Fab find

Found these today in Waitrose -aren't they fab??? Perfect for my lovely brand new Smash book I acquired over in the US of A :).

Fiskarettes

I was very honoured to be asked by Caroline (of Bubbly Funk) to be a guest Fiskarette for Sept/Oct. Unfortunately this co-incided with a holiday and my busiest period of work EVER and so I didn't manage to post my projects ahead of schedule. So over the next couple of days will share a few of them. Details are at http://www.fiskarettes.co.uk/ for all the projects.

This is a little birdcage I made using Fiskars punches and die cuts.

Was it really JUNE I last posted? Good God!

Anyone like a banana?

Frog that is :).

I've been sooooooooooooo busy I forgot to upload my Project of the Day for Banana Frog - it's on their blog just not on mine. So here it is. If you want any more info you'll have to hop on over to the BF blog!

Bye for now!

What are you doing Saturday?

There are a few places left on my workshop at Bubbly Funk :). We'll be making a vintage sewing inspired 3D piece using a wooden Artemio house. There will be lots of techniques to learn on the day and loads of materials and stamps for you to play with, including my new ones!
Full details for booking etc are here.

Hope to see you there!

Latte Love

My first LO with my new monthly kit from Gotta Craft, celebrating my love of the Gingerbread Latte! In the winter I crave visits to Starbucks for my fix. Gingerbread Latte's may be the most utterly scrumptious thing known to man.

I was not sure at all about this kit as it's very bright AND very pink, neither of which is very me. However, one of the purposes of getting a kit was to try to get outside my comfort zone colour wise. I do gravitate towards blue and brown almost all the time!

So this is the result of my first encounter with the kit and I have to say I am pleased with it. I used the reverse side of some of the papers as they were more muted (the polka dots) to balance the busy shaped paper. The kit is Lime Twist from MME in case you were wondering.

After making this I have decided I may be rather partial to baker's twine...

More new stamps!

Check out these babies, my fave yet :). Was something of a labour of love getting these ready but I think it has been worth it. My set arrived today, am presently stroking them.

Available from Stamp Galaxy ;)

Another birdie

OK who stole the weekend?

Another little birdy today. I actually made this ages ago (October last year in fact, for the Artisan show) but only recently rediscovered it in a box and hung it in my craft room :).

The stamps are PaperArtsy, the background is inked, stamped over with a map image in Distress Ink and then misted to bleed it into what looks like a fine crackle. The overstamped postmarks and splatters are PaperArtsy too. The whole thing is painted with Rock Candy for a subtle crackle (which further bleeds the Distress Ink too).

The flowers are cheap white Prima's - I always buy the white ones and just colour them to suit with sprays.

Looking like my next stamp set will be out in the next week or so - literally waiting for sign off and we are hopefully good to go. This one is my fave yet, it's lush if I do say so myself :).

Another journal page and a very special card

Another journal page, made as per the plan from leftover scraps. These are the rejects from a recent Craft Stamper project (decided against the colour scheme) so I've just stuck them in the book. It's not turning out to be a journal really, just a collection of randomness! I never was one for introspection so I doubt you'll ever see writing on these pages. This page is MUCH more 'me' in style.

With apologies to Kate and Dyan...

OK I am going to reveal my first two art journal pages. Progress is somewhat slow, but I am trying to fit bits in here and there, and I think the answer may be to use up leftover bits from projects for these pages (an example will be forthcoming!).

These two pages I started at Dyan's fantastic altered book journal class. I am fairly pleased with them as a first attempt, although neither really feel like 'my' work - I guess I need to get a handle on what art journaling should look like Katy style! The second page is quite inspired by Kate Crane (although it probably isn't at all obvious given how poo it is compared the the journal queen herself!) - hence my apologies!

The bird in a hat is especially for my dear, dear friend Sue ;).

If you leave a comment be kind LOL.

Banana Frog Birthday Hop!

May is Banana Frog's birthday (and mine too, so let's celebrate!).

What says birthday more than cake? I've used the Cupcake Greetings for my quick and simple cards for the hop.

I'm the last stop on your hop so it's back to Banana Frog from here. If you've found the hop here then it's worth a visit to the other DT members' blogs as there might be candy in it for you!

See you soon,
K x

Another card

Another card using the same colour tones as yesterday but this time using my Gone Postal stamps instead. Dead simple card - on the card base I masked and layered up the 'label' stamps to add some decoration and stamped an ordinary cheap office date stamp repeatedly down the side. I then just added the punched/stamped paper panel and the greeting.

