Make and Take

I forgot to post these lovely pics from the make and take at The Papeterie a few weeks ago.
This event was amazing- COMPLETELY FREE !!!
The event was hosted in the shop where myself , Jean and Louise made an assortment of cards and gift boxes. There was teas, coffees and a " fine piece"- what is that ? It's a peculiar description for something tasty to have with your cuppa ! I suppose all areas have their own expression for something similar ....
Anyway, Louise had a 3D card and as the theme was Christmas, she used a stag's head and a lovely wreath die to decorate with. They were super ! And just a wee bit different- sure to stand out on the mantlepiece ! Jean did one of her typical simple but classy stamping and die cut cards- very Christmassy and I decided to use my dies to make a simple box.



         (TOP TIP - buy 12" x 12" card from The Papeterie if you make 6"                                                        cards regularly - works out more economical and easier to cut to size !)

Christmas Box.

Cut  two 6 " x 6" piece of card. I used my trusty Crafter's Companion scoring board to score 1" on all four sides. Using the CC board makes boxes easy- after scoring one square, turn the board round and use the other end to repeat on the second piece of card....this way all the measurements are worked out for you and you end up with a lid and a box which fit beautifully  Using a basic circle die, I cut an aperture in the lid of the box and then it was ready to decorate.I then used a Spellbinder's die to cut out snowflakes to decorate the aperture.

As you can see they looked lovely in any colour and were decorated with a little bit of bling and some of the smaller snowflakes that came in the die set.
While we were all chatting and crafting , one lovely lady asked if I could cut her some of the "extra" snowflake branches in green . Intrigued with what she was going to do , I did as I was asked and this is what she proceeded to do !

AMAZING ! Thanks Colleen ! I will definitely be making up some more of them ! She went into her bag and drew out an assortment of sticky gems in all colours and glued them in place and was planning to add a small bow to it when she went home . A true crafter and thank you for sharing your ideas.

Likewise with the next image, one lady set to and did her own thing...which I personally love and again would reproduce .....

Isn't it sweet ?

Last picture ! These were also made by some of the ladies ( and one little boy !) who came to the make and take.

If you have never been before, it's worth a visit,as what ever you make .......you take home......all free !

There were lots of new faces as well as the well-kent ones but the main thing was that we chatted, crafted, shared ideas and drank tea ! What better way to spend a Saturday morning? 

Keep a look out on their website for more events coming up !

Kate x

Animal friends

Hey there !

It's been a bit frantic here on the crafty front and I really did go to the attic with good intentions of producing a set of instructions on how to make up the latest creations form Tattered Lace (Tiny Tubs), but you know what ? I'm not going to - not because I got side tracked in sparkly/glittery stuff or anything ....ahem ! But because they are literally soooooo easy to put together it would be a little insulting to anyone that owns a glue stick !.

I am actually going to sent a stack of uncut ones to my sister who currently child minds , however like myself , she has always been creative and crafty. She constantly has her table full of crafty bits and lets all her little charges loose to get on and craft..... Isn't that great ??? Anyway , I think they will get on fine with some scissors to cut out theses shapes, and if I have time , I might even just get some cut in a larger size using my Scan n Cut. Where would I be without it ?
Anyway, I thought you might like to see some other pics too !

Bye for now
K x

Tiny Tubs by TatteredLace

Hi there,

Sorry I haven't been around for a while , I've had my head well and truly stuck in the crafty world. So there are loads to show you. This wreath is made from Tiny Tubs from of course , Tattered Lace. The concept is quite simple really . A CD Rom  contains a number of "charisma " elements. What is that ? I hear you ask ....well basically it means that you print off a sheet of various shapes then use the corresponding dies to cut out the shapes, a little bit of glue and bob's your uncle ! Confused ? Pop back tomorrow and I'll put up some picture instructions to show you what I mean. 
Be warned it is addictive !!
See you tomorrow,
Kate x

Kate's Crafty Place: Riding along on my pushbike honey.........Re...

