Kool Kitty Musings

52 Cards challenge - Week 52

Good morning!

Well, there's good news... this post is being drafted from my new computer set-up. Still got a way to go to be up and running as normal, but the main stuff has been transferred over and things are looking a lot better!

But I have no new projects to share this week for our final prompt of 2014.

So as in previous years I thought it'd be nice to share my favourite cards from 2014 - a regular one and a Christmas cracker. If you happen to have time to make cards this week then of course you can use these cards as inspiration like a sketch, colours, elements, etc.

First this one:

I just really liked how all the clean and simple elements came together. Plus I was on a real coral stripe kick this summer. :D

And as for a festive make, then this one came up high in my list of favourites - funnily enough I just realised both cards were from the same 52 cards prompt back in June... I must have really liked that prompt!

I even used the same banner die and stamp combo! lol Well this card features that fab Lil' Inker Designs tree die showing off the 3D tree technique that you can do with it. :D I also really love how delicate the vellum snowflake looks. Very festive and wintry!

Well it just remains for me to say thank you to everyone who has played along with the 52 Cards challenge this year! Sadly I won't have time to continue it next year, but I will be hosting a new monthly challenge in the card forum on UK Scrappers that will be similar in nature. I hope you check it out! :D

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 51

Here's my next card for this week's colour prompt:

I stuck with the same papers as my first card this week plus a few extra elements. :D

Paper: Elle's Studio, AC glitter paper
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, Memory Box
Stickers and ephemera: Pink Paislee
Other: 3D foam

Yet another little winter scene, can't help myself when deploying that Memory Box die! LOL

Almost there with this year's challenge - wowzers!

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - O Christmas Tree Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Let It Snow Paper	American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad	Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Stickers - Glitter Word Accents
Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Ephemera	Lil' Inker Designs - Instant Camera die	Memory Box - Country Landscape border die

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 51

Morning!

This week's prompt is a colour inspiration one using this rather festive image. :D

Here's my interpretation:

Paper: Elle's Studio, AC glitter paper
Dies: PTI, Sizzix, MFT
Stamp: PTI
Enamel dot: MME
Star: Pink Paislee
Other: 3D foam, pattern wheel

Sadly December photography issues kicked in majorly this weekend, but the colours are a lot more vibrant in real life. I mounted silver glitter paper behind the die-cut greeting so it's really glitzy. Plus there's the red glitter star for extra pop. :D

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - O Christmas Tree Paper	Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Ephemera	American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad	Papertrey Ink - Wonderful Words: Holiday stamp set
Papertrey Ink - Wonderful Words: Holiday Die Collection	Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Alterations - Scallops edge die	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 50

I'm back with my second festive number of the week for the sketch prompt I shared here.

Paper: Crate Paper, Simple Stories
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, Lawn Fawn
Sentiment: American Crafts
Enamel dot: MME
Other: Vellum, 3D foam

I stuck closer to the sketch with this one. It's hard to see but the second snowflake cut from vellum is also a stitched one. I lifted the ends of all the snowflake bits to give the card more dimension and there wasn't much left to do but add a greeting. :)

Crate Paper - Bundled Up - Noel paper	Crate Paper - Bundled Up - 6x6 paper pad	Simple Stories - December Documented - Blue Snowflake/Chevron paper	American Crafts - Be Merry - Ephemera - Cookies
Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	Lawn Fawn - Stitched snowflakes dies	My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 50

Well we're on the home stretch for this year's challenge!

It's time for a sketch prompt, and this one caught my eye. :D

{Pinterest pin}

So here's why my creative brain came up with (it was definitely running near empty this weekend!):

Paper: Basic Grey, Pebbles, Pink Paislee, AC glitter paper
Dies: MFT, WPlus9, Lil' Inker Designs
Stamp: Avery Elle
Enamel dots: Basic Grey

I am really loving the stitched circle dies by Lil' Inker that I picked up not so long ago - using them on lots of projects and they are just fab for framing little winter scenes. Also still have a thing for aqua with everything when it comes to Christmas! LOL

Really nice to use some of my older Christmas stash with newer stamp and die purchases from this year. :)

Will be back with my second card of the week later, you know it'll be another festive number!

Basic Grey - Aspen Frost - Oh What Fun paper	BasicGrey - Aspen Frost - Woolen Mittens paper	Pebbles - Front Porch - Breezy paper	Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Wreath Paper
American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad	Basic Grey - Candy Buttons - Navy/seafoam enamel dots	Avery Elle - Noel stamps	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set
WPlus9 - Pretty Patches: Tree dies	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 49

I'm back again to share my festive number for this week's "On my to-do list prompt". :)

And I can do a festive number because at our last crop I cut out three little green trees intending to use them on a card then and there, but nope... they didn't get used.

Until now!

