Winter Wonderland

We have a lovely new seasonal kit in store for you, 'Winter Wonderland' which uses the papers and some embellishments from the My Mind's Eye range of the same name.  I love the cheerful, bright colours and all the fun image - such fun to work with.  And for one week we have the kit on special offer with 10% off if you order before Christmas so even more reason to treat yourself - go on, you know you deserve it :).

I have created a couple of layouts so far; this first one, 'Establishing Priorities' has lots of layers - perfect for making use of both sides of the papers.

And this second one, a double-page layout, I have kept quite simple in design because there were so many photos and I didn't want it to look too cluttered.  Sorry the images are such poor quality, they were taken in artificial light!

It is always difficult seeing the papers properly in the kit photo so here they are in all their glory!

Arn't they gorgeous?!  The perfect way to scrap your Christmas photos this year or create a beautiful mini book. 

Have fun.

Kate xxx

White Rabbit Card

I always find mens cards tricky but I absolutely love the White Rabbit Image from the Alice II Stamp Set by IndigoBlu and thought that is was suitable for a man.

I stamped the image onto white card using Jet Black Archival Ink and cut out.  I inked the edges lightly with Fired Brick Distress Ink and set to one side.  The background is created using Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany and Black Soot Distress Inks and then I stamped on the background using the swirl from the same Alice II set and the Harlequin Stamp also by IndigoBlu.  A quick bit of water flicking over the background added a little more interest and I also used an old credit card with Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber 'Snow Cap' to give a 'ground' for the rabbit. 

I kept the inside very simple and just stamped the swirl designs onto white card and used the words from the 'Aloysius' stamp set because I love the font.

The card took me only an hour to make which is a record for me but I am pleased with the result and think it is suitable for a man... hopefully!

Have a great weekend.

Kate xx

Enoying Seeing the Sunshine!

Hi Everyone

I am sorry I have been so hopeless about blogging lately and in fact crafting in general seems to have gone right out the window.  It is a long story but started with deciding to redecorate our sitting room, not a big deal you would think, but somehow or other it seems to have taken us six weeks.  Admittedly all that time hasn't been in the actual decorating itself but we also decided to change all the furniture which involved three trips to Ikea - three trips I am trying hard to forget! - a lot of cursing, mainly from my husband as he endeavoured to put said furniture together and times when our marriage seemed in jeopardy!  However we have come out the other side (well almost) and have a beautiful new carpet, lovely clean walls and lots of bright new furniture so we are happy. 

The reason that this affected my crafting, other than the obvious in that I was tied up decorating or queuing in Ikea, was that the contents of our lounge had to go somewhere whilst all this was going on and that somewhere was my son's bedroom aka my craftroom whilst he is away at university!  It was chaos in there and although in theory there was a pathway to my craftroom it was hardly condusive to creativity.  And then, just as I spotted a little light at the end of the tunnel my son came home for several days; a really lovely thing as we hadn't seen him since September but once again my craftroom became 'unavailable'.

Anyway having wittered and moaned on quite enough and, lets face it, you didn't click on here to hear about my woes so without further ado I want to show you a beautiful layout created by a very talented lady who attends the Bellaboo crops regularly, Mandi Wanblad.  Mandi creates stunning double page, in the main, layouts and manages that really tricky balance of including lots of photographs whilst still being creative.

Isn't it gorgeous?  Mandi has used the papers from the Rock Pool range by Kaisercraft and all the little strips below the photos are the title strips from the bottom of the papers.  The two quote tags are from the 'Ripple' paper in the range.  I am sure you will agree that this is a stunning layout that really enhances Mandi's beautiful photographs and isn't it lovely to be reminded of what summer looks like when it is cold and dreary here in the UK?!  Do reply so that I can pass on your comments to Mandi.

With promises to craft and blog more I look forward to being back soon :).

Have a great day

Kate xx

Card in a tin

Hi Everyone

Sorry, it has been a long time since I blogged; my husband and I have spent the last 10 days decorating our living room which also happens to be the room our computer is in and we have been living in chaos!  The decorating is now achieved but nothing has been put back yet so still chaos but a little more time! 

