It's a gift!!

Good morning!! Been a couple of days since I blogged - trying to catch up on lots of thing - both crafty and round the house. I have finally reached the point where today I can do the things I want to do!! As we speak I have tomato, mozzarella and pesto tarts cooking ready for a picnic with some great friends later. And of course the extra pastry has ended up as jam tarts!! I do have some things I need to do - but can actually begin to wind down and enjoy my Summer break!! 

Today's offering is another of my little gift sets for a very good friend. This is the 'Mug Rug' made using one of the gorgeous vintage images from Graphicals on Etsy. I printed the image onto printable cotton and then incorporated it into the patchwork. I chose these colours because I had already made a cushion for this friend in these colours - and these were scraps left over!! The bias binding is still proving to be my Achilles heel - but it's improving!!

The frame is shop-bought - and I have used the image with a great Dr Seuss qote!!

And finally the card. The stripy paper is Craftwork Cards - the dark green I think is Papermania Hampstead (it's been in my stash a while). I used Spellbinders Floral Flourishes - and Crafter's Companion 1" numbers. The dark purple card is embossed with Embossalicious 6" Floral Frenzy folder.

And here is all is together:

I would like to enter this into:
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

All Crafts Challenge - Anything Goes (No Cards) - Mug Mat

My Craft Creations - Anything Goes 

Back soon

Cxxx

The Last Two!!

Here's the last of my samples - thought I'd do them both in one go as not sure if I'll have the time to blog later!!

So - what's left? Well, this is an A5 Landscape card, made with one of the Topper Companions and the matching Decoupage. Because it's landscape, the base card has to be made from an A3 sheet of card - in this case Centura Pearl Snow White Accents - Green.

I used the Die'sire Chantilly Lace Stamping frame for mounting the topper companions, and Lace Border 1 for the decorative edge. The white Centura pearl is embossed with Embossalicious A4 Holiday Holly, and I cut the embellishment with Die'sire Holly die. A little ribbon and some pearls finished it off.

If you love cutting decoupage layers - and adding lots of dimension to your cards, then make sure you check out the Decoupage section of the CD.

The second card is a tent fold DL card using one of the stamps. This one is called 'Christmas Cuddles'.

The base card is one of the paper designs printed onto Centura Pearl Snow White Hint of Silver, and I used some Core'dinations card in blue, red and purple. The blue strip of card is embossed with Embossalicious A4 Let It Snow folder, and sanded back. The snowflakes are cut using Die'sire Snowflake die. 

I coloured the image with my Spectrum Noirs: Dark Fur - IG9, 8, 7, 6, 5; Light Fur Shading - IG1, 2; Cheeks - FS6, Blender; Hat - DR3, CR11, 9, 7; Hat Trim Shading - TB1, Blender; Blanket - TB1, 2, 3; Presents - HB1, 2, 3, LV1, 2

Well - it's been a marathon week of sharing the Party Paws samples. So, now it's time to get on with all the other things on my crafting list. But don't forget to join Dawn on Create and Craft today for more Party Paws shows and inspiration.

Take care,
Cxxxx 

A little down - but more up!!

Has been one of those up and down days today. Started with parkrun which I found really tough this morning - did a slow time and felt really wiped out. But I brightened up my morning catching up with Leann on Create and Craft. After the lunchtime programme I headed into town for a little retail therapy!! I needed something for a commission - but picked up a few other 'necessary' items while I was in the craft shop!! Felt really tired when I got back so crashed on the bed - and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours!! Woke up just in time to head off to see the family. Got back a little while ago, and had a look on Facebook to find a lovely lady had been inspired by one of my cards, so had headed off and made one with a similar design but totally different theme - and shared it with me!! It was a beautiful card - and gave me a great feeling!!

Anyway - have been playing my version of 'Where's Wally?' with the Party Paws shows today. I try to spot where all my creations have gone.  My 'Tag of Tags' has been held up a couple of times. Leann wrestled with my waterfall card. The decoupage card made an appearance in the shown samples. My acetate box got an honourable mention. And Jacqui held up my wall plaque. I've also seen my acetate card, stamped easel card, gift bag and my yellow DL card as the camera has passed over the displays. I know it's sad - but I can't help being excited at seeing my work on the TV!! And great crafters like Leonie and Leann admiring it!! It never gets old!!

This is one I have yet to spot - a twisted easel card made using one of the images from the Decoupage section on the CD.

