A simple card with only a few ingredients

I have recently moved to Sweden which means I have very limited supplies to craft with at the moment (literally two ink pads, one set of stamps and one paper stack!) I'm definitely missing all my stash, particularly my paper trimmer - it's just not the same cutting with scissors! - but I've still managed to do a little bit of crafting. Here's a simple card that evolved from making an ATC:

I don't think the photo does it justice, I haven't found a good place to photograph yet, but this card definitely looks better in real life! The paper was already mottled red and blue but I added some extra red distress ink before stamping the sentiment. I also added some red distress ink around the blue flower which hasn't photographed very well at all, unfortunately. Once I'd made the ATC I decided that I would prefer it as a card so added the extra piece of blue card behind then mounted onto a 5 x 5 inch card.

Shrink plastic butterfly with Spellbinders

This card took me a looooooong time! I had been experimenting with shrink plastic and made the butterfly first by stamping a papermania butterfly stamp in Versamark and then covering with brown mica before shrinking. I also punched the two holes before shrinking then added the wire afterwards. I made the circle the butterfly is sitting on in the same way, just using turquoise mica powder. After that, it took me such a long time and lots of experimenting with different backgrounds, shapes and papers before I finally reached this card, which I absolutely love.

The dies used are Spellbinders Medallions 1 and scalloped circles. The paper is First Editions Summer Breeze and I finished it all off with a little bit of brown velvet ribbon and some sparkly gems.

Thank you for looking!

Hollyhock die notelet cards

I've been trying to come up with some designs for more simple and quick to make cards recently, ones that don't take me 3 hours to make like usual! This is a design I came up with using the deckled edge rectangle nesties and the hollyhock die from memory box. I just added a bow and a stamped sentiment and I think they look quite effective. I did mean to stamp on the cream piece of card behind the flower with a background stamp but I forgot! Next time... I am also tempted to put a few gems in the flower centres, something I might play around with and see what different effects I get.

Thanks for looking!

A simple Christmas card

This is a card I made a couple of years ago and found way down in the depths of my draft blog posts. I felt it rather apt to post in the middle of August ;-) I don't even know the set that this stamp is from but it's not one I own so I think it must be one I used on the Crafty Weekend. I used a doily die to cut the red scalloped circle and embossed the background with snowflakes. I finished off with a little bit of ribbon around two of the corners. I really like the simplicity of this card and it would be easy to make several similar cards quickly which is sometimes what you need with Christmas cards, unless you start now of course!

African elephant card

I made this card using a stamp and die set I got last year at the Crafty Weekend. It is a set called 'Kenya' from Local King Rubber Stamps and it comes with a die to cut out the elephant which is awesome. I coloured the elephant using the Cool Grey 1-5 promarkers  and I made the background by brayering Adirondack inks in layers from pale yellow down to red. I then added some extra distress inks in Dusty Concorde around the corners. Finally I backed it on some grey Coredinations but it's not showing up that well in the picture.

Anniversary card

It was hard to photograph this card as it's so shiny but it definitely looks better in real life! This is a card I made for my mum and step-dad's first anniversary. I used a stamp from a free set from a magazine and heat embossed in gold. I spritzed a piece of black card with shimmer mist and once dry, wrapped the card with a piece of thick gold ribbon and mounted it all together. This card is quite small at 4' x 4'.

New home card

I made this easel card for some friends who moved house a couple of months ago using a Little Claire's stamp and sentiment. I coloured the picture with Promarkers but decided to use block colour rather than shade them. I used some First Edition's Springtime papers and embellished with some card candi, some punched butterflies and some mini gems.

Butterfly tree easel card

Wow, this card caused me a lot of grief, I just could not decide what to do with it and whatever I tried it didn't look right. This is how it looked after 3 hours and I am now more than happy with it and I hope my friend was too when she received it.

I used the gorgeous Butterfly Tree stamp from Little Claire's which I had for my birthday last year and hadn't used yet as I couldn't decide what to do with it. In the end I decided to turn it into an easel card and used some Authentique 'Journeys' paper to match with the blue glitter I had embossed the tree and sentiment in (the sentiment is from a free set from a magazine, not Little Claire's). I also used the butterfly stamp from the butterfly tree set and stamped around the edge in blue distress ink but you can't really see it on the photo, it looks more like a smudge! Finally, I punched lots of tiny butterflies and dotted them all over along with some gems and stickles :-)

Thanks for looking!

Poppies and glitter paste

This is a cute and very simple notecard I made using glitter paste and a stencil. My goodness the glitter still goes everywhere! I love the effect that you get with this paste though as it's got a bit of depth. I would love tips on how to stop the paper from buckling though if anyone has any. I was going to use red card to mount but I decided the muted green looked better. I'm also debating whether to add a sentiment underneath the ribbon but I might wait and see what I decide to use it for first so I know what it needs to say.

Thanks for looking!

