Welcome

by Craftybabs // April 6, 2015 // Comments off

PLEASE NOTE, I ONLY TAKE COMMISSIONS FROM FROM FRIENDS & FAMILY.

Hi there, welcome to my website which is my way of sharing my crafting journey with the world. I have been a creative person for virtually all of my life, and, like many, have had a go a pretty much every form of creative craft at one time or another. Nowadays I am predominantly a paper crafter making bespoke cards for friends and family and their friends. My passion is die cutting. I am lucky to have a number of different die cutting machines and thousands of dies. I also, when the mood takes me, like to write the odd verse or two. I also share pictures of my makes on Pinterest and on my Facebook page, both of which you will find by clicking on the links.

N.B. If you’ve signed up for the newsletter, you’ll need to add me to your accepted/address list as some people are finding them going into their Spam/Trash Folders

If you want details of the dies, materials etc used to make the various cards then click on the thumbnail pictures in the galleries and you should get a full size picture with all the details below.

Christening Keepsake For A Special Grandson

by Craftybabs // May 23, 2026 // No Comments

My friend asked me to make a special keepsake card for her grandson’s Christening. This style of card continues to be my most requested card for babies, either for births or Christenings. It’s personalised with all of the special details relevent to the child and the occasion and there are spaces to add photos too. I made this one using a variety of dies including Tattered Lace Essentials nesting Notched squares dies, Marianne D® Creatables Die Set 2pk – Cameo Silhouette,designs Creatables, Marianne collectables baby feet dies, Crafters Companion Gemini layered alphabet dies, Quickutz nesting Tag dies, Ellison thick cutz envelope die, Spellbinders nesting plain & scalloped oval dies, Parchment pocket made using an envelope template stencil, Cross and baby words embossed using brass stencils, outer cover embossed using couture creations intrinsic embossing folder.

Baby Boy Christening keepsake made using a variety of dies including Tattered Lace Essentials nesting Notched squares dies, Marianne D® Creatables Die Set 2pk - Cameo Silhouette,designs Creatables, Marianne collectables baby feet dies, Crafters Companion Gemini layered alphabet dies, Quickutz nesting Tag dies, Ellison thick cutz envelope die, Spellbinders nesting plain & scalloped oval dies, Parchment pocket made using an envelope template stencil, Cross and baby words embossed using brass stencils, outer cover embossed using couture creations intrinsic embossing folder. -craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Simply Elegant – A change from the norm

by Craftybabs // May 22, 2026 // No Comments

I love this clean simple look but tend not to do very many cards like this, as most are specifically requested. I made this one for my sister last June. Using luxury pearlescent card really helps to bring out the 3D effect of the embossed design and a subtle floral arangement with silver accents just finished it off perfectly. To create this card I used:- Unbranded nesting stitched rectangle dies, Spellbinders Beveled Happy Birthday A2 Card front 3D embossing folder and Spellbinders Bold Blooms Floral dies.

Clean & Simple Birthday card made using Unbranded nesting stitched rectangle dies, Spellbinders Beveled Happy Birthday A2 Card front 3D embossing folder and Spellbinders Bold Blooms Floral dies. -craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Special Flowers For A Special Mum

by Craftybabs // May 21, 2026 // No Comments

I was asked to make a card for my friend’s mum, she has had quite a few cards from me for her and she loves them (Ladies Large / Extra Special). Apparently they are all still on display as she likes them so much. It’s a challenge then to come up with a lovely flower design that is different to those she’s already had. For this card I used the ‘Made To Surprise’ Showstopper for the card base and some beautiful patterened papers from my 12″ x 12″ paper stash. The papers then dictated the colour scheme and also which flower dies to use. The dies are used for this are as follows:- Showstopper floral card made using various dies including:- Made To Surprise Tri Fold 5″ x 7″ Showstopper card Mechanism die set, Alt e New Hibiscus garden 3D Die set, Spellbinders ‘Thanks Enclosed’ sentiments die set, Craft Buddy Nesting Upper Case alphabet dies and Heartfelt Creations Botanic orchid dies.