I also used elements from the matching Card Companion, along with a few of the papers. I mounted the image onto a Die'sire Chantilly Lace Stamping Frame.

This is what the inside of the Easel Card looks like - I do hate leaving the inside blank!!!

Well, that's me done for the night!! I shall be keeping my eyes peeled for this card tomorrow.

Take care,

Cxxx

Today's the day!!

Good morning!! The time is almost here!! I have one card this morning and will be back later with one more. This one is a made from the card kit - incorporating some of that gorgeous acetate.

I used Core'dinations as the base. To cover this I used a combination of one of the pieces of card, and a matching insert. The stopper and embellishments are made using Die'sire Snowflake dies, and this time I covered one part of the sticky used to attach the acetate with Frantage Colour Fragments in Powder Blue. A great big red, satin bow covered the other. 

Make sure you tune in at 9am this morning to see Leann with all of the great Party Paws Collection that we've been showing you this week!! 

Take care - back later!!
Cxxx

Almost time!!

Afternoon!! We're edging ever closer to the launch of the fabulous Party Paws Christmas Collection, and I have one more to share with you today.

This is a waterfall card. The first one I have attempted where there hasn't been a template provided!! But this sheet of toppers from the CD was just begging to be made into one!! Have to say that it did work here at home - but I have visions of one of the presenters getting their hands on it over the weekend - and it not working properly!! Famous last words!!!

Because of the measurements, I had to start with a piece of A3 card as the base. I used Centura Pearl Snow White Accents card in Red. It comes in a pack with other Accent colours from Crafter's Companion and is really gorgeous. Makes a change from the usual Hint of Gold or Silver. Having said that, all the other pieces used for the mechanism were printed onto Hint of Silver!! 

I used Die'sire Snowflakes for embellishing both the pulling mechanism, and the underside of the waterfall pieces. I have to admit I made the mistake of putting a piece of ribbon down the left hand side, thinking it would look lovely!! It does - but it interfered with the mechanism - so had to make a few adjustments!!

Anyway - fingers crossed that, if it does get picked up, then it will work as it is supposed to!!

Will be back tomorrow and Sunday during the day to share the last of my samples, but just a quick thanks and hello to my new followers - both here and on Pinterest!! Glad you are enjoying the Sneaky Peeks!!
Take care,

Cxxx

More Sneaky Peeks!!

Good morning!! Am feeling strangely energised this morning - even though SUP Wake Up Work Out has been cancelled!! Last night's paddle was great - very lumpy - but good fun and brilliant for those core muscles!! And it was followed by a BBQ this week as a bit of a social get together with other SUPers from different groups - and the kite surfers too!!

Anyway, a quick couple of shares from Party Paws Christmas! This one is a wall hanging - I never seem to be able to make samples without there being a wall hanging or two in there!! 

This one uses one of the Frame Cards from the Festive Fancies CD - along with papers from both. I printed the snowflake one onto Parchement paper for a different effect. The frame itself is printed onto Watercolour card - I did this twice so I could decoupage the image. The inside was cut out, and I used the Verse Writer to create the little poem. I embellished with Die'sire Snowflakes, and wooden buttons. 

The second is a card made from the Kit - I used my Ultimate to tri-fold a piece of the printed cardstock before cutting off a diagonal section. I used some of the matching insert paper to cover parts of the card that would normally be on the inside, so that they matched the rest.  The original image printed on the card was 'replaced' with one of the toppers matted and layered onto green and gold card. 

To add a bit more interest, I used Die'sire Lace Border 4 to create an additional border for one side. I finished off with a few little red gems, and some ribbon.

Don't forget that the weekender starts tomorrow on Create and Craft TV tomorrow at 9am with Leann - and will be on throughout the weekend!!

Back soon!!
Cxxx 

Once, twice, three times Acetate!!!

Good afternoon!! Having shared my inspiration for the Crafter's Companion August 'Back to School' Challenge this morning, it's now on with the Party Paws sneak peeks!! Part of the collection includes a gorgeous pack of acetate. Well - for me it's definately gorgeous to look at - but I've never crafted with acetate before. I've kind of avoided it as I didn't really know what to do with it. So, this was a real challenge!!

These are a few of the things I came up with!! The first was is straightforward - I used it as a wrap for a square card. The base card is literally a piece of the printed cardstock cut down to size.

To cover the sticky at the side, I used another piece of the card to form a spine. I wrapped some ribbon down the side, and attached a wire ornament I had in my stash along with a few charms.  The snowflake used to embellish was cut with the Die'sire Snowflake die, with a few added pearls. 

