Autumn Wreath

Morning Crafty Peeps!
Just thought I'd pop along to share an Autumn wreath I made for one of my last Crafter's Companion UK Demo Days. I used the fabulous leaf dies from Sara's Autumn Morning Collection and Distress Inks.

I have it on my mantlepiece at the mo, but the plan at the end of the month is to change it up to a winter wreath using some of the lovely Christmassy dies. If the idea goes to plan, then I'll share it with you here :) Hope you like it! xx

Falling Leaves

Afternoon All!
Just back with a little post to share a card I made using the Autumn Morning stamps, papers and dies from Crafter's Companion.

First I used Archival Black Ink to randomly stamp the leaves on the background card, then I matted it onto black card. I created another layer by masking off a strip of the card and inking with Distress Inks to make a panel - the masking tape gives you nice neat lines. I then added gems, stamped a sentiment and added die cut leaves from the papers.
Hope you like it!
Best wishes
Karen x

Colorista Calendar

Hi All!
Just thought I'd pop on to share a quick idea with what you can make from your 5x7 inch Colorista pads once you've coloured your masterpiece.  I've made some of mine into calendars - really easy and a great gift for Christmas too!
Best wishes and bye for now
Karen x

Autumn Morning Scene

Morning All!
Well today I thought I'd share a card using the  'Leaves are Falling' dies and Woodgrain embossing folder from Crafter's Companion's Autumn Morning range.

I inked and embossed the folder and die cut the leaf shape, before using the trees stamp from a back issue of Crafter's Inspiration as my scene through the cut out. Distress inks helped to make the background - which you can change depending upon the colours you use -  and I added a stamped sentiment and hessian bow from the other products in the lovely Autumn Morning range!

Hope you like it!
Back soon x

Birthday Box

Hi All!
Did you manage to watch Leann with the 8x8 Create a Card dies on Hochanda this week? I love these dies and don't know which one I would choose as my favourite!

I used the Happy Birthday die to create this gift box from Centura Pearl card and decorated it with Quilling Flower embellishments. Boxes like these really make your prezzies look expensive!

Hope you like it!
Bye for now xx

Thank You card using Mollie Border Die

Hi All!
I know its been a while but I've been busy behind the scenes and have neglected my little old blog!
So today I thought I'd just pop along and share a card I made with the fab 12 inch Diesire border dies from Crafter's Companion.

This one uses the die called Mollie...and I thought it was perfect for making into a Thank You card... hope you

like it! xx

On Safari

Hi Folks!
Just popping by to share some stepper cards I made using the fabulous Graphic 45 Safari papers...hope you like them!

Stylish Bauble and Festive Treats

Hope you've managed to catch the latest programs on Hochanda featuring the Crafter's Companion Prestige Christmas Dies - they really are lovely!
Here is another of my samples featuring the Bauble die, cut in silver mirri card against an embossed black background which I emphasised with gilding wax.

Below are a few more of my samples to get you in the festive mood!

Hope you like them xx

Prestige Christmas Dies

Morning All!
Don't forget to join the lovely Fiona Clayton - Crafter's Companion on HOCHANDA this weekend for some inspiration and techniques on how to use the fabulous Prestige Christmas dies. Here is one of my samples using the Christmas Bauble die.
Hope you like it xx

Beautiful Butterflies

Hi All!
Just thought I'd share another of my makes that you may have seen Fiona Clayton wearing on Hochanda yesterday.

This butterfly brooch uses the new Mixed Media dies from Crafter's Companion to cut through mount board. I then stamped and inked my butterfly, before adding crystal embossing powder!

I even made a matching box...

Hope you like it...I had lots of fun creating it! xx

Mixed Media Gifts

Afternoon All!
Tonight sees the lovely Fiona Clayton on Hochanda with the fabulous Gemini machine. Alongside it she is showcasing the Mixed Media dies which are absolutely brilliant...they cut through so many materials with ease.
Here are just some of the samples I made using the dies through mount board, easily available in craft shops and picture framers...and usually quite tricky to cut through...but not with the Gemini and the Mixed Media dies!

