Merry Christmas! and A Goodbye

Now I don't 'do' Christmas cards but this month's theme at Lili of the Valley is Merry Christmas and as it's also the LAST challenge I needed to make an effort!

I have chosen to make a bendy card which is a new concept to me. I used this tutorial from Emma Fewkes.

The base is made with a dark red Papermania textured card and I used a Martha Stewart punch at the top corners. The brads have been triple-embossed with holographic powder for extra sparkle. The image is from a Christmas Girls cute squares pack which I've had for ages. I fussy-cut out the image and also the fairy at the left-hand side, added plenty of Glamour Dust for sparkle and also some Glossy Accents to the bear's eyes and nose. The stocking, charm and ribbon are all from stash.

Looking down at the layers

Sideways Views

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:


LOTV Ideas to Inspire Monthly Challenge - Merry Christmas!
The Ribbon Girl - Colour Challenge - RED




Thanks for looking!

Pretty In Pink

This is a recent card I made for a Grandma to give to her granddaughter. The request was for the card to be pink and feature a little girl.

I started with an 8x8 scalloped edge card blank. I did my matting and layering using Dovecraft Back to Basics papers and silver mirri card. Image is 'Busy Doing Nothing' by Sheena Douglass, coloured with Promarkers. Dress/sash have been paper pieced using My Mind's Eye and Pink Petticoat Vintage Rose papers and matted onto Spellbinders Labels 8 shape. Sentiment is from magazine freebie paper pad. The larger flowers were made with a Nellie Snellen medium flower punch and the small ones with a Papermania Midi punch. The flourish is Marianne Creatables Swirl Leaf die. Ribbons and gems from stash.

Apologies for the blurry photo - photos 2, 3 and 4 are clear shots!

                                             Close-ups of flower & swirl detail

Box made from Centura Pearl with Memory Box Butterfly Vine border detailing

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Crafty Little Fairies - Pretty in Pink

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp

Live & Love Crafts - Use Pink

A Creative Romance: Pink

Thanks for looking!

Autumn Colours

I had a new home card to make and managed to fit in some Autumn colours as there's several challenges running this theme at the moment. It hasn't photographed too well - the red leaves are not as overpowering in real-life!

I started with a 6x6 Kraft card blank which I stamped using a Papermania Square Urban All Aboard Postmark Stamp and embossed with Stampendous Gold powder. The birdhouse image is Hot Off The Press and was a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft mag and was embossed to match the background then cut with a Spellbinders Timeless Rectangle.  Corner flourish is also by Spellbinders: D-Lites Fantastic Flourish Two. The leaves are a mixture of Cheery Lynn Ivy Strip die and Woodware Birch Leaf punch. I added gold ribbon and red gems to finish off.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Dream Valley Challenges: challenge 66 Autumn
Crafts 4 Eternity: R143 - Anything Goes
Come and Get It Challenges: Fall Colours
Delightful Challenges: Fall Y'All



Thanks for looking!

On Your Birthday

A very long overdue post from me - not sure where the time has gone to and my card mojo still not much in evidence. This is a male card I recently did and I'm quite pleased with the end result. I've long been reading the lovely Sue Wilson's blog and have watched/recorded many of her recent Spellbinder shows on Create & Craft. Here is my first attempt in this style and already I've realised that I'm going to have to get a lot more Spellbinder dies (oh dear - what a shame!!). So far I only have the Fleur de Lis and the Pendants that are suitable. I shall just have to trawl the net for more supplies - a hard job I know but someone's gotta to do it!

Brown Card - Papermania Premium Textured

Cream Card Blank

Cream Raffia Lace - PaperCellar

Brad - American Crafts Elements 

Tools used:

Spellbinders Fleur de Lis

Cuttlebug Folder - Swiss Dots

Martha Stewart Edge Punch - Traditional Scallop

Thanks for looking!

LOTV Girl

Long time and no posts from me. Hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and managed a bit of downtime/crafting time after all the hectic rush to be ready for the big day. We now have New Year to look forward to although we don't particularly celebrate in our house. DH and I prefer to stay at home and watch Jools' Hootenanny complete with non-alcoholic fizz. Such party animals!!