Kate's Crafty Place:

Riding along on my pushbike honey.........



Re...: Riding along on my pushbike honey......... Remember that song from the 1970's ? Ok, just me then ! I have a Tattered Lace b...

Riding along on my pushbike honey.........



Remember that song from the 1970's ? Ok, just me then !

I have a Tattered Lace bike die. Now what I have found easiest to do with my dies is to cut them out in plain white paper, colour various parts in , snip various parts off and see what I can make from them and then put together some cards /projects.
So with this one I thought it would look particularly good as a black silhouette .I printed a background from a My Craft Studio CD -Advanced Paper Flower Expert CD and trimmed it to fit a 6"x 6" card. I matted it on to some plain black card and adhered it to the card blank. I cut the bike and the Happy Birthday sentiment from black card and using 3d foam pads stuck them into position. I was quite pleased with the result and for a simple and quick card.....I can see me making more of these.


The other bike die card, I decided needed a load of colour ! It's from the Summer Breeze collection . I actually cut the initial layer from craft card then used a variety of bright colours snipped and trimmed to add some interest and depth. I used some black for the tyres. I kept the background quite plain as I had used so many different colours on the bike, a little bit of faux stitching ( obviously !!!) then layered up onto some more craft card. As you can see, I have kind of limited my colour palette to teal , yellow and black. The bike was cut from craft card and I've used the same in the background. This is quite a good way to use colours without overwhelming your card with too many at one time. It ties all the colours in and gives a more coordinated look to the card.




Now then , I wanted to make another card with this die ....something that would show it in a completely different form.  See what you think.....

Here you can see that I have just taken one element, the balloons. I cut them from some lovely bright colours , added a white highlight with a gel pen, stuck them to the card front with some foam pads for a bit of height. This time, to give the background some interest without adding in colour, I ran my craft card through a dotty embossing folder and applied some black gem stones to the top and bottom corners The Happy Birthday sentiment is also a Tattered Lace one   ( http://www.crafting.co.uk/ )

I like this  and again it just shows the versatility of this particular die.

Happy crafting folks,

Kate x

Alrighty, the 4th of August already  ! How did that happen ?

I'm having problems with loading on pics to my blog from my phone and I have to say between that , crafty projects, work and Uni work , I've been a bit slack on the old blogging front. 

I just don't know where the time goes....well actually I do if I'm truthful, a lot of it goes on Pintrest ! Anyone else like that ? I nip on to look for inspiration for something and three hours later ...... Well I'm sure you know that feeling too . Anyway on to other things.

Ermm - just realised that I gave you sneaky peeks earlier this summer of some Tatty Twinkles stamps and due to .... ahem ...technical problems they were never posted so without further ado ...

Now I love this image , no I really LOVE it .
The very talented Nikki Hall is the designer of Tatty Twinkle  . This particular set of stamps made me think of summer ... festivals.....love'n'stuff ....

I always forget about these rocker cards but when I do make them , I love them as they are a wee bit different. One of the stamps in the set is a single petal , which i made into a flower and you know what ? I think this just might make a bee-oootiful poinsettia embellishment on my Christmas cards.
Fancy a close up ?

 Gorgeous isn't it ?

See you soon 

x

Good Afternoon to you !


It's a weird day weather wise with black clouds , sudden downpours and then warm, bright sunshine ! How crazy is that ?

Well , I hate to say this but there are going to be a few more pictures of Christmas things before it goes back to summery projects.
As crafters , we have to get started early in the year ......drooling over reds, greens, golds, snow scenes etc while the British weather decides whether it will be sunshine or rain. Now on dull dark days , it's very easy to get in the mood for Christmas things, as I'm sure you will understand. However, on bright sunny days, it's a very different story. In fact it can be torture !!! But if we leave  things til the end of the year ( as I have done in the past....HUGE mistake ) , it becomes a real chore ! And then when you realize how close Christmas really is , you have no time or inclination to make your lovelies for your own family.
It's a funny one.