Paper: Elle's Studio, American Crafts
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, MFT
Stamp: WPlus9
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

I had originally planned to do a 3D tree as the Lil Inker jolly tree die is symmetrical so you can score and fold all 3 in half down the center and glue them together to create a dimensional Christmas tree. :) And I finally used one of my new WPlus9 festive sentiments. :D

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Holiday Quilt Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Joy and Peace Paper	American Crafts - Be Merry - Holiday Cheer paper	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set
Lil' Inker Designs - Holly Jolly dies	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	WPlus9 - Strictly Sentiments 6 stamps	My Mind's Eye - Kate & Co - Cambridge Court - Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 49

Welcome to our first prompt of December!

It's going to be a crazy month for all you crafty folks out there, so to make life easier I thought it would be good to focus on the things that are...

On your to-do list!

If there are special card projects that you need to get done and dusted, now's your chance!

Mine was at the top of my to-do list. A special card request for a friend that involved searching through older stash to find the right papers for the job. ;o) They're usually always there to be found somewhere in the shelving system!

Squirrels were a special request. :D

Papers: Crate Paper
Die-cut elements: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Cosmo Cricket
Dies: MFT, Lil' Inker Designs, PTI
Stamps: Lil' Inker Designs
Other: 3D foam

I found the perfect match for those squirrels in the form of the Little Sprout collection pack by Crate - it's a really old collection, but the papers and designs haven't aged, I love the muted woodland colours and organic patterns. Plus there were cute little glittered toadstools and acorns. What's not to love if you're a squirrel? I needed to have the little birthday squirrel sat somewhere higher up so that the whole "you're all... we're all" text would fit properly: enter that handy branch die!

Here's hoping the birthday boy likes it. :D

Crate Paper - Little Sprout collection kit	Cosmo Cricket - Togetherness - Chipboard	Lil' Inker Designs - I'm All You're All stamp set	Lil' Inker Designs - Speech Bubbles die set
MFT - Branch with leaves die	Papertrey Ink - By the numbers die collection (set of 9)

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 48

Evening!

It's back to the land of snowflakes for my next card for this week's prompt. :)

Here's a reminder of the inspiration photo:

{Pinterest pin}

I really liked the idea of layering snowflakes a bit like the way the icing decorates the cookies with a contrasting design.

Definitely an excuse to get out my Avery Elle Noel snowflake dies. :D

Paper: Elle's Studio - Good Cheer
Dies: Avery Elle, WPlus9, Lil' Inker Designs
Label: Elle's Studio - Good Cheer
Stamp: PTI
Enamel dot: MME
Other: 3D foam

The bokeh panel is cut with one of the stitched rectangle dies from my new mat die set from Lil' Inker Designs. I then cut out the larger snowflake in the middle and mounted the panel on some snowflake paper with 3D foam. The smaller snowflake is cut from white cardstock and also on 3D foam. I curled up the ends a little to give it extra lift and added an enamel dot in the middle. :)

The merry die is cut from a raspberry pink cardstock and I finally used up a label tag that I'd stamped back in October that just didn't work for that project. Perfect here. :D

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Countdown Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Let It Snow Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Joy and Peace Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Bits & Pieces
Papertrey Ink - Holiday Tree Stamp Set	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles die set	Avery Elle - Noel ELLE-ments dies	Wplus9 - Hand Lettered Holiday dies
My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 48

Morning everyone!

It's a photo prompt challenge this week to get our creative minds going.

I saw this pic on Pinterest and thought it would make a great jumping off point for winter/Christmas crafting:

{Pinterest pin}

So... initial ideas when I saw this pic:

• Snowflakes and other pointy shapes like stars
• Use vellum or glassine envelopes and pockets
• Silver / gold / white / kraft as a colour to focus on
• Gingerbread/baking theme
• Frosty elements - like chunky glitter, Mica flakes, Stickles
• Pearls and enamel dots
• Thread / sewing / stitching

You don't need to replicate the colours or look of the photo, just take elements and incorporate them into your card. :)

I had a couple of "new" items I wanted to play with that fit the bill!

Paper: Elle's Studio Good Cheer collection, glitter paper (AC)
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Lil Inker Designs, WPlus9, MFT
Stamp: Neat & Tangled
Die-cut heart: Elle's Studio
Enamel dot: MME
Other: 3D foam

I concentrated on the stitching element, snowflakes, silver, gold, white and glitter! Apologies for the naff photos, but the light was terrible yesterday for taking photos. It's hard to see in the photos but the snowflake is actually stitched, as is the circle (courtesy of my new Lil' Inker Stitched mats dies), and the top and bottom edge are stitched thanks to borrowing some fab Paper Smooches dies my crafty partner in crime Claire. :D They might be going on my wishlist, buuuut I think I'll need the magnetic Big Shot mat first!