The second was a little more ambitious - as I used the acetate as the card itself!! The image is one of the stamp sets - Snow Much Fun! 

I coloured it in with my Spectrum Noir Pens - Dark Fur - IG9, 8, 7, 6, 5; Light Fur - IG1, 2; Cheeks - FS6, Blender; Hat - DR3, CR11, 9, 7; Hat Trim Shading - TB1, Blender; Snowman's Hat - LG1, 2, 3, 4; Bear's Scarves - LY1, 2, 3.

I used the colouriser to change a couple of the paper designs to match my image - and printed them onto Centura Pearl Snow White Hint of Silver card. The sentiment is from the same stamp set, and I used some pearls and a little ribbon down the side to finish it off. I stuck everything back to back - one on the inside and one on the outside to cover the sticky stuff.

And the third and final one for today is an acetate box. This shape box was one of the first I learned to make when I got my Ultimate many years ago - and thought that it would work well in acetate. 

I used one of the toppers from the kit and mounted in onto green and gold card. To hide the glue, I attached another circle inside with a Die'sire Snowflake on it. The little tag is a sentiment from the kit - and there are some bells attached which jangle when you shake the box.It's all then tied up with ribbon!!

Having looked at some of the creations from the rest of the DT - I am inspired to try to use acetate more on my projects. It is so versatile!! 

Well - that's the mammoth post over!! Will be back with more tomorrow!! 

Take care,

Cxxxx

Crafter's Companion August Challenge - Back to School!!

Good morning!! Something a little different this morning. This month's challenge at Crafter's Companion is 'Back to School' - and I have made something for me to use when I go back to school! 

I was inspired by a fellow Challenge Design Team member Jo, and her fabulous Alphabet project. It made me think about what other educational uses I could find for the CD's.

I regularly work with small groups of children who struggle with their maths, reading and writing. And I decided that to make some wall displays would be a great idea for this challenge - and something that would be of use to me next term. One of the things that they find difficult when they are writing, is knowing the difference between nouns, adjectives and verbs. So these were the three things I chose for my wall displays.

Each poster is A3 in size - and uses elements from the Angelica and Adam CDs. I printed the placemats from CD2, on Poster setting - and at 141% - this takes the image from A4 to A3, and prints it over several sheets. I stuck these to pieces of A3 card.

I then chose suitable pictures from the Fabric Companion, Toppers and Embellishment sections of CD1 to use for each of the 3 sheets. On my computer, I created the words linked to the pictures and the themes to add on to each display.

I then took some Crafter's Companion black card, and cut the letters for the titles using Die'sire 1" Alphabet Dies. 

Once I get back to work, I will laminated these - and they will go on the wall!! I am hoping that, because they are so colourful, and the images are so gorgeous, it will go someway to giving the children some inspiration when we work on developing their writing skills.

Make sure you check out the inspiration from the rest of the Challenge Design Team - keep an eye on the Crafter's Companion FB page!! And then you have until the end of the month to make your projects! 

Back soon

Cxxx

Party Paws Gift Bag and Gatefold Card

To make up for losing a whole day yesterday, I am back with two more projects this afternoon. This first offering is made using one of the fabulous stamp sets - this one is called Noel and I decided to make it into a gift bag.

I used Spectrum Noir pens to colour the image in:
Dark fur: IG9, 8, 7, 6, 5

Light Fur Shading: IG1, 2

Cheeks: FS6, Blender

Hat: DR3, CR11, 9, 7

Hat Trim Shading: TB1, Blender

Present - DR2, CR11, 9, 7; GT3, 2, 1

To make the bag, I folded one sheet of red card to make the bag itself, and mounted the image onto a Die'sire Elegance Stamping Frame, with a piece of paper printed from the CD. I used lots of ribbon for the handle and the bow on the front to echo the ribbon on the image.

The second project is a card from the Kit. This is an offset gatefold card, made from one of the sheets of printed card, with one of the toppers mounted on to some gold satin foiled card. The green card is Core'dinations. 

I then used the Die'sire Holly die and cut both the small and large ones from both the green and gold card. I used pearls for the berries. 

Sorry there's not too much detail but my head is beginning to ache again - so I'm trying to get this down as quick as possible.

I'll be back tomorrow with more.
Cxxx

More Sneak Peeks from Party Paws Christmas.

