Chantilly Rose

Paperplay Challenges - 'Thanks A Bunch'

2012-11-01T08:00:00.000Z

Hello all,

I have scheduled this post so I hope it posts successfully and on time!

Our theme this week on Paperplay is 'Thanks a Bunch' - this was about as close as I could get with my stash for this! I have used some really old Papermania papers (Rose Garden I think), and part of my extensive collection of washi tape, along with an old LOTV stamp and a random sentiment that I stole from my Mum. The image is coloured with Spectrum Noirs - don't ask me what colours as I have no idea and layered them over and over until I was happy with the shade of pink on her skirt!

That's all from me!

Katie

PaperPlay Challenges - 'Shine On'

2012-10-04T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello all

Rumour has it that I am starting to do a bit of DT work once more, I figured it was about time! I decided to start off with my good friends at PaperPlay Challenges again, and this is my first project since being back with them.

The challenge for this week is 'Shine On' - should be an easy one for all you glitter and Glossy Accents fans! I decided to interpret it a bit more literally and went for a ridiculously bright sunshine themed mini album. The papers are again the We R Memory Keepers '72 and Sunny' collection. The inside pages are also embellished but it was too difficult to photograph! I thought I would never find a use for bright orange lace when I bought it, but it looks like I finally found one!

Make sure you come and play along with us!

Katie xxx

Butterfly Trinket Box...

2012-10-02T20:51:00.000+01:00

Hello

I absolutely love making these little trinket boxes - I learnt the technique at a class that was held at work. The inner box is made using one piece of 12x12 paper and an origami folding technique. For the outer box, I smiled sweetly at a member of our framing department, and got them to cut down some of their scrap hardboard to the right size. I joined them all together with framing tape, which gives the lid it's flexibility, but is strong at the same time.

I finally cut into my DCWV Marisposa stack - it's hard to take the scissors to it, but what's the point in owning all this stuff if it's too 'nice' to use? I finished it off with some WOC flowers.

I'm also entering this one into the Wild Orchid Crafts challenge - Anything goes.

Katie xxx

'Love Me' ....

2012-10-01T20:54:00.000+01:00

Good Evening

Had a great time this evening making this box frame. It's a cheap shadow box frame from Ikea, but it's absolutely ideal because you can put massive deep embellishments inside!

I used the 'Love Me' collection from My Mind's Eye - love it! I also finally broke into my packet of Kraft core Coredinations... oh man. It's too good to use on a card, it has to be used on permenant home decor items only! More Wild Orchid flowers as per usual.

I am also entering this into this weeks Wild Orchid Crafts challenge - 'Anything Goes'.

Brave Girls...

2012-09-30T21:16:00.001+01:00

Evening

A couple of years ago now (back when I was DTing for Simon Says Stamp), I bought (well, ordered) a massive Unity stamp set - the Brave Girls Club one, and never really used it. I was having a play with some of Sheena's older stamps, painting directly onto the rubber with Twinkling H2Os and stamping onto old book pages, and I thought that the Brave Girls stamps just worked perfectly with the background. I possibly used the wrong ink - the Memento didn't work that well over the painted areas, but I went over it with a black pen afterwards to sharpen it up. I think that Archival might have worked better.

Right -bedtime for me. Work tomorrow (groan)

Katie xx

The Heart Obsession Continues

2012-09-30T13:30:00.003+01:00

Everyone knows that I am a little obsessed with hanging hearts - I buy them, admire them, make them. Now that I'm also looking after the general craft side of purchasing at work, I also make sure that we stock lots of them! This is a wooden heart that I picked up at work, which I've altered with a bit of help from my hot glue gun, and a LOT of Wild Orchid Flowers. My stash is running dangerously low, I need to go and place another order swiftly!

Hope you like

Katie xxx

One more little Toread

2012-09-29T22:47:00.000+01:00

Hello

Just one more little Toread sample to share - he's another little cutie! I think he would also look cool with some crazily coloured hair, but for now I've modelled him on my boyfriend's colouring (it's how I imagine he looked as a child, ha ha ha).

The papers are really old ones from my stash - Papermania Hempstead but they are really lovely, and really go well with the woodland kind of feel that these guys bring.

The image is coloured with Spectrum Noir pens as per usual.

I hope you have all ordered yours?!

Katie xxx

Toreads release - tomorrow!

2012-09-27T18:43:00.000+01:00

Hello all,

You'd have to have been living under a rock to not know about the Toreads release due out tomorrow.. They are so cute it's actually verging on ridiculous.

