Guess who's back? Back again!

Hello Blogland!

I have missed you all...I can't believe its been 6 months, where has the time gone?

Lana is growing into a cheeky little monkey...at the moment we are tackling teeth, weaning and crawling. Its all going on in the Bartlett household.

Anyway...I've been saving up some crafty projects to share with you.  Now, there aren't many but a few non the less.  I'm currently working on my new website and shop which is all very exciting but it all takes time...hopefully in the next couple of weeks i'll have something to show you.

So lets go all the way back to May, Adam and I celebrated 6 years together...boy how times have changed.  I dug out some lovely Papertrey Ink products and created this CAS card for him.

Ever since having Lana I seem to be a huge fan of simple designs, maybe thats because I don't get the time!

For this card I used a plain kraft background and then die cut two hearts using Papertrey Inks Limitless layers hearts.  I found this amazing glittery card stock in Hobbycraft in one of their bargain bins - I've used it a lot.  Yes your hands get covered in glitter but it is so worth it! To finish it off I used bountiful banners stamp set and die. I LOVE THIS SET! It is so versatile I can't wait to use it some more.  I used foam pads on the banner just to add a bit of dimension.

Ahhh it feels so good to be sharing again! I've really missed blogging and all the lovely comments! Hoping to join in a few challenges too in the next few months! YAY!

xx

Happy Mother's Day...

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to stop by today to share with you my creations I made for Mothers Day! This year Mothers Day is obviously slightly different for me! Although my little bundle hasn't arrived yet...she some how still managed to send me a card- what a clever little pickle she is!

So anyway enough of my dribble back to my cards. I had a bit of a spending spree at Pink Petticoat yesterday- for the first time in a while I had no real idea of what I wanted to create. Normally I have some sort of mental image- but I didn't so I ended up purchasing a few new bits and bobs and then have a play around! My first card I made using a Kraft card base and added to it lilac quatrefoil paper which I stitched. I also received my Papertrey Ink order this week which included the lovely stamp set from Maile Belles- Mini Blooms, I couldn't wait to use it. I finished it with the new "Simply Happyness" sentiments from Liz at Pink Petticoat, some adhesive gems and trusty button twine.

For my second card I used my favourite chevron paper in Pink. I made some really sweet felt flowers using Papertrey Inks fab felt- it's great quality and comes it so many colours it's easy to become addicted. I found the die from Tracy at Dies to die for - she does a great range of dies that are tricky to get hold of. I decorated them with some pretty gems and some hand cut leaves. Finally for the sentiment I copied and pasted into word to make it slightly bigger and printed on to Kraft card.

That's all from me today! Hope all you Mummies had a lovely day!

I'll be back soon.

Kate

Baby Shower Favours...

So as I mentioned in my first post back... I'm expecting a baby! YAY!

We're into the home stretch now, everything is almost ready, the nursery furniture is in and assembled.  I have started the mountains of washing in preparation ( I better get used to it I suppose) The house is busting at the seems with nappies and all sorts of lotions and potions and I've finally started to get excited about our imminent arrival!

A couple of weeks ago my lovely work friend Abbie helped me organize my baby shower! I wasn't completely sure what to expect as I've never attended one before and this is my first child it was all a bit new.  We decided to go with a full on pink tea party theme - why not hey! The table was full of homemade sandwiches and cake, pink balloons and bunting strung up everywhere! It was such a lovely day - so many people turned up I was completely overwhelmed by it all.

The only thing I had to do was organize the party favours - which of course I didn't mind, any excuse to be crafty is fine with me! I did struggle at first to come up with an idea of what to do...I knew it had to be something I could mass produce, we were expecting around 30 people and therefore it had to be fairly cheap.  So this is what I came up with...

Using a combination of products from my favourite Papertrey Ink and Pink Petticoat I managed to create these cute sweet bags.  I printed some of my favourite patterns from Liz at Pink Petticoat in various shades of pink and created a fold over to seal the glassine bags - after obviously filling them with various PINK sweets! I stapled to secure the card and punched a couple of holes in the top which I then threaded with button twine before adding the tag.  I had to incorporate my beloved kraft card somewhere.  I die cut hearts from left over pink paper added a few gems and a sentiment - thank you seemed appropriate!  I couldn't resist finishing them off with these plastic pink dummies that I found from a online party shop - adding a bit of fun to proceedings!

And that was that - 30 bags later and fairly easy to mass produce.

What do you think? I was rather chuffed with the end result and I have to say my friends were too!

Thanks for reading

Kate
xx

Belated Valentines...

