Honeycomb Thanks

Hi there

The weather down here in the South West today is wet and miserable so that's enough reason to stay in and enjoy some cardmaking.

So, without further ado, here's my first make of the day...

This was actually my second attempt at this card.  The first time I used the embossed impression of the honeycomb background but I decided it looked a little too harsh so I started again and used the reverse side, i.e. the debossed impression.  I stamped the dotted images onto a scrap of white cardstock and used a small hexagonal die to cut these out.  The embossing folder is by Sizzix from Stampin' Up and the hexagonal die is from Clearly Besotted but they work brilliantly together!  I arranged the hexagons in a floral pattern, adhered these to the debossed panel and then framed the panel with turquoise cardstock and used the same cardstock to die cut the 'thanks'.  Another reason I'm so glad I used the debossed side....it made it so much easier to stick down my word die!  

Materials used:

• Cardstock: Southfield - Premium Pure White; Papermania - Premium Textured Cardstock
• Embossing Folder: Stampin' Up - Honeycomb
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Building Blocks and Building Blocks II
• Ink: Versa Color - Turquoise
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Honeycomb and Thanks Word Die

Challenge entries:

Less is More - Colour Week 166 - A Touch of Turquoise

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #89 - CAS

Charisma Cardz Challenge - Anything Goes

Muse - Challenge #61 - I was inspired by the white embossed background, the turquoise and the swirly die cuts

I hope to be back with more to share later on today.  Thanks so much for dropping by and I hope you're all enjoying your Sunday...and probably even more if you're one of those lucky people who are now relaxing on your Easter break.  Unfortunately for me, tomorrow is just a normal Monday at work.

I hope to see you again soon.

Personalised Wedding

Hi guys

A while ago I was approached by my boss as she wanted me to make a personalised card for her son's wedding...yikes, no pressure!!!

All I had were their names and the date, the rest was up to me.  So, I wanted to keep it fairly soft and neutral.  The wedding is today and I know the card has already been given so its now safe to upload!

Here's what I managed to come up with...

 

 

I added an insert and continued the theme inside...

 

 

and I also stamped a matching envelope

 

This card took me quite a while to create as I didn't have a vision when I started.  This was also an A5 card which was a bit scary in itself!  I started by cutting some pearlescent cream paper slightly larger than the white top layer and used a Stampin' Up Edgelit and matching embossing folder to create the ornate edges.  I then held the two layers together with low tack tape while I die cut the ornate square through the two layers.  I then used a matching die, slightly larger, to just cut through the white cardstock, enabling the cream edge to be seen through the aperture.  This was what took the time, working out how I wanted it to look and then lining it all up.  I then used a stripes embossing folder to emboss the top half of the white cardstock.

Next I stamped the tiny roses and leaves to add a touch of colour.  I then tied some cream grosgrain ribbon around the white cardstock before adhering this to the cream layer and then the base card.  Once the aperture was in place I stamped the main sentiment on the base card.  I decided to use Charcoal ink instead of black which gave it a softer feel.

I then printed the names and the date on some thick paper, again using dark grey instead of black.  Unfortunately, I don't have a printer that prints on card so paper had to do but I made sure I placed enough 3D foam underneath to hold it in place on the card.  I die cut these with banners and a heart and stamped the little hearts and rings and added some gems.  I finished off with a cream grosgrain bow.

I wanted to add an insert so I stamped another sentiment from the same stamp set and continued with the rose detail in the bottom corner.  I also stamped the rose on the envelope to bring it all together. 

Phew, this card took me about two hours to create, mainly because I was making it up as I went along, and also because it was A5 and had a lot more elements than I am used to including.  But I was really pleased with it and I've had a text from my boss today to say the happy couple liked it too :)

Materials used:

• Cardstock: Southfield - 300gsm Pure White Glass Smooth; pearlescent paper from stash
• Embossing Folders: ProvoCraft/Cuttlebug - Stripes; Stampin' Up - Adorning Accents
• Dies: Stampin' Up Edgelits - Adorning Accents; Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels One; Clearly Besotted Stamps - Tag Along and Love Hearts
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Happily Ever After and Many Thanks (small hearts)
• Ink: Versa Color - Charcoal, Bisque, Laurel Leaf and Silver
• Grosgrain ribbon from stash

Apologies, that was a very long post!  If you're still reading thanks so much for visiting, it really is appreciated and I hope to see you very soon. 

Bye for now

Inspired by.....#1

Hi guys

For a while now I've been taking notice of things around me day to day and thinking 'those colours look great together' or 'that design would look great on a card'.  So, I've decided to start my own little series of posts on my blog where I've been 'Inspired by' something I've got at home such as packaging or an item in my home, or out and about where I plan to start taking quick pics on my phone so I can return to them later for inspiration.  Basically like Pinterest I suppose but I wanted to get inspiration from around me rather than online.  My job involves sitting at a computer for most of the day so I wanted to gain ideas as and when I see them rather than spending even more time on my laptop surfing the internet.