American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Joy and Peace Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Let It Snow Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Bits & Pieces
Lawn Fawn - Stitched snowflakes dies	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	Neat & Tangled - Winter Wishes stamp set
My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 47

Evening all!

I'm combining this week's 52 cards inspiration prompt:

{Pinterest pin}

With the fab colour challenge over on the Make the Day Special blog:

...to bring you another festive card with my lovely new Neat and Tangled Winter Wishes stamps from Make the Day Special. Loooove them!

So I went with an idea I had as soon as I saw this stamp set, I thought it would be perfect for making a snow globe scene - and yet again I love these stamps combined with papers from the Good Cheer collection by Elle's Studio which is available from Hey Little Magpie. :)

Paper: Elle's Studio, Crate Paper
Glitter paper: AC
Stamps: Neat & Tangled
Dies: Spellbinders, MFT
Enamel dots: MME
Other: Stickles, 3D foam

I stuck a strip of white glitter paper on the snowflake paper, then stamped the main stamp in Versafine before cutting it out with a circle die. The little wooden base is is actually paper cut with the MFT file tab die. I stamped the greeting with red dye ink and finished off with those fab green MME Jubilee enamel dots plus Rock Candy Distress Stickles around the snow globe and Frosted Lace Stickles along the ground - most festive!

I will definitely be using this fab stamp set again soon!

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Holiday Quilt Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Let It Snow Paper	Crate Paper - Peppermint collection kit	Neat & Tangled - Winter Wishes stamp set
Spellbinders - Nestabilities - Standard circles small	MFT - File tab die	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies	My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 47

Morning folks!

It's time for another colour prompt and I have a rather festive pic to get your creative gears turning:

{Pinterest pin}

So we have those festive favourites of red, green, white, gold, plus aqua, kraft, and pink thrown into the mix! Choose any combination or shade of the colours you see in the image and get crafting! :D

I was eager to play with my lovely new stamp set by Neat & Tangled - yay!

Paper: Elle's Studio, AC glitter paper
Stamps: Neat & Tangled, WPlus9
Dies: WPlus9, Lawn Fawn, PTI
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam, Stickles (Frosted Lace)

I am totally in love with this set! :D I want more festive greetings in that font! I stamped out the main image in Hero Arts Charcoal Grey onto that bokeh background paper, then added little hearts in Pale Tomato. The Merry Christmas die and stamp are by Wplus9 and a perfect match for the winter wishes. I added some Frosted Lace Stickles just below the houses and trees for a little winter sparkle and for an extra pop of green used enamel dots from MME's Jubilee line - and yep, the Lawn Fawn journaling card die came out to play yet again! :D

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Holiday Quilt Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - O Christmas Tree Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Joy and Peace Paper	American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad
My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card	Neat & Tangled - Winter Wishes stamp set	Wplus9 - Hand Lettered Holiday stamps
Wplus9 - Hand Lettered Holiday dies	Papertrey Ink - Medium scallop border die

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 46

Better late than never!

I managed to finally get an OK photo of my card for this week's sketch prompt.

I must make a confession that this card is made up of left-over test cuts of dies plus a card background I abandoned from another project - so it's not my best, but hey, it didn't end up in the bin!

Paper: MME
Glitter paper: AC
Dies: Avery Elle
Other: Stickles

Those little flag bits are actually cut from the cover sheet in the collection pack that shows what all the paper designs are like - handy for a scaled down snippet of the design. :)

And I've just realised the apostrophe in the greeting has gone missing... oh well! Best not send it to a grammar pedant. ;)

My Mind's Eye - 12 Days of Christmas - Collection kit

American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad

Avery Elle - Season's Greetings ELLE-ments dies

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 46

Morning folks!

Well as I type this I am hoping that by the time this post goes live in 12 hrs my now 26 hr migraine will finally have left me... ugh... it's not been the best of days!

This week's prompt is a sketch one:

{Pinterest pin}

Sadly I needed to make a sympathy card for a very good friend - they're always difficult cards to make, but I just wanted her to know I was thinking of her.

Paper: Crate Paper
Embellishment: Crate Paper
Stamp: Avery Elle
Dies: MFT, Lawn Fawn
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Other: pattern wheel

I used a few papers from the Maggie Holmes Flea Market 6x6 pad plus one of the stand-out embellishments. Lots of love being sent with those Bokeh hearts. xx

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Flea Market 6x6 paper pad	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Flea Market - Standouts layered stickers	Avery Elle - Oh Happy Day stamps	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies
Lawn Fawn - Stitched scalloped borders

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 45

The mornings are definitely getting colder in these parts, so my wintry card for this week seems rather apt considering the foggy start to the day!

Our prompt for this week is all things botanical.

