Winter Woodland Christmas

I hope you have all had some really enjoyable and relasing Christmas days. And now that all the Christmas e-mails are sent I can share with you the card that I created for our electronic Christmas greetings. I copied the image into Word and could then embedd it into the e-mail text.

The ingredients of this card:

* Winter Woodland 12” x 12” designer paper pack
* Winter Woodland clear stamp - snowman
* Winter Woodland clear stamp – sentiments
* Winter Woodland paper flowers
* Winter Woodland wooden elements
* Winter Woodland adhesive gems & pearls
* Winter Woodland polka ribbon bows
* First Edition dies – vintage signs
* 8” square white card blank
* solar white Neenah cardstock
* Woodware kraft cardstock
* small piece of green cardstock
* white spider web
* black Memento ink pad
* ProMarkers
* Britannia holly die strip
* Marianne Design fence die
* die-cutting machine
* adhesive
* toolbox basics

Step-by-step instructions for this card can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Krafty Winter Florals

Today I would like to share a card with you that I created using the Dovecraft Krafty Christmas collection by Trimcraft. Kraft card has become such a staple product. And it is so nice that this collection provides not only kraft card blanks and envelopes, but also backing papers and loads of embellishments which work perfectly with this type of card. Two very useful sets with Christmas stamps and a snowflake embossing folder complete the range.

A product list and step-by-step instructions for this Trimcraft project are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

Quick Christmas cards with First Edition papers

1, 2, 3, ..., PANIC!!! It is, of course, nice when Christmas cards are selling well and even the husband uses more cards, but when it is then the middle of December and you then realise that you have not sent any cards yet and only handed out one but are confronted with a serious shortage of Christmas cards for the own use then it is truly time to panic. And a solution needs to be found fast.

    

Just good that there are so many large sentiment dies on the market at the moment. Together with some metallic card, beautiful First Edition papers by Trimcraft and some metallic pearls or card candi they can really save the day. For the examples shown here I used a Sue Wilson die as well as the First Edition premium paper pads 'Gilded Winter'  and 'Vintage Noel'.

    

But the next few days will definitely be very busy ...

Tiny Tatty Teddy Baby Girl

The popular Tatty Teddy is back today, but this time as a 'bitesize' baby girl from the brand-new Me to You Tiny Tatty Teddy collection by Trimcraft.

I built up the card around one of the decoupage images. And I really like that it provides the space for a stamped or die-cut sentiment. There are even some extras on the decoupage sheet, i.e. I will be able to turn the remaining blanket-style labels into sentiment toppers for other cards.

The collection also includes a great and versatile die set. It provides all the elements for a lovely Tatty Teddy die-cut image, but also some dies that can be used on cards of a completely different style. I used the frame as well as the large rose elements (albeit choped into pieces) for today's card. Especially the frame could become one of my favourites that might feature on many future cards.

On this card I also indulged quite a bit in all the different kinds of embellishments, which are available in this collection, to create some more texture and dimension.

For a product list and step-by-step instructions please go to my Trimcraft gallery.

One Me to You image - two ways

Many of us are probably still busy working on our Christmas cards. So I would like to share two cards with you, which are based on the gorgeous Me to You image of Tatty Teddy holding a bunch of poinsettias.

The first card shows the decoupage version of the image surrounded by a number of products from the Me to You Christmas collection by Trimcraft. I also used the brand-new Dovecraft 3D Pearl Effects for the centres of the blossoms and as embellishments.

The second card features the 3D sticker version of the image. A variety of Me to You Christmas products and a decorative border created witha Sue Wilson die are completing the design.

As I created both cards for Trimcraft, I have provided product lists and step-by-step instructions for both projects in my Trimcraft gallery.

Double Trouble

Trimcraft have just released new products for the so popular Me to You range: the Tiny Tatty Teddy collection. The products are not only perfect for baby cards, but also for toddlers, the first birthdays in a young life or cards for new grandparents. Some of the cute images are also suitable for older or grown-up 'kids', which makes the new products even more versatile.

Tiny Tatty Teddy comes with a girl line and a boy line. Or why not just mix the products like I have done for today's card? Iopted for neutral colours in the form of kraft cardstock and the wooden embellishment to bring the two colour schemes together.

