Postcards from the Attic

More Fiskarettes

2011-10-23T17:49:00.000+01:00

Another project I did for Fiskarettes - full details over on the Fiskarettes blog :).

This is for an album I am doing of pics of my and the other half :).

Fab find

2011-10-22T19:12:00.001+01:00

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

2011-10-07T22:18:00.000+01:00

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?

2011-06-29T17:50:00.000+01:00

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?

2011-06-22T11:06:00.003+01:00

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

2011-06-19T21:12:00.000+01:00

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!

2011-06-18T19:32:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-12T22:00:00.000+01:00

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

2011-06-08T17:32:00.000+01:00

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.

If you read my interview in the mag, that swirl is the Crafty Individuals stamp that is my 'most inked'.

Also sharing this gorgeous, gorgeous card I got from my friend Sue for my birthday. Sue went out and got my stamps (Nanny's Day Off set) especially to make me this card - how sweet is that? I love how she has used the stamps collage-style to create the background. I love it Sue - thank you so much sweetie. x

With apologies to Kate and Dyan...

2011-06-02T21:28:00.000+01:00

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!

2011-05-30T09:01:00.001+01:00

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

2011-05-29T10:18:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-28T08:25:00.000+01:00

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

2011-05-24T09:00:00.001+01:00

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!!!

2011-05-19T19:11:00.000+01:00

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!!!

2011-05-12T18:19:00.000+01:00

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

2011-04-30T09:00:00.005+01:00

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

2011-04-24T08:25:00.003+01:00

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?

2011-04-22T10:14:00.000+01:00

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

2011-04-10T22:26:00.000+01:00

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

2011-04-08T08:20:00.000+01:00

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 :)

2011-03-24T08:00:00.001Z

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

2011-03-16T15:48:00.002Z

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

2011-02-28T09:00:00.002Z

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!

2011-02-24T08:17:00.000Z

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

2011-02-20T21:50:00.005Z

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

2011-02-16T18:21:00.006Z

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!

2011-02-14T19:44:00.004Z

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

2011-02-12T21:21:00.002Z

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...

2011-02-08T18:36:00.004Z

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

2011-02-02T17:34:00.007Z

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

2011-01-30T20:56:00.003Z

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!!!

2011-01-26T09:07:00.005Z

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!

2011-01-11T19:00:00.004Z

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

2011-01-10T21:52:00.003Z

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

Bubbly Funkyness

2011-01-09T17:21:00.005Z

Yesterday I went to a fab class at the newly opened Bubbly Funk B&M shop in Worcester, with the lovely Caroline. It was an art journaling class - not very me at all. But that was the point, to try to move a bit out of my comfort zone. As you can see, the result is pretty far outside my comfort zone (OK the dog in a hat is quite me, but composition and materials wise etc), but I am really chuffed with it. I didn't like the yellow paint job I did for the background but I made myself work with it anyway and I am so glad I did! The journal is actually a chipboard file folder with a ring binder mechanism inside, great for a novice journaler because if you hate a page you can just take it out.

Now I've just got to make pages. Revealing my innermost thoughts is really not me!!! I am not really introspective at all. I might just indulge in more silliness like the cover.

In other news I am chuffed to bits to have been asked by Caroline to teach some classes at the shop. My first class is 26th February and places are for sale now from Caroline. More info to follow, but the class will involve making a dinky little maze book and custom embellies for the cover.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by xxx

Return of the mojo???

2011-01-06T21:03:00.003Z

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.

Gingersnaps - Notions challenge

2010-11-10T08:00:00.000Z

Gingersnaps challenge this week is 'Notions' and here is my contribution. It's an altered tin to keep my 'special' buttons in - all the lovely vintage ones that are really too nice to use!

Here's what I did:

1) My tin was silver so I first coloured the areas which would be seen with gold Krylon pen.

2) I then used gel medium to adhere a torn scrap of old yellowed sewing pattern tissue to the lid.

3) I stamped the Hero Arts stamp (Simple Handmade set), trimmed, tearing one edge, and sponged with Antique Linen.

4) I stamped the dress form and label (7 Gypsies) onto Basic Grey Basics paper, cut out and added. I coloured the base of the dress form in pencil to match.

5) I embellished the tin with buttons tied with Stampin' Up linen thread, crochet trim, a tape measure cut from Cosmo Cricket paper (thank you Nix!) and MM letter stickers.

I hope you like my example and will play along with our challenge. Thanks for stopping by :)

Katy xxx

Birthday greetings

2010-10-24T19:39:00.003+01:00

This is a birthday card I made a while ago for my good friend Ruth. The stamps are PaperArtsy Hot Picks and Inkadinkado. The background is simply inked with a blending tool. The design is inspired by a project Leandra Franich did for Craft Stamper magazine.

Thanks for visiting :)

Simply Create DT

2010-10-20T19:35:00.002+01:00

This is my first make with the MME Holly Jolly kit I got this month from Simply Create. The card is made using one of the plainer papers and the clear stamp set. I stamped the holly repeatedly around the edge in green ink, then coloured the berries with a Sakura glaze pen. The greeting is stamped in brown, die cut and matted. I went over the word Noel with a sparkle Sakura pen in copper so although you can't tell from the photo it's all pretty and sparkly.

Simple card but that's what you want for Christmas, right?

Gingersnaps Challenge - Versamark

2010-10-13T08:14:00.000+01:00

Here's my contribution to this week's Gingersnaps challenge. The theme is Versamark and I've actually used three different Versamark techniques here:

-Watermark - the background text (Prima) is simply stamped with Versamark onto the kraft card to create a watermarked effect.

-Chalk - the swirls are stamped with Versamark then chalked over in a slightly darker colour chalk than the kraft paper to make them stand out a little from the text

-Gilding - the heart is stamped with Versamark, Stamp 'n' Bond then gilding flakes applied.

Just a simple little card. Not very seasonal I know - might have to save it for Valentine's Day next year!!!

BOO! from Gingersnaps :)

2010-10-06T09:30:00.005+01:00

Today's theme at Gingersnaps is 'Gothic Elements' - having read the description I may have made a slight misinterpretation of said theme as I went with Hallowe'en. However, I am happy with my creation - it's not very me but that's what I love about it! I've had this Grungeboard skull lurking about forever wondering what on earth I might do with it. I also finally got to try my Rock Candy Crackle Paint too to age and weather the skull.

Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
Tim Holtz Masks: Haunted
Tim Holtz stamps: Slight Alterations
Inks: Dusty Concord Distress Ink; Stampin’ Up black ink; Memento Smoky Grey ink
Grungeboard shapes (skull)
White acrylic paint
Distress Crackle Paint: Rock Candy
Chipboard
Book pages
Thickers letters – chipboard
Black card
Die cut spiders
Thread
Scrap of ribbon

1 Cut chipboard into a coffin shape and paste book paper (I tore it to add texture) over the chipboard. Trim.

2 Place the masks down and ink over with Dusty Concord. Add black in places around the edges. Stamp the scratches stamp from the Tim Holtz set with black ink. Remove the masks.