And I definitely think Christmas trees, wreaths and a generous sprig of holly fit nicely into this category. :)

Paper: Elle's Studio - Good Cheer
Die-cut ephemera: Elle's Studio - Good Cheer
Christmas tree die: WPlus9
Other: 3D foam, Stickles

I love this little frame in the ephemera pack - I'm sure it was meant for a photo, but hey why not use it to create a little wintry window scene. :)

Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Holiday Quilt Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Let It Snow Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - O Christmas Tree Paper	Elle's Studio - Good Cheer - Bits & Pieces
WPlus9 - Pretty Patches: Tree dies

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 45

Morning, morning everyone!

Well, we're now into November so you can expect to see me concentrating mainly on Christmas cards here on out, but not just yet!

Our theme for this week is...

Botanical

{Pinterest pin}

I loved the look of this illustration and well, there are so many botanical aspects to it that you could incorporate into cardmaking. From autumnal leaves, winter greenery and berries, colourful spring flowers and delicate summer blooms. So much to choose from!

For my first card I went with roses and delicate summer shades:

Paper: MME, Crate Paper
Stamps: WPlus9, Avery Elle
Dies: WPlus9, Mama Elephant, MFT
Enamel dot: MME
Other: 3D foam, pattern wheel

I used this lovely blush pink paper from the Open Book collection by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper combined with grey tones. Love that combo! The little bow is also cut from the same floral paper. And of course Adirondack Salmon pink dye ink provided the perfect shade of blush for the flowers. :)

My Mind's Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit - Layered Ephemera paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Open Book - So Treasured Paper	My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Enamel Dots	Avery Elle - Simply Said: Hello stamps
WPlus9 - Coming Up Roses stamps	WPlus9 - Coming Up Roses dies	My Favorite Things - Die-namics - Sentiment strips 2 dies	Mama Elephant - Dainty bow die

InLinkz.com

I've managed to get ahead of the game a little this week and have my Christmas card done already! Will pop back and share it later in the week. ;)

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 44

Well, I was going to share my card for this week's 52 Cards prompt jar challenge last night, but I think I got sucked into watching something on telly and before I knew it it was bed time.

But never mind - so featuring pink, die-cuts, and patterned paper I give you my Christmas cracker for this week:

Paper: Crate Paper, American Crafts
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Mama Elephant
Stamps: Lawn Fawn
Ephemera: Pink Paislee
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam, Promarkers, sewing machine

I finally managed to get my new little penguin friend out of his packaging and onto a card. :) He is very cute, and I will definitely be using him again, but next time perhaps on a tag? I'm feeling a bit out of my groove on the creative front at the moment as things aren't turning out quite like I envisage them in my head - bummer...

Crate Paper - Bundled Up - 6x6 paper pad	American Crafts - Be Merry - Let it Snow paper	Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Ephemera	My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots
Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio stitched border dies	Lawn Fawn - Winter Penguin stamp set	Lawn Fawn - Winter Penguin die	Lawn Fawn - Forest border die

InLinkz.com

But I had a lovely surprise today when Elle's Studio shared one of my October Hey Little Magpie cards on their Instagram feed. Sweeeet!

In other news, our current weather trend can be summed up in the following Instagram photos... we have gone from tropical cocktails complete with cactus accessories:

...and fresh coconut for elevenses...

...to 2 degrees in the morning and having to start the day with the holy trinity of hot chocolate + syrup of your choice + a big mug:

Yep.... winter is coming!

Also today was the day for me to try out the next of the colours from these lovely Mavala nail varnish sets I bought in TK Maxx last week. I looooooooove Mavala - their colours are awesome and they come in just the right size of bottle for fashion nails, but best of all they have real staying power - especially compared to Nails Inc which always peels off in one layer for me - without fail!

So in a bit of a dilemma after trying the Candy Pink plus Pink diamond glitter last week I looked to the oracle that is Facebook for what to try next. Facebook replied with Mexico first of all, plus a few recommendations for Black Cherry. I am now sporting Mexico which is a gorgeous shade of purple and promise to give Black Cherry a go for Halloween! Bwah-ha-haaa...

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 44

Morning!

Well it's a return to the prompt jar for inspiration this week. :)

Our three elements are:

Hm... a rather good selection there. Leaves a lot of scope for creativity!

I decided to get a card made that was on my ever-approaching-deadline to-do list. I hope it passes muster for the recipient. :)

Paper: MME, Studio Calico
Glitter paper: American Crafts
Dies: WPlus9, Lawn Fawn
Stamp: Sassafras Lass
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

Have to say that glitter paper by American Crafts cuts really well with steel dies, plus the glitter doesn't come off everywhere and it is really twinkly in real life. I will definitely be cutting more bits and pieces from the Christmas pad I picked up the other week. :D Also returning from a stamping hiatus is the elephant stamp from the Jungle Pals set by Sassafras Lass, this stamp set must be at least 3 years old now, but the jungle critters in it are just lovely.

Hoping to get some crafting in one evening this week as I still have a few things to do on my crafty to-do list... we'll see how that goes!

