Author: Catherine

Today I have a postcard to share that I made for a swap. It was an anything goes swap and I decided to go for a sewing theme using paperartsy stamps.

I started with the patterned gingham paper and then layered up the stamping around the outside and added the focal image and the embossed label.

I also added splatters in the pale pink and blue and lots of faux stitching in pen to add to the sewing theme.

Quite a clean and simple type postcard for me… love it!

Happy crafting!

Catherine

The princess’ best friend is a unicorn obsessive so I made a unicorn card for her birthday!  Her birthday was actually at the beginning of December but rather rubbishly she has only been given her card and present today.

I used one of the gelli plate backgrounds I made a while ago as the starting point and added some additional colour to the Claritystamp unicorn. Then I added plenty of wink of Stella to make it brilliantly shimmery! 

I added lots of layers of pink and blue cardstock and then some blue and purple thread wrapped round and knotted. 

So happy belated birthday Millie!

I also have quite a few backgrounds left that I have not had a chance to turn into cards yet… hopefully will be able to soon.  So do watch out for the rest of the backgrounds in the future.

Happy crafting!

Catherine 

Tonight there are a few of my friends coming round for a crafting session.  Originally this was pre Christmas but it ended up being a date no-one could make…so instead it’s tonight for us to have some fun with Distress Oxides. 

I decided that we could all make some pretty papers and then make cards from them… but with a twist… once we’ve made the paper we cut it into pieces and then swap so we have some of each other’s papers. 

I did however need to make a couple of samples to see if we could design cards regardless of the style of the papers we made… with similar elements…. 

… so I first made a vintage themed background with Peeled Paint, Faded Jeans, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain. 

I used a selection of stamps… Timeless Textures, Affection Collection, Butterfly Basics, Sheet Music.

Next I made a bright and funky one… Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Spiced Marmalade, Cracked Pistachio, broken china.  And stamped using stamps from Tap Tap Tap, Handcarved, Happy Celebrations, Butterfly Basics.

Then I cut them into panels… 

… And then started to put together cards based on the same sketches that I put together (whilst eating lunch at work I managed to get some ideas down on paper! 

I started with an inlay die cut using the swirly scribble thinlits die. This provides a lovely finish and needs very little to finish it off.  I just added a stitched framelit oval and a sentiment to each of them and changed the orientation of the cards.

Next I took the other larger panels and I die cut a frame effect using two rectangle dies.  I popped the frame up on foam pads and then added the diecut birds to the middle panel before sticking it back in place.  I added some wink of Stella to the bids and a die cut sentiment label and added twine to each of them … one the linen thread and the other the bakers twine. 

I decided to change the orientation for each of them again to show two possibilities for the card design.

Next up I wanted to use die cut sentiments.  As I was layering two panels of the cardstock I did add a little ink to the edges to give them more definition.  I felt one needed a white sentiment and the other a black.

So onto another layered layout.  I couldn’t resist using this dragonfly die cut for both of the cards.  I just adjusted the position of the bottom panel for each card and chose a different placement for the sentiment.  I die cut both dragonflies from white adding colour using my clarity brushes to keep it gentle.

And finally I gave both of the final cards a mount of black and on one I tore an edge and the other I left it straight.  Then I layered two flower die cuts that i had done in black and white and reversed the order to give them a different look.  I added lots of wink of Stella to the black top level on the bright card as it needed some shimmer.

I am really happy with how these came together as samples… wonder how the session will go and if we will manage to do something different? I’ve diecut loads of bits and pieces and so it will be interesting to see what people use! 

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

Another cute digi stamp from the batch I found the other day and made some cards up from.

Again I chose some patterned papers from the scraps box and a foiled sentiment to make up the card with a scrap of bright yellow ribbon.

I added some wink of Stella to a few parts of the image to add some shimmer.

Love how this looks… so delicate and sweet!  