Showstopper card made using various dies including:- Made to surprise trifold 5x7 showstopper card mechanism set, Alt-e-New Hibiscus Garden 3D die set, Spellbinders 'Thanks enclosed' sentiments die set, Craft Buddy Nested Upper Case alphabet die set and Heartfelt creations Botanic orchid die set. craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Floral Name Card for A Special Sister

by Craftybabs // May 20, 2026 // No Comments

I made this card for my sister’s birthday. As regular vistors will know, she is also a very talented crafter and we always go out of our way when it comes to making cards for each other. I have made this card before but absolutely love the design. It was inspired by Jennifer McGuire a few years ago. I deliberately didn’t put any sentiments on the front so she could disply it in her craft room after the big day, but I could resist adding a touch of bling.

Birthday card made using a number of dies including:- layered flowers dies and Card Making Magic Die Set Solid Alphabet Letter by Christina Griffiths- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Beautiful Orchids For A Special Birthday

by Craftybabs // May 19, 2026 // No Comments

I was asked to make this card that was to be given to a special friend celebrating her 70th birthday who was a huge lover of orchids. I chose to make the mats from the same pearlescent card as the flowers to add that luxurious touch and a subtle colour scheme for an elegant look. This box easel card is one of my favourite card folds these days and is also often requested by people ordering cards. It displays beautifully and is very stable too. I used a number of dies for this including:- Heartfelt Creations Botanic Orchid dies dies, Tattered Lace Hand Drawn Alphabet Upper case Die Set, foliage dies from Sizzix Thinlits Bloom die set and Spellbinders Stitched Numbers dies. I used distress inks and fine liner pens to create the subtle shading of the background and flowers and to add the fine details to the flowers.

Floral Block easel card made using various dies including : Heartfelt Creations Botanic Orchid dies dies, Tattered Lace Hand Drawn Alphabet Upper case Die Set, foliage dies from Sizzix Thinlits Bloom die set and Spellbinders Stitched Numbers dies.- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

A Big Card For Their Big Day – A4 Wedding Card

by Craftybabs // May 18, 2026 // No Comments

I was asked, by the groom’s father, to make a special wedding card but had very little to go off in terms of colours, theme etc. apart from names, date and venue. I decided to go for a faded out photograph of the venue printed onto linen card with a feature floral arrangement. I used various shades of white and ivory pearlescent card stock for the flowers and pearlescent greens and non-shed glitter for the foliage giving a luxury bridal look. The addition of personalised sentiments made it a one of unique memento of the day. I used a double ‘Z’ fold A4 sized card base as this added stability to what was a large and quite heavy card. I used various dies to create the embellishments including:- Card making Magic Die Set Christmas Rose by Christina Griffiths, Alt-e-new Layered Rose die set, free with issue 174 of Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine, Berry Foliage die (no name but bought from The Works), Pair of Ferns by Cheery Lynn Designs Dies, Tattered Lace sentiment 2014 dies and Joy Craft Cutting Dies – Wedding (6002/0395).

Extra Large A4 Double Z fold Wedding card made usin a partially faded photograph of the wedding venue and decorated with various dies including:- Card making Magic Die Set Christmas Rose by Christina Griffiths, Alt-e-new Layered Rose die set, free with issue 174 of Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine, Berry Foliage die (no name but bought from The Works), Pair of Ferns by Cheery Lynn Designs Dies, Tattered Lace sentiment 2014 dies and Joy Craft Cutting Dies – Wedding (6002/0395.- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Some ‘Bangers’ For the Hubby

by Craftybabs // May 17, 2026 // No Comments

My long suffering husband is used to me making all kinds of cards for other people. He knows better than most non-crafters how much effort goes into each one. When his birthday comes around he always tells me not to bother making him a card. Well, that’s easily said, but how could I not make him card. The main difficulty for me, as always with family cards, is to come up with something new. I’ve been making cards for many years now and my family have seen pretty much everything between them. At least it’s one excuse to keep buying new dies (LOL). This time I decided on a ‘Showstopper’ style card that reflected one of his favourite TV programmes namely ‘Bangers and Cash’. We’ve even visited the shop in Thornton le Dale and the warehouses in Pickering. I have quite a few vehicle dies in my collection and used some of my favourite ‘All Occasion’ sets for this card, they are so detailed. Here’s the list of all the dies I used:- Made To Surprise 5×7 Trifold Showstopper card die set, All Occasion dies Classic Motorbike dies set, All Occaision dies Camper van Dies set, MFT Mini Car die set, The Paper Boutique sentiment dies, Spellbinders Stitched numbers dies and Studio Light Essentials STENCILSA390 Alphabet dies.