Until then, happy crafting! :D

My Mind's Eye - Find your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit - Flowers For You paper	American Crafts - 12 x 12 Christmas glitter paper pad	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card	Lawn Fawn - Finley's ABCs alphabet dies
Lawn Fawn - Finley's 123s number dies	Sassafras Lass - Jungle Pals stamp set	WPlus9 - Whole Lotta Happy stamps	WPlus9 - Happy trio dies
WPlus9 - Whole Lotta' Happy dies	My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 43

Evening all!

I don't know where the hours are disappearing to at the moment, but I just wanted to pop on the blog to share my Christmas cracker card for this week's photo inspiration prompt:

{Pinterest pin}

So for this one I stuck with my tag design - this one already features an aperture - I just mounted a piece of vellum behind it. :) The other prompt elements were the knitted texture, red, and fabric in the form of the bow.

 

Paper: American Crafts, Fancy Pants
Tag: American Crafts
Ephemera: Pink Paislee
Bow: Pink Paislee
Other: Stickles, 3D foam

The greeting and little tree are both from the Merry & Bright collection by Pink Paislee. Love the shade of green in this collection as it really pops against the red. :) I went around the star aperture with some red Stickles to finish off the look and to complement the red glitter on the sentiment banner. You can never have enough Stickles at Christmas!

Here are the items I used:

American Crafts - Be Merry - Holiday Cheer paper	Fancy Pants Designs - Oh Deer - Season's Greetings Paper	American Crafts - Be Merry - Tags From Santa	Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Ephemera
Pink Paislee - Merry & Bright - Fabric Bows

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 43

Morning folks!

It's time for a photo inspiration prompt this week, and as soon as I saw this photo crop up in my Pinterest feed I knew it was worthy of an inspiration prompt:

{Pinterest pin}

If you're wondering why... this is what popped into my mind when I saw the pic:

• Apertures - especially if you totally copy the heart in a scalloped circle look of those very tempting Lintzer biscuits!
• Woodgrain/aged background
• Hearts, scallops, circles
• Farmhouse colour tones
• Texture in the form of burlap or woodgrain, and even fabric
• A baking or sweet theme - think gingerbread men for a Christmas twist, candy canes, etc.

Well, for my non-Christmas card I wanted to try out a new tag die set I recently ordered made by Mama Elephant. It has little dies with it to create apertures and that negative die-cutting loom that is so popular right now in Project Life and papercrafting in general.

Paper: Crate Paper
Dies: Mama Elephant, Lawn Fawn, PTI
Stamp: PTI
Enamel dots: Basic Grey
Other: 3D foam, Distress Stickles

I wanted to keep it really simple so you could see all that lovely background paper from the new Maggie Holmes Open Book collection for Crate Paper. So the main tag die was cut from light grey and dark grey cardstock. I cut the arrow, heart and opening dies in the light grey tag and layered it on the dark grey tag. Then I added an extra little pink heart to the centre that got covered with pink Distress Stickles. The greeting is also popped up on 3D foam and finished off with my favourite enamel dots by Basic grey - love the pink/blush pink pack!

Sadly the light was a bit rubbish by the time I managed to take my pics, so it's a lot more vibrant in real life... hey ho!

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Open Book - So Treasured Paper	Mama Elephant - Embellished Tag die set	Papertrey Ink - Mat Stack 5 Collection stamp set	Papertrey Ink - Angled Labels Die Collection (set of 5)
Lawn Fawn - Hearts dies	Basic Grey - Candy Buttons - Blush/pale pink

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 42

Well, better late than never! I finally had chance to play with some paper and stamps yesterday evening to get my Christmas card for week 42 made.

As you may remember the colour palette for this week featured some autumnal shades:

I wanted to use a mix of inks that would reflect these shades in some way and this is the end result:

Paper: Fancy Pants
Woodgrain cardstock: American Crafts
Stamps: Avery Elle
Die: Lawn Fawn
Enamel dots: Freckled Fawn
Other: 3D glitter paint, Stickles, 3D foam, Promarker pen, Corner Chomper

I used a mix of inks - the main greeting is Mountain Rose Adirondack ink, the branches are Meadow Adirondack ink, and the snowflakes are Soft Pool Hero Arts. The dove is Charcoal Hero Arts coloured in with a light grey Promarker pen. I added glitter to the berries on the branches and the big snowflake. As luck would have it that background paper by Fancy Pants featured almost all the colours in the photo, I just aged it a bit so it wasn't such a stark white. :)

All in all a very simple number, but I wanted to make the stamping the main focus and not hide too much of that woodgrain textured cardstock - which is very nice!

Well, Monday is almost here which means the week 43 prompt is just around the corner.

Catch you tomorrow!

