60th birthday

This year seems to be a vintage year! I have made a few cards with '60' on them. 

Starting with my mums birthday card signalling in the new year since then sixty really has become the new forty!

The theme has continued and here are some of the highlights! I particularly loved creating a very special card for a 60th wedding anniversary. 

I will share a little more about this card in another post because it is a frame card. I made a special box to put it in too.

My last card was a male card, sometimes  I think they are a little harder to do. I did a quick survey ( asked my hubby! ) but he said basically men are not that bothered about a card, or the theme! Straight from the horses mouth. I wonder what he would say if he didn't get one??!

 Just a little P.S it was my husband birthday and here's the card I made. Must remember this colour combination in future. 

 Hope you like it too and it inspires a little crafting. That's all from me I'm currently decorating and must pick the paint brush back up.

Creative block ....

Hello everyone, I hope you have had a lovely Saturday. I have mostly spent mine shopping and having a nice lunch with my Husband and Son.

I have been so lucky last week to have been asked to make a few cards for friends and a special commission for a retirement card. I did however find my self with a strange case of creative 'block'

It also happened this week that I also had my step son Ellis' thirteenth birthday card to make. Such a big milestone needed a special card but I found my self distracted by just one card that seemed to take up far too much brain space.

I wanted to tell you about inspiration and making the design you have in your head translate to a card. My commission was for a retirement card that needed to be pink, have balloons and plenty of bling. Excellent! I thought I had just purchased the 'Celebrate Today' balloon stamp set and some beautiful strawberry slush cardstock what could go wrong? 

Well, nothing did go 'wrong' I just could not get my head around what elements to add and what to leave out. In the end I had to leave the card overnight on a few occasions and just let those creative ideas circle around. What do you do when you have a creative 'block'? 

I often look on Pinterest for inspiration. Sometimes this can lead to hours of lost time spent searching through different ideas. I do love Pinterest and the fact you can collate inspiration. The only downside is I can often end up with too many ideas and don't know where to start. You can find the link to my Pinterest in the top right hand corner, please feel free to follow me.( and get absorbed in the Pinterest bubble for a while)

Then to make matters worse after completing it and being pleased with my crafting endeavours I forgot to take a photo before I delivered it! Doh! Although I did recreate it for a 30th birthday card and it looked similar to this ( I can tell you the second one was much quicker to make!) 

Here's a few of the other cards I made. 

They are not 'exclusively' made from Stampin Up! products but I thought I would share any way. I have got used to the quality of Stampin Up! Products and what they can produce. It is a novelty using different cardstock. I hope you like the concept and the colours. X

Design challenge

I was so please this week to have an inquiry from a lovely customer who found my page through Facebook. She sent an email asking if I could create a wedding card that incorporated tartan. This got the brain cells moving, as I imagined all the ways I could 'stamp' rather than buy some tartan papers. 

I also wanted to use colours that were more suitable for a wedding. This is the result I would like to share.

I used a combination of Sahara Sand, Wisteria Wonder and Basic Gray inks to layer the lines to gether to make a tartan pattern. 

I then finished the design with a combination of the Blended Bloom and 'Your Perfect Day stamp sets. 

I hope you like the design, I will share the technique I used to make the tartan with you in the next post. It's Easter here and I  am looking forward to a lovely Sunday dinner at mums with my family.... That's if we don't scoff too many Easter eggs first. Happy Easter everyone!

Gold Soirée

So yesterday I was asked if I could make an 'emergency' 60th birthday card. It's always nice to be able to make something for a friend in need.

I knew I wanted to use the beautiful Gold Soirée papers and I love the way they coordinate with Calypso Coral and Pistachio Pudding cardstock.

I made a trifold card out of one sheet of a4 card and used the papers on alternate sides. This gives the layered effect when it's closed. I finished this off with a flower from Petal Potpourri stamp set and matching punch. I hope you like!

Now to venture out and dodge these April showers! 

Stampin᾿ Up! Supplies

Table built by craftingbecky.com

March Madness

What a whirlwind the last couple of weeks have been. After receiving my box of Stampin Up goodies within a day I planning a craft stall and Mothers Day cards.

Do you ever feel like a tight deadline and a little stress focuses the mind? For me it was a good thing. I took a step out of my comfort zone, put myself out there and the result was the first steps into connecting with some lovely customers.

I may look a bit silly (and a bit tired) from the late night crafting in this photo but I was so proud of myself and my dear friend Anna who shared the stand with me.

Safe to say I made a few box cards for this stand and they really were a special card for those lovely mums out there. Thanks to everyone who purchased one, loved them and appreciated the craftsmanship.

I will share with you how to make a box card and some tips and tricks I have learnt along the way. Happy Monday every one! X

The Journey Begins

So excited to share with everyone that I became an Independent Stampin Up demonstrator this week. I patiently waited and tracked my UPS delivery just typical of my luck to be at my other 'job' all day.

My fantastic neighbour came to my rescue taking in my parcel for me. Thanks Vince! You are a legend!

Well I couldn't wait to unpack this beauty. Admittedly after a week I couldn't remember exactly everything I ordered. My intention was to cover all major events such as birthdays, births, weddings and my beloved Project Life goodies. Here's a sneak peek of what I received.

To say I was like a kid in a sweet shop was an understatement. I really didn't know what to use first but in the end my go to stamps were 'Something Lacy' and 'Baby Bumblebee'. 

I hope to be sharing so much more of what I received and what projects I have made with them very soon. So for now, so much to plan on the road to becoming a fully fledge Stampin up demonstrator. I hope you will love to join me on my journey! 

Kate x