Birthday card

March is a birthday heavy month in our family and friends circle and I am trying to get ahead of myself because some of these cards need to travel a fair distance and I can't leave them to the last minute.

I love the simplicity of this one...The Tonic die was on offer as a weekly deal at CraftsULove and so was hard to resist and as soon as it arrived I opened it and did a few test cuts because that always helps me to have a better idea of how I will use the die in my projects.

This card is going to be mailed overseas and so needed to be fairly flat... but flat does not have to mean boring and I love the detailed die cut on the back ground piece... in fact I thought it was enough really and so all I added was a pair of small stamped and punched butterflies  around the stamped greeting and a pearl gem at each corner.
I really like how this came out and I hope it travels well.

Until next time
Cxx

Messing about with Brushos

I got a set of Brushos for my birthday last year, but last summer was not a good one and its only recently that I have actually opened them up and started playing with them...and I love them.

It is so quick and easy to get the most amazing backgrounds and its highly addictive too. Once I start I seem to always end up with a least a few sheets of Brusho backgrounds ready to use in future projects.

The blue base was originally intended for a sea themed card but that failed and the murky mermaid was ditched in favour of sunny butterflies... The centre panel and the butterflies were made from a background using warmer tones in Brushos. I stamped the butterflies in archival black once the background sheet was fully  dry and then punched them out.

The picture doesn't really show it but the brusho sheets were formed using shimmer card and this gives the colours an extra shimmery sheen...it is also a heavy weight card (330 gsm I think) and so it was really easy to curl the wings over the end of a pokey tool before attaching the butterflies to the card panel.

This was a fun card to make and I was quite pleased with the results... and in the process of making those background sheets I discovered which shades when used in close proximity to each other will make mud...

If you play around with Brushos I bet you will soon find that out too...

Until next time
Cxx

Crazy Cats

I have crazy cats!... my new stamps and dies arrived at lunchtime and my desk is now covered in crazy cats...I love them.

Pretty much as soon as they hit the mat I ripped open the packaging, inked the first cat I laid hands on and stamped him on a piece of pearl card that  was on my desk... which just  happened to be one I used with brushos for another project earlier today.

This was a first tester card...the card base already had the patterned paper in readiness for another card idea  but that was quickly shelved when the cats landed here.... because I just had to work with these little beauties.

I have the crazy birds too and I reckon the two will work beautifully together. They are perfect when you want to inject a little humour into a project and I am sure I will use them loads in coming months.

Until next time
Cxx

Awesome

Here is a cute card I made for my great nephew's birthday.

It is really simple but I think that is part of the charm.  The wording is from a set by SU and was stamped direct to the card panel and then heat embossed.

The image is one of the quirky darlings (Boy with a cape)  from VLVS. I stamped this on a separate piece of card, heat embossed it and then fussy cut and mounted it on foam pads

The card panel is a shimmer card (does not show up well in photos but in real life is really pretty)  and was ink edged before being adhered to the card base.

That's it for this one. Until next time...

Cxx

No longer neglected stash

This was more of an exercise in playing with a new die that I found lurking unopened on the mess of my desk  where  I just happened to have multiples of an also neglected stamp I was trying out recently...and the two just seemed to marry well and so this little card was born.

Orange is a colour I don't tend to use that much when it comes to cardstock and I'm not really sure why because it is such a bright  and cheery option.

Anyhow this was simple card really. I used a tonic die  and a stamp from VLVS. It involved minimal colouring and was finished with a couple of enamel dots.

Until next time...
Cxx

Feeling sketchy

I am not referring to me feeling sketchy of course, but I did feel like stretching myself and so I joined in with a sketch challenge on Trimcraft forum boards.

Although I often find myself widely interpreting a sketch and using it as a starting point for my own sketch inspired design, for this one I didn't really deviate  from the basic sketch.

It is a very simply monochromatic design using textured card and patterned paper. I included some paper piercing and I used foam pads to add add dimension.

I did not include a sentiment on the front of this card because it was a sketch challenge and I don't yet know how or when I might use it...but I do like the clean lines on this and  it will be easy to add a sentiment when needed.

That's it from me for now, Until next time, take care
Cxx