Seize the Birthday!

Hi there, I'm delighted to be playing along again with the girls over at Seize the Birthday!

This week the toppings option is 'Coffee or Tea'. Actually, this is just a wee bit ironic as I am currently avoiding both due to some stomach problems!

My card is for my long suffering cousin, John, who lives in France. I say 'long suffering' because he often tends to be on the receiving end of my sense of humour! Hopefully he'll be in good spirits when he opens this card on his birthday next week.

I used some of my favourite MFT stamps and dies, plus a gorgeous stencil to create the layering. The sentiment is computer generated.

I'm also linking to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Add a Die Cut.

I'm now going to grab a low fat almond milk and a banana (insert sad face emoticon!) and sit back and enjoy the cards in the linky gallery at both challenges.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #48 - Reminder

It's time for more inspiration over at Naughty or Nice as we continue with our loved up theme. However, we're broadening the challenge from here on in and your card just needs to be for someone you love! If it's a valentine's day card, that's great, but we're going to be just as happy to see birthday cards, anniversary cards etc etc now that February 14th is behind us.

I think it's becoming something of a tradition in our house for Custard the cat to send my hubby a valentine. Hubby does a great job of looking after his furry pal and Custard loves him to bits in return. 

You can go here to find the linky and the original sign-up post.

Seize the relaxation...

I'm delighted to have squeezed in some extra crafting time this weekend. After another crazy week at work this was just what I needed to relax and unwind.

I'm seizing the toppings at Seize the Birthday which is 'Candles'. My card is very simple, and was pretty quick to make, but I did enjoy getting inky!

The background stamp is a real beauty from MFT. They have an amazing selection of gorgeous background stamps, don't they! After heat embossing in white I broke out the Distress Inks and got to work. The centre panel features some stamps from an older MFT set called BB Birthday Bears.

And for some additional relaxation, I'm going to grab a cuppa and enjoy some of the beautiful cards in the linky gallery over at Seize the Birthday! Happy Sunday, everyone!

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge #103 - G is for Galaxy

The Sisterhood's latest challenge is simply out of this world as Edna hops into her little blue spaceship and races off around the galaxy!

Once again, my card is a little light on snark as I decided to use a gorgeous stamp set which I won a while ago on the 25 Tags of Christmas Challenge (Thanks, Lindsey!). The set is from Uniko and is called Reach for the Stars. This is the first set I've used from this company and I have to say it stamps beautifully. I created my galaxy background after finding a great tutorial on Pinterest... which, typically, I can't find again. Why, oh, why did I not bookmark it!
The sistahs have created some really brilliant cards for this challenge and we seem to have a mini Dr. Who challenge within the wider challenge. Please head on over, take a look and play along...

Card Chain Challenge - January Reveal

Hi card fans, I'm a day late with my January CCC Reveal post due to real life getting in the way a bit!

So, let's jump right in and get this party started.
This is the card I sent to Nat in Quebec...

And here is the beauty that arrived yesterday from Sara in Missouri!

As you can see, we both went with the theme of Unicorns, the colour combo and the product option of glitter!

Theme Options: Snowflake / Unicorn / Friendship

or 

Product / Technique Options: Glitter /Embossing

As always, we have a beautiful 'Reveal' on offer at CCC central - plus the sign-up post for February, which is open until Tuesday 6th February. This challenge is such fun because it is an international card exchange: you make a card, send a card, get a card.  Everyone gets a card.  Everyone is a winner.  How brilliant is that!

Naughty or Nice Challenge #48 - All Loved Up!

We're feeling 'All Loved Up' this month at Naughty or Nice Challenges! We've got a great theme for this most romantic of months, plus a gorgeous graphic (inspired by a beautiful photograph).

This gorgeous colour palette is optional, but I'm sure you'll find it hard to resist such lovely, soft pinks and that gorgeous grey and beautiful blue.

(Design Seeds source and image via @CAROLINE_SOUTH)

So, Darren and Jon are getting engaged on February 14th... Great news, but how hard was it to find a suitable image for their card??? Thank goodness this adorable Avery Elle Viking came to my rescue and supplied the perfect 'guy' image!

I coloured each viking appropriately, and then broke out my favourite Valentine's paper pad. Such a fun card to make! I think the boys will like it. Still not quite decided on the sentiment/greeting for the inside, but 'All good wishes for the voyage ahead' seems like a possible idea.

The Troublemakers have had a blast with this challenge, please join us here - we'd love you to play along!