I really like that the papers are substantial enough to be embossed, i.e. it is possible to add more dimension and interesting features to papercraft products. And the available alphabet stamps make it easy to personalise projects and to turn them into keepsakes.

As usual, you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions for this card in my Trimcraft gallery.

Going Maritime

Today I would like to share with you the first card that I created with the new First Edition paper pad 'Sail Away'. I deliberately did not want to 'overdo' the design in order not to distract from the beautiful background paper. Simple household string seemed to be a suitable addition to add an interesting but not overpowering feature.

The dies I used are a round die, a set of decorative round dies by Spellbinders as well as maritime dies by Marianne Design, Joanna Sheen and Die-Namics.

A product list and step-by-step instructions are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

Further new projects will follow over the next days.

New First Edition Paper Pads

Trimcraft have brought out some more fabulous First Edition paper pads. For today's project I selected the 6" x 6" Botanical Notes pad, which contains some simply stunning designs. These designs are also available as 8" x 8" pad and as 12" x 12" pad.

Especially the pearlescent butterfly paper with a lovely gold shimmer is so gorgeous that I did not want to cover it up too much and just let it work its own magic. I combined it with a large floral corner and butterfly die-cuts (all created using Tonic dies) in vintage gold. I glittered the edges of the paper roses and rosebuds by carefully applying PVA glue and then dusting them with DecoArt Glitter Dust in gold. which is also distributed by Trimcraft. Cream coloured adhesive pearls are highlighting the bodies of the butterflies.

A product list and instructions for this card are available in my Trimcraft gallery.

Winter Woodland Festive Cards

Oh gosh, now it is already November! Christmas is only a few weeks away and have not even thought about the design for the Christmas cards for our own use - especially the ones that we need to post and that need to be flat and light. Something is telling me that these cards might get made in a mad rush yet again and might require a trip to Southfield Stationers to get more card blanks and envelopes ...

Good that the design team cards are progressing much better. Here are the newest cards created with the Winter Woodland collection by Helz Cuppleditch and Trimcraft. I just love the adorable images.

Both cards use 15cm square white card blanks.

For the snowman card I 'misused' an aperture card blank by turning it into a frame. The decoupage image does not completely fill out the aperture, but matching snowflake background paper as well as the flowers and holly pieces disguise the edges. For the holly pieces I used the die strip by Britannia Dies.

For the second card I used glitter stickers and wooden elements from the collection for the toppers. For a more natural feel I decided to display the underside of the frames rather than the coloured side. As further embellishment I tied Woodware organza ribbon into a decorative bow and attached a fabric brad with the help of glue gel.

Product lists and step-by-step instructions for both cards are available in my Trimcraft gallery.

Floral Christmas Cards in Traditional Colours

Firstly apologies for the lack of blog posts over the last few weeks. I just needed a bit of time and a 'creative break' to get over everything that happened recently. I had already started crafting a bit again, but a visit to the Hobbycrafts Show at  the SECC was exactly what I needed to bring final closure and to focus again on the future. Christmas might still be challenging, but hopefully lovely memories will be dominating.

Back to Basics Christmas - Joy of Christmas

But now back to 'business as usual'. For the first cards I would like to share with you I used the Dovecraft Back to Basics Christmas collection in traditional colours in combination with the doily die set from Trimcraft's Me to You Christmas collection. Both cards also have in common that cardstock in vintage metallic colours is used for the matting and layering.

For the card above I used the entire doily set, which cuts and embosses just beautifully and can easily be combined with circle and scalloped circle dies, to create a focal point.

Back to Basics Christmas - Floral Season's Greetings

For the second card I just used one of the frames, which can be created with the doily die set, and mounted it onto a vintage gold scalloped circle. The Me to You Christmas mistletoe embossing folder helped to create some texture for the scalloped circle and the green cardstock of the banner.

As I designed both projects for Trimcraft, product lists and step-by-step instructions will again be available in my Trimcraft gallery.

A weekend dominated by mixed emotions

Saturday started in a lovely way with the Ross Papercraft Show at the the Meadowbank Stadium. It was fun, there were more exhibitors than ever before and I managed to secure some good bargains. And did I stick to my budget? Erm, ... no ... But the lovely tools, embellishments and dies were worth it.

