Murphy

Good evening everyone

Just a very quick post from me - to be honest I don't seem to have time to post on here, visit groups or do very much at the moment.

On Bank Holiday Monday our recently formed residents' group had a fun day.  As most of us are dog walkers this involved a lot of doggie competitions - needless to say Paddy won nothing but was totally hyper at the sight of so many dogs and people all together.  Since then I have borrowed some of the photographs taken on the day and started to turn them into cards to sell to raise funds for the group.  Which is why I have been missing in action so to speak.  Anyway the card I am going to share with you tonight is the first of the doggie cards to be sold

Meet Murphy.  I made two different cards using this image.  The first one was a flat direct print to card approx 5.5 ins with a matching insert.

Here is the second one

I designed the topper in Serif Craft Artist and also the matching insert

And finally here is the photograph I started with

This photograph belongs to Pat Heard who very kindly allowed me to use it for fundraising purposes.

It seems that this is to be the first of many doggie cards as I already have requests to make cards of at least another four dogs to date.  I could be missing for some time!

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Catherine x

One of those cards none of us like having to make

Evening everyone

It's very late for me to be posting a card to my blog but I have had a busy day.  You would think that getting up at 5.30 I would be ahead of myself, not behind! 

On Saturday afternoon I received the news that my dear friend and second cousin had lost her battle with cancer.  Two weeks earlier she had telephoned me herself to say goodbye as she had had the Last Rites at that stage, so although it wasn't unexpected it is still hard to take in.  So this card is for her family.

I started the day today by putting the finishing touches to the card so that I could get it off in the post.  I was in such a hurry to post it that I forgot to take a photograph of the finished card.  However, I had taken a photograph before I added the sentiment so that I could colour match the insert so I will just have to show you that photograph instead.

The swirly background I made using a mask and distress inks, and then punched the corners using a Martha Stewart punch.  The decoupage flowers are from a Create and Craft decoupage book and the doiley, which I lightly inked around the edge,  and lavender coloured card and ribbon are from my stash.  I added a rubber stamped sentiment across the bottom of the card before posting it.

This is the insert to match the card, which I did in Craft Artist Professional.  The first photograph is the first side of the insert (the "lost leaf" side)

I added a typed message onto this page before signing the card, but as it was personal to the family I have left it off the photograph.

Finally I also had to make an envelobox this morning before posting it.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Catherine x

Messy Rabbit Farewell Card and Serif Craft Artist

Evenig everyone

Well I have had an extremely hectic couple of days and haven't been able to visit any groups or blogs during that time.  Hopefully things are settling down a little bit again now.  During the last couple of days I have welcomed an additional 80+ members to my Serif Craft Artist Users Group almost certainly as a result of Michelle Jackson-Mogford promoting it on her Facebook page - so I owe a huge thank you to her.

Today I am going to share a card I made this afternoon for hubby to give to his manager at work who is leaving.  I thought this cute image from my Joanna Sheen cd "Messy Rabbit" just fitted the bill.  (I have to mention here that his manager is actually female - or you might consider it very odd that I have chosen to use a cute rabbit,ribbon and a bow on the card!)  Here is the finished card

This is a 6x6 card and the small topper and the larger two backing papers were all from my Joanna Sheen cd but I gave the yellow backing paper some messy edges in Craft Artist. The background on the larger topper is one I made myself in Craft Artist and also used it on my last card "Busy Doing Nothing".  I used a Kaisercraft stamp to add the music to the base of the larger topper when I had printed it out.  (I am relying on the fact that the people who see this card can't read music because the music actually bears no relationship to the wording! )  I completed the card front with some ribbon and card candi from my stash (and that dodgy looking bow).

Here is how it looked when I designed it in Craft Artist

As you can see I decided to put the small topper on at a jaunty angle, as they say, when I actually made up the card.

And no card is complete without a matching insert

Hubby seems pleased with this card, though I'm not sure he's really the best judge - he tells me all my cards are "lovely dear" - not even sure he looks at them!

If anyone wishes to join us in our little (but getting bigger) group on Facebook then please click here and ask to be added.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Catherine x

Busy Doing Nothing and Serif Craft Artist

Afternoon everyone

Finally got into my craft room this morning and managed to actually make a card so thought I would share it with you all.

The image I have used is "Busy Doing Nothing" by Sheena Douglass and I have coloured it using polychromos pencils again.  As I really love the colour I used for her dress I decided to make some matching papers in Craft Artist for my card.  And of course, as always, I made the insert in Craft Artist too.

Here is the finished card.

The card base is 190mm x190mm and I have used centura pearl from Crafters Companion for the embossed panel.  The background, including the two sets of three "pearls" or "brads" I made myself in Craft Artist and printed out as one, and then added glossy accents to the pearls.  I have gone around the edges of the topper lightly using Tim Holtz distress ink in Stormy Sky, and the patterned panel I have mounted it onto was also made by me in Craft Artist, as was the sentiment.  I have finished the card with some ribbon, a bow, a Cheery Lynn die cut swirl and a little paper flower (coloured with flexmarkers to match the rest of the card.)

This is how it all appeared in Craft Artist before I printed, cut and glued!

This was how I laid out the card front

And here is the insert

If you would like to join our Serif Craft Artist Users Group on Facebook, please click here and ask to be added.

Thank you for calling in to see my card.

Catherine x