Mom's birthday card...

Shhhh, don't tell my Mom but I'm sharing her card ahead of her birthday on Monday!

I've got so much to do during the week plus my regular DT posts will be up in the next few days, that I thought I'd share this card today.

I can't stop colouring Some Odd Girl images at the moment. They are so cute and quirky and beautifully drawn and I love 'em! I was delighted to discover this little card appearing on the September Spotlight post over at the SOG blog... What a great way to start the weekend!

The MFT Cityscape was a gift from a Card Chain Challenge friend. I was delighted to receive this die-cut but wasn't sure how to use it. Then I remembered a card I'd seen over at Donna's blog and knew I'd be 'borrowing' her colouring technique for my card.

The sentiment was generated on my PC and the banner was cut using a combination of rectangular and square dies to achieve the pennant shape. The card base looked too plain when I began to assemble the card so I randomly stamped with the beautiful Hero Arts Winter Tree Pattern and embossed with WOW embossing powder to achieve some texture and interest. I have to say this gives a brilliant look to the card and I know I'll be using this technique again to give some added 'ooomph' to future cards.

This week the toppings at Seize the Birthday are Border Punches or Die-cuts so I'll do a little happy dance and link-up up with their current challenge!

Have a great weekend everyone!

August Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It was back down to earth with a bump today as I returned to work after the Summer break. Six weeks of crafting, relaxing and holidaying... All gone by too fast. So it's been a real pick-me-up to come home, turn on the PC and take a look at another truly lovely Card Chain Challenge round-up.

I sent this card to LesLee in California:

I have to say I really enjoyed using Deborah's suggested colour palette with my little Bella stamp as I'd have never picked these colours myself.

I was blown-away to receive this card from the amazingly talented Kelly 'Lovin the life I colour' Booth.
I loved the outside...

And fairly whooped with cardmaking joy when I saw this pop-up wonder on the inside.

I know: laces and glitter and inking... Oh, my! If you love fabulous cards with a little pop-up fun just take a look at Kelly's blog and get the lowdown on how she created this card. No wonder this lady is one of my long-term cardmaking idols.

To see the rest of the reveal you can go here and to sign-up to play along with the September CCC go here.

House of Cards September Challenge - Stitch it up!

We've a brand new challenge over at HOC and it's all about sewing... Faux, hand or machine sewn its all good and we're looking forward to seeing some bewitching stitching on your creations this month!

As you can see I went the machine stitched route for my simple little card with my current favourite flower image from Wplus9. I appear to have set myself a mini-challenge to see how many different ways I can use this pretty stamp! It really is so versitile. The beautiful sentiment is from Reverse Confetti purchased from Make the Day Special.

I was trying for a feminine and fairly homespun look with this card and am pleased with how pretty the white embossing looks against the kraft cardstock. I coloured with my water brush and Distress Inks.

Yet again the HOC girls have created some beautiful projects so why not head on over, take a look and join in...

Naughty or Nice Challenge #19: Ribbons and Bows

It's all about ribbons and bibbons and bows this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges!

We thought it would be fun to pull out one of our favorite embellishments and feature it on our cards. You can go big and tie it up with a huge bow or go small and just add a bit of ribbon as an embellishment or a flag. 

Once again, I've worked with this gorgeous Wplus9 stamp called Botanical Bunch: isn't it a beauty? I love how many different card styles it's possible to achieve with this stamp. This look is fairly sophisticated and was great fun to make as its so different from my usual style. I've another card using this stamp on my workdesk but I'll leave it a few days before sharing it.

I wasn't sure if I had any ribbons for this challenge and was amazed, when I opened my ribbon tin, at just how many ribbons and lengths of lace I actually possess. The design was already in my head and all the elements chosen before I even put ink to paper and so the card was finished in record time.

My fellow Troublemakers have worked their usual creative magic, so why not drop by over at the NON blog and take a look at how they have interpreted this theme.

Heartsy Mae/Heartsy Julie.

Its my sister-in-law's birthday next month... So of course I've made her a card! 

I'm really enjoying working with Some Odd Girl stamps at the moment and have spent a few pounds/dollars picking up one or two of the newer digital images over the last few weeks.

One of the things I enjoy most about making cards is that you can personalise them. I often try to make the image look a little bit like the person I'm sending it to and when I saw Heartsy Mae I knew she would make a great Julie!

Here she is with my beautiful niece enjoying some summer sunshine.  What a likeness! LOL. I wonder if Julie will realise I've included her trademark pink lipstick?

The pretty papers are from Echo Park's 6x6 paper pad Head Over Heels; which seems appropriate seeing as I've just realised the paper on the lower portion of the card is upside down! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 

I'm linking-up with the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge crew as they have an Anything Goes week showcasing Hero Arts products. The 'happy birthday' sentiment is from Hero Arts so this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

Happy crafting everyone!

WOYWW

I haven't had chance to play along with WOYWW for ages and ages. The lovely Julia has made it to #325 Wednesdays of sharing and inspiring: what an achievement!

I usually share a view of my desk from the front but just for a change I thought today I'd go with a view from the left looking across the chaos. I literally stepped away from my desk and took the picture. Mmmmmm, time to clean up I think!

And here's a picture of my crafting companion taking a well earned nap across the room from my desk.

The lovely Custard is looking a little 'plush' these days due to the fact that he's on Steroids following a diagnosis of asthma. He's currently on tablets but we're hoping to switch to an inhaler in the next few weeks.

Have a happy Wednesday everyone!