In a teacup

Hi everyone. It has been a difficult week here in the UK- the news is full of Monday's terrorist attack and my heart goes out to all affected. I went to University in Manchester and know what an amazing place it is.

Today we are going to take advantage of the fabulous weather we are having and go camping for a few days. I'm not the keenest of campers but the boys love it, especially as we are going with lots of friends.

First though, I'm sharing my final GDT for Daring Cardmakers. This week's dare is In a Teacup and this was what I made:

These fab papers are from Stampin Up and are called Have a Cuppa- I won them ages ago but haven't used them before. I love the colours.

Originally I was going to use the stamp set which goes with the papers but it didn't work out. Instead, I used my Scan n Cut to cut the cup and hearts and just stamped the sentiment.

You can check out all the amazing DT cards and join in the challenge here.

Have a very happy weekend whatever you have planned. Cathy x

Sweet Nothings

Hi everyone. We have had a lovely weekend in Charmouth but of course I had no time for crafting anything new. Today then I'm sharing some cards from last week's Trimcraft demos.

I really love the First Edition Sweet Nothings papers, particularly as they can be used for anyone. With Father's Day coming soon I used them for this card for Dad:

My second card shows you how different some of the papers are- these are very opulent and so beautiful, meaning I kept the design very simple:

The stamp I used is one of the range of Dovecraft big word stamps- they stamp so beautifully and make a fabulous focal point for any card.

Hope you all have a lovely week. Cathy x

Two's Company

Hi everyone. Today I'm sharing my GDT card for today's Daring Cardmakers dare. This time we were set the challenge of only using two colours on the card and boy was that a challenge!

I actually had two attempts at making a card and this one in blue and white was my favourite:

I started with a smooshed background using Broken China Distress Ink and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide. I then used the free stencil from Making Cards magazine with some Salty Ocean Distress Ink to add some detail.

I found the sentiment stamp, which was a free gift at some time, when I had a tidy up on Monday. I have been using a lot of motivational sentiments lately so I thought I'd keep up that trend! I stamped it in Memento Barbados Blue ink.

Using a Dovecraft Floral Muse butterfly stamp I stamped 3 butterfly with Perfect Medium, then used Wow white embossing powder and heat embossed the butterflies.

When I was finished, I felt I needed a little more blue so smooshed some Salty Ocean on and used the same ink to ink the edges of my panel. I did enjoy making something so different for me and I'm really enjoying the way doing these dares is taking me out of my comfort zone.

After a busy week, I'm looking forward to going to Charmouth later for two nights. My parents have just bought a static caravan there so we will be staying there. Charmouth is on the Jurassic Coast so the boys are looking forward to some fossil hunting. We found an ammonite last time we visited.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Cathy x

Timeless Elegance At Home

Hi everyone. I've had a busy weekend of Trimcraft demos. Both days were a little quiet but I had fun anyway. I'm definitely in need of a quiet day at home today though.

On Friday, Hunkydory launched their second At Home USB. I think my favourite collection on this USB is Timeless Elegance and here are 3 of the samples I made:

With less than two weeks until the GCSE maths exams, I have lots of students to tutor this week. Hopefully I can help to keep them calm and confident- even if I don't feel that way! I always wish I could take their exams for them.

Have a lovely week, whatever it brings. Cathy x

All that glitters...

Hi everyone. Today's card is my latest for Daring Cardmakers. Our new challenge, set by Shabneez, is 'All the glitters is not gold...'- in other words use lots of glitter as long as it's not gold. It was a bit of a challenge for me as I don't really do much glitter, so I hope you like my take on the theme.

For my card, I've used some fabulous glittery washi tape I found in The Works. I think I may be becoming a washi tape addict, I've started to buy rolls of it whenever I see it and will be drowning in it soon.

The flower is a Crafter's Companion stamp. I coloured it with Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens and cut it out using my Scan n Cut (which I am starting to love at last!). Hopefully you can see the sparkle more clearly here:

It is Mental Health Awareness Week this week, so I wanted the card to have a positive statement. I've suffered from depression and anxiety in the past, so I know how much positive words are needed sometimes. The word stamps are by Craftwork Cards, stamped using Versafine ink using my Tim Holtz stamping platform. 

Unfortunately, I found out last week that my time on the Craftwork Cards DT has come to an end. Although it is actually a good thing in many ways, I do feel a little sad and will miss being on the team. Sometimes keeping positive is hard but I am very lucky to still work for two fabulous companies in Hunkydory and Trimcraft. What an amazing 12 months it's been.

I do hope you will join in the dare at Daring Cardmakers this week. Have a fabulous weekend.

Cathy x

Live a happy life

Hi everyone, hope you've had a great week. Mine has been a bit mixed but amongst the good things that have happened Kathy from Daring Cardmakers asked me to stay on as Guest Designer for another month. I was delighted to be asked and just loved the inspiration picture for this week's dare. You can take a look and join in here.

Here's my card:

As you can see I was heavily inspired by the peacock feathers- I used an actual feather, peacock feather paper (from Hunkydory), Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and chose Tim Holtz words inspired by two of the traditional meanings of peacock feathers (kindness and gratitude).

I also gained inspiration from the pattern on the socks and from the bow on the cat.

Another busy few days ahead for me with a craft demo on Sunday and some DT work planned. Hope you all have a great weekend xxx

I'd like to enter this card for the following challenges:
Daisy Chain Challenge Anything Goes