Showstopper Birthday card made using various dies including:- Made To Surprise 5x7 Tentfold Showstopper card die set, All Occasion dies Classic Motorbike dies set, All Occaision dies Camper van Dies set, MFT Mini Car die set, The Paper Boutique sentiment dies, Spellbinders Stitched numbers dies and Studio Light Essentials STENCILSA390 Alphabet dies.

Another ‘Golden Girl’ 50th Birthday

by Craftybabs // May 16, 2026 // No Comments

My Nephew’s wife was celebrating her 50th birthday so it called for a special card (Ladies Ages). I chose to make a ‘Tower Pillar Card’ inspired by Sam Calcott, after watching her on youtube. The card base doesn’t require any dies to create, just for the decoration. I used Crealies Cardz dies numbers dies and unbranded layered alphabet and sentiment dies to add the personalisation. I used glittered patterned papers for the mats and non-shed glitter card for the numbers, name and sentiment to add a touch of bling.

Tower Pillar Card inspired by Sam Calcott made using:- Crealies Cardz dies numbers dies and unbranded Layaered alphabet and sentiment dies.- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Two For One – Fourth 60th Birthday Card Plus a 50th

by Craftybabs // May 15, 2026 // No Comments

This is last of four cards for the same recipient. Whilst making this I needed to make a 50th birthday card for my nephew (Men’s Ages). I figured if I made both cards the same it would save some time. I chose the colours to reflect each recipients’ favourite football team colours. These were 8″ square spinner cards. I used a stencil to create the mat layer for the fronts and also on the insides to match. This mainly uses nesting circle dies but I did use alphabet dies to create the sentiments and personalisations. I used the following dies:- Sizzix Bigz Sassy Serif Numbers dies, Tattered lace Essentials nesting circles dies and Crealies DOUBLE STITCH Die Set No.33 CIRCLE Cutting Dies XXL33 , Sizzix Thinlits Elle Alphabet Upper case, lower case & Numbers dies.

8″ x 8″ 60th Birthday Spinner card made using various dies including; Sizzix Bigz Sassy Serif Numbers dies, Tattered lace Essentials nesting circles dies and Crealies DOUBLE STITCH Die Set No.33 CIRCLE Cutting Dies XXL33 , Sizzix Thinlits Elle Alphabet Upper case, lower case & Numbers dies, Background inked through stencil with various shades of Blue Tim Holtz distress inks.- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

Two ‘Fore’ One – Third 60th Birthday Card

by Craftybabs // May 14, 2026 // No Comments

This is the third of four cards for the same recipient and the second one themed around golf (Men’s Hobbies & Interest). I chose the box easel style of card using different dies to ensure that the didn’t look the same as the previous one. I love this style of card, it displays really well and allows for more dimension to the overall card. To create this I used:- Lea-bilities Dies – Golf Bag & Clubs, Memory box Golf cart dies, Memory box Golf club landscape dies, The Paper Boutique sentiment dies and CRealies Alfie’s Capitals Layered alphabet and numbers dies.

Golf Themed Box easel card made using various dies including:- Lea-bilities Dies - Golf Bag & Clubs, Memory box Golf cart dies, Memory box Golf club landscape dies, The Paper Boutique sentiment dies and CRealies Alfie's Capitals Layered alphabet and numbers dies.- craftybabscreativecrafts.co.uk

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Craftybabs Creative Crafts

Bespoke handmade greeting cards, keepsakes, creative crafts and poems for all occasions