3 Tone down the white of the spider webs with a touch of grey ink.

4 Paint the Grungeboard skull with white paint (I cut it into pieces so I could layer the bones behind the skull for dimension). When dry ink the edges and then paint with Rock Candy Crackle Paint. Allow to dry then rub grey Memento ink over to highlight the cracks. Add black card to the back to fill the eye and nose sockets.

5 Similarly paint/ink chipboard letters to spell ‘boo’. Add on a scrap of torn black card.

6 Finish with spider die cuts or plastic toy spiders, hanging one from the bottom on grey thread. Add a loop of black ribbon as a hanging.

I hope you join in at Gingersnaps :)

Simply Create DT submission

2010-09-12T17:09:00.004+01:00

Today I thought I'd share a layout I entered for the Simply Create DT call. The photo is of our favourite beach in Cape Cod - it was literally deserted and so peaceful.

Papers are quite old Kaisercraft ones; the beach grass/words are stamped using stamps from the Tattered Angels Coastal set. I've added my journaling on a little tag behind the photo. Quite a simple LO but that's how I like 'em!

Thanks for popping in,

Katy x

Gingersnaps challenge: Punches

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today's challenge over on Gingersnap Creations is punches. Although I don't have squillions of punches, I do use the ones I have a lot. Here I've used a circle punch and a border punch (Martha Stewart Doily Lace). I love to layer my punched borders like this and it's a technique I use lots.

I went for a bit of a vintage look, using soft colours for this simple card.

We hope you'll join in with this week's challenge - have fun!

Katy x

Me & my Dog

2010-09-04T15:31:00.001+01:00

This is a layout I started an age ago. I was a class from the last UKS cybercrop (can't for the life of me remember which one) and I just didn't know how to finish it. Am still not totally happy with this but at least it is done now.

Love these papers - they are MME. The pics were taken at Brockhampton by my other half - some quite nice pics of me for once!

Thanks for popping over.

K x

My first ever blog award!

2010-09-03T18:25:00.006+01:00

My lovely friend Isabelle has passed this award onto me - thank you sweetie :). The rules apparently are that I tell you seven random facts about myself and pass the award onto seven other people; so here goes...

1) I am terrified of wasps and clowns.

2) I collect Nightmare Before Christmas snowglobes.

3) My favourite films ever are Rebecca and The Frighteners.

4) My favourite place in the world is Walt Disney World (is there anyone who doesn't know that about me???)

5) I have a masters degree in History of Ceramic Design. Interesting but pretty pointless!

6) I'm fascinated by forensic science and forensic psychology.

7) As a small child my career aspirations included being a ice cream lady and an astronaut - talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous!

And I'd like to pass this award to:

If I can get myself organised I have a couple of layouts to upload soon. Bye for now!

New DT!!!

2010-09-01T09:26:00.003+01:00

Good news everyone! I'm very excited to have been asked to join the DT for Simply Create!!!

Can't wait to see what what my first kit contains and to get started. There is a big group of us on the team and I am looking forward to getting to know the others.

Yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

More chickens!

2010-08-26T20:50:00.002+01:00

Another of my chicken cards today. This one uses the Artemio stamps as before and also a Hero Arts background 'Clouds' and a Tim Holtz dotty stamp to create the gritty texture on the ground. The heart is just doodled.

Hope you like :)

See you soon,

K x

Gingersnaps challenge - birthday card

2010-08-25T08:00:00.002+01:00

A card I made for my friend Kate's birthday (she is learning guitar, hence the theme!) which also fit for this week's Gingersnaps challenge which is 'Red and Black'.

Stamps are Inkadinkado Rock Star, aren't they fun? I do hope she liked it.

Katy x

Something a bit different

2010-08-21T09:09:00.004+01:00

This week I fancied having a go at something a bit different and made this domino necklace. I really enjoyed making this, especially as it was super quick to do! I am not a natural at jewellery making as I find it a tad fiddly but these chunky pendants are super easy.I inked the domino with Versamagic Ink, drying with a heat gun between layers. I stamped the dandelion image (Hero Arts) twice in black Brilliance Ink and again dried it by blasting with the heat gun. Then I covered the whole thing in a layer of Stickles so it is super sparkly. To finish I glazed the piece with Glossy Accents and finished the back with a scrap of Basic Grey paper.

I didn't have a jump ring big enough so fashioned a double looped one (for strength) from silver plated wire. I then just added some faux suede cord, cord ends and a clasp :).

Thank you to my pal MJ for the pre-drilled domino :).

K x

Gingersnaps day again!

2010-08-18T18:16:00.004+01:00

This week's theme is 'Go 3D' - so I did! I made an altered bottle for my submission (it's actually an old bottle that was once filled with Prima flowers). The stamps I used are fairly recent ones from Crafty Individuals. Here's how I made it:

1) Drag a Tumbled Glass Distress inkpad over a piece of white card (measured to fit your bottle), creating a streaky background.

2) Then use a blending tool to apply Bundled Sage all over the card. This gives a lovely watery effect and colour.

3) While the ink is still wet, overstamp a flourish (CI-182) and the starfish using the same inks. The images will sink into the background a little and blur a bit because the ink is wet on wet.

4) Stamp the border in Timber Brown Stazon; add a wash to the shells with Pumice Stone ink and a water brush to highlight them.

5) Apply strong tape to the bottle and stick the card piece around. Wrap raffia around the top and bottom of the bottle and around the lid.

6) Decorate another piece of card as in step 1-3. Die cut a circle and tag from it. Stamp with a shell and seahorse from the CI plate. Stamp these images again, colour with inks and cut out. Layer onto first stamped images as shown.

7) Tie tag to bottle with sheer ribbon, and you're done!

Hope you like it - thanks for stopping by :)

Katy x

Disneyland Paris - woo hooooooooooooooooo

2010-08-16T10:49:00.000+01:00

I am sooooooooooooooooo excited - we've booked to go to Disneyland Paris in Dec for a few days. I've never done Disney at Xmas so obviously I am barely coping with the excitement LOL.

This is just a really simple little planner I made to keep all the holiday info in the same place. The pockets are made from trimmed down envelopes I lined with some old Disney paper I'd had lying around for ages. Each envelope pocket contains a little tag on which I can write info like parade times, meal bookings and (most importantly) my souvenir shopping list! It's a really simple little thing but it is meant to be functional, hence the decoration is minimal.