Blue butterflies and fairies

I made this card last October at the Crafty Weekend (still spaces left for 2013 - just contact Amy) and only just realised when I was looking through my photos that I hadn't actually shared it. I gave this card to my mum for her birthday as she loves fairies and the colour blue. The stamp is from Local Rubber King - we got some of these as part of our goodie bags and they are just gorgeous, much much more than they look on their website. This is one that I borrowed but is definitely on my 'want' list, as are several others! I heat embossed with Wow! glitter blue. I stamped it again and cut out the butterflies and mounted them on sticky pads for extra dimension. I also added blue stickles down the middle of the butterflies but that doesn't show up well on the photo. I coloured the image with promarkers and added detail with a Sakura glitter pen. I finished off the card with a few flowers, which I also stickled, and a few gems.

Another LOTV boy card

Aren't these LOTV boys so adorable? I especially love this car. I coloured the image with promarkers and framed it with a spellbinder die cut 'Lattice Rectangle' which I cut the middle from. The paper comes from the October Afternoon 'Rocket Age' paper pad. The sentiment is also a LOTV stamp.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Lili of the Valley Challenge - Use a Sentiment

Sausage dog celebrations

This cute little card is made using a Little Claire stamp and sentiment and coloured in promarkers. This card was really for a man but I didn't do much of a good job in making it very male - oh well! I tried with the blue and green! I embellished the card with a wooden flower coloured with green mica powder and leaves from my Tim Holtz die. I dropped a blue gem in the middle of the flower and finished it off with some green card candi and some crafty ribbons ribbon.

Lavender Lavinias

I made this card using a Lavinia stamp which I then used the distress inks 'Milled Lavender' and 'Dusty Concorde' around the edges. I backed with some scraps that matched perfectly in colour and I also cut out the little butterfly from the same paper. I finished it off with some ribbon and a ribbon slider and then of course, I dotted over some stickles.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Lavinia Stamps - Lovely Lavender

Book-loving fairy birthday

I made this card for my friend and fellow crafter Jennie and thought this cute book fairy was very apt as she loves reading. I used some First Edition's Spring Time paper and a memory box die for the corners.I coloured the image with Promarkers and a Sakura glitter pen and then dotted lots of little pearls around.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Ribbon - Anything Goes with a Ribbon
I love Promarkers - Use dies but not punches.
Natalie and Amy's Challenge - Fantasy

A quick and simple birthday card

I made this card for my sister's birthday and there wasn't too much too it. I coloured the image with promarkers. I'm not too impressed with the card I'm using at the moment as it doesn't hold too much ink and it bled around the edge of the balloon - grrr. *Note to self - buy more expensive card next time! I then picked out this pretty flowery paper to match the image and finished off with a polka dot flower and a polka dot button - simples!

Lazy days birthday card

I just love these Lili of the Valley stamps and this image was just perfect for a birthday card I needed to make. I coloured the image in promarkers, going for a muted, old-fashioned kind of look with the colours I chose then cut out with my nesties. I made the background by cutting 2cm squares from the papers in the Marianne D 'Dark Vintage' set and just sticking them on over a piece of slightly bigger cardstock. I then used a promarker with an ultra-fine nib to draw on the stitching effect.

Originally I was going to put the image in the middle of the card but I felt that it was lacking in something. Then I found this gorgeous green velvet ribbon with stitching which matched perfectly and so I added it and moved the image upwards. I am much happier with the card now :)

I managed to find a hexagon die and stamps at a craft show I went to last weekend so I'm going to try this style again in hexagons :)

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Lili of the Valley - Boy oh boy
I Heart Promarkers - Simply does it

Thank you for looking!

Get well soon card

This is a card I made for my lil'est sister a few weeks ago when she had a rather bad accident caused by a very naughty lorry driver :( Luckily she is ok, apart from some rather bad whiplash and bruises but it could have been much worse by the wreck of her car.

Anyhoo, I used this cute image from Lili of the Valley coloured with Promarkers and I chose a blue theme to match with her dress. I finished off the card with a premade sentiment and some card candi. Apologies for the awful photo - my camera was playing up taking really dark photos and I was playing around with different backgrounds trying to make it work. I have finally realised my 4 year old cousin accidentally changed the settings last time I saw her as she was playing with it! All back to normal now I hope!

A simple notecard

Here's a simple card I made today in amongst playing with lots of other new goodies (mainly gilding wax - love, love, love! - but that's for another post). I used a tree stamp set from Lavinia Stamps, stamping a row of bushes in Juniper Adirondack in the background and then heat embossing the larger trees in Cosmic Shimmer Arctic Lake and Wow Gold mixed together. I then made the background using Pan Pastels but these haven't shown up very well in the photo.

I used a lovely glittery paper out of the First Edition Spring Feast pack and finished off with ribbon and a Papermania brad.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Lavinia Stamps - Pastel colours
Stamping Sensations - Embossing and texture

Thanks for looking!

Butterfly birthday

I made this card for a birthday in black and silver using some of the lovely Urban Stamps butterflies which I bought last year and haven't really used as much as I should have. I stamped them in Versafine black to pick up all the detail and punched the border with a Martha Stewart butterfly punch. I then used the punched out butterflies to fly up the page and finished everything off with lots of tiny gems. I had to take two photos so you could see it without my reflection :)

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

Crafty Ribbons Challenge 44 - Anything Goes with a Ribbon

Crafty Sentiments - The Letter B - Black, butterflies, bling...

Natalie and Amy's Challenge - things with wings