Butterflies and Flowers :)

For Simon Says Stamp "Flower Power" and "A little paper":

I LOVE floral backgrounds. I think they look so pretty and feminine. There's tons of cute papers in the Kneehighs 6x6 paper pad and I couldn't settle on just one. So I reused the paper strip technique I used in my previous card to showcase two different floral patterns.

I couldn't help but add some butterflies to the field of flowers. Spring is here :)

Pink and blue

For Simon Says Stamp "Things With Wings" and "a little paper".

I love all the pinks in the Kneehighs 6x6 paper pad. So I cut a bunch of strips to form a hot pink to pale pink background gradient. The bird journal card and the manuscript print card tucked behind are cut from a cut apart sheet included in Carta Bella's Take Note paper pad. I stamped the sentiment on the bird card.

great things in small packages...

...need petite cards to go with them.

I really wanted to showcase this horse and carriage stamp for the Simon Says Stamp "Passport to Fun" challenge but it's teeny-tiny and I worried if I put it on a larger card it would get lost. Instead I built up? out? what I mean is, I use a lot of foam adhesive on this one! It's a small card but it has tons of dimension. There's no chance you'd lose it!

Even better, it was just the right size to pair with all the pretty paper scraps I've been too frugal to throw away. Add in some rhinestone stars, some silver glitter and a touch of bronze metallic paint pen and you've got the perfect card to send a little joy to a princess (or princess-at-heart) in your life.

Also for Simon Says Stamp "Happy Mail".

dear deer friend

For Simon Says Stamp "Colour" and "Anything Goes":

I used a stencil for the background pattern and added colour with Inktense pencils and water to get a watercolour gradient. I then used my sewing machine to sew down a black border using a zig-zag stitch and black thread. The deer is from a cut apart sheet and I added letters from Basic Grey. 

I couldn't quite commit to the pun in the sentiment...

Skyline

For Simon Says Stamp "Travel":

My mom is moving house - well she's moving continent, actually! - from Dubai to Cape Town, South Africa and she asked me to make her some goodbye/friendship cards to give to her friends. I think the Dubai skyline looks pretty cute here :)

scherenschnitte

The simplest designs can take the longest time. Using a template I cut out this beautiful design by hand using a pair of manicure scissors and an exacto knife. 

Phew, I think I deserve a cupcake after all that!

(For Simon Says Stamp "Spring Flowers")

Simple "Hi"

For the Simon Says Stamp "Fly" challenge, I pulled out a bunch of things from my stash...

 ...cut apart sheets, border strips, layered stickers, even some more of that crochet lace trim I'm so in love with at the moment.

But once I started playing around with the main element of the card, the large, cut out owl image, I did something I hardly ever do: I edited!

The owl was large enough and cute enough to stand on it's own! I ended up with a not-quite-but-almost one layer card, with a black sharpie outline around everything to make it pop.

Not gonna lie, it was hard to hold back but I think the card is better for it.

Plus, look at all the goodies I still have in my stash for next time!

Another Birthday Card

I bought this cute little cupcake stamp at Daiso awhile ago but this is the first time I've really played with it. As you can see, it doesn't stamp completely cleanly but for how cheap it was, I think it stamps well enough!

I stamped three cupcakes in a row with Ranger Archival ink and then coloured them with inktense pencils.

I coloured the edges of the layers with Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs and added a strip of polka dot fabric tape (also from Daiso) and a strip of crochet lace. I liked it but it didn't quite look complete yet...

I think the Kaisercraft pearls in the corner added just the little finish it needed to tie the whole card together. :)

For Simon Says Stamp Happy Birthday challenge.

Anything Goes - Quilted Birthday Card

It's my mom's birthday this week. She's a quilter, and I was really inspired by the quilted birthday card shown here.

Here's my take on the same idea:

 

Instead of using twine and a button, I used crochet lace for a trim, and instead of cutting squares from different pattern papers, I used a paper already printed with a square design from the Carta Bella "So Noted" 6x6 paper pad. I did some (admittedly wonky) stitching on my sewing machine to emulate the look of a patchwork quilt. I don't think my mom will mind that my straight lines aren't so straight, she knows the sewing machine and I never have been the best of friends. That's definitely more her domain!

For the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes competition.

Congrats! Card

For the Simon Says Stamp "water" challenge I was inspired by the nautical feel of red and white stripes. The heart shaped cut outs mimic portholes on a ship with just an extra dash of love to them. I added some glitter glue for bling and a gold cord tied in a reef knot in keeping with the seafaring theme of the card.