Design Team Call for Magnolia Down Under

I know this is a double posting day but with the time difference between the US and Australia I'd have been too late posting it tomorrow! LOL
Kellie has been running a fabulous Magnolia challenge blog for a while now called Magnolia Down Under.
Well she's been doing so well gathering Maggie friends that she now has a Magnolia Store!
She already has a fantastic Design Team but is looking for a guest for the next 3 months. There are so many wonderful designers out there and I'm late getting my entry in (closes Midnight tomorrow Australia Time!) but I thought I'd give it a go.
I'm a Magnolia addict in fact 4 more made it to my house this week and 2 more are sitting in an envelope waiting to come here too!
I try to use a Magnolia each week and love all the designs they keep coming out with.
Anyway Kellie wanted to see some favorites so here they are "in no particular order" as they say on Dancing With the Stars!

















So I've thrown my hat in and fingers crossed!
Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Sunday with a new card.
Katie

Happy Halloween 2 U!

Happy Tuesday!
This week the My Grafico Design Team have joined forces with Tuesday Morning Sketches to create some fantastic cards for you to see!
I've used some wonderful images from the Trick Or Treat set and they are all so cute!
I've also added, surprise, surprise, more challenges!
Dare U2 Digi wanted to see Punches or Die Cuts.
One Stop Crafts also wanted Die Cuts
Simon Says Stamp said "It's a Stitch Up" and wanted either real or faux stitching so I got my fine tips out!
Three Clovers wanted Numbers
and
PaperPlay said "Spot It" and wanted anything with dots!



I interpreted the sketch into a gatefold style with the circle being the opening.
I colored the Jack O'Lantern and the Witches Cat with Copic's and cut both of them with Nesties.
The "2 U" are chipboard and it took 3 layers to make me happy. First I colored with Copic C7, then I added black glitter glue and finally Art Institute super fine green glitter!
The HAPPY letters are from Target's $1 spot from last year (yes I'm a hoarder!) and the Halloween are rub on letters. The spotted dp is DCWV from last year too.



The inside has lots of room for a special message.



I love this Kitty and think she looks so happy in her Witches hat!

I'd love to see you join in at My Grafico this week and remember it's a combined challenge with Tuesday Morning Sketches so you get 2 entries in 2 challenges with a chance for 2 different prizes with just 1 card!
Have a great day!
Katie

Friends With Dirty Faces :) New Cute Daisy May DT card

Happy Monday Everyone!
It's time for another new challenge at Cute Daisy May and this week it's a recipe.
The challenge is to use 1 Ribbon, 2 Buttons and 3 Flowers. You can add to the recipe but they must be the minimum.
You can see all the fantastic Design Team cards over at the Cute Daisy May Challenge Blog
I've used a super cute image from Sheet 44 and I think she's just the sweetest thing!
I've also included some more challenges to this card.
Creative Card Crew wanted to see decorated insides,
Crafty Creations wanted to see a Window
In The Cottage Studio had an "Inside Out" theme where they wanted both the inside and outside decorating.
and 365 Cards Day 208 had a Combo Challenge and you had to choose a challenge from June, July and August and put them all on one card. I chose Day 118 - I've been Framed, Day 135 - On The Outside Looking In and Day 159 - Setting the Scene, Indoors.



I know it seems a little "naughty" looking in through the window but I just love how this turned out. The sentiment is KI Memories and I based the whole card around this phrase!
I colord her with Copic's and added Glossy Accents to the bubbles for a little "pop".
The papers are double sided so they made great curtains when folded back and I think it's K&Co but I could be wrong.
The lace is made from a Martha Stewart border punch.



Here you can get a better view of how the window looks.



I made the window/curtains follow through to the inside too.
I hope you like her and I'd love to see you enter the challenge at the Cute Daisy May Challenge Blog this week.
Katie

My Own Challenge Blog :)

Hi Everyone,
I hope you have room for another challenge blog on your list as I've started one of my own!
Cooking It Up With Katie will have a challenge every other Thursday and they will all be "recipe" challenges.
Just like a cooking book I'll give you the basic recipe and you "cook up" the rest!
For now it'll only be me with the examples but if we get popular I may well invite a few guests to join us!
All the rules and details are over at the challenge blog
Challenge #1 is:
Use 1 image
Add 2 different shapes to you project in any form you like
And use 3 Paper Embellishments, these can be store bought, handmade, punched, die cut, anything you like just make sure they are made of paper.