Ok so I'm a couple of days late but as far as I'm concerned its the weekend of love too!

So I'm a bit of a sucker for sending my friends little gifts in the post...handmade of course! I've been a bit off my game recently and missed the opportunity of doing anything for Christmas so I was extra determined to do Valentines day!

I filled jam jars with cherry lips and heart throbs- and decorated the jars with the lovely Waterfall Hearts from Pink Petticoat, die cut some extra sparkly hearts from some bargain paper I found at hobby craft and finished it with my favourite button twine!

Obviously you can't send a gift without a card!! I wanted a simple design that I could reproduce quickly! I die cut some more sparkly hearts- god I love how sparkly it is! And some smaller hearts from some pink scraps and stamped my sentiment on to a white base which I added too red and hot pink card base- voila!

All packaged and sent...it's always nice to send some love to your favourites!!

Products:
Dies: Papertrey Ink - Heart Prints, Tiny Tags
Card: Raspberry Fizz, Classic Kraft and  Pure Poppy Papertrey Ink, Waterfall Hearts in Crimson - Pink Petticoat, Glitter card from Hobby Craft, White 300gsm card stock
True Black ink - Papertrey Ink
Button Twine from The Ribbon Reel
Adhevsive gems - various
Heartthrobs and Cherry Lips from The Candy Shop

A chevron thank you...

Morning Everyone...

I hope you've all had a lovely weekend, despite it being so soggy!

Just wanted to say a quick thank you for your lovely comments.  I was a bit worried after being off for such a long while that no one would read but they do.

So this weekend has been quite a busy one! I've had a to do list for several weeks but I really haven't had the motivation or the time to get cracking with it but Sunday I started and managed to cross a couple of things off which i'll be sharing with you over the next few days.

As many of you know, I have always been somewhat challenged by the design of a man card.  It was Adams Birthday a couple of weeks ago and received some lovely presents from family and friends.  I was bought up always writing "thank you" letters.  Now a days I think its equally important - and also it's an excuse to make some cards. This time though they had to be slightly manly - easy to reproduce and had to appeal to Adam as they were from him.  After days of wracking my brain and doodling layouts I came up with this after seeing an entry on Papertrey Inks blog.  

I absolutely LOVE Chevrons and ever since Pink Petticoat bought out this digital download my world has been a better place.  I picked 4 unisex colours, Pistachio, Turquoise, Buttermilk and Pebble.  I cut the strip of patterned paper just wide enough to fit the stamp on and mounted it onto the card base.  I stamped Papertrey Ink Think Big Favourites Number One - thanks so much to the bottom of the strip in black and voila!

Thanks so much for reading i'll be back soon to share what else I made this weekend :)

Kate

xxx

LIM Week 67, Not one, not two but THREE

Evening all...

How are we?

A very quick post from me tonight, my entry for this weeks Less Is More.

I have to admit I really struggled with this weeks challenge...use 3 stamps!  I really had no inspiration to start with and then I had an idea...

All this and I only used three stamps! Amazing!

Thank you for stopping by - please feel free to leave me your comments, they are always appreciated.

Take Care

Kate

xxx

I'm Back...With a Less Is More Challenge entry!

Evening all...

Remember me! Yes I know it's been what seems like a lifetime since I last blogged, I've really missed you guys.  I have missed taking part in weekly challenges soooo much but I just haven't had the time in between work and wedding invites, there just hasn't been enough hours in the day.

But I wanted to share with you a card tonight which I'm entering into this weeks Less Is More Challenge. This week the challenge was to create something using a sketch.

I absolutely love this simplicity of this sketch - its so me!!

It just so happened to tie in with a Grandads Birthday - (I know I'm getting a bit keen on all these man cards!)

I chose Papertrey Ink's Garden Variety (I can't wait for my new Papertrey parcel to arrive this weekend :) I carefully inked the tools' handles in Classic Kraft and the metal parts in pale grey.  I seem to have a thing for rounded corners at the minute- they seem to finish a card of nicely - something different  from the norm!  I finished the card off with a Pinefeather button, good old button twine and a double banner- layered slightly off to show a flash of green - the sentiment was stamped from fillable frames number 4 using dark chocolate ink!

So what do you think? I would love to hear what you all think!

Thank you very much for taking time to read my ramblings!  I promise I won't leave it so long next time! :)

Take Care

Kate

xx

New Baby

Evening all... 

 How are we? Hope you all had a nice weekend! Mine was very crafty- we managed to get all the wedding invitations done! It was so nice to do something I love with someone I love! I'll be sharing some piccies with you soon!

