Beautiful Day

Hi everyone,

Today's card is one of my absolute favourites! It has a lot of little elements in it, and a lot of work has gone into it, but I think the effect is just gorgous.

I got my inspiration from Kristina Werner and Kathy Martin (whose digi-stamp I used). Next time I'll probably add a bit more colour below like Kristina did, but I think it looks really nice as is, too:

And a close-up of the sentiment:

So again I have indulged my little passion for clouds.
With the sentiment, I stamped it, and then went over the 'beautiful' (as you can probably already tell!) with my white gel pen a couple of times, which gives it a nice effect.

Hope you liked it!

SUPPLIES:

Cardstock: White, blue, K&Co pieces in the bunting

Stamps: Kathy Martin's "Party Banner" (link above); Holly Brooke Jones' "Winter Love Notes" cloud.

Pen: White Signo gel pen

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Simon Says Stamp - Paper piecing

2. Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes

3. Cute Card Thursday - Dieing for a Punch!

4. Mark's Finest Papers - Friendship cards

5. Donnas Den of Crafts - Lots of Layers

6. Bee Crafty - Anything Goes

Just a little note...

Good morning and hello again!

So here is another card I made yesterday afternoon/evening, when I had my 'crafting hat' on!:

I really like the simplicity and elegance of this card - I don't make many elegant ones, I don't think!

I was inspired by a scrapbook-sketch by Valerie Salmon on "Got Sketch?" It's meant to have photos/images across the top and on the right, but I think that, for a card, this layout works pretty well. It's very uncluttered and pretty - I like it (did you get that?!).

Oh! And I thought I'd do what Dorcas does, and show you my craft-desk while my work is in progress. And this is with tidying it after each card. It's maaaaadness!!!

Yep - a real mess!

INGREDIENTS:

Cardstock: K&Co (background from massive paperstack, flutterbies from Amy Butler Lotus collection), Kraft, white

Punches: 1" Circle (generic); Martha Stewart Royal Butterfly

Label: Valerie Salmon "Got Craft?" freebie - Designer labels

Pen:  White gel pen (Signo)

Ink: Tim Holtz Tea dye distress ink (for the distressing!)

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays: Use the colour kraft!

2. Stamping Vacation: No! No! Challenge

3. Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog: Pink and Green

4. Scrapmaster's Paradise: Colour Combo #62 ("saffron" in the roses, "Blushing bride" in the roses/detail in butterflies, "baja breeze" in the cardstock)

The Silver Lining

Hey everyone,

Well, I've had a creative evening!

This card was inspired by my earlier comment, that being ill meant I had more time to craft, and that 'every cloud has a silver lining'. And then I thought, that's a great idea for a card!

I'm really into clouds at the moment - they're so cute and give added dimension to cards.

And here is a close-up of the top part of the sentiment:

You can't really see it here, but the 'Every' banner actually pops out of the card, and then is stuck down at the sides.
I can't work out where to take photos of my cards - I don't really have anywhere with natural light that's readily available! So everything is in shadow all the time - sorry about that!

Hope you like it!



SUPPLIES:

- Digi stamps: Pollycraft "Sweet Dreams" sun (can't link due to technical problems on the Pollycraft site);
                      Holly Brooke Jones "Winter Love Notes" cloud
- Cardstock: blue, dark grey, light grey, white
- Ink: Ink it up! Silver; black; blue
- Fiskars scalloped border punch
- Dimentional stickers
- White gel pen


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

- Totally Gorjuss: Star! (The sun's a star, right?!)
- Sentimental Sundays: Words to Inspire

Cherry on Top Award

Heyeveryone,

My friend Dorcas very kindly gave me one of these!:

I love it! (And I'd also like to apologise for not posting earlier - have had a mad week as usual and have some time off today because I'm ill! Every cloud has a silver lining, I guess...)

Okay, so to earn the award I have to do the following:

1.  Thank the person who sent it to you:
     - Thank you, Dorcas!

2. Post it on your blog:
    - Done!

3. List 3 things you love about yourself:
    - 1. I think I make friends quite easily
      2. I like that I'm creative
      3. I'm a good cook (or so my husband tells me!)

