Craftaganza 2012

Well what a wonderful time was had by all at the Crafters Companion Craftagnaza. For those who dont know what its all about its a 3 day event organised by Crafters Companion and you have daily workshops with various wonderfully talented people and this year 1st we had the very talented Sarah Millsop from Beaders Companion who had us all making loops that eventually formed a necklace. Next we had the super talented Sheena Douglass who had us all messy with the new Luminarte products. This was followed by

the wonderful Leann Chivers who did a colouring workshop with the  Spectrum Noir pen system. That was just day 1!!!

Day 2 comprised of a workshop with the wonderful, super talented Sara Davies who had us using the Ultimate Pro and scoring away to eventually make a stationary set. Next was the lovely Louisa who had us very messy last year so she had toned it down a bit for this year but we still got covered in distress ink whilst making a christmas wreath. To end day 2 we had the super excited Claire Hamer who's energy amazes me. She let us have a play with the new Ebosser to create a lovely wall hanging. Numerous people in the room then tried to smuggle out the Ebossers!!! That evening we had some wonderful entertainment with the lovely Nigel May from Create and Craft.tv.

Workshop with Nigel May

Day 3 is a bit of  a crafting bootcamp and to start it was Sarah and she had everyone making Shamballa bracelets which was great fun. 2nd was the lovely Nigel May who gave us a sneaky peek of his new CD due for release hopefully in January. We were all supposed to make a card but spent most of the time chatting to Nigel! 3rd was Leanne again and this time she had us colouring away towards our accreditation as spectrum noir experts....I have  along way to go!. After a lovely lunch we had Sara who had us making a wonderful peek a boo card....so easy yet so effective.5th was Louisa who had us making a  cone shaped christmas tree out of paper...there was plenty of sticky fingers in the room by the end of the session. Last but not least was the lovely Claire again and she had us playing with the Ebosser again to make a lovely cute Christmas card. 

And that was it another Craftaganza over....Met lots of wonderful people and friends  and cant wait until next year.!!!

This is my fellow crafters from the Vivacious violet group

Sneaky peek number 3

Not long to wait now before the launch of Crafters Companion SWALK collection!

The images on the CD are just so cute that you want to use everyone so thats just what I did!!!

I created a little tag book that used up all the lovely tags that are on the CD and each little pocket had one of the toppers on!! To finish it is tied together with some ribbon and i added a matching epiphany charm with round 14, a metal frame and some chain.

The front

Inside

The back

• Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting x

sneaky peek number 2

Sneaky peek number 2 of the wonderful SWALK CD which is going to be pick of the week on Friday over on Create and Craft TV

This card is made with one of the decoupage images and several of the backing papers from the CD. I also used one of the fabulous borders and one of the epiphany images in the square 25 punch and metal frame.

You can do so much more than just card making with this wonderful CD. I created an easel card which sits on top of a Draw/ box which is the home for the candle and Key ring.

The candle was made with the same decoupage image as the card but just printed onto tissue paper and then melted into the candle.

For the keyring I used one of the epiphany images to coordinate with the card and used oval 25 with a metal frame. I then just added 2 lengths of beading wire with some beads from my crafty stash.

It makes the perfect gift and card.

Thanks for stoping by and happy crafting.

Sneaky peek number 1

Just when you thought that Crafters Companion could not do better they go and excel themselves yet again with another stunning pick of the week on Friday 16th November on Create and Craft.TV.

Its S.W.A.L.K. !!!!!!!

The pick of the week comprises of 3 CDs. SWALK Pawfect Pals which has all the stunning images and papers and format that we know and love from Crafters Companion. SWALK Papercraft that comprises different toppers and all the usual things that you would expect but in a different format and absolutely stunning and last but not least SWALK digis...all your favourite SWALK stamps but in digi format. What more could you ask for!!!!!!

My 1st projects are from the Pawfect Pals CD which as the name suggests is devoted to our 4 legged friends.

This 1st card is an easel card made using one of the card companions from the CD. These are great for quick cards but you can also use them with other elements to create a totally different look. I have used a Diesire lace border die number 4 on this sample.

This next card is using a decoupage image from the CD and is just soooo cute! The backing papers are great, they even have 1 with paw prints on. On this card ,as well as the decoupage, I have used one of the borders from the CD and also a tag and a epiphany image which used square 25 and metal charm. To finish I added 2 of my puppies little bone biscuits....I am sure he wont mind!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have fun!

