Inkspired by Paris!

This card came together over several days. Originally I had paper pieced this girl (digi from La La Land) for another card but changed my mind. Her beret reminded me of France, so I decided to go for a French theme.
The Eiffel Tower die was part of a Spellbinders die set I bought just recently, but I didn't buy the set for the tower specifically.
The brown DP has Paris post marks - a lucky coincidence!
I added 3 brown flowers and punched kraft butterflies.
I often struggle to decide upon a sentiment, but in this case I wanted to add the tickets with "To" and "From", as they can relate to both travel origin and destination or to names of the receiver and giver.







This card is for these challenges:
1) Inkspirational - Anything Inkspirational Goes  (inspired by Paris)
2) Inky Impressions - #95 Bingo (Flowers+Kraft+Die/Punch)
3) A Gem of a Challenge - #64 Holidays (Paris - a great weekend destination!)
4) Die Cuttin' Divas - #100 Anything Goes
5) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Blue and White Vintage Card

I started out making the background according to the Sweet Stop Sketch. Went for blue DPs as I rarely use blue (New Year's Resolution - try something new). Felt it lacked something, so added stitching (love stitching). Then it got tougher... I can spend hours and hours on one card! I paper pieced an image - changed my mind. Heat embossed a male silhouette image - changed my mind again. An hour of thinking - went for vintage. What image should I use... Another hour of thinking. Went for an angel with wings. OK so now for embellishments. I won't tell you that story, but ended up with cheese cloth (love playing with that stuff!), die cut elements of kraft (another favorite of mine), using a new set of Spellbinders dies and a butterfly punch, 3 flowers and some pearls. Phew!!!

This card is for these challenges:
1) Sweet Stop - SKETCH #195
2) Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge -Tic Tac Toe (Blue+Circle+Flowers)
3) My Time to Craft - #206 Things with Wings
4) Southern Girls - #61 Get Krafty
5) Crafts and Me - #117 Vintage
6) LEJ Designs - #37 Stitching Real Or Faux 
7) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Inkspirational sketch and other inspirational sources

I was away on travel this week and I came across a great crafting shop. I purchased lots of new stuff included on this card: DPs from Maja Design and My Mind's Eye, cheese cloth, butterfly punch, and a Spellbinders die from the "Fancy Framed Tags One" set. And today I could sit sown and play with my new toys!
The stamp is from the Film Strip Sentiments from Whimsy Stamps that I've had for a little while. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder. I've also used some black distress ink for the edges of the papers.
This card kind of evolved during the making process, and it turned out quite different from what I had in mind originally.

My tip:
I usually decorate the inside of my card as well, but I seldom take a picture of it. I've done it this time, as I wanted to share my tip with you. Card making can be quite an expensive hobby, so I try and make the most of my papers. For this card, the first layer is made with the floral paper. I cut out a square from the middle - this square I keep for the inside of my card. From the second layer I cut out a circle. It's a great way to try and be economic, avoid the card being too heavy and at the same time make the inside of your card!

I love to look at all the different blogs out there to get inspiration for my cards. For this card I had the Inkspirational sketch in mind. I also wanted to make a card with layers + I love to add some some stitching around the edges + I needed to make a birthday card. So this card is for these challenges:
1) Inkspirational - #4 Sketch
2) Top Tip Tuesday - #94 Lavishly Luscious Layers
3) Try It On Tuesday - Let's Get Stitchy Real Or Faux
4) ABC Challenges - Birthday Cards
5) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Paper Pieced Owls in the Wood