I thought the image of Mickey rather summed up my feelings about the forthcoming trip!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken!

2010-08-14T09:38:00.000+01:00

I've been having a play with some lovely stamps from Artemio from The Altered Element. They are called Picoti Picota and they feature lots of funky chickens! Love them.

Here's one of the cards I made (it's for a friend who is pregnant, to give her once she's had the little one), and the rest are over on The Altered Element blog.

Gingersnaps tutorial - paint

2010-08-13T07:00:00.000+01:00

It's my turn for a tutorial on Gingersnaps this week, and the theme is 'Paint'. If you want to find out how I made the backgrounds on these two cards hop on over to Gingersnaps blog for my full step-by-step tutorial. I hope it is useful.

Enjoy,
Katy x

Gingersnaps Colour Challenge

2010-07-28T07:00:00.001+01:00

Well it's my turn again to make something for Gingersnaps this week. I've made a layout this time as I seem to be doing quite a bit of scrapping lately (at some point I'll go off it again and start doing more stamping again, my craft habits are often quite cyclical!).

I digress... The page is for the colour challenge which is Red, Orange and Yellow. Now, I think the organisers had summer in mind when they set this, but as usual I haven't toed the line and I've gone autumnal as that's what the colour scheme first suggested to me.

The background paper is made using various colours of Distress Inks and some totally lush Stampin' Up stamps from the supplement catalogue (you can get SU stuff from my pal Paula). I simply layered the stamped images, starting with the lightest ink colour first. I used the same stamp set to make the accent in the die cut scalloped circle.

The leaf stems are cut on the Cricut machine and sprayed with Pumpkin Pie and Gold Glimmer Mists. I finished the page with a raffia, a scalloped border and some gold Liquid Pearls.

This is the first time I've done an 8.5 x 11 layout - not sure I am a total convert but will certainly try this size again in the future.

Don't forget to check out what the other Gingers made this week. I hope you'll play along with our challenge.

Katy x

More Create 10

2010-07-25T09:05:00.004+01:00

Busy week but managed another Create 10 layout class, again using up scraps. I made the page almost entirely from bits and pieces left over from a class I did last year, which feels good! I even used the printed manufacturer strips to make a small border.

I have to confess that although I'd kept these papers I was not at all keen on the pastel colours, but I am actually quite pleased with the finished layout. This has encouraged me to try ways of using up papers I am not so keen on.

My mission for August is to use up lots of my existing stash, so I am making a rule - no purchases until I've created at least five pieces of work of some kind. Will I stick to it??? Well, I'll try (willpower never was my strong suit).

Love this pic of me and the other half; it makes me feel happy just looking at it (although have no idea what's going on with his hairdo!!!).

Thanks for popping over.

K x

Create 10 - day two!

2010-07-18T18:28:00.003+01:00

The technique for class two was to use scraps of paper in long strips to create a layered effect - again I've not exactly followed the class but have rather used the technique. I've used the last of my BG Mellow (boo hoo, love that paper) as all I had left was one piece (background on the page) and a few scraps. The leaves are Stampin' Up stamps which I've scrunched up in my hand to make them look more autumnal.

Next class is flowers so that will be much more of a challenge as I rarely use floral embellishments!

With apologies for the dodgy photo!

Katy x

Create 10

2010-07-17T20:59:00.004+01:00

My first layout for the Create 10 classes (Fri class). I didn't exactly follow the class, but did apply the principles of using leftover scraps of paper and die cut shapes to create my page. The butterflies are chipboard die cuts; I painted them white, then added some red Versamagic ink to the centres, working it outwards with my finger for a graduated look. I then over-stamped with an Inkadinkado cherry blossom stamp. Papers are Kaisercraft.

If you want to see what everyone else has been doing for Create 10 go here.

Thanks for visiting :)

Katy x

Exhall workshop classes

2010-07-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

I finally finished two of the projects from the crop at Exhall I went to a couple of weeks ago. It was organised (very effeciently too I must say) by Claire Wheatley - thank you for your hard work Claire :). Me and my crafty chums had a fabulous day and really enjoyed the classes.

This first layout was my favourite of the classes, which was by Ifa Zainon. I thought the class was really beautiful, and showed me that cost effective crafting (it uses on sheet of card, and literally a tiny part of a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper) can be gorgeous! Of course I changed the class a little to suit my photos (I never was good at following instructions). The pics are of Painswick Rococco Gardens in the Cotswolds. Ifa's blog is here but unfortunately she doesn't seem to have put up a picture of her original LO. Unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice - it really is pretty, and delicate, and sparkly.

This second layout was part of a class by Jemma Sharrock. Again I changed the layout somewhat, but the basic arrangement of elements is the same. Jemma doesn't seem to have a blog but if you use UKS you can see the original LO in her gallery (username Jimjams). I used my brand new sparkly Cricut Create to make the letters, which I then ultra thicked to make them all glossy like epoxy stickers. Jemma did this technique in her class - I'd not done it for ages and it reminded me how useful my UTEE is!

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by.

K xxx

Gingersnaps Challenge - Heat

2010-07-07T07:00:00.000+01:00

Well, giving the recent UK weather, 'Heat' is quite an appropriate theme for Gingersnaps this week!

My offering for the challenge has a touch of the tropical and uses my new Tattered Angels Coastal stamp set (lovely big 12x12 stamp set, super yummy). The finished card is A5 size.

The colours are richer in real life but it was hard to get a good pic.

Here's the destructions as usual:

Materials...

Tattered Angels stamps: Coastal
Autumn Leaves: Borders
Distress Inks: Wild Honey; Spiced Marmalade; Fired Brick; Barn Door; Mustard Seed
Versafine Ink: Black

2" circle punch
Cardstock
Post-It Notes

Method:

1) Punch a 2" circle from a Post-It Note. Place bottom centre on a piece of card and ink the card using the Distress Inks (except Mustard Seed), starting with the lightest colour (Wild Honey). Add the inks in layers and blend the inks to create a graduated effect as shown.

2) Remove the mask and ink the sun with Mustard Seed. The go over the edges of the sun with Wild Honey. This is to give a blurred effect around the edge of the sun and blend it into the rest of the card.

3) Stamp the palm tree in black. Cut a piece of paper into a hill shape and, using the paper as a mask, blend black ink around the base of the card as shown. Cover up part of the sun to give the illusion it is setting.

4) Add a border and word. Mat and layer the card as shown.

Pop over to Gingersnaps to see what the rest of the DT created and to play along with our challenge :).

Katy x

Paperbag album

2010-07-04T13:57:00.006+01:00

Today I am sharing a paperbag album I made recently. My dear friend Sue showed me how to create the book on our weekend away - really easy to make but very effective. It's basically three paper bags stuck together and then trimmed to make the staggered effect. I NEED to make more of these so paper bags are now on the ever growing 'must buy' list!

