Les Papillion Birthday

Hi All,

Hope you have been enjoying your Saturday.  We've had a very sunny day but I've been enjoying it in my craft corner!  I have a card made with the new Spellbinders for you today.  I just couldn't resist the wonderful dies and had them ordered within about 3 minutes!  Create and Craft will be the financial ruin of me!  Did anyone else take the plunge and order them too?

I love the new butterfly dies called Les Papillion and knew these would have to feature on my first card.  I started by matting and layering the pink pearlescent and gold cardstock.  My embossed cardstock was made using the Elegance M-Bossability folder from Spellbinders.  My border strips are from the Asian Accents set.  I used Scalloped Labels One for underneath my butterfly.  I cut the top layer of the butterfly from the Spellbinders packaging and actually passed it through the Grand Calibur about 30 times.  Unfortunately, due to the intricacy of the die it just wouldn't quite cut through.  So out came the old fashioned technique of cutting with scissors!  I attached with Pinflair Glue Gel.

The sentiment stamp is from Create and Craft and layered onto Fancy Framed Tags One.  These really need to be cut with greaseproof paper.  I ended up ripping three just by not using this technique. 

Have any of you got crafty plans for tomorrow?  I'm hoping to work on a Fab'n'Funky challenge idea but I'll keep that one under wraps until Wednesday!

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Sneak Peek - Baby Barker

Hi Everyone,

I have a sneak peak of a card that I made with my Cricut Expression 2.  I made this for my friend's new baby who was only born a couple of weeks ago.  I'm going to visit them tomorrow - can't wait for baby cuddles.

Yip, you guessed it - his name is Noah.  I've seen a couple of pics and he is utterly adorable.  Hope I can get a good photo tomorrow.  If you fancy taking a better look at my card, check out my Cricut blog here.

Better get a move on and make some food, then I'm off out for a fun night at my friend's house.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Fab'n'Funky Challenges #131 - No Stamped Images

Hello Crafty Friends,

We loved your handmade flower projects last week - a great variety.  Check out the Fab'n'Funky Challenges blog to see if we picked you as our lucky winner.  The Top 3 have also been posted.  Don't forget to grab those badges too.

I had better get cracking with this week's challenge.  The talented Ginny is our host and she has chosen a clever challenge...

No Stamped Images

I kept going to reach for my stamps and then realised that I wasn't allowed!  In the end I created a Spellbinders card.  Not quite up to Sue Wilson standard yet but I do love checking out her inspirational blog. 

Our sponsor this week is Joanna Sheen.  The lucky challenge winner will receive a £10 gift token to the Joanna Sheen store. 

I began by printing out my patterned snowflake paper from the Debbi Moore Shabby Chic Christmas CD-ROM.  There are loads of great papers on this CD so it was hard to choose which one to print first!

My card blank was made with Spellbinders Grand Labels Eleven.  I also cut the base layer with this Label but used the next size down.  The next layer is silver mirri-board cut using Spellbinders Labels Twenty.  I topped this with the Cheery Lynn Frency Pastry die in the DM paper.  This is the first time I've used a Cheery Lynn die and was really impressed with them.  I have another die that I bought at the same time but I'll keep that one for another time!

My snowflakes were also Spellbinders and I used 2011 and 2012 Snowflake Pendants.  I attached these with either foam pads or Cosmic Shimmer dries clear glue from Creative Expressions.  I added a silver pearl to the middle with the silver Cosmic Shimmer glue.  This is also how I made the pearls around the edge.

Don't forget to check out the other DT members' creations.  Can't wait to see what you come up with for our challenge.

Happy crafting,

Rachel x

Mountain of Prima Giveaway

Wowee!  Look at all these goodies!  Ingvild is being very generous with this giveaway.  She is celebrating her new look blog and it's gorgeous! 

If you fancy a look at Ingvild's fabulous blog then just click here.  You'll be truly inspired.

