La La Lands Guest DT - How Charming

Happy Wednesday!
I can't believe my 2 months "guesting" at LaLa Lands is over already!
This is my last challenge with them and I've enjoyed every single second of it, I hope you've enjoyed all my LaLa projects too.

For this challenge the team were asked to use charms somewhere on their projects.
I have collected quite a few over the years but I always seem to forget to use them so it was good to be "made" to use one!

Although many challenges are on a Christmas Break I did find a few to work with this.

Sweet Sunday Sketch gave me the sketch
Colour Create had the combo of Pink, Burgundy and Ivory
Whimsy Stamps wanted a "Chip Off The Old Block"



For this card I used Sweet Lala and she wants to give you a Valentines hug! I colored her with Copic's and cut and matted her with a Label Nestie.
The dp are K&Co and My Minds Eye.
The chipboard sentiment is from Colorbok.
The border punch is Valentines Lace by Martha Stewart.
The charm is from my stash, I'm not sure where it came from.
The flowers are from Brides.
Ribbon is from Michaels.

Inside is more dp and ribbon topped message mat.

Here's Lala again sending you Love!
If you have some charms in your stash then grab them and add them to a card and join in the challenge!
Come back on Friday for more new cards and projects, just remember the Tylenol for the New Years Eve hangover! LOL
Katie

Pile It On - Crystal Clear

Happy Sunday!
It's time for another challenge at Pile It On and this week we have the challenge of "Crystal Clear". You can use acetate, Dew Drops, Rhinestones, Widow cards, Mirrors, anything like that.

Of course you have to find a few challenges to go with it to fulfil the "Pile It On" challenge, here are mine this week.

Charisma Anything But Christmas
Jacksonbelle use anything they sell in their store and I used the Argyle Cuttlebug Folder on the circle mat
A Spoon Full of Sugar had a sketch
Creative Card Crew had an Anything Goes theme
Paper Take had a "Thank You" theme
Trimmies also had a "Thank You" theme
Crafty Creations had a No Rules Week


I used this super cute stamp by The Pixie Cottage called Pepe Le Chef and thought he looked perfect for a Thank You card. I colored him with Copic's and cut him with a Nestie Label.
The dp is the Basic Grey Boxer collection.
The border punch is Martha Stewart.

Inside is more dp and a message mat.

Here's a close up of the cute Chef!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and hopefully you'll have time for a little creating time!

Katie

It's a Christmas Miracle!

Happy Christmas Eve!
I don't have a card to share today but I do have a project to share.
But before all the crafty stuff I have something much more important, to my family anyway, to share.
If you've been following my blog you'll know that on Thanksgiving week we were "hit for 6" as they say in England (it's a Cricket term" when my husband lost his job. It was completely unexpected and being just a month before Christmas we weren't sure what the New Year would bring.
But we carried on "business as usual" as much as we could, vowing to make Christmas as happy (and normal) as possible for our 3 children.
Well on Sunday we got a glimmer that something may happen and on Tuesday Andy started his new job!!!! We got our Christmas Miracle!!!
I know many of you have sent me good wishes and have been thinking and praying for us over the last month and I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to each and everyone one of you, your kind messages have meant the world to all of us.
And to the special Angel who helped with gifts, you know who you are, I Thank You from the bottom of my heart. So many people who we only know through the internet who care:)
To make this finish on another high note I want to share a little gift I made for my Mum yesterday (don't worry she won't see my blog today).
This was a totally "from scratch" gift down to an impromptu photo shoot.




I'd had the fabulous SEI paper for a while but this was the perfect project.


The photos aren't the best, they are straight from my craft table as you'll see.
I colored the flowers first with a Copic and then added gold paint on top. The pearls were changed from white to gold/cream with my Copic too.





I'd had these letters for years (yes years) and I think they were perfect for this project. I know she'll love it when she finds it under the tree tomorrow.
Have a Wonderful Christmas and again Thank You for all the thoughts and prayers, they worked and for that I'll be eternally grateful.
Katie

The Pixie Cottage Challenge - Button Up

Another double posting day and tomorrow is still Christmas Eve! LOL
It's time for another challenge at The Pixie Cottage and this time we want you to "Button Up!"
Use as many or as few buttons as you like on your creation and then come back and show us the results.

