Handmade Paper Flowers

Just a quickie for tonight. I made this card a couple of weeks ago for a lady. It's the only female card I've made just recently. I've been concentrating on making men's cards as I struggle to get inspired. Women's cards seem to be much easier!This paper was part of a free download set from Tinker & Co. I really love these colours at the moment. I've made the flower myself using my nestabilities and an embossing tool. I inherited quite a lot of handmade papers a while ago, but never really used them. They are perfect for making flowers with though. To finish I've added a Craftwork Cards sentiment on foam pads, to the middle of the flower and a few teal adhesive stones. I might make some more like this! It only took a few mins to make too!

My Last Week....

As you may have noticed already my pregnancy ticker seems to be ticking by really quite quickly! In fact I'm booked in for a caesarean section next Monday, providing he doesn't arrive before then that is! That's only a week today! So I'm making the most of this week and that fact that its half term so I have my little boy at home with me too.

I've not really made many cards since Christmas. Partly due to the snow and my craft room is way too cold! and that I don't really have the funds to replenish my stash at the moment, so I've just been taking it easy! I have however made a few cards that I thought I'd share with you today.
First up, is this Tardis card I made for my friends Son. No surprises, he's a Dr Who fan! My friend Helen made a Tardis card a while back, which is what inspired me. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I hope he liked it too!
This is the card I've made to give to my little boy, when his baby brother arrives next week! I think I'll give it as a card from the baby rather than from me and hubby. I've made a big 8x8" card, and have used my favourite Penny Black image. The font is cut from my Sizzix Round-A-Bout alphabet.
This is the card I made for hubby for Valentine's Day! I was inspired by a card I'd seen on SCS a while ago, although as it turns out that mine is nothing like it! The stamp was a freebie from a magazine which I've stamped onto red pearlescent card with white chalk ink. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set.
This card was inspired very much by Beth at Big Sky Paper and Design. I was trying to achieve some basic cards for men but without the use of images/rubber stamps. The papers were a download from Summertime Designs. I really love the combination of the black, grey and lime! Very masculine!
Again, using the same papers, I've used my favourite layout of the moment for this card!

Well that's all from me for now! Hopefully this week will give me a chance to do some blog hopping and maybe even get to leave a few comments! I'll update again when my little man makes his appearance!

more... more... more...

I love this style of wedding card. It was originally inspired by one I'd seen on the Docrafts gallery. I usually make them A5 sized and personalise the cards with the names and date, but thought that I'd try a couple of smaller ones for my box! I think they turned out ok? Apart from the extremely thin ribbon on this card, I only realised I hadn't got any thicker ribbon when it came to sticking it all down! I like to make these cards to co-ordinate with the wedding theme where possible.
I've made this version of the 3 Tie's card before but using different papers. These papers are actually part of the Pink Petticoat Christmas Lights kit. I love the red/blue colour combination. Again, I've finsihed it with a Craftwork Cards sentiment. Meet Alex the Lion! I've been having fun with my punches again! My 3 year old son gave him his name! He's a big Madagascar fan! He's not quite how I pictured him before I started and is a combination of a couple of punched lion's I'd seen before. I think he's quite cute though. The background paper is Epsom again. The perfect colours for Alex!

I've used the Sugar Nellie pirate with an Epsom treasure map for this card. I've torn and distressed the eges of the map and then added the sentiment using my sizzix naturally serif alphabet. I've just added some navy eyelets to tie in with the sentiment and to add a bit more colour to the card. Quite a simle one, but I think had I have added anything else I'd probably have ruined it!

I've been so Busy Busy Busy!

I can't quite believe how many cards I've made over the past few weeks! My boxes were virtually empty and I have a craft fair coming up in December so desperately needed to get some made! Also with my expected delivery at the end of February, I dare say that I'm not going to have a whole lot of time for crafting then!

So first up, I'll show you some of my Non- Christmas cards. I've made a few new ones but have mainly been re-creating some of my older designs in bulk. I must have made about 100 cards in the past few weeks, which by my standards is a huge amount! Several trips to Hobbycraft and lots of double sided tape later....

Here is a layout I used a few posts back, with this squares design, only last time I did all one colour, this time I decided to use a patterned paper and co-ordinating cardstock. The papers are Epsom and Pink Petticoat. The sentiments are craftwork cards. I have to say, I like these better than the ones I did before!The pink and brown version has got to be my faveourite! I've made a couple of each card too to help bulk out my box.

Bathtime Lola is kind of a re-make of a card I did before, in the respect that the image sits slightly high of the card. Its still able to fit into a 6"x6" envelope though! I did measure and check it before I stuck it down. The papers here are from a DCWV stack. The sentiment is Craftwork Cards. I've used glamour dust on the bubbles to give it a bit of sparkle!

I'll be back later with some more!

Its gonna be a long one! grab a cuppa!

Sorry for the long post...I've been such a bad blogger lately. I just dont seem to be able to keep up! In all honesty, i've not actually made many cards recently and the ones posted below have been made over the past couple of months. I thought it would be easier to put them into categories, so here goes!