My card also includes challenges from other sites.
The color inspiration came from Basic Grey Challenges and the sketch came from Allsorts (they wanted any 2 colors too so I pulled the Blue and Green from the Basic Grey inspiration).
Also a good friend of mine runs a color challenge blog at Easy Breezy "Kewl" Colour Challenges and this weeks challenge is Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Basic Gray and Burmuda Bay and I think my blue and green color scheme fits in with that fine!
Also I found another challenge blog that was new to me (and I love the name as admit we all call it C^@p at times! Scrap Your Crap wanted you to use you chipboard and I'll admit to having tons and not using it like I should. So I added chipboard circle with heart centers that I inked.



The image is from Mo's Digital Pencil and it's a trio set of 3 teen images.
Mo Manning was orignally a children book artist but has branched out into digital images and I'm so thankful she did! Her work is fabulous, different from other out there and so wonderful to color.



Here you can see the inside is more of the wonderful Basic Grey paper from the Phoebe collection and I added a heart to the message mat.



I wonder who she's thinking about?

Anyway, I'd love it if you could join in with my challenge and if you could spread the word to others that would be great too! The more the merrier and I can't wait to see what you come up.
Go over NOW and join in!
Katie

Double Trouble!

Second post of the day!
I hope you read about my excitement over a new challenge blog I'll be a part of, if not scroll down to read it below.
Today's card just make me smile everytime I look at it!
First here are the challenge I used for it's creation.
Crazy 4 Challenges gave me the sketch. It is a brand new challenge blog but it has some very familar faces at it's helm.
Pile It On and Polly Craft both had the same challenge of "Black and White and 1 other color", so I chose Pink to add to the combo.
Flutterby Wednesday's wanted to see Pink along with either a Fairy or Butterfly.
Rosie Dee's wanted you to use 2 squares and a rectangle on your project
and finally Courtney's Closet challenge was a "playdate"



I hope you don't get tired of seeing Mo's images as today's features another of her fantastic creations! This one is called Stepsisters although I think they could be friends not having a good day as well! LOL
I colored them with Copic's and with Black being one of the colors it gave me an excuse to play with my Grey's again and I just love that!
The dp is a combo of The Paper Studio and some Dovecraft from a pack I picked up on my last trip back home to England. The rhinestones are from the $1 spot at Michaels and the flower, butterflies and patterned brad are all from HobbyCraft, again from my England trip.
The sentiment is The Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby.

The inside is more dp with a matted message mat.

I just love the look on the faces of these girls and I hope you do too!
Keep coming back as this will be a very exciting week on the blog and especially on Thursday when I'll give you all the news on my very OWN challenges blog!
Katie

Autumn Leaves - New card for My Grafico

Another double posting day :)
It's time for another challenge at My Grafico and today it's hosted by yours truly!
I came up with a recipe that I'd love you to try and if you do you'll be in with a chance to win this fabulous set called Autumn Elements which is so cute and was great to work with!
The recipe for the challenge is:
Use 1 image,
Add 2 Patterned Papers
and finally use 3 different embellishments.
I think you'll like it and it's a pretty easy challenge to add to others if you are into combined like me!
I used the fantastic sketch from Dare U2 Digi and also added the "Favorite Embellishment challenge from Stamp Something. My favorites are flowers and brads and as I couldn't choose I used both!
Also Our Creative Corner had a Fall theme that this fitted with perfectly.
Whimsy Stamps also wanted the Fall theme so it was another to add to my list!
Finally Play Along Monday is a new challenge blog and this challenge was to include Autumn Leaves and I sure did this! LOL


This girl is from the set you can win and she looks like she's having so much fun!
I colored her with Copic's and cut her with a label Nestie.
The dp is from my stash and I embossed the back panel with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.
The flowers are Prima and the fabric brads are from the $1 spot at Target.





I hope you've liked today's card and I'd love you to go over to My Grafico Challenges and play along with my recipe!
Katie

Just for the New Mommy, Cute Daisy May DT Card

Happy Monday Everyone!
It's time for another challenge at Cute Daisy May and this time the challenge is to create a baby card.
There were so many wonderful images that the Design Team got to chose from and I chose this super cute Mommy from Sheet 64.
I also am entering this card at Sketch Saturday for their DT Call and the 1st round application deadline is today! It was quite a complex sketch but it worked wonderfully for this image.



As usual I colored the image with Copic's and I edged it with a border made from the Apron Lace border punch by Fiskars.
The dp is DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy stack. I used the same border punch to edge the bottom of the card. I printed out the sentiment and added it to a circle sticker. I topped it with a Martha Stewart premade bow.
I added Dew Drops as a finishing touch.



