On the double ....

.... there are a few times a year where friends' birthdays are so close together that I "cheat" and make identical cards for each person.  Thankfully, they don't know each other, so they'll never know!!

Here's what I made for my March birthday pals, Jocelyn and Olwen:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Use more than one die or punch"), Creative Knockouts ("Spring is on the Way"), Cute Card Thursday ("Spring is on the Way"), Moving Along with the Times ("Handmade or Die-Cut Flowers"), Fab 'n' Funky Challenges ("Flowers") and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Layer it Up").

I recently bought this WPlus9 stamp and die set and I absolutely love it - so versatile and I've made quite a few cards with it - many variables for leaves/flowers/centres, etc.  And I actually bought the die set so no fussy cutting those flowers!! The only problem I have is that I don't really have any pigment inks which make for more opaque cover if you stamp a centre on a flower - so I guess I know what my next bulk crafting purchase will be.  I had to be quite cunning about the way I combined the colours so they didn't bleed through or discolour - here's a close-up:

Recipe:

Stamps: WPlus9 "Fresh Cut Florals"

Dies: WPlus9 "Fresh Cut Florals"

Font: "Bakery" dafont.com

Other: Sequins from stash

Thanks for looking!

In the ....

.... good books again!  Last Valentine's Day, what with travelling to Scotland for the wedding and all that - like the cobbler's children not having any shoes, this cardmaker didn't make a Valentine's Card for her own husband!!  So this year, I thought I'd better not neglect him a second year on the trot and this is what I made:

I watercoloured a rainbow onto watercolour paper and then cut out loads of hearts, stuck them down then added punched small circles, glossy accented some bits and not others.  I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("Use your favourite tool" - mine is actually very low tech - my Tim Holtz scissors, I cut something out on almost every card), Tuesday Throwdown ("Heart String"), Paper Creator ("Love is in the Air") and Fab 'n' Funky ("Wild About You").

It's dark now but I'm going to have to retake the picture tomorrow - the colours are just not right - they look much truer in this side-shot:

Recipe:

Other: Watercolour paint and paper, glossy accents, red thread

Thanks for looking!

They're finished, and ....

.... it's only the 4th of December!!

I finished the last batch of Christmas cards last night, here's what this year's offering looks like:

I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ("O Christmas Tree"), ABC Challenge ("U for Unconventional" - Christmas card with no red or green), Crafty Creations, Moving Along with the Times, Creative Inspirations, Fab n Funky ("Christmas") and Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes").

I made a little scene with heat embossed Neat and Tangled stamps, watercoloured the background, added more heat embossed stars and did edges in gold.  I twisted thin gold thread round hairy string to give and extra little twinkle.  I made up a sentiment and printed onto the card blanks, as I didn't really like the sentiments that came with the stamp set.  Here's a side view:

And here they are all together, before I have to split them up and send them to people!!

Recipe:

Stamps: Neat and Tangled "Winter Wishes"

Font: "KG Sorry Not Sorry Chub" - dafont.com

Other: Black e.p., gold e.p., distress inks, hairy string, gold thread

Thanks for looking!

My boy ....

.... is now 14 - and growing like a weed, seems to be made of arms, legs and feet!!

With the trip to Edinburgh, I was almost too late to make a card for him, and it was a bit of a rush, but he really liked it (well, he made the appropriate noises anyway!).  Here it is:

I used a sort of a combination of this week's and last week's sketches from Mojo Monday and I'm also entering the following challenges: Craft your Passion, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Coffee + Cards("Anything Goes"), ABC Challenge ("B is for ... " boy and birthday and black), Fab 'n' Funky ("Male Birthday") and A Gem of a Challenge ("Boy's Birthday").

I made some acrylic paint on kraft panels, I also used some lovely new stamps - the ink splot I particularly like.  I made the 14 and the J, E and D and popped up the 14 on a spring from an old notebook - here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Paper: October Afternoon "Seaside"

Stamps: IndigoBlu "Ink Splats" and My Favourite Things "Go with It"

Fonts: "Handwriting Draft" and "Dark Underground" dafont.com

Other: Acrylic paint, black e.p., spring from notebook

Thanks for looking!

Going through ....