I've picked inspiration from several challenge blogs for this card.
When I saw the sketch over at Feeling Sketchy, I knew I wanted to use my Darice wood grain embossing folder! I used white paper and added a little bit of brown ink to enhance the pattern,
Also, I have a thing for owls. So I cut out come circles, used my "Branching out owlies" stamp from Stampingbella on scraps of different brown DPs, separated the owls from each other. I placed them on part of a kraft die cut tree branch, made with a Memory Box die. I stamped their eyes on white paper, added a little touch of orange to their beaks and mounted the eyes on foam.
I really struggled with the sentiment - tried different papers, greetings - couldn't get it quite like I wanted to be, then decided to go with a row of tickets, cut out of a DP. I'm not entirely sure that it will count as a sentiment over at Sentimental Sundays, as I haven't added any names yet either, but I thought I'd give it a go:)

This card is for these challenges:
1) Feeling Sketchy - Sketch #43
2) The Paper Girls Challenge Blog - #24 Wood elements
3) Totally Stampalicious - Paper Piecing
4) Paper Playtime - Use some Brown
5) Sentimental Sundays - Negative Space
6) Make it Monday - Anything Goes 

Birthday Card with my Favorite Male Image

I've used my favorite male image for this card - "Brothers" from Mo's Digital Pencil. The reason I love it so much is that the boys remind me so much of my two youngest nephews, now aged 4 and 5 1/2. I've colored the image using ProMarkers. I rarely use blue colors, so this is my take on a blue, brown and white card! The blue papers came free with 2 different magazines last year, and the brown one is a leftover. I panelled the papers on kraft. The inspiration for this design is the the sketch over at "Seize the Birthday". I added a stamped cloud and a fence created with a Marianne Creatables die. The sentiment is rub on with a birthday greeting in Norwegian.

This card is entered in these challenges:
1) Seize The Birthday - #2 Sketch + Masculine
2) Here Come The Boys - Bingo (blue+die cuts+patterned paper)
3) 2 Sisters - #127 Brown, White & Blue
4) Send a Smile for Kids - Anything goes 4 Kids
5) Moving Along With The Times - Happy Birthday
6) Fab 'n' Funky - Get Moving
7) Glitter n Sparkle Challenge Blog - #16 Sentimental
8) Card Crafter's Circle - #58 Layers
9) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

My first CASEd card?

This is my first attempt ever of casing a  card. I say "attempt", because I'm not quite sure that I've got the concept right. I was inspired by the card layout, but I changed the shape to a square card, and I added two fussy cut birds mounted on foam - I don't know if I'm "allowed" to do just that. But CASE or no CASE - I enjoyed making this card!

I've used a DP from the Bo Bunny Crush Collection, panelled it onto a strip of organza before I attached it to the black paper.
The sentiment (from Kanban) and the birds (from KaiserCraft) have been heat embossed in white.


This card is for these challenges:
1) Inkspirational - #3 CASE
2) Card Makin' Mamas - Clean and simple
3) Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - For the birds
4) Top Tip Tuesday - #93 Fur Or Feathers
5) Gems of Inspiration - Emboss It
6) Totally Papercrafts – It's embossing time

Kenny K Cowgirl

Out with  the pink and girly and in with the brown and masculine!
I've used 2 different DPs - one with a fabric print and one with animal print. The one with animal print was one of the first DPs I bought, and for some reason I've never used it - at first because I liked it so much and wanted to hang on to it, then is disappeared in the bottom of my pile of papers...
I love cream and brown colors, and I think they would work well with this sassy cowgirl from Kenny K. I've colored her using Promarkers - I have now a "I love to color with Promarkers phase", but I won't  forget my beloved watercolor pencils ...
I tried the layout with some different die cut shapes too behind the image, but decided against it and kept the design clean. A bit of suede and metal, a ticket with sentiment, and voilà!