Not feeling very talkative today so shall leave it at that!

Jack and Jill

Been a busy week but I made a little time for playing with my stamps and created this vintage-style card using the Jack and Jill image from the Nanny's Day Off plate.

I've simply coloured the image using one colour of Distress Ink (Walnut Stain) mixed with water to various shades - I was attempting to create the look of old sepia photos - not sure I managed that but I like it anyway!

For the background I dyed a doily using Antique Linen Distress Stain. Jury still out here on Stains but I have to say they worked brilliantly in this instance as the doily is too thin and fiddly to ink well using a blending tool or even direct-to-paper. I finished the card with a pleated strip of lovely Tissue Tape.

Check out a lovely card Kay at Toodles made with the same set here.

Banana Frog Project of the Day

A very quick and easy Project of the Day for Banana Frog - ran out of time! It's some handy little magnetic memo holders made from clothes pegs. Details on the BF blog.

Gotta run!

Katy

More stamps!!!

This time a DL set - these ones are much more vintage and I LOVE them! Stamps of - stamps! That's my sense of humour all over :).

You can get them here - only £5.85, bargain!

Got my sticky mitts on the Nanny's Day Off set today - woop woop!

My very own stamps!!!

I can hardly believe it (still pinching myself!) but my very first set of stamps went on sale today, as part of the Toodles & Binks range. I've been working hard alongside Kay Bolton (who has been a dream to work with, talk about low pressure!) to bring out a range of retro and vintage themed stamps. It happened kind of by accident following an off-the-cuff conversation and I am quite surprised how much I have enjoyed creating the plates.

The first release is available over at Stamp Galaxy right now! I've yet to get my sticky mitts on them but am very much looking forward to creating some samples very soon.

My next set is much more vintage in style and should be out in the next week!

Tooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Banana Frog Blog Hop - Fun with Fragments

If you are enjoying a hop around the Banana Frog DT today (or even if you are not!) - welcome!

The theme for this hop is 'spring' and that immediately for me brings to mind flowers. So I've used the Scribble Flowers set (again!) for my makes today. I've been playing with Tim Holtz Fragments and I've made a necklace and a fridge magnet with them.

In both cases I stamped the scribble flower, coloured it with pencils and glued it onto book paper. I then stuck it to a Fragment - simple as that! I used gel medium to stick the paper to the Fragment (love that stuff, it's awesome) but you could also use Glossy Accents or Diamond Glaze.

I am the last stop on your hop - or, if you've not come via the hop pop over to the Banana Frog Blog where you can see what my super talented teamies have been creating.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be in with a chance to win some Banana Frog stamps!

Bye for now,
Katy x

POTD for Banana Frog

This is one of two 'back to basics' layouts I've created for Banana Frog this month.

If you'd like more info or want to see my other LO, pop over to the Banana Frog Blog :).

I am trying a more minimalist scrapbooking style and loving it! It's so quick to do pages!

Distress Inks masterclass anyone?

My next class - a Distress Inks Masterclass - is now up for booking on over at Bubbly Funk! Distress Ink techniques are something I have been asked for by people attending other workshops, so I put this class together just to teach all the fab things you can do with these inks (can you tell I really like Distress Inks!).

Class takes place on Sat 7th May - it's almost all day 10.30-4. Look forward to meeting you if you come along!

On a side note, a few people have asked me if the class will run again because they can't make the date - do leave me a comment if this applies to you because if there is enough demand I am sure Caroline will repeat the class later in the year :).

I have a lovely vintage sewing themed project in the pipeline for June so keep an eye out for more info on that.

Bye for now :)

Bubbly Funk class

Had a lovely time on Saturday teaching my class at Bubbly Funk. What a smashing group of ladies - really a pleasure to teach. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and all the projects got finished on time too! Didn't they do a fantastic job? I especially like Sally's as she did a different colour scheme which looked stunning.

Thank you to everyone who came along :).

Watch the birdie

This little bird hanging started out life as a class by Kirsty Wiseman but my version turned out a little different (as per)...

The birds are inked, covered in Rock Candy paint and then inked again with brown ink over the top to get the distressed look. The flowers are pounced with Distress Ink then sprayed with Perfect Pearl Mist to wick the ink out.

It presently resides on the back of my living room door :)

Thanks for popping over :)

Here's my Project of the Day for Banana Frog this month, for full details hop on over to the Banana Frog blog!