4. Post a picture you love:

This one is of me and my (not so little any more) sister. It's a few years old, but I just love it, and it reminds me of a really great summer!
It was taken in Kenwood on a summer evening, with a group of friends... pretty idyllic! Although Bob wasn't there so it wasn't perfect! :-)


5. Send this to 5 blog buddies:


- 1. Lynn

- 2. Vicky Hayes

- 3. Stacy G

- 4. Valerie

- 5. Dorcas (okay, i'm breaking the rules, too!)


Thanks again Dorcas - it's a lovely award!

Matryoshka Thank You

Here is another card we made yesterday - I've never made a card using just one colour (two if you count the white cardstock, I guess) before, so this was a new for me!

It was a bit of a challenge to make the card interesting, but we managed it - I just love Nestabilities and distressing; they add interest to just about anything.

Enjoy!

SUPPLIES:-

- Ink: Versacolor "Rose Red"
- Stamp: Hero Arts Matryoshka Dolls (largest doll)
- Sentiment: Fiskars "Thank You" sentiment set
- Button bought from pack off eBay
- White cardstock
- Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies
- Dimentional adhesive squares
- Crop-a-Dile corner chomper by Making Memories

Congratulations Kisses

Hello everyone, sorry I haven't posted for a while - I haven't been able to craft at all last week.

But my sister came over yesterday, and needed help with making some cards, so here they are!

The first one is using that lovely digi-stamp from Bee Crafty (Whimsical - The Kiss). A couple of my sister's friend are getting married in September so this card is for them.

I've combined a few of the techniques I've been using over the last couple of weeks, to see if they'd work well together. I quite like the end result - what do you think?


SUPPLIES:-

- Cardstock - Generic blue; Generic white; K&Co
- Copics
- Hero Arts Butterflies & Flowers design block
- Red button off eBay
- Digi-stamp - 'Love Tree', part of a mini-set from Pollycraft

Kimono Congratulations Cutie

Hello again,

This card has taken me AGES today, but it is FINALLY finished! And after agonising over it and hating it for a while... I've actually grown to quite like it!

I absolutely LOVE the digi-stamp from Stretch N' Bubbles' "Zen" collection, especially with my love of Japan!

Here it is:

I used a sketch from a magazine I bought, and I was determined to use this image - that was the difficult part, because I'd printed it a little larger than what would be ideal for a card of this size.
But still, I think with the faux-stitching and use of Kraft cardstock in a couple of places, it's helped tie all the colours together.

I made it for my boss who has just had a baby - hope she likes it!


SUPPLIES:

- 'A Blessing' digi-stamp from 'Stretch n' Bubbles'
- White linen cardstock from the Papermill
- Kraft cardstock (Bazzil)
- Some red ribbon I've had lying around for absolutely ages
- Some turquoise cardstock that I got in a pack from Costco - sorry not sure what it's called
- Copices
- Nestabilities dies
- A random button I got on eBay
- Sentiment from Hero Arts
- And the flowers are some that I cut from some K&Co paper, and then curled up the petals!


I would like to enter this into:

Sentimental Sundays - Anything goes

Nestabilities Storage

I was introduced to Nestabilities dies by my good friend and fellow crafter, Dorcas, of Dorcas Designs. But the really tricky thing with Nestabilities is the storage!

I used to keep all my different dies in their packaging, in an A4 storage file from Ikea. But this kind of stopped me from using them because it was such a hassle getting them out every time, and then I'd keep them out because it was such a hassle putting them back, and then they would clutter my craft table...

But then Dorcas posted  a great Nestabilities storage idea on her blog. She very kindly sent me these rings, and here's how I used them:

The hooks are the tiny 'cup hooks', which I got from Homebase - they're really cheap, and you don't need to drill any holes, so they won't split the wood you're attaching them to.
I had to use these because it was most convenient to add hooks to my craft shelf - Dorcas hangs hers in other places; go have a look if you like, it's really useful!