The decoration is my own work. The only change I made to Sue's construction was to make the closure on the book magnetic instead of using a ribbon tie; I wanted the cover design fairly minimal.

The pictures are of Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd-Wright's winter home and studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, which I visited in 2005 and absolutely loved.

The papers are MME So Sophie, I didn't use a lot of embellishments as you need to keep the pages relatively flat to allow the book to close properly.

It's my turn on Gingersnaps this week so I'll be back on Wed with a card I made :).

Thanks for popping over,

Katy

Parrot Fashion

2010-06-30T17:40:00.006+01:00

A few weeks ago I had a lovely little getaway with some of the girls from my UKS team. A lovely bunch they are too. We had one or two classes during the weekend, and this layout is from a class by the lovely MJ (who runs Every Moment Matters). I adapted it somewhat, as MJs was a double page (I never do those) and I had more photos to fit on. However the brilliant touches with the stiching, squares and tied ribbon border are all courtesy of the lovely MJ :).

The picture is one of many from my visit to Birdland. Trust me you'll be sick of seeing birds soon enough!

Secondly, I've been CASEd in this week's challenge on Gingersnaps! I am feeling very honoured that two very talented ladies chose my work to emulate. Pop over to the Gingersnaps blog to have a look at what they did :).

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by.

Katy x

Hybrid maze book

2010-06-27T10:00:00.000+01:00

I do like making little hybrid mini albums as they are super quick to finish. To make this one I created the journaling pages using Photoshop and a feather brush. I reduced the opacity on the brush to blend it into the background. The papers are some old Basic Grey Offbeat ones.

The album is of a day trip we took to Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water - fab day out, loads of gorgeous birds (penguin feeding time was the highlight of the day!). And now I have all my memories recorded while they are still fresh in this little teeny maze book.

I won't put the instructions here- if you Google maze books there will be plenty of tutorials out there. It's basically a little book constructed by folding one sheet of 12x12 - well worth seeking out if you've never made one.

Thanks for popping over. See you soon I hope.

Katy x

UKS Challenge

2010-06-25T11:49:00.000+01:00

My scrapbook page for last week's UKS challenge.

The challenge was:

-Scrap something you love (my beloved pooch)

-Use something old, new, borrowed or blue (my papers were my latest purchase - BG Max & Whiskers - and I used blue cs)

-Write journaling (yep)

-Use stamps, inks or paint (lots of stamping here - the journaling block is a Hero Art stamp, the box with the date a 7 Gypsies stamp, the small letters are alpha stamps and the big Thickers are stamped with a Prima stamp that looks like a newspaper sheet, the round circle is a stamp too.)

I like this one; that's a well cute pic of my dog. The journaling is about how he chunters on all the time!!! He makes an amazing range of odd noises.... bless him!

K x

Gingersnaps Challenge - better late than never!

2010-06-23T17:57:00.004+01:00

This is my entry for the Shades of Blue Gingersnaps challenge. I found this little drawer set in a pound store and it happens to be just the right size to hold the foam pads for my Inkessentials blending tool. I’ve altered it (appropriately) with Distress-inked panels decorated with a fab bird stamp from PaperArtsy.

Materials…
PaperArtsy Flora and Fauna 4
Technique Tuesday: Home stamps (frame)
Fancy Pants stamps (‘create art’)
Stamper’s Anonymous: Urban Tapestry (dotty texture)
Mini drawer unit
Gesso
Black and brown acrylic paint
Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass; Broken China; Faded Jeans; Rusty Hinge; Wild Honey; Shabby Shutters; Peeled Paint
Archival Ink: Coffee
Ink applicator or Cut-n-Dry foam
Water brush
Dymo and transparent tape (or use Safmat or rub-on letters)

1 Gesso the drawers then when dry paint with a layer of black paint then brown paint. Leave to dry.

2 Cut white card to fit the drawers and colour with all three blue Distress Inks. Stamp the dotty background around the edge in Broken China. Stamp the bird in Coffee ink and then stamp just the leaves from the bird around the edges.

3 Stamp the bird again three times and paint with the Distress Inks and a water brush. Cut out the leaves and birds and add to the inked panels. On the top panel stamp ‘create art’ left of the bird. Tape panels in place with strong tape.

4 Stamp the Technique Tuesday frame five times onto blue inked card, cut in half and stamp with the dotty texture and then the small branch as shown. Add a Dymo label to each panel and stick to the drawer fronts.

Hope you like it :). The other girls have made lovely stuff too, so do pop on over.

Katy x

Poor neglected blog!

2010-06-20T13:26:00.004+01:00

Oh dear I have been neglecting this bloggie toooooooooooooo much, but I have been very busy and also not making a whole lot unfortunately! Today a quick card I made for a very lovely person for her birthday. I love this owl stamp, it has such a cute look on its little face! The stamp is a Papermania one and the branch is from Hero Arts. I just paper pieced the owl so a really simple card.

It must be love

2010-06-06T21:40:00.003+01:00

How soppy is my other half over our dog? The answer is very, very soppy. Here he is giving the little monkey a kiss when we were out on a spring walk back in March.

I was waiting for the right papers for this LO and these MME ones seemed to fit the bill. I was in a silly mood when I made this so bottom left you'll see a squirrel saying 'nuts about you'! He's a stamp (as is the owl) from a Hampton Arts set I got in Micheals in the US last time we were there.

I've been neglecting the blog recently - just seem to have lost all will (and ability) to craft at the moment. If anyone has borrowed my mojo would they kindly return it???

Will try to be back for WOYWW as I didn't manage it last week...

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Katy x

Gingersnaps - Wings

2010-06-02T11:39:00.006+01:00

Here's my entry for today's Gingersnaps challenge theme, which is 'wings'. Nice easy one this, so no excuse for not playing along!

My project is an altered noticeboard to hang in my craft room on which to write all my projects pending and notes to self (memory like a sieve...). I got the noticeboard for about £1.20 reduced in Morrisons supermarket. I forgot to take a picture of before, but trust me it was truly minging!

Of course although I made this over a week ago I am still waiting for OH to put it up for me... Why am I not surprised???

Here's how I made it in case you'd like to know ;).

Materials...
Prima frame stamps (sorry I don't know the name - they are frames and borders but I chucked the packaging)
Prima stamp: Notary (script)

Hero Arts stamp: Silhouette Grass

Tim Holtz stamps: Slight Alterations

StazOn Ink: Timber Brown

Distress Inks: Broken China; Tumbled Glass

Glimmer Mist: Gold

Brilliance Ink: Gold

Paper flowers

Cream and white card

Ink blending tool

Pearls

Chipboard letters (Thickers)

Krylon pen: Gold

White acyrlic paint

First of all, I sanded the inside edge of the original picture in the top part of the frame and then created a border with gold Krylon. Then I used a baby wipe to apply a wash of white paint to the wood. I then left this to dry. When dry, I stamped the corners with StazOn.

