Project 415: Butterfly challenge at MAWTT

This week we have a Butterfly challenge at Moving Along with the Times and I couldn't determine which stamp to use as I have so many!

I decided to go for these Inkadoo images, they are part of a bigger set and these two hadn't been used before. They are super cute. The sentiment is from another set, I got it in a Craft Superstore sale a year or two ago and just think it's so sweet. I heat embossed them in white powder and then used Cracked Pistachio and Broken China Distress inks to make it stand out.

I wanted to make it a bit more girly so I layered it against a black and white spotted paper, a flash of hot pink and then used a bolder spotted ribbon.

I love the colours, it was such a fun challenge. I can't wait to see what everyone else does!

Project 414: Special baby cards

A close colleague is having a baby and I wanted to make him something special for his wife to welcome their baby girl. Another colleague also commissioned a card for them so I thought I'd feature them both here.

The headline card is the one I'm giving them - I used a stencil Claire gave me and used Victorian Velvet Distress ink to get the subtle pink clouds. I punched a bunch of balloons using a Stampin' Up punch and stamped a 'Welcome Baby' sentiment on the biggest of them. I added some stamped strings, I kind of wish I had used real string but I like the bow.

This card is really funny. Our colleague's wife is Czech and they have this cartoon called Little Mole so I was commissioned to make a Little Mole card for her to give. I don't love the banner - I will keep trying it though. The top sentiment is die cut using an XCut die and the Little Mole is paper cut by hand.

Both really fun and different baby cards, I'm going to remember the balloon treatment for the future as I think that could have legs.

Project: Sketch Saturday 6th May

Hello friends - I'm delighted to announce that I'm going to be guest designer for the month of May over at Sketch Saturday. Wahoo! This is my first post for the month and the sketch was really fun to work with: 

My take on the sketch features a great image from Paper Nest Dolls - this one is just too much fun to color. I used ProMarkers and chose really spring-y colors. It's that time of year for cheer, right? I added a bit of turquoise ribbon and then a little rounded oval tag punch that I had in my stash from Claire years ago. I thought it looked sweet nestled on top of the ribbon but it was missing something so I knotted the ribbon and am much happier with how it stands out. The background paper is from Recollections, a gift from Claire so long ago! The turquoise ovals are origami paper - I never think to use it but the subtle print works well to add some texture.

Really looking forward to seeing what everyone has to offer! 

Project 413: Making tricky papers work

I have loads of paper in my stash. Way too much for one person. Maybe even way too much for like 10 people. Anyway, there are always packs that have a few sheets stuck at the end that I can't use because they are tricky, complicated or just too busy for me to work with other stamps and sentiments.

I decided to challenge myself to give them a go and make a few cards I needed on the list to get through them. The first is so simple. The paper makes me smile but I just couldn't make it work! I have two friends who are changing jobs and moving to Brighton, and while it makes me sad that they are leaving London I'm thrilled for the good things it will mean for their family. I decided just to get the paper down to the height of the paper and then add loads of enamel dots like confetti. That's it. No complicated process or technique, I cut a piece of paper and added dots. And I love it.

This one has great colors but the paper is so muted I have found it hard to use. I decided to add contrast by using a navy bar with a die cut sentiment (both scraps) and there we have a new home card for a friend who recently bought a house. Why go through the effort of something more complicated when this is all we need sometimes?!

And then finally this pretty yellow and pink paper I've had for ages and I love the texture is has but haven't found the right project for it in all the years I've had it. I decided it would work well as a kid card because it's cheerful and pretty. I heat embossed an owl stamp in pink powder and then fussy cut it out. The sentiment is from a Creative Stamping magazine freebie and then I decided to spell out the little girl's name in glitter letters because kids love big glitter letters. Fact. A little yellow button and I think we're done here!

Three tricky papers that I have had for a while and three cards that I wish I had thought to make ages ago!

Project 412: New baby sketch card

I wanted to make a few little cards to send to my parents and my sister's in-laws to celebrate the arrival of my niece. I decided to do something simple and cheerful and when I saw the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches I thought it would work well:

And the color challenge at CAS-ual Fridays was perfect for my modern baby card:

The pink paper is punched with an American Crafts punch that I haven't used in ages but always really like using, it's so sharp it works great for adding detail. I embossed the central blue panel in a houndstooth folder to give it some texture. The central greeting is a washi tape punch from Claire and I used a sentiment that is one of the oldest in my collection. It didn't quite stand out as I wanted it to so I added the darker pink background to give it more prominence. The bows are punched using a Tim Holtz punch and to make them a bit cuter I added white enamel accents to the bows, mimicking the pink enamel accents I added to the background paper.

Really enjoyed this as it features a lot of fun little tools but has a simple look overall.

Project 411: A die-cut feather card for MAWTT

I'm late posting my card for Moving Along with the Times this week - apologies everyone. Wendy has been very patient with me! It's been a stressful few weeks and I'm still picking up dropped balls.

We have a bird and feather challenge this week which is a personal favourite. I thought I'd go for feathers as I'm always using birds, and was inspired by some die cut pins I saw on Pinterest, especially with a blended background peeking through.

I went for blues and greens and blended a large square. I then die cut feathers from a larger white square. The hello is die cut from a lighter part of the blended background which isn't visible from the revealed sections. I added a larger navy border to give it a bit of distinction, then topped it with a handful of tiny pearls. I added Wink of Stella shimmer powder to the die-cut reveals to make it a bit  more shimmery - went a bit overboard but I like the swirly nature it gives.

All in all I really like the card, sorry it's been such a trial to get it posted!

Project 410: A cheerful owl baby card

My niece was born last Monday so in honour of her first week, I wanted to make her a cheerful little card. I used an owl stamp that is a bit tricky because it's mainly filled in - it's really dark in black and yet when you used coloured inks it becomes a bit OTT. I love the image though and discovered that heat embossing it makes it really lovely.

I didn't go for girly girly pinks and purples, I decided to go a bit more neutral with turquoise, coral and peach. The owl uses Recollections teal embossing powder and you can't really tell but there's a lovely iridescent shine. I then colored in some of the gaps with ProMarkers in Coral, Ginger, Pastel Pink and Cool Grey 2.

I fussy cut the owl as close as I could as the white border looked a bit weird on the cream spotted background. I punched the balloons using a Stampin' Up punch and then added some light pink string. The border features a handwritten sentiment - I just couldn't sum up what I wanted with a pre-existing sentiment. I used my new favourite pastel gems as a border and an accent in the top.

So over the moon with her arrival, I am going to post this with a little gift for her and hope it makes its way across the 5,000 miles quickly!