Happy blogging,
Rachel x

Snowflake River

Hello again,

Another day, another Christmas card!  I'm fairly churning them out now.  I think this might be my favourite so far though.  What do you think?

This topper came from the same Hunkydory pack that I used for yesterday's card.  It is made up of four layers and I've used foam pads to give dimension.  Once I made up the topper I scanned it into the computer and used My Craft Studio to create my backing paper.  After addin the photo to my workspace, I picked up the brush tool and selected the colour from the sky and then changed the electronic canvas to match.  The snowflakes came from the MCS Parchment Delights 5 CD-ROM.  The sheet is clear like acetate and so didn't distort the colour of the backgournd.  Once I had decided on the snowflakes I reduced the size to a little over 8" square and printed off.  I cut off the excess with my Tonic guillotine and attached to the card blank I had already made from white cardstock.

The peach card is Cor'dinations which I distressed at the edges with the Tim Holtz Paper Distresser tool.  I added a strip of super sticky tape all around the edge and pressed in some MCS glitter.  I attached this with double sided sticky tape.  The silver shapes are Spellbinders Romantic Rectangles and I used silver mirri-paper for them.  I attached these and the topper using foam tape/pads.

Hope you've had a great week and have lovely things planned for the weekend.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Teddy Bear Christmas

Hi All,

Hope you're not getting fed up of my Christmas card rush!  Here is another I've made this morning.  I just sat down with some red and green card and this little guy popped onto the front!

I bought the green and red card from Create and Craft a while ago and then lost it!  Too much crafty stash I hear you say!  You may just be right!  I'm slowly using it all up though!  Anyway, the card was on offer again recently so I just went for it. 

To make the dots I did my sanding/Promarker trick!  I embossed with a dotty embossing folder and then sanded back to reveal the white core.  I coloured the dots with my Promarker in Grass.

My toppers are from Hunkydory and are from their 2011 Christmas Blockbuster from Create and Craft.

I used a DoCraft sentiment in black ink, although it seems rather green on the base card.  I attached my toppers with foam pads, using higher ones for the little topppers.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Natalie and Amy's DT Call and New Craft Shop

Hi Everyone,

I'm giving a shout out for Natalie and Amy who are having a DT Call over at their blog - http://natalieandamy.blogspot.co.uk/.  They are looking for 5 new members (UK only for now) to join their challenge blog.  For those of you overseas you can still spread the word for a chance to win some crafty goodies.  Plus, the more people who enter the more winners.

Natalie and Amy have also recently set up their own craft shop and have lots of lovely things to buy.  They stock many popular brands including Crafter's Companion, Marianne Designs and Cor'dinations to name but a few.  Head over to check it out by clicking here.

Happy clicking,
Rachel x

Fab'n'Funky Challenges #130 - Make Your Own Flowers

Hi All,

Another week and another challenge at Fab'n'Funky.  Woo!  Check out the blog to see if you were our lucky winner from the last challenge.  Don't forgot those badges too.

Wendy is our host this week and she has chosen a great challenge...

Make Your Own Flowers

You can use die cuts, punches or any other technique as long as they are handmade.  We are sponsored by Doodle Pantry this week.  Check out their website for great images for lots of occasions.

I used the Winter Wishes image.  I just fell in love with it as soon as I saw it.  I coloured my image with Promarkers and Flexmarkers in the following colours:

Forest Green
Ruby
Glacier Blue
Blue Grey 1
Antique White

I actually cut my image out with Spellbinders Grand Labels Twenty Three before colouring.  The frosting on the trees is courtesy of Flower Soft.  I used their Glitter Frosting with a hint of green.  It has a very unusual texture, with tiny white circles and lovely sparkly glitter.  I used the Flower Soft glue to add the frosting.

I've used two of the Petal Pairs punches in conjuction with the Click, Print, Go Petal Pairs Petites CD-ROM to make my flowers.    I layered these up together and then twisted the petals with a pair of metal tweezers.  I added these with Pinflair Glue Gel.  My red cardstock is from Cor'dinations.