 After such a positive from my first challenge I decided to have a go at another one! So tonight I'm sharing what I made for the CAS-ual Fridays - CFC 42 - New Baby.

I used my new alphabet die from Papertrey and some of their papers.  I also tried some different stitching -in baby pink! All finished off with some good old bakers twine! Perfect for a new little munchkin!

I think I might be getting the hang of this challenge malarky! 

I'll be back tomorrow with something else, and maybe some invite pictures! 

Until then..take care.

Kate

xx

In Bloom

Morning all...

Thought I'd grab a few minutes before work to share something's with you!

I've been busy creating over the last few days. I'm getting quite a few enquiries about making wedding invitations! It's very exciting- think I may have to make a few belated birthday cards just in case!

So I wanted to show you a card I made for my Grandma's birthday last week...I have recently received a new Papertrey Ink stash and I couldn't wait to use it! I'd been erming and arghing about whether or not to buy the "In Bloom" stamp set but after seeing the beautiful creations Katie makes with it I just couldn't resist!













I also purchased the Papertrey ink in several colours- I think I'm going to have to collect them all! They are so easy to use and you don't get all the horrible excess ink everywhere, it also makes cleaning the stamp far easier! On this card I used Raspberry Fizz, Melon Berry and Autumn Rose. I finished the card with some baby pink ribbon, my new Think it Big sentiments and some random adhesive crystals (you can't go wrong with a bit of bling!) I can't wait to use this set again!!

Thank you for reading, I'll be back soon.

Take Care

Kate
xxx




Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

**Can't believe its already time for card number eight!!**

Evening...

Can't believe I'm getting close to the end of my ten cards, it seems to have flown by!

And without further a due lets get on with card number eight!

I still can't up my mind if I like this one, I like the concept and the simplicity but not sure on it as a whole. My thought was that I needed some cards that were slightly manly.  Also so this was one of my last designs and I was struggling a bit.  I used the border from the Tag it stamp set and carried on the colour scheme with co ordinating inks.  I then finished it off with the smaller "thank you".

What do you think?

I will warn you... tomorrows card is my least favourite, to be honest I really don't want to blog it but it was my challenge and I have to share all of them.  You have been warned, I hope it doesn't stop you all from reading!

Until tomorrow!

Good Night

Kate

xxx

**A Big Thank you...**

Evening all...

How has everybody's weekend been?

I've been quite productive today - after finally feeling more human.  I thought it was about time I started making up for lost time.

I sorted out my car insurance and arranged a sky upgrade and still had time to walk the pup and create a new project that i'll be sharing with you over the next few days.

So tonight I wanted to share with you something I'm kinda thrilled with, I think its some of my best work - so lets see what you think.  Enough of the teasing, tonights post is about these beauties...

Im so chuffed!

I am lucky enough to have been given lots of beautiful presents for both Christmas and Birthday and obviously I want to thank everyone.  The way I normally go about it is to make bulk cards.  I seem to get a little bit of a production line going, I start singing songs and get them done in no time! These were the perfect design to create in bulk.  I used Aqua Mist and Melon Berry cardstock from Papertrey - I have completely fallen in love with these colours (the photograph doesn't do them justice!) I then stamped Mendhi Medallion into both corners using my favourite VersaInk Watermark ink pad.  For a change I rounded the corners of the cardstock and stamped the sentiment in black ink.  To start with I was just going to use "thank you" from Think it Big 2 but then discovered "merci" from Think it Big 3 and I couldn't resist using it! Of course then I finished it off with some black and white bakers twine.  Instead of stitching I used foam pads to add some dimension!

What do you think?

I would love to read your comments! Good or bad are always welcome.

Right so just before I go I wanted to fill you in on whats happening this week on here.  I have set myself a little challenge! I'm quite excited to show you the results! Check back here tomorrow to find out all about it.

Take Care

Kate
xx

**Butterfly Birthday Wishes**

Evening all...

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Today I am mostly recovering from my extended birthday celebrations - so I apologise for the short post tonight!

So as I said in my last post - I received a lot of birthday cards - (which is always nice) that had butterflies on, people know me too well, and it got me thinking! I dug out one of my favourite Papertrey Ink stamp sets - Butterfly Dreams and created this card.

 I used a pale purple card background for a change to co ordinate with the shades of purple ink I used. I love the thought of a swarm of butterflies fluttering about on a nice summers day! I finished it off with a simple sentiment and a touch of bakers twine! Voila!