Crafters Companion Flower Dies

The wonderful team at Crafters Companion are releasing a wonderful new range of dies and the fantastic E Bosser machine. Sadly I dont get to lay with the ebosser but I did get to play with some stunning dies.

The dies are for making paper flowers for all your papercraft and other crafting projects.

The dies that I was given to work with were the rose dies. These came in large and small. I also had a leaf die. Basically you use them in your grandcalibur or other die cutting machine and cut out any paper or card that you want your flower to be made with. Once cut out you then need a quilling tool to roll them up. Once glued you open them up to produce a wonderful flower.

I had such fun creating numerous flowers using different shades of coordinations card. My 1st thought was to make a flower arrangement in a basket but half way through i had a mad panic thinking how on earth it would go through the post so I changed my idea into decorating a wicker wreath. For the stamens of the flowers I made some gold wire coils using my gizmo and added to some a red glass bead. The wire was then used to attach them to the wicker wreath.I made some of the leafs using the die and added around the wreath. With some ribbon added the perfect gift for someone.So to finish it off I had to create a box

 

I made the box out of centura pearl card and added on the top a 8X8 piece of coordinations card that I had put through a 8X8 embosillicous dots folder. I then added the frame made from coordinations and the Diesire enchanted spring die and added a stamped sentiment. More flowers were put around the frame and there you have it;

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my creations xxx

More quilling

 The new flower dies from Crafters companion can create so many different looks. I love making boxes and thought that some of these flowers would really finish off a plain white box.

 The dies I used were the large and small rose. I used some of the 12X12 fairyopolis papers for the flowers and used contrasting colours for some added effect. For the stamens on these flowers I took some copper wire and made coils out of it and the finished result was very effective.

There are stamen dies available which create a very different look. Why not pop over to the Crafters Companion website and take a look. There is even a you tube video with the wonderful leann Chivers demonstrating how to make the flowers and showing lots of other dies in the range.

A close up of the copper coils for stamens

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting love Cathy x

Todays the day!!!!

Well today is the day that Mulberry Wood Everyday is launched over on Create and Craft.

As crafters we are privileged to be able to work with the stunning artwork from Ian Hallows. The images on this CD you are all going to love.

My last sneaky peek is a decorated candle and gift box.

The image on the candle is from the toppers section and just printed onto some tissue paper and then added to the candle. There are you tube tutorials to show you how to do this if you are unsure.

The red 'collar' around the candle is made from coordinations card and using one of the Diesire border dies lace border number 6.

The box is made from centura pearl card with one of the sentiments on the top and a gift tag.

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my sneaky peeks and have got a chance of winning 1 of 3 free CDs over on the crafters Companion news blog. Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxxx

Sneaky peek number 4 of Mulberry Wood Everyday

Not long to wait now until the launch of this wonderful CD and stamp set.

Todays sneaky peek is a really quick make for that special gift. I used a plain white gift bag and added 2 lots of papers. One from the design sets and one from the coordinating section which I mounted onto some coordinations card.

The tag was from the embellishments section and I mounted this onto some coordiantions card and added the ribbon and a paper flower. The small sentiment is taken from a huge page of all occasion sentiments which I am sure would have something to fit your needs. I added another paper flower just to finish of the gift bag.

Thanks for stopping by and dont forget the competition over on the crafters Companion news blog where you could win a copy of the CD. Good luck x

Mulberry Wood Everyday sneaky peek number 3

Today is day 3 of my sneaky peeks from Mulberry Wood which will be launched on Friday as pick of the week on Create and Craft

This card was made with one of the toppers from the same sheet as card 1. 

The artist Ian Hallows has done some stunning artwork for us crafters to enjoy and I feel privileged to be able to use it.

I made this card out of one sheet of centura pearl but created some small pockets inside to hold some of the stunning gift tags from the CD. The insert and backing papers are all from the design sets on the CD.


Dont forget that there is a competition over on the Crafters Companion news blog where you stand the chance of winning a copy of the CD so pop over and get your entry in. Good luck x

Mulberry Wood everyday sneaky peek number 2

Welcome to sneaky peek number 2 from the wonderful new Mulberry Wood Everyday CD which is going to be pick of the week from Friday on Create and Craft.