Bye for now!

My next Bubbly Funk class

My next class is now up on the Bubbly Funk website. This one uses all sorts of goodies - Viva Terra paste, Inka Gold, PaperArtsy stamps and Tattered Florals die cuts to name a few! The class is on Sat 9th April at the Bubbly Funk shop, which is in the centre of Worcester. Full details are here on the Bubbly Funk website.

Please come along else I'll be a sad Billy-no-mates, and you wouldn't want that on your conscience, would you?

I have actually been making other stuff (including an altered book journal with Dyan - yes you did read that correctly!), but have no time to blog. Soon I hope!

Bye for now.

Banana Frog Hop - Hearts

Welcome if you've just hopped on over from the lovely Jo's blog. This month's Banana Frog blog hop theme is 'Hearts' so I am sharing this little gift I made my other half for Valentine's Day. It's a magnetic frame for his work filing cabinet (he works from home luckily, so his colleagues can't take the mickey!).

I used 3 Banana Frog stamp sets:

-It's All About... Hearts
-De Louisville Tadpole (alphabet)
-Sentimental Style

The hanging hearts are inspired by the hanging heart border image on the stamp plate. To make the scalloped border I stamped onto the back of the paper and cut out the shape. The frame is from the Sentimental Style set and the word 'you' is created with letters from the cute little De Louisville alpha. The hearts are overstamped with the background image from All About Hearts to add a bit of depth. I just added magnetic strips of tape on the back to make the frame into a magnet.

That's it from me! Hippity hoppity over to another newbie on the team - Beki's blog - for the next instalment! Remember to leave everyone on the hop a comment to be in with a chance to win some yummy Banana Frog stamps.

First Banana Frog Project of the Day!

My very first Banana Frog DT project is a very dinky and cute mini album containing pictures of all my beloved Pandora beads and the stories behind them.

The book is created with a lovely stamp set called It's All About Hearts which is a bargain price in the sale right now.

Full details of my project can be found over on the Banana Frog blog! Do pop on over as it's a really inspirational place :).

Banana Frog DT

I am absolutely chuffed and delighted to have been asked by the lovely Bev to be a part of the Banana Frog DT. I was a guest designer last year, and Bev liked my work so has invited me to be on the team proper. I really should have said 'no' given how busy my life is, but I could not resist as I love BF stamps and Bev is just too darn sweet to refuse!

My first project will go live on 24th February and there is a blog hop every month which I hope I can join each time (I believe there are prizes so keep an eye out). I have made both my creations already and am looking forward to sharing them.

Woo hoo!!!!!

Meanwhile here is my favourite creation from my guest appearance last year :).

More Artsycrafts

Determined to get more things off my 'to do' pile, I've finished a second project from the Artsycrafts event I attended last year (the third has been consigned to the bin as I really didn't like my version of it but two out of three ain't bad).

This one I actually like (wonders will never cease!) and I have insisted it spends at least a few days on the mantelpiece where I can enjoy it before it is relegated to the craft room (does every crafter have an OH who just doesn't get it???).

My project is largely the same as taught in class on the front, but inside I decided to add a more personal touch. At the workshop the niche inside the book contained a lovely owl image stamped onto metal, but I do like my projects to have meaning (one reason I enjoy scrapbooking I think) and so I chose to add a photo and journaling block to the inside of my folder instead.The photo is of a beautiful place in New England called Bash Bish falls. We loved it there and I felt the photo fit the theme 'sanctuary' really well as it was such a tranquil and peaceful place.

Hope you like - thanks for popping over :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

A really simple card I made for my OH. He's in the good books at the moment as I got a shiny new Pandora bead for Valentine's :).

He always, always beats me at Scrabble, hence the theme.

Entering this for the Craft Challenge blog, Cupcake Craft Challenge, Papertake Weekly, and Creative Card Crew.

Artsycrafts Frame

Well it's only been about four months, and finally I have put the finishing touches to the main project from last year's Artsycrafts event. I didn't manage to finish this project on the day as I was coming down with flu (got home and spent a week in bed!!). Unfortunately due to having the attention span of a gnat I often start things and don't finish them, but I really wanted to get this done so I can hang it in the craft room (the colours match my decor, which is duck egg blue and chocolate brown).

The frame features some of my favourite materials including corrugated card, paint and embossing powders. Those stunning metal borders are made with a Kabuka mould.

