Happy Easter

Cute Card Thursday #207

Hello blog-friends...can you smell the weekend? Almost here...yay! Today I have a little card to show you - a square 4.25"creation. I wanted to make an alternative card for a friend I know to be totally and utterly opposed to all the usual Easter trappings; you know, bunnies, eggs, chocolate, daffodils, etc. I sent her an innocuous card, once. Later, together with a thank you, I got a 53 minute speech. Oh, never again! This year she's getting what she wants! For her card I used the sketch from Cute Card Thursday Challenge #207 and a recipe from Dutch Dare Card Challenge #155. The ingredients are: 1 stamped image, 1 sentiment, 2 ribbons, 3 pattern papers and 4 embellishments. Put it all together and here's what I've come up with:

I used a bright blue card base layered with some plain sand CS. The 3 pattern paper panels are from Cosmo Cricket's "Togetherness" pack. 

The image is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps "Spring Basket" set. I cut out the flowers, coloured it with Promarkers and stuck it on with foam tape. The die cut layer is a die from Spellbinders Labels 23, inked with TH's Antique Linen distress ink. The sentiment is from Paula Pascual's "All Year Round" set. The flower shaped layer is from Nellie Snellen's Hexagon Dots die set, inked with TH's Tattered Rose and I stamped little flowers with TH's Spun Sugar.

I wrapped 2 ribbons - a broad sheer and a quarter inch satin - behind the basket. And finally 4 red brads to finish the card.

I cut out the flowers and stuck it on the side of the card.

That's my Easter card with a difference. I hope she'll like it. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back with one more post before the weekend...maybe! ;-)

Beijinhos!

Warm Wishes

Hi there, blog-buddies. I have a card here to show you, one that took me 2 whole days to complete. Oh yes! Nothing good was happening to it, but I kept going. At one stage it looked dangerously like a Christmas card...of course, the red and green combo did me no favours. Oh Humbug! I reworked it several times just to make sure I removed every trace of festive frippery. I've used Skipping Stones Design sketch #118  for my card. A simple clean sketch just perfect for someone like me to make a hash of it!

Just a strip of DP this time. It's from Basic Grey's "Hello Luscious" pack. The green paper pleated band is also from the same pack. 

The stamp is from HOTP's "Sweet Tweet" set.  So many great birdy related images to choose from. As always, my ink of choice is Memento Tuxedo Black. I cut out the bird using a die from Nellie Snellen's Square Stitching set (MFD033) and framed it with some stitching.

The background is s piece of red CS embossed with the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls folder. I finished the card with some cream satin ribbon tied in a simple knot. 

Simple space on the inside.

Thus ends a tutorial on how to un-Christmas a card! LOL. Anyways, thanks for swinging by and do drop in on me soon!

Beijinhos.

For My Mum

Hello there, blog friends! So, I've decided to get started on my Mother's day card(s). Plural because I usually make a few, then pick the ones I like best for my Mum and Mother-in-law... and give the rest away. This card is based on CPS Sketch #255....a bit of a Flower Frenzy!

HOTP's "Soft Nostalgia" paper pack is still on my worktop, so I'm using here. I like the soft floral designs.

The greeting is by Waltzing Mouse Stamps from the "Spring Baskets" set, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on to a blank label from the same paper pack. Then i stitched it onto a pink SC cut with Spellbinders Rectangle Fleur-de-Lis die. Then I adhered 3 blossoms which I cut with a die from Nellie Snellen's Dot Hexagon MFD026 and set a flat-back pearl in the centre of each. 

The final touch is some cream sheer ribbon and bow. 

Just a simple border on the inside.

That's all from me today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you at my next post.

Beijinhos!

You're So Sweet!

Happy Tuesday, my blog friends! Today's card is one that I made without anyone or anything in mind - rest assured I will find a home for it soon!  It all began yesterday: I was doing some creative voyeurism over at Coffee Chocolate Cards. The theme for their ongoing Challenge #7 is "Drink Up" - an image of a drink is compulsory. And I have just the stamp for it! I pinched the sketch from Card Patterns Sketch #155 and set to work. Inspiration for the colours came from my memory of the old-fashioned ice cream palours, something totally unfamiliar to today's McDonalds milkshake guzzling generation. Gosh! That statement dates me...what can I say? I am old and getting older by the day! The good news is I still have all my teeth! And on that sweet note, allow me to introduce today's caries-free card. Enjoy!

The papers are from Daisy & Dandelions's "Candyfloss & Marshmallow" pack. The stamps are from the "Sweets Treats" set by Beth Gunnel.

I stamped the image with Memento Rich Cocoa, coloured it with Promarkers and added some Frosted Lace Stickles on  the chocolate shake. Last 2 steps involve Spellbinders Beaded Oval and Tim Holtz "Spun Sugar" distress ink. 

Pink ribbon and a couple of fussy cut sweeties complete the card. 