I was delighted to receive these lovely pictures from one of our customers, Angela Styles.  Angela recently purchased the 'Madame Boutique Monthly Kit' and created this sweet little card in a tin using the kit.  I am sure you will agree that all the lovely little embellishments that come with the kit are perfect for this type of project and I for one would be delighted to receive such a lovely card.

by Angela Styles

Angela has added some of her own supplies for this project including the tin but the lovely papers, flowers, lace and many of the tags and diecuts are from the Kit.

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Kate xx

Playing with Woodland Park by October Afternoon!

Hello everyone,

 

As you can see, I have been busy playing with the new range from October Afternoon - Woodland Park.  The papers have such a fun, quirky feel to them and the colour palette is just up my street - fresh greens, deep pinky reds and, of course, teal!  These are not the only colours used in this range, but are just the ones I really like!

A Splashing Good Time

 

I love the deep pink and contrasting green of the Crab Apple Orchard patterened paper and it was perfect for these pictures of my daughter playing in the water on a camping holiday. I usually 'forget' about where the journalling will go on my layouts and then have to squeeze it in at the end, so having the Woodland Park Journal Cards make it easy to plan my journalling from the start - just what I need!  I created the title with the Woodland Park Alpha Stickers and lightly inked around the the patterened paper with the Bundled Sage Distress Ink Pad. 

 

 At the Science Museum 

 

Another georgous floral paper in this range is the Rose Garden. I often find myself buying two of the same piece of patterened paper and if you like dots and florals, you will have to do the same with this paper. I loved the soft feel of the reserve side of Rose Garden and used it to create this very simple layout of our visit to the science museum. I picked out the plain letters from the Woodland Park Alpha Stickers to create my title then used scraps of cardstock to make the bunting which I finished off with a 'rope' made of Seafoam Baker's Twine.

 

 Cubs Chip Hike 

Am I alone in loving the colours and cute little creatures depicted in the wonderfully named Bunny Tail Trail?  I used this paper for the photos I took when my daughter's cub pack did a 3-mile hike and then celebrated with a Fish and Chip supper!  I cut out and layered some of the images from the paper, like the tree, the adorable bunnies and the raccoon!  And those Journal Cards came in useful again, perfectly co-ordinating with the paper!

Why don't you take advantage of this week's special offer of 10% off this rage (until October 21st) and have some fun with this range.  There is so much more I want to do....that washi tape, for example, which comes in Chevron or Floral. 

Have fun,
Nicky xx

Turtle Dove Cards

Hi Everyone

I have been having a little play with the new Kaisercraft Christmas range 'Turtle Dove' and have produced a couple of cards.

I created a couple of tags out of kraft cardstock and stamped the Christmas Tree from the stamp which I had 'inked' up in white paint.  Once dry I over stamped using the script stamp and inked up using an Ink Blending Tool .  The other tag was also stamped with the script stamp and the edges inked but otherwise left plain.  I also stamped the bauble stamps in white paint and stamped directly onto the background sheet.  Using a border punch I added a bottom border and these were layered up onto another sheet of paper and then the card which was made out of kraft.  I dabbed around the edges of the card in the white paint and glittered the christmas tree and baubles and also added a sentiment from the set.  The ribbon started off white but was coloured using a distress ink pad.  The tags were raised up slightly on foam pads.

The inside was just stamped with the greeting from the Turtle Dove set and layered with more whtie paint dabbed around the edges.

Materials used:-

Patterned Paper: Turtle Dove Partridge - Kaisercraft

Cardstock: Kraft

Ink: Distress Ink Pads - Antique Linen, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo also Archival Ink 'Jet Black' - Ranger

Stamps: Turtle Dove Clear Stamps - Kaisercraft, Script Background Stamp - IndigoBlu

Ribbon: Faux Silk Ribbon, White - May Arts

Paint: Adirondack Paint Dabber Lights - Snow Cap - Ranger

Tools: Ink Blending Tool - Ranger, Craft Foam Pads - Stix2

For this second card I stamped the same Script Stamp onto the edge of cream card and then the Chrismas Tree in the centre.  I inked the edges using Distress inks in various shades.  I stamped 'Merry Christmas' onto more cream card and cut around it.  Everything was layered up and the greeting was raised up on foam pads and then the tree and greeting were glittered.

