Happy Halloween Birthday

Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate it. I have two very excited boys today as they have parties to go to later. My youngest also had a birthday party to go to as well- one of his best friends is four today, so this is his birthday card.

The image is a Sherri-Baldy My Bestie IMG738 available here. It's such a fun cute image and I coloured with Spectrum Noir markers then added a few bats stamped around him.

The papers are fun and bright, perfect for a young boy. They are free downloads, available from the Trimcraft website. I've kept the design simple and just added two webs cut using my Tattered Lace die and some confetti spiders.

Thanks for visiting today. I appreciate all of your comments.

A very special cat

Today's post is, unusually for me, a scrapbook page, made using the Lelli-Bot Crafts Moggies stamp set and Moggies and Doggies Fullworks kit. When I saw the kit, I was reminded of me and my husband's first cat, Jarvis, who was a very special cat. This inspired me to make this page.

I started by stamping the Moggies cat stamp onto watercolour card, using Coffee Archival ink, and coloured it using a Vintage Photo distress marker and a wet brush. I cut this out when dry. I layered the papers, distressing the edges with a Vintage Photo distress ink pad. I added my picture and some twine and charms from the Fullworks kit. I finished off by stamping some paw prints from the Moggies stamp set and adding the stanped cat.

I'm really pleased with the end result- I really love these papers and the fact they are 8x8 makes them great for scrapbooking. It was also a really emotional project for me and will find a special place in our home.

I would like to enter this project for the following challenges:

Eureka Stamps Challenge Pets and Animals

Fantasy Stampers Animal Antics

Lelli-Bot Crafts Challenge Show Us Some Charm

Thank you for visiting today, I appreciate all of your lovely comments. Cathy x

Trick or Treat

Good morning. I haven't had a chance to blog over the last week- I've been busy making some very quick Christmas cards for a church Christmas fair so haven't had much time spare.

Today's card is another Halloween card- although I've actually used this as a birthday card for a girl with a Halloween week birthday.

The papers, tag and cat are all free downloads from the Docrafts website. I added a spider web die cut using a Tattered Lace die (annoyingly I've lost the little spider die which came with it). I've simply finished the card with a ribbon and some gems. I think the overall effect is quite elegant, rather than spooky, but I like it.

Thank you for visiting today and for your comments, I really do appreciate them. Cathy x

Christmas Wishes

Hi everyone. I will be so glad when this week is over- half term next week which means no school runs or work for me :-) Hopefully I'll have lots of crafting time too.

Today's Christmas card feature Trimcraft First Edition Christmas Wishes papers and some stamps that were free with Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine.

I've actually created a snowglobe effect by making a shaker card and adding the snowglobe frame over the top. This was stamped using the free stamp, coloured and cut so that it fitted over the shaker card aperture.

I love these papers with their slightly nordic feel and hope you like this card too.

Products used:
Stamps free with Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine
Trimcraft First Edition Christmas Wishes 8x8 pad, Dovecraft Christmas Basic gold glitter glue, snowflake ribbon, Glad Tidings Pearls
Hunkydory Diamond Sparkles
Crafters Companion Acetate
Papermania Silver Embossing Powder

I would like to enter this card for these challenges:
Crafting Musketeers Christmas with a Ribbon
Creative Craft Cottage Anything Goes


Thanks for visiting today and for all your lovely comments.

Boo to you

Good morning everyone. I am really into making Halloween cards at the moment and here is my latest.

This card is very different to my usual makes as it's the first time I have used a background created using distress inks. I've always admired cards made like this so was keen to give it a try.The distress inks I've used are Seedless Preserves and Spiced Marmalade with a little Black Soot around the edges.

The images are stamped using stamps from Hero Arts (Skelton Dancing) and Hot off the Press (Bats with Swirls), which I recently won in a Facebook giveaway on the Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine page. I used Staz On ink for a crisp image. I then stamped the gravestone again separately using Momento ink and coloured with Spectrum Noir markers, adding it on top of the first image.

The background papers are Graphic 45 Eerie Tale and the ribbon is by Groves. I finished with some purple gems to bring the colours together. 

