House of Cards November Challenge - Stamped and Cut Window Technique

The House of Cards team have done themselves proud this month!

It's technique time for the November Challenge and the girls have created a beautiful selection of cards using the stamped and cut window technique.

To be honest I wasn't at all sure what this technique entailed but after watching the video featured on today's post and made by our leader, Mynn-the-Marvel, I felt filled with confidence to try this for myself.

I stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed as I wanted to give this technique a CAS twist. I then used the finished panel as a background for SOG Mae and her mistletoe.

There's plenty of gorgeous inspiration for you over at House of Cards. I think this is a lovely technique and one that really lends itself to Christmas/Holiday cards. Why not head-over, take a peek at what the HOC DT have created this month and join us for our November Challenge.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #21 - Monochromatic with a thanks twist.

Do you love monochrome as much as I love monochrome?
If the answer is 'yes' then why not join in the fun as this month's challenge over at Naughty or Nice.

The Troublemakers would like to see marvellous monochromatic cards... With a 'thanks' twist.

My card is only a little bit naughty. I had such fun pulling together all the different elements for this one and hope it shows in the finished result.

Unfortunately, the picture is slightly washed-out due to the poor light levels today. 

The quote is attributed to Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. For me, Disraeli has always had one of the more interesting hair styles of British political history but that's a whole other blogpost! Having said that I still can't help but wonder just how did he manage to create that kiss-curl without the benefit of modern styling products?

Anyhoo, as soon as I saw his quote I knew I'd partner it with the lovely 'Crown' from AI for a super fun thank you card. 

The gorgeous stamp in the background is from Purple Onion Designs. It's a beauty but not one I've found easy to use due to it's dimensions. However, I think it works perfectly for this card and looks lovely heat embossed in white and then sponged with Distress Inks.

My fellow Troublemakers also had plenty of fun with their monochromatic-marvels so why not take a look and join in our challenge for November...

Happy birthday, Shirley!

So, you decide to send a birthday card to a fellow card maker... Well, not just any card maker but the super-talented Shirley B. You feel a little nervous because Shirley is so talented and you are not. You carefully select an image you hope Shirley will like and you start colouring with your Promarkers.

Everything seems to go pretty well with your colour-work so you die-cut and layer and then you decide to add some Wink of Stella from your newly purchased pen. You shake and squeeze: nothing happens. You try again but the fluid won't flow into the barrel. You undo the pen and suddenly you are engulfed in what will go down in the annals of history as 'The Great Wink of Stella Disaster of 2015'.  You print out a second image...

Yes, it's fellow blogger Shirley B's birthday today. As I am sure many of you are aware, Shirley is one very talented lady and not only does she make cards she also designs her own stamps!
Earlier this year Shirley shared a gorgeous card for a 50th birthday which I admired in the comment I left for her. Before I knew it I had a stunning card made just for me to celebrate my half-century!

So, (eventually) here's the card I sent to Shirley to celebrate her birthday. Don't you just love this sweet girl with her birthday tiara?

Happy birthday, Shirley, I hope you have a wonderful day!

A Little Bit Naugh-tea!

After seeing my previous card a work colleague asked if I could make a tea-themed version for her daughter... And here's the result!

I was struggling to decide on a colour combo until I found this lovely palette of colours over at The Card Concept. 

I've seen other card-makers link to this blog on many occasions but I've never actually visited The Card Concept until now. I have to say that I love what I've found as this is a great little blog with some very talented ladies on the design team.

The DT inspiration comes in a variety of styles CAS, Clean and Graphic, Clean and Layered, Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage, Classy and Elegant or Mixed Media and you can choose a style for your card from one of these. I guess my card is best described as Clean and Layered as there are a few layers going on here but the overall design is still very simple. I love the colour inspiration as these are colours I would never have chosen without seeing them together. 

I was also very taken with this simple request:

'Comment on the card ahead of you and behind you in the linky.'

What a nice way of doing things to guarantee some additional blog traffic for everyone taking part in the challenge. I know this'll be the first of many visits I'll make to this lovely challenge blog and would urge you to take a look if you've not already done so yourself.

I'm also going to link-up over at Kathy's current 30 Day Colouring Challenge. Once again, she's doing an amazing job of bringing us inspiration and colouring fun on a daily basis throughout the month!

Love you a latte!

In an attempt to wean myself off SOG images, and get a good colouring workout, I headed over to Mo's and bought a couple of her beautiful digis. Isn't this one a beauty? I love her sweet, winsome expression.

I had planned to play along with Amy's Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop but couldn't find time to finish my colouring until this morning. 

However, I am still in good time to link-up with Kathy's 30 Day Colour Challenge...

And also Virginia's current challenge, where Kathy appears as Guest Designer for the month.

Two seriously talented ladies who know a thing or two about colour: what a combination!

For a little added interest I made some cute coffee-themed embellishments using Lawn Fawn's Love You A Latte set. I even added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the spoon to look like sugar!

Hubby's off to the football in a while... Ooooo, might just manage to squeeze in a little more colouring while I have the house to myself! Well, it is World Card Making Day after all!

Have a great day!

September Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It's time for another Card Chain Challenge reveal over at Deborah's: my goodness, doesn't time fly!

Here's the card I sent to my recipient and, yes, you guessed it, it's another SOG image.

Isn't Wavy Mae adorable? Perfect with that large sentiment stamp and such fun to colour. 

I promise to stop colouring SOG images... Eventually!

I was lucky enough to receive a super spooky card from the lovely Arlene, which you can see here along with all the other September creations.

If you'd like to join the October Chain there are still a few days before the link-up closes.