Cathy Mc Grath : MajaDesign

Altered Frame

15 May, 2015 - Altered Items, Nyhavn

Hello everyone! It’s Cathy here on the blog today. For my project today I have a frame to share with you. I created this frame for my classroom as I wanted to inspire my students as well as add something beautiful to the space. It’s always nice to have some home decor pieces in learning spaces. I bought an inexpensive frame and decorated it using papers from the limited edition Nyhavn Collection.

I used Heritage Harbour as my background and created the splatters using Prima Splatter stamps. I covered some Kaisercraft words with Historical Atmosphere and Like a Colourful Bouquet papers and inked the edges with Prima dark bark inks. To finish I painted the sides of the words with Kaisercraft mango paint.

I used some chipboard pieces and altered them by applying chalk inks and distress inks.

To add some colour, I added some flowers. I have had these Prima daisies in my stash for a while and I added some die cut leaves as well as a twine bow to add texture. I used La La Land open leaf flourish and Elizabeth Craft curvy leaf dies.

I repeated the flowers in the opposite corner but picked up on the orange from the letters. I have used quite a few Prima flowers and the same dies to create the leaves in the cluster. I adhered everything using Prima art basics soft matt gel…it’s my favourite adhesive at the moment!

Maja Design Papers Used

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Happy Mother’s Day

Posted by Cathy Mc Grath

1 May, 2015 - Cards, Vintage Summer Basics

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Hello Maja Design friends! I hope you are well. It’s Cathy here today on the blog and I have a Mother’s Day card to share with you. In Australia, we celebrate it on the second Sunday of May. Some activities that occur on Mother’s Day include organised walks or runs to raise money for causes such as breast cancer research and breakfasts, brunches, lunches, afternoon teas or dinners at restaurants, cafes, or at home. Of course chocolates, flowers and special gifts are mandatory! I used pink in my card to recognise breast cancer, to recognise the survivors and those who are battling it. It is something that touches everyone in some way.

Here I used Magnolia Rose leaf die and gently shaped the leaves. I also used Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork, Green Tara rose and Kaisercraft mini paper paper bloom. I also like to machine stitch with my sewing machine which you can see here as well.

My main focal point is a stamp by JustRite called Vintage Rose Medallions. I stamped it onto Stampin’Up! watercolour paper and used my Stampin’ Write Markers from the Subtles Collection and a Stampin’ Up! blender pen to colour the image in. The sentiment is layered using some foam tape which is from the same stamp set. I also used Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and accents and a doily to complete it.

Maja Design papers used:

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Fun With Tags

Posted by Cathy Mc Grath

17 April, 2015 - Tags, Vintage Autumn Basics, Vintage Spring Basics

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Hello Maja Design friends! It’s Cathy here on the blog today. Are you addicted to Pinterest like me? I often have my iPad on my lap and I look around Pinterest during the commercial ads when I watch tv! I love getting ideas from this site and taking a peek at the beautiful creations from the talented crafters out in the world. I felt drawn to the tags that were coming up in my feed and decided that I was in the mood to make some. I also wanted to dabble in some watercolouring as well.

I started by stamping Silver Fairy by Wee Stamps for Whimsy Stamps with Stazon Jet Black ink onto some watercolour paper. I coloured her in using Distress ink pads and a Tim Holtz detailer water brush. I simply stamped the inkpad onto an acrylic block and then used the detailer brush to draw colour from it to then colour the image. I used Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar, Brushed Corduroy and Walnut Stain. I did however have one distress marker which was Tattered Rose which I used to colour her skin.

I die cut Impression Obsession bare branch and leaf cluster. I shaped the leaves using tools from Susan’s Garden Tool Kit. I also die cut flowers using Memory Box flower mound and shaped them as well. I glued them using glossy accents and added a drop of Liquid Pearls petal pink in the centre. The sentiment is from JustRite Botannical Butterflies. I fussy cut the butterflies from one of the papers from the Collection.

My tag paper is Vintage Spring Basics 3^rd of May. In the top right and bottom left corner, I inked both sections using a makeup sponge and Victorian Velvet Distress ink. I then used TCW stencil Art Is.