I coloured a piece of cardstock with the two blue Distress Inks then over-stamped with the Tumbled Glass using the Notary stamp and one of the Tim Holtz background images from Slight Alterations. With the Notary stamp, I inked in up really randomly in the middle of the stamp so I didn't get edges on the stamping (i.e. I stamped an incomplete image each time).

I then stamped the Silhouette Grass, varying the height so it didn't look too uniform. I followed this with the corners and butterflies from the Prima set.

I stamped the butterflies (including the ones on the corners) again onto cream card. After cutting out, I added them with Silicone glue so the wings are lifted as if they are flying off the page.

I finished by painting all the heads of wheat and butterfly centres in gold Glimmer Mist (this makes them catch the light but is still subtle). I embellished with pearls and paper flowers. Finally I stamped a border in gold and added the lettering along it.

I look forward to seeing your creations over on Gingersnaps :).

Katy x

Gingersnaps - burgundy, black and ivory

2010-05-26T07:10:00.000+01:00

My entry for this week's Gingersnaps challenge. Follow the link to see what my talented teamies made with this striking colour scheme. The stamp is Penny Black and coloured with my fave Coloursoft pencils. The background is simply a piece of card Cuttlebugged (Textile Texture folder) and scrap of book page (a nod towards the altered book theme running through Gingersnaps this month).

Hope you like :). I love this poppy stamp muchly :).

I cut it up!

2010-05-25T07:55:00.004+01:00

Yep, I finally cut up my Basic Grey Origins, which I must have had at least 3 months... I was inspired to make that first cut after seeing some lovely LOs using these papers on my friend Isabelle's blog.

Simple LO using a picture I took of chipmunk in New England. I thought these little critters were so adorable and cute (I am sure they are so common as to be unexceptional in the US but I'd only seen one once before in California so for me it was interesting enough to get out the camera!). I must say I do like the spring-like colours of these papers. No stamping on this LO for once - I just used the BG papers and stickers apart from the lettering

We had an amazing day yesterday at the Birdland zoo. I took loads of pics with my new compact camera (bday pressie from my dearest darling) so plenty of scrapping opportunities there!

(ETA I took this pic in the garden and it appears a small bug has alighted on my page! That isn't part of the design LOL).

WOYWW - oh the shame.........

2010-05-19T18:19:00.004+01:00

I've never participated in WOYWW before although I know lots of peeps who do. Why you ask? Well, because my workdesk generally looks like this - i.e. like a bomb has gone off... Also on a Wed I work from home so am often working on stuff for publication that I can't show (but honestly, mostly the first one...).

I am thinking that perhaps publically shaming myself might encourage me to tidy it up!! Also trying to make a 12x12 scrapbook page on 5" of desk can be a wee bit tricky......

Perhaps next week it will be pristine. Or perhaps not....

A quick card

2010-05-16T12:19:00.003+01:00

Just a really quick birthday card for a work colleague today. Stamps are a mix - borders are Autumn Leaves and flowers are ISC and Basic Grey. Basically I stamped the borders, masked them with Post-Its and then stamped the flowers. Added a bit of colour and glittered the flowers and that was it!

I can't take any credit for this as it's a blatent rip off of a lovely card I received for my own birthday from my dear friend Gemma.

Entering this for Papertake Weekly (sparkly theme, used glitter) and Stamp Something for which the theme is celebrate.

Katy x

UKS Challenge

2010-05-13T21:06:00.003+01:00

I've had a go at the UKS challenge again this week - the criteria were to use green, to have a title in the form of a question, and to include metal and doodling. The doodling is very subtle but there are dots/lines drawn around edges here and there.

Papers are mostly Luxe Designs, except the blue which is one I've had for donkey's years so unidentified!

Another page for the Florida album done :).

Gingersnaps Challenge - Pencils

2010-05-12T07:39:00.000+01:00

The theme for this week’s Gingersnaps challenge is ‘Pencils’. I have to say I absolutely love my Coloursoft pencils. I used to really dislike colouring in but since I discovered these it’s a joy! They really do blend effortlessly and the colours give excellent coverage, even on coloured card like the Kraft base I’ve used here.

For my sample this week, I’ve use the pencils in two different ways. Here’s what I did.

Ingredients:
Stamps: Inkadinkado Morphic Bugs
Cardstock: Kraft; brown; white
Coloursoft (or Prismacolor) pencils, Sansodor and blending stumps
Distress Ink: Brushed Corduroy
Archival Ink: Coffee
Corrugated card
Sequin waste
Mini brads
Papermania brad making kit

1 Stamp the bee (Inkadinkado) in Coffee ink onto Kraft card. Colour the body of the bee and the honeycomb using the Coloursoft pencils. Use two colours on the bee and blend. For the two circles at the centre of the images colour just around the outline with dark orange, then using the Sansodor and a blending stump, blend the colour from the edges to the centre using circular motions. This creates a lovely graduated effect.

2 To make the bee ‘pop’ colour over his body with dark brown and black pencils, blend with a fine pointed stump taking care not to muddy the yellow areas.

3 For the background panel, take three coloured pencils and randomly scribble them over a piece of white card. I used a less sharp pencil for the main colour (yellow) and a sharp one for the dark orange so the latter created more obvious lines. Go over the whole background with Sansodor (keep dipping so the application is generous). Add more pencil and blend again if required.

4 Sponge brown in through a piece of sequin waste in places to look like honeycomb.

5 Assemble card as shown. I stamped and coloured part of the bee again to make a co-ordinating centre for my brad and sprayed the strip of corrugated card with Glimmer Mist.

Why not have a go at these techniques for the challenge? Do pop over and see what the rest of the Gingersnappers made too – loads of inspiration awaits you!

The story of the orange bone

2010-05-09T19:38:00.005+01:00

Just another simple layout today. Papers are MME, pic is my gorgeous baby dog as usual! I used my 7 Gypsies Disclaimer stamps again - these are some of my faves. I keep reaching for them - this time I used the phrase 'Results not typical', as it went well with the journaling which is all about how Leo hardly ever takes the orange bone because he only likes toys that are red (weird, weird little dog).

Gingersnaps Challenge - Read

2010-05-05T08:03:00.001+01:00

The theme for today's challenge on Gingersnap Creations is 'read'. Being a literal-minded sort, I've created a reading journal using my BIA for my contribution to the challenge. I love this stamp and I thought it appropriate as she looks like she is reading. I used up some Basic Grey paper I've had since the dawn of time, so that's another dent made in the stash mountain!