If you've never been to Artsycrafts I can really recommend it - Lin and Leandra really are first rate teachers and really nice peeps to boot :).

Step away from the comfort zone...

Having a mooch about t'internet as you do, I came across a new challenge blog 'Less is More' via Joanne Wardle's blog. Those who know me will appreciate that less is more is not generally a doctrine one would associate with my 'style' of making, but I thought I'd give it a go. Challenge is black, white and pink.

The result is a card which I am not sure I really like and onto which I had to try desperately hard not to stamp a huge flourish in the background!

But I am trying to push myself out of my comfort zone this year, so onwards and upwards!

For my stamp obsessed friends, those rather nice hearts are by the lovely Dy from Art from the Heart and the wording is a SU set :).

UKS Weekly Challenge

With apologies to my very dear friend Paula for a slightly unflattering photo of her pouting (she has seen it and, yes I have been told off LOL), here is my weekly challenge LO for UKS. The leaf sprays (Cricut) have a smattering of PP Mist in Heirloom Gold. This may be my new favourite product. It is to die for, so much sparkle! The title is on my new TH die - this is what happens when I don't get crafting stuff for Xmas - I feel the need to shop in Jan... The new Bubbly Funk shop is soooooooooooooo not helping me to cut back! The papers are very old, might be Scenic Route I think.

In line with the challenge (use ribbon but not in the form of a bow) I have attempted to make my own 'rose' embellishment using running stitch to gather a piece of sheer ribbon and a piece of crochet ribbon and layering them. Not sure how well it worked but it is a darn sight better than my last attempt which shall never be spoken of again (Sue, I am looking at you!).

Folksy shoppee

Finally got around to doing a wee shop on Folksy, although I severely underestimated the time required to upload stuff so it looks a bit bare at the mo!

Have started out with some dinky Scrabble Tile pendants like the one on the left.

It can be found here and is called Bella Carta.

My first Bubbly Funk class - how exciting!!!

I am absolutely delighted to have been invited to teach classes at Bubbly Funk in the newly opened store in Worcester town centre. My first class is going to be a maze book (if you've never made one of these you must come along, they are dinky and cute and so addictive!). My design is pictured above but there will be scope in the class to give it your own twist if you wish. There will be two options to give the class a wide appeal - you can either make a little gift book filled with quotes or you can make a mini scrapbook album using photos.

There are more details on the Bubbly Funk website and tickets are on sale now. The class is on Sat 26th February - I am so looking forward to it!

I've also got two more classes lined up - one with a Mother's Day theme (think lovely handmade flowers) on 26th March and then an all day Distress Inks Masterclass packed with techniques on 9th April. Watch the Bubbly Funk website for more details.

Ooooohhh, exciting!!!

More Simply Create Glitz!

A couple more Simply Create DT items today, using the Glitz Designs kit again. Firstly some vintage-style tags using the Scarlett stamp. The tags are stamped on the background with a Glitz distressing stamp, both use the frame stamp - on the left I coloured the central panel and added it on 3D foam and on the right filled the frame with flowers. The gems are actually plain Papermania ones I've coloured with Krylon (oh how I love my Krylon pen!).

Secondly I used a wooden crown that was in the kit to make this simple card. The crown is covered in UTEE with glitter sprinked into it and although the camera doesn't capture it that well, it is super shiny and blingy!

That's it for this month's kit - hope you like my makes :)

Simply Create DT - Glitz Designs kit

Finally got cracking on my Simply Create kit that I am ashamed to say came well before Christmas... All the bits and bobs are Glitz Designs (apart from the title) - when I saw the faux book page embellishment I knew what I had to scrap!

The background cardstock is inked with Distress Inks and stamped with one of the images from the Glitz Designs Distressing set. I had cut and doodled the hearts and there isn't much else to it. I wasn't sure about this kit at first but have grown to love it :). More creations tomorrow.

Bye for now x

Return of the mojo???

Has the mojo come back??? I've literally not been in the craft room since I last posted in November until yesterday. My LO is for a UK Scrappers challenge and is based on a sketch by Karen AKA Scrapdolly (see UKS homepage for details).

A few thank you messages: to MJ for the spotty brad, and to Claire for the button and word stickers used in the journaling which were in my Christmas parcel :).

I have also sadly left the Gingersnaps DT recently - too much life getting in the way of crafting. Sad to leave but enjoyed my time with them lots.

Lots of stuff to share - shall attempt to post semi frequently in 2011!

Thanks for popping by.