Girly:This card was made for my mum's friend, who wanted something pink with butterflies. What made it easier is that it was for her 85th Birthday, so I started with my trusty old number style card and embellished with butterflies and lots of adhesive stones. It was quite a difficult card to photograph with the mirrored butterflies.

This card is for my friends little boy and girl to give to their auntie. The request was for something pink and princessy with an image of a little boy and girl on it. I've stamped the Edwin and Tilda images but then scanned in the Tilda image to the pc and re-sized her so that she is slightly smaller than her big brother! I love these papers so much, very girly and sparkly! they are from the raqnge Fairest of them all by Imaginisce.
This card is for the same lady as the one above. Her sister has paid for her to have ice skating lessons for her birthday and wanted a card to match. I found a template on the internet for an ice skate and decided to use this papermania paper in the background as it has a swirly pattern, hopefully made to look like it has been skated on! I've added some extra glitter too! I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.

I was asked to make this card for a family who have recently lost thier teenage daughter. The lady asked for something with rainbow's and angels, but I couldnt find any angel images that I felt were suitable, but in a flash of inspiration I thought I'd use butterflies instead. The background image is one I found on Google. I'd be quite touched if I'd have received this card when I lost my little girl, and hope that the family that receive it feel the same too.

For my Mummy:

Tomorrow is my mum's birthday. I like to try out a new idea or project when it comes to my mum's birthday. I like to give her something a bit more special, something that's had a bit more effort put into it. This is my first flowerpot card. I used the tutorial found on Joanne's blog, which you can find here. I love Joanne's blog, its so inspiring and has many ideas for "no tools" flowers.
I found that placing the flowers was the most difficult part. I spent a very long time moving them around, trying to get them in the right place, but in the end had to settle and just stick them down where they were before it drove me completely insane! I tend to do that all to often with my cards! Not bad for a first attempt, but there are definately things I will do differently next time.I've made another slightly different version for my son to give to his Nanny tomorrow. I've used a different stlye of flower punch and less flowers. This one was a lot quicker and easier to put together. Hopefully she will like them both. I wonder how long it will take her to realise how to find the message though! lol. Also I have added a little stand to the back of each of the flower pots so the stand up nicely.

I've bought my mum a nice boquet of flowers, which she had delivered today, and to go with them I bought her a small box of choccies. I've been wanting to make a little treat box for a while now, so today I set about making this one for her. I saw a box recently on Mandy's blog, which was shaped like a bird box. I thought it was really cute, and after a lot of searching, I still couldnt find a template anywhere. I've made this box myself based on the measuremenst of the choccies inside. I'm quite pleased with it. It's not quite how I imagined it would turn out, but a good first attempt. I've made the lid so that it just lifts off with the ribbon threaded through the top of the lid. And finally, I made this card for my step-dad to give to my mum. I'd been working on this little paper pieced cake stand a few days ago and thought it would be ideal for my mum. The cupcakes are actually from one of the Pink Petticoat Lola Rose images which I've printed and cut out and then have heat embossed the tops with clear powder, to make them look like they have frosting on them, and then just coloured the topping in red. The teapot is also a Pink Petticoat image. The cake stand is made by simply using my Stampin Up Scalloped edge punch and a swirly punch for the legs. I'm really pleased with it! I've been looking around for a stamp with a nice cake stand on, but now I dont think I need one anymore!

Craftwork Cards Inspired:

I've had these little Craftwork Cards sentiments in my draw for quite some time now, and I really love them, but I dont use them as often as I should! They were my starting point for this card & candle gift set. I love the shape of the background on this card, not sure what the shape itself is called but I know there are a set of nestabilities out there like this, with my name on them!!!! one day I will own them! but for now I just drew my own template out of card and hand cut the shape. I've gone round the edge with my quickie glue pen and then sprinkled on some glamour dust for that bit of sparkle! I've then gone round the edge of the shape with my pokey tool and pierced the card. Then just a few adhesive stones to finish.

I love these flowers. They are quite large and were a freebie with one of my magazines a few months ago! The papers are from Pink Petticoat. I've used a few pins to firmly attach the card/paper and ribbon to the candle.

This card was inspired by Julie who's blog I came across whilst looking through the Craftwork Cards blog. I've spent a long time looking over her blog and her wonderful inspiring creations. I love the use of a single colour on this card, but I decided to add silver edges to the embossed squares and flowers and a touch of silver ribbon too.

I fancied having a go at one in colour too, and this is what I came up with. Something for the fella's this time!

Something for the kids:

I'm always really inspired by Kerry's blog and was particularly inspired when I saw a card with this layout! I had this Edwin image coloured in and sitting in my box for a while so decided it was about time he was put to use. I found he co-ordinated quite well with these Basic Grey Abrosia papers.

Using the same layout again, but this time with Tilda, whos so cute! and some more Basic Grey papers. I think this is the Bittersweet yummy chocolatey collection. Such a simple, yet striking layout.

This card is for my friend to give to her little boy on his 2nd Birthday. I've layered Thomas's face with 2 layers of foam pads and have layered the middle of the cloud with 2 layers of foam pads but have stuck the sides down with tape. The tunnell is hand cut/drawn and the train lines were downloaded from the internet and printed onto clear ascetate. I'm really pleased with how they turned out. I think I may try this with tyre treads for car cards too if I can find some to download!

