Strawberries & Cream

I'll be entering this in these....

The Ribbon Reel challenge 'shabby Strawberries and Cream', which also has to include bakers twine, ribbon and cream/pink colour combo (yes, it is pink just very pale!)

Totally Papercrafts 'Pink and Girly'

Really Reasonable Ribbon 'Anything Goes'

Papertake Weekly 'Pale, Pretty Pastels'

Little Claires Designs ' Shaped Cards'

First time I've made an oval card, and sure won't be the last. The comprises of different layers of die cuts, ink and flowers (quite a few of my fave things!) All the patterned card is from Perfect Papers digi kit from PP, and I just LOVE it.

The chipboard butterfly was (nearly) to nice to use, but I resisted putting it in the 'stroking' pile ;)

Flowers, Wild Orchid Crafts

Chipboard butterfly, Bo Bunny 'Gabrielle' range

Papers/card from Pink Petticoat's 'Perfect Papers' digi kit

She who dares...

Exciting news! As some of you know,  Daring Cardmakers had their first design team call out last month, and I'm absolutely thrilled to say that I've been selected to become one of the four new design team members - Sharon, Keilly and Leo :) I feel very proud to be joining such a talented team.

Our first dare is 'Passion For Fashion' set by Zuzana, so we want to see dresses, shoes, handbags etc,

And there's the chance to win some fab prizes from   

Join in this week, make sure you follow the rules, and you may be lucky enough to win one of three stamp sets from Imagine That in our Random Draw

Here are the rules:

1. add links to  Imagine That and The Daring Cardmakers

2.link to no more that 5 other challenges.

 Here's my little creation...

As the theme was fashion, I had to use fabric! The lavender and pink were from a fabric swatch book, which I've recycled. I've sewn a rough 'tailor's stitch' around the pink fabric, and the lavender has been cut with pinking shears. The picture frame is a digi image, cut and layered onto paper. I've die cut a Core'dinations (I don't think I can make a card without the stuff!) border and backing frame, and sanded. I found some cool tape measure paper chains the other day and used them along with pleated ribbon along the back of the frame. Tuille fabric layered with the flowers in the style of a corsage and crinkled seam binding with a button finish off the card. Thanks for looking x

The Pink Elephant Challenge 'colour combo, dots and crinkle ribbon'
City Crafter 'frames'
The Ribbon Girl 'lilacs and pinks'


Dotty paper, MME 'Stella & Rose'
Seam binding and twine
Flat flowers, Prima
Poppy mulberry flowers, Wild Orchid Crafts
Pleated ribbon, May Arts
Nellie's Doily die (just seen on the top of card)

Just a quick thank you...

...to Samuel Taylors blog for choosing my card as winner of the May 'bling' challenge. Pop over to their blog for the June challenge all about "Males".

The Notebook Look

This is what I've been up to the past couple of days for the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. The theme is to make a card using lyrics from Snow Patrol's song Chasing Cars. This instantly appealed to me as it's a bit different, I could have fun with it and very 'me'! 

Also entering it in Simon Says Stamp and Show 'Show some Wendy'

Cupcake Craft Challenges 'Bookworm'

I came up with the idea to create a card that resembled a lyric book, complete with coffee cup stain! I didn't want a flowery look, but a more masculine feel just like a lyricist writing a love song in his notebook, and the words to take centre stage. The heart 'bookmark' is made from faux leather, which I stiched around and attached to a bit of chain (utilising junk, result!) and attached to the card with a brad.

I stamped the lyrics, and I'm rather pleased how 'handwritten' they turned out and did some doodles on a few of them, the circle highlighting the word 'need' is a rub on. The main words, Grace and Own are stickers. Coffee stain was made by inking a jar opening an stamping! Distressed and curled the pages over, and put some 'writing paper' Core'dinations underneath and sanded it off .

Some staples add to the Notebook look. The paper is We R Memories Keepers 'Teen Angst', which is ultra cool and suits this challenge so well. I added a few puffy 'Thickers' stickers to add colour and dimension.

And that's me done! x

Tea rose

The Shabby Tearoom 'Monochromatic' challenge
Creative Craft challenges 'Vintage/Distressed'
Kaboodle Doodles 'Distressed'
The Paper Shelter 'Distressed' - again!

Not much time to post so here goes...

I used cream as my neutrel and brown tones. I stiched and sanded around the edge for a distressed look

I used Prima stamps on the kraft tag, stamped with chalk ink for a subtle ty. I'm pleased with the Tim Holtz rose trim which I dyed with a tea bag! Very cool to use something out your kitchen cupboards for colouring things :) The doily also got the colour treatment, but with a Pro Marker and the die cut flourish was inked with 3 different inks, for a shabby worn look that matches a treat. Raffia net has been used to back the tag, and finished off with seam binding.

The flowers and leaves are just layered up. The greeting is a digi stamp, and I thought worked well with the tag theme.

Bugging Me...

I'll be entering it in -

Daring Cardmakers 'Darling Bugs Of May'
Card Patterns Sketch
Cupcake Craft Challenges 'In The Garden'
Papertake Weekly 'Bloom & Grow'
Lets Craft & Create 'Sew Lovely'

I was going for a light ethereal / dreamy look with this one. Jury is out if I got what I envisaged!