Similarly with the inside of the card the greeting was inked and stamped onto a small piece of cream card and the edges inked and this was layered up onto the patterned paper and a small border added at the bottom for interest.

Materials used:-

Patterned Paper: Turtle Dove Geese - Kaisercraft

Cardstock: Cream Puff

Ink: Distress Ink Pads - Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Forest Moss - Ranger

Stamps: Turtle Dove Clear Stamps - Kaisercraft, Script Background Stamp - IndigoBlu

The 'Turtle Dove' range is on an introductory offer this week but ends today so you will need to hurry :).  The papers are gorgeous and I loved using the different stamps in the set - there are several so it is very good value!

I hope you like the cards and that you enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Kate xx

Park Drive Kit now on sale!

I am delighted to say that our beautiful new kit, Park Drive, is now on sale.  The kit uses the papers from the Websters Pages range of the same name and they really are gorgeous.  I was drawn to the colour palette of this range in particular as the soft, gentle tones of the peach, ivory, green, pink and honey shades remind me of the first turning leaves of autumn before they become the rich reds and oranges later in the season.  Full details of the kit can be found on the website together with an Inspiration Sheet that you can download and keep but here are pictures of the papers for you to see in close up as I know it isn't easy to see them properly in the kit photos.

 

As well as these beautiful papers the kit has co-ordinating cardstock and embellishments aplenty including bling, clay tiles, lace, ribbons, crochet doilies, beautiful butterflies and more making this kit a real joy to use - don't miss out :).

 

Hope you all have a great week.

 

Kate xx

Trying to get organised!

I had a really lovely afternoon with my neighbour Tracy on Tuesday when we got together for some crafting time and more specifically to begin making some Christmas cards.  Now I know many of you will have started yours a good while ago or stagger them throughout the year but I am just not that organised and always end up very stressed during December (I know many of us are but my other friend Tracy tells me that it is self-induced... well you can't beat a good friend for being honest with you!!) because I have to/want to make homemade Christmas cards.  Well I have decided that this year will be different (hmm, watch this space!) and have begun to make a start.

I haven't quite finished the ones I started at Tracy's on Tuesday but I do have some other ones I have made using the beautiful Prima 'North Country' range from last year which I absolutely love.  As well as the three cards I have made - actually I am cheating because I made them last December but didn't quite get round to finishing them :( - I have also made a layout with this range.

As well as a selection of papers from the range I have also used the Flower Market flowers and the Cling Mounted Stamp Set which has a great selection of different stamps making it very versatile, and the Chipboard Stickers.

 The images on the papers and stamps match each other perfectly so I was able to die cut the deer picture from the paper and then stamp an identical image which I then cut out and placed to one side.  This one was 9 pieces of the 'Maine Meadow' paper cut into small squares and then sewn on to the backing card which is then mounted on the card so that none of the loose ends show.  I finished off with a few flowers.

You can't really see from this picture but the front of this card is only half of the card, the red part, which opens up and then behind is some plain card for writing your greeting.  I have also used the Fiskars 'Apron Lace' punch on this one and the one below.

 There was no stamping on this card other than the greeting, the deers are cut from the patterened paper and with the addition of some flowers which I glittered I am really pleased with the effect.

'Christmas on the Common' by Kate Holliday

We regularly walk our dog on our local common and after a heavy snowfall it looks absolutely stunning.  Added to that the authority who maintain the common had made this rustic Christmas Tree with a plaque to wish all the 'Common Users' a very Happy Christmas and with the addition of a wonderful snowman created by one of the 'users' the whole place felt really festive. 

As well as the beautiful papers from the North Country range I have also misted some of the Pink Paislee 'Mistables Chipboard Alphas' in the Cosmic Shimmer Mist 'Teal Wash' and added buttons from the 'Aqua Splash' pack which I glittered to represent snowflakes. 

I will endeavour to continue with my Christmas Cards and then plan for a stress-free December !!!!

Have a great weekend.

Kate xxx

Feeling Neglected!

