Showing posts with label Female. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Female. Show all posts

Wednesday, 24 April 2024

A Horsey Happy Birthday

 


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.



One of the most fabulous things about being in this Creative Team is that we have free rein to make anything we want to using the sets in the shop. This is amazing for inspiring creativity as there are so many amazing packs to play with. I feel very, very lucky to be able to have this opportunity.



I have used the Chinese Zodiac kit to make a card for a young lady's 11th birthday. She has recently become the owner of a horse who looks very similar to the horse in this kit so it is the perfect horsey to use for this project.

You can purchase this kit as uncoloured stamps or pre-coloured images. I chose to use the pre-coloured as unfortunately I am still having issues with stiffness in my hand and colouring is an issue for me at present.


I used the current sketch from Cheerful Sketches for the layout and printed my image to suit a 6" card. I distressed the edges with an ink pad and popped it up on 3d foam pads.

The main background paper is a lovely glossy sparkly floral which has a large corner motif which I thought would suit the large amount of open space in the sketch. I chose some semi plain green papers to pick up colours from this and the darker floral paper picks up the brown and provides a contrast. I was VERY annoyed at myself when I realised I had stuck the paper on upside down. I don't think it is really noticeable but I know it is wrong :( 

The final thibg to add was the sentiment from my stash which I matted onto a scrap of brown card.

Over at Kate Hadfield Designs there is lots going on. 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.


Card Details -


Size - 6”x6”

Digital Image - Chinese Zodiac (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Designer Paper - Desert Blooms 6x6” & Love Letters (First Edition Paper) Green At Heart (Basic Grey)



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


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Saturday, 6 April 2024

Celebrate With Cake

 


This year I am trying to make a concerted effort to use my stash rather than collect it.

I have been making cards for at least 25 years now and in that time I have amassed a lot of supplies. Over the last few years I have tried not to buy too many new items, glue and consumables of course have been the exception from this.

So in an attempt to actually USE my dies and embossing folders especially I have pulled out not one, but 2 dies that I have not used before.... Go me!

When I saw the current sketch from Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge I had already decided to use the sentiment die to make a birthday card for a neighbour. I had the perfect piece of paper in my stash to suit the background so the sketch was a brilliant starting point for this card.


The image was cut from white card and coloured with a combination of Promarkers, fine liners and a Spectrum Noir glitter marker.

This was then mounted onto black card cut with the scalloped outline die and popped up on 3D foam for dimension.

A sheet of card was used for the base and I added some cardstock which was in my coloured scraps file. It came in a mixed bag of scraps from Craftwork Cards years ago and was 8' square so I was really pleased to use it after so many years. Each colour is embossed with different textures.

The small butterflies have been cut using a Martha Stewart punch. I love how detailed it is despite being small in size. I cut the bottom layer from scraps of a green paper. The top layers were cut from scraps of a striped paper from DCWV which I lined up so that it would be symmetrical on each wing. These butterflies are stuck down in the centre and the top layer wings folded up.


The large green butterfly was cut from a perfume box that I saved as it has a really sumptuous flocked texture and was far to nice to throw away. This particular die has an outline that is attached to the main butterfly and you can stick it down and leave the wings flapping.

I have found some amazing tools called Teeny Tiny Dauber Sticks which I bought from Hunky Dory Crafts. You get loads in a pack and you can wash them to re-use. They are perfect for gluing very fine detailed dies and I am really pleased I have tried them. (I am not affiliated in any way, just a very happy customer)


Finally I have added some small gems to the body of the butterflies and some star gems dotted around the card.

Card Details -


Size - A5

Dies - Celebrate With Cake (Crafter’s Companion), Kaleidoscope of Butterflies (Crafter’s Companion)

Punch - Butterfly Stamp & Punch Set (Martha Stewart)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Fine liners, Spectrum Noir glitter marker

Designer Paper - Embossed card from Craftwork Cards, Butterflies The Glitter Stack (DCWV)

Embellishments - Self adhesive Gems



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

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Monday, 13 June 2022

Over The Rainbow Unicorn

 


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.



This card has been made using the rainbow and unicorn images from Over The Rainbow Stamps. I made it for my youngest niece who loves anything Unicorn, glittery and colourful so this suits her to a T.