Materials...

Curious By Design stamps - Chere Amie

Stampendous stamps - Butterflies

Hero Arts stamp - Ledger

Elusive Images stamps - Curly Birds (flourish used inside)
Patterned papers

Chipboard pieces, 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches (covers)

Tim Holtz Idea-ology bookplate and brads

Letter stickers

Distress Ink: Barn Door; Brushed Corduroy

Versafine Ink: Black

Coloursoft pencils, Sansodor and blending stumps

Trim (Prima)

BIA and o-wire

Here's what I did:

1 Cover the chipboard pieces with paper leaving the reverse of the front cover uncovered until the after the bookplate is added later. On the front cover, add a panel of pink paper inked with Barn Door and with one corner rounded, and a panel of torn script paper inked with Brushed Cordoroy.

2 Stamp the girl (Curious by Design) onto a piece a plain Basic Grey paper and colour with pencils, blending the colours for a soft look. Round the top corner, ink the edges and add to the cover. Punch holes in the covers at this stage.

3 Stamp two butterflies, colour with pencils and cut out. Add along with the bookplate, trim and lettering as shown. Now you can cover the reverse of the front cover to hide the brads.

4 For the inside, stamp each page with the Hero Arts ledger stamp and the Elusive Images flourishes (or computer generate pages -believe me the stamping took an age!!!).

5 Bind the book and you are done.

I hope you like what I made - do pop and see what the rest of my lovely, talented teamies made and join in the challenge at Gingersnaps. If you don't want to make a journal, what about a bookmark or bookplate for this theme?

Katy x

Beside the seaside, beside the sea

2010-05-03T09:29:00.004+01:00

This might be my fav layout ever! Not sure why - love the colours, love the photo, love the memories :). Brown and blue is my favourite colour combo and it's in evidence all over my house, including my craft room.

A couple of things I did on this layout:

-I used a rub-on onto contrasting cardstock and cut it out to make the 'seaweed' type embellishment;

-I inked all around the edge of the Kraft cardstock with Walnut Stain and Peeled Paint inks to mimic the colours of the rocks in the photo;

-I added some lengths of twine across the middle, I stuck them to a length of DST and then stuck the tape to the layout;

-The swirl at the top and the border across the middle are both stamps - Fancy Pants and Prima.

Thanks for looking :)

Katy xxx

UKS challenge

2010-05-01T15:16:00.006+01:00

This is my take on the weekly challenge this week on UKS. The main part of the challenge was to make your own background paper, so I created the lovely swirly paper by sponging ink lightly over some Tattered Angels screens onto a piece of BG PP. I also 'made' the paper from which the bloom are created - I sprayed a piece of book text (strengthened with card) with Glimmer Mists in Vintage Pink, Passion Red and Gold and then used ISC Friends are Special stamps to make the blooms. I also stamped onto the BG letter stickers with script to tie them in better with the vintage look of the page.

Sorry the pics a bit wonky!

Also check out this blog candy - if you love anything inky, you'll love this from Charmed Cards and Crafts! Delicious candy here and here too.

Hippity Hoppity...

2010-04-30T08:55:00.001+01:00

...it’s the Banana Frog blog hop! I hope you are enjoying the ‘spring’ themed creations? I decided that the obvious choice of subject matter to represent spring was flowers. I’d been meaning to scrap this photo of my beloved dog for ages – I just love how it appears for all the world like he’s leaning in to smell the flowers!

Banana Frog stamps I used were: Super Dreamy (flowers); Teen Tiny (small letters); Butterflies & Swirls
Other items: Versamagic inks Perfect Plumeria and Spring Pansy; Memento Ink Sweet Plum; purple scrapbook paper (unknown); Basic Grey Eva scrapbook paper; green card; white card; seed beads; brads; Diamond Stickles; chipboard letters; leaf frond stamp; black pen

This is how I made the layout:
1) Stamp multiple flowers – stamp some of the solid flower in a mix of the two Versamagic inks and some in Perfect Plumeria. Stamp the open flower onto Eva patterned paper. Stamp leafy frond onto green card. Cut out.
2) Add glitter glue to brads and when dry place in the solid flower centres. Add seed beads to the centre of the open flowers.
3) Cut a piece of purple paper and stamp all around with a swirl (Butterflies & Swirls) in Plum ink.
4) Doodle all around the edge of a sheet of white card with a black pen. In places, stamp the tiny flower stamp in Perfect Plumeria.

5) Stamp and layer a butterfly and decorate with glitter glue.
6) Assemble all the bits and bobs as shown, adding a title made from stamped Teen Tiny letters and chipboard letters.

I am also trying to get into the habit of using up my scraps, so when I had finished the layout I used the leftovers to make some cards and a tag. I originally had more flowers on the layout (I took them off as it looked too busy) so I had some blooms left to play with. I also originally cut the circle at the top from a different paper but decided I didn’t like it. So these items are just made from those discarded pieces - they are really simple but better than throwing those scraps in a drawer never to see the light of day again!

Your next stop on the hop is Nat - enjoy!

Gingersnaps - Kraft challenge

2010-04-28T08:01:00.005+01:00

Morning all!

It's Gingersnaps challenge day again - today the challenge is Kraft. Easy peasy for me, one of my favourite and most used colours.

I chose to make a mini album - I think Kraft is a perfect colour for seaside-themed creations. This 6x6 mini album will hold images of my holiday in Cape Cod. Confession time - I had planned to do a layout to show you here but I didn't get time....). I do wish life wouldn't get in the way of crafting - it's very inconvenient!!!

Here's how I made it:

Materials...
Card: Chipboard or mountboard sheet; Kraft cardstock; Blue Core'dinations cardstock; brown Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: Fancy Pants (swirls); ISC Picturesque (main image); Crafty Individuals (birds and small shell); Stampington Shore Cliff Elements (shell and starfish)
Inks: black Archival; Distress Broken China, Antique Linen, Faded Jeans; Memento Desert Sand, New Sprout; Versamark
Edge distresser and sandpaper
Chalk (Pebbles Inc)
Twine
Thickers letters
Distress Stickles: Antique Linen

1 Cut two covers from chipboard 6 1/2", cover with brown cardstock front and back.
2 Cut a piece of Kraft card 6" square and stamp with the flourishes (Fancy Pants) in Versamark, chalk over the Versamark in a tan coloured chalk. Distress edges. Cut a mat for this in sanded Core'dinations card and distress the edges of this too.
3 Stamp the Picturesque scene and colour with inks and a water brush. Stamp the birds at the top of the scene. Distress and add to the Kraft panel.
4 Stamp shells onto Kraft card, cut out and cover with Distress Stickles. When dry add using Silicone glue to get shape and dimension.
5 Assemble, adding with twine and letters. Punch holes for book rings. Decorate the inside covers with a stamped Kraft panel as created for the front. The pages inside are 6x6" Kraft card.
That's it - nice and simple :). Do go along to Gingersnaps and join the challenge!