For the inside I use one of the new Spellbinders Pendant dies as the message mat.



What New Mommy wouldn't want this after all her hard work growing a baby? :)
Have a great day!
Katie

Time for Tea?

Happy Sunday Everyone!
I'm in the middle of a busy weekend but I wanted to squeeze this card in for you :)

Friday Sketchers had a super sketch that I just had to do.
The Pink Elephant had a challenging color combo of Red, Yellow, Black and White that I didn't think I could do but I did!
Simon Says wanted us to get Oriental and I had the perfect image for this that I'd been itching to use.
Paper Play had the hard challenge of No Patterned Paper and I've always passed on that challenge but when I saw Charisma Cardz had the challenge of Patchwork I knew I'd be fine with just cardstock :)




I'd been dying to use this fantastic image from Mo's Digital Pencil and with the Oriental challenge I no longer had an excuse!
I colored her with my Copic's and it was wonderful! All the papers on this are just cardstock. I used Coredinations cardstock that has different colors in the center which make it perfect for a project like this I used a different embossing folder on each color and then sanded the embossed area to reveal the color below. So it may look like a patterened paper but it really isn't!
I added Spellbinders corners that I embossed to match.
The sentiment is a Jolee's sticker.



The inside has more cardstock with a Teapot and Teacup to match the sentiment.



I just had to show her again as she is delightful!
Mo is such a clever artist and her images are wonderful to work with.
Have a great rest of your Sunday!
Katie

Costume? What Costume?

Happy Saturday!
Yeah it's the weekend and we have a super busy one planned!
Nathan is going a Boy Scout Merit Badge College, Georgia has a Junior Girl Scout meeting and then she has a birthday party with a movie and a sleepover to go to.
Then Nathan has a poll party with more Scouts tomorrow!
Hopefully it will be quieter by Monday!

Now on to today's card. I'll admit that this is one of my favorite cards I've done and I think it's because I'm at that "Mommy Stage" where clothes and attitude are big issues ;)
Of course I had to add a few challenges to the card or it just wouldn't be me!
Creative Inspirations started me off with a great sketch with the addition of brads or eyelets, this time they are sponsored by Paper Angels
No Time To Stamp wanted to see the Halloween theme.
Creative Inspirations Challenge had the color combo of Lilac/Purple and Grey and these are two of my favorite colors to color with. Plus it gave me the excuse to color more black hair!
Finally Paper Blooms , Gingersnap Creations and How Much Is Too Much all wanted a little Bling Bling!



This fabulous image of Cherry can be found at Polly Craft and I just love her! She was an absolute delight to color and I added just a little sparkle to soften her "hard edges" enough.
The papers are just from my stash and I printed the title in Burton's Nightmare again as I love it for Halloween projects.



The inside is just more dp and a message mat.



She may think she's tough but I still think she's cute!
I hope you like her as much as I do.
Have a great weekend!
Katie

My Guest project for the Victoria Case Challenge

Hello Everyone!
Last week my card was picked (albeit randomly ;)) at Victoria Case Challenges and it meant I got to play with her Design Team on this weeks challenge!
Of course I couldn't do a project without finding other challenges along the way!

I started with the Victoria Case Challenge which was a color challenge of Red, Orange and Brown.
Then I took the sketch from Friday Sketchers and tweaked it to fit the front of the lunchbox.
Then I saw that Scrappy Frogs were looking for 3D projects and this fitted the bill there too!
Also The Secret Crafter wanted Hearts and Flowers and the border punch has hearts and you can definately see the flowers!
And My Time To Craft wanted Polka Dots and I have them on the ribbon and the flowers too!



This image is off an older Victoria Case CD called Girls but you can still get it by contacting Victoria at her Art Designs website.
I colored her with Copic's.
The dp is DCWV from a couple of stacks, The Citrus Stack and the Sweet Stack.
The sentiment is Marcella for K@Co from Target and the flower is The Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby.



The ribbons are always the fun part of decorating a lunchbox and this time I just picked as many that I thought looked good together. Then I added 3 flowers with fabric brad centers to complete the look.