As I have my Mum here from England I couldn't spend ALL my time on the computer searching for challenges {wink} so there are just a few with this one today.

Pink Elephant had a great sketch
The Crafty Pad wanted Stitching (real or faux)
Creative Card Crew had an Anything Goes theme
Scrap and Stamp Saturday had a Christmas theme
Lots to Do had a free week

I used the super Nativity Scene stamp and made a simple design to go with it.
These large stamps don't need a lot of embellishing, just the right papers and a sentiment.
I use K&Co dp and a printed ribbon for the sentiment.
I added a button to the bow for the "Button Up" part of the challenge.

Inside is more dp and a message mat.

A close up of the Holy Scene.

Have a wonderful Christmas and I hope you get to spend some of the time with your lovd ones.
Katie

La La Lands Guest DT - Anything But a Card

Happy Wednesday!
Are you almost ready for the big day?
Tomorrow it's Christmas Eve but there's still time for a new creation from LaLa Lands.
This week to team was required to make "Anything But A Card" and that is so much fun for me.
I've always been an "altering" kind of gal and so these are never "challenges" for me, more like time to have some fun!
A couple of weeks ago I found this cute wooden Christmas Tree at Hobby Lobby and imagined it with someone standing next to it. But I didn't think I'd get time to make it this year but then I got the super cute LaLa with Ornament and this challenge came up and I knew I had the perfect combination.
So I ended up with a new Christmas decoration and you ended up with a new project to see!

I also found a few challenges to help me along the way.

Trimmies had a Free week
365 Cards Day 292 had a AD for inspiration
Paper Make Up had a Christmas theme with Red, Green and White
Frosted Design had a Paper Piecing theme and I paper pieced the tree.
Allsorts also wanted Anything But A Card
Alphabet Challenge were at J for Jewels
Corrosive wanted to see Bling!
Hand Full Of Stamps wanted to see Red (a little or a lot)
Stamp Something had a theme of "Holiday Somethings"



I traced the tree and paper pieced the tree, star and trunk. I painted the base and added Puffy Paint and Glitter to make snow.
I stamped LaLa with Ornament twice and colored her with Copic's. I cut her out and popped one up on Pop Dots.
I added Christmas trim and rhinestones for the ornaments on the tree.
Finally I made a gift and added it under the tree.

Here's a close up of cute Lala!
You can see all the other wonderful team work on their blogs
Elena
Jane
Kathy
Kim
Kristine
Lisa
Maureen
If you have time in your busy Holiday schedule maybe you can enter the challenge to at LaLa Lands!
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Katie

Pixie Cottage Showcase - Fancy Folds

Happy Saturday!
I can't believe it's Christmas next week!
We are all in the Festive mood here as my Mum flew in from England this week and will be with us until after the New Year!
This is the last Pixie Cottage showcase of 2009 and we are going out with a bang!
The design team was challenged to make a card with a "Fancy Fold" or use a folding technique somewhere on their project.
As I'm the proud owner of a new Martha Stewart Scoring board it was a great challenge for me.
I decided to try my hand at a Rosette flower and I love how easy it was to create a stunning embellishment!

There are a few challenges I did along with this one:
Cupcake Crafts wanted a 5" by 5" Birthday Card
Die Cut Dreams had the theme of "Glitter Me Silly"
Mojo Monday had a great sketch that I tweaked to make it square
Ooh La La had a color combo challenge of Brown and Pink
365 Cards Day 280 had a Trio of Chipboard, Blossom and Button
Creative Card Crew had the theme of "Anything Goes"
Cute Card Thirsday wanted an Aperture card
Dutch Dare had the theme "Make it Happen" and wanted handmade embellishments on the card



I used the Udderly Adorable Girl Cow as my image and colored her with Copic's.
I used my Quickutz square die to cut the window in the front of the card.
For the scallop border around the aperture I used a Fiskars border punch.
The papers are My Mind Eye.
The flower was made on my Martha Stewart scoring border and after I made one practise one the next one was easy!

