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.