This card was made using one of the decoupage images from the CD. The backing papers are from the design set section and the co-ordinating papers section. There are just so many to choose from that you spend an age just looking at all the wonderful effects on the papers . I just did some matting and layering with some coordinations card and then built up the layers.

On the decoupage image sheet there were several buttons so using the epiphany tool round 14 I cut out the images and added the epoxy top which gave them a shine and makes them look realistic. The banners were also on the sheet so I attached these to the right side of the card and then using one of the images from the epiphany page I used round 14 to make a coordinating button. The sentiment was from the sentiments section where there are so many to choose from and suitable for most occasions.

Thanks for stopping by and dont forget that on the crafters Companion news blog there is a competition to win a free CD..good luck

Mulberry Wood Everyday sneaky peaks day 1

Well just when you thought Crafters Companion had excelled themselves with the last launch of Toreads now comes another stunning CD and stamp sets for all you crafters to enjoy.

Mulberry wood everyday includes some of the great characters that were in the Mulberry Wood christmas CDs and some new cute little images.

The artist Ian Hallows is renowned for his stunning artwork and we are privileged to be able to enjoy his work as crafters.

My 1 st sneaky peek for this week is this stunning topper from the CD. The backing papers are great and there are so many designs on there that I am sure that this CD will be in constant use.

The flowers are from the embellishments section of the CD and when layered up they look very realistic. On the sentiment you may notice an oval embellishment this was made using one of the epiphany tools, oval 25 and the epoxy topper. The image is one from the epiphany tools page on the CD.

Well thanks for stopping by and dont forget over on the crafters companion news blog there is a chance to win a copy of the new CD you just have to answer a simple question. Good luck x

Joanna Sheen Challenge

Hi and welcome to my blog. You should have arrived here from;

http://joannasheenchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/autumn-blog-hop-day-1.html

I was delighted to be asked by the team at Joanna Sheen to make a card using the stunning House Mouse stamp from the autumn tumble sheet and great coordinating  papers which I downloaded from Summertime Designs "falling for Kit"(see details below)

http://summertimedesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/falling-for-fall-kit.html

The papers are stunning and allow you to create cards in lots of different colour ways and that is what this blog hop is about..to see how many totally different cards can be created from 1 stamp and some free papers. This is the card that I made;

I hope that you have had fun looking at all the other blogs and samples that have been made from this one stunning image. Dont forget the great prize of a set of 4 stunning house mouse stamps.

The winner of the great prize will be announced on 8th October on the Joanna Sheen Challenge blog. Also remember that each of the design team members have  a prize to give away to so you have 9 chances to win.

Pop over to the Joanna Shen Challenge blog here;

http://joannasheenchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/autumn-blop-hop.html

Crafters Companion Challenge

The wonderful Team over at Crafters Companion have launched a new challenge for the month of October. This months theme is Birthdays as it is Crafters Companions 7th Birthday later this month!!!!

When i saw that it was birthdays I knew that I had just the card that I had just finished making for a commission but it fulfilled the brief completely.

This card is for a little girls 1st Birthday and is the adorable little image of Humphrey's little sister made from the die cut everyday decoupage range from Crafters Companion. I then used some of the papers from the everyday Humphrey CD, added some lace and a doily and finished with some small gems and a heart shaped button. The card was also personalised with the little girls name and age.The customer is delighted with the finished result and has given me permission to show the card;

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxx

Commissioned cards

I have had a busy few days making several commissioned christmas cards. Its lovely when people ask you to make a card for someone who is very special to them. The only details I received was the name of the person receiving the card and their age. Thankfully they are delighted with the choices I made.

Of course all of the cards were Crafters Companion product based as that is what mainly fills my craft room but i am please with the finished results;

Card number one is for a little girl who is 5 years old..so I thought she must be old enough to know about the snowman so I had a play with the stunning Hunkydory kit from Crafters Companion and came up with this 3D framed card;

Card number 2 is for a little girl who is 2 so someone who will like cute little elephants but which cute little elephant do I choose as Crafters Companion have several. In the end I went with Mulberry wood and the lovely elephant with his letter. The image is from the decoupage section in the CD and backing papers and insert also from the CD;

Last but not least a card for a 1 year old little girl...now she will love cute so it had to be Humphrey. The image is from the Crafters Companion die cut christmas collection and I have used backing papers and inserts from the CD;

So there you have it and at least the person requesting the cards is very happy with the finished results. 