Here's a close up of the sweetie cow!

Here you can see the flower, it's actually Stickles and not just glue around it but it doesn't show well in the photo.
I hope you liked this and ae well on your way to having a wonderful Christmas!
Katie

Last Freebie Friday of the Year!!

I hope you've all been enjoying the weekly free images from Wendy at Digital Delights.
This week is the last one until January 8th and it's a goodie!



Just a reminder that you can now find the freebies at our groups at Papercraft Planet and SNR Card Universe All you have to do is join one or both of our groups and the image is yours. You can find it under the subject Freebie Friday in the discussions area!!) Be sure to become a follower of the groups of your choice so you can be sure to keep up to date with our fun happenings!!

My Mum flew in from England On Tuesday so I haven't had time to get anything done with this little cutie but I'm going to use the already colored version and just print him out for my last minute gifts!
Have a wonderful weekend.
I have a new project here on the blog and then one next Wednesday but that will probably be it until after Christmas while I enjoy some time with my family.
Katie

La La Lands Guest DT - We're going on a Blog Hop!!!!

Happy Wednesday,
There's a new face in town and she's Princess Rosie!
To celebrate her release all the Design Team at LaLa Lands got to make a card with the fabulous new image.
Also to help make it even more fun we're having a Blog Hop with fun and prizes along the way!

Here are all the fun facts you need to know!
Welcome to La-La Land Crafts' Fairy Tale Release Blog Hop. To celebrate the release of our new Princess Rosie stamp, we are giving her the royal treatment that she deserves. Every member of our Design Team and the Guest Designers have made their cards with Princess Rosie which they are now showing on their blogs. To make the Blog Hop even more fun, along with the cards you will find some clues (a secret word or two) on every blog. When you follow the order of the Blog Hop and get to the end, you will have collected all of the words and will be able to put them together into a sentence. When you are done, you will need to come back to La-La Land Crafts Blog and leave your entry into the Blog Candy with Mr Linky.

What's in it for you???

Besides seeing all the gorgeous cards from our Design Team? The winner of the Blog Hop will receive the newly released Princess Rosie stamp along with super goodies that you can see here!

- Art Warehouse BORDERS Clear Stamp Set
- Hero Arts FROGGY Clear Stamp Set
- two spools of Sweet & Sassy RIBBON
- twelve large Prima FLOWERS
What's even more? While on your treasure hunt for secret words, you might even find some more treats offered by our designers!!! And!! Best of all, I have some great news for you!! Princess Rosie stamp is already available for purchase in our online store!!!

What do you have to do to join our Blog Hop????

* Start your Blog Hop at the La-La Land Crafts' blog

* Each DT Member will guide you to the next Blog during the Blog Hop

* Collect all of the secret words and put them together into a sentence

* Final stop is back at La-La Land Crafts Blog where you have to leave your entry in the comments under the main post. IMPORTANT!!! Do not reveal your answer in your comment!! We will contact the winner for the answer. If the answer is incorrect we will draw the winning number again..

One entry per person please. We will draw the winning number from all the entries next Wednesday, December 23rd, around 10 am PST. Everyone is welcome to participate. We will ship internationally!!

We would really appreciate it if you could help spread the word about our Blog Hop on your blog or just by the word of mouth if you don't have a blog :-)

Now if you started at La La Lands and got to me from Kim's blog then you're on the right track, if not please go back to the start so you don't miss a thing!

I'm making you look at my card first before giving the secret word!
And of course there are more challenges in this card!

Paper Play had a "Movies and Books" theme and my card was inspired the movie "Snow White"
Saturday Spotlight had a "Music in your Soul" theme and "Some Day My Prince Will Come" is the song Snow White sings in the movie
Friday Sketchers gave me the fabulous sketch
Daring Cardmakers wanted to see Polka Dots and No Christmas
Basic Grey had a color combo of Cream, Pink and Blue and their product
Allsorts wanted "Pearls and Swirls", you can see the pearls and the dp has swirls on it and the font was swirly too.
Kraftin Kimmie want you to "Sparkle Baby"
Totally Gorjuss had a free week as long as the image was Cute and Rosie sure is Cute!