This was a quick make using a Papermania scalloped edge card blank and one of my favourite LOTV die-cut squares.

Papermania Card Blank

Image - Lili of the Valley die-cut square

DP - My  Mind's Eye (magazine freebie)

Ribbon from stash

Tools used:

Nestabilities Plain Circles and Butterfly Circles

Thanks for looking.

Kick Stand Card

Here is my first attempt at a Kick-Stand card. I really liked this style of card when I saw it on Bev Rochester's fantastic blog and I've added a link to her post  HERE  which includes a video tutorial.

I'm also loving my new Memory Box die which is so intricate but well worth the effort. Just had to use it twice!!  I managed to salvage the LOTV image from a previous project that didn't work out and have 'hidden the join' by framing it with Labels Eight. A bit of Martha punching, some ribbon, roses and Glamour Dust to finish off.

and a sideways view

White Base Card - Core'dinations Linen

Lilac card, ribbon & flowers from Stash

Image - LOTV Cute Square

DPs - Dovecraft Back to Basics II

Gems - Papermania Mosaics

Tools used:

Memory Box Die - Valerian Flourish

Martha Stewart Border Punch - Eyelet Lace

Nestabilities - Labels Eight

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:

Lili of the Valley - Anything Goes - week 122

Thanks for looking!

LOTV Challenge 118 - A Sketch

Here is the card I made at the weekend for this week's Lili of the Valley challenge. I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers. I inked the edges using a Tim Holtz distress ink - Brushed Corduroy (I need to practise more with the blending tool and foam) which I also used to stamp the sentiment straight onto the DP. Very brave for me!

DPs - Dovecraft Masculine (8x8)

Image - LOTV Zooming Along

Sentiment - Papermania

White & Copper card from Stash

I would like to enter this into the following challenges:

Lili of the Valley Challenge 118-A Sketch by Bev

Sweet Stampin Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking!

Two Birthdays

Hello - long time no posts!!  Not only did the card-making mojo go walkabout but major decorating work meant I couldn't get at my stash anyway. So, after a long break I finally got back into the swing with two birthday cards both using Lili of the Valley Die-Cut Squares:

Here's the first one which is actually green although it looks gold

Image -  Lili of the Valley - Fairies A4 Die Cut
Sentiment  - Lili of the Valley - Set 7 For You Circular Sentiments
Green card, Gems & Butterfly from Stash
DP - Dovecraft Back to Basics II
Papermania Scalloped card blank
Tools used:
Nestabilities Scalloped Circles
Nellie Snellen Die - MFD 020


and the second

Image - Lili of the Valley - Girlie Afternoons A4 Die Cut
Sentiment  - Lili of the Valley - Set 7 For You Circular Sentiments
DP - Henbury Lane by Papermania
Gems from Stash
Purple Glitter border - PaperCellar
Scalloped card blank - Hobbycraft (I think)
Tools used:
Marianne Doily Die
Hobbycraft Butterfly Punches


Thanks for looking.

LOTV Birthday

I decided to make this card using the Papertake Weekly sketch but think I'm out of time now to enter this challenge (just checked and yes, I am). It was a great sketch to follow and one that will definitely be used again. Not sure if the photo shows that the wings, skirt and seeds are all glittered. I also added wee pink gems to her floral headdress and the flowers.

Image - LOTV - Dandelion Clock -S216 - stamped with Memento and coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment - Papermania

DPs - Flowery - My Mind's Eye (magazine freebie)

        - Striped  - Pink Petticoat Vintage Rose (magazine freebie)

Pink Card & Gems - Stash

Flowers - Papermania Elements

Thanks for looking.

Gift Wallet

Short and sweet from me today. This is a little gift tag/wallet made to present some cash in. I made a little box on the reverse for the shaped tag to slide into. I used my Martha Stewart punches for the front and started with a piece of DP that was 6.75 ins x 5 ins.

DP - Papermania Capsule in Heather
Lilac card/Ribbon and Mirri Card from Stash
Tools Used:
Martha Stewart PATP - Eyelet Lace
Small & Medium Butterfly Punches (Hobbycraft I think)
Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet
Nestabilities Labels 14 for the tag

Thanks for looking.

