Rudolph Days February 2015

Two new followers to welcome today.  Firstly, Zoe was introduced to me online this week by Di from Pixies's Crafty Workshop, when she realised that  Zoe and I support the same football team.  After visiting each others blogs, Zoe and I actually met at the Bristol Rovers' ground two days ago during half time.  I must admit that outside the Ladies was not the most perfect venue to meet for the first time, especially in the rain, but it was lovely to meet a crafty blogger in real life.....and what a lovely lady she is!  Visit her blog CraftyGasheadZo to find out more about her and her crafty projects.  Secondly, Connie of Crafty Home Cottage has lots of different crafty ideas, especially for home decor, so I hope you have time to visit both Zoe's and Connie's blogs.

Now for today's card, my second card of the year for the Rudolph Days monthly challenge.  

I thought I'd go with dark blue and white for this card. The two dies I used are both Memory Box dies - 'Orchard Tree Frame' and 'Frosted Christmas Tree'.  The sentiment is stamped with a Versafine Majestic Blue ink pad and the sentiment and the Christmas tree are attached with foam pads to give some dimension.  

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Rudolph Days February 2015 Challenge - Anything Goes Christmas Card

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 165 ~ Used white snippets

Crafty Boots Challenge ~ Use a sentiment

CHNC challenge extra - February 2015 ~ Christmas Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #133 ~ Holidays

Thinking of You

A new follower to welcome today - Shona Erlenborn.  Shona's blog Shona's Stamping Stage has lots of inspiration for using different cardmaking techniques.

Today's card is a sympathy card for a friend.  Unfortunately, I've had several sympathy cards to make lately and they never get any easier to make.  I prefer to use the sentiment 'Thinking of You' rather than 'With Sympathy'.

The stamp is 'Poppy Stems' by Stampendous, coloured with Promarkers and a green Stardust pen.  The die I used is 'Peek-a-boo Dots' by Die-namics.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 165 ~ Used red and black snippets

Crafty Boots Challenge ~ Use a sentiment

Flowers and Football

The last of the 100th birthday celebrations for Kitty was held yesterday.  We were invited to a lunch in one of the executive boxes at our local football ground, before watching the game with a great view from the box.  As we'd already given Kitty a 100th birthday card on her actual birthday, I made a thank you card to thank her for inviting us to share in her special birthday celebrations.  I wanted the card to be blue and white, with a feminine feel, but also include something to do with football.  

I didn't intend to make another angle/z card, as I've made several lately, but it seemed the most appropriate fold to have flowers and football incorporated in the same card.

HERE is a link to find out about the wonderful Kitty.

By the way - we won 1-0!

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 165 ~ Used blue and white snippets

Crafty Boots Challenge ~ Use a sentiment

Crafty Catz Challenge # 267 ~ For a special lady

A Little Rain

Well, I found the stamp I was looking for yesterday.  I finished the card I was making, took a photo.....and knew something wasn't quite right.  Then I suddenly realised that that raindrops were upside down!  Grrr!  So I started again and made another card from scratch.  I'll keep the original card, as I'm sure I can attach something inside the black frame to cover up my mistake.

The stamped image and sentiment are by Inkylicious.  The die I used for the raindrops is called ' A Little Rain' by Memory Box.  The embossing folder is 'Water Ripple' by Sheena Douglass.  Three little blue gems finished off my card.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Country View Crafts Challenge ~ Drips and Drops
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge ~ Add a Little Texture
Crafty Boots Challenge ~ Use a sentiment

One Layer CAS

Out of my comfort zone today for the Less is More challenge this week.  A one layer CAS card! No room for mistakes I can cover up!  LOL!

The stamp is Woodware 'Birdy Couple'. The image is coloured with Promarkers.  I've  added a little Glossy Accents over the hearts and used a clear Wink of Stella glitter brush over the veil to add a bit of sparkle.