Fancy Pants Designs - Oh Deer - Stockings Paper	American Crafts - 12x12" Woodgrain Textured Cardstock - Chestnut	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card	Avery Elle - Noel stamps
Freckled Fawn - Enamel Dew Drops - Ombre Pink	Papertrey Ink - Vintage Touch: Tea Dye Duo Ink

InLinkz.com

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 42

Hello, hello!

Welcome to week 42 and a new set of colours to work with. :)

{Pinterest pin}

A great selection of shades for autumn into winter. You don't need to feature all the colours, just pick the ones that work for you.

As for a Christmas card, when I saw these shades I thought of winter foliage, berries, bows, pine cones, etc.

We'll see if my Christmas card goes that route, but first here's my card for today:

Paper: Crate Paper, MME, Basic Grey
Chipboard: Teresa Collins Designs
Stamps: WPlus9
Die: Lawn Fawn
Ephemera: Fancy Pants
Enamel dots: Studio Calico
Other: 3D foam

Most of the colours are covered in that flower arrangement. :) I wanted to add a little folky element to finish off the card, and so I used Soft Olive Hero Arts ink to stamp little branches in the corners. That stamp has been so handy for projects other than Christmas cards. :D

 Happy crafting!

Crate Paper - DIY Shop 12x12 pad	My Mind's Eye - The Sweetest Thing - Tangerine - Hello - Wishes paper	Basic Grey - True Love - Smitten paper	Teresa Collins - Nine & Co - 6 x 12" Adhesive Chipboard
Lawn Fawn - Scripty thanks word die	WPlus9 - Heartfelt Holiday stamps	Studio Calico - Essentials - Woodgrain enamel dots

InLinkz.com

52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 41

Popping back again to share this week's Christmas cracker card for our sketch prompt:

{Pinterest pin}

I went for something a lot simpler for the Christmas card version of this sketch, I wanted to also mix up some papers from the 6x6 pad I have from Crate Paper's Bundled Up collection. :)

Paper, stickers, ephemera, chipboard: Crate Paper
Stamp: PTI
Die: PTI
Enamel dots: MME
Other: 3D foam

Slowly chipping away at the elements left on the chipboard sheet from this collection. I had to bring the snowy background dies out again - so handy for creating little winter scenes like this. :D And again the greeting is stamped with Charcoal Hero Arts ink, think I will be using it a lot more over black for sentiments now. :)

Crate Paper - Bundled Up - 6x6 paper pad	Crate Paper - Bundled Up chipboard	Crate paper - Bundled Up - Ephemera	Crate Paper - Bundled Up - Stickers
My Mind's Eye - Jubilee - Mint Julep 'Beautiful' Enamel Dots	Papertrey Ink - In the Meadow Die Collection (set of 2)	Papertrey Ink - Holiday Tree Stamp Set	Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink

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52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 41

Morning folks!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend - the dark nights and darker mornings are really starting to kick in now, not long until the clocks will be changing!

It's week 41 and time for another sketch prompt. :D

{Pinterest pin}

Well I decided for the main card for this week I'd have a little play with some of my new stash from the Maggie Holmes Open Book line for Crate Paper available at Hey Little Magpie.

Paper, chipboard and die-cut ephemera: Crate Paper
Dies: WPlus9
Other: sewing machine, 3D foam

Lots of bold tones in this collection and the ephemera pack is definitely "ephemera" like - loads of commercial/scientific/photographic elements and of course more gold bits and pieces. I thought the Hand Lettered Thanks die set from WPlus9 really fit in with the look of this collection. :o)

Will be good to mix this collection in with other Crate Paper releases, I think it will work quite well with Close Knit from last year too.

Anyway, I'll pop back later this week to share my Christmas card for this sketch - a much simpler affair! ;)

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Open Book - 6x6" Paper Pad

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Open Book - Die Cut Ephemera

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Open Book - 12x12" Chipboard Shapes

WPlus9 - Hand Lettered Thanks dies

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52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 40

Just popping in before Bake-Off to share this week's Christmas card for the "Say what?!" prompt. :)

I wanted to also try out the Avery Elle greeting die I recently ordered... Got to love new toys! :D

Paper: October Afternoon, Studio Calico
Dies: Avery Elle
Other: 3D foam, Stickles, pattern wheel

I think it'll be featuring on plenty more cards between now and December! You can pop all of it up on 3D foam apart from the apostrophe, that's just too tiny. I also had some trouble cutting the Noel snowflake dies and am still experimenting with getting the right cardstock shim combo in my Bigshot. The big one cuts fine but the two smaller ones are being a bit more fiddly. :)

Right, time to dash!

Studio Calico - Magical - Underwraps paper

Avery Elle - Noel ELLE-ments dies

Avery Elle - Season's Greetings ELLE-ments dies

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52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 40

Happy Monday everyone!

Wow, can you believe we have reached week 40??

Eeek!

{Pinterest pin}

This week's prompt is called "Say what?!"