But as soon as I was home and started to put my feet up with a nice cold drink the sky seemed to literally cave in. It is difficult to digest that our family got hit by two tragic losses at both ends of the age spectrum on Saturday - one expected and limiting suffering but still extremely sad, the other one completely out of the blue.

I have been feeling sad and tearful all day, but instead of tossing and turning in bed I might as well still get a bit of work done and catch up with my blog.

Visitors at the Ross Papercraft Show could see these two cards amongst the sample cards at the Stampers Grove stand.

For the Jacobite card I used the Crafty Stamps images 'Jacobite Warrior' (SC165N) and 'Arthurs Seat' (SC159M). I combined it with paper roses by Wild Orchid Crafts, thistles from Stampers Grove (the home of Crafty Stamps) and an embossing folder from Sheena Douglass' Indian collection.

The second card is created using Crafty Stamps' rockhopper penguin (AN143B). It is based on  a Dovecraft 5" x 7" card blank that I transformed with the help of Sue Wilson's background die from the Californian collection. The Sue Wilon die and the wooden shapes on this card are also from Stampers Grove.

Both images are stamped with VersaFine ink pads and coloured in using Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Derwent blender pens.

Winter Woodland Hedgehog

I think I only realised how stressful the uncertainty and fear around the outcome of the referendum was when my stomach decided that it was payback time. So instead of a relaxing and crafty weekend I spent a good part of Friday (after I came home from work) and nearly all day Saturday and Sunday wrapped up warm in bed or curled up on the sofa. Not really what I had in mind ...

But now it is business as usual again and I can share the next card with you.

I just love the wee hedgehog from the Trimcraft's Winter Woodland collection, which is based on the lovely illustrations by Helz Cuplleditch. For this card I opted for an image from the glitter decoupage pad.. And I also could not bypass the gorgeous embossing folder. I hope that Trimcraft will bring out a lot more embossing folders and dies, as they are great to work with and I am impressed by their quality.

If you would like to re-create this card (only for personal use and not for competition entries, please), you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery.

Christmas Cards with Wooden Shapes

Twelve Days of Christmas - Someone Special

Oh, what a dreadful day it was here today - dark, cold, foggy and wet. And as so many leaves are now coming off the trees, it was a good indication that autumn is here. The weather was slightly better in town, but here the fog did not lift all day. Although it was not raining at the time I ended up with completely damp clothes just by walking from the bus stop to the house, as I had to walk through the dense fog. I had not experienced anything like that before.

But hiding away in the house for the rest of the day gave me at least the chance to start catching up on project instructions.

Today I would like to make a start with three Christmas cards that I created with the new Dovecraft Twelve Days of Christmas collection by Trimcraft. All of them feature tartan papers from the collection and wooden embellishments.

Twelve Days of Christmas - 25th December

 Twelve Days of Christmas - With Love

I prepared detailed product lists and step-by-step instructions for all three projects. Just click onto the titles below the images to get directly to the relevant pages in my Trimcraft gallery.

Twelve Days of Christmas

 Oh, Trimcraft have brought out so many lovely new Christmas products this year. The Dovecraft collection 'Twelve Days of Christmas' features beautiful papers - many with beautiful red and green tones - as well as images from the popular song. There are also loads of gorgeous embellishments available.

On the card above I have also used one of the brand-new embossing folders (this one is from the Me to You Christmas collection). I have now used the embossing folders a number of times in my Cuttlebug and have always had a beautifully deep and very even impression. I am really delighted with the quality of these Trimcraft embossing folders.

For the fir tree branches I used a die by Marianne Design.

You can again find a product list and step-by-step instructions in my Trimcraft gallery.

Dovecraft Back to Basics Christmas Collection

Amongst the new Christmas products by Trimcraft there is one collection that caught my eye immediately due to the superb colours: the modern style of the brand-new Dovecraft Back to Basics Christmas range. I just love the beautiful papers and embellishments.

Today's card is relatively quickly to make. My main focus for this project is to showcase the patterned papers.

A product list and step-by-step instructions for this card are available in my Trimcraft gallery. And for those fellow 'die addicts': I used the holly strip by Britannia Dies for the holly elements.

Winter Woodland

Winter Woodland - Winter Love

Today I would like to share with you three cards for which I used the super cute products from the brand-new Winter Woodland collection by Trimcraft. It is another range featuring the popular creations by the so very talented Helz Cuppleditch.

Winter Woodland - Our Christmas Tree

Originally I wanted to make one card for now and then try out products from another collection, but I had so many design ideas that I just could not fit them all onto one card. So it just had to be three in one go ... And I just love these products. The glitter decoupage images and the glittered papers are not only beautiful but also give projects an instant luxurious feel.

Winter Woodland - Fancy a Carrot?

I have again provided product lists and step-by-step instructions for all these cards in my Trimcraft gallery. By clicking onto the titles below the images you will be taken through directly to the project in question.

More Christmas Cards with Tatty Teddies

Me to You Christmas - Love You

Here are now - as promised yesterday - further Christmas cards created with the new Me to You collection by Trimcraft. The products are just great for cute and colourful but not too bright Christmas cards.

Me to You Christmas - Snowman

For all three cards I used again the fabulous glitter decoupage pad. It provides brilliant toppers with a nice sparkle in selected areas. And the glitter stays where it belongs and really does not come off, i.e. your hands, craft areas and pets will not end up all sparkly.

Me to You - Christmas Love

I have again prepared product lists and step-by-step instructions for all of today's cards. Just click onto the titles below the images and you will be taken through to the information in my Trimcraft gallery.

I hope you like these cards and get a bit of inspiration from them.

Me to You Tartan Christmas Card

Today I would like to share the first Me to You Christmas card with you. More cards are already prepared, but immediately after I took the photo for this one the sky went dark, daylight was pretty much non-existent and we got yet more heavy rainfall. Hopefully the conditions will be better again tomorrow and I can share the next images with you then.

Me to You is a brand-new Christmas collection by Trimcraft with gorgeous papers in three sizes, a die-cut glitter decoupage pad, clear stamps, card packs in two sizes and loads of lovely embellishments. The only other product I used for today's card is Joanna Sheen's pine cone die set, which I used for the fir tree pieces at the flower.

A product list and step-by-step instructions for this card are again available in my Trimcraft gallery.

A card I would have preferred not to make

As much as I love crafts, the reason for this card is just so sad that I would have preferred not to make it in the first place. What can you say to a mother, who unexpectedly and suddenly lost her daughter? And that at an age where everybody should still have most of their life to look forward to.

I did not want to make a standard sympathy card. I wanted the card and our words to show that we care and are thinking of her, but also wanted to start building a bridge from the current pain to treasured memories. My intention was to create a card that can become a keepsake after a while. So many things connected with her daughter, photos and possessions must be so precious now.

It took me a few days to finalise the card. I think initially I just needed to get over the emotional impact of the news. But even after deciding on the Santoro Mirabelle collection by Trimcraft due to its stunning products and muted colours it still took a while to work out the layout. I just wanted to get this card right.

For the front of the card I used:

• Santoro Mirabelle A4 premium paper pad
• Santoro Mirabelle glitter decoupage pad
• Santoro Mirabelle metal charms - butterflies
• Santoro Mirabelle metal charms - medallions
• Santoro Mirabelle metal buttons
• Santoro Mirabelle adhesive pearls
• 8" square kraft card blank
• Black cardstock
• Black spider web net
• Clarity word stamp
• Black Versafine ink pad
• Adhesive
• Toolbox basics

For the insert I chose an extract from the lyrics to the song 'Book of Golden Stories' by Runrig accompanied by our own words. The extract from the lyrics reads:

'Yes, as long as I can see the morning

And blossom comes to bud again in spring

It's enough to keep me still believing

Your memory is everything'

It was somehow heartbreaking to make this card, but I am pleased with the end result and hope that she will be able to appreciate it once the pain of the loss has ebbed down a wee bit.

Forget-me-not Tag Card

What a week this has been! Festival time in Edinburgh, some Commonwealth Games events and a number of incidents impacting on traffic have not been a good combination. On two days I actually spent more time trying to get to and from work then I actually spent in the office ... Fingers crossed that this will be better in the new week, but I will not hold my breath just yet.

