Happy Mother's Day

...or "Mothering Sunday" - that sounds so odd! I mean, mothers do their mothering all year round, not just on a Sunday... Before my American friends start to panic, don't worry. We have Mother's Day a couple of months before you so there's plenty of time for you to make your cards yet :-) Anyway, we have two Mums between me and Tom, so here are two similar Mother's Day cards.

 

"Happy Mother's Day"

I was so pleased with the layout, that I decided to make my second card very similar. Can you spot the differences?

"Happy Mother's Day"

The first is square, the second tall. They use different patterned papers, different ribbons, different fixings for the birdcage, and the first has more matting and layering (I thought the more complicated pattern on the second card didn't need so many layers), but overall the effect is the same.

It takes most of my time when I'm making cards to come up with the idea and the layout, so it's always a good idea for me to make the most of a card I like and make a few similar ones. Sometimes I'll keep going and make half a dozen, but I never make two cards exactly the same!

Ingredients:

Vintage Style Paperstack from "The Works" (thanks Lee :-)

7 Gypsies Conservatory 8"x8" paper pad

Spellbinders dies

flag bunting (from a blog challenge win, so I don't know who produced them)

ribbon in blue organza, green and brown string

vintage wooden buttons

cardstock: pale teal blue 160gsm, white 300gsm

Craftwork cards sentiments

Entered for the following challenge:
Oldie But a Goodie - Bunting

Quick Cards free Kaisercraft Sweet Pea Paper Collection

This set of cards uses the Kaisercraft Sweet Pea Paper Collection that came free with Quick Cards magazine a couple of months ago. This set features some of my favourite vintage colours at the moment, and I found the pretty patterns worked really well with paperclay flowers which I made to match using the Martha Stewart moulds.

 

"Kaisercraft Sweet Pea Collection"

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"Happy"

"Smile"

 

"Birthday Greetings"

"Happy Birthday"

"Just to Say"

 

"Life is a Journey"

 

"On Your Retirement"

I keep a document wallet with any spare sentiments and when working with patterned papers, pull out all the ones that match the colours on the papers. You can often find a match from an entirely different collection. If not, I'll find a diecut or make one and stamp something suitable. Lots of these sentiments have come from swaps with my friends on Docrafts, so thank you - you know who you are. Maddy x

Simply Cards & Papercraft issue 113 Free Melissa Frances cardmaking kit

I am going to start to blog the cards I make with free gifts from magazines in the hope they give someone some inspiration. I am a sucker for all the mags and buy far too many, like a lot of people do. This batch of A6 cards are made with the Melissa Frances Cardmaking Kit with came free with Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine 113.

 

"Cards Made with Simply Cards & Papercraft 113 Melissa Frances Kit"

"Love Makes Life Worth Living"

"Happy Birthday"

 

"Just a Little Note to Say..."

 

"Smile"

 

"Picked For You"

 

"I Appreciate You More Than You Know"

 

"Thinking of You"

 

"Just the Way I Roll"

 

"Good Luck"

A Pile of A6 Cards

When I'm short of inspiration for a big project, I pull out some stash and make a pile of A6 cards. Put a variety in a box with some envelopes and they make great presents! Anyway, last month I won a fabulous prize with a card I entered into a competition at Quick Cards magazine. The prize was a box of stuff from Die Cuts With a View (DCWV), and I've been making cards with it ever since. I thought I'd share some of my A6 cards with you and this first batch uses a pad of MAMBI card blanks titled "Dream Big". They have fabulous geometric designs in contemporary colours.

"The Journey Awaits"

I've added bits and pieces from my stash, including items made from paper clay such as the white bird ...

"Happy Birthday"

...and the flower, stem and butterfly.

 

"Unreal"

The backgrounds on these flowers were decorated card discs from a swap on Docrafts. I think they have a sort of "Science Fantasy" feel to them.

 

"Thank You"

I love this little doggy from a pack of card embellishments.

 

"Birthday Wishes Just for You"

Just when you get bored with the black and white, there are some muted violet shades.

 

"Thank You"

Layered diecuts of different cardstocks add interest and texture.

 

"Thinking of You"

I often use these monochrome colour schemes and it's a good way to combine items from different manufacturers and different ranges.

 

"Autumn"

Well, we have a lovely sunny day here in Northern Ireland. I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday wherever you are. Maddy x

Ingredients:

DCWV MAMBI card pad "Dream Big"

DCWV Pumpkin Patch 6" x 6" pad

DCWV Cardstock Quotes

DCWV Gauze Paper Stack

DCWV Basic Frames

Paper Cellar Sentiments

Sizzix Bigz M&S Ornamental and Mini Ornamental

Sizzix Bigz Gadget Gears

Martha Stewart moulds & paperclay

wooden & plastic embellishments from my stash

Distress Ink pads

Entered for the following challenges:

St. Patrick's Day

It's the day for the "wearin' of the green". I hope you've all got your shamrocks and pints of Guinness ready to go with that green outfit! Here in Northern Ireland we have an extra bank holiday today and that's always worth a celebration.