The stamps have been coloured with Promarkers for the matte colours and then Spectrum Noir Glitter Markers for the twinkly bits. These have been fussy cut and mounted onto 3d foam pads.

The base of the card is a glossy silver cardstock but in this photo it looks a lot darker. The only way I could really show how glittery the card was it unfortunately made the cardstock look darker. 

The main background is a fabulous sample of wallpaper. The colours and glitteryness were just perfect for this card. I frequently look at DIY stores and departments for samples of paper to use as backgrounds, borders and inspiration. It is a great resource to tap into if you do not already do so.

As a final touch I printed the sentiment and cut into a simple banner shape.

The Over The Rainbow images are available in Stamps so you can re-size and colour using your favourite medium.


They are also available as pre-coloured Doodles and a specially priced bundle of both sets together.


Over at Kate Hadfield Designs there is lots going on. 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.


Card Details -


Size - A5

Images - Over The Rainbow Stamps (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Spectrum Noir Glitter Markers


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


at 30 comments:
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Tuesday, 19 April 2022

A Very Special Birthday

 


Hi everyone,  Long time no blog!

All has been very quiet for me crafty wise as we have had a very unfortunate emergency in the family.

If you do not wish to read all about it please jump to the ***** for the card details.

Usually on a Wednesday I pick up my mother in law from the supermarket on my way home from work and take her home. As it was so close to Christmas and I knew she had meals out planned I called her on Monday 6th December to see if she needed to go a different day. She sounded like she had a chest infection or something as her lungs sounded full of liquid. I asked if she was feeling okay and she said she had hurt her arm. She lives on her own and she sounded so bad my first thought was she had developed Covid. I was really worried about her so when hubby finished work we went round. She was in a bad state, I tested her for covid and it went positive straight away. She was in a confused state and went in and out of lucidity. She said her arm hurt and it had a lump where it was swollen. Hubby had spoken to her Saturday afternoon and she was fine then but she had not eaten or drank since the Saturday night, nor had she phoned anyone to say she had fallen.  I was just so very grateful that I had called her that day and dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't.

My hubby stayed with her overnight and then spent most of Tuesday speaking to her Dr and trying to get an ambulance. They said they were under so much pressure, nothing available, back of the queue as she was covid positive. After 6 hours of waiting they even told us they could not do anything for her and told us to put it in a sling. We were told we couldn't take her to A & E as they would refuse her due to being covid positive. In the end her daughter took her to a smaller hospital closer to where she lives (but 45 miles away from us). They x-rayed and found she had broken her left shoulder in 2 places. She was not vaccinated and the covid was really bad on her lungs. She was in hospital for 6 weeks and a rehabilitation unit for another 2 weeks. It looks like she developed low blood pressure and collapsed thus breaking her arm. While her lungs were so full of fluid they could only strap it up to immobilise it. They were unable to lay her on her left side or front which made it harder to clear her lungs. We were told twice she had 24-48 hours to respond to treatment and they gave us the most terrible prognosis for her. Basically they said as she was 78, not vaccinated and also a woman if they put her on full ventilation in ICU then she was unlikely to survive. At the very least her quality of life would be minimal afterwards. She was on full oxygen for weeks, not allowed to get out of bed as her BP went too low and they were worried she would collapse.

She needed full time care when she came out of the rehab ward as she is left handed and could do nothing for herself. The first few weeks she went to her daughter's house where she had carers twice a day washing and dressing her. Then on 13th February she was transferred to our house where our council could not provide any care so personal duties fell to me. The first few weeks were just full on and so tiring. Mom was getting up to the loo 4 or 5 times a night and I am a light sleeper so would wake up most of the time too. I work part time but its early morning starts, then shopping, personal care, washing and cooking for 3. It was bloody exhausting I can tell you. My free time went completely out the window so crafting was on a needs must basis. I had to pause all my Design Team commitments as I just could not be relied up to to do anything that was time sensitive.