Princess Rosie is colored with Copics and I added tiny gold pearls to her crown.
The dp is Basic Grey from the Blush Collection.
The pink and gold embossed paper is from The Paper Company.
The flowers are Prima with Martha Stewart pearl brads in their centers.
I printed the sentiment myself.



Inside is more of the wonderful dp.



After me you need to hop along to Maureens blog for the next clue!

My clue is "HAVE".
Remember to gather them all for a chance to win.
Have fun!
Katie

My Grafico - Driving the Christmas Train!

Happy Wednesday!
It's time for another sketach at My Grafico and it's my last with them on the Design Team :(
It's been a great 6 months, all the ladies are great and the new team they have set up for the next 6 months will be bringing you lots of exciting things!

The sketch this time really was a challenge for me, nice to stretch myself this one last time.



The set of images we got to work with was so super cute Zoom Vroom and I just had to use that train!

I added a few challenges along the way.
Pinkle Art had a theme of "It's Christmas"
The Pink Elephant had a theme of Winter/Christmas
Practical Scrappers had a Christmas theme too
Simon Says also had a Merry Christmas theme
Crafty Creations wanted Traditional Christmas colors of Red, Green and Gold


I flipped the image of the train to make it work with the sketch, I love that about digital images.The dp are a mix of ones I've used this yeat.
I colored the train with Copics and the circle is the inverted circle Nestie.
The border punch is Martha Stewart.

The inside is more dp and a message mat.

This little train is so cute!
I hope you get to play on this last challenge and keep joining in the fun at My Grafico even though I'm no longer there.
Katie

Cute Daisy May - Green and Gold Christmas

Happy Monday Everyone!
It's time for the final challenge of the year at Cute Daisy Mayand we are ending with a Green and Gold Christmas.
I've chosen a few challenges to help me with this one and I'd love to see what you create with the color combo too.

Pennys Challenge had the theme of "Christmas Stars", I used a star embossing folder
Little Red Wagon had a photo inspiration of some gorgeous Green and Gold ornaments (or baubles for my English friends back home!)
Creative Card Crew wanted Gold or Silver
Cute Card Thursday had the theme of "Sew Beady" and wanted beads on your project. I used metal beads that I colored with a Copic to turn them gold and the "Peace" is a poetry bead.
365 Cards Day 285 wanted you to use the word Peace on your card
Lord Have Mercy had a great sketch that I gave a quick turn to for it to work with my image
Our Creative Corner wanted a Holiday project
Craft Ann wanted Texture



I simply loved the innocence of this image of the little girl with her candle from Sheet 53.
I colored her with Copic's.
I matted her on American Crafts gold cardstock and the back panels are embossed with the Stars folder from Cuttlebug.
The dp is My Minds Eye.



The inside is more dp and a message mat.



I just wanted a close up of the image :)
I'm sure you've still time to make another Christmas card, chose Green and Gold, show us what you've made and you could be the winner!
Katie

Pile It On- Chipboard

Happy Sunday,
Time for another Pile It On challenge and this time it's chipboard.

Of course Pile It On means adding other challenges too so I have a few for you here.

Roses on Paper had the theme of "Alter Something" (and use a stamp brand they sell)\
Magnolia Down Under wanted to be "Bedazzled"
Just Magnolia had the theme "It's Christmas"
Magnolialicious wanted a shaped card (well this isn't a card but it certainly is shaped!)
Scrap Stamp and Doodle also wanted a shaped project
Practical Scrappers wanted "Anything Christmas"
Everybody Art wanted Red and Green
Stamp With Sarah Kay wanted Red and Green too
My Time To Craft wanted "Christmas Foliage"
Gingersnaps wanted you to use Sandpaper and I sanded the Plaid embossing behind the image
Nutcrafters want to see Ribbon along with a stamp from any line they sell in their store.