This card is for these challenges:
1) Feeling Sketchy - Sketch #42
2) Digi Haven - Grand Reopening
3) LEJ Designs - #36 Use Metal
4) Craft your passion challenges - #145 Gone Country
5) Emergency Crafters - New Years Resolution
6) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Purple, Silver and White Christmas Card

The theme of 52CT this week is the combination of purple, white and silver. Most of my Christmas cards traditionally include the combination of red and white, but one of my favorite colors is purple, and some of you might know I have a weak spot for, well, spots.
So I stamped the reindeer on a purple DP with spots, using a Tilda stamp. I love the little wings on the reindeer's back, and I love that I can easily cut them off too. I used a white gel pen to color the wings and the antlers, and I added some silver glitter glue to the ribbon around its neck. The trees were already die cut, left overs from before Christmas, using the Marianne Creatable tree die. I tore a piece of a watercolor paper to make the snowy ground. The background paper is a purple DP with snowflakes.
I wondered whether to stop there, but I have lots of purple rhinestones and decided to add some to the trees, and I added glitter sticker letters to make the sentiment - Merry Christmas in Norwegian. I think this card would work as a winter greeting card too, without the sentiment. If I need a last minute card I might do just that. But there are only 11 and a half months left until Christmas, and I need to make Christmas cards as well - might as well get an early start.


This card is for these challenges:
1) 52 Christmas Throwdown - Purple, Silver and White
2) That Craft Place - Snowy Christmas
3) Totally Gorjuss - #166 Spotty
4) Jellypark Challenges - Winter Animals
5) ABC Christmas Challenge - A for Animal
6) Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - Anything Goes
7) Love to Create Challenge Blog - #48 Sparkle and Snowflakes
8) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Inkspired by hearts

I wanted this card to be non cute, non pink and non masculine, and I wanted to make something different from what I usually make. I don't know if I succeeded with just that, but at least I had a fun time making this card, with the heart on the Inkspirational image as inspiration.
I've used 3 different DPs for this card - 1 for the background with golden music notes and 2 for the hearts  - I used an embossing folder to create the pattern on the large heart.  I added cream colored lace and leaves and a metal hair pin with butterfly. I've inked all edges with walnut stain, and I machine stitched around the card base with gold thread.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Inkspirational - #2 Photo
2) Paper Creator's Crafts - #3 Love is all around
3) Brown Sugar - Butterflies
4) Flutterby Wednesdays - #222 Anything Goes
5) Craft Room Challenge - Valentines
6) The Squirrel and The Fox - #35 Anything Goes
7) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Embossed Snowflakes

I was the lucky winner of It's all about the Vintage Christmas Candy, and this sweet winter angel was part of the package I received. I just love the current sketch over at Feeling Sketchy and decided to use the image for this sketch.
The DP I used came free with a magazine I bought last year. I attached the DP onto cream colored paper. All edges have been inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I attached the panels onto kraft and machine stitched around the edges.
I heat embossed snowflakes using stamps from Papermania and white embossing powder. I added white pearls in the center of 3 snowflakes, and I used another two for the panel with the sentiment, which is stamped with coffee colored ink.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Feeling Sketchy - Sketch
2) Broken Box Stock – Winter/Snowflakes
3) Simply Create Too - Let it Snow
4) Little Miss Muffet Challenges - #51 Winter Birthdays
5) Pixie Dust Studio - Winter
6) Fab 'n' Funky - Winter
7) Creative Stamp Friends - Snowflakes
8) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Birthday Card with Spots and Squares

Another card with a Mo's Digital Image - this one's called Veronica, isn't she a sassy birthday girl!
I've colored the image with red, blue and grey Promarkers. I added shadows with blue and black distress inks.
I've used a KaiserCraft clear stamp to make the banner - I stamped directly on some left over DPs in blue/aqua colors.
The chevron border is made with a Memroy Box die, and the sentiment is stamped and heat embossed with black powder. I also heat embossed with silver around the border of the image.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Charisma Cardz - #53 Birthday Cards
2) Wags 'n Whiskers - #95 Celebrations
3) Crafty Creations - #204 Something New (image)
4) Crafty Sentiments - Sparkle & Shine/Glitter
5) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Purple, Green and Cream

This design is inspired by the sketch over at Sketch Saturday.
I've used a much neglected Spellbinder die to make the frame for the image. The image is a digi from Mo's Digital Pencil. It's called "Bunches" and is new to me. I colored the image mainly with purple, blue and green Promarkers.
The purple paper with spots came free with a magazine. I've had the corner chipboard for ages and the metal flower charm was part of a candy I won. I've also used some cream colored leaves and brown pearls.