Well now as you know I have been lucky yo cast my eyes on new releases from Tattered Lace. To be honest , everything I've been sent has been great to use. The dies are actually the best I had (and no I don't get paid to say that !) The dies release the card so easily so there is no need for all this banging the dies off the counter (die-abuse !) You cut the card , and  out it pops ..

I was also sent a selection of images from the Christmas cd by Victoria Nelson.
WOW ! They are lovely - different , fresh, definitely will be using them for my own cards this year.
I believe the stamped images are designed to fir perfectly in the die cuts- I was sent the images as downloads so I wasn't aware of that , however I did play about witht he sizing in My Craft Studio so it can be done.......more time to play I think !!!
Anyway, on to some of the projects I was working on, hope you like them

Kate x


These cards were printed from the CD and some were decoupaged.Nice images , easy to cut , traditional and modern. So many to choose from .

 It doesn't show up too well in the picture but the 'NOEL' sentiment is actually printed to look like glitter , so a wee drop of glitter glue just brings it to life.



This was made using a pre-printed frame to sit the decoupage on top of . The round stopper on this easel card was made by increasing the size of a little brad embellishment.

                                                     A little wall hanging .

 

This is what I mean by the images looking so different ! It looks really fresh but strangely a little bit retro !! I love it !. Background papers printed from the CD.

Background papers from the CD , stamped the baubles and coloured them in - nice !

Aw ! Now this little cutie is one of my faves ! It's a die cut tree  on a wooden bobbin to make a little table decoration . It makes me smile.......

 More use of the die cuts. This is Tattered Lace's pentagon die along with the little garland. I cut it from green,  then yellow,then pink, then purple, snipped away at it and layered them up.

I have more plans for this pentagon die tho so watch this space ....

 This HAS to be my fave out of the bunch- so bright and vibrant. A little bit consuming I will admit, but I put on a good film and had an evening of die cutting sitting on the floor in front of the TV !

So I hope you like them. Create and Craft have a show selling the CD by Victoria Nelson and there are papers, stamps and dies to match - looks like a good deal.

Have fun !


Kate x

OH-OH !

Christmas sneaky peeks !

Sorry it had be done .

Soooo there are some new dies from Tattered Lace and I got to play with the .......oh wait a minute , I can't tell you which one !!! Naughty me ......hee hee .
There are also some beautiful Christmas stamps from the very talented Victoria Nelson and a gorgeous CD with backing papers , decoupage,tags, gift packets and lots more. Just wait til you see them-very modern and very different.
I think that they will feature in my own Christmas card making this year . I loved them.

Ah technology !
You've failed me !

I was away the weekend and thought I had scheduled a post with the big reveal....but no .

Never mind I will pop them on today..

But today I also have some sneaky peeks for some new bits n bobs !! And it's for my favourite time of the year CHRISTMAS !!
I know a lot of people groan about the mention of such things , but crafters need to be looking at these things and starting to buy/create now so that when those lovely folk who like to buy handmade  items , are ready to shop.....there is plenty of lovely goodies for them.
So no moaning ......just bear with me for the next wee while and come back in November , ready to shop !
Enjoy !

I know I'm just teasing aren't I hee hee.

These are the cutest of stamps and I had sooooo much fun crafting lots of projects . The  hardest part was deciding which ones to send  in.


Top tip-  when you buy a new set of stamps , ink them up and stamp them out in a  basic black colour onto some cheap copy paper. Then stand back with your cup of tea and just have a look at all the images.
I am very guilty of buying a stamp pack for the main image and then never really look at the other little ones that come with it. Crazy , right ? Anyway , not with these babies , that's for sure.

Such fun......

No more sneak peeks...... If I've figured out this scheduling thing on here , you should see the whole collection on Sunday before the shows go out on Monday

Enjoy,

Kate x

so I thought that you might want to see some more .....

Nice and colourful huh ?

Hmm ! What about a sneaky peak ?