For this card I've coloured my image with Spectrum Noir pens (the only pen to be seen using these days), and simply layered it up with some yellow CoreD'inations cardstock, and some paper from the We R Memory Keepers '72 and Sunny' collection. I love this little guy! He would be great for a new arrival, or just to send to someone special :)

You'll be able to get them from tomorrow, either from the TV shows on Create and Craft,or from the Crafter's Companion website.

Have a good day!

Katie

New Swalk and Humphrey Samples

2012-06-24T19:31:00.000+01:00

Good Evening all

As I have a demonstration at Luton next week I thought I had better throw together some samples to take with me. Not bad for an afternoons work! All the images have been coloured using the Spectrum Noir colouring system, stamped onto Neenah cardstock with Memento ink. I've used a mixture of papers inclunding Prima Madeleine, The Scrap Cake, DCWV and Crafty Individuals. All the background cardstock is by CoreD'inations, either the Tim Holtz, Gemstones or Vintage collection.

I loved these papers so much that I really didn't want to cover them up or cut them down - so I made some 8x8 card blanks using Centura Pearl cardstock stolen from my Mum... I also used organza ribbon so that the papers could still be seen under the ribbon.

A mini notebook...

I also threw together a quick trinket box...

Right, that's it! I'll be back later in the week with some Luminarte samples...

Katie xxx

A Mini Album

2012-06-11T19:48:00.000+01:00

.................Hello

Yes, it's been a while.... however after lots of nagging from a certain Irish person I have finally decided to post on my blog..!! It's been that long that I had forgotten my Blogger password and the format has completely changed. I have to be honest, I'm struggling! So hopefully it will look OK when I publish it :)

Firstly, here is a super quick wedding card I made to go along with the mini album that will follow. I put so many hours into the album that I kind of ran out of steam for the card! So it's an extra speedy stamped card. I used the new stamps that I bought in Alexandra Palace in London earlier this year - the butterfly set from Craftwork Cards. I stamped it using various colours of Memento (I'd love to go and check the colours for you, but to be honest life is just too short), and then matted it onto Gemstone Coredinations cardstock, and added some flat back pearls to the bodies of the butterflies (another idea stolen from the said Irish person that has been bullying me into blogging again!) I stamped a quick sentiment using a set from Hero Arts - Everyday Sayings.

Now onto the Mini Album. This took FOREVER. I made it as a wedding present for one of my closest college friends. I facebook stalked her, stole lots of photos and ordered them to be printed, which was actually surprisingly more difficult than you would expect, as I wanted to put all of their trips into chronological order, however she didn't upload them in chronological order, and she also didn't necessarily upload them at the time that they were taken! So I did my best and tried to get clues from the dates of the comments, etc.. It was a headache. I'm not a stalker, honest! Haha.

Anyway, as they had been to some quite exotic places, I used a paper collection that I have been hoarding for quite a while - Que Sera Sera by K & Co. The colours are deep and rich, which was also a challenge for me as I am used to using pale, shabby hues. I inked up everything using Walnut Stain Distress Ink and embellished with Prima flowers, Wild Orchid flowers, lace, pearls, pins, some postage stamps and some clips from the Follow Your Heart Collection from My Mind's Eye. I also made some roses using the paper collection and a die from Marianne Designs. I cut the lettering and swirls using my Big Shot and embellished using Glossy Accents.

I love this picture because we now all know that he had a ring in his pocket :)

Well, that's it! I shall try to be a better blogger from now on, but I'm not promising anything :)

Katie xxxxxxxxxxx

Christmas Paint Fusion release!

2011-08-14T17:53:00.005+01:00

Ok, so these posts were supposed to be staggered as sneak peeks throughout this week, however all I have done this week is work and sleep so it didn't happen! You already all know by now that our Sheena has released six new stamps to the Paint Fusion range for Christmas, and here are the samples that I knocked up for the new DVD and shows. So here is the whole lot in one go....

First up we have a circular box using the new Wreath and Garland set, done with a yellow crackle and embellished with a Tim Holtz christmas ticket.

Next up we have a heart shaped box with pink crackle, using the Christmas Rose set...

Then we have the Pine Cone set....

Pine tree plaque.... embellished with die cut letters using a Tim Holtz die

Ceramic fusion! I used an old tile from my Dad's garage and porcelain paints, which you cook in the oven to make dishwasher safe etc. The Ivy set is my favourite one I reckon, and can be used all year round..