Thanks for popping in!
Katy

He's so vain

2010-04-26T18:25:00.000+01:00

Another LO I did with bits and bobs from the last two Sarah's Card kits, plus I used a couple of stamps (Prima border and Cats Life Press journaling block) and a Sizzix die cut for the flourishes. Gus didn't want me to scrap this picture as he didn't think it was flattering enough, hence the title (which if you can read it says 'You're so vain...you probably think this page is about you')!

Soggy Doggy!

2010-04-25T16:29:00.004+01:00

This is one of my layouts from the UKS Cyber Crop which has been going on this weekend - I managed a whole two (and started a third!) - I am sooooooooooooooo slow. Some of my team mates did practically ALL of them!

Anyway, this one is from a class by Sarah Palmer. Mine is quite different from the original but it has the same technique which is to paint over letter stickers and then remove them to leave a title (i.e. masking using letter stickers). I added a some dimension to the painting with a bit of tin foil I had lurking on my desk from my last Gingersnaps tutorial - I dipped the scrunched up foil into a blue paint and pounced it on before taking the stickers off.

I've mostly used the latest Sarah's Cards kit to make it. I also inked up my new 7 Gypsies Disclaimer stamps - these are sooooooooooooooo cool! You need them ;0).

I like this one - the dog's face is priceless!!!

Gingersnaps - botanical

2010-04-21T12:11:00.000+01:00

The theme this week over on Gingersnaps is botanical. I've made a really simple card with a stamp from ISC - it's a single stamp and really large. The set is called 'Plumeria'. Beautiful image I think, so I kept it the focus and left the card unfussy.

Not much point doing a tutorial on this one - I think it's pretty self-explanatory. I coloured the flower with Coloursoft pencils. I coloured the largest flower twice and layered them up to add some dimension. A really easy and quick make but pretty I think.

Thanks for popping by,

Katy x

Banana Frog Guest - part 2

2010-04-20T18:15:00.001+01:00

Today my second lot of Guest DT creations for Banana Frog go live! This is a little BIA book I made using the Butterflies & Swirls set and the Willing Race alphabet set.

I used some of the new Distress Ink colours - Wild Honey and Crushed Olive - they are sooooooooooooooo gorgeous!!!

I made the book to store colour combinations I like - great for when I need a bit of inspiration. I've just scribbed pencils and pens, and smooshed inkpads onto the pages in combinations of colours. I've also stuck images out of mags on some of the pages. It's not neat and tidy inside but then it's meant to be a working document! Here's a little close up of the panels.

My other creations are over on the BF blog :). Thanks for stopping by!

Katy x

Watch out - soppy alert!

2010-04-19T19:49:00.008+01:00

I made this little slide mailer into a cute picture frame. I saw the idea in a fabulous book by Donna Downey; I'd seen these a lot on altered art blogs but never before in a 'scrapbooky' style. It's pictures of my darling OH and loved-themed - warned you it was soppy! The best thing about this project is it costs next to nothing. It's all made from scraps and the slide mailers themselves are really cheap (less than £2). Great for little presents I think.

I painted the slide mailer with cream paint and used some leftover pieces of scrapbook paper my friend Ally gave me for Christmas (thanks Ally!). The front is embellished with some twine, ribbon, a chipboard heart and a teeny button. I used some torn old book paper too, which I inked with white ink to tone down the text a little bit. Inside I used a mixture of pictures, stickers and more paper scraps.

I really liked making this and will definitely be making another - my OH wants one of me. Now that's a turn up for the books!

Katy x

Car booty!

2010-04-18T10:04:00.000+01:00

Oh I do love a car boot, don't you? My other half indulges me as I rummage through for what he would describe as a load of old tat! Today I got a very impressive haul indeed - loads of old sheet music, a few vintage postcards, some fabric flowers for 10p, buttons also 10p and a really tatty but oh-so-vintage map. I think I spent less than a fiver in total!

I also got this totally amazing bit of kitsch. It's a Disney souvenir, I think it has to be from the seventies and OMG it's uber naff but I love it soooooooooooooooooooo much.

A good days rummaging!

Katy x

For you

2010-04-17T15:51:00.004+01:00

Oh dear I haven't been a very good blogger lately, have I? It seems everything I've been doing is for the Gingersnaps team or for publication and I can't show any of it! It also didn't help that my mojo went on holiday for a few days... how dare it!

Been a busy day today - beautiful sunshine meant we could get out into the garden and plant some lovely new things. Me time this afternoon so I plan a little bit of scrapbooking I think.

Anyway, back to all things crafty, today I have a quick card to share. I actually made this from a reject piece from another project and the bits I had in lying on my desk. This isn't the way I normally create - I like to be much more specific - but I think it turned out OK. Always useful to have a spare card or too as well isn't it?

The great big stamp is by Fancy Pants and I love it but rarely use any of the others off the sheet (it's one of those giant 12x12 packs). I coloured over the stamped image with white Coloursoft pencil - I love this effect, I think it's so pretty.

Thanks for popping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Katy x

Another foil technique card

2010-04-13T09:12:00.000+01:00

Here is another card I made using the foil background technique I demonstrated yesterday on Gingersnap Creations.

The stamps are ISC again - love their stamps!

Gingersnaps tutorial!

2010-04-12T08:25:00.004+01:00

I've uploaded my first Gingersnaps tutorial today. The theme for this month is 'recycled supplies'. If you'd like to know how to make the background effect on this card, pop over to Gingersnaps for a step-by-step photo tutorial. Hope you like it!

All Summery

2010-04-04T17:52:00.002+01:00

My layout for this week's UK Scrappers challenge. It uses a sketch from Page Maps and the theme is summer. Pics are from New England and the paper is Fancy Pants. Thanks for popping by!

Second Banana Frog Creation

2010-04-03T22:39:00.002+01:00

The second of my Banana Frog Guest DT submissions, again using the Fireworks stamps. I thought these stamps were ideal for a man's card so here I've used them for a more abstract design which is quite suitable for all ages and genders I think :). Instructions are on the Banana Frog Blog.

Gingersnaps Debut!

2010-04-02T16:00:00.000+01:00

'Home Sweet Home' is my very first DT project for Gingersnap Creations, the theme for which was ‘ginger, copper or rust’. I like those kinds of colours so that was a good start! I seem to be using a lot of corrugated cardboard lately (I use up the many pizza boxes my stash gets delivered in!) as I love the texture it adds. Plus it’s free!