I made some jewellery pendants...stamping and colouring with inks, then enamelling them with embossing powder. I even added them to cards to make them match my gifts.

In other colours too!

Hope you like them xx

English Country Garden Pixie

Hi Crafty Folk
Hope you've managed to get your hands on the new Signature Collection from the lovely Sara Davies of Crafter's Companion. English Country Garden is such a pretty collection - perfect for both card making and scrapbooking - as well as those home decor items too!
I decided to make a layout of my mother in law as a young girl...her little hat reminds me of a garden pixie - hence the title.

The flowers on the papers are ideal for fussy cutting, and teamed with the 12inch Diesire Trellis Border die, and the butterfly dies from the collection, they work perfectly together.

Hope you like it!
Tune in to Hochanda today at 4pm and 7pm, to see loads more inspiration and demos!
Best wishes
Karen x

A Date with Destiny

Morning Crafters!
Its a lovely day here today so off out for a bit to make the most of my day off!
Before I go I thought I'd share one of my makes with a favourite crafty collection - Verity Rose.
This card was made with the character 'Destiny' - coloured with Spectrum Noir pens ( FS2, FS3, CR8, BG5,  IG4, TB3, TB4, GB2, TN3, Spectrum Noir Pencils) and created into a little rocker card.

The background was embossed with the Destiny Folder, and I used the little element dies and stamps to create the embellishments.
Hope you like it! xx

Heritage Layout

Afternoon All!
Today I thought I'd share another scrapbook layout featuring Crafter's Companion products.

The photo is a colour tinted one of my Nana as a young woman, and I tried to match the warm tones with the papers I used. The Kimono pad has some lovely designs in it, so I used these, fussy cutting all the flowers, and embossing one design with an Embossalicious Vintage Floral folder. I used the Sheena Douglass 'Distress Stencil to ink through to break up the Coredinations background.

I framed the photo with a diecut frame created with a Downton Abbey die, and used the waste centre as a panel to pop my title on. This I cut using my Alpha dies and Diamond Press machine. Finally I made a little secret pocket to house a tag with all my info about the photo written on it, embellishing it with one of the cut out flowers and tucking it away in the design.

Anyway, hope you like it!
Best wishes
Karen x

Get Embossing with Crafter's Inspiration

Afternoon All!
The weeks are certainly flying by, aren't they...but hopefully everyone is still finding a little time for crafting!
Today I'd like to share two of the projects I made for the latest issue of Crafter's Inspiration magazine. I was lucky enough to do the article '10 Ways with the Embossing Folder' (which came free as one of the goodies in the magazine).

The first project was a little gift box where I embossed the sides of the box with the folder, but also used the free papers from the CD to decorate the box.

Second was a little notebook that I covered with embossed Centura Pearl, and flowers cut from the free papers.

Hope you like these little projects - great for small gifts or to sell at Craft Fairs. Make sure you get your copy of the magazine to check out all the fabulous makes by the rest of the Crafter's Companion team.

 Thanks for looking! x

Moonbeam Meadow Hidden Doorway

Morning Crafty Folks!
This morning I'm back with a little card I made using the Create a Card 'Stacey' die. These dies are so versatile...I love how you can make little pull out elements and doors in your projects.

This little card features a stamp from Moonbeam Meadow coloured with Spectrum Noir Pens. (TB1, TB2, TB4, OR4, DG2, TN3, GB8) I created the little door to hide a sentiment inside.

Hope you like it!
Back soon
Karen x

Jones Crafts Competition Time

***FABULOUS COMPETITION TIME***

Join us for a Scraptacular Celebration of UK Scrapbooking!

It's (Inter) National Scrapbook Day on Saturday 7th May and Jones Crafts will be celebrating in style!

We want you to get your scrap on and join in with our Scraptacular Virtual Crop.

And there will be a super prize up for grabs... interested? Then read on!!!

Our super talented design team are going to inspire your creativity as part of our scraptacular!

We want you to scraplift one of the Design Team layouts which will go live at 9am on May 7th.