Well - so much for blogging every day!! Completely lost yesterday with horrible headache. So am a bit behind!! But - today is another day - and therefore I have another two Party Paws sneak peeks!! The first one is an adaptation of a card. On the Festive Fancies CD there are six different Large Tag Cards. I decided to make this into a large tag with a pocket, into which other tags could be places for safekeeping until use!

So I printed the tag out three times onto watercolour card - once for the back, once for the front pocket, and finally to cut out the gorgeous bear to decoupage on the pocket. I then printed a variety of the paper designs from the CDs onto Centura Pearl Snow White Hint of Gold. I printed the card on both sides to make the tags. 

Several of the topper sheets were used for the tags, and on the back of each (I forgot to take a photo - oops!) I used a sentiment from one of the printable sheets. To embellish, I used Die'sire Holly and Snowflake dies, with a few pearls, and added a length of ribbon to each tag.

This second one is a pocket card. It doesn't open - but as it says in the name, it has a pocket.

It's made from one sheet of A4 card - folded in half to create an A5 card. Then a corner was cut off, and the bottom and sides stuck to create a pocket. A small tag and envelope (for a gift card) were made from matching card.

The images are from one of the Topper Companion sheets, layered with papers printed onto Satin Finish paper. 

Remember - this is Create and Craft's Weekender - this weekend - Sat 9th and Sun 10th August.

I'll be back later today with another sneak peek.

Cxxx

CCM&M #120 - Fancy Folds

Good afternoon!! It's challenge time over at CCMM. This fortnight, the theme is Fancy Folds - so anything with fancy folds will do!! Our sponsors are The Stamping Boutique who are offering 3 images of the winner's choice.

I wasn't sure quite what to do so had a look on Pinterest. I came across a site called Card Making Magic - and they had instructions for a fancy tri-fold card. Now, I liked the idea - but decided to add my own twist to it. So, rather than scoring for a tri-fold card, I scored 9cm from each end of a piece of A4 card. The front flaps still overlap - but not as much.  I then scored diagonally down each flap, then parallel to the edge of the card, and finally so that the corners pointed out.

For my card, I have used an image from our sponsor called Cupcake. I kept the colour scheme simple. The Raspberry base card is from Papermill, with two blue papers from Crafter's Companion's Halcyon Days CD. 

The image is coloured with Spectrum Noirs - IB1, 2, 3; PL1, BP2, BP6 and BP7. I cut it out with a Spellbinders Exquisite Circles die. Have never got the hang of using these with the circles dies - but like the star shapes they give. A larger die from the set was used to cut the raspberry mat. Two colours of ribbon and a few pearls finish the card off. 

If you pop over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog to check out the work from the other DT members you'll notice it's a bit thin on the ground. A few of our wonderful team have had to step down - so keep your eyes peeled for a DT call very soon!! In the meantime get busy folding!! 

I would like to enter this into:

Crafting When We Can - Bright Colours

Cxxx

Party Paws Christmas Collection - Sneak Peek 3 and 4!

Good morning to you all!! Hope you've got lots of great crafty things in store for today!!

Later on today, I will be sharing the latest challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and More - so thought I would go for two cards in one post this morning!! I have to admit that all this Christmas crafting during some of the hottest days we have had this year was really strange. My Christmas crafting usually starts towards the end of October - I have NEVER thought of starting my Christmas makes this early - other than making a few purchases of course!!

I've gone for two cards made from the Hunkdory Kit. This first one is a DL card - the base was cut from one of the sheets of patterned card. I chose three toppers from the sheets that all had a yellow edge to them. The small one I used at the top has a greeting - Just for You. 

I used more of the patterned card, and some yellow Tim Holtz Distress Core'dinations card to matt and layer the toppers. For the strip down the middle, I used a little Gold Foil card with a length of the patterned card. I wrapped some gold satin ribbon around this and attached 3 little bells to the bottom.

The second of the cards is an 8x8. I used another of the patterned card designs, and cut off the end with the printed image on. I then edged each side with Die'sire Lace Border 1. I turned the card 90 degrees to its original orientation so the decoration is down the side. This was matted and layered onto some red and green card, and then the card blank. 

I used more of the red and green card to mount the topper on - and also the sentiment. Around the middle I wrapped some red and green satin ribbon, and attached two little red bells - one each side. 

For both of these cards, I used the matching insert, inside the card.

Remember that sneak peeks will continue through the week from all the Design Team - and you can catch the shows on Saturday and Sunday.