Another box using the same Ivy set...

Next up we have the Holly set, my other favourite of this release

Finally a couple more playarounds with the stamps and the ceramic paints, I made a tealight holder out of an old jam jar and a set of four coasters

Hope you enjoy!

Katie xx

Spectrum Noir and Swalk Launch - Sneak Peek 2

2011-07-28T09:13:00.003+01:00

Morning!

Day two of my drip feeding you information and general blurb about this weekend's launch :)

Colours used:

Hat: 99, 104, 142

Hair: 102, 142, 132

Skin: 142, 133, 132, 196

Water: 178, 0

Dungarees: 100, 104

Shirt and Fishing Rod: WG5, WG1

Puppy: WG1, WG0.5, 99 ,171, 37

I generally don't make boys cards, as for me, if it doesn't contain flowers and glitter then it's not finished.. but hey ho ... to me this looks WAY too plain and simple but good for a man I suppose! Maybe I should have added buttons... but it's too late now .. it's already sent off for the launch!

My Thursday list is very long so I had better get going!

xxxx

Introducing the 'Speccies' .... and a sneak peek of this weekends launch :)

2011-07-27T19:34:00.004+01:00

Good evening all

I know that technically my blog has been a little quiet recently - it doesn't however mean that I haven't been doing anything! I've been working on top secret releases non stop in various forms, that I can reveal to you bit by bit over the next month or so :)

Anyway, unless you've been on another planet you will have realised that this week saw the launch of the amazing new Spectrum Noirs - that have already been affectionately named the 'Speccies'....

My DT pack arrived in the post last week and I have to say, I am converted! I have always been a traditional watercolour painting girl, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and attempt to work with alcohol markers. It took me a while to realise that it wasn't going to look like a watercolour, but once I had got my head around that, I was away!

Firstly here are a few of my first attempts using the pens .. please bear in mind that I have only ever used Copics once, so I am far from an expert or experienced - but they blend like a dream and make it really easy! If I can do it (and shock horror colour without the use of a brush), then anyone can :) I'll be posting up a more detailed review later in the week.

Also being launched this weekend are new releases from Humphrey and Swalk ... here is your first sneak peek! The papers are from the original Humphrey CD.

Speccie colours are as follows:

Lottie - CG 3, CG 1, CG 0.5

Dress - 33, 45, 38, 35, 48

Chocolate Box - 98, 92, 5, 48

Outline - BG 1

Anyway back to work :)

Katie xxx

Congratulations Richard and Bryony!

2011-07-25T11:34:00.002+01:00

On Saturday evening we had the pleasure of celebrating the engagement of my friends, Richard and Bryony! He has put a suitably pretty ring on her finger in a suitably pretty setting, so I am allowing him to marry her :P

This is their engagement card - made using embossed and sanded layers of Black Magic Core d'inations cardstock, Liquid Pearls, organza and satin ribbon, flowers and pearl headed pins from Wild Orchid Crafts, and a sentiment from Raindrop Echo Designs. The photo isn't great but I snapped it as I ran out of the door in my high heels on the way to the party! There is also a little key charm behind the heart but it is hiding in this photo :)

I'll be back later reviewing the new Spectrum Noirs!

Katie xxx

Project Bathroom - Katie is back!!!

2011-07-14T16:45:00.007+01:00

So, the infamous bathroom project is now complete!

It wasn't without hiccups and vomiting brothers, but after lots of work it is finally finished!!

First off here are some of the grotty 'Before' pictures - lots of exposed pipes, dodgy pipework, years and years of limescale, holes in the wall, and some strange interior design choices from the previous tenant (who was a guy, obviously).....
Mid project I did nearly have a heart attack - I had completed two of the three coats and went to bed, and when I woke up, I went downstairs to this, shock horror, what is that hideous thing doing, on top of my shelf, in my beautiful bathroom???!!??!!?!?!? What had I possibly done to deserve this?!!

Arrrrrrrgh!! Needless to say this monstrosity was pulled down and disposed of within seconds, and replaced with something more appropriate! MALES! You cannot even class that as a shower curtain fit for human use!

Now onto the finished photos .................................:)

Crystal light pull, of course.....

Obviously I also needed to buy some plush new super fluffy white towels.....

The bathroom cabinet isn't mine to remove, so I decided to remove the hideous blue panel and turn it into a display area... worked pretty well!

The back of the door is now re-glossed and my lovely towel rail has been replaced - just don't grab the towel too enthusiastically or it will fall off **cough** ...........