Pop a photograph of your layout on the Scraptacular Post which will be pinned at the top of the Jones Crafts Facebook Page.
 Visit the Design Team blogs to leave a comment and you could be in with a chance of winning a Scraptacular prize! £50 worth of Scrapbooking materials from our leading Scrapbooking companies 

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We will then select a layout that we think is quite simply Scraptacular and that layout will be featured on the Jones Crafts Facebook page and the scrapper will win an amazing prize.

So what are you waiting for?

Ready, steady, scrap!

And don't forget to be Scraptacular! 

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So here is my layout featuring the lovely papers from Graphic 45's Cityscapes collection. I thought this would be perfect to showcase two photos I took whilst in London comparing the old and the new buildings, and ever-changing landscape along the Thames.

 Anyway, hope you like it! Please join in with the challenge if you can, there really is a lovely prize up for grabs!
Best wishes and bye for now
Karen x

Lace Butterfly

Morning Crafty Peeps
Today I thought I'd share one of the cards I made using the lovely new 8x8 Create a Card dies from Crafter's Companion.

This time I made a dimensional card with the Lace Butterfly die, White Centura Pearl card, Dark Pink Coredinations - embossed with the Delicate Floral folder, and the new 8 inch 'Thank You Edgeable.
Hope you like it!
Back soon x

Lullaby meets Kimono

Morning All!
Today I'm back to share another layout. This time I chose the Kimono Glitter Pad from Crafter's Companion and teamed it up with papers from Sara Davies' Signature Collection 'Butterfly Lullaby'.

I first punched a border on one of the Lullaby 12x12 sheets and mounted it on to Coredinations. From another sheet I drew around a plate to create a circle and inked the edges to emphasise the sun ray effect of the pattern. I matted the decorative corners from this sheet also onto Coredinations to create a central focal area.

 Then it was simply a matter of cutting elements from the Kimono pad...even one of the lanterns from the front cover... and then building them up around my photo to create some dimension. The sentiment 'Just Us' was cut from the left over fans using my alphabet dies in the Diamond Press machine. I finished with dots of glitter glue and pearl pen to highlight.

Hope you like it...I love how these two Crafter's Companion Paper Pads teamed up together...the colours are lovely with the black and white photo.

Thanks for popping by!
Best wishes
Karen x

Pillow Box Prettiness

Afternoon All!
Back with another idea today, to show how you can use the fabulous Art Deco Edge border dies from Crafter's Companion.

Why not decorate a little pillow box made from Centura Pearl, whizz it through your machine in an Embossalicious Delicate Floral folder, then wrap around the Deco Edge in layers to decorate? Really simple but effective.
Hope you like it!
Bye for now x

Lullaby Layout

Morning All!
The 1st of May already...where did that time go?
Well, its a new month, so today I thought I'd share something different. When I'm not card making, I love scrapbooking, but very rarely share my layouts. So... as I've been busy creating quite a few... I thought I'd pop some on my blog and FB for some inspiration and different ways of using mainly Crafter's Companion products.

This first layout is of my lovely Gran, and step - grandfather John. Both lived into their nineties and only passed away in recent years. My Gran had a big influence on my crafty life, was loads of fun, and I loved her to bits, so I have many happy memories.

I used the lovely papers from Sara Davies' Signature Collection 'Butterfly Lullaby', and created lots of layers, and added plenty of fussy cut elements and glitter! In the top right hand corner I created a secret pocket underneath the layers where I have slipped a tag with my memories of them written down...you may just be able to see the edge of it in pale blue peeking out...a great way to add details that you don't necessarily want on the main layout.
Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed creating it! xx

Trellis Flowers

Morning Crafters!
Here we go with the start of another Bank Holiday Weekend - I hope you have a great one!

Today I thought I'd share a dinky card using one of the new border dies from Crafter's Companion - this time the Trellis Edge cut into one of the new Create a Cards - this shape is called 'Ruth'. The flowers are made using the dies that come with the Gemini machine.
Hope you like it - I love the pink Coredinations and Kraft card together!
Bye for now x