If you want to see more you need to tune in to Create and Craft on Monday 13th June  for a Tatty Twinkle show......
5pm -6pm and later on 7pm-8pm.

This is one of the cards I made with a couple of Tattered Lace dies. I thought these  went particularly  well together .
With the wreath one I cut it out of several different colours and layered them up. I used a lovely lacey flower for the centre and of course a cheeky bit of embossing for the background. The craft card was embossed with a large lattice folder and the pink card was embossed using a slim folder. I'm quite new to Tattered Lace dies and embossing folders so I'm planning to share my makes as I go along.

Well I told you I would have some exciting news !
I am delighted and excited to let you know that I have been asked to join the fantastic team of Tattered Lace ! Yup am on the design team for their stamp range ... Woopee de doop !!
I can now show you some of the things I've been working on !!

Kate's Crafty Place: Hello there,I've been a bit busy !Seriously !!...

Kate's Crafty Place: Hello there,

I've been a bit busy !

Seriously !!...: Hello there, I've been a bit busy ! Seriously !! I've got a lot on work wise at the moment and between that and two or even mo...

Hello there,

I've been a bit busy !

Seriously !! I've got a lot on work wise at the moment and between that and two or even more teenagers in the house, I rarely seem to get up the stairs to my little crafty haven these days. I know ! I know it's all about priorities, my kids are old enough to fend for themselves , but I seem to be busier  now than when they were younger. It's crazy....
Anyway, enough of that...a good piece of advice from a friend who has gone through that before me, said to just close their bedroom doors and let them live in their own messy place...easier said than done !


So , what have I been up too ?
Well let me see what crafty makes I can share with you ...

"Thank You"

I like this card, it's quite simple and made with some stamps from one of my very first serious crafty buys from QVC. about a million years ago!
Basically, I stamped the image onto some craft card and coloured with Promarker pens. I was quite interested to see hoe the colour of the craft card would alter the brightness of the pens....and it muted them beautifully !! A few embellishments along the way and there you have it !



See you soon,
Kate.



ps , I may have some exciting news to share with you soon !!!!

MORNING !


Ooops ! I forgot to post this ....

Sunday , being Mother's Day, was a lovely day. I was thoroughly spoiled by my two little darlings and further spoiled with a lovely Indian meal from my Big Darling. A few glasses of wine , Call the Midwife on TV.... could it get any better than that ? Well it nearly , yes nearly did. I have lived in Aberdeen now for around 20 years ...Jings ! Anyway , I remember the first time I arrived , driving up in the dark and coming over the top of a wee hill and looking down on the city spread out in front of me and loudly singing " The northern lights of old Aberdeen...." Yes you can picture the scene I'm sure. I WAS rather excited and giddy at the prospect of starting a new nursing course and the looked forward to the challenge of a new life in a new city.
It wasn't too long before I realised that the song perhaps wasn't referring to the city lights but in fact The NORTHERN Lights ... the real ones up in the sky that dance and change and disappear as soon as they appear . Many people follow their mysterious antics all over the world and of course I wanted to see them too. As soon as you say to people that you live in Aberdeen , they ask if you have seen them and to my utmost shame I have to confess that no , I haven't. Well that brings me back to last evening. Sitting all curled up in the warmth with a few glasses of wine and a delish plate of Rogan Josh in my belly , I was having a wee perusal through the many pages of Facebook , only to see that my feed was filled with people posting photos of the Northern Lights. "Oh wow !" I sighed "Just look at this..." and handed my phone to Hubby.
Next thing I knew he jumped up shouting for me to grab my coat and off we set in the car. we drove excitedly north heading further into the countryside, hoping that this would be the time I would see my beloved Lights.

Alas no .
The snow came on and the further north we drove the heavier the snow and the more skiddy the roads got. Eventually , we decided to head home. We turned the car round and sadly set back along the road. It wasn't until we were almost home that we realised we were both still in our PJs - such was the hurry to get out the door.