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:
Fantasy Stampers Fright Night
Eureka Stamps Challenge 163 Halloween

Thanks for visiting today, I really appreciate all the comments from you.
Cathy x

Messy Bessy

Hi everyone. Somehow it is already the third Monday of October so I'm here with a DT card for My Besties UK.

In today's Same but Different post, we have all used Messy Bessy, a fab Sherri Baldy My Bestie image which you can buy here.  Pop over to the My Besties UK blog to see the other fantastic DT cards- if you leave us a comment, you could win this image.

When I first got the image, I had plans to create an autumn inspired card. However I found these very pretty Lily of the Valley Nitwit papers and so ended up using pink and green.

This card sees me using a few things I haven't used before. I have used a Crafter's Companion square frame die and Tonic Flourish die (I cut the flourish into 3 parts) to add some interest. I never use ready made flowers but had these Scrapberry's ones in my stash and they seemed perfect. The lace, ribbon and pearls are definitely part of my normal style however!

I have coloured using Spectrum Noir markers. There were some new skin and hair combinations for me here too. The colours used are:
Hair TN1 GB1 GB6 GB7
Skin TN1 TN2 FS1 FS7
Eyes TB3
Clothes CR2 CR3 CR4 LG2 LG3

I would like to enter this card for the following challenge:
Cardz 4 Galz Pink and Pearly

Thanks for visiting today and for your lovely comments. Don't forget to pop over to the My Besties UK blog for a chance to win this digi and check out our current challenge whilst you're there.
Cathy x

Quick and Easy Jolly Santa Cards

I can, and often do, take hours over making cards but as Christmas rapidly approaches I've realised that I need to make some quick cards that still look special. These three cards, all made with the Docrafts Jolly Santa range, fit the brief exactly.

For each card I've used papers from the A4 or A5 paper packs, a decoupage image from the A4 decoupage packs, a ribbon and bow. All I've added to these core elements are a few embellishments from my stash.

For the Gingerbread Man card, my son's favourite, I chose to use the gingerbread man separately from the rest of the decoupage tag as a cute embellishment. I have added some pearls as buttons too.

The second card is probably the most traditional of the three and I love this backing paper. The bows in this range are quite large meaning that little more embellishment is needed.

The final card features my favourite colour combination this Christmas, blue and red. I've added a little glitter glue to this image for sparkle (I really don't often do glitter to be honest but this way is less messy) and some blue Papermania gems in the corner.

The great thing now is that I have some design templates that I can use to make quick cards using all of my favourite Christmas ranges.

Thanks for visiting today. I really do appreciate all of your lovely comments.
Cathy x

The Night Before Christmas

As a subscriber to Quick Cards Made Easy magazine, I'm lucky enough to already have the new issue which will be in the shops this week. This month there is a fantastic free gift- a Trimcraft Helz Cuppleditch paper pad and stamp. I couldn't wait to get started with it.

This card is, unusually for me, an A5 card. I've layered three papers on red card for the background and added a Trimcraft Christmas ribbon.

I stamped the image using Momento ink and it stamped beautifully. I coloured using Spectrum Noir pens and added a bit of Trimcraft glitter glue on Santa's hat. The background looked a bit harsh in white so I coloured a piece of watercolour paper using a Stormy Sky distress marker and a wet brush. I cut out my stamped image as closely as I could and added it to the background, then added some tiny Hunkydory gold gems to give a star effect.

The sentiment is from a Crafter's Companion Nordic Christmas stamp but I felt it worked perfectly for this card. I stamped in Paris Blue Momento ink and coloured the card using Faded Jeans distress ink. It was only supposed to be a distressed edge but I got a bit carried away and I like the finished effect .

Thank you for visiting today and for your comments, I do appreciate them all.
Cathy x

Naming Day Card

Just a quick post from me today as my son has his first tag rugby match of the season today and I'm off to watch.

I made this pretty pink card as a Naming Day card. I sometimes find these cards a bit tricky as, inlike Christenings, there's no obvious theme to choose. However, I came across the Trimcraft First Edition It's a Girl paper pad and thought the designs would be perfect.