The poor Blog has been somewhat neglected over the past month or so - summer seems to have got in the way of crafting!  It has been wonderful to have the family together over the summer; to enjoy family meals together, to laugh, to squabble (!), just being part of each other's worlds, but it has not been good for crafting!  My son is away at university and whilst he is away his bedroom becomes my 'craft room'!  He is very understading about this and really complains very little about my craft 'stuff' being stored in his room but unfortunately when he came home for the (very long) summer bringing with him enough clothes to set up his own retail store and assorted electrical paraphernalia it became very difficult to access my craft equipment without it becoming a major ordeal, hence the distinct lack of crafting.  He has now gone back and there is a very big part of me that is sad that the summer is over and he is no longer around but the plus side is that I have my 'craft room' back again and within hours of him leaving the room was tidied, cleaned and set up ready for me to use so now all I have to do is get started!!!

What I did manage to achieve over the summer was a small album for my brother and sister-in-law to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.  The original idea was that there would be a page for each year but, as I wanted it to be a surprise, it was very difficult to get enough photos to be able to do that so in the end I did 20 pages, some of which are doubles where I had lots of photos, others are singles and some cover several years on one page so a real mix.  I had great fun doing the album - lots to reminisce about- but, as is my want, I started it later than I should and it became a rush to finish it but I did get there in the end.  A few of the pages from the album are below and I am pleased to say that both my brother and sister-in-law seemed really pleased with the gift. 

The album was an 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" size. Unfortunately the pictures are not great as they were taken in a hurry - I was due to be delivering the album when I remembered I wanted to photograph it!

This was the first page of the album and uses the Websters Pages paper 'All About Me Looking Ahead' which is a paper I think I have used on about three different pages now because I love it so much.  My sister-in-law had cornflowers in her bouquet and I wanted to try and pick up that colour as best I could and this was the closest I could find. 

A double page showing the new arrival of their second child, my neice Matilda.  I wanted to give a fun, girly look and love the 'Ashtyn' range from 3 Bugs in a Rug.   I used two sheets from the range 'Floral' and 'Polkadot' and had great fun cutting out the pinwheels.  I added a brad to the middle of the pinwheels so they can be turned! 

My brother and sister-in-law spent three years in Vienna when the children were still quite small and I decided to do a montage of their time there on one double-page.  It was quite challenging choosing the photos - there were so many - but hoped that this selection gave a little taste of their time there.  I loved using the travel themed 'Check In' mini kit for this which couldn't have been more appropriate with its little wood veneer planes and die-cuts - such fun to use.

As the children become older you realise you are on borrowed time as far as family holidays are concerned and so I loved these photos of them away together in Pembrokeshire.  I had some bits and pieces left from the 'Doodle Deux' mini kit and the colours worked perfectly so I was very pleased with the result.

This was the last page of the album and shows my brother and his wife together at their Silver Wedding Anniversary party (such a great evening!).  For this I used another Websters Pages paper (I do so love Websters!) using the 'Arrive in Style' paper from the 'In Love' range which seemed rather appropriate!  I teamed it with some pretty Prima lace and some little embellishments I had lying around.

Sorry, I have wittered on for a very long time - I got a little over excited to Blog again!  Will be back soon and I hope you all have a great weekend.

Kate xx

Attitude!

Deb has been getting creative with the new range from Kaisercraft 'Attitude'.  This fab range is perfect for the teenagers in your life (or your young-at-heart-man!) with its grunge and distress looks and fab titles such as 'Whatever' and 'Dude', it is just full to bursting with Attitude!

'The Boys are Back in Town' by Deb Whittaker

A great layout where the papers work perfectly with the photos to really enhance the story.

'Class of 1982' by Deb Whittaker

In this layout Deb proves that actually this range doesn't just have to be used for teenagers.  In her words 'I know we are a long way off being teenagers (although we feel 18 inside) but green, maroon and grey were our school uniform colours so these papers seemed very appropriate.' 

'Attitude' is just one of the new Kaisercraft ranges we have in, 'Coral Reef' is the other which is perfect to showcase all your summer photos, with its wonderful die-cut sheet and fun stickersheet.

Have a great weekend.