Hope this helps!

Happy Day

Here's my second post for the day - I've had a much-longed-for day off, so got crafting!

Here is my next card:

And a close-up of the sentiment (and the 3D effect):

I thought I would try and incorporate the design of my last card into this one, because I personally like to see variations on a certain style.

I did some more distressing, with the pale blue - I love how it brings out the blue in the centre of the card.

I tried a blue button, and then a red one, with the sentiment, but settled on white - it keeps it simple but finishes it off nicely. I haven't used buttons in a while!


SUPPLIES:

- Nestabilities circle, and scalloped circle die (largest of both)
- Martha Stewart Royal Butterfly punch
- K&Co Amy Butler Lotus designer mat pad
- White square cardstock (Anita's Card Blanks)
- Dimentional adhesive squares, and glue dots
- Sponge douber
- That blue Japanese ink again
- Versamark ink (and heat tool)
- Hero Arts design block - "Butterflies and Flowers"
- Sentiment from the Inkadinkado 'Lots 'o pots' stamp set
- Button - just a little white one I got in a bag from eBay


Hope you like it - please let me know what you think!


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Little red wagon - Circles, Circles, Circles!

Hello Flower

Hello again,

I've had the idea for this card for quite a while, and yesterday thought I should just get on and do it! So here it is:

There's quite a bit of detail in this card, so I thought I'd make it quite large so you can see it.

The flower petals are actually lots of little punched circles, adhered to the back of the blue cardstock, and that in turn is adhered to the circular card.


It's a bit tricky to explain, so here is the back of the card:

It would have been easier to stand the card up from the bottom, it's true, but I was doing some damage-control on a bit of smudged ink, so it had to be stood on its side!

And I'd just like to apologise for the mess on my craft desk - it's a desk that my husband and I share, but I must admit most of the mess is mine. I'll tidy it, and then after making just one tiny card it's messy again - you know what it's like!


INGREDIENTS:

- Martha Stewart circle cutter
- Circle punch (random punch I bought in a brad-making kit)
- Heat tool
- White cardstock
- Blue cardstock (Dovecraft)
- Kraft cardstock
- Blue ink (the Japanese one I don't know the colour of)
- A sponger (for distressing)
- 3D adhesive squares
- Chesnut Roan chalk ink
- Hero Arts "Anyone Can Stamp" Birds and branches set little bird stamp
- Hero Arts Design Block - Butterflies and flowers
- Versamark ink
- Diamondstickles by Ranger
- Some little purple gems I picked up on eBay
- Signo white gel pen
- Good old crayola colouring pencils (for the birdie - yes it's got about 4 different layers of colour on it but I got the end result I wanted!)

Phew! That's a long list!
Like I said - a lot going on! But it was good fun to make - hope you like it!


I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

1. Sentimental Sundays - Switch It Up!

Home Sweet Home

Hi everyone,

I had a lot of fun making my card this week, and I was just so surprised at how little time it took!
I had been making a couple of cards using the same sketch, so I didn't have to plan for very long - the most difficult part was working out which colours to use.

In the end I went for nice bold colours; purple and teal are my favourite! And I added the white digis to take away some of the colour.

Hope you like it!

Sorry, the lighting just wasn't good enough without the flash, so in the photo above you can't see the colours properly. But this one is to show a close-up view of the card.

So here is another one to show the colours!

SUPPLIES:

- Digi-stamp: "Home Sweet Home" by Kathy Martin, available from Two Peas In a Bucket

- Purple Bazzil cardstock

- Teal cardstock from The Papermill

- Stickles by Ranger, in Turquoise

- Fiskars scalloped border punch

- Crop-a-Dile corner chomper



I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

1. Sir Stampalot - Bring On the Bling
2. Papertake Weekly - White and Bright
3. Fab 'n' Funky - Spotty, Dotty and Stretchy Stripes
4. Bee-Crafty  - All About the Image