The most fantastic thing though is that we have been able to rehabilitate her and give her back the majority of her strength and mobility. We got her maisonette decorated, sorted out a long list of things she had needed to get done for a long time and made her home much more welcoming for her. On Sunday 10th we took her back to her place and most days we have popped round to sort things out for her, take her shopping and basically support her. She is surprised how easily she tires and I think it will be a while before she feels 'back to normal'. I'll not lie to you, these last few months have been exceptionally challenging for many reasons but when all is said and done family is super important and we all have to do our part when bad times come. I am just so incredibly proud of the fighter that Mom is and that she managed to pull through this, despite all the naysayers.

*****

It is therefore quite fitting that this first card I have blogged for 2022 is for Mom's Birthday. Considering there was a very real possibility she would not see this birthday I am sure you can agree it was indeed something to celebrate.

I used a digital image that I had already coloured some time ago with Promarkers. I updated it and added lots of twinkle with some glitter markers from Spectrum Noir. I used the colours of blue and yellow as they look lovely together, but also to show support for Ukraine which is just the most awful situation.

The card is 8" square. the patterned paper is a really old Hot Off The Press one with blue card matting layers. The gold edged ribbon has sunflowers which were fussy cut from a DCWV sunflower themed paper. To this I added epoxy alphabet stickers to spell MOM. The sentiment is a Kanban diecut. Finally I added a yellow pearl and a plastic butterfly that looks like it is diamante.

Made by Mandy is not back upto full steam just yet but hoping it will only take a short while for Mom to adjust to living on her own again. As time goes by and she gains more confidence she won't need her hand holding quite so much and I can get back to crafting for pleasure again and get back onto my DT work. I have missed it so much but sometimes in life you are thrown a curve ball and the path leads you in a different direction.

Card Details -


Size - 8” Square

Digital Image - Swallowtail & Sunflower (Just Inklined Retired)

Colouring Medium - Promarkers, Spectrum Noir Glitter Markers

Paper - Citrus Cardmakers Creative Pack (HOTP), Flowers taken from DCWV sunflower themed paper

Embellishments - Ribbon, Epoxy alphabet stickers, diamante effect butterfly trim, Kanban foiled sentiment



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









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Friday, 22 October 2021

Happy Birthday Cake

 


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 doodes 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. 

One of the most fabulous things about being in this Creative Team is that we have free rein to make anything we want to using the sets in the shop. This is amazing for inspiring creativity as there are so many amazing packs to play with. I feel very, very lucky to be able to have this opportunity. 


For this card I wanted to showcase one of the great sets that you can download for free as a member of the Doodle Den. Details of how and where to subscribe are at the bottom of this post.

I used the Happy Birthday set and you get pre-coloured doodles and 2 styles of line art stamps that you can colour yourself. It really is the most versatile set.



I used an 8" card blank for my base so printed the image quite large. I use photo paper sometimes glossy but in this case a matte paper. I find the colours come out really well, so vibrant and colourful. The images are always very high quality and crisp.

I used this month's card sketch from Cheerful Sketches for the layout and adjusted it to fit a square layout. The base spotty paper is a magazine freebie. The striped glittery paper is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. It is my favourite stationery store and they have so many beautiful papers that are way too good to use as wrapping paper. You get the equivalent of 8 sheets of A4 paper for only a few pounds so really good value for money.


The image has been distressed around the edges with an ink pad and I used a Spectrum Noir glitter marker to add a bit of sparkle to the flame.

The sentiment is freebie 852 from Desert Diva. I have been following Hannelie for years and she has so many fabulous sentiments on her blog which are still available to download. I would highly recommend you pop over there and see for yourself. She is a very talented card maker and has a very distinctive style.

I trimmed the corners with a corner rounding punch and added a mat of metallic card underneath. I also used this to create the small section on the left hand side. There was already so much pattern I decided to keep this plain but added a flower gem on top of a circle. Finally I added some gems to the cake.

I have just celebrated my 50th birthday but didn't have a cake ( I really wanted one this year and hubby told me I should have asked for one.....) so this is my calorie free virtual cake instead. It's probably better for me I guess LOL

Over at Kate Hadfield Designs there is lots going on. 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.



Card Details -


Size - 8”

Digital Image - Happy Birthday Freebie (Kate Hadfield Designs)

Digital Sentiment - Freebie 852 from Desert Diva

Paper - Pink Stripe (Paperchase), Spotty is a magazine freebie

Colouring Medium - Spectrum noir glitter marker 

Embellishments - Self adhesive Gems (The Works)


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