Have a Tweet Day !

Today's card has been made for the latest challenge over on the MSE board. So back to my favourite lilac again and this time with a hint of pink. I wanted to try out something I've seen on one or two blogs in the past, most notably Mandy's - A Sprinkling of Glitter - so used my Martha Stewart PATP set to make a pretty shaped card front and then decorated away! I also got to use one of my new Spellbinders dies from the recent C&C Multibuy Six Set offer. Can you believe I've had them about 10 days and only just cracked the first set open.

and a sideways view:

Coredinations Textured Cardstock
Image & Sentiment  - Pink Petticoat - magazine freebie
DPs - Pink Spotted - Pink Petticoat Vintage Rose
        - Lilac Glittered - Papermania Henbury Lane Collection
Ribbon & Pearls from Stash
Flower - K&Company (I think)

Tools Used:
Martha Stewart PATP - Scroll Lace
Spellbinders Shapeabilities - Floral Flourishes S4-327
Card Candy - CraftworkCards

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

MSE Challenge - this time hosted by OA
One Stitch at a Time challenge 67 - Things with Wings
Top Tip Tuesday challenge 38 - Open Challenge

Thanks for looking.

Seeing Double ......

Almost but not quite.....

Version 1

Version 2

This little card was made as a Thank You for the lovely Jacque from the USA.  Recently I was lucky enough to win one of her lovely blog candies and used some of the prize goodies on this card. Anyway, said card and little reciprocal gift was despatched to the USA mid-March and finally arrived with her on 31st May!  The Version 2 card was made to re-send to Jacque as I was convinced the first package had gone astray for ever.

Please do visit Jacque's blog (http://jacquesmagnolias.blogspot.com/) and say Hi. She really does some fantastic work and hers was the very first blog I read at the start of my cardmaking journey.

Scalloped card blank - Papermania

Sentiment - Papermania

Image - Magnolia's 'Sneaky Tilda' coloured with Promarkers

DP - K&Company Daisy by Tim Coffey

Gems - Papermania Mosaics

Ribbon - Offray

Butterfly (version 1) from stash

Large Flower (version 1)  - K&Co

Tools used:

Nestabilities Lacey Squares

Nellie Snellen medium Flower Punch set

Martha Stewart medium branch punch

Thanks for looking.

Good Luck !!

Here is my entry for Georgiegirl's Good Luck Challenge over on the M.S.E. board.  I was a bit lacking in inspiration so spent a while flicking through lots of my old magazines and, after cramming my head full of too many ideas, this is the end result! The most fiddly part was lining up all the butterflies and I'm still not convinced they're straight.

DP - K&Company - Daisy by Tim Coffey
Sentiment - Papermania (magazine freebie set)
Card, Ribbon & Gems from stash
Tools Used:  Martha Stewart Border Punch - Vintage Floral
Butterfly Punch (by Hobbycraft I think)

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

MSE Challenge - Good Luck
Charisma Cardz Challenges #22 - Something That Flies


Thanks for looking.

Thank You

Here's a little thank you card I made for Caroline from the MSE board. I was recently the lucky winner of her sketch challenge and she very kindly sent me some lovely crafting goodies. I was able to use some of the card candy on her thank you card.

The flower doily was die-cut using my new Nellies set and it's good value for money as there's seven pieces in the set including a sweet little button.

Papermania Scalloped card blank
Image - LOTV A4 Die-cut Sheet - Fairies
Sentiment - Honey & Hugs Rub-on
DP - Dovecraft Back to Basics
Holographic card & Ribbon from Stash
Card Candy - Part of my MSE Challenge Winners Prize

Tools used - X-cut corner rounder
Nellie Snellen Multi-Frame Die Set Flower 1 - MFD020


Thanks for looking.

MSE Challenge Card

A quick post this evening as I'm rushing to get this card blogged and entered into CT's Sketch Challenge over on the MSE forum.  It all seemed to come together quite well and I'm sure I'll be using this sketch again.