My second card for today is in production, but I cannot find the stamp I need to finish it anywhere!  All suggestions for organising my clear stamps, other than piling them in two large boxes, will be  gratefully received!  I think someone is telling me I need to tidy my craft room and put everything back in its right place before I do any more crafting...... I may be away for quite a while.

Butterfly Shadow Box Card

Welcome to my new follower, Claire Grant. Pop over to her blog, 'My Special Memories', to see her amazing designs.

The Lavinia Stamps challenge this month is 'Bright and Beautiful'.  I haven't made a shadow box card for ages, so decided to make one today, using the lovely Lavinia Zen butterfly stamp.

I stamped the image with a Memento Tukedo Black ink pad and coloured the image using Violet, Amethyst and Orchid Promarkers, covering the whole image with a clear Wink of Stella pen to add some sparkle.

This is how the card stands up.

I started with two pieces of purple card, 9" x 5".  I scored at 1/2" and 1" on each piece of card at each end.  I die cut the aperture in the middle of one piece of card, before embossing the card.  The stamped image was attached to the back card before joining the two pieces of purple card together.  After decorating the front of the card, I felt the two flap on the end looked too plain, so I added some contrasting striped ribbon. When folded, the card measures 5" x 7".

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Lavinia Stamps Challenge #2 ~ Bright and Beautiful 

Butterfly Challenge #24 ~ Butterflies + R is for Ribbon

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 164 ~ Used snippets for the flowers
Stamping Sensations February Challenge ~ Anything Goes
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ All Creatures Great and Small
Pile It On #56 ~ Butterflies
Southern Girls Challenge 104  ~ Winged Things

Butterfly Flip-It Card

A Flip-It birthday card today.

The ivory linen base card is cut with Sizzix Circle Flip-It dies.  The patterned paper is from a My Mind's Eye paper stack, which was free with a magazine a some time ago.  I used a Stampin' Up butterfly punch, then embossed the butterfly with a Swiss Dots embossing folder, before adding some tiny pearls for the body.  The sentiment shows when the card is opened and the circle flips round.  Pink striped ribbon finished off my card.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Butterfly Challenge #24 ~ Butterflies + R is for Ribbon
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 164 ~ Used pink snippets
Pile It On #56 ~ Butterflies

90th Birthday

Today's card is a 90th birthday card.

I wanted to make another angle card, but the dimensions I used on this card here were too big for the patterned paper I wanted to use.  I also wanted the panels slightly wider for the sentiment. So I tried starting off with a 6" x 11" piece of ivory linen card, which I scored at 2 3/4", 5 1/2" and 8 1/4".  The angle was cut the same as in the last angle card, measuring up 1 1/2" from the bottom of the left hand side.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 164 ~ Used pink, ivory and green snippets

An Envelope of Butterflies

Two new followers to welcome today.  Please pop over to Jane's blog Onions and Paper and Kath's blog Plain and Simple to see all their lovely creations.  

It's a cold, rainy day here, so I'm keeping warm and doing some crafting instead of venturing out.  I really need to shift my cough as it's been hanging round for too long already!  Today's card is another pink and grey card for the Less is More Challenge, which closes today.

I made an envelope with my Envelope Punch Board. I punched out little pink butterflies with a Fiskars punch.  As I've added a piece of ribbon down the side of my card, I'll be popping over to Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Less is More Colour Challenge ~ Pink and Grey

Butterfly Challenge #24 ~ Butterflies + R is for Ribbon

Chinese Dragon

On our Ruby Wedding Anniversary trip to China last September, we met lots of lovely people, including a lovely American couple.  A CD dropped through my door this week from them, with the most amazing 45 minute slide show of photos of our trip, all set to music.  What wonderful memories it brought back.  I wanted to make them a special Thank You card, with an oriental theme.

I used a Creative Expressions Chinese dragon stamp, which I heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  Although I don't heat emboss very often, I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing the dull powder come to life when it's heated. I kept to the traditional Chinese colours for my card and hope the Chinese writing says what it's supposed to say!

