Mind the gap

Hi everyone. I'm a day late with this one but better late than never!

Today I'm sharing a gap card made for the Bubbly Funk blog. I wanted to show how well elements from the Through the Letterbox craft boxes can work with your own stash- in this case some gorgeous Trimcraft papers.

My Bubbly Funk elements are the big glittery stars from the Seeing Stars box, available to buy here along with the other boxes. The Trimcraft papers and embellishments are from their Time to Sparkle collection, showing that Christmas collections are't just for Christmas!

Full details of my card are on the Bubbly Funk blog.

Hope you have a great weekend. I have just had a big box of Trimcraft goodies delivered so I will be having lots of fun crafting in preparation for my demos. Cathy x

Nature's Grace

Hi everyone. Today I'm sharing my first card made using Trimcraft's gorgeous new Nature's Grace collection. The colours and patterns on these papers are so pretty.

I was struggling a bit for inspiration over the weekend (I blame the still fuzzy ears) so I used a sketch from the latest issue of Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine for the layout. All the elements are from the collection and I used a First Edition butterfly die to cut a butterfly from one of the papers.

I now have my Spring Trimcraft demos booked for February and Match. The first one will be at The Range in Stoke Gifford, Bristol on February 4th. I'm looking forward to being able to craft more with this lovely collection then.

Hearts and flowers

Hi everyone. Today I'm on the Bubbly Funk blog sharing my latest project made using the Love Box. I decided to make a Mother's Day card- it really isn't too long until it comes around.

My first thought was to create a layered paper card but I just couldn't find the right papers in my collection (despite how large it is!). Instead I ended up with a plain background but I think it works.

You can read more details of the card here on the Bubbly Funk blog.

Thanks for dropping by today and for your comments, I appreciate them all. Cathy x

Don't be blue...

Hi everyone. Apparently today is officially Blue Monday, the most miserable day of the year. Funnily enough Blue Monday is also a song by New Order, one of my all time favourite bands, so the mention of it just makes me smile!

However, I did think I should share a happy card today, in case any of you are feeling a little down.

For this card I have used Trimcraft's Dovecraft Bee Happy collection. As with all their collections it really does include everything you need to make lovely cards and the papers are beautiful.

 I started with a 13.5cm kraft card blank which I covered with the gorgeous glittery paper. I added a hexagon of paper to the centre then a strip of kraft card and yellow paper across the card, with washi tape over this.

I cut two more hexagons and fixed them to the centre of the card. I cut the sentiment and bees from gold mirri card using the dies from the collection and added them to finish.

Recently I've started to display my cards on a cupboard in our dining room so they don't just get hidden away- hopefully seeing this will be enough to keep the blues away today. Cathy x

I'm really a mermaid!

Hi everyone, hope you are well. I still can't hear properly and have a permanently sore throat, not bad enough to trouble the doctor but annoying enough to leave me feeling grumpy!

To cheer myself up I decided to get out some washi tape (I'm washi crazy at the moment) and make a card. I took some inspiration from an article by Sue Hughes in Quick Cards magazine for this one.

I picked this fab mermaid washi tape in Hobbycraft- some is their own brand with the two foiled tapes and starfish made by Dovecraft. The stamp was a freebie from a magazine and the mirri card is Hunkydory. I finished off with a few sequins.

If you watched Mary Portas on Channel 4 recently, she predicted that mermaids will replace unicorns as the big trend in shops. To be honest they seem to have been popular for a while in craft but I like them so that's ok!

Today is a day off and it's a day of treating myself- I have a haircut booked and am starting the day with a "feel-good" session held by a life coach. My friend has been going for a while and has totally chaged her outlook on life, losing 4 stone on the way, so I'm hoping for great things from the session. Have a great weekend. Cathy x

Love is in the air

Hi everyone. I finally feel that I'm starting to grips with 2018 and getting back to some kind of routine. It's probably because the children are finally back at school and I'm getting back to work. Sadly, I still have 2 blocked ears- I will be so happy when they finally clear.

The next big event for us crafters is Valentine's Day, of course, and the latest Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox Craft Box, the Love Box, is perfect to help with this. This is my first project using the box:

Other than the contents of the box, the only thing I have used is white card, a Crafter's Companion embossing folder and a 7x5 card blank. You can read more about my card on the Bubbly Funk blog and purchase the box from the Bubbly Funk shop.

As part of my Bubbly Funk duties, I have been making monthly unboxing videos with the help of my eldest son. He would love it if you could take a look at our latest one on You Tube. We are not highly professional but we do try to entertain!

Today is a day off so I have some crafty plans. Hope you all have a great day. Cathy x

Be as Bright as you can be

Hi everyone. Hope you have all had a good start to 2018. I developed an eye infection on New Year's Eve and now also have an ear infection, so I figure things can only get better!

Today I'm sharing this flamingo card I made using Hunkydory's Rose Gold Moments collection for a friend's birthday yesterday. She hates having a January birthday, so I always try to make her a bright card.

The card is 7x5. I used rose gold mirri card and 3 different papers in the background. I then added a border strip across the card before adding the sentiment and topper using foam pads. The only added embellishments were 3 pearls.

Thanks for visiting and for your lovely comments. Cathy x

Milestones and Moments

Happy New Year everyone! 2017 was an amazing year for me craft wise- I took some time to reflect on it yesterday and ended up feeling so grateful and positive afterwards.

This New Year is bringing changes, not least that I am no longer on the Hunkydory Design Team. As I explained before, I decided not to reapply this year so that I can concentrate on other things (including losing weight!). However, I did get to work on one last collection, Milestones and Moments, which is launching today on Create and Craft at 8am (I'm almost certain I won't be up at that time after NYE festivities so this is a scheduled post!).

Here are a few of my favourite samples:

Over the years, I have always looked forward to the Hunkydory Occasions collections being released and this new one is probably my favourite yet. I don't think I'll be able to resist buying it- it's a good job my New Year's resolutions don't include not buying crafty stash!

Finally, I'd like to thank you all for your support through 2017 and to wish you all the very happiest New Year. Cathy x