Confetti Creative Cuts die	My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Enamel Dots	My Mind's Eye - On Trend - Party - Enamel Shapes	My Favorite Things - Die-namics rainbow die

InLinkz.com

Texture galore

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog Kathy has challenged us to really ramp up our use of texture.

So lots of scope for techniques like embossing or using materials that will contrast with smooth cardstock and papers.

I'm kinda glad I am sharing this card today as the weather outside is so grey and dismal, this colour combo is a bit in your face in the nicest possible way! :D

Stamp: PTI
Impression plate: PTI
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, Cuttlebug, MFT, Avery Elle
Felt: PTI
Other: 3D foam

In addition to using textured Bazzill cardstock for the background, I also ran some of that lush Bazzill Cardshoppe Jelly Bean purple cardstock through the Big Shot with my woodgrain PTI impression plate. I have to admit I do prefer the richer colour of PTI's Royal Velvet cardstock which has less of a blue tone to it, but since I am all out of that, the Bazzill had to do. ;) Also I will definitely remember to spritz my cardstock with water before running it through with the impression plate next time. It really makes a huge difference to the quality of impression you get and the last time I used this plate I did that, but this time I thought I'd get away with it...

The other texture of course comes in the form of rolled felt roses and those frayed leaves which are from a Cuttlebug quilling set I bought a while ago, but the leaves get used a lot more than the quilling elements!

There are some fab ideas showcasing lots of different textures on the blog, so remember to pop on over and hey, why not join in with this dare?

Papertrey Ink - Fancy Folk Art stamp set	Papertrey Ink - Woodgrain Impression Plate	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set	Avery Elle - Custom Panels Elle-ments dies
MFT - Die-namics Mini Rolled Roses	Papertrey Ink - Raspberry Fizz felt	Papertrey Ink - Hawaiian Shores felt	Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink

InLinkz.com

Better late than never - take 2!

Well, just as I was about to hit the publish button my post disappeared into the ether. :(

Anyway, so yes, this post is to share the card I finally made and photographed for this week's elements challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

Svenja picked out this image for us to use:

Plenty of vintage ephemera - I also wanted to use the woodgrain aspects and go with some blue tones for a manly card.

I recently had a flick through my card basket and I am dangerously low on birthday cards, never mind ones of a non-girly nature!

So I went with my old favourite, the Just My Type stamp and die combo from My Favourite Things.

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: MFT
Dies: MFT, Lil' Inker Designs
Button: October Afternoon
Other: hemp twine, 3D foam tape

The papers have a bit of a western look to them, plus I loved the contrasting wood tones of the paper used for the typewriter stamp and the paper I used for the border which I snipped at with scissors to give a feathered look. The note paper is also a B-side from another Crate Paper design. And that button from the Farmhouse set by October Afternoon just brought those wood and blue tones together nicely.

So, here's hoping this post definitely saves - remember to check out the fab and very varied interpretations of the elements in the image over on the Daring Cardmakers blog here.

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Jubilee Paper	Crate Paper - Craft Market - Craftsman Paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Confetti - Centerpiece Paper	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set
My Favorite Things - Just My Type dies and stamps	October Afternoon - Farmhouse buttons	Hemptique natural hemp cord

InLinkz.com

2015 card challenge - August

Well, despite the lack of crafting going on in my own life right now - if anyone is still wanting to play along with the 2015 card challenge I have some new prompts for you to work with. :D

So this month's sketch gives some scope for digging out those decorative border punches!

{Pinterest pin}

You can go as simple or as intricate and bold as you want with this sketch. But I really like the idea of the front decorative panel being on 3D foam to really show off a lacy border punch against a bold base colour.

Obviously there are plenty of alternatives to a decorative border punch: dies, real lace, border stickers, decorative paper, stamping, fabric, ribbon...

For the colours this month I was really taken by the shot of purple in this collection:

{Pinterest pin}

Lovely against those pinks and blues - makes me think about floral designs incorporating the purple and pink tones as flowers against navy and aqua in the background. Or mixing these colours together in a word where each letter is a different shade: HELLO, HAPPY, LOVE U, THANK you...

And finally the Pinspiration prompt is all about handmade with love:

{Pinterest pin}

So many little inspiration items here - you could just CASE the design of the card shown, but I really love all the handmade elements, like...

• The little tags with twine
• The ribbon flowers
• The use of unusual buttons
• The felt stitching
• The crochet doily
• Using stick pins

Plenty to work with. :)

As mentioned on Friday, my day job has changed slightly in that I became self-employed yesterday so there's still a lot of stuff I am sorting out in addition to trying to ensure work-work is coming in. Until a more regular balance is found again crafting has kind of had to take a back seat as I just don't have the energy or creative ideas coming to make anything on top of my existing crafty commitments. I think once my very long work-related to-do list shrinks to just a few items I will be there and ready to get back to fun crafty shenanigans. Hopefully it won't be too long!

But in the meantime, I wish you as always some very happy crafting time!