This card is for these challenges:
1) Sketch Saturday - #240 Sketch
2) Mo's Digital Pencil - #167 Anything Goes with a Mo!
3) Card and Scrap - #46 Brug metalpynt
4) My Heart Pieces Digital Stamps Challenge - Gettin Girly
5) Crafty Calendar - What's new? (Image)
6) Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge - Something new (Image)
7) Glitter n Sparkle - Anything Goes
8) Jellypark Challenges - Old and New (Old die+chipboard, new image)
9) Totally Papercrafts – Something New (Image)
10) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Feminine Birthday Card

I would never have thought I would be having a pink phase!!! I think I've made more cards with pink this past week than during the whole of 2012!
I've used a freebie I found on a website (sorry, can't remember which one, if someone knows, please let me know so I can update this post and my digi library). The image is colored with Promarkers and is attached to a circle of kraft paper.
I've used 2 DPs from Panduro for the background. I tore the paper with scripture and attached a string of silver pearls to it. I also used 3 pink pearls and a silver peel off stickers for the sentiment for sparkle.
The design is inspired by the The Sweet Stop sketch.

This card is for these challenges:
1) The Sweet Stop - SSS192 Sketch
2) Sweet n' Sassy Digi Challenge - Something New (the silver pearls, a digi I've never used before)
3) Link Up For Pink - #8 Dash of Pink
4) 2 Sisters Challenge Blog - #125 Anything Goes
5) Oozak - Anything goes plus pink and bling
6) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

It's a Baby Girl!

I made this card for a friend of mine who just gave birth to her first baby - a little girl!
I kept the design clean, with a pink, white and kraft color scheme.
I just got this Mo digi  - I think this sweet baby has the cutest face! I colored the image using ProMarkers.
I placed the image on a kraft panel and die cut a swirl, using a Memory Box die, and decorated it with pink pearls.
The sentiment, in pink writing, is a cut out from a DP.
The striped DP and ribbon is from a crafting set from Ikea that I received as an advent calendar gift in December.

This card is for these challenges
1) Alota Rubber Stamps - New Born
2) By the Cute & Girly - Cute and girly
3) Digi Galore - Something New (image, paper and ribbon)
4) Really Reasonable Ribbon - My new toys and ribbon (image, paper and ribbon)
5) Unique Crafters Challenge - New Beginnings
6) Crafty Sentiments - New
7) Make it Monday - Anything Goes

Sweets

Since I often end up making square cards, I thought I would start this year with a circle shaped one!
For this card I've used kraft paper, a DP from Graphic45's "Little Darlings Collection" and a doily.
I've had these Magnolia sweets stamps for quite some time, but I haven't gotten around to using them. I stamped quite a few sweets, cut them out and colored them in different pastel colors. I added stardust stickles, glitter and glossy accents to them, but I'm not sure if it can be seen on the photos - I find it so hard to take photos that show sparkly elements.
The image is made with a stamp that came free with a magazine I bought last year. The birthday sentiment is a rub-on.

I enter this card into these challenges:
1) Fussy and Fancy - Furry Friends
2) Robyn`s Fetish - #140 Use a Doily
3) Stamptacular Sunday - Doilies Galore
4) Party Time Tuesdays - #101 Celebrate
5) ABC Challenges - Shiny and Sparkly
6) Whoopsi Daisy - Celebration
7) Through the Craftroom Door - #51 Anything Goes
8) Kaboodle Doodles Challenge Blog - #152 Anything Goes
9) Make it Monday - Anything Goes