"St. Patrick's Day Greetings"

This first card has a patterned paper background edged with Bundled Sage distress ink, and a pile of diecuts on the right of embossed stamps interspersed with green card.

 

"Shamrock"

If you look closely, you'll see that the "Shamrock" is actually made up of diecut hearts with a pearl stuck in the centre to hide the joins!

 

"Top of the Mornin' to You"

This second card uses Peeled Paint distress ink which gives a grungier feel. The background for this card is hand-stamped and heat-embossed with a verdigris powder (a mixture of green and gold). The decorative hearts on the Shamrock are diecut from spare pieces of the background.

 

"Wearin' of the Green"

The vintage images are freebies downloaded from some of the many sites that offer free vintage images and printed onto white or manila cardstock.

Ingredients:

DCWV Pumpkin Patch paper pad

Graphic45 Place in Time paper pad

Justrite stamp set

Creative Expressions stamp

freebie vintage images

Spellbinders - Nestabilities: Hearts, Labels 4, Gold Labels 4; A2 Filigree; Die D-Lites: Aster,

Spellbinders

Green Satin Ribbon

Green Pearls

verdigris embossing powder

versamark ink pad

Distress Ink Pads: Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint

adhesives: PVA, foam tape & pads

cardstock: green 300gsm+, white 220gsm

Entered for the following challenges:
Simon Monday - Lucky
The Ribbon Girl - Green
Cut it Up - Green for St Patrick's Day

My take on Tim Holtz' Tag for March 2014

Well you know me well enough by now to realise that tags aren't really my thing. My thing is dimension, and I discovered a great new dimensional card design on SplitCoast Stampers this month called a pop-up box card. I decided to use all the techniques from Tim's March tag to create my own version and here it is:

"Horlogerie"

I started with a couple of A4 sheets of manila cardstock and decorated them using the smudged stamp technique and various stamps from my Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz' sheets, then I cut the sheets up into sections to fit the panels on the box. The gadget gears and weathered clock are diecut from petfood boxes, stuck together back to back (to hide the advertising blurb and make them even sturdier) and decorated with Ranger paint dabber in gold. Pieces of Tim's tissue tape are added to the decorated panels. A screw brad fixes the hands onto the clock, and a chain with a muse token draped over the cogs.

 

"It folds flat!"

Hey lookie here, the whole thing folds flat for posting!

 

"Sunshine"

We had some rare sunshine and I took the opportunity for a glamour shot lol! The sun has washed out the colours, but I love the shadows from the gears.

Ingredients:

Sizzix Bigz Tim Holtz Weathered Clock and Gadget Gears dies

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamps various sets

Distress Inks: Rusty Hinge, Walnut Stain, Weathered Wood

Ranger Paint Dabber: Gold

Tim Holtz Tissue Tape (thanks Lee!)

Muse Token and chain (another thanks to Lee :-)

Screw brad

cardstock: grey 300gsm+, manila 220gsm, petfood boxes

adhesive: PVA

 

Entered for the following challenge:
Tim Holtz tags of 2014: March
Rhedd and Rosies - Aged / Distressed
Creative Card Crew - Use a Charm
Simon Monday Challenge - D is for Distress

Happy Birthday Mum

This was my Mum's birthday card this year, and I'm so pleased to say that she loved it!

"A birthday card for Mum"

I ruched a couple of pieces of silky ribbon behind the diecut window to look like curtains, and matched the colours of the flowers to the ribbon and the background papers.

Entered for the following challenges:
That Craft Place - Anything Goes
Picture and Scrap - Use Your Dies
CountryViewChallenges - Paper Chase
Crafts and Me - Anything Goes
Emergency Crafters - Flowers
Natalie and Amy's Challenge - Flowers

Pretty in Pink

Our theme this month at Stamping Sensations is "Pretty in Pink". Now pink is not my favourite colour so I have to admit to struggling a bit with this one, so I hit on the idea of mixing my own vintage pink with acrylic paints. I painted a board using my fingers with lots of swirls, then added some images stamped on tissue paper, some more paint, and finally some Graphics Fairy images. Everything is stuck using Claudine Hellmuth matt multi-medium. This is a water-based glue, so you have to remember to use only solvent-based colouring materials, and wait until everything is dry before adhering your images.

"Pretty in Pink"

Once finished, I punched some holes using Sizzix dies and used the board as an album cover. The letters were cut from more card and stuck to the board before painting.

Ingredients:

Acrylic paints in red, white and pink pearlescent (I used some cheap ones from Lidl)

Recycled hardboard from dog food boxes (I cut two the same size for each cover and stick them together with the advertising blurb on the inside)

Tissue Paper

Archival ink, Jet Black

Crafty Individuals stamps

Promarkers for colouring

Claudine Hellmuth matt multi-medium

vintage images from the Graphics Fairy

Sizzix M&S hole punch dies & Sizzix M&S Base Tray

Sizzix Tim Holtz Alphabet Bigz die

3 x large book rings

Scraps of pink ribbon and lace to decorate the book rings

Entered for the following challenges:
ABC Challenge - G is for Girls
The Artistic Stamper - Letters, Words and Numbers
Card and Scrap - Use Dies