Tomorrow I will be back to my mixed media work I am sure after a few days of cardmaking… but it’s been nice to do something a little different for a while. 

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

When I was making the card I shared yesterday I found some digi stamps I had coloured and decided to make a few cards. Here is the first one… 

I used the purple stripey paper and some black card to make the background and then the pink card that I die cut a stitched shape oval from to make the image pop! 

For a change I chose to use a die cut foiled sentiment from a batch I found in my stash and had forgotten about. 

Nice to find something and make use out of it.  Tomorrow I will have another card I made from the stash of digi stamps I found! 

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

It was my brothers birthday a few days ago and I made this card for him.  No idea why but the grumpy looking dog made me think of him! Ha Ha Ha! 

I used some pieces of patterned paper and scrap cardstock to make the background and the mat for the image and I did the partial die cutting technique so that his ear came out of the oval shape. 

I coloured the inage using my spectrum noir pencils.

I added a tiny drop of glossy accents to the dogs pupils too to add some dimension. 

Cute and fun and hopefully my brother liked his card. 

Happy crafting!

Catherine 

I spotted this cuddly rabbit layered stamping set in the new catalogue and knew I had to have it for making baby cards. So I had a play. 

First lesson … use the right kind of card for the best results… This mixed media cardstock I was playing on is not the best card for stamping… Oh well I decided to persevere. 

Second lesson… choose the right colours or your cuddly starts looking evil! 

The top left got turned over so I could create a grey one instead… much less scary! 

Make sure you line up your stamps properly or the eyes go wonky like the bottom one! 

So once I had the best five I could do I ended up with these cards.

All of them on linen effect card blanks a6 size and using the same set of rounded rectangle stitched dies and the same sentiment stamp I have had for ages.

On each of them I made the cards a little different by changing the design or adding little details in the background. 

Love how these came out. 

Entering these into the celebrations challenge at https://craftaholicsrus.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/challenge-1-celebration-cards.html?m=1

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

Whilst I had the water colours out to play I made three cards using the lovely Petal Palette new stamps from SU. I did the stamping using the stamp platform to make stamping all three panels super easy and then coloured the images using watercolours. 

I then chose to finish each with a different sentiment.  This one is a gentle happy birthday using the Watercolor Words stamps and then I added the glitter dots to add some shimmer.

Next I chose to do another with the watercolor words stamps.  This time I chose a different colour embossing powder and stickles. 

The final card I chose the happy celebrations stamps and embossed the large celebrate and then stamped the rest of the sentiment in the same grey archival as the flowers.  I also chose liquid pearls for the dots for this.

This is a beautiful stamp to use and I can see me using it lots and lots in future for these simple but beautiful cards.

Entering these into the watercolour anything goes challenge at happy little stampers and the embossing challenge at stamp ink paper. 

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

I’ve four cards to share that I made when playing with watercolours a few days ago. (Oh how I wish I was still doing this now and not back at work!).

I made four panels and added watercolours to them ensuring I chose colours that wouldn’t make mud if they mixed and then added salt flakes on the top for them to dry.  This added some interesting variation to the patterns on the finished pieces. 

Once they were dry I stamped a large sentiment from the stash (stampendous) in versafine using the stamp platform so I could make sure they stamped perfectly. 

I finished them off with a mount of coloured cardstock and some sequins.009

Love how fun these were to make and love how easy they were too. Simple cards full of fun! 

Entering these into the watercolour challenge happy little stampers… at https://inkyfingeredcat.me/2018/01/03/watercolour-background-card-making/

Happy crafting! 

Catherine 

Back to work today after the lovely Christmas break! But of course we have to pause and say thanks for people’s generosity so I made a little batch of thank you cards. 

1. A fun background made with paints and stamps. 

2. Some stamped stars.

3. Stamped sentiment.

4. Shiny sequins.

5. 4×4 card blanks.

Jobs a good’un!!!

Happy crafting!

Catherine