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxx

Toreads easel card box instructions

Well with the launch of the stunning little Toreads well under way here are the instructions on how to make the box and easel card that I showed on one of my sneaky peeks;

To start you need 2 pieces of 14X14 centura pearl card. Using the ultimate score one piece of card on box base at 5in on all 4 sides. With the other score at 5in on box lid around all 4 sides. Fold and burnish all the score lines and cut out small sections in the corners and apply wet glue and fold to create the box.Use paper clips or pegs to hold in place. Leave on one side to dry. You can make the box as big or small as you like but for demonstration purposes for the launch I went with a big box.

The easel card was made using 3 pieces of centura pearl all cut out using the largest scalloped squares die for the grand calibur. Again you can make this as big or small as you like depending on how big you wanted the card to be.

I chose the backing papers and toppers from the CD and matted and layered onto one of the die cut pieces of card , added some ribbon and my image. Some flowers and a epiphany round on each corner just to finish.

With the 2nd piece of card I scored it at approx 3inches and then 0.5 inch. These lines were then burnished and folded over with the 0.5 inch section been attached to the base layer of the card and the 3 in section to the back of the section you have just decorated. That forms the easel part of the card.

With the base section I again matted and layered some papers from the CD and created a little stopper for my easel with another piece of card that was decorated to match and added with some foam pads to give it height. A heart shaped epiphany in the right corner and a sentiment and flower and thats done.

Attach the whole card to the lid of the now dry box. With some papers I had left over I decorated the front and back of the box again with simple matting and layering and there you have it.

If you have any questions please get in touch. Happy crafting xx

Today is the day !!!!!

Well Today is the big day with the launch of Toreads on Create and Craft at 12.00. I think you may have to be very quick as think this one is going to be a sell out.

My last blog post showed a box that I made using images and papers from the CD. Well this jewellery set is what is in the box!

Made using paper beads made from some of the backing papers from the CD and then threaded onto headpins and eye pins and added some silver beads and some pink glass beads from the small bead boxes from Beaders companion.I also used some of the chain from the new chain kits from Beaders Companion.

For those who were asking about the box I will put instructions on how I made it in the next day or so.

Have a wonderful day and dont forget to tune in to Sara at 12.00 on Create and Craft. Thanks for stopping by xxxxx

A little something from the Toreads

Here is another sneaky peek at one of my makes from the stunning Toreads CD.

This is a large box made using 12X 12 centura pearl with a scalloped easel card on top. 

The backing papers on this CD are wonderful and its so hard to choose which one to use. The toppers are just as stunning and this cheeky face just won me over. Hopefully all being well you will get to see what is in the box tomorrow............

Another little Toread sneaky peek

Not long to go until the launch of this wonderful new range from Crafters Companion.

The images on this CD are all just so cute and make you smile even on such a miserable day like today.

My sneaky peek for toady is a little bag made form 2 card blanks and filled with some little not-lets made from the toppers section of the CD and some left from pages of other images that I have used to make other samples. The bag also contains little gift tags again from the CD and all just perfect if you are wrapping that special present and you need a little card for  and a gift tag.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting x

Toreads sneaky peek

Afternoon all on this very wet and windy day. Just to cheer you up here is a sneaky peak of one of my Toreads samples. These cheeky little fellas really put a smile on your face and the CD is packed with lots of stunning goodies with some incredible really useful backing papers.

 Crafters Companion have really excelled themselves with this one!!

This card was made using one of the card companions which are just great for quick cards but I added a few paper beads to the corner to add some dimension.

The key ring was made with one of the epiphany images and the square tool. I then used some silver beading wire available from Beaders Companion and added some green and pink beads which were then attached to a key ring which are easily available in most craft stores. And there you have it...a card with a small gift to match.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxx

Embossalicious

The wonderful team at Crafters Companion have done it again with some more great must have products.

The new range of Embossalicious 8X8 embossing folders are great for large card makers/ scrapbook pages etc and the 6X6 are just perfect for those smaller projects.

For the full range check out the Crafters Companion website.

The project that I made was using the large 8X8 dotty folder. I 1st used it on some black card and then some silver mirri card which really shows up the design. The black flower was made using Die'sire ornamental flower frame die.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxx

Saturdays sneaky peek

Sorry for missing a post yesterday just one of those days so today i am going to treat you to 3 cards all made with the same embossing folder called Ornate frame. Sheena will be launching these new embossing folders from Darice on monday on Create and Craft.