Instead of using a chipboard accent on the project I actually use a chipboard box as my base for this altered project.
I won't say how close to tears I go with this one as it just wouldn't go right and I ended up changing this to make them work. I had painted the outside and then none of my glues would work to adhere the ribbon I chose to the outside. So I had to scrap the ribbon idea and go with paper on the outside and a different ribbon on top.
It almost ended up in the trash but I wanted to finish it and now it's done :)
The Ornament paper on the lid is The Paper Studio and one on the side is My Minds Eye.
The Poinsettias are from a garland I bought at Hobby Lobby.
I stamped Unwrapped Tilda on some off white cardstock as white looked too stark against the dp. Then I colored her wth Copic's.
I cut a piece of Coredinations cardstock with a Label Nestie and embossed it with the Plaid Cuttlebug folder from the HSN Holiday pack.
The sentiment is 7 Gypsies and I added $1 spot rhinestones to the lid and around the base too.

Here is a view straight on and Tilda looks so cute!

Here's a close up of Tilda.

You can see the decoration on the sides here.
I hope you can join in the fun over at Pile It On and find time for a little more creating before Christmas!
Katie

Guest Designer at The Crafty Pad!

Hi Everyone!
I won a challenge at The Crafty Pad a couple of weeks ago and my prize was to be a Guest Designer this week!
I got to work with this super cute image of Ted and His Sled and the theme was Christmas.
I'm sure we can all still do with more Christmas cards so be sure to get creating and enter your card in the challenge for the chance to be a winner!

Pollycraft had this fabulous sketch
Color Throwdown had the combo of Wild Wasabi, Riding Hood Red, Soft Sky and Pretty in Pink (perfect for Eskimo Kisses by Basic Grey!)
The Pink Elephant wanted to see your "Favorite Christmas Color Combo" and if you've been following my blog this year you'll know that the colors in the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses collection have been my favorite by far!
The Diva Stamper had a photo inspiration and I took "Let it Snow" as my theme from it.
The Secret Crafter had a Snow theme
Corrosive Challenges had a Winter Wonderland theme
Gingersnaps also had a Winter Wonderland theme
Crazy 4 Challenges had a Snow/Snowflakes theme
Incy Wincy also had a Snow theme




Christmas Ted With Sled is so cute!!!
I used the Eskimo Kisses collection from Basic Grey and I still love it!
The border punch on the pink is the Martha Stewart Deco Fan and I made the snow with Puffy Paint and glitter.



The inside is more dp and a message mat.



This Teddy was so cute to work with and it was a great challenge prize to get to work with team and share my creation.
Have a great Sunday!
Katie

A New Year brings a New Design Team postition!

Happy Friday!
Challenge blogs are winding down for the Holidays and some of my Design Teams commitments are coming to an end :(
But have no fear! Last week I was approached by Treehouse Stamps who asked if I'd like to be a Guest Designer on their new team for January, February and March.
Of course I said yes so you'll be seeing me over there (and here too) with their new designs!
To whet your appetite I have a little tag I made for their challenge this week and you can join in the challenge and make a tag too! You can use any stamps you like but if you have Treehouse stamps we'd love to see what you do with them.



It features designs from the brand new Cool Wishes set.
I used some Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses as the background and used Puffy Paint with glitter for the snow.
This was a super quick project but I think it was cute!
I can't wait to get started on all the fun things that Treehouse Stamps have in store for 2010!
Katie

Another Freebie Friday!

Happy Friday!
It's time for another super cute Freebie from Wendy at Digital Delights!




Just a reminder that you can now find the freebies at our groups at Papercraft Planet and SNR Card Universe All you have to do is join one or both of our groups and the image is yours. You can find it under the subject Freebie Friday in the discussions area!!) Be sure to become a follower of the groups of your choice so you can be sure to keep up to date with our fun happenings!!

I'm so busy at home as my Mum flies in from England next week and didn't get a chance to play with super Pippin but I'm sure you will!
Have a great weekend!

Challenge #7 at Cooking It Up!