I had a lot of fun creating my second tag. It’s a bit grungy and easy to create. I used Vintage Autumn Basics No XIII and XXI for this tag.

I used Tim Holtz stencil Measured with some modelling paste down the length of my tag. Once dry, I used a distressing tool and applied Brushed Corduroy and Stormy Sky Distress inks over the top of the dried modelling paste to make the design pop.

I die cut Tim Holtz Weathered Clock and Picture Wheel using papers from the Vintage Autumn Basics Collection (Picture wheel and tag – XIII, Clock XXI).

To add definition, I inked all edges of my embellishments using Walnut Stain distress ink. It also hides any imperfections in your fussy cutting! I also used foam tape to add them to my page to add dimension.

Maja Design Papers Used

Tag One

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Tag Two

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Thanks so much for stopping by the Maja Design blog today.

Hugs,

Happy Easter

Posted by Cathy Mc Grath

3 April, 2015 - Altered Items, Cards, Vintage Spring Basics

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Hello Maja Design friends. It’s Cathy here on the blog. Today I am sharing an Easter project with you. As Easter is only a few days away, I was inspired to create a project that embraced the season. For both my card and basket I used papers from the Vintage Spring Basics Collection.

I bought a chipboard basket from my local craft store and pulled it apart (the handle). Using scrap paper, I traced a template before transferring it onto the 12” Vintage Spring Basics 3^rd of March paper. I had some button brads in my stash that coordinated perfectly with the papers which I used to reconnect the handle back onto the basket. I used a Prima white edger to ink the raw edges. This was so quick to alter and the end result is so cute!

To create my card I used papers from the Vintage Spring Basics paper pad. I always pull out the possible papers that I might use and play around with them for a while until I find a combination that I like.

My sentiment is the reverse label from 2^nd of March paper…don’t throw away your scraps…they come in so handy!

As you can see, I used a few dies here. I used a Spellbinders D-lites Filigree Egg die and Elegant Ovals with the centre removed to frame the egg. I backed the egg using a paisley paper from the paper pad to add another layer that was subtle enough to provide a contrast to the yellow paper. I framed the egg with various flowers from stash that I have had for quite a while. I had some daffodils which work perfectly with my sentiment. I die cut some leaves using Poppy Stamps Lorelai Leaf die and shaped them using a stylus and moulding pad from my Susan’s Garden Tool Kit.

Maja Design Papers Used

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May you enjoy spending time with your family this Easter and for those planning to take a trip, remember to stay safe.

Thanks so much for stopping by the Maja Design blog.

Hugs,

Cherish

Posted by Cathy Mc Grath

20 March, 2015 - Layouts, Vintage Autumn Basics

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Hello everyone! It’s Cathy here on the blog today. I have a layout to share with you that is monochromatic in design with just a hint of colour. In Australia, we have moved into the season of autumn which is the paper inspiration for my layout. I pulled out all of the brown papers from the Vintage Autumn Collection and played around with them until I decided which ones I wanted to use.

To create the shape of my patterned paper and contrasting cardstock, I used The Crafter’s Workshop Trendy Bracket stencil. I inked the edge of the patterned paper with Prima dark bark ink and used sewing scalloped scissors to create the scalloped border around the edge of the dark brown border. I have used regular scalloped scissors in the past and have found the sewing scissors gave me greater control and accuracy in my cuts. I also inked this Scrapmatts title using the Prima ink as well.

Not only are the Maja Design papers beautiful but the negative side of the titles are beautiful as well! I trimmed one to create one of my titles. I fussy cut one of the clocks from the collection as well to create an embellishment. I also added a Prima and Green Tara flower.

To frame my photo, I used Spellbinders Card Creator Heirloom Legacy die. I love the details it has.

I inked a Prima Shabby Chic Treasure using the same dark bark ink to make it look aged. As you can see, I also inked my other papers with the same ink.

Maja Design papers used:

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Thanks so much for stopping by the Maja Design blog today!

Have a great day!!