Scalloped card blank - Papermania
Image - LOTV - Take It Easy A4 Die-cut Sheet
DP and Sentiment - Serif Picnic in the Park - Freebie from Simply Cards & papercraft magazine
Brown card, Brads and Ribbon from Stash
Tools used:    X-Cut Corner Rounder

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges

       MSE Challenge - CT's Sketch
       Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
       Bunny Zoe's Crafts - #11 - One for the Boys

Thanks for looking.

Male Birthday Card

This card was made for a family member who recently celebrated his 80th birthday.  I always find male cards difficult as most of my stash consists of 'girly' items but this turned out well enough (I hope) and I do like the buttons tied with raffia so will use this idea again.  The inside consisted of a one page insert plus a double page photo-montage which my DH put together using his family history programme.  All edges have been cut using the deckle blade in my trimmer.

Cream pre-scored card blank & Metallic card from stash
DP - K&Company
Buttons & Raffia - Papermania
Sentiment - Papermania Clear Stamp

Tools used:
Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet for the numbers
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Bird Call
Woodware Fingerguard Trimmer - Deckle edge blade

Thanks for looking.

Yellow & Green Easter MSE card

Hello and Happy Monday! Hope your weekend went well and the sunshine found you. We were very lucky and it was warm enough to go out without coats - a sure shine that Spring has sprung.  We'll probably get some snow now!  Today's card has been made to enter the MSE challenge which has been set this time by The Wife and is an Easter card or a Yellow & Green theme - so here's my effort which I made using the free papers and chipboard from May's issue of Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine.

Papermania Scalloped card base
Green/Yellow card, brad and ribbon from stash
Gems - Papermania Mosaics in palest green
DP & Topper - Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine freebie (design - Edwardian Country Lady)
Tools used:  Martha Stewart Deep Edge Floral Vine Punch

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

MSE Challenge - Easter/Yellow & Green
Simon Says - Spring Colours/Easter challenge

Thanks for looking.

Shaped Twisted Easel in Lilac

Another card using my favourite things. Card blank is cut using the largest Labels Eight die. The twisted easel bit can be a bit fiddly to do when using the Lacey Squares but it's worth it.  This card was made as a Thank You for Caroline who very kindly sent me some lovely butterflies cut on her Cricut.

                               

DPs - Papermania
Image & Sentiment Lili of the Valley
White card and gems from stash
Tools used: Nestabilities - Labels Eight, Lacey Squares,Plain Circles and Scalloped Circles
Nellie Snellen Medium Flower Punch

Thanks for looking!

A Sleepy House Mouse

Aw! How cute is this House Mouse image and he looks to be enjoying such a good siesta. This card was one of those that evolved as it went along - all I knew when I started it was that I wanted to use a House Mouse image so that I could enter it into the MSE Animalistic Challenge - hopefully rodents count, especially such cute ones!!

Inside of card - insert made using the new House-Mouse Inserts CD Rom.

Image & Sentiment - House Mouse Birthdays Stamps - Poppy -
stamped with Memento and coloured with Promarkers
Red & Pink card - Papermania Premium Textured Cardstock
White card & Pearls from stash
Flower - Flora Doodles
Tools used - Nestabilities Labels Eight


I'd like to enter this card into the following challenge:


MSE Animalistic Challenge




Thanks for looking.

One of Those Cards....

when everything that could go wrong DID go wrong.  I won't bore you with all the details but suffice to say one of the things on my crafty wishlist is a new cutter.  Anyway, I got there in the end but with a few choice words along the way!  Gems and glitter added for sparkle.

I've added a little pocket and tag to write the greeting on. I can't remember on whose blog I first saw this idea (sometime last year) and have been meaning to try it out. I used a Labels Eight Nestie to make the tag.

DPs - Floral - Kate Knight - magazine freebie;   Glitter - Papermania Henbury Lane

White card, Ribbon & Gems from Stash

Blue card - Core'dinations Whitewash

Image - Dandelion Clock by Lili of the Valley - stamped with Memento and coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment - Dreamy Days by Lili of the Valley

Tools used:  Nestabilities Plain and Scalloped Circle and Labels Eight

Martha Stewart Doily Lace Border Punch

X Cut Butterfly Punch

Thanks for looking.