Using your free stamp

Hi Everyone

The Craft Stamper Magazine has a free stamp with it every month and the current February issue has a beautiful butterfly stamp designed by Darkroom Door.

 I don't always get round to using my free stamp but I wanted to share with you a beautiful card created using the stamp by Tracy Harris.

Tracy has randomly stamped the image on a piece of white card using Black Soot Distress ink which gives a quite muted image.  She then coloured over the card using Rusty Hinge and Mustard Seed Distress Inks to give some colour and this was then matted onto black card and mounted on a white card base.

The stamp was then inked again but this time using Jet Black Archival Ink which gives a much more defined image and stamped in a block of four tiles.  These were then coloured again lightly using the Rusty Hinge and Mustard Seed Distress Inks,  The image was then stamped twice more, again using Black Archival Ink, onto acetate and the butterflies were cut out.  The butterflies were coloured using Adirondack Alchohol Inks 'Mountain Rose' and 'Hazelnut' and these were then adhered to the full stamped image on two of the tiles using Glossy Accents just down the body of the butterfly so that when it is dry the wings can be lifted.

I was really impressed with how such a beautiful card can be created using such a small stamp.  The design was based on the one by Designer Helen Chilton who has created some samples in the magazine so if you are stuck for ideas with what to do with your free stamp you can gain lots of inspiration from the magazine not to mention all the other inspiring artcles...... if only there were more hours in the day!!!

Hope you have a fruitful and inspiring day :).

Kate xx

More with Check In

Hi Everyone

Well yesterday I promised that I would post another one of Caroline Lovett's fabulous creations using the 'Check In' Mini Kit and here it is...

Check In File Folder

Caroline says..."I am quite into making these file folders at the moment for my travels, as otherwise you end up with several pages of one holiday which soon fill up your scrapbooks.  So when I first got the kit, I made this file folder with it, and then went on to do a New York page.  I don't know why but I felt totally inspired that these papers were meant for New York !!!"

 Check In Folder Inside, close up

 Check In Folder Inside, double-page

These sort of folders give you so much space and scope for displaying your photos as well as somewhere to keep your holiday memorabilia so that it is all together to be able to show others and to look back on yourself.

I hope you are keeping safe and warm out of the snow wherever you are.  Have a great weekend.

Kate xx

Check-In

Our travel-themed mini kit, 'Check-in' has proved very popular since its launch and we only have a very few left but I wanted to share with you a couple of fabulous  creations using the kit by the very talented Caroline Lovett.  Caroline is the organiser of the Scrapstars Retreat, the next one of which takes place from the 1st - 3rd    March this year.  This event really is wonderful and if you can possibly go I do urge you to get signed up soon.  If you are unable to make the whole weekend but live   in the area then day places are available.

Here is Caroline's wonderful layout with a few words from her:-

'New York' by Caroline Lovett

"I have used some of the sticker sheet from the kit across the top, down the left side and one tucked under each of the bottom corners.  Initially I gutted the  red paper with the blue map pattern on the back, so that I had some of this to use elsewhere.  I knew I would be sticking the whole of the fancy edged paper on top of this so it    seemed a waste not to do so.  I cut a slot in the bottom left hand corner and tucked some embellishments in there.  I pleated the black ribbon and made a couple of      pennants for the top right hand side.  I used a little bit of the "air mail" blue and    red strip across the pennants and across the passport on the right hand corner, just   to decorate them a little.  I used the mustard ticket sticker on the left to cover a     postmark which said Australia which I didn't want to see.  The large postcard has   been used as a mat across the middle of the page on an angle, mini postcards and    tickets have been used as other embellishments."

Check back again tomorrow as Caroline shares another of her fabulous creations    using the 'Check-In' Kit.

Have a good evening :).

Kate xx

New Serenade Mini Kit

Hi everyone,

I am sorry, I have been experiencing some technical problems with the blog so this post is a lot later being posted than I had meant but I think they are all solved now, fingers crossed!

Now that the festivities are well and truly over and things are getting back to 'normal' it is time to make space for a bit of crafting and what better way to get you inspired than with our lovely new Mini Kit 'Serenade'.  Not only is this new mini kit kind to your pocket, it is packed full of beautiful papers and other embellishments.  Full details of the kit can be found on the website here but I know it is lovely to see the papers in more details so 'without further ado' (you can't beat a bit of theatre!) here they are:-

Now if they don't brighten up your January, I am not sure what will ;).  The colours are stunning with reds, black, green and yellow but toned down with neutral grounds meaning that you can create beautiful layouts that really stand out but your photos are not lost in the paper.

We have created some layouts to get you inspired...

'Cherish These Times' by Kate Holliday 

 'Remembrance' by Nicky Parry

 'Big Red Combine Harvester' by Nicky Parry

'Tree Art' by Kate Holliday

We have an Inspiration Sheet for you to download which includes these layouts and at just £10 this kit is an absolute bargain - guaranteed to chase away those January blues!

Have a great week.

Kate xx

Winter Walk

Hi

I promised I had a second Christmas layout to share with you and here it is although on the face of it, it doesn't look that Christmassy!

'Winter Walk' by Kate Holliday

As you can see the layout is just our family out for a walk with our then dog (the photos are from 2006!) and it just so happens to be Christmas morning (my journaling explains that the only time we ever seemed to all go out as a family was this one time of the year when the children were bribed with not getting to open their presents until we had!) but of course the papers would be suitable for any winter occasion.  They are taken from our new kit 'Winter Wonderland' and the Add-on Stamp set which is perfect for scrapping all your Christmas photos and, as above, any just wintery ones too.

I apologise for the poor quality of the photo here and on yesterday's blog - I keep forgetting to photograph the layouts when the sun is out or perhaps it is just that the sun just seems to not come out!!  Anyway, my apologies.

Kate xx

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a wonderful time over the Christmas season and are raring to go with the New Year! 

Whilst we have still got a few days to go before 12th Night I thought I would share a couple of Christmas themed layouts with you before we put all thought of Christmas firmly to bed for at least another 10 or 11 months!

This layout is of my daughter taken about 6 years ago when she was an Angel in the Church Nativity much to her disgust as she felt she was far too old by then!

'Reluctant Angel' by Kate Holliday

The layout uses the wonderful 'Turtle Dove' range of papers from Kaisercraft; I have used three - 'Partridge', 'Calling Birds' and 'French Hen', together with a sheet of 'Bitter Chocolate' Bazzill Cardstock and 'Vintage Photo' Distress Ink on the edges.  I did lots of fiddle cutting of some of the beautiful images on the papers and have put 3D foam on the back of these to give depth to the layout.  The title is made of two different alpha stickers that I had in my stash.

I hope you like the layout and I look forward to sharing my final Christmas layout tomorrow.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013 and many hours of crafting joy :).

Blessings,

Kate xx