I just had to show you a close up of this sweetie as I think she is so super cute! I'm not sure who or what she is thinking of but it sures makes her look happy.
I hope you drop on over to the Victoria Case Challenge blog and join in the fun!
Have a great day!
Katie

Waiting for the Witching Hour!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
It's time for another card from the Halloweenies Collection at Lily Boo's Boutique.
This kitty cat was so sweet and I didn't want to do the traditional Halloween colors with her.
So when I saw the color combo at Stamping for the Weekend of Orange, Teal and Pink I knew it was the way I wanted to go.
I needed a sketch and the one at Sunday Sketch and Stamp fitted the bill perfectly.
Also ABC Challenge are back with their next letter and it's D is for Die Cuts and as I used my Nesties this works for this too!

This kitty was so great to color, it was like going back to my childhood with a great coloring book and felt tips!
Of course I colored the scene with Copic's and cut the scene out with a Nestie.
I cut the mat from Coredinations cardstock, embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and sanded it for the pink to show through.
I printed the sentiment using the Burton's Nightmare font as it was perfect for a Halloween card.



The inside is simple with just a message mat and more of the same dp.



The sleeping kitty looks completely unaware of the upcoming fun he'll have on the witch's broom! LOL
Have a great rest of your day and be sure to check back tomorrow for a project I did as a Guest at Victoria Case Stamp Challenges
Katie

Scaring up Some Fun!

Happy Tuesday!
I hope you all had a safe and happy Labor Day yesterday. Ours was just the 5 of us and quiet and laidback, just what I needed :)
I'd had this image colored for a few days but had some "me time" yesterday and used it to finish it up.
It's another card for the Lily Boo's Design Team and the image is from the latest Halloweenies! collection and all of them are just so cute!
Of course I had to include some challenges ;)
Mojo Monday provided the super sketch
Whimsy Stamps asked us to Sew, Sew, Sew, either real or faux
2 Red Bananas wanted Stripes and Dots and my dp has both.
Digital Tuesday wante it to be "All About the Kids"
And both 365 Cards (Day 189) and Kaboodle Doodles wanted charms. I had to improvise a little on this but I think I made it work. I didn't have any Halloween charms but I did have Halloween eyelets. So I carefully squashed the back of the eyeley with my Cropodile leaving a nice smooth hole. Then I glued the eyelets to some small black ball chain and I think they look great as charms!



I colored the image with Copic's and "Dracula" has a green suit today as it worked better with my dp!LOL
The dp is from the DCWV Fall Stack from last year. I used the Martha Stewart Spooky Fence border punch across the bottom and I'll admit I'll a Martha addict when it comes to her punches :)
I cut the image with a labels Nestie and inked the edges with both green and brown chalk ink. The sentiments are from 7 Gypsies.



The inside is coordinating dp and a matching message mat. I added a further sentiment to the bottom edge and faux stitching all around the mat.



I made the image into a pocket and added 3 tags for you add further messages to. Also you can get a good look at my "faux charms" as well! LOL
I hope you've liked todays card and remember you can get this image along with the other in the Halloweenies set in just minutes from Lily Boo's Boutique

Remember to click on the Blog Candy post and be in with a chance to win it all. The drawing is tomorrow evening!
Katie

Back to School with My Grafico!

Happy Monday!
Sorry for two posts today but I wanted each card to stand alone :)
Our challenge at My Grafico Challenge was to create a Back to School themed item with the wonderful digital stamps from the super set called School Kids
Of course there are lots of other challenges out there so I found just a few to add to this card! LOL
Delightful Sketches had a wonderful sketch that start me off,
Crafty Creations wanted us to use 3 or more designer papers.
Rubbernecker Stamps wanted us to Cut it Out and so after coloring the image I cut her out and mounted her on the dp block.
and
Belli Challenge
Cute Card Thursday
Three Clovers
all wanted the Back to School theme with a few variations amongst them.



I colored this cute little girl with Copic's and then cut her out.
The dp are all DCWV from The Grade School Stack.
The sentiment is 7 Gypsies and the I punched the apples from the dp with the rosette punch from Martha Stewart.
I edged the main block with a punched border using an EK Success border punch.



Almost makes me want to go back to school!
Have a super day!
Katie

Fabulous Design Team News!

Happy Sunday!
I'm sure after 4 months of my blog you've noticed that I love to combine challenges.
And you may have seen that I was invited to be a Guest Designer at Pile It On for October.
Well I got super news this week, Vicki and Dalis asked me to join the team full time!
So today is my first project as a team member and I'm so excited to share it with you all!
As you may know Pile It On was designed as a challenge blog with a difference. Each Sunday they give you a challenge and to enter your project you have to combine it with at least one other challenge from another blog. This is absolutely perfect for me as combining is getting to be an obsession that I don't want a cure from!