Be back later. Take care,

Cxxxx

Party Paws Christmas Collection - Sneak Peek #2

Back again with another sneak peek from the Party Paws Christmas Collection. This one is an Easel Card made using one of the eight stamp sets - this one is called 'Dear Santa'. 

I used my Spectrum Noir pens on the Neenah Solar White card to colour this gorgeous image in:

Dark Fur - IG9, 8, 7, 6, 5

Light Fur Shading - IG1, 2

Cheeks - FS6, Blender

Hat - DR3, CR11, 9, 7

Hat Trim Shading - TB1, Blender

Sack - EB8, 6, 5, 3

Presents - FS1, 2, GB2, TN1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I printed a couple of the papers from CD1 onto Satin Finish Paper (Design Set 2/10, and Co-ord Paper 2) and used the colouriser to create a colour that would tone with the presents.

The sentiment I chose from the set was 'Dear Santa, I've been good this year' - and used it as the stopper for the Easel card.  As ever, I added a bit of organza ribbon and some pearls to complete the card!!

Don't forget - you can see the collection on Create and Craft Saturday 9th - 9am, 12pm and 6pm - and Sunday 10th - 11am, 2pm and 7pm. 

Back tomorrow!!

Cxxx

It's Sneak Peek Time with Party Paws Christmas Collection!!

Good morning!! I've been a bit busy already!! Just popped to the local market for some A4 card - and while I was there I found a great stall selling Fuschias for £1 a pot!! Couldn't resist - and four are now sat on my patio in the sunshine waiting for me to plant them!!

But onto the business of the day!! It's time to start sharing sneak peeks of what I have been working on recently!! It's Party Paws - such a cute little character!! The 'Party Paws Christmas Collection' will be featuring as the Weekender on Create and Craft on the 9th and 10th of August. The collection contains two CD's, eight A6 rubber stamp sets, a Hunkydory topper kit, Hunkydory card inserts, and a Hunkydory snowy acetate pack!!

As I have so many samples to share with you, I am going to attempt to blog one each morning - and one each afternoon!! This may not happen - so you may find two cards in one post!! 

So  - where to begin? I think with the CD's as that's what I first got my hands on. 

This card combines elements from both CD1 - which is your traditional Crafter's Companion format CD, and CD2 which is the newer format and contains PDF files. 

The main card is from CD2 - and is one of the Decoupage cards.  I printed this out onto Centura Peal Snow White Hint of Gold card, and also on Neenah Solar White card. This was so I could decoupage using a matt rather than pearly image. I then printed the matching image from the Decoupage section of CD1 onto Neenah Solar White to create the tag. The smaller tags came as part of the other sheets, but I created the longer one for the decoupage image using the matching papers. 

The little buttons are also from the sheets - covered in Glossy Accents to make them shiny. I edged everything with Distress Inks - Antique Linen, Evergreen Bough, and Aged Mahogany. I used some glitter glue on the flowers to make them sparkle.   

Don't forget - you can see the collection on Create and Craft Saturday 9th - 9am, 12pm and 6pm - and Sunday 10th - 11am, 2pm and 7pm. And keep your eyes peeled for sneak peeks from the rest of the Design Team - there are loads of fab projects to check out!!

Will be back later!!

Cxxxx

Thank you!!

Good morning!! Has been a good one so far for me!! Had a great parkrun this morning - despite the absolutely torrential rain - with my 5th fastest time so far - and the best I've run since the beginning of May!! Have to say that yesterday's SUP fitness class was cancelled and at the time I was disappointed - but maybe all that saved energy was a bonus today!!

Anyway, it's been well over a week since I blogged - but I can assure you I will be making up for it in the next couple of weeks, as sneak peeks of what I have been working on will be starting tomorrow!! It's been full on making samples - alongside fitting in a few days out with my lovely nieces!!

But before all of that starts, I thought I would share with you a few 'Thank You' cards I made for the end of the summer term. 

I used Crafter's Companion Kraft card to layer onto what used to be called a 'small tall' card (roughly 8cm x 20cm) by Craft Tonic. I bought loads of them when I first started crafting - don't think you can get them anymore. But I still have a stash and they were perfect for this. I then used paper from Kanban's Well Wishes pad to go with the matching Heart topper, and matted and layered this with Kraft card, inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. A few pearls and a piece of twine finished it all off. 

 

The other two were completed in a similar way - just different toppers and sentiments.

I would like to enter this into:
4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Challenges - Anything Goes

Be back soon!!
Cxxx