The card above is again created using Dovecraft Forget-me-not products by Trimcraft. This time I used the beautiful 'bunch of flowers' stamp.

For a perfect ink distribution and impression I conditioned this clear stamp with a high quality eraser before the first use. I stamped the image using a Memento ink pad and coloured it in with ProMarkers. Step-by-step instructions and a product list for this card can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

And for those who are wondering about the stapler: I used a normal office stapler and standard staples to attach the raffia string to the tag. 

Forget-me-not - So Versatile and Useful for Many Different Themes

Forget-me-not - Afternoon Tea

Could somebody please tell this weather that we are in Scotland and should not be bothered about a heatwave? We are just not used to such temperatures over a prolonged period of time. Even crafting is pretty much only possible in the morning. Afterwards it is just getting too warm with the risk of just sticking to card and paper ...

Today I used the morning hours to finish off instructions for the two cards featured in this blog post. They are created with the beautiful Dovecraft Forget-me-not collection by Trimcraft. And the card above does not even have a gardening theme, which shows that these lovely products also cater for summery cards for other occasions.

Product lists and step-by-step-instructions for both projects are in my Trimcraft gallery. Just click onto the links below the images to be taken through directly to the descriptions.

Forget-me-not - Live Love Grow

The dies, which I used for these two cards are a leaf die strip by Britannia Dies and the border, tag and corner die set from Sue Wilson's Italian collection.

Dovecraft Forget-me-not - Gardener's Summer

For the card, which I would like to share with you today, I have opted again for the new Dovecraft Forget-me-not collection by Trimcraft. The lovely images and soft colours are just perfect for a bit of summer crafting.

In this case I have covered both sides of the card blank with patterned paper, a technique that I have not used for far too long although it creates such beautiful and really sturdy base cards.

A product list and step-by-step instructions are again available in my Trimcraft gallery. The decorative border punch that I used is by Tonic Studios. For the leave section I decided on a floral die by Joy! Crafts. The small white fabric flowers and white beads are in fact from a deconstucted piece of white heather.

Further new projects will follow all this week.

Cards Inspired by the Summer

Forget-me-not - Liquid Pleasure

Here are now the next two projects created with the new Dovecraft Forget-me-not collection by Trimcraft.

And at least these cards bring a bit of summer into my life. After a lovely, sunny and warm Tuesday the weather suddenly changed completely. A dull, significantly cooler and very windy day with rainshowers in the evening followed. I really hope that we will get a few more nice days.

Forget-me-not - Birds of Summer

I added again product lists and step-by-step instructions to my Trimcraft gallery in case you want to re-create one or both of the cards. Just click onto the titles/links below the images to go directly to the projects on the Trimcraft forum.

Dovecraft Forget-me-not Collection

Have you already seen the beautiful new Forget-me-not collection by Dovecraft? The garden themed images in mainly pastel colours are so pretty and great for summer crafting sessions.

I started with the glitter decoupage pad. I just could not resist the gorgeous images with glitter effects. And I also just had to try out new items like the pockets and the adhesive garland flags. A full product list and step-by-step-instructions for this card can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

This is only the first project of many. Other cards are already completed, but are still awaiting their project instructions. It would be great, if you could check back for more projects and inspiration over the next days.

Not just for Father's Day

Oh, I had so much work planned for last weekend only to do in my lower back on Saturday - and I do not even know how I managed to do that ... So instead of crafting I was in absolute agony, feeding on pain killers and trying to find a position that was half-way bearable. Standing, sitting and lying down was just horror. For a few days I even had to get out of bed (and even by doing that I often came close to screaming), if I just wanted to change my position. Turning round in bed was impossible.

But now the back is much better, the mobility is returning (I can even pick up things from the floor again!) and the beloved crafting is back on the agenda.

The card I would like to share with you today is one for dads, who deserve a thank-you now and again - and not only for Father's Day. To create it I used the brand-new Grace Taylor Modern Cabin products, which are distributed by Trimcraft.

I applied distress inks to the maritime posts and added coloured PVA glue around a day later only to discover that some of the ink started to creep up the tiny pearls a bit. But I actually quite like the look. Due to the impact of the sea water, algae, etc. nothing maritime stays nice, clean and shiny for too long anyway.

