Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 6/1

Week 6 number 1 - we had to follow a sketch on a round base. This is a round tent opening card and I've trimmed the base so it stands properly. I used a CB embossing folder for the snow background and the blue snowflake square which I edged in Brilliance lavender. The patterned papers are from the Dovecraft Christmas Blues pack. I added an eyelet to the tag shape, a snowflake brad and some punched snowflakes. The reindeer paper has been smeared with distress stickles in rock candy for a subtle sparkle. The pink background is just some card I used when scanning in order to get a better defined scan of the round card.

Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - the full Monty!

I did have plans to bind all my pages but it's not going to happen this week so I'm posting a pic of the full set of 12 pages. Looking at them as a set I'm thinking about what they say about me. Hmm well they're very colourful, fairly random in the sense that there doesn't seem to be a particular style although it shows I don't really do cute. I have enjoyed doing them all - the easy & the not so easy months. They never became a chore. I hope I've done the challenge justice - what do you think?

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 6/2

Sorry this has scanned a bit wonky. This is week 6 number 2 - use a watercolour technique on a card. It's a DL card with the Peace stamp by Rubber Stampede watercoloured with Adirondack denim, meadow & cranberry. The printed paper is from the wild asparagus range by My Mind's Eye. The bird is from the Katzelkraft physalis musique set and I've used some candi dots and a photo corner punch as embellishments.

Craft Barn Calendar Challenge Week 12

The final calendar page. The prompt was red, green, pine trees & sparkle. I stamped the Katzelkraft horloge stamp with Versamark and brushed gold Perfect Pearls over for the background. I thought it was appropriate as we are all fixated on watching the clock at midnight on the 31st December. I coloured in a pine tree stamp from All Night Media with Whispers marker pens, spritzed with water and stamped on a piece of white card. I spritzed again for a second impression and repeated. I cut letters with an X-cut alphabet from gold glitter paper and some pine trees from holographic green paper. I know there's no glitter as such on this page but there is a lot of sparkle and shimmer. I'd like to thank everyone involved in organising this challenge. I've enjoyed it tremendously and have thankfully managed to complete each week on time. It's just as well it's finishing now though because I don't think I can put off making our Christmas cards any longer! When I started I wasn't too sure how I would put the calendar together but by luck I managed to pick up a secondhand Bind-it-all at a good price so I'm going to have a go with that.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 6/3

This is a tricky one to scan. Week 6 number 3 - an all white card.  I used a Crafts Too embossing folder for the baubles and a Cuttlebug folder for the text which I cut out and stuck on. Some frosted lace stickles and a small white bow completed the card.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 5/2

Week 5 number 2 we had to use the salt technique on our card. I used the rest of the sheet I had made for the ATCs below and stamped a crafty individuals stamp on it. A strip of patterned paper (Dovecraft Christmas blues) and a snowflake brad completed the piece.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 1/1

This is the very first challenge card - week1 number1 we had to follow a tutorial for a tri-shutter card. It took me ages to do (well I followed the tute for the base and then it just sat on my desk as I couldn't think how to decorate it). It's a very easy and attractive card fold but for me it just has too many surfaces that need covering. I'm more of a clean & simple person (quick & easy if I'm honest). I finally bit the bullet and used DCWV Rose-tinted Christmas papers. I then used Paula Pascual's excellent large Christmas and joyful bubbles sets of stamps with some gems and a few plastic snowflake embellishments that I cut from a garland. The inks used were DI dusty concord and Brilliance orchid.

The last ATC!