The focus on words and making your greeting or sentiment stand out in some way... some ideas might be:

• Trying your hand at emulating the type of wall word art that's so popular at the moment (like the inspiration pic)
• Repeating your greeting either die-cut or stamped as the background to your card or the main focal point
• Using different colours to make the words pop
• Trying different techniques with word dies
• Combining lots of different alphabet stickers
• Using 3D foam to make some words stand out more than others

As for my card, I ended up having to rethink the direction it was taking, so I ultimately used a shadowing technique I'd been meaning to try for a while:

Paper: Crate Paper, MME
Dies: Lawn Fawn, WPlus9
Stamps: WPlus9, Lawn Fawn
Butterfly sticker: Crate Paper
Enamel dots: Basic Grey
Other: white glitter card, 3D foam

So initially I was going to use some striped white/gold foiled paper for the greeting but the size of the stripes meant it didn't stand out too much when embedded in the journaling card...

So I then cut the die from the stripe of gold glitter on the MME paper I link to below and then cut the die again from white glitter card. The gold glitter card acts as the shadow to the white greeting. You might need to click on the close-up to see it better.

I also used my new favourite-alternative-to-black-ink ink pad - Hero Arts charcoal mid-tone dye ink. Much nicer than a harsh black ink for softer cards. :) I also used it to stamp the little squiggly line for the butterfly. Will definitely be using this ink pad a lot more! It has stained my stamps worse than Versafine and Memento, but it's not the end of the world. ;)

I've not had chance to make my Christmas card for this week yet, but I'll pop back and share it as soon as I can!

Happy crafting!

Crate Paper - Notes & Things - With Love Paper	My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Garden Party Glittered Paper	Crate Paper - Notes & Things - Standouts Layered Stickers	Lawn Fawn - Hello Sunshine stamp set
Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card	WPlus9 - Happy trio dies	WPlus9 - Strictly Sentiments 1 stamps	Basic Grey - Candy Buttons - Navy/seafoam enamel dots
Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink

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52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 39

Evening folks!

Just popping in quickly before tonight's Bake-Off to share my festive number for this week's prompt jar elements. :)

• Bright
• Foam pads
• Alpha

Well I decided it was time to finally play with a mini-stamp set I've had a while yet never really used to its full potential. It features a lovely folk-style font and other greetings just perfect for multi-coloured stamping:

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: PTI, WPlus9
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Mama Elephant
Other: 3D foam, Distress Stickles

The holly and berries are from a WPlus9 stamp set, I inked the berries with red ink but stamped them off once to get a fainter impression, and then used the same red ink for the berry dots. I think I will definitely have to do this combo of colours and stamps again as I just love how bright and vivid the results are. :)

Crate Paper - Bundled Up - Christmas Trees	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card	PTI - Peace, Love & Joy mini stamp set	WPlus9 - Merry & Bright stamps
Mama Elephant - Dainty bow die

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52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 39

Morning folks!

For this week's prompt we're returning to the prompt jar and 3 random elements:

I had a very special project I needed to make this weekend, the birthday card for my god-daughter's second birthday. :)

And I definitely went to town with the alpha element!

Paper: Pink Paislee
Dies: Paper Smooches, Lawn Fawn, PTI
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Enamel dots: Studio Calico
Other: Stickles, 3D foam, glitter card

So lots of different fonts to fill up the space - the contrast against the background is much more obvious in real life. I was losing light a bit when I took these pics. Ugh, hate that the light is going to only get worse from here on out this year! But there's a mix of sizes and fonts and lots of 3D foam for extra pop. :)

Have fun working with this combo! I especially had fun making my Christmas cracker card for this week and I'll share that later in the week.

Pink Paislee - Hello Sunshine - Stormy Weather paper	Pink Paislee - Hello Sunshine - Hello Sunshine paper	Paper Smooches - Birthday Words dies	PTI - By the numbers die collection (set of 9)
PTI - Block Alphabet Die Collection (set of 30)	Lawn Fawn - Finley's ABCs alphabet dies	Lawn Fawn - Spring showers dies	PTI - Medium scallop border die
Crate Paper - Oh Darling - Chipboard shapes	Studio Calico - Essentials - Enamel Dots - Yellow/Orange

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52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 38

Well it's been a very long work day for me, but I thought I'd just pop in with my Christmas card for this week while I still have the energy. ;)

As you may remember this is our photo inspiration:

{Pinterest pin}

So I went with the grey and coral colours, some chevrons, and a bit of hand lettering... well a die that does the job! ;)

Paper: MME, Fancy Pants
Dies: Memory Box, Lawn Fawn
Other: glitter card, 3D foam, Distress Stickles

Well it was about time the Memory Box die came out to play eh? I love it against that spotty paper, and the coral striped paper reminds me of a woolly scarf, hence the reason I used it.

