Caturday: Penelope

Pretty Penelope is part of a wider family of furry friends who live with my online friend Jane in North Carolina. She’s pampered and adored, as all cats should be!

Moody blue Christmas

Want to make a lovely night-time snowy background like this one? It's easy - and you don't need any special equipment; just ink, sponges and water.

All I did was sponge the two colours – Pacific Point and Pool Party – onto Whisper White cardstock, then splash it lightly with water. The water absorbs the ink, leaving the snowy effect. You can dab any excess water off with a piece of tissue if necessary.

I used the Stamparatus to stamp Winter Woods on top in black ink, mainly so I could stamp again and again to get a really dark black image.  I punched a hole out and stamped the greeting on the card blank behind, finishing off with some black baker's twine and a bit of festive bling. Hope you like it!

Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... a match made in heaven

I can’t get enough of Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They are a match made in heaven and perfect for really simple projects like the one above, as well as more complicated technique cards like this Winter Woods card using a Stamparatus technique or this vibrant brayered deer card.

I needed lots of these cards to thank my lovely customers, so brought out the Stamparatus for speed stamping. Once those stamps are in position, you can stamp really quickly and accurately. The only image I stamped by hand was the one to represent the ground. As I needed this to be stamped repeatedly and largely at random, it was easier to use a clear block.

The Designer Series Paper you see here is no longer available I’m afraid – I forgot to post this project in September, sorry – but you will find a great range of equally beautiful and suitable designs in my online store and in both the Annual Catalogue and the Autumn/Winter catalogue.

Simple Christmas? Or stepped up?

The card on the left is a three-minute Christmas card, proving without a doubt that you DO have time to make your own cards this year. Time is saved by using the pre-folded Notecards and Envelopes, and the fabulous Suite Season Washi Tape.

Please visit my Facebook page to see how I made this card in super-fast time

The fiddliest thing about this card is the linen thread bow, but you could skip that and replace with a jewel... just be aware that the faceted gems will bump up your postage in the UK to a “large letter”, and we don’t want that!

For the stepped up version, I dispensed with the Sprig Punch and used the fabulous new Blizzard Thinlits die instead, as well as some basic rhinestones to add a mixed metallics theme.

You can also see a hint of a scalloped Cherry Cobbler edge. This is a piece of the Delightfully Detailed Laser-cut Designer Series Paper, brayered in Cherry Cobbler ink. So, on the whole, a more time-consuming project, but nice if you want to send something a bit more “special” to a close friend or family member. Or, if we’re being honest here, a fellow cardmaker. We know we all save our “best” cards for crafters, don’t we?

Caturday: Co Mayo cat

Last week we spent a few days exploring a corner Ireland and spotted a fair few cats on our travels. Unfortunately this is the only one I managed to catch on camera, and even that isn’t a great achievement as it’s looking the wrong way!

We visited County Mayo and it was everything we expected it to be and more. Definitely would recommend a visit. Take a look at this, for example... look at the colour of the sea, it’s almost Bermuda Bay! (Not as warm though)

Keeping it simple for Christmas

I have a Stampin’ Up!® party tonight for a lady who prefers her projects to be quick and easy. This is the perfect time of year for quick and easy cards, especially if you’re planning to make all your own Christmass cards. So my challenge has been to produce a Make & Take which could be used as a really simple Christmas card design, perfect for making in bulk.

No spoilers, though... this isn’t it. This is one of the ones that got away. I decided I could possibly scale things back even further. Come back next week to see the finished design...

Dashing Deer - simple or stepped up?

Which do you prefer? The vibrancy of the brayered card above? Or the simpler version below?

The card above was one of our projects at last week’s Crafty Friday. The ladies loved the brayering technique and had fun creating their own colour combinations. The one above is Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry.