Kool Kitty Musings

DCM - Treat Yourself!

Good morning all!

It's my turn to set the challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers Blog this week, and well I was totally inspired by Donna and Tom on Parks and Recreation, and had to go with the theme of "Treat Yourself!" ("It's the best day of the year!").

The treat featured on your card can be something that is a treat like a donut or other sweet treat, or you can use a crafty item that you have treated yourself to!

Last year I treated myself to the Spellbinders Stitched Petal Frame die set in the full knowledge that I would use it rarely, but I love the end result so much I couldn't pass it up.

And the colour possibilities are endless.

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp - Tiny Words Encouragement
Dies: Spellbinders - Stitched Petal Frame, The Greetery - PreText Banners

I used Taffy grey cardstock as the neutral colour for my frame, then picked some spring fresh pink and coral tones for the blooms and pretty greens and greys for extra pop.

I used some of my ageing supply of Prima pearls and gems to add extra glitz to the stitched details, and once mounted on a white card base, finished the card off with a tiny sentiment stamped on a cream cardstock banner.

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

Happy crafting!

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Simon Says Stamp - Tiny Words Encouragement stamps Shop at: MISC	Spellbinders - Stitched Petal Frame dies Shop at: MISC | SBC	The Greetery - PreText Banners dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Taffy Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | MISC	Ranger - Glossy Accents Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

50 Birthday Wishes for You

Happy weekend!

2023 is quite the year for 50th birthday celebrations in my circle of friends.

Kicking us off is my crafty partner in crime, Claire.

This is the card I made for her, sadly the lighting conditions weren't the best for getting a good photo:

Paper: Maggie Holmes - Garden Party
Stamps: MFT - Big Birthday Wishes (r), The Greetery - Sentiment Suite: Birthday
Dies: SugarPea Designs - You're My Type (r), The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Basics, Mama Elephant - Oval Scallop Frames, The Greetery - Crimped Slimline

I started out by selecting a variety of papers from the Garden Party collection that would ultimately work with the aqua typewriter I wanted to feature as the main focal point.

Well, you can't go wrong with pretty pinks and contrasting florals, plus a little ledger paper as the neutral background to that scalloped oval aperture. I even distressed the edge of the black floral paper for a little texture and dimension.

Once I'd assembled the typewriter, I tied a little Sentiments Suite tag on with silver thread.

This is a 5x7 card, so I was able to go big with the sentiment banner from the Crimped Slimline set by The Greetery, and even added some biiig Prima gems to bling up the sentiment.

And that was the time to step away - the card was complete. :)

Now I just need to contemplate the next 50th birthday card I will be making.

Until next time, happy crafting!

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MFT - Big Birthday Wishes stamps (r) Shop at: MISC	The Greetery - Sentiment Suite: Birthday stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	SugarPea Designs - You're My Type dies (r) Shop at: MISC	The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Basics dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
Mama Elephant - Oval Scallop Frames dies Shop at: MISC | SHC (UK)	The Greetery - Crimped Slimline dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Maggie Holmes - Garden Party - Blooming paper Shop at: MISC | SBC	Maggie Holmes - Garden Party - Garden Friends paper Shop at: MISC | SBC	Maggie Holmes - Garden Party - Happy Growing paper Shop at: MISC | SBC
Maggie Holmes - Garden Party - Taking Notes paper Shop at: MISC | SBC	Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

DCM - Waxing Lyrical

Good morning!

I've been AWOL from my craft desk of late, but I'm back with a card project for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge set by Joanne.

I went with birthday candles for my wax-related project:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Make a Wish, Pinkfresh Studio - Chevron
Dies: Concord & 9th - Make a Wish, Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Rectangles

It all started with the Make a Wish set from Concord & 9th - I stamped the die-cut candles out with Cotton Candy, Cheeky, Citrine, Emerald Isle, and Tropic Teal inks from The Stamp Market, using Golden and Sunshine for the flames and a grey Copic pen to accentuate the wick.

The background panel was one I'd previously stamped in rainbow shades of ink from The Stamp Market when trying out the Pinkfresh Studio Chevron background stamp for the first time. And at long last I had the perfect project to use it on.

I die cut the background panel and a smaller piece of white cardstock with the Diagonal Stitched Rectangle dies from Pinkfresh Studio to add a bit of texture.

Then I stamped the birthday sentiment on the smaller panel and used Press 'n' Seal to help hold the lined up candles in place so I could glue them down relatively straight.

Finally, I added some glitzy gold enamel dots to complete the look.

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

Happy crafting!

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Concord & 9th - Make a Wish stamps Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC (UK)	Pinkfresh Studio - Chevron background stamp Shop at: MISC | SBC	Concord & 9th - Make a Wish dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC (UK)	Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Rectangles dies Shop at: MISC | SBC
The Stamp Market - Cheeky ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Citrine ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Cotton Candy ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Emerald Isle ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Leafy ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Melon Orange ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Party Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Sunshine ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Tropic Teal ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

DCM - February Elemental Inspiration

Morning!

It was my turn to pick the image for this month's Elemental Inspiration Challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, and here's what I chose:

The elements I chose were the knit pattern, pink tones, and hearts.

Stamp: MFT - My Galentine
Dies: The Greetery - Hearts at Home: Sweater, The Stamp Market - Stitched Shaker Windows
Stencils: The Greetery - Knit Wits

I started out by assembling the Hearts at Home Sweater die from The Greetery using various shades of pink cardstock.

Next, I stencilled two shades of pink onto pink cardstock with the Knit Wits stencils also from The Greetery.

I then used the middle Stitched Shaker Window die from The Stamp Market to cut out a frame in the middle of the card that I could then pop up on more die-cuts for dimension.

Before I inserted the aperture of the window back into the frame, I stamped my Galentine's Day sentiment from MFT with my Misti.

Once everything was assembled on the front of my card, I added white hearts from the Heart Bits embellishment set from The Greetery to the sleeves, and a little red heart to the corner of my card.

A very clean and simple number from me this week, but sometimes that's all you need. ;)

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

Happy crafting!

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MFT - My Galentine stamps Shop at: SHC (UK)	The Greetery - Hearts at Home: Sweater dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Stamp Market - Stitched Shaker Windows dies Shop at: MISC	The Greetery - Knit Wits stencils Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Stamp Market - Cheeky ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Cotton Candy ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Pale Rose Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
The Greetery - Heart Bits Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Tombow - Mono Aqua liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC