Wednesday 26 October 2022

Crackers Penny's Challenge Guest DT

 




and invited to be a Guest Designer


I chose this cute image Crackers from Sheepski Designs to work with. I loved the idea that identical gnomes were pulling a Christmas Cracker. We used to live a few doors up from elderly identical brothers. They lived next door to one another but later moved into the same home. Even when they lived separately every day they dressed identically so of course my gnomes had to be coloured to match one another.


This card has been made using a sketch from Kendra's Card Challenge. This is the first time I am taking part in such a project. Every quarter Kendra provides a PDF which has a cutting plan for several cards using 6 sheets of 6"x6" paper. This time there are 17 card sketches for A2 size cards which are slightly smaller than the A6 cards we would normally make as as small card in the UK. I also found that our paper pads are made to slightly smaller than 6" so cut down largest sheets of paper to fit. So far I have made all the bases and will be working through the sketches and decorating the cards.

For this card I rotated the sketch layout to suit the orientation of my image.


Crackers has been coloured with Promarkers and a gold gel pen. I assembled the card as per the sketch using red and green papers with layers of plain green & black card for the mats. Finally I added a sentiment I had printed off my computer cut into a banner shape.

Thank you to Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge for the opportunity to join you for this challenge. They are always Anything Goes themes so very easy to enter every fortnight. I do hope you will join them with your projects and you could also be a lucky prize winner!

Card Details -


Size - A2 (5.5” x 4.25”)

Digital Image - Crackers (Sheepski Designs)

Designer Papers - Merry Christmas Traditional & Vintage 12”x12” (Craft Sensations)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Gold Gel pen



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)


Tuesday 25 October 2022

Spooky 40th Birthday

 


Every now and again I get asked to make a card for someone and sometimes you have strange requests to include. I was asked to make a 40th birthday card for someone who is crazy about Halloween.

I wanted to make it a bit more special so had an idea about making a shaker element using some witchy potion shaped dies I had received in a lucky bag from Crafter's Companion. I die cut the shapes and cut out a section so I could make a shaker card with an acetate window. This was filled with star sequins.

I stuck to halloween colours throughout and used some paper I had a million years ago from Papermania. The cardstock used is scraps in co-ordinating colours. I used a sparkly black glitter paper and drew a spider web with a white Posca paint pen. I then added some plastic spiders, some pumpkin stickers and a sentiment from my stash.


The inside was decorated to match. The centre panel was cut using a die from Julie Hickey. The ghost is a digital stamp Here For the Boos from Oddball Art Co. coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut. Finally a few more pumpkins complete the card.

I am not sure I will ever get asked to make such a card again but it is always lots of fun to make something that will be completely unique and really personalised for the recipient.

Size - A5

Digital Image - Here for the Boos (Oddball Art Co.)

Dies - The Potions (Sheena Douglass for Crafter’s Companion) Rectangle Layers Frames & Banners (Julie Hickey Designs)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Posca White Paint pen 

Designer Papers - Spring Burst (Papermania)

Embellishments - star sequins, spiders, Stickopotamus pumpkin stickers, silver peel off sticker numbers



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)







Sunday 23 October 2022

Kawaii Halloween Colouring Page

 


To celebrate Halloween over at Kate Hadfield Designs you can download a FREE



This has been created using several of the stamps from Too Cute to Spook and is perfect for colourists of all ages. To download click on the link and it will take you to the blog. 


I coloured mine with a combination of Promarkers, Spectrum Noir Alcohol and glitter pens and Arteza pencils. Not pictured is the naughty green pencil that had rolled underneath my colouring mat. I had already put my supplies away when I found it.....

The colouring page is sized at A4 or letter size but I printed this out as an A5. The really great thing about Kate's illustrations is that you can print really large or small and the quality is just perfect. Many digital images I have used over the years do not size up very well and become grainy but the lines always remain crisp and clear with these images. It does make them a pleasure to work with.

At Kate Hadfield Designs there are so many fabulous sets it is really easy to get inspired to use them. There are digital stamps which you can colour, coloured versions you can scrapbook or make into digital layouts. Papers, patterned overlays and doodles galore. No matter what your skill level there are so many goodies to play with.


Kate is really generous with her freebies which are readily available. If you sign up to the newsletter you get access to an extra subscriber area the Doodle Den where there are loads more freebies. There is a gallery full of projects by the Creative Team and customers and so much inspiration for crafters and teachers. I would highly recommend you pop over there and join in the fun.


Colouring Page Details -


Size - A5

Image - Free Kawaii Halloween Colouring Page (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Spectrum Noir Alcohol & Glitter Markers, Arteza Expert Pencils


I would like to enter this project into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)



Monday 17 October 2022

Dracula Treat Bag

 


To celebrate Halloween  Kate Hadfield Designs has released two new sets Spooky Toppers & Too Cute To Spook. As always these are available as Pre-coloured Doodles and digital stamps which you can colour yourself. There are super value bundles where you can get both for a reduced price 


I have recently celebrated my birthday. Hubby says I am a nightmare as I never want anything but this year I completely surprised him by asking if I could have a colour laser printer.

Meet my new Brother (I always wanted a baby brother.....)


I needed to get a new chest of drawers from Ikea put widen my printer area as this was a lot bigger than my old black printer. It has given me the perfect place to put my Gemini die cutter too. 

This printer will enable me to print digital files in colour without having to get hubby to fire up the photo printer which seems to drink the inks up every time you turn it on. It produces amazing photos but too expensive really to print my projects.

I wanted to make a treat bag using the Dracula image from Spooky Toppers. I grew up watching Hammer House of Horror films and Dracula was my absolute favourite. I honestly had the most huge crush on Christopher Lee, he will always be Dracula to me.


Using my digital program Affinity Designer I created a template to suit the size of my bag topper. I sized Dracula so it would stand proud of the top and his hands sit alongside the edge of the label. 

The blank area then gave me a decent size to decorate. I used a sentiment from my digital collection which was a freebie from Diana All About Me. These are still available to download as well as many others on her blog. They print out very clearly even at a large size and I would highly recommend you pop over there and see what fab sentiments she has on offer.

I then went to the new set Too Cute to Spook. I love cute Kawaii images and have to say I absolutely adore these little characters. Definitely the cutest Halloween images I have ever seen.

I played about with placing the images around the text. I had to include the cute little bat, candy corn and a family of spiders. 


Once happy with the layout I printed onto a thicker paper from Asda that is specially for colour laser. I am delighted with how vibrant the colours are and really pleased that they looked the same as on my monitor. My little Brother did good and it going to be a huge boon to my crafting.

As the paper I used is a little thin for this kind of 3D project I stuck it to some scrap cardstock and cut around it. Then simply added it to the bag topper.

This set is perfect for those Halloween treat bags you can give out to the trick or treating kiddies or at your own Halloween party. I had a lot of fun creating with these and I am sure you would too.

At Kate Hadfield Designs there are so many fabulous sets it is really easy to get inspired to use them. There are digital stamps which you can colour, coloured versions you can scrapbook or make into digital layouts. Papers, patterned overlays and doodles galore. No matter what your skill level there are so many goodies to play with. 


Kate is really generous with her freebies which are readily available. If you sign up to the newsletter you get access to an extra subscriber area the Doodle Den where there are loads more freebies. There is a gallery full of projects by the Creative Team and customers and so much inspiration for crafters and teachers. I would highly recommend you pop over there and join in the fun.


Project Details -


Digital Images - Spooky Toppers Doodles & Too Cute To Spook Doodles (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Sentiment - Happy Halloween Wordarts (Diana All ABout Me)


I would like to enter this project into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)













Saturday 15 October 2022

Purple Snowflake

 


Over at The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up it is the midway point of our challenge. That means it is the turn of the Merry Maidens to share some more fabulous Christmas cards.


The challenge theme is any Any Christmas Card or other December holiday with an optional twist of Rich colours of Autumn. Use one or more of the following colours in your design: INTENSE ORANGES, DEEP REDS, RICH BROWNS, WARM GREENS, VIVID PURPLES.  

The lucky winner's prize is any 2 Winter or Christmas paper packs from 


If you link up 2 or more cards to our challenge you will get a free digital paper sent to you that our intrepid leader Lisa of Decosse's Dynamite Doodles has designed. 

I used a sketch from Build Your Holiday Stash Holiday Cardmakers for the layout.




My card this month features this super sparkly snowflake as it's centrepiece. Purple is my favourite colour and my starting point was this lovely Purple Plaid paper that Lisa designed. I printed this out and the colour is not quite as vivid as the screen shows.


I also used the purple paper from the Crumped Chrome set as a more plain complimentary piece and this is layered over a rich purple wide satin ribbon


The paper underneath the snowflake is a magazine freebie from Crafter's Companion which I have had for a mighty long time. Go me for using up old stuff (who am I kidding??? I will probably never be able to actually use it all )


The snowflake is from Jingle All The Way Stamps by Kate Hadfield Designs. This was enlarged to 10cm wide as I wanted to make it big enough to be able to fussy cut it. I used Promarkers and Spectrum Noir Glitter Pens to colour it with and embellished using an assortment of gems and pearls.


The final touch was to add a typed sentiment cut into a banner shape and voila.... a gorgeous purple Christmas creation.

We should all be in full swing of making Christmas cards by now. I do hope you will take part in our challenge and look forward to seeing your creations.

Card Details -


Size - A5

Digital Image - Jingle All The Way Stamps (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Papers - Purple Plaid & Crumpled Chrome (Decosse's Dynamite Doodles)

Designer Paper - Purple Snowflake Magazine freebie (Crafter’s Companion)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers. Spectrum Noir Glitter Markers

Embellishments - Ribbon, assorted gems & pearls



I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order)