This is the last ATC swap for my ATC group. The theme is 'Baby it's cold outside'. This is one of those pieces of work that has a lot more in it than you can see. I had to do a background using the salt technique for one of the Katzelkraft challenges so I did a whole sheet of A4 card so that I could use some for these ATCs. First I clear embossed some snowflakes and then did a wash of DI broken china over the whole sheet. Next I spritzed some water over, sprinkled rock salt and spritzed some more water over.When dry I brushed the salt off. I could see places where the salt had absorbed some of the colour but overall I wasn't too thrilled with the result. Perhaps a darker coloured wash would have been better? I added some more snowflakes in DI tumbled glass and tore some scraps of card to make the ground which I highlighted with glamour dust (you've got to have a bit of sparkle!). I punched out the snowman and used a stamp positioner to add the text on his scarf. This is a tool I bought this summer and although I was a bit sceptical at first about how useful it would be I have to say I have found it invaluable. You don't have to buy one (I got mine for half price so it was a good buy) - the internet has instructions on how to make one out of duplo pieces and once you understand the principle you could adapt many things. So it's au revoir to my ATC friends!

Craft Barn Calendar Challenge Week 11

Yellow, grey and bare branches was the prompt for the penultimate week. This was a really tough one and I'm still not sure about it. I had no clear idea what I wanted to do when I started and the whole thing just evolved as I went on. The tree stamp is by Sunday International and the flourish by Katzelkraft  from the physalis musique plate. The quote is a stamp I had made a couple of years ago. The inks I used were DI pumice stone and Brilliance yellow.



Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 5/1

We had to follow a sketch for this card - week 5 no 1. I know butterflies are not exactly festive but I had seen this being made at the Craft Barn minifest by Di Oliver of Tando and I wanted to incorporate one in a card. Being pretty, pretty things I thought a butterfly would go well with this Papermania Contemporary Christmas pack which is (rather unusually for Christmas paper) in pink and grey tones. The grey paper has been stamped with a Katzelkraft script from the background plate in Adirondack lake mist. The 3 circles are stamped with Brilliance orchid and are from a fab Personal Impressions set designed by Paula Pascual called joyful bubbles. They punch out perfectly with a 1" circle punch. Some tiny gems and fibres complete the card.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 2/2

Week 2 number 2 - a card with some sewing. I've had this little cross stitch scrap hanging around for a while now. I got into card making through cross stitch as I found it easier to do small items and then mount them onto cards. The background is a Katzelkraft stamp from the background plate stamped with Impress chartreuse. The text is a tiny stamp from Rubbadubadoo (I think) stamped with Adirondack wild plum.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 4/1

Week 4 number 1. We were given a sketch which I have followed very closely. A patterned paper base ('tis the season again), 4 rectangles of matt silver card embossed to give different textures and a punched photo label for the text (by Hero Arts) edged with broken china DI and raised on foam pads. The bird and branch are by Tando from a set I bought at the Craft Barn during a visit to their mini-fest a couple of weeks ago. I coloured them in with coloursoft & sansodor and gave the robin a light coating of crackle glaze which I applied with my finger.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 4/2

Week 4 number 2 - use an office  product on your card. This was fun and required a bit of thought. I immediately thought of staples so I decided it had to be a more grungy looking card. The santa and background text are from Paper Artsy. I sprayed some inks in maple (a reddish colour) & gold & stamped the image on that. The background paper is brown parcel paper scrunched up, opened out & with fired ink and spiced marmalade DI smooshed over. I then sprayed it with some water. The text is from the Katzelkraft contes et merveilles plate and a paper clip finishes off the card.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 4/3

Week 4 number3. We had to use a puzzle piece. I have loads of puzzle pieces hidden away somewhere but could I find them? No! Instead I used a Sizzix die to cut some card which I then covered with a seasonal patterned paper ('Tis the season by Dovecraft). I stamped the alphabet (Inkadinkadoo cartoon alphabet) on some more patterned paper from the same collection, cut it out & attached it to each piece. The background is a Katzelkraft stamp from the 'adore' plate stamped with Impress spring green and Adirondack meadow. This plate has some fabulous flourishes, useful text and some great images and is the first Katzelkraft set I bought. I have used all the individual stamps in the set at one time or another which is something I can't say about every set of stamps I have (hangs head in shame).