What do you think?

Sorry for the short post tonight - I promise I shall be back on top form next week! But for now...a little teaser!

Take Care

Kate
xx

**Birthday Cheer!**

Morning all...hope you are all well!

Well its Friday! Yay!

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and I although I was at work I was thoroughly spoilt.  When I arrived a there was a big pile of cards and presents waiting for me on my desk, and then at lunch time Adam surprised me with a delivery of the most beautiful flowers. Maybe spoilt was an understatement!  I spent the evening scoffing pizza and guzzling wine with friends - it was the perfect end to a great day! And it also means that now I can look forward to continued celebrations tomorrow evening with my "Animal Print" themed birthday party!

My flowers - beautiful right?

Ok so enough about me! I wanted to share with you the card that i've been teasing you with all week! *Drum roll please....*

I made this card for Chloe - my best friend.  She had to move to Winchester over Christmas and New Year as her Fiance, Tom had to move depots and she has already found herself a job!  I thought this was a perfect opportunity to send her a card and kill two birds with one stone!  As I said in my previous post one of my many new years resolutions was to experiment with inking and thats exactly what I did with this card.  I gathered all my bluey- teal inks and just dabbed away! Gradually getting darker towards the outside of the circles and I have to admit i'm chuffed with the outcome! I finished it off with the "Congrats" sentiment from Papertrey Ink's - Say it with Style and few colour coordinated adhesive gems!  I can't wait to read her text when she receives it!

So thats about it from me today! But again I want to leave you with a little teaser for my next post! After receiving so many beautiful birthday cards it gave me some inspiration!

Can you guess what it is yet? 

Thank you for reading! Until next time...

Take Care

Kate xxx

**Cutting it fine...**

Evening all... (cutting it a bit fine for my second post this week - I know!)

How has everybody's weekend been?

I have had quite a nice day today.  I have dusted off my craft corner and set to work creating some cards for upcoming Birthdays this month as well as a congratulation card and I have also made a start on my thank you cards! Phew - I really have been a busy day. All that, and I've found time to walk the dog and cook a roast.

So for tonights post I wanted to share with you a card I have created for my Grandads Birthday. As many of you may know I really do seem to struggle creating male cards that I'm happy with but this one I love. I even got praise from the boyfriend and my dad!

As its a new year I wanted to try and work on my stamping skills - it's alright stamping single colours but I wanted push myself that little bit further.

I used a series of Versacolour inks and Papertrey Ink's Up, Up and Away.  Simple but perfect for Grandad!

What do you think?

Thats it for me tonight - hope you enjoyed reading.  Before I go I wanted to leave you with a little teaser for my next post!

Take Care

Kate

xxx

**Happy New Year**

Hello

And a Happy New Year to all my readers - those that haven't neglected me like I have them!

I have no idea where November and December went - time just flew. In between making Christmas card orders for other people and then ones for myself I found I had no time to make a card just because.  After a nice, relaxing break from everything (crafting included) I am back in 2012 and ready to go.  I have already started filling up my Papertrey Ink basket and have been browsing Hero Arts new releases and getting lots of inspiration for the coming months.

I have told myself that one of my New Year's resolutions will be to blog at least twice a week! Obviously I can do more but I wanted to set myself with an achievable target!

So here we go...its Monday and it's my first blog of the week and of the new year!om

The Card:- My cousin's 21st Birthday
The Brief:- Something modern and bold.
Supplies:- Kraft card - papertrey ink, Purple and Peacock paper - Echo Park, Mauve Bakers twine - Ribbon Girl, Stick on Gems - Papermania.

I have a slight addiction to anything peacock related - I love the bright colours and the simplicity of this paper, it stood out so much that I couldn't resist buying it.  As you can see from the bottom picture I attached the die cut numbers (die by Papertrey Ink) using foam mounting pads to make them stand out more.

With using such a simple template I can use it again for other cards and occasions!

That's all from me today - need to prepare myself for back to work tomorrow, somehow I'm not sure I will be welcoming the 6 o'clock alarm in the morning.

Thank you very much for all your support and comments throughout the last few months, I hope that 2012 will be a creative one!

Thanks for reading. Take Care.

Kate

xxx

Birthday Wishes...

Evening.


How was everyones' Saturday been?


I went bridesmaid dress shopping today - it was so much fun and a beautiful bridesmaid dress has been purchased, its very exciting :)


So as promised, I'm back with another Birthday card I made for a recent order.

