All Kinds of Cuttlebug News

Hi Cuttlebuggers,

I have some good news, along with some sad news.  The Cuttlebug Spot is closing.  Boo!  But.....there is a brand new Cuttlebug blog for you - Cuttlebug Mania. 

Unfortunately, I've decided to step down, for now, from the design team.  I'm so busy creating wedding stationery for my brother's wedding and some other things have come up so I'm not able to dedicate as much time to these challenges as I'd like.  Hopefully once things settle down, I might be back at Cuttlebug Mania.  Watch this space!

The first great challenge at Cuttlebug Mania is live right now.  This week the theme is...

Butterflies

My absolute favourite thing to create on a project so this was an easy one for me and here is my card...

It's a twisted easel style and was the birthday card I gave to my best friend, Vicki.  There was a chorus of "Wows" around the room when she opened it so I think it was a hit!  For the topper, I started with matt silver card and then using a piece of designer paper from a free paper stack designed by Kate Knight I used the Spellbinders Butterfly Corner die in the top corners.  I added a butterfly cut with Create and Craft textured cardstock in purple and spritzed with Mister Huey shine spray.  I added gems to the centre to really bling it up.  The ribbon is from Papermania.

My base layer was again made using the silver matt cardstock and Kate Knight designer paper.  This was free with Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine a couple of years ago.  To make my stopper I used Spellbinders Fancey Labels Two and then the sentiment was cut from white cardstock using Spellbinders Framed Tags One.  I propped this up on foam pads to make sure my card stayed open.  All my die cutting was done using my beloved Cuttlebug.

I hope you'll join the team at Cuttlebug Mania this week and for many weeks to come.  They have some brilliant challenges coming up that are not to be missed.  I'd really like to thank Jannie, Kerry and all the lovely ladies at Cuttlebug Mania, along with Nilda from The Cuttlebug Spot.  I've loved using my Cuttlebug to create these cards and it'll always be my No 1 crafting tool.  All the best with the new blog, ladies.

Happy crafting,

Rachel x

Fab'n'Funky Challenges #155 - Your Favourite Colour Combo

Hello Crafters,

I can't believe it's Wednesday again already!  But Wednesday means a brand new challenge at Fab'n'Funky Challenges.  So if you haven't already, check out our winners post for the last challenge as it's on the blog right now.

So, I know you're all wondering what we would like you to create this week.  Our host is the wonderful Ginny and she has chosen a great theme...

Your Favourite Colour Combo

Yip, it's that simple.  Just chose your favourite colour combo and get crafting!  We also have the brilliant Flonzcraft as our sponsor.  They are a stamp manufacturing compnay from New Zealand.  Be sure to check out their stamps here.

I had a little dilemma chosing my colour combo but this is what I first thought of when I saw the challenge theme so I knew it had to be the one - pink, black and silver.

I recently treated myself to a set of the Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Squares which I bought from America because it was cheaper then buying from the UK!  Anyway, I used these to make my card blank and then scored the back panel to allow the card to stand.

My background actually came from waste!  I spritzed all over the circles masks from That Special Touch to make a background for another card and then used the leftover ink that was still on the mask to make a second background and this what I've used here.  I really liked the way it turned out - not quite perfect but still enough to show the shimmer of the Mister Huey spray.  I used my Tim Holtz Picked Raspberry Distress Ink on my Slodge mat to add colour to the spritzy background once it had dried.  I wanted a graduated look so really went for it at the bottom of the card, fading nearer the top.

Using Spellbinders Grand Decorative Circles I cut a base shape from black card and then added a doily which I had covered with silver metallic ink.  I stamped my Flonzcraft Crystal Frame stamp in black on white card and then used my DI to colour match the background.  I added a silver-mirri butterfly from the Spellbinders Jewel Flourishes set.  Finally I finished off with some gems for the corners.  I'm still in gem-mania mode!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - What Are You Known For (pink and butterflies)
Top Tip Tuesday #94 - Lavishly Luscious Layers
Creative Card Crew #28 - Girly 
Created With Love Challenges #25 - Anything Goes 

I hope you can join us for our great colour combo challenge this week.

Happy crafting,
Rachel x

The Cuttlebug Spot DT Card - Circles

Hi Everyone,

Isn't January going in fast?  We're halfway through the month already.  I hope you are finding plenty of play time!

We are still celebrating our "Get Into Shape" month at The Cuttlebug Spot and are launching our brand new challenge today.  We would like to see...

Circles

You can choose how to incorporate a circle in any way you like - it couldn't be easier.

I decided to be on the ball with my Mam's birthday card this year as her birthday isn't until the end of February.  Inspiration just came to me!  And here is my circles card...

I started with a 6" Hunkydory card blank and placed a circles That Special Touch mask on top.  I spritzed through it using a Mister Huey spray in silver.  It has a lovely iridescent shimmer when moved in the light.  The teal card was embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder in the From My Kitchen set.  The corners were rounded with an X-Cut corner punch.  It is really good at chomping through the double cardstock layer.  I added a strip of black card and some silver ribbon before attaching to the card blank.  

Using my Cuttlebug, I cut two circle layers, one from Spellbinders Standard Circles Large and the other from Spellbinders Standard Circles Small which are the perfect increments for layering.  My sewing machine came from Spellbinders Sewing Elements and I used a silver mirri-card for this.  I took a sanding block to the sewing machine to distress it a little in keeping with the inky background.  My finishing touch was to add three gems to the top right-hand corner.  These came from Create and Craft. I may add another circle to showcase a sentiment but have left it for now.

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

Allsorts Challenge Blog Week 189:  Dies and Punches

I hope you can join us for our circles challenge at The Cuttlebug Spot.  
Happy crafting, 
Rachel x