Hope you have fun making your flowers this week.  Be sure to check out the other DT creations.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Oh Christmas Tree

Hello Crafty Friends,

Second post this week already!  Can you tell I've been on holiday since last week?!  I said I was going to make 3 Christmas cards a day while I was off but I've only managed 3 so far and I've been off for a week!  Ah well, it's only July!

This is a super sparkly card today.  I love making sparkly things!

I started with three wooden tree embellishments and inked up a swirly Debbi Moore stamp with Versamark.  I stamped on to the trees and then added Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder which was heated with a heat tool.  I added Tim Holtz Bundled Sage Distress Ink over the top of the embossing so that the swirls resisted and made more of an impact. 

To make the backgournd, I took a piece of Create and Craft pearlescent cardstock and used the same DM stamp with Versamark to make the patterns around the edge.  I also used the Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder here too.  The ribbon was originally cream seam binding which I coloured with the Bundled Sage DI.  I added a Creative Expressions dazzler to the centre of the ribbon with Pinflair Glue Gel.

Hope you are all having a good week with plenty of crafty time.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Snowy Street

Hi All,

Another Christmassy card for you today.  I've been making a good start on them this year.  Although I'll need to pick up the pace if this year carries on going so fast.

I printed the papers and topper from the Debbi Moore Victorian Christmas CD-ROM.  The topper was originally a full A4 sheet so I used my printer properties to reduce the size by 75%.  This is the first time I've done it this way and it worked a treat.  The red cardstock is Cor'dinations.  I also used Cor'dinations for the holly border and corners.  These were cut using Spellbinders Holly Accents .  I raised the border with foam pads to hold up my easel card.

Finally I used my Quickie Glue Pen to add dots of glitter all over the topper.  The glitter was from My Craft Studio.  I hope you can see it from the photo.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1.  The Crazy Challenge - #124 Christmas in July
2.  Crafty Sentiments Designs - Christmas in July
3.  The Pink Elephant - TPE156 Christmas in July
4.  Divas by Design - #43 Christmas in July
5.  Hooked On Craft - #22 Christmas in July

Has anyone else started their Christmas crafting?  How are you getting on?  I've resisted putting on my favourite Jim Reeves CD so far but it might be time to get him singing "White Christmas" soon!

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Fab'n'Funky Challenges #129 - We're All Going On A Summer Holiday

Hello crafty friends,

We were all starry eyed over your wonderful creations last week.  The winner and Top 3 can be found on the Fab'n'Funky Challenges blog.  Be sure to pick up your badges!

It's that time of the week again and we have a great new challenge for you.  The talented Anne-Marie is your host and she has chosen a brilliant theme...

Summer Holiday

We are sponsored by Digi Doodle Shop this week. 

They have loads of great designs so check out their website here. 

I chose an ice cream theme for my card and wanted to make something with blue and red. 

I made a 6" square card blank from heavy white card and then rounded the corners with a large corner punch from X-Cut.  The light blue paper was actually printed from My Craft Studio by picking the colour of her skirt from the scanned image.  This is a really simple way to get a perfect colour match. 

The red and dark blue card is from Create and Craft and I used a small corner punch for those layers, also from X-Cut.  I took the red card and embossed it with my dotty embossing folder through my Cuttlebug.  I sanded back the top layer to make the spots white and then coloured with my Cyan Promarker.  I added glitter to the edge of this layer with my Quickie Glue Pen.