I am going to try to post a short tutorial for everything I create over on the Gingersnaps blog so if you like any of my creations do pop over here for more information. I enjoyed making this, now just have to persuade other half to let me hang it somewhere - he is not exactly into the whole craft thing!

Materials…

ISC Tranquil stamps (bird and branch)
Hero Arts Branch Background
PaperArtsy script mini (MN61)
Memento Ink: Tangelo; Potter’s Clay; Rhubarb Stalk
StazOn Ink: Timber Brown
Cream acrylic paint
Red scrapbook paper (Basic Grey)
Corrugated cardboard
Alphabet letters (Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey)
Bit of sponge
Twine

1 Cut a piece of corrugated card (mine is 7” x 5 ½”), tear off the top sheet to reveal the corrugations but leave some of the paper intact in places. Sponge with cream paint – wipe all the excess paint off the sponge so it is practically dry to get a light coverage which retains some of the colour underneath. When dry, stamp small portions of text around the edge in places to add a bit of extra depth. I use a bit of cheap bath sponge for this; no need to use up your expensive Cut-n-Dry for this type of painting.

2 Ink the background stamp with all three colours of Memento Ink and stamp onto cream card. Trim to size and distress and ink the edges. Stamp the branch on the lower portion. Stick to the corrugated card along with a piece of red paper.

3 Stamp the bird twice onto brown card in brown ink and cut out. Turn one of the birds over to get a mirror image so the birds face each other and ink it up with the brown StazOn so the colour tone matches the first bird. Add to the branch with 1mm foam pads. If I am using a solid stamp and cutting the image out, I always use colour on colour stamping (e.g. brown ink on brown card) – that way if my stamping is a bit ropey it doesn’t show anywhere near as much!

4 Ink up the letters ‘home’ with the brown StazOn and when dry (won’t take long) add them to the composition. Stick letters to spell ‘sweet’ onto a scrap of red paper and add that too.

5 Finally punch two holes and tie string through to allow the plaque to hang. I knotted the string at the front using the knots as a decorative element (a tip I picked up from fellow Gingersnapper Jo Capper-Sandon – thanks Jo!).

Banana Frog Guest DT!

2010-04-01T11:33:00.000+01:00

I was so excited to be asked by Bev at Banana Frog to be a guest designer for April. For my first submission, which has gone up today, I made three items. This is a scrapbook page I made using the Fireworks set of stamps. I also made two cards as well.

There are a couple of fun techniques in this layout. All the instructions are over on the Banana Frog blog.

My second feature will be on the 20th! How exciting!!!

A quick post

2010-03-31T09:03:00.003+01:00

Just to show the full picture of the layout I did for the ATDML challenge :). As it's bright and cheery I thought it would brighten up a horrible dull and rainy day!

NEC haul!

2010-03-27T18:06:00.002Z

Went to the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC today - had a fun day out and it was a little bit less hectic than the winter show too (well for some of the day anyway!). I got some very good prices on Distress Inks and Pro-Markers which pleased me!

I managed to get a Penny Black stamp I'd been lusting after (the poppy one) and could not resist a set of the new PaperArtsy Squiggly Ink stamps which are super adorable. Lots of other bits and bobs too - spent too much as per but it's only a couple of times a year isn't it?

Now on a stash ban until my birthday in May - help!!!

I'm still alive!

2010-03-24T17:59:00.003Z

Oh dear I seem to have been so busy lately, I've been neglecting old bloggie. I've not had much to share as I've mostly been spending my time creating my Banana Frog samples for my guest spot and of course I can't show those until it's time for them to go live.

So instead here's a layout I've done for the UK Scrappers challenge this week which was set by my team this time. I'm really not keen on it at all if I am honest as I don't like the colours (challenge was to use a holiday photo and the colours of the country) but there are a couple of cool things on it. Firstly I flattened out and die cut a Coke can to make the embellishments (be careful, it's very sharp!), and also my journaling 'lines' are a little border stamp.

My Gingersnaps debut is 1st April so after that I should get my bottom in gear to update more often!

Tooting loudly!

2010-03-15T20:47:00.004Z

I am sooooooooooooooooo excited to have been asked to be a part of the Gingersnaps Creations Design Team! Woooooo hoooooooooooooo!!!!

I am joining lots of very talented designers and I can tell you I am a little bit nervous about the whole thing. But I love a challenge so I think I am going to enjoy myself for the next six months :).

My first challenge is due 27th March so it'll be thinking cap on and stamps out next weekend!

Thanks so much to Shar and Ali for choosing me. You'll be seeing my creations and those of the other newbies from 1st April over on the challenge blog. If you've not seen Gingersnap before then pop over and take a look - their fun challenges are really laid back and open to interpretation, one of the reasons the team appealed to me.

Look, it's me!

2010-03-15T09:41:00.000Z

Quite a while ago now I was asked by the folks at ATDML to be a guest on their monthly Ingredients Challenge. Well, I do like a challenge so of course I accepted. Three different scrappers were sent the same page kit to work with - I loved the kit, just my colours and I was lucky that stamps were allowed as an optional extra so I could go to town!

I made the layout weeks ago but it only went live today. This is just a sneaky peek - to see the full layout go to the Created by ATDML blog where you can also see what two other ladies did with the same kit. It's interesting to see how different the LOs are when the starting points were identical.

What I didn't know when I accepted the challenge was that there is a public vote - eeek!

Fun at 40

2010-03-14T08:39:00.006Z

Feeling a bit delicate this morning as it was my fabulous friend Paula's 40th birthday last night and we went out for dinner, with a few bottles of pink wine involved, of course ;). It was something of an adventure - all I will say is it took four hours to eat a two course meal! Times like this I so wish I lived in the States; those guys know how to do service. Anyway, I digress. I am logging on to share the card I made for Paula's big day.

Paula likes a bit of pink and is also quite partial to a cupcake so I thought my Hero Arts cupcake stamps would fit the bill. The large scallop is actually a badge. I backed a Nestie die cut with chipboard and added a brooch back to make it wearable. I glued a piece of felt to the card underneath so the badge can be taken off to be worn and then returned to the card to display it. I was quite pleased with this nifty little idea if I do say so myself!

To do the inking around the edge of the Nestie I just used a circular mask.

I'm entering this for Gingersnaps Birthday challenge as it's obviously a birthday card!

Here's Paula wearing my creation! She is so going to kill me for blogging that.

Bottlecap trinkets

2010-03-08T14:06:00.000Z

Just sharing a really quick little thing I made the other day. We popped into the local DIY shop and they happened to have a pack of bottlecaps for a bargain price, so of course I picked some up!

It's a little pendant I made using some really old BasicGrey stamps which I think are now discontinued and a Brilliance inkpad. Not much to it really.

I squish my bottlecaps in the Big Shot and it works a treat :).