So, here is the first card I'm going to share with you...(apologies for the dark photo, I'd lost most of the daylight by the time I took this so had to use my daylight lamp)

and this is where my inspiration came from...

 

A REALLY PRETTY LOO ROLL!

 

 

I had this particular stamp in mind when I saw the design but its smaller than I hoped it would be.  For my first attempt I tried paper piercing to create the grid but it overpowered the design so for my second card I used simple diagonal score lines.  A few gems and a yellow border finished off the card.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Wild Rose Studio - Flower Doodles; Clearly Besotted Stamps - Paired Up (leaves), Flower Arrangement (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Cyan, Fresh Green
• Cardstock: Base card from stash; Southfield - Premium Pure White Glass Smooth 200GSM; Papermania Premium Textured Cardstock
• Gems: Anita's Gemstone Wheel - Gold and Silver

 



No doubt I'll get inspired by more weird items as I go about my day to day business!

Thanks for popping by and it will be great to hear what sort of things have caught your eye and made you think 'oooh, that would look great as a card!'

Bye for now

Muse Challenge #18 / Addicated to CAS #13 / Stampendous May 2013

Morning fellow bloggers

I made this card a couple of days ago but this is the first chance I've had to get it posted before the Muse Challenge ends later today.

This week's muse, Marion Vagg, has created a gorgeous bright card, it really stood out when it was initially posted at the beginning of the week.  I wanted to create something similar but wasn't feeling inspired by my floral stamps.  But then I remembered the Pink Petticoat stamps I went in search of recently as they were a free gift with Quick Cards Made Easy magazine (Issue 113 May 2013).  I think its still the current publication so go grab one, there was also a little pack of Pink Petticoat papers as a freebie :)

So, here's what I produced.  I decided to use the bright colours, the flowers and the sunshine yellow border of Marion's card as my inspiration...

 

 

I stamped the image in Versamark and embossed using black embossing powder.  I then coloured using Promarkers.  I decided on a square base card and wanted to keep it very CAS.  I think square cards look great with lots of white space.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Pink Petticoat - Pretty Potties stamps; Wild Rose Studio - Everyday Greetings
• Ink: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Stampin' Up - Stampin' emboss Black
• Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Premium Cardstock (yellow); Southfield - Premium Pure White Card 200gsm; Card base from stash

 

I really need to get myself one of those anti-static thingamajigs to stop the embossing powder clinging to other parts of the card.  I used a little brush to remove most of the unwanted bits but some I just couldn't remove without disturbing the main image.  Apart from that, I really like this little card, simple but cheerful :)

 

Here is Marion's stunning card, fab in so many ways :)

 

 

 

Update:

 

I posted this card very early this morning and wasn't really awake! So, I've since looked through some challenge blogs and am also entering this card for the following:

 

Addicted to CAS #13 - Birthday

Stampendous Impressions - May 2013 - Fabulous Florals

 

 

I'd like to say a massive thank you for voting for my Muse entry last week and for the Honorable Mention, it means so much to know that you like my cards.  Thanks for joining me today and please leave a comment, it really makes me smile to hear what you have to say :)

 

Have a fab bank holiday weekend whatever you're up to.

 

Bye for now

 



To My Brother

Hi guys

I'm here today to share a card I made for my brother's birthday.  I couldn't upload it until now in case he saw it (like he's going to be interested in cardmaking and view my blog anyway!!!)

I used one of my new Wild Rose Studio stamps and thought I'd have some more practice with my ProMarkers and FlexMarkers.  They are all mixed up in a box at the moment so its a nightmare to go through them and find colours that blend although I may have found an inexpensive solution in my hunt for marker storage.  I'll update you soon if it works! :)

Anyway, on to the card, and apologies again for the photography, I'm still trying to find an ideal spot to get the best light...

 

 

My bro probably won't be happy with the tubbiness of this little guy but I thought he looked quite similar! And anyway, he should be pleased as I've given him more hair! :)

 

I didn't want to overload the outside of the card so I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment on the inside.

 

I really struggle to make masculine cards with what I have in my stash so I thought this would be a good time to enter the latest challenge over at The Paper Players where the brief is to make a CAS masculine card.  I'm quite pleased with my colouring effort on this one so I'm also entering it for the I Love ProMarkers challenge which this week is 'Anything Goes'.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Wild Rose Studio - Time for a Pint; Personal Impressions - To My... (Sue Dix)
• Ink: Impress - Jet Black
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Reverse Wonky Rectangles; MFT Die-namics - Fishtail Flag Stax
• Cardstock: Southfield - Premium Pure White Card 200gsm; Card base from stash
• Design Paper: Hot Off The Press - Cardmaker's Ultimate Pack (Floral)
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers
• Dew drops from stash

 

Thanks for popping by, I made another card for another challenge last night so I'll be back with that in a while once I've photographed it.

 

TTFN :)