I used an EK Success punch for the border and Spellbinders Labels Four for the matting and layering shapes.  My image is from Tiddly Inks and called Wryn's Sweet Treat.  I coloured her with Promakers in the following colours:

Lipstick Red
Ruby
Cyan
True Blue
Indigo Blue
Walnut
Cinnamon
Caramel
Dusky Pink
Putty
Almond

I cut the pearly swirl from one of the Creative Expressions self-adhesive swirls.  These come in black and pearl and are really lovely.  The sentiment was from my stash.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1.  The Cutie Pie Challlenge # 22 - Glitter and Bling
2.  That Crafty Place Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
3.  Card Mad Fairy's Digi Days Challenge #37 - Summertime
4.  Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #140 - Seeing Spots
5.  Incy Wincy Designs - Summertime
6.  Simon Says Stamp and Show - Layered
7.  Creative Card Crew Challenge #14 - Swirls and Pearls

Hope you are enjoying some good weather.  I'm hoping the forecast is right and we get some sun on Friday.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

Fab'n'Funky Challenges #127 - Stars and/or Stripes

Hello all,

I hope you've had a good week.  I'm really hoping the sun makes an appearance next week when I start my holidays.  No sign of it through the mist just now.

Your cute and girly projects were so special last week.  A real treat for us.  The challenge winner and Top 3 have been picked and you can check if it was you by visiting the Fab'n'Funky Challenges blog.  Don't forget those winner's badges too.

Now, for this week's challenge we are led by Judith and are celebrating Independence Day!  We want to see your...

Stars and/or Stripes

That's right, we want you to use stars, stripes or both on your projects.  We are sponsored by two brilliant companies this week - Tickled Pink and The Paper Shelter.  Check out their websites for fab images and more.  I had great fun creating this card and plan to give it to my friend Lynsey.  She has started her Triathlon competition season and is doing so well.  Hope this spurs her on even more.

I used Serif's Craft Artist Professional to recolour my papers and then simply printed them from there.  I covered my A5 card blank with the starry paper and then cut the stripey paper to form the layer.  The stripey paper was put through the Cuttlebug using a starry embossing folder.  I hope you can see from the photo that I have used the debossed side of the paper.

I coloured my Tickled Pink image, Lil Pinkette Faith, using Promarkers and Flexmarkers in the following colours:

Mustard
Bright Orange
Honeycomb
Blush
Dusky Pink
Cinnamon
Henna
Blue Grey 1

I used Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Five to cut my image and I think this is a really versatile shape.  Since I had a couple copies of the image already printed I stamped the sentiment onto a spare banner and then cut this out and attached the ends so that the middle stands off from the card.

The orange stars were coloured using the Bright Orange Promarker and then cut using my X-Cut star dies.  I layered these all up with foam pads. 

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT creations.  

Wave those stars and stripes for us - can't wait to see what you come up with this week.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

First Christmas Card of 2012

Yes, you read right!  I've started my Christmas crafting very early this year.  Well, early for me.  Last year I was still sticking things together on Christmas Eve!  Although I did have a half finished kitchen in my living room where I craft!


Enough of my babbling and on to the card itself...

I've started with a 8" scalloped card this year.  I used Nigel May's A-May-Zing Craft Into Christmas CD-ROM to print the backing paper, ribbon border, topper and sentiment.  Nigel produced the CD in conjunction with Crafter's Companion and it really is a must have for your Christmas projects.  I printed off about 10 sheets and then remembered that I had only looked at the first CD!  Brilliant!

I covered my card blank with the blue snowflake paper and then cut around the scallops with a craft knife on a glass cutting mat.  I added my ribbon border with a tape runner and then trimmed the edges.  The topper is mounted on a piece of Cor'dinations cardstock that I cut with a square die and my Grand Calibur.  You can't really tell from the photo but I have also decoupaged my snowman with foam pads.  My sentiment is mounted onto the same green Cor'dinations cardstock.

The snowflakes came from Spellbinders Create-A-Flake Three, Create-A-Flake Four and 2012 Snowflake Pendant.  I added glitter with my Quickie Glue pen and used MCS ultra fine glitter. 

I'm not sure that this photo really shows up the glitter but I added a little to each snowflake.  To finish off I added some faux stitching around the edge of the scallops with a black fine liner pen.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1.  Charisma Card Challenges #25 - Anything Goes
2.  Incy Wincy Designs - Anything Goes

3.  Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #192 – Christmas
4.  Tammy's Scrapin Corner #16 - Anything Goes

Happy Christmas crafting,

Rachel