.... the stockpile.  One good thing about not blogging in ages is that the small number of cards I've made this year are now just sitting there waiting to be uploaded!!  So with no further ado, here's my godson's 3rd birthday card:

I was sad to see that Deconstructing Sketches is no more, I loved Jen's sketches and used them all the time - now I'm looking to Pinterest a lot for inspiration, that's where I got the idea for this card.  I'm entering the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ("Die Crazy"), Little Red Wagon ("Use Something New" - mine is the washi tape), Fab 'n' Funky ("Recycle/Upcycle" - the corrugated star and photo corner are made from old cardboard packaging), Creative Inspirations ("Your Favourite Occasion" - I love children's birthdays!) and Chocolate, Coffee & Cards ("Celebration").

I like all the layers and different shades of blue/navy/aqua/kraft on this card - here's a side-shot:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Granola", "Carte Postale", "Clippings"

Font: "Peanut Butter Cookies" and "Titania" - dafont.com

Other: Washi tape, button and hairy string

Thanks for looking!

This one was ....

.... not the easiest card to make.  I've never made a birthday remembrance card before, being a look-forward, not back, kind of person, but I just had to make something to send to a friend to let her know I was thinking about her and to mark the day her special little fella would have been 12 years old.  Here's what I made for her:

I used the sketch from this week's Deconstructed Sketches and I'm also entering this into the following challenges: Fab 'n' Funky ("Walk on the Wild Side"), Moving Along with the Times (Colour Challenge - blues, greens and bright yellow), My Time to Craft ("Paper Piecing") and Try it on Tuesday ("Things with Wings").

I loved the sketch I used because it had a lovely big rectangle in the middle, which really lent itself to making a little scene.  I used a scrap of some cloud patterned paper , then stamped a tree and hand-cut a grassy strip out of cardstock.  I stamped, coloured and cut out the bird, then paper pieced his wings, and coloured the flowers on the tree to match the bright yellow hearts and the bird.  Here's a closer look: 

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Dasher" and October Aftenoon "Weathervane"

Stamps: Imaginesce "Once Upon a Time - Tree" and Hero Arts "Holiday Bird"

Colouring Medium: Prismacolor Pencils

Punches: Martha Stewart "Branch" and "Valentine's Lace"

Other: Glossy Accents

Thanks for looking!

On the road ....

.... again!  Our lovely piano teacher at school has just retired, and I wanted to make a card that didn't include any of the obvious music/keyboard/piano motifs.  She and her husband head off with glee each summer holiday to travel the roads of Europe in their caravan, so I decided to base my card around that.  Here's what I made:

I used the sketch from last week's Deconstructed Sketch (flipped) and I'm also entering the following challenges: City Crafter ("Chipboard"), Creative Inspirations ("Distressing"), Fab 'n' Funky ("Feels Like Summer"), Little Red Wagon ("I need a Vacation") and Charisma Cardz ("Anything Goes").

I used some very old papers by Cosmo Cricket - my starting point was the cute car and caravan chipboard image - never thought I'd get to use it!  I highlighted the vehicles with glossy accents.  I cut the foliage from one of the patterned papers.  Here's a side-shot of the dimension on the card.

Recipe:

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Mr. Campy"

Font: "Alexis Marie" - www.dafont.com

Die: Nestabilities "Blossom"

Other: Glossy Accents

Thanks for looking!

My 299th ....

.... post!  I am sure there are many bloggers who've hit the 300 within a year, but as my long-time followers will know, I am a slow, slow crafter, and that means not so many posts!!  I'm going to do a little blog candy to celebrate my 300th post, hopefully that will be within the next week or so, but it's me - you never know!!

My card today is, for a change, a clean and simple one.  One of the ladies at my monthly craft club gave us each a little wooden die-cut house, and challenged us to make a new home card.  We're going to donate all the completed cards to another crafter who raises money for breast cancer charities.  So here's what I made:

 

Update 07/05 - this card was voted in the Top 3 on Sentimental Sundays - thank you!

I'm entering this into the following challenges: Brown Sugar ("Anything Goes"), Daring Cardmakers ("3 elements" - mine are flowers, leaves and thread), Sentimental Sundays ("Clean and Simple"), Created with Love ("In the Garden"), Fab N Funky ("Paper Piecing"), CAS-ology ("Garden").

I made the simple little scene by shaping pretty floral paper and adhering to a punched circle, then I popped the house on top.  I didn't have baker's twine in the right colours, so my daughter and I twisted two enormously long strands of navy thread and one strand of grey together again and again to make this custom twine.  Here's a close-up of the detail:

Recipe:

Papers: Basic Grey "Persimmon",

Font: Cheddar Jack - www.dafont.com

Other: Wooden house, grey and navy thread

Thanks for looking - don't forget to keep an eye out for my 300th post!!