Author: Catherine

So I made two cute Easter cards for my Aunties, both using cute stamps I got with a magazine kit (I used the kit for the Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge at the beginning of the month).I decided to keep the cards clean and simple so stamped them and added pearlescent watercolour to colour them. I stamped a speckled stamp for the grass and then used Tim Holtz stickers for the sentiments.I finished with a silver pen doodle D frame.I chose the two different colour schemes (lemon and greens and lemon and orange) as nice spring fresh colours.I also added some stamping to the envelopes and the same frame idea but using a different stamp for each.Happy crafting!Catherine

Hi!

Today’s blog is a design team contribution that I made at the very last minute and still have stained hands as a result.

The challenge at Back to Basics and Beyond is to Use a Spray and I’ve used my good but very messy Dylusions sprays!

So I started with a piece of card and a stencil and some cool colours of inks…

And I have no control using Dylusions so this saturated the card, bled under the stencil, and made the desk very messy!

But still a cool effect once dry. I did also try a little imprint of the stencil using the excess ink which was fun.

Next I used the white Dylusions ink and a different stencil.

This again puddles ink a little but some areas the circles were more defined.

I then added more yellow ink using a circle aperture to make it only in the centre.

I dried the cardstock and trimmed it down to become a card topper and then started stamping and doodling to create this card.

I used stanps from Alpaca Pals and a Tim Holtz die to finish off.

Love how this looks.

The variance in colour in the background and the subtle patterns are really cool.

Hope you like my experiment with sprays. Please grab your own sprays and join us on the blog.

Happy crafting!

Catherine

Today is another of the princess’ friends birthdays… and here is the card I made.

I created a rainbow using the Happy Celebrations stamps and then using some dies I die cut the film strip and then used the Mama Elephant Dogs Woof stamp to add the cute little dog pics!

I then added the sentiment by hand stamping and embossing it.

On the inside I added some more stamping and another of the little dogs and some die cut and stencilled words.

I added some black dots using a fine liner to add some more elements.

Love how this turned out… and that little dog on the inside reminds me of lovely little Lottie, Kaitlyns dog…

Super cute!

Happy crafting!

Catherine

Last month it was one of the princess’ friends birthdays… so another card made, but i forgot to share it till now!

This time I used Making Cards magazine papers and an image of this cute unicorn to make up the card.I also used a die cut border and the glittery foam flowers I had been gifted in a swap… they have been very handy so very much appreciated.

I also added a stamped sentiment from the Sunshine and Rainbows stamp set.A really cute card for 13 year old Hannah!

Happy crafting!

Catherine

I joined in with another swap, this time 9 Wings inchies… here is what I made…

I used dragonfly and butterfly stickers onto the patterned background and edged each one with black soot. I also added the sentiment stickers and stamped the Hot Picks stamped word Fly and heat embossed it.

I put them onto some copper foil card and then mounted it onto patterned paper.

Love how these look and they will make a lovely card front.

Happy crafting!

Catherine

Today I have the three rainbow ATCs I made for UK Stampers Forum swap.

I started with gelli printing a rainbow blend of colours onto book print.And then I added stencilling.Then I used the rainbow stencil from Aall and create and black gesso.Next I cut some card to the right size for ATCs and added it to the back of the prints. Once the glue dried I cut them down.Then I stamped the sentiment from Sunshine and Rainbows stamp set and edged each one with black.Done and dusted!Happy crafting!Catherine

So as per usual I made twinchies for the coin swap peeps… and kept to the same Back to Black theme. This first set of four was using black cardstock and the baked texture embossing powder in Deep Sea to add the dictionary stamping in the background and the butterfly embellishment. Also added the punched leaf from black cardstock and kept it plain as contrast. Then edged the pieces in black embossing powder to finish off.

Second set of four was another scrap piece of black cardstock and this time heat embossed with the handcarved stamp although didn’t ink it fully so it meant it was more of a loose stamping.Then I heat embossed the white splodges on top. Next I coated some cardstock with sparks paint and then heat embossed one of the Watercolour wings stamps before using a punch to punch out the butterfly.

I then used the Tap Tap Tap sentiment which I heat embossed in white and then finished the twinchies off with white gel pen doodles.Pictures don’t really show the sparkle and shine on these but they are fab in real life.Then another pair of twinchies…

Next a set of six…More embossing and this time one embossed background with white craft ink stamped and embossed which created cool effect on the leaves. Then punched and stamped butterflies on top.

Next up a set of eight. Again an embossed background this time using the world map stamp and then the simply sketched leaves using different powders.I found a butterfly in a magazine stamp set and embossed them onto the black card using white powder.Finally two using scraps of patterned paper, and embossed flower and embossed details on punched butterflies.Some fun twinchies … all back to black but also with butterflies thrown in for this month’s theme too!

Happy crafting!

Catherine

Another swap to share for the UK stampers forum. I started with a painty gelli printed tag background.Then I started adding stencilling and building up layers! I included some stamping to add some words in the background. And then the focal image of the girl from an Andy Skinner stencil.I finished off with some stickers and twine.Happy crafting!Catherine

Another circle journal to share with you today, this time for Tricia.

It is a lovely Kraft background to work on so I decided to go for a white gesso messy background.

In addition to the gesso dry brushing I added some stamping in white craft ink. I used a mixture of stamps from Hot Picks and this gave me a nice finish.

Next I started pulling papers and ribbons from my stash and putting them together as I fancied a layered piece and plenty of sewing. So out came the sewing machine.

Then I got the Neocolours out and added some shading and definition to the layers and added some details.

Next I started bringing together the focal images and started building up the pages. I decided to add images from the stamped fabric stash from our weekend with James Sharpe. I think Tricia (who I was lucky enough to sit opposite all weekend) would appreciate seeing me using them.

I also grabbed tags from an Artful Days kit and added them in, but before they made it into the final pages I added distress inks to change the colour a little. I also decided to add some more details to the layers with a bit of stamping and added some shimmery watercolour to add a different texture, oh and I moved things round a little on the final pages so that Albert was on the other side!

Next I added rub ons and sentiment stickers to the page. I also added some splattered black soot distress ink and some white pen marks.

And then I grabbed the black puffy paint and added some dots around the pages as embellishments. And I called it finished!

Love how eclectic this is and love that white background behind the pop of lime and teal colours.

Also love all the loose threads that come from me being a messy sewer and the loose edges to the layers. Those rub ons also work well in keeping the layers light and fresh.

Hopefully Tricia likes what I made too… and now it is time for me to start work on the next journal.

Happy crafting!

Catherine

Another set of butterfly coins, this time for UK stampers forum.This time I chose papers from the Making Cards magazine scraps from the desk and added them to the wooden coins. Then I added washi tape across each and a diecut border in a different colour for each which I got as a gift in a swap.Next I heat embossed the coffee stain stamp onto each and then added some more texture across the bottom using another Timeless Textures stamp.I edged each with worn lipstick distress ink and added a little stamping too.Next on another piece of the patterned paper I stamped the Watercolour Wings butterflies in similar colours and cut them out.I added some gems to each.And then using shrink plastic I added the sentiment Fly using a Paperartsy Hot Picks stamp.Love how these came out. Really love the Watercolour Wings stamps… so lovely to work with and come up with different colour combos.Happy crafting!Catherine