I WILL see them - if it's good enough for Joanna Lumley , it's good enough for me !

Ta ta for now ,
Kate x

I'm rather excited at the prospect of having almost three whole weeks off ! Hurrah ! Unless of course I get a phone call .... Oh well . anyway I'm planning on doing a bit of spring cleaning, some on-line stuff for work and of course some craftiness.
 I enjoyed making these Mother's Day cards and thankfully the recipients liked them too !


See you soon ,
Kate x

It's March !!!

WOW !
So where did February go ? Have I missed it ?

Okay so I was working lots of random shifts and felt as though I was never away from the day job ...or  should I say the night job !!! I work part-time ( debatable !) as a Midwife. I love my job , I really do. The job itself is fabulous, challenging, exciting, and at times very unpredictable. But at the end of the day what could be nicer than welcoming some little prince or princess into the world and have the absolute honour of being part of one of the most special days in someone's life. It really is a privilege to be there.
Anyway , back to my alter-ego Crafty Kate !

I have been trying to fit in a bit of daily craft in an attempt to keep hold of the crafty mojo. Sometimes it might be a card , sometimes a bit of sketching, or even a wee bit of knitting. Anything to keep the crafty part of my brain switched on.

With that in mind , when I was asked to do some card classes at my local classes I accepted the challenge. Sadly I only had a couple of crafters turn up but maybe that will get better the more I do and the more my name is mentioned. I also think at this time of the year after the rush to get all the Xmas stuff done , we kinda like to put it all away and have a bit of a break. Fingers crossed anyway for the next time.

I have a few pictures of some makes for you . I was recently asked to make  card for a friend who wanted a card for twin boys. I'll leave it to you to guess which one was chosen .....



Bye for now,
Kate x

those tricky men in our lives ....

Always tricky to choose in a card shop, always tricky to make and certainly the kind that I least like being asked to make for people ! Men's cards .... Gah !

So why is it so difficult ?
There seems to be plenty 'hobbies' these crazy guys get up to. So i did some research and here are the main things that I found on shop-bought cards.....
Beer/ wine drinking !
Slobbing out in front of TV /computer !
Then there are the usual hobby/sports-
fishing/football/rugby and cricket.
then of course there are cars... lots of them !

So why do us card makers struggle so much ? There are lots of things to choose from .... Hope you like my latest attempts .

Kate x

I have a few days off as I am not working til Saturday night- yahoooooo !

Anyway, I was feeling rather energetic for a change and blitzed my way through the housework, made some soup, returned some stuff to a shop, had a nap......and tomorrow I craft !!

Can't wait ......

But what will I do ? Cards ......decorate some boxes......do some painting...

oh the delicious choice that is waiting for me !!! I've been in the mood to draw today and have been thinking about it all day. It's been driving me crazy in fact as I just know that tomorrow I won't even want to pick a pencil up !!!

So anyway, I dug this wee guy out of a folder. I drew him a few years back when I was asked to design some stamps for Personal Impressions. They rejected  him , as well as many others but I think a wee set of beach themed pics would be cool as we are all currently shivering in this weirdly late chilly weather... oh well, off to sharpen my pencil.

See ya 

Kate x

Well hello and a Happy New Year !

So after a slack year in 2015 where I really was not inspired to make very much, I have been back into my crafty attic. Hurrah !

So I've spent the last few weeks working hard sorting things out, chucking old bits and bobs out and just generally have a good old clear out ! The amount of rubbish bags that came out of there was quite scary, especially as at one point it didn't look any different. But I am proud to say that it's all organised, the lists are made for lots of different ideas, different ranges of items, different crafts to be explored.....what this space ! But the main thing is ....

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET BACK IN TO IT !

And it's a long time since I could honestly say I've felt like this. Hopefully I'll get back to attending some craft fairs and test the water, so anyone on committes, PTA's etc let me know and I'll see what I can do.

So here's to a new year.. hopefully a busy , creative one x

Bye for now,

kate