Weddings & Anniversary's:

This is a copy of a card I made a few months back, only this time in Sapphire Blue! I really love the simplicity of this card and have since made another one for a friends wedding recently.
This card was made for a couple who recently got married in Canada. My friend asked me to make it incorporating a Canadian theme somehow! As soon as she said that, I instantly thought of the Maple leaf and decided to copy a card I'd made in the past with the images of Tilda and Edwin sitting inside. I was really pleased with how it turned out.
I made this card for my Mum and step-dad's wedding anniversary last month. It was a bit of a last minute card, but I was so pleased with it. I've used a stamp that came free in a magazine and have stamped it using sliver ink and heat embossed the hearts. Finished with a nice silver bow and a few heart shaped adhesive stones.
This is a card I was asked to make recently. The lady had seen one of my cards with the champagne glasses on and had asked for it to be personalised with the names/dates. She also wanted to incorporate light turquoise too. I've used this pistachio card from doodlebug. I hope its the right colour for her. Its the nearest I had to light turquoise! I've added a few punched flowers and adhesive stones to finish. Again, with all the mirror card used, this was a really hard card to photograph!
And last but not least! Hubby and I will be celebrating our 6th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow. We've actually been together twice as long! It took him a while to propose! The colour scheme for our wedding was Ivory/Gold and I like to make our Anniversary cards in gold to match. Not that I guess he would make that link though. Again the hearts on this card were a free stamp from a magazine, which I've stamped in gold and heat embossed. I've embossed a strip of white card with my swiss dots folder, added a strip of gold ribbon and edged it on some matt gold cardstock. The sentiment is stamped in gold too! There is A LOT of white space on this card, not something that I'm all that comfortable with, but I know its the sort of card that my hubby likes! Hope he likes this one too!

Well if you got to the end of this post, thank you for stopping by and reading. Hopefully I will update a bit more often in future!

Tinker & Co DT Cards - Elisia Paper Pack

Here are my first few cards that I've made for Tinker & Co as part of the Design Team. The paper pack is called Elisia and you can buy it here! I really love the colours in this set, and the flowery flourish is absolutely gorgeous!
This first card is my favourite of the set. Its made using the Joy-Fold layout. I've used a combination of the three paisly papers from the set, combined with some black card. I think these colours contrast really well. The flourish element has been printed onto acetate and then cut around the edges before being fastened with a small brad through the centre of the flower. A few adhesive stones and some organza ribbon to finish and voila!

I've made this one using a sketch I used a couple of weeks ago, and have used some of the more floral papers from the pack this time. Again the flourishes are printed onto acetate and fastened with a brad.
This was quite a simple one to make, again using the blue paisley paper layered onto white cardstock with inked edges. I used my nestabilities to cut out the squares and layered over the printed flourishes so that they overlapped the square. I then just stamped the sentiment and added a few adhesive stones to finish.
And finally, using my favourite layout of the moment! I paper pieced Tilda's dress using the pink and black spotty paper, which was really quite fiddly, I'd not done this before, but I love the result so it was worth it! I love the pink & black combination, one of my favourites.


Yo can buy this kit from Tinker & Co along with a huge range of other digital kits too.

I've gone a bit overboard with the Urban Prairie

A couple of weeks ago, I treated myself to the Urban Prarie paper pack from Basic Grey and I really fell in love with it. Its full of very bright spring like papers. Subsequently I've made quite a lot of cards using them! First up is another joy-fold card. Not one of my best cards, but something a little different. And another view! This next card is one I've been asked to make for a lady who enjoys all things sparkly and pretty and also loves her holidays. I decided to print off this beach babe lola from Pink Petticoat. Ive had this set for a while now and never made a card with her before. I've doodled this card quite a bit. I think I got carried away! The numbers are making memories glitter stickers, they sparkle much more in real life!I made this one a few weeks back when I was having a surge of inspiration. I've used the aqua card as the base, which is not something I normally do. I usually just layer the coloured card onto a white base card (i'm stingy and dont like to use up too much of my coloured card!) but thought as this was a colour I don't use all that often that I'd use this instead.

The image is a Magnolia Stamp with a computer generated sentiment. The flower is one of my doodlebug flowers. Its lovely. All glittery and shimmering!

I was trying to make some quick mothers day cards for a couple of orders I had and already had a couple of magnolia images coloured in. The little tag sentiment is one from a free set that came with a magazine last year! I knew I would use it eventually. It co-ordinates perfectly!

And another criss-cross card, I'm really loving these at the moment. This one was made for mothers day, but can easily be changed for any other occasion as the white card can be removed and replaced. I really like the colours on this paper. Red and this turqouise seem to go really well together, I may have to combine these two again.
Finally, this is a card I made when I was experimenting the other day. I saw a card with a vellum flower in a magazine which inspired me. The vellum i've used is quite thick. I've embossed it with the swiss dots folder and then inked the edges. I'm not really sure that this was the card I intended it to be, but it works as a simple quick make!