I made the topper using a sticker from the sheet in the pad. I softened the edges of the oval with Victorian Velvet distress ink. The rest was very simple, 2 different papers (aren't those teddy bears gorgeous?), some ribbon, die cut flowers and gems to finish. The finished card has also been personalised with the child's name.

Thanks for visiting today and thank you for your comments, I really do appreciate them all.
Cathy x

Not so scary...

Hi everyone. Today's card is a Halloween card, although it is probably the least scary Halloween card possible! The image is far too cute to be frightening- she is a Sherri Baldy My Bestie, IMG 043. The digi is available to purchase here.

This card was really an excuse to use some of my huge stash of Grapic 45 papers and embelishments. These are all from last year's Eerie Tale collection. I love Graphic 45 papers but hardly ever feel I do them justice, so they lie unused for months. This time I'm pleased I used them though- I just love the colours and designs of these papers and love the flowers too.

My image was coloured using Spectrum Noir markers. Some of the colours used were:

Skin FS2 FS4 CR3

Dress/ Hat HB2 HB3 LV3 OR1 OR2 

Cauldron IG3 IG5 IG8 CT4 OR1 OR2 OR3

Kitty IG5 IG8

I also used purple and orange fine Stabilo markers for definition.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

Spectrum Noir October Challenge Use Orange and Gray (their spelling!)

My Besties Dutch Girl Designs Halloween Challenge

My Besties International Anything Goes

Meet at the Scrappers Corner October Challenge

Thanks for visiting and commenting today. It is much appreciated.
Cathy x

My Besties UK October challenge

Hi everyone. Can it really be Monday again? As it's the first Monday of the month, there is a new challenge launching over at My Besties UK. The theme of this challenge is anything goes with option anything but a square.

For my DT card, I created an oval easel card using this gorgeous digi Cherry Blossom. You can buy her in the store here.

The card base is made from Creative Expressions Black Foundation card, using a Tonic Oval Layering die. I coloured the image using Spectrum Noir markers and used papers from the Crafter's Companion Kimono CD. I used First Edition Flower dies and a Sue Wilson Itty Bitty Bow die to add the finishing touches. The sentiment is a stamp from one of the Kimono stamp sets.

Spectrum Noir colours used:

Hair IG3 IG5 IG8

Skin FS2 FS4 CR3

Kimono/Bow GT1 GT2 GT3

Fan/flower LV1 LV2

Thanks for visiting today, I really appreciate all of your comments. I do hope you will pop over to the My Besties UK blog to see the other fabulous DT creations and I look forward to seeing lots of entries in the challenge.

World Card Making Day

Today is World Card Making day, so I couldn't let today pass without making a quick card.

This card has been made from the Trimcraft First Edition Falling Leaves 8x8 paper pad. The butterflies, as in the last post, have been cut from one of the papers. The only additions are some Scrapberry Pearls and a printed sentiment.

I love the colours of these papers, perfect on a lovely autumnal day. What you can't really see here are the beautiful textures and sheens of the papers, they really are lovely.

Thank you for visiting today. I really do appreciate all of your comments x

Mulberry Kisses Special Wish

Hi everyone. I seem to be struggling with my crafty mojo at the moment. I can't blame the weather so not sure where it's gone. However I do have this pretty Trimcraft First Edition Mulberry Kisses card to share.

I was definitely not going to attempt making anything today but then I saw the glittery butterflies in this Paper Pad and changed my mind.

This card really fits into my comfort zone with the colours, layering and lace. The dies used are First Edition Flower dies and the Die'sire Chantilly Lace Frame die. The only difficult thing for me was fussy cutting the butterflies, but these papers cut so well that it was easy to do.

Mulberry Kisses really is a beautiful paper pad, so definitely recommended if, like me, you love this soft feminine look.

I'm entering this card for the very first Cardz 4 Galz challenge. The theme is your favourite colour and anybody who knows me knows that mine is purple :-) Looks like a great new challenge blog so do enter if you can.