The second window is also looking infinitely better with a lick of white gloss paint.....

I'm not crazy about the mirror thing that is in this bathroom, so I prettied it up by painting a few blossoms around the corners, and added a wicker heart thingie that I got in TKMaxx, which matches in great with all the white ceramic accessories........

Check out how white that grout is!!! Literally hours of scrubbing with bleach has made it sparkle like new :)

Love love love my home

K xxxxx

One Pound Bargain

2011-07-04T20:54:00.003+01:00

So, about 6 weeks ago (possibly longer), I picked up the MOST hideous cabinet known to man from a car boot sale in Peterborough while I was visiting a friend.

I then proceeded to leave it in the boot of my car for said six weeks! I forgot to take a proper 'before' photo, but you can see on the frame around the mirror that it started off life a bashed up, yucky red colour.

I sanded the entire thing and then gave it two coats of brown emulsion.

Yo working hard on her mirror at the same time!

I then used diluted PVA glue and cream emulsion paint to crackle the entire thing, inside and out, it took ages! Once it was all thoroughly dried (which didn't take long in the sunshine), I sanded and scuffed up all the edges so that the brown showed through. Hopefully this made it look a bit more aged!

I varnished the entire thing and then embellished it with various flowers, ephemera and pink liquid pearls, typical Katie style!!

It is now going to house my ever growing collection of jewellery - not bad considering it only cost me a pound!

a very sunburnt Katie

Product Spotlight - Tim Holtz Core'dinations Cardstock

2011-06-28T12:47:00.004+01:00

Afternoon all

Over at Crafter's Companion this week they will be featuring this awesome new cardstock on Create and Craft TV, and as usual they kindly sent me some goodies to have a little play with.

Most of you probably know what this is all about, but for those that don't, here's the blurb:

"This stunning 12"x12" cardstock pack is the result of Core'dinations teaming up with Tim Holtz and Ranger to bring you a collection of the most popular Distress colours. This Tim Holtz and Ranger Distress Collection contains one sheet each of thirty six differnet colours and is sandable with no white core. "

You can nab yourselves a pack of this for £19.99 over at the Crafter's Companion website.

Meanwhile here are a few of the samples I've thrown together.

Obviously Core'dinations cardstock really comes into it's own when it is embossed and sanded to reveal the coloured core. On this card I have embossed a brick design onto the background, sanded it back and then inked certain areas using Brushed Cordoroy Distress Ink. It is also great for die cutting and tearing, as you can see on this card.

More embossing and sanding, all inked up with a good helping of the matching Distress Inks..

It is also a good weight at 240 gsm, so can easily be scuffed up on the edges using either a blade or your distressing tool, without giving the harsh look of a white core...

It also scores and folds without the surface tearing, making it ideal for all types of projects. On this one I've also sanded back some of the edges to roughen it up a bit and make it a bit less pretty

Anyway for lots more tips and tricks be sure to tune into the shows later this week - I'll let you know when they're on when I know :)

Happy hugs xxxxxxxxxxx

Crafter's Companion Accredited Training Program - a few photos

2011-06-24T17:45:00.004+01:00

This post has been a while coming, but we are finally allowed to share a little bit of information about an awesome training program that I was lucky enough to be invited to this year with Crafter's Companion...

We ate. SO much!!! All. The. Time!!!

We spent three days learning everything there is to know about the entire product portfolio, how to demonstrate it, customer service, etc!

Yeeaaaaah ... you're not getting any hints on the next releases from me ;)

The family photo.... made some amazing friends with some brilliant people

All in all it was pretty much just awesome :)

xxxx

Adorables Sneak Peek # 3 ... and Heidi's return!!

2011-06-22T08:46:00.003+01:00

Morning all!

Many of my blogging buddies will know that around 6 weeks ago, the lovely little Heidi went missing from our garden and didn't come back :(. We spent so long searching for her, trawling through fields, putting up posters, talking to everyone in the village, dropping out flyers, that to be honest, we had pretty much given up hope of ever seeing her again.

Anyway, last night, I missed a call on my landline (missed it deliberately actually, as it was a withheld number), and when I listened to the message, it was from a nearby vet, in a local village, looking to discuss her with me. I had registered her as missing 6 weeks ago. I presumed that it was another one of those phone calls that I had had from several vets, wanting to know if she was still missing, so that they could update their missing register. However, no, an elderly couple had brought in a stray that had been living at a farm for the past month, and wanted to get her microchipped and adopt her. They were prepared to wait 10 minutes for me to get there and possibly I.D. her.

