Sorry about the glare, really hard to photograph foil!

Fun way to add some added interest and shimmer to my projects.

Here's a list of what I used for each card.
Wildflowers card:
Ellen Hutson - Mondo Wildflowers stamps and dies
Sentiments - Ellen Hutson Mondo Sakura

Party Fox card:
Avery Elle - Party Fox stamps and dies
Sentiment banner die by Lil Inker Designs

Both cards were coloured using Copic Sketch Markers.

Cx

Hey,

So part of my GDT stint with the Catch The Bug team means I get to create a tutorial!

I thought it would be fun to show you a project that I make all the time and I've even made them with my non-crafty Mother!

I seriously make these little lip balm / gloss holders A LOT. They are a super easy and inexpensive little gift to give and I like to have a stash on hand.

You will need the following supplies: image, white or coloured card, colouring medium, scoring board, single hole punch, glue dots, ribbon and a lip balm / gloss (I get mine in bulk from Amazon)

Step 1 - I chose to use 'I will accept' colouring page by Bugaboo. Print it out at letter size and it should look like this -


Step 2 - Cut your 'panel's' to size. 7cm deep by 17.5cm wide.


You will also need a piece of white or coloured card (not shown) and you will need to cut that to size - 8cm deep by 17.5cm wide.

Step 3 - Colour your panels. I use Promarkers, they are my fave markers. I always choose 4 colours, no idea why, I just do and I don't colour the entire image, I like to leave some parts white. This is the fun part :) Colour your panel however you like.


Step 4 - Affix the coloured panels to your plain panel, leaving a small border either side (not shown, but you will see what this looks like in the step 5 photo).

Step 5 - Place your panel on your scoreboard. Sadly we now have to work in inches! Your panel should be 6.5inches long. You need to score at 3 inches and 3.5inches, this will leave enough space for your lip balm.


Crease at the scorelines. And it should look like this -



Step 6 - Now open up your folded panel and add two glue dots to the central panel -


and then add your lip balm / gloss.



Step 7 - Fold the 'card' so the edges meet and then using your single hole punch, punch a hole for your ribbon. It is important that you DO NOT do this step until after you have added the lip balm / gloss.


Final step - add the ribbon, tie into a bow and voila! you are finished..


Aren't they cute?

Super easy to make, but feel free to leave me a comment here or on the Catch The Bug blog if you have any questions.

Cx

I am super pleased with the butterfly, as that is the Tim Holtz Lace stencil over the top of the Distress paint and I heat embossed it too...technique cray cray.

So the title of the post is the point of how these cards will be finished. Like the main card today, they will have no sentiment..

I like to do this, so when I need a card and I am low on inspiration I have something that I have already made ready to go and it helps me.

Then I just add a sentiment or an embellishment and they are ready to go. Fun to do when I have the time..

Cx

Hey,

So today is my birthday - I share it with my good friend Jade - she lives in Australia.

We are both crafty and always make each other fun things - she made me this one year.

I thought it would be fun to make her a little set of mini canvases. I am really pleased with the end result. Cheiron's tutorial inspired me.

I thought that this little project worked perfectly as my entry for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge this week - No designer papers..

Not a paper in site..

Here are my steps -

1 - Get your supplies together

I found the little paint pots handy for mixing paint to create a 3rd shade of blue and taping the canvases together was very helpful.

2 - Paint your canvases

I used 3 shades of blue and chose to paint them in a random way - no reason, just because I could.

3 - Now for the fun bit, stamp (my stamp is by Unity) on tissue paper and adhere to your canvas

I use Liquitex medium matte gel for this job - it is the bomb! (tip: clean your brush with a wet cloth as soon as you are finished, then let the brush sit in water until you are done and the brush will be as good as new..)

4 - Now decorate your canvases..


I used a mix of stamps, stencils, stickers, texture paste, glitter spray, distress inks and distress paints.

Oh and to be sure that there would be no smudging, I sprayed them with fixative - I just use a Blick own brand one.

Aren't they fun..can't wait to hear what Jade thinks.

I am not doing anything too heavy today for my bday, I have the day off, so might shop or play at my desk or just sleep off my jet lag..din dins tonight somewhere fun with Hubby.

Cx

Hey,

Hope you had a good weekend? I had a great one - ready for a week of late night working...

I saw this idea on Pinterest...



I really wanted to try it and as it is my Goddaughter Amy's birthday next week, I thought she could be my Guinea Pig!

I got my treat / gift bags from a local cheapo store for $1.49 for 10. The labels I got for free via Pinterest and I used a great free font I got 'Lavenderia' it's great. The instructions are simple and 5 mins later I had a gift bag.

Final steps to punch holes and add string to tie it up.

Super simple and fun, so many variations can be made. Thanks Club Chica Circle for the tutorial.

Cx

Hi,

So I have been having a fun long weekend, hanging out with Hubby and playing at my desk.

Today's makes came about because Simon Says Stamp is running a 'Make a shaker card' challenge this week. I was intrigued..these have always looked fun, but difficult.

So after watching about 2,000 YouTube videos and reading Pinterest tutorials I felt ready yesterday afternoon to try and make one.

I ended up with two!!

The main card is my entry for the challenge and is actually my second attempt. I used a stamp from the SSS July kit and the papers are from the June kit. The ribbon is by Papermania and the confetti in the shaker is just stuff from my stash!

I am pretty darn pleased with how this card came out..I need more practice, but they are fun and so cool when finished.

Here is the second one.

Shaker Card!!

For this one, I used American Crafts Papers, a stamp by Craftwork Cards from my buddy Carole that I coloured with Promarkers, circle dies by Sizzix and hello die by SSS. Once again the confetti is from my stash. I think it will be going to my Grandma!

Oh and the acetate for the windows came from my local Blick/Utrecht - super VFM, as I got a huge sheet for $2.59

Big thanks to Amy R of Prairie Ink & Paper for this tutorial and all the lovely inspiration from the SSS DT.

Sometimes its nice to step out of your craft comfort zone...

Cx

Hi,

Happy Friday to you!

So a couple of weeks ago I won the May Sweepstakes on the Papercrafts Mag website.

This is my prize -

Goodies!!

What's in this bumper prize? Chalkboard 12x12 papers by DCWV, a pack of Chalk It Up papers and Gone Typo stickers by Hazel and Ruby, Stampin'Up markers, a white gel pen, a stampers big white pen by Faber Castell, some chalk markers and a modern calligraphy book. AMAZING!!!

Then...on Wednesday, I won the I Love Promarkers challenge and got 2 free digi Stamps from Doctor Digi..

Whoop whoop!

I saw a masking technique in the Modern Calligraphy book, that sparked an idea..

First I cut small rectangles of watercolour paper (thanks Mr & Mrs Nixon), then I masked off a portion of the paper. I stamped 2 different leaf stamps using Versamark and then heat embossed using white powder.

Heat embossed images

Sorry for the photos, I took them at night as I was working :) The brown shiny thing is my craft sheet, if you haven't got one of these get one, you'll see why next..

I then chose to use 2 different techniques for watercolour resist. The first one looks like this -

Watercolour resist technique 1

I dabbed 3 Ranger Distress inks on my sheet (Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers, Spiced Marmalade), then I spritzed them with some water. Turning my paper so the embossed image faced down, I smooshed (its so a word) the paper into the inky water. You get some drips, but that's fine, its the variation in colour I wanted. I dried them using my heat tool. The best bit is you just take a wet wipe and wipe away all the inky mess off of the sheet!!

The next technique is less messy and you don't need the sheet really, but I like working on it.

Watercolour resist technique 2

For this technique I got out my watercolour palette and spritzed some water on the sheet, dabbed my brush in it and got to work. The colour is more even and you don't get a stripe in the middle of your masked area..

Yes, the loveliness you see in the main photo today is indeed a handbag - sorry about the photo, but the bag is so squishy!

So? I hear you ask..well it was made from scratch by my fair hands!!

It was supposed to be this -


But the faux leather that I started with was way too soft for this, so I modified the pattern a bit!

The tutorial came from Sew4Home and is part of their series in conjunction with Fabric.com, which is where I got my fabric from.

What did I use -
Outer - Bijoux Faux Leather Checks in black.
Lining / Pocket / False bottom - indoor/outdoor fabric in black and yellow polka dots.
Threads - by Wimsew - Lemon for the lining and pocket. Black everywhere else.

What did I change -
I added a strap
Turned one of the bag handle straps into a buttonhole holder (?!)
I didn't pinch in the top.

I love it, it's so me, I love how squashy it is and I've decided that the shape I have ended up with is much more practical for my uses and this is what I will be doing with the next one but I will be making it deeper.

Here are a couple more photos for you -

Inside my bag

Close-up - showing the gorgeous fabric

I have some stiffer faux leather in Metallic bronze (swoon), time for another pattern methinks!

I loved the tutorial, it was really easy to follow and taught me a new trick (how to accurately box corners). The tutorial also included a faux bottom for the inside of the bag. I usually ignore these, but this time I did it and I made mine using a piece of recycled plastic covered in fabric, which I can remove if I want the bag to be less rigid. I also got to try out the buttonhole function on my new machine...it rocks, as always!

I made this about 3 months ago..but haven't had the right light for taking the photos and now the weather has improved I can finally rock my bag :)

Cx

Hi,

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Hubby and I had a very relaxing time in Montauk..the main photo today is of the beach - which you could see from our hotel room. We ate lots of yummy seafood and walked a lot, very very relaxing way to spend a sunny weekend.

We also saw Deer!


Last Thursday I was inspired by a post from Amber of Damask Love, so I decided to give it a go myself.

Watercolour Sentiment

I don't have letter dies, so cut a stencil using the Silhouette, I am really pleased with the end result. So simple, so effective..now of course I need letter dies! I want to make lots of different versions!
Check out the tutorial on Damask Love - super easy.

Cx

Hey,

Hope you all had a nice weekend..Hubby and I managed to catch a bit of a cold on Friday, so spent the weekend napping, watching films and doing very little. We ventured out for Brunch on Sunday with JT's folks and I hit the sewing room, but that was the extent of our weekend!

I gave you a sneak preview of my pattern and the squares I had chosen last year.

I have made dozens of baby quilts, but using a very easy and 'non' quilt like method.

As I mentioned last year, I am quite fortunate that the lovely Kristin at Write it Down created a wonderful tutorial which I am semi following..semi because I am adding 2.5 inch strips around my squares. I am modifying it in this way, as I want them to be bigger, but the charm packs are quite expensive..

Today's main photo is of one of the completed quilt tops..

I am SO pleased...they are perfect and it has all been very easy to do..the pinning and ironing is TEDIOUS, but the end result is worth it.

Here are a few more photos of both quilt tops.

Blue quilt top - just needs one more set of strips

Grey quilt top - in progress, you can see one strip pinned to the top and the next 3 sewn together and ironed ready to add

Grey quilt top - this is a close-up, so you can see the detail of the strips

See I do make things other than cards :)

Cx