 The 1st card was made using coordinations card with a very light sanding to show the design. I then die cut a butterfly to finish.

The second card was made using centura pearl card stock and then matted and layered onto coordinations. The flower was made using a bitty blossoms die and coordinations. I added the ribbon and just put some tape on the back and folded it up to give a different effect.

The last card was made using coordinations again and was lightly sanded and then a sentiment and flower added and that was all it needed as the embossing folders are so detailed they speak for themselves.

Thanks for stoping by and happy crafting xx

Crafters Companion Gold challenge

The wonderful people over at crafters Companion are running another blog challenge with the theme this month as Gold!!

I had a rummage through my crafty stash and found this lovely image of the puppy from the Moreheads CD from Crafters Companion. I dont know what it is about me and puppies at the moment,maybe because i have the cutest puppy at home who has now discovered how to open my card box and has destroyed several sheets of centura pearl....lol

I matted and layered the little fella onto some gold mirror card. I also matted and layered some of the green backing paper from the CD onto gold card. I used one of the sentiments from the CD and a few gold swirls and corners for that extra bit of gold and a few little flowers. And here he is;

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxxxx

2 more sneaky peeks

Here are 2 more sneaky peeks of the stunning embossing folders that Sheena will be launching on Monday.

The 2 samples here are made using the paisley background folder and it just goes to show what different effects you can get using the same folder but different card stock.

The purple one was made using coordinations card which was sanded back to revel the paisley pattern I then made a butterfly from some more coordinations and added some gems for sparkle.

The white one was made using centura pearl card which shows the design so well and this was matted and layered onto some black card stock for a total contrast. A ribbon and a few black gems and a sentiment added to finish.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you soon xx

Sneaky peek at Darice embossing folders

I have been lucky enough to have a play with some of the new embossing folders from Darice that the wonderful Sheena Douglass will be showing on Create and Craft on Monday.

The 1st sneaky peek I am going to show you is the stunning valentine heart folder. For this card i just used some centura pearl and ran it though the embossing folder. I added a ribbon and sentiment and a few gems to finish it off but it needed nothing else as the folder design speaks for itself.

Valentine Heart design

Thanks for stoping by and hopefully tomorrow I will give you another sneaky peek. xxxxx

Twos company challenge

The lovely Sheila is running a challenge over on her blog http://craftcreatoins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/twos-company-challenge.html?spref=fb

The theme is making anything using Beaders Companion and Crafters Companion or a collection of both. This is my entry;

 

This is from the winter paintbox Poppets and is a card with a bookmark added which fits into the little pocket on the front of the card. You may have seen Sara Davies showing it on Create and Craft as it was one of the samples I did for the Design Team. The bookmark is from Beaders Companion and i just added some red and green beads and a epiphany pendant at the bottom using one of the embellishments from the CD.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xxxx

Marceas blog candy

A very talented freiend of mine is offering some wonderful blog candy to here followers. So why not pop over to her wonderful blog  http://marceascraftingcorner.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/my-1000-followers-candy.html with a chance of winning some fab goodies and seeing her wonderful creations.

Happy Crafting xx

Sneaky peeks day 3

Well only 1 more sleep to go before the launch of the wonderful Winter Paintbox Poppets!

I just loved this image of the little boy and girl so much so that I discovered that out of all my 6 samples for the design team I had used the same image twice..dohhhhh.

This card was made using some of the great backing papers from the CD and one of the borders which have fantastic leaves and flowers on. This was embellished further with more leaves from the embellishment section on the CD. I also made some of the red and white embellishments using the epiphany tool round 14. The CD has a great section with some gift tags on so I printed one out to make a little pocket for the bookmark.

The bookmark was made using one of the silver metal bookmarks from the Beaders Companion website and I added some red and green glass beads from the small glass bead boxes onto some silver beading wire and to finish a small red and white embellishment from the CD made with the epiphany tool and a metal frame. This then slotted into the little pocket on the card. For further embellishment I made 3 little gem sticks using head pins I added some red beads and glued the last one in place to stop it falling down the headpin and attached to the card with Collall glue gel and then covered it with the sentiment;

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xx