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Craft Barn Calendar Challenge Week 10

Only 2 weeks to go for this challenge. I have enjoyed it immensely and will miss it when it has ended but this blog is a lasting legacy as it was this challenge that prompted me to start a blog. The prompt this week was autumn shades (my favourite colours) & leaves and I knew straight away what I was going to do. I have done this leaf background before as an ATC and a postcard but I love it as it looks so effective. The stamp is a gorgeous one by Simple Expresions and I used a Kaleidacolour stamp pad (autumn leaves). I used spiced marmalade distress ink with a foam pad around the edge of the card prior to stamping. An optional prompt was a Tim Holtz die or stamp so I used my new tattered leaves die set with kraft paper mounted onto card. I then stamped a TH paisley stamp onto each leaf with Brilliance cosmic copper (sorry the pearlescence hasn't scanned well) and used tea dye distress ink (another TH product) on the edges. I bent the leaves to give them some shape and mounted them with small 3D foam squares so that they are raised in places.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 3/3

For week 3 number 3 we had to make a card in a naive style. I remembered I had won a Kadoodle stamp in a competition a while ago which would fit the bill. I coloured it in with coloursoft pencils & Sansodor & added some printed papers from Dovecraft 'Tis the Season'. Not my usual style but I hope it fits the bill.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 3/2

Week 3 no 2. For this we had to use a rescued/recycled background. I used the moulded packaging from a TH die & used the die itself to cut the shape out. I then embossed it with a Christmas bauble folder & used a green Stazon pad to give a bit more definition to the embossed image. I tore the top layer of a piece of corrugated cardboard from a delivery box and used picket fence distress stain on the raised bits. I stamped the little tree (rubbadubadoo I think) on a piece of scrap card and added the seasonal text. A little red star & a red bow complete the card.

Craft Barn Calendar Challenge Week 9

September is back to school month so the prompt this week was old paper (colour) & red lines. I have a great Katzelkraft corner stamp that has grungy lines which was perfect for this. I used antique linen distress ink DTP as a background. Some ink spots with alcohol ink and a selection of Paper Artsy number stamps added to the distressed background. The pen nibs are from a Stampington set and I die cut some letters from an X-cut die set to finish the page off.
Just having a think about it and it strikes me that September 2012 will be the first time in years that I won't have anyone to get back to school (sniff, sniff) because (hopefully) my last baby will be going off to university.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 1/2

Week 1 no2. This was a sketch that we had to interpret. I'm not really used to doing sketches so I kept very close to the original sketch. I used bundled sage distress ink on a white card and stamped a Katzelkraft flourish (from physalis musique) with the same ink pad. I punched out 3 tickets from a Dovecraft Christmas blues patterned paper set and used some more paper to make a pocket for the tickets. A little glitter on the central ticket completed the card.

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 3/1

For this card (week 3 number 1) we were invited to take inspiration from an advert for Flower by Kenzo (a perfume). The advert has an oriental lady & is black, white & red. I knew immediately which stamp I wanted to use. It's from a winter plate by Non Sequitur and ticked the oriental & black & white boxes. This is just the sort of clean, unfussy card I like to make although I admire the collage style cards that others produce. I edged the image with a mat of red & mounted it onto an embossed white card (sorry it scanned a bit wonky).

Katzelkraft Christmas Challenge 2/3

This is week 2 number 3. We have to use white paper and distress inks for a background. The whole idea of this challenge is to use Katzelkraft stamps if possible. Unfortunately I have no Katzelkraft christmas stamps so I am trying to think of ways to incorporate the stamps I do have. I clear embossed assorted snowflake stamps from a non sequitur plate, stamped the main image (from Katzelkraft's contes et merveilles plate) and used 4 different blue distress inks for the background. The picture doesn't show the lovely sheen from the sparkle shimmer spritz. Do you think it works?

Katzelkraft Christmas challenge 1/3

I've just joined the french Katzelkraft forum and have decided to take part in a 10 week challenge leading up to Christmas. The idea is that you are given 3 prompts every week and have to make 3 cards following those prompts. You don't have to make them in order or do them every week but if you achieve the goal of completing all the cards by the end of the year you get a bonus (no idea what but it will definitely be a challenge). This is week 1 number 3 - a clean & simple card. It's a one layer card, stamped and coloured in with coloursoft pencils & sansodor.