Of course, inspiration is hardest to find when I'm on a deadline. Birthdays at the start of the month are the worst because I don't tend to think about them until the month starts: "oh it's September now, what cards do I have to make, only two but they both need doing in the first… Continue reading Alcohol ink landscape
The vast majority of my colouring is done with Copic markers, I've played with coloured pencils a few times (though I have to be in a particularly patient mood as those take forever to do), and then there are the occasional ones where coloured stamping takes centre stage. Apparently I made no notes whatsoever when… Continue reading Butterfly beauty
This 3D embossing folder faux cast iron tutorial caught my eye in a Pinterest email and, rather than just file it away as I usually do with these things, I actually got out my Big Shot, some black card, embossing folders and gilding wax, and had a play. This technique would work better with the… Continue reading Watercolour butterflies
The last three years I have made "clever" cards for my other half's birthday — twist and pop, interactive, and tunnel — but nothing had inspired me for this year. I had a hunt around Pinterest and really nothing was sparking any ideas. So I had to go back to basics. I've had the Lucy… Continue reading Voyage to Venus
It was time to make cards for my other half's twin nieces again. Although they no longer live at home together, I carry on the tradition of making an almost matching pair of cards for them. Almost three months into lockdown and I really wasn't feeling like doing a lot of colouring and I was… Continue reading Butterfly trellis cards
I have a few more cards to write up (I got so far behind with my blogging it's ridiculous), but this is the last of the Power Poppy designs for now. When this image and the one I used for the Mother's Day card were released as digi stamps in February, I just couldn't resist… Continue reading Butterflies and flowers
Rather than automatically make a new card every time someone’s birthday comes around, I’ve been trying to use up some of my card stash, but there are exceptions. The birthday of my other half’s twin nieces is one such occasion. I’ve been seeing a few mentions of bridge cards recently and decided that a pair… Continue reading A pair of roses
I'm always happy to have an excuse to colour Power Poppy flowers; I chose these pretty sweet peas for my brother's girlfriend's birthday earlier this year. Like all Power Poppy images, this is so beautifully drawn that it's easy to get a good result. The background was more of a challenge. I could have left… Continue reading Sweet peas
For some reason, this year I have been feeling particularly uninspired when it comes to making cards. The start of the year is always a tricky time creatively, but it does seem to be lingering, at least for actual card-making. I am more than happy colouring or doing a bit of mixed media or even… Continue reading Watercolour rose
Another bit of unloved stash taken down off the shelf and put to good use. I bought one of the Kaleidacolor multicolour ink pads ages ago out of curiosity; I think I maybe did a test stamp with it on some scrap paper, but I've never used it on an actual project. And then I… Continue reading Pink and purple embossed flowers
I was tidying my computer desk the other day, working my way down to the bottom of a pile of crafty bits that had ended up balanced on the corner, when I came across a stamp set I'd been lucky enough to win in one of Kathy Racoosin's colouring giveaways over on Instagram. Rather than… Continue reading Pink embossed flowers
This card was the cornerstone of the unfinished projects. I made the base of this over a year ago and then stopped. The flowers were made, they just needed attaching but, for some reason — maybe I got distracted doing other things — I never finished it. I even had a post-it note by my… Continue reading Fabric flowers
Because I spent March mostly working on mixed media pieces, I didn't get around to making this until almost the last day of the month. And then my craft desk was still an absolute mess so I couldn't take the photos to go with the blog post and I ended up putting a quick photo… Continue reading Cat on a bookshelf
Every month the IG Crafty Crew sets one easy and one hard just-for-fun challenge over on Instagram. I normally forget to join in, but I had no excuse for February as I was already doing the 30-day colouring challenge and this month's easy challenge was to use the Copic colour of the month — ultraviolet.… Continue reading White tiger
Another month, another cute image from Gerda Steiner to colour. This time it's a panda sitting atop a pile of hearts, just in time for Valentine's Day. To avoid them all merging together into one big red pile, I used three different pinky-red blends for the hearts. I also added a bit of sparkle and… Continue reading Panda in love
Crafty Rat 