The dandelion stamp is so pretty and delicate, I just stamped with chalk ink and glittered parts of the head. All the leaves were (painstakingly lol) die cut, inked and hand sewn (well, half were), and they represent the scallops from the Card Patterns sketch.

The body of the dragon fly was a pin which I threaded beads onto, and the wings were stamped onto patterned paper, which I thought turned out really well.

Greeting is from Pink Petticoat, with stiched details and some fuzzy tissue paper/ material type stuff which I don't know the name of! My seam binding was orignally cream and coloured with Amethyst Pro Marker.
Little bug is a rub on cut out with Glossy Accents for his shell.

Pink Petticoat greeting from 'With Flowers digi stamps' and yellow backing 'Spring Wishes', Dragonfly wing paper from 'Perfect Papers' kit
Main backing paper, Cosmo Cricket 'Earth Love'
Roses cut from assorted Core'dinations
Seam Binding and pin, the Ribbon Girl
Basic Grey bug from 'Wisteria' rub ons
Dandelion, Gel A Tins stamps

Pretty, pretty

This will be going into these challenges:

The Shabby Tearoom 'Ruffles'
Simon Says Stamp & Show 'Anything Goes'
Samuel Taylors 'Bling'

I'm rather pleased how this one has turned out, even though it was supposed to have more pink in the colour scheme ;) After my last card, maybe it's a good idea it hasn't! This is basically an easel card with die cut labels layered onto it. I ruffled the seam biding around the front edge and included a paper ruffle on the banner. The heart is natural chipboard, embossed and inked with white and blue chalk ink and finished with a concertina flower and pebble. I love the puffy flourish sticker too!

Flowers and seam binding, Wild Orchid Crafts
Blue patterned paper, K&Co
Sentiment, Pink Petticoat 'Sweet Sentiments' and pink graph and script paper from Perfect Papers kit
Prima glittered label sticker and Pebble
Me&My Big Ideas white 'Holiday Believe' puffy stickers
Pin and pearls

To make the girls wink...

Brace yourself, lol!  This one's a bit mad - a wham, bam, thank you ma'am type card, but as the colour challenge was hot pink, grey and cream, I thought I'd go the whole hog with it. This one is a bit different to my usual style and colour, more like the colours I went for a while back. It will be going in these challenges:

Cr84fn Colour Challenge hot pink, grey and cream
Card Patterns sketch
and another one for Papertake Weekly 'punches/dies'

And yes, the paper cigars are back! I did an Easter card with these on, and loved them :) As for the paper flowers, they started off pale pink, and after I'd coloured them in with a Pro Marker, they were anything but pale! For the border I cut a card strip, which I wrapped raffia around which gives some texture. I added some paper spirals on the flower on the sentiment to make it go 'pop'! The grey backing paper, sentiment and cake stand digi stamp are all Pink Petticoat.



Flowers, Wild Orchid Crafts
Border punch, Martha Stewart 'Doily Lace'
Bazzill Swiss Dot pink (not sure of the colour name)
Pink Petticoat sentiment and grey paper
Nellies Doily die
Raffia
Pro Markers

Lovely Lillies

I will be entering this little number in these challenges:

Simon Says Stamps 'Paper piercing/piecing'
Papertake Weekly 'Fancy a punch'
Daring Cardmakers 'Lily of the Valley or Hawthorn'

Now I must admit Lily of the Valley isn't something I would normally choose to use on a card, and it took a while to find an image that was 'me', but it's good to get out the comfort zone! Also really like the black and green together. The idea of the card is supposed to be a love/wedding theme, it could be either :)
I made the card blank by punching the corners of my card / paper. The image is from the internet and coloured with Pro Markers.

Look closely and you can see the paper piercing!

Core'dinations Black Magic card embossed with Cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder
Lily image from internet
Chipboard heart (which I inked) and black chipboard label from stash
White label, die cut
Pink Petticoat Damask paper
'Adore' from Doodlebug Stick With It double sided stickers
Liquid Pearls

Hope & Glory

Firstly, just a thank you to the ladies at the The Shabby Tearoom for putting me in their Terrific Top 3, for this card. Really pleased about that :)

And now onto the next card...

I will be putting it in these challenges:
Daring Cardmakers 'By Royal Appointment'
Totally Papercrafts 'Glitter'
Papercutz Challenge 'Anything goes'


Well I confess I had a bit of a 'mare with this! I had a really good (so I thought) idea for this project, but when I put it together it looked totally wrong and I just could not get it looking right for love nor money... I think I finally cracked it lol.

The Union jack was made with Core'dinations and cut with Labels 4 Nestibilities, and then sanded to make it shabby retro. The crown is a Prima stamp I embossed and layered it onto a Doodlebug 'Stick With It' double sided sticker and covered it in glitter to make it royally shine! Flower is Core'dinations again, scrunched, sanded and pinched to make a (bit of) a diamond shape, rose is hand rolled and sprayed in Crafters Companion Gold Spray and Sparkle. My greeting was printed and the gramophone and music note are digi cut and inked.

Graph paper, Pink Petticoat Perfect Papers
Red, blue and white Core'dinations
Prima crown stamp
Making Memories metal clip
Doodlebug Stick With It adhesive transfer (stamp)