More Easter cards

I'm still in the card making mode :) having a play with my new scrapbooking papers, stamps and other toys :)

Finally I had a chance to use my lovely folky papers from GoScrap for the first time and this card has come out:

I'm hoping to make more folksy cards like this soon!

Another simple card with folky stamps (from Noolibird) and with a stamped jumper-patterned background (The Waltzing Mouse stamps).

 And a long card with an Inca stamp - Frolicking sheep :) Really like this image <3

All 3 cards together :)

*  *  *  *

I've gone totally Martha Stewart crazy recently. I'm in love with her punches. Another gorgeous designs  have recently enlarged my MS collection:

The embossing / cutting Zig zag - been wanting this one for a long time, will look good with various folky designs. The pansies are so cute that I had to have them for this spring/summer season. Oh, and the famous collection of Martha Stewart snowflake punches every crafter desires to have. Can't have the Double Scandinavian Snowflake punch (sadly, to the disappointment of crafters, it's been discountinued and not on sale any more) but at least I can have the Himalayan snowflake instead. Will look fab on my future Nordic Christmas cards :)

Even more Nordic Spring cards :)

Yes, yes, yes, the cards again :) I still keep making them as it's great fun to mix and combine all those stamps, inks, punched shapes, papers, backgrounds and die cuts together and it's also a perfect opportunity to stretch and exercise your imagination and creativity (the sky is the limit, so they say) :) I usually make one or two cards after hours, in the evenings and then I end up with a few by the end of the week. Here are my recent Nordic Spring cards for this Easter season.

The "Norwegian sweater" style eggs on aperture cards - my idea for Easter 2013 and one of my favourite type of cards. I tried to keep them simple - the knitted pattern speaks for itself. Pastel colours are a must here! 

In the card below I had an opportunity to use my new polka dot embossing folder :)))) Been looking for one for a while!

All 4 apertures together :)

I've also made some pink/purplish cards with folky eggs, they have been inked and shaded with the blending chalks.

And side by side :)

A couple of aperture cards in yellow-green-orange colours:

And one with a cute yellow bunny :)

Voila! It has been a very crafty week! :)

Well-deserved Hand-made Monday blog fun! 

Easter cards (3): More Nordic Spring theme.

Another batch of Easter cards made by me with my top theme - Nordic Spring. They are stamped, inked, shaded with chalks and fun to make. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
The stamps I've used are a combination of stamps from: The Waltzing Mouse - Nordic Spring, Noolibird, Lemonade Stamps, W plus 9 Designs.

And all cards together:

Quite pleased with them. My favourite card in this batch is the onewith the bunnies hopping over the tulips :)
Hand-made Monday time! I'm sailing off to the Hand-made Harbour to see what other crafters have made this week.

Easter Cards (2): Nordic Spring

We all know very well those Norwegian winter jumpers famous for their characteristic geometric patterns and coziness. I had a very Nordic Winter last Christmas full of these Scandinavian patterns and loved it a lot! Why not  prolong the feeling and have a Nordic Spring then? 

Since I've been in love with the Scandi culture for some time now, this year I decided that my Easter cards will have the folky Nordic accent too. Christmas greens and reds will be replaced by the cheerful Eastery pastels - whites, yellows, oranges, blues, fresh greens and pinks. As far as the colours and patterns are concerned, the main source of inspiration for me has been the "Easter Knits" book by Arne and Carlos where you can find a bunch of projects bursting with springy colours, yet maintaining their Scandinavian feel.

These are my first "Nordic Spring" cards I've made. They will participate in The Nordic Spring Card Swap on facebook :) These are mostly stamped cards with various coloured inks and decorated with some simple punched shapes. The stamps I used to make them is a mixture of The Waltzing Mouse stamps, Noolibird stamps, Craft Fun stamps and W Plus9 Design stamps. 

The hopping bunny stamp from Noolibird has been my favourite this season! In the card above, I tried to stamp with one stamp but with 3 different inks at the same time. It worked quite well, I think.

The well-known Norwegian stars featured in so many knitted jumpers, hats and scarves, here embellish my cards in forms of decorative bands. Can't imagine Nordic Spring cards without them! They are undoubtedly my favourite motif.

All 4 together :)

More Nordic cards on their way! Keep on checking! :-*
Joining Hand-made Monday tonight at a lovely blog Handmade Harbour and off to do some blog hopping.

Easter Cards (1): Folky stuff

As the days are getting longer now (finally! yipeee!) and there's more sunlight I begin to sense something "springy" in the air and start to long for all that freshness, energy and vibrant colours spring brings into our houses. I even spotted today some snowdrops popping out on the grass near my place. Now, since spring is just round the corner I thought I'd treat myself to some great Easter stamps and simply start my Easter stamping. This is great fun and I always look forward to it.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably know I'm a big fan of all folksy designs and trends and these inspirations show clearly in my cards. This year I'm planning to make my Easter and spring cards with lots of stripes, dots and gingham combined with folky stamps. The cards are to be fresh, joyful, vibrant and simple. Simply naive, just like the folk art. Here is my first batch of Easter-themed cards. These fabulous stamps I used on them come from Noolibird and Lemonade Stamps.

I started with this card first but when I'd finished I came to the conclusion I had overdone it a bit. Too much doodling, I think. Well, I forgive myself this bodge card :P it's my first Easter card this year anyway ;)

Then the better ones followed...

I wanted to try out blending two or three colours on a stamp at the same time hence some Easter egg images are double and triple coloured.

 Stripes are so folky... I dug out all my stripey papers from my craft stash.

Very pleased with this card below. Love this Lemonade stamp and it's a typical pattern seen on some wax-decorated Polish Easter eggs.

But most of all I've been pleased with this card below. It's a pretty big card - I managed to put as much as 5 eggs in a row onto it. Martha Stewart's Deep Floral Vine punch has been used on it too - my favourite design.

And the cards in group photos...

Easter cards to be continued...

Join up the Hand-made Monday tonight. Do head over there to see what other crafty people have been up to recently. 

3 Cross Stitched Easter Cards

Easter time has been a bit rush-rush for me. Time flies really fast. Can't believe it April already!! I've planned a lot, I have made NOT a lot though. Not at least as much as I wanted. Never mind. What's not going to be ready by Easter will be finished over the next few weeks and will have to wait for the next spring :)

Just managed to finish off stitching and mounting the 3 cross stitch cards. This little yellow chick has been my little UnFinishedObject from the last year and has waited all year round to be mounted on a card.Thought the blue gingham background would go well with yellow fluffy cutie :)

 

3 Bunny butts in blue :) Have seen this cross stitch motif a few times on some blogs. Seems like it's popular. Fast and easy to stitch and largely enjoyable :)

And a fresh green one with a sampler-like cross stitch. Really enjoyed stitching those miniature sampler elements.

I like to stamp my cards inside, do you? I think it's nice if the inside of a card is decorated with some images. I like to use my hand writing too (ideally in a traditional pen ink), it makes your card more personal although I do admit that printed text gives you a neat finish.

and the card trio all 3 together :)

Currently I've been also working on a series of 4 cross stitched cards but I already know I won't be able to finish them for this festive season. Their stitching area is considerably larger than the one of an average cross stitch motif but the characters in this projects are so nice that I decided to start them off nonetheless.

And in the meantime another woolly Nordic ball is beginning to show up:

Today I've joined up Hand-made Monday at Wendy's blog. Heading over there now to take a tour round the blogs to have a look at some nice crafty stuff :)