I dropped everything and drove, fast!

We've had so many calls and possible sightings, that you don't want to allow yourself to even think that it could be her. But it was.

She's a bit grumpy and moth eaten looking, but she is home, now chipped(!!) and healthy, if not a little traumatised and not quite her usual self.

She ran straight up to her spot under the clothes airer.

Now all is left is for me to start writing and sending thankyou cards to the guys that looked after her at the farm, the vets for making the link and the elderly couple who were decent enough to bring her in. I felt bad for them as they loved her and really wanted to keep her, I'm sure they were hoping that it wouldn't be Heidi!

Anyway, on to today's sneak peek....

I reckon this is probably my favourite stamp set of the new release... the papers and borders are from the new CD rom, and the images are all stamped and watercoloured. This is another one of those 'post alcohol fun' cards - so I'm amazed that everything is stuck on straight, and her skin isn't painted orange, or something ridiculous. All is well that ends well!!

Katie xxx

Sneak Peek # 2 ...

2011-06-21T08:38:00.004+01:00

Katie :)

Summer Adorables - Launching This Friday on Ideal World TV

2011-06-20T19:50:00.002+01:00

Evening :)

Just a quick post to show you a sample of the new Summer Adorables range from Crafter's Companion launching at the end of this week, stay tuned for more :) ....

xxx

Raymond Briggs' 'The Snowman' range launches tomorrow on Ideal World TV!

2011-06-13T21:35:00.005+01:00

Yeah, yeah, I know. These sneak peeks were meant to have been posted throughout the last week, but unfortunately life has gotten in the way! Anyway, here they are now, most of you will know that Crafter's Companion is launching a papercrafting range featuring 'The Snowman', tomorrow night on Ideal World at 9PM GMT. Here are the samples that I've put together for the show.

Wooden frame, with snowflakes stamped in white acrylic paint. Kind of liking the 'splodgey' look to them.

Finally a few samples using the CD:

That's it! You know where to go if you want this lot! Now to work on the next release.. obviously I'm not telling you what it is!! Muahaahah

Katie xx

Sentimental Sundays Challenge #58 - Inspired by a Song

2011-06-05T08:00:00.000+01:00

I am scheduling this post as I am going to be away from the computer for a few days - a friend of mine is getting married.

This is my first DT card for Sentimental Sundays, and our theme for this week is 'Inspired by Song'. The song I have chosen is 'Listen', from the musical 'Dream Girls' - I was listening to this earlier and it put me in quite a reflective mood, that movie is full of complex relationships of love and friendship, but also a lot of emotion!

I have used one of Ann's new release sentiments, released on June 1st - 'Ticketed Oval , Vines', and kept it simple, embellishing with just a bit of organza and satin ribbon, some flowers and pins from Wild Orchid Crafts, and the sentiment mounted with 3d pop dots.

I hope lots of you will join us this week!

Katie xx

Crafter's Companion DT June Challenge - 'Here Comes Summer'

2011-06-01T07:47:00.002+01:00

So we have a brand new challenge for you today over at the Crafter's Companion challenge - and this is my first DT project. I've gone for a different look with some of the Sheena Douglass Fusion stamps on this one, and painted directly on to the DP. The theme for this month is 'Here Comes Summer' - let's hope we get some decent sunshine to go with it!

Katie xx

Und jetzt ein bissle Deutsch...

2011-05-30T18:56:00.010+01:00

So, my buddy Sara over at Crafter's Companion contacted me last week to see if I could rustle up some samples for the upcoming TV shows on HSE, Germany. The TV channel had asked for samples that weren't 3D, and that didn't use the crackle technique - something that would appeal to the beginner German crafter. Here are the samples that will be winging their way to Sara tomorrow - hope they're ok!

I've spent a lot of time in Germany over the years (since I was 15, actually), so I have a pretty good idea of what type of thing German people tend to like... they like the traditional look, seasonal decor and a touch of elegance. I'd say conservative also, but I'm sure there are lots of lovely German ladies (/guys!) who like a bit of quirky!

All the painted panels have been double-sprayed with Spray and Shine varnish, so they are actually very shiny, but it doesn't show in the photos, because the weather is all wet and miserable outside :(.

Mr Coppercat looks so real!! :)

That's alles anyway - it was a real Schwierigkeit to keep it simple but hopefully they sind OK!

Thanks auch to my lovely Freundin Nicole who made most of these sentiment files fuer mich!

Katie xxx