Kate

Serendipity
Don't you love happy coincidences?  This month I have had a serendipitious moment when I was browing through the August issue of Scrap 365 and came across the instructions for a mini book, constructed out of a single sheet of 12x12 paper.  Lying in front of me were the remains of this month's mini kit 'Check In', and in particular a diecut oval shape with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it.  No, sadly I haven't just been on a trip to Paris!  I had, however, been wondering what card I could make for my friend's daughter's birthday...and she had just returned from a school trip to France!  Within a very short space of time I had made up a sweet little mini book/card which not only has 6 pages for her to put her photos on, but also has two pull out tages for more photos or perhaps some journalling.  I am so thrilled with the result and can't wait to give it to her this morning!

Enjoy the sunshine which has come at last!  I am off camping and really hoping for HOT weather!

Nicky x



New Check In

We have a great mini kit this month which is just perfect for all your holiday projects.   'Check In' is a travel themed kit with fabulous papers from Kaisercraft, lots of great die-cuts, stickers, ribbons, laser-cut veneer shapes and tags.  The kit would be absolutely perfect to create a special travel journal to take away with you and be able to jot down all your holiday memories as they are happening or for creating a little mini book on your return or for those full 12x12 layouts that bring back such great holiday memories. 

Full details of the kit can be found on the website and there is also an Inspiration Sheet for you to download but here are the papers so that you can see them in detail.

I just love the bold colours and fab designs and teamed with all the lovely bits in the Kit, I know you will have loads of fun using this one.

Happy Crafting :)

Kate

Nature's Colour Palette

I had a good sort out last week of various projects that needed completing.  I have a rule that no layout gets to go into my album until it is completely finished; journalled, dated etc, but this does mean that I have ended up with a pile of layouts that need finsihing off!  In some cases it was that I simply needed to look up the date of when an event happened, in another I wanted to journal but it was quite personal journaling that needed some thought etc.  Other projects not only need finishing, they almost need starting (!) where I have chosen some papers to go with photos and then not got any further... is there anyone else out there that has this problem or is it just me?!

Anyway, I was very proud of myself at the weekend because I finished three such projects and allowed myself to put them away appropriately in their albums which just gets me so excited (I know, 'little things please little minds', but ho hum!).  In addition, at our Crop on Tuesday evening I also finished this layout which I started several weeks ago at another Crop and for various reasons hadn't quite finished.

'Nature's Colour Palette' by Kate Holliday

Supplies Used:-

Stamps: Tim Holtz Fairytale Frenzy, Tim Holtz Psychedelic Grunge - Stampers Anonymous

Patterned Papers: All About Me 'Looking Ahead', 'You're Timeless' - Websters Pages

Cardstock: White, Twilight Medium - Bazzill

Ink: DewDrop Versa Magic 'Aegean Blue' - Tsukineko

Paint: Adirondack Paint Dabbers Bright 'Citrus' - Ranger

Adhesives: Craft Foam Pads - Stix2

The above items are all available on the website

I adore these Websters papers and felt they worked perfectly with my subject and enhanced what I was trying to say.  The Tim Holtz 'Fairytale Frenzy' stamp set has this beautiful floral stamp that reminded me so much of the way a Bluebell bends over at the top and so I wanted to include this in my layout also.  I layered up the main image and cut out various parts from the Websters All About Me 'Looking Ahead' paper (Websters papers are perfect for fine cutting) and I was really pleased with the end result.  The title was cut out on my Cricut.

Hope you like and thank you for looking :).

Kate

Magical Megaflake!

I have a tendency to buy new things and then let them sit for a while to 'mature' before I use them.
So it was only a week or two ago the I finally opened my Megaflake starter kit to use on a card I was making for a friend's birthday.  Fortunately it comes with good instructions, although it did take me a while to figure out what the 'schoochy' was!  It is a key part of the process, and removes the excess flake, so initially I was slightly perplexed by the results.  However, once I had 'schoochied', I was delighted with the results!  I had glued up fingers and bits of glittery flake everywhere, but the results were fabulous so it was worth it.

I used the Megaflake Starter Kit, the Indigo Blu Wild Meadow Stamp Set and a very small piece of the Glitz Design Pretty in Pink 'Roses' paper. 

I'm really looking forward to having another play with this kit soon!

Nicky x