The Distress Stickles on the dark grey cardstock "Joy" cut-out are Pumice Stone.

Right, best zoom off and get my tea ready in time to watch Bake-Off. :D

My Mind's Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit - Zig Zag paper	Fancy Pants - Collecting Moments - Potpourri paper	My Mind's Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit - Layered Ephemera paper	Memory Box - Country Landscape border die
Lawn Fawn - Scripty joy word die

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52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 38

Morning folks!

Well it looks like summer is really drawing to an end after the grey weather of the weekend... not to worry though I was a busy bee crafting away while also restarting Arrow season 1... eeek... I am definitely turning into a full on fangirl! LOL

But back to this week's prompt.

It's time for an inspiration pic:

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Lots of inspiration elements in the above photo:

• Colour palette featuring: white, charcoal, grey, coral, gold, blush tones
• Hand-drawn frames/doodled borders
• Blackboard techniques
• Tassels - ribbon - fibres - trim
• Animal print
• Cute critters - perfect Lawn Fawn opportunity there!
• Zigzag/chevron patterns

Well, for my card this week I had a very specific task to complete - a christening card for little Emilka. So the element that really inspired me was the chevron print. I'm definitely looking forward to interpreting some other elements of this inspiration photo, perhaps for next week's card. ;)

But in the meantime here's this week's number:

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn
Dies: Lawn Fawn, PTI, Mama Elephant
Enamel dots: MME
Other: Stickles, 3D foam, pattern wheel, glitter card

The papers are from the Oh Darling and Styleboard lines, plus I finally opened my pack of Finley's ABCs dies from Lawn Fawn. Great alpha size - looking forward to using the alpha and numbers more soon. :D

Well, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this particular pinspiration pic. :)

Happy crafting!

Crate Paper - Oh Darling - What a Doll paper	Crate Paper - Oh Darling - Dainty Darling paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Styleboard - Inspiration	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Styleboard -Vintage Charm paper
My Mind's Eye - Just Sayin' - Enamel Dots	Lawn Fawn - Milo's ABCs stamps	Lawn Fawn - Finley's ABCs alphabet dies	Lawn Fawn - Stitched journaling card
Mama Elephant - Dainty bow die	PTI - Medium scallop border die

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52 Christmas Crackers 2014 - Week 37

Time to interrupt normal service with this week's festive little number!

So as you may remember, our prompt this week is based on this colour palette:

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Well, I have to confess that I actually made this Christmas card used the prompt pic before I even started on the main card for this week's challenge.

I was just itching to play with my new Lawn Fawn Christmas release purchases!

Paper: Simple Stories, Pebbles
Stamps: Lawn Fawn
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Mama Elephant
Other: Stickles, 3D foam, Pro Markers

I just love the snow bunnies and tree border! I fancied first trying out the new stamps and dies on a small note card and I really like the smaller format. :)

Simple Stories - Sn@p! Color Vibe - Grey Dot/Stripe paper	Pebbles - Front Porch - Breezy paper	Lawn Fawn - Snow Day stamps	Lawn Fawn - Snow Day dies
Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio stitched border dies	Lawn Fawn - Forest border die

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Well that's kind of it for this evening, Great British Bake Off soon, then I want to get a couple more episodes in of my latest TV FanGirl obsession - Arrow Season 2 is nearing to an end on my watchlist... Season 3 coming up this October and I cannot wait. Definitely on team Olicity all the way! :D

52 Cards challenge 2014 - Week 37

Morning everyone!

It's the return of the colour prompt this week and I have picked something that will work with a lot of themes, including Christmas.

It's a great mix of pink, green, grey, and blue:

{Pinterest pin}

Aren't they lovely?!

I wish I could knit because the yarn pic alone is so beautiful.

Remember you don't have to match the shades perfectly, but try to use each colour on your project in some way.

The main focus of my card were the pink and grey shades. I tried to introduce the green and blue tones in the stamped flowers I used:

 

Paper: MME
Stamps: WPlus9
Dies: WPlus9
Bling: Prima
Other: 3D foam, Stickles, pattern wheel

 

I finally had a chance to make a more dimensional card using the Fresh Cut Containers stamps and dies from WPlus9. I think for my next Fresh Cut Containers project I will incorporate some of the flowers from the original Fresh Cut Flowers set (which is still one of my most favourite 3-step stamp sets ever!). I'm also loving the Hand Lettered Thanks stamps too - a great mix of sizes in that set.

Will definitely have to have a WPlus9 flower session again soon! :)

My Mind's Eye - Find your Wings & Fly - Up & Away - Dreams paper	My Mind's Eye - Find Your Wings & Fly - Sky's the Limit - Layered Ephemera paper	WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Containers stamps	WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Containers dies
WPlus9 - Hand Lettered Thanks stamps	Prima - Say It In Crystals - Hearts

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