Wow the weeks are flying by!
I can't believe we are on the 7th challenge at my Cooking It Up With Katie blog.
I'd love some more entrants and this could be the challenge to try as I'm offering a prize so run over and check it out!

The recipe is:
Use a Christmas theme
Add Ribbon
Use any current sketch challenge

Stampin For The Weekend want a Christmas card with Red, Green and Gold
Creative Card Crew also wanted Gold (or Silver)
Color Chef had the combo of Red, Green and Cream/White
Charisma had a color combo of Red, Green and White/Silver
Rosie Dees wanted Red, Green and Bling!
Sunflowers and Dragonflies had a theme of Merry Christmas
365 Cards Day 280 had the theme of "Candy Cane"
Cupcake Crafts had the theme of a "Christmas Carol"
Die Cuts R Us wanted a project with a "Holiday Feel"
Just Magnolia had a special monthly challenge of "Make a card for Someone Special", well I'd feel pretty special if I received this card.


I stamped Tilda Sitting With Candy and colored her with Copic's. Then I cut her out and made a present for her to sit on.
The dp is a mixture of Paper Studio and Joanns.
The border punch is from Martha Stewart.

The inside is more dp and a ribbon topped message mat.

Here is a close up of Tilda, all decked out for Christmas!
If you still have time before Christmas I'd love to see you over at Cooking It Up With Katie
Katie

Egg-Cellent Card for Delightful Sketches

Happy Thursday,
I'm super excited about todays card.
It features one of the New Releases at Digital Delights and they are all from Fairy Tales!! So, so cute and perfect for all those childrens birthday cards that you have to make.
It's a great sketch this week and I'd love to see you joining in with it at Delightful Sketches




And I got to work with the fabulous new image of Humpty Dumpty!!

I also addd a few more challenges.

Sassy Susie wanted Buttons and Bows
Colour Q had the combo of Ruby Red, Bashful Blue, Sage Shadow, Glorious Green and a Neutral
Jacksonbelle wanted a Christmas Card
Flourishes wanted a Gatefold card and I thought the sketch lent itself very well to this style
One Stop Craft wanted to see a "Fancy Fold"



I printed out Humpty and his wall and colored them with Copic's. Then I cut them out and layered them on a Nestie.
The dp is Colorbok.
I printed out the sentiment and cut it with the pinking circle Nestie.

Here you can see how the card opens.

Here is a close up of Humpty on his Wall.
I added a lot of glue to make sure he doesn't fall off! LOL
Katie

A New Sketch Challenge at The Pixie Cottage!

Another triple posting day but it's worth it!
It's time for a new Once Upon A Wednesday challenge at The Pixie Cottage and this time it's a new sketch.

It was a great sketch to work with and I added a few other challenges along side it.

Ildi Co had a color combo of Black and Bright
Paper Play wanted Christmas with No Red and Green
Creative Inspirations wanted Non Traditional Christmas colors, no red and green
Dutch Dare had a photo inspiration with the colors Black, Aqua/Blue and White
Stamp Something want you to "Glitz Something"
Tuesday Taggers had the theme of "Christmas Trees"
Simon Says Stamp had the theme of "Let It Snow"
Creatalicious wanted Snow and Sparkle


I used Winter Hannah on a Bench as my image and I just loved working with her. I just checked and there are now 51 stamp designs by The Pixie Cottage with new ones being added all the time. I love that there are different artists, all adding their own flair and style to the images.
I colored Hannah with Copic's. The dp is a combination of Basic Grey and My Minds Eye.
I don't usually say this but I highly recommend clicking on the photo to see the trees in a large form. I covered them with Tulip Puffy Paint in white and then before heating I sprinkled Art Institute Ultra Fine Transparent glitter in Crystal onto the wet surface.
Then I very gently heated it , held the heat gun as far away as possible, until it puffed up enough to look like snow capped trees.

Inside is a ribbon topped message mat.

Hopefully you can get a good look at the snow effect here.
I love playing with products not designed specifically for the scrapbooking and cardmaking market, it really widens your horizon.
I hope you liked Hannah and I'd love to see your creations with the wonderful sketch at The Pixie Cottage.
Katie