Today the Pile It On challenge is Birthdays and the team got to work with the wonderful digital images from the talented Tim Hambo at Hambo Stamps
As well as the PIO challenge I added few more.
The sketch came from Just Christmas and Birthday Cards
Creative Card Crew have a color combo of Pink, Black and White, If the Shoe Fits Scrap it! had the same color combo with the addition of hearts andCopic Creations wanted your favorite color combo so that was easy!
The Pink Elephant had a recipe of 1 ribbon, 2 squares and something that sparkles and LaLa Land Crafts wanted Bling so more sparkle!
Finally The Cuttlebug Spot are celebrating their birthday this month so all month they want Birthday themed projects.

I colored this wonderful image with Copic's and it is called And then I woke up and I thought would be great for a girlfriends birthday as who doesn't like cupcakes on their birthday?
The dp is The Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby, the border punch is Threading Water from Fiskars and the ribbon is Offray. The circle sentiment is 7 Gypsies. I can't remember where the heart rhinestones came from.

The inside is more of the super dp and an additional sentiment along with a message block.

I added Diamond Stickles to the cupcakes and they look almost too good to eat!
I'm so happy to be able to share this great news with you and be sure to check out Pile it On each Sunday and join the fun!
I'll be doing projects with them every other week but I'm sure on my "off" weeks I'll be playing along like the rest of you!
Have a great rest of your weekend.
Katie

What a Week! Now it's your turn for a prize :)

Happy Saturday,
This week has been a whirlwind and a wonderful one at that!
On Sunday I got the Sweet Sprinkles award from Pile It On for my plaque I made for Carter.
On Monday Dalis and Vicki from Pile It On asked me to join the Design Team full time and not just as a guest in October.
Then on Tuesday the same plaque won the 1st place at The Pink Elephant!
On Wednesday I squeezed in an entry to Victoria Case Challenges and it won! It means I get to be a guest of their team for next weeks challenge.
On Thursday I applied to be a DT member at The Pixie Cottage and although it's not a win it's a good thing just to apply!
Then Friday brought the motherload!
I won the blog candy at LaLa Land Crafts , then Use It Challenges chose my piece (albeit randomly ;)) and I get to host the challenge next week and finally Scrappy Frogs drew my name to win for last weeks challenge!

So it was a good week to do a drawing from the wonderful people who have signed up as a follower so far.
I was going to do the drawing today but I know with the upcoming Holiday and Back to School stuff that many of my readers haven't been around this week so I'm going to do the drawing on Wednesday from everyone that has signed up.
What will you win?
Here is the Blog Candy that could be winging your way!

Stop teasing us Katie you cry!!
Well I grabbed a Flat Rate envie and stuffed it with as many goodies as I could.
What are you getting....... here goes!

Paper Trends magazine
Simple Scrapbooks mini scrapbook kit
Chipboard shapes
Heidi Swapp Ghost stars and snowflakes
Autumn Leaves stamps
Studio G stamps
Felt Flowers
Brides Confetti Flowers
Embossed notecards and envelopes

If you add a photo to your blog side bar or post as well as signing up you'll get two entries into the draw. Be sure to leave a comment so I know you've added the deets!
Good luck and pass on the message!

Now if you've come for the Tilda card here she is!
It seems ages since I've inked up a Magnolia stamp as I've been so busy with digi's and it was a nice chance last night to go back to basics.

This Tilda can be got at Magnolia Stamps and she's such a cutie.
I decided to do a Fall theme as I love the colors and I think she looks lovely in her mustard jeans!
The dp are just fom my stash, mainly DCWV and the flowers are Brides.
I use the sketch over at Just Magnolia and I love it!
The Secret Saturday Crafter wanted Hearts and Flowers and I squeezed them in to my design :)
Also Stamp Something wanted you to use your favorite stamp and although I love all Tilda's this is one of my favorites.
Now I know I'm pushing it a little but I wanted this to fit with the challenge at Magnolia Down Under too. The challenge was 1 flower (I used 3), 2 ribbons (Tilda has ribbon in her hair and on her hat!, I told you I pushing the limits! LOL), 3 brads (in the flower centers) and 4 dp (that was easy)

The inside is more dp and a coordinating message mat.

Be sure to remember to sign up as a follower and mention this on your blog and you could be the winner come next Wednesday!
Have a great Saturday and be sure to check back tomorrow for my first card for the Pile It On team.

Katie