I could help but throw in a couple of sweets on the inside!

Thanks for taking the time to drop in and I hope to see you real soon.

Beijinhos!

Many Blessings

Hello again, blog-buddies. It's time for another MojoMonday card. I'm working on my Easter cards, trying not leaving it to the last minute. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how well that goes! In the meantime, here's a card for Easter with MojoMonday sketch #231. I'm trying to get a handle on CAS cards...with limited success, as you are about to see!

The patterned papers are from HOTP's "Soft Nostalgia"  12x12 pack.  Some really nice fun floral papers to play with. 

The stamped image and sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse's "Spring Basket" set, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. I coloured the eggs and basket with Promarkers,  fussy-cut the image and adhered to the card with pop dots. 

For contrast, I ran a length of dusky pink ric-rac across the card. The greetings has 2 layers of die-cuts: Spellbinders  Eyelet Circles for the blue CS and Nellie Snellen's Flower MFD020 for the white.   

A café-au-lait polka dot ribbon and 3 flat-back pearls complete the card.

I used more of the floral paper for the inside.

That's my MojoMonday card this week. A couple of sites worth visiting are Make It Monday #79 and Joanna Sheen March Challenge. I've happily posted by card there. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you...tomorrow, maybe.

Beijinhos!

BRAG UPDATE: Can you believe it, my friends! I am a February Mojo winner! I am over the moon. Many thanks to the fab people at MojoMonday. Check out their blog and take a look at the other winners.

You deserve it!

Hello blog friends! I'm posting on Sunday... a rarity! With some free time on hand I decided to make a card for an ex-colleague who, after almost a year being unemployed, finally found a job. Excellent news! And it could not have happened to a more deserving person. After looking around for a suitable sketch (I'm having one of those fickle days...), I finally settled on The Sweet Stop Sketch #148.

The Play Date Café Challenge #121

Next, the colours...my friend is partial to pastels and The Play Date Café Challenge #121 is serving up just the right colours this week: Mojito, Peony and Sand. And finally, for the embellishments I turned to CES Challenge #75 where the theme this week is "Flower Frenzy" - exactly what her garden looks like in spring. Now I have all I need for my card. And here it is...

The papers are from Basic Grey's "Sweet Threads" pack. It's chock full of gorgeous papers - love it! 

The greeting is from Waltzing Mouse "Say It Loud" set, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. I lightly inked the edges with TH's Pumice Stone distress ink - it's barely visible on the sand CS. For symmetry (I'm weird like that!) I added 3 flat-backed pearls. 

Finally, I added a few vintage roses and 2 resin leaves. These leaves are not flat... hand-delivery a must for this card.  

For the inside, I could not resist laying down a border of that gorgeous floral paper.

You'll also find this card over at Bunny Zoe's Monthly Challenge #21 where the theme is "Celebrations".

That's it from me this Sunday. Thanks for taking the time to drop in and I'll see you again...real soon. Have a blessed day!

Beijinhos.

Boy, Balloon, Birthday

Papertake Weekly Challenge #65

Hello again, my crafty friends. Today I have another card to share with you. I made this for a little boy...well, not so little. He's turning 10 is a few days and is convinced he is now a man. Maybe he's right. I can name a few 40-something men who behave like 10 year olds! The inspiration for this card came from 3 different challenges. Papertake Weekly Challenge #65 gave me the sketch - a really cute one at that! For the colours I turned to Craft Room Challenge where this week its all about Orange, Brown and Cream. And finally, I hopped over to a Divas By Design where Challenge #24 focuses on Spots and/or and Dots. I put it all together and came up with this fun card.

The papers are from Basic Grey's "Life of the Party" pack and more than  my usual dose of layering on this card.

The image is from Molly Bloom's clear stamps set. I paper pieced his outfit and shoes, then coloured in the rest with Promarkers. The greeting is also from the same stamp set.

Chocolate polka-dot ribbon, a button and stitching complete the card.

 I used some of the background paper on the inside.

I hope you enjoyed your little visit. Thanks for dropping in and I'll see you at my next post. Toodles!

Happy Birthday!

Andrea Walford

Hello, my blog friends! I made this card a couple of days ago for the Paper Crafter's Library Makeover Monday Challenge. The inspiration piece for this week is a card made Andrea Walford. My card is a brighter louder version of Andrea's elegant creation.

The striped paper is from Basic Grey's "Life of the Party" pack. I matted it on some burnt orange CS and did some stitching all around.

The stamp is from Papermania's Typography series, stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured in with Promarkers.

And to jazz it up a bit, I played around with minibrads (Papermania), eyelets (Woodware) and CS layers.

Continuing the stripy birthday theme, I stamped these tiny pressies from Dovecrafts Sentiments set and coloured in with Promarkers. 

That's all from me at the end of St David's Day. Thanks for dropping in and I'll see you tomorrow with another card. Ta-ta!