I love the simplicity of it, and of course my love of butterflies makes it a winner.  I used pink polka dot backing paper from Papertrey Ink and stamped two butterfly outlines and a sentiment using black ink.  I finished off the card with bakers twine and a few stick on gems!


I think this card is such great design as it can be made in pretty much any colour - good for matching to peoples individual preferences.


What do you think?


I hope you all have a lovely Saturday night, I shall hopefully be back soon (probably tomorrow) with some more creations.


Thank you for reading, take care.


Kate 
xx

Man Love...

Hello again... (apologises for another automated post)


How is everyone? What has everyone been up too? I do try and follow a few blogs but its just such a wide world out there and so many to choose from so I apologise if I don't currently follow yours!  If you read mine and would like me to return the favour, just drop me a comment and I will be more than happy to follow you and check out your creations!


So... as I was saying yesterday I had fallen into the category of a "bad friend" for forgetting a birthday, and it was a man birthday none the less so I had to set to work racking my brains for a card design to send. As I have mentioned on numerous occasions cards for men are not my favourite things to make and nine times out of ten I am not happy with the outcome but I have to admit, this one I rather like.

It was made using a 6x6 card base with Papertrey's Enchanted Evening. I cut out two oval shapes using my nestabilities - one scalloped and one not and stamped in red "birthday wishes".  This stamp is a new release from Papertrey and I love it, so versatile and can create such a simple card. I finished the card of with a strip of my favourite kraft card, some lovely cream satin ribbon and I managed to find a matching blue gem- perfect!


So what do you think?


Hope you all have a great day, and i'll be back tomorrow to share something else with you :)


Take Care


Kate 
xx

Just a note...

Morning all...


(just to let you know this is an automated post - I rarely get time during the week to actually sit down and blog until the deepest darkest hours of the evening so I thought, it's Sunday, I have a few spare moments I'll schedule some now so my readers have something to read at a sensible hour!)


So how is everyone?


Yes - it is true, I have started my Christmas cards, there I've said it! To be honest it does feel really good. I am a very long way off finishing but at least I can say I've started.  Has anyone else?


Today I wanted to show you a card I made for "my number 1" I don't know if I ever told you her name - its Chloe!  Being busy recently I completely forgot it was her other halves birthday so I had to make something quick, get, wrap and post a present in one day.  As usual though I couldn't leave her out! So whilst I was traipsing looking for the perfect man gift (why are men just so difficult?) I picked up a few bits for her too! Of course I couldn't send her a gift without a card - and so todays post was born!!

Pretty, hey?  I made the card using the gorgeously smooth kraft card from Papertrey Ink and simply stitched onto it some lovely big flowery Pink Petticoat paper from the Wild Blossom Collection - I just can't get enough of Liz's papers at the moment.  To finish it off I added another strip of kraft card to which I stamped my sentiment (another from Papertrey Ink) and made this beautiful felt flower using felt from Paper and String and finished it off with a pale green button (from god knows where!) and some button twine - from the ever faithful Ribbon Girl. I hope she likes it!


Thats all from me today, please feel free to leave me some comments - I will be back (automated) tomorrow.


Take Care


Kate
xx

Feel Better...

Hello Everybody.

Hope everyone is well.

The past week or so has been such a busy one; I have had very little time to create anything for the website or blog.  I am almost done with my wedding bits and bobs for now – so I am looking forward to getting back on it at full pelt.

I wanted to share with you today something I made this morning in five minutes.  Its very simples but the message is clear.

When I got my new sewing machine the other week I was slightly addicted with it and decided to do a mass stitching session and had a few blank cards which hadn’t been used luckily so all I had to do was stamp the sentiment and make it look slightly pretty.  I used a sentiment from my recent shipment from my favourite place on earth – Papertrey ink.  They have started a range called “think big favourites” and I have all of them.  Basically they are sentiments which have been used in other releases but they have been made bigger. They are just perfect for any card.

I was rummaging around WH Smiths the other day and I found these lovely pastel coloured paper flowers and they were a snip at just £2.99.  You get around fifty flowers in different shapes, sizes and colours. Some are patterned and some are plain.  I layered 3 of them up and attached them with a gorgeous mint coloured button and some button twine – simple as that. Hopefully it will make a friend smile who is a feeling a bit under the weather.

After making this card, I’m really looking forward to making some more like this for the website! Its all coming along nicely, pages are taking shape and the layout is looking good! I can’t wait to share it all with you J

So that’s me done for today. I will be back tomorrow to show you something I’m planning to start in preparation for Christmas.  Only 115 days left to go!

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Kate

xx