A product list and step-by-step instructions for this card can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

And for those of you, who are interested in the dies I used: the posts are from the ocean set by Marianne Design and the sentiment is created using Britannia dies.

Celebrating Baby Girls

 
The focus of today's projects is the beautiful new First Edition paper pad 'It's a Girl!' by Trimcraft. It contains quality heavyweight papers in gorgeous designs including some sheets with glitter accents, some textured sheets, a foil design, tags that can be cut out and a sticker sheet with matching images. And half of the papers are also double-sided.

Product lists and instructions for both projects can be found in my gallery on the Trimcraft forum. But as I also know that many crafters are interested in the makes of the dies used, here are a few more details around those:

For the first card I used a lily die and a sentiment dies set by Britannia Dies and a heart die by Wild Rose Studio.

For the second card I used the carousel die from the Fun Fair collection by Trimcraft, a gift tag die by Tonic Studios as well as a leaf strip and a sentiment die set by Britannia Dies.

Rockhopper Penguin

The weather is absolutely crazy here. Yesterday we had more than enough torrential downpours, water standing in the streets and even an evacuation of Edinburgh Zoo. I had to revert to wellies for my trip to the Sincerely Yours show, which was very busy despite the awful weather. Crafters just are a tough bunch and always venture out when craty treats are calling :).

And it was not much better today. At some point the rhones just could not take the amount of water anymore (and they were only cleaned recently) and the water just shot over them like a waterfall.

The above card, which features a rockhopper penguin, had its 'premiere' as sample for Crafty Stamps and Stampers Grove at yesterday's Sincerely Yours show in Edinburgh. I was tempted to add a few more layers. But I am conscious that not everybody wants to create cards influenced by Sue Wilson's style, so I opted for a slightly simplified layout to show that this is also possible with her dies.

Product list:
* Crafty Stamps image 'Rockhopper' (AN143B)
* Sue Wilson decorative frames dies from the Italian collection
* Sue Wilson corner, border and tag die set from the Italian collection
* 15cm square white linen textured cardstock by Southfield
* Foundations card in 'Periwinkle'
* White linen textured cardstock by Southfield
* Neenah card
* Wooden shapes
* Household string
* Decorative pins
* Adhesive pearls
* Black Memento ink pad
* ProMarkers
* Adhesive
* Die-cutting machine
* Toolbox essentials

Creations in 'Kraft' with Fun Fair Dies

Fun Fair - Where's the Duck?

What happened to spring? Today was just another chilly, dull and wet day here. I even had to put the heating on for a while, as the house had cooled out so much.

Today I would like two cards with you for which I combined the new Fun Fair collection by Helz Cuppleditch and Trimcraft with kraft cardstock. I really like the combination of vibrant colours, which bring  bit of sunshine into a day with such dire weather, with material in a natural and more neutral tone.

Fun Fair - Fun of the Fair

I have again prepared product lists and step-by-step instructions for both projects.They are again in my Trimcraft gallery, and you can access them by clicking onto the links below the images.

And in case anybody is wondering, the square and rectangular dies that I used for the second card are from layering die-sets by Tonic Studios.

New First Edition Paper Pad

My second blog post this weekend is dedicated to the brand-new First Edition paper pad 'It's a Boy!'. The pad contains not only papers for male new arrivals, but also some that are suitable for a first birthday. The floral and bird papers could also be used for completely different occasions.

This new pad even contains a sheet of stickers. which is perfect for beginners, cards that have to mad in a hurry or for those days when the desired die or stamp just seems to hide in a secret corner. The pad also come swith some sheets full of tags, which can be cut out, and three sheets of a gorgeous patchwork-style paper. It can take quite a while to create the beautiful patchwork effects, so this is a welcome shortcut.

 You can find product lists and step-by-step instructions for all projects featured here in my Trimcraft gallery. But here are also a few more details relating to the dies for all those die addicts amongst you (and yes, I am definitely one of those as well ;) ...).

* Decorative dies by Sue Wilson
* Baby carriage die by Memory Box
* Sentiment die by Cheery Lynn
* Alphabet die set by Britannia Dies
* Baby rattle die by Marianne Design