I seem to have two new followers this week, but can't work out who they are.  If it's you, please leave me a comment so I can welcome you on my next post and put a link to your blog.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 163 ~ Used black snippet
Little Claire Challenge #53 ~ Bright and Beautiful

Pink and Grey

The Less is More Challenge Blog is celebrating it's 4th Birthday this week.  The challenge for this week is to use pink and grey.

I love using border dies and this is one of my favourites.  It's a Poppy Stamps one - 'Trudeau Border'. I used a Spellbinders dragonfly die, using snippets of pink and grey card and added grey pearls to the border to match the background on the dragonfly.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Less is More Colour Challenge ~ Pink and Grey

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 163 ~ Used pink and grey snippets

Love

Welcome to my latest follower, Barbara (C). You can see all her gorgeous creations here at BJCrafty.

After spending the last two days asleep for most of the day and coughing most of the night, I was itching to get back into my craft room today.  So dosed up on Lemsips and sucking Strepsils, I made this card this morning. I saw on the 'Addicted to Stamps' blog that the challenge was to take inspiration from this photo.

This photo reminded me of a DoCrafts stamps I bought many years ago so, like the photo, I made romantic text the focus of my card.

I used Spellbinders Long Classic Scalloped Rectangle dies.  The die cut with the stamped text is attached with foam pads to add dimension and my card is finished off with heart ribbon and pearl hearts.

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #130 ~ Photo Inspiration

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 163 ~ Used red snippets

Cuttlebug Mania Challenge ~ I (Heart) You

Penny Black and More February Challenge ~ Anything Goes Except a Digi

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Week 297 ~ Love is all around

Sunflowers

A 'Get Well' card today with bright sunflowers.  What a nightmare trying to take a photo! The shadows cast made some of the elements look like they're not straight, but I measured it several times and everything is straight. The more I look at the photo, the wonkier everything looks! I think it might be something to do with gingham paper playing tricks with my eyes. I'll try this design again with a different patterned paper, so watch this space!  The card looks fine IRL and I was really pleased how it turned out.

These Little Claire sunflower stamps came as a single stamp with four designs, so I stamped it and cut the stamped image into four separate images and chose three for my 7" x 5" card.  The images were coloured in with Promarkers and Ultrafine Sharpie pens. The images were matted on card punched out with a postage stamp punch and attached with foam pads to give dimension.  Three little pearls finished off my card. 

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations February Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Little Claire Challenge #53 ~ Bright and Beautiful

Allsorts Challenge - Week 296 ~ Flower Power

Penny Black and More February Challenge ~ Anything Goes Except a Digi
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 162 ~ Used yellow and green snippets 

Poppy Angle Card

Another new follower to introduce today.  Denise Price has lots of inspiration for being eco-friendly. She highlights any eco-friendly tips on her blog in green.  Please pay her a visit on 'Green Crafting' to see her lovely projects.  

Onto today's card.

I'm not sure of the name of this fold, I've always called it an angle fold.  I started off with a piece of card 10" x 7", which I scored at 2 1/2", 5" and 7 1/2".  I marked 1 1/2" up from the bottom on the left-hand side and drew a line from this mark up to the top of the third fold.  I then cut along this line, keeping the off-cut as a pattern for the sloped edges of the layered pieces. I used my favourite poppy stamp, it's part of a set by Hero Arts.  I stamped it out once as a full stamp, then masked of the bottom half before stamping again, colouring them both with Ruby and Poppy Promarkers and a green Stardust pen for the stems.  The embossing folder is Couture Creations 'Tied Together' and I've decorated the embossed panels with tiny pearls.  I finished off my card with a border punched edge, one piece for the sloped edge and another across the straight panel on the right-hand side.  I hope my instructions make sense!

I would like to enter my card for the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations February Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Inkspirational Challenge #75 ~ Rose Colours
Little Claire Challenge #53 ~ Bright and Beautiful

Allsorts Challenge - Week 296 ~ Flower Power

Penny Black and More February Challenge ~ Anything Goes Except a Digi
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 162 ~ Used red and black snippets