Challenge Winning cards

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Hoppy Leap Year!

Today's card is a bit strange - it's a birthday card for a woman who is frog mad. She collects anything froggy so for her 40th birthday card I didn't have to think too long about what image to use.


The image and papers came free with a magazine some time ago - there were loads of funky animal images which I never thought I would ever use but kept 'just in case'. I have this idea in my head that frogs have lumps all over them which spurred me to use the spotty papers and the stars were done using an XCut punch.

I've entered this card in the following challenges ...

Fab 'n' Funky - Use something that 'leaps'
Sassy Cheryl's Challenge - Seeing Spots

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Thirty!

The challenge at Less Is More this week is 'don't scrap it' - make a card using up some of those scraps that all good cardmakers collect...



My scraps are actually in pretty good order - I spent a happy afternoon over Christmas sorting all my scraps into colour order and putting them into plastic folders - well worth the effort 'cos you never know when you will need a tiny piece of turquoise paper and don't want to 'waste' a sheet of A4.


I found all of these scraps in my 'pink' folder - I think they are Doodlebug patterned papers from a couple of years ago. The letters are traced and cut by hand then matted onto plain cerise scraps and hand cut again to make a border. I really enjoy cutting - it's theraputic! The letters are attached with foam pads and I've finished off with a computer printed greeting. I've often made these 'word' cards - I got the idea from browsing through the card stands in Clintons - theirs cost about five quid - mine cost nothing!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Hot Pink

I've got loads of cards to make at the moment - the beginning of the year is a busy time for birthdays and with Mother's Day looming my order book is overflowing. Having loads of girly cards on order, the challenge at The Play Date Cafe caught my eye - use black and white and a splash of hot pink - the inspirational photo is gorgeous...




These colours work so well together! I was torn whether to do a handbag card or a shoe card and in the end this funky image from the Digi Stamp Boutique won the day. I used black and white spotty paper which started life as gift wrap, and used a magenta promarker to colour the shoe. Bright pink diamantes add to the girly feel of the card. I think I would actually wear shoes like this - honest!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Howzat!

I'm really enjoying making these clean and simple cards lately - I get so flustered trying to match papers with embellishments etc and I do love a bit of white space on my cards so I think you'll be seeing a lot more....



Today's card is for a clean and simple masculine card for the current challenge at Creative Card Crew. It's a birthday card for my partner's brother who is cricket mad. The paper and decoupaged image are from Papermania's It's a Man's World by Claire Curd.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Less Is More - Punches or Die-cuts...

This week's challenge at Less Is More is to use punches or die-cuts on your card. I dug around in my dies case and found a lovely flower head and stem by Marianne Creatables that I had never used so decided to put it to the test...



I totally love it! Can't believe it's been there unused and unloved for over a year! I added some strips of co-ordinating striped paper I got from a magazine and some Papermania sticky letters coloured with a promarker and there's another Mother's Day card to add to the pile.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Less is More - Stripes

I had a lovely glow when I first read this morning's challenge over at Less Is More. STRIPES! I love stripes - I am always buying stripey papers in all colours. Then I had a cuppa and woke up properly and read the challenge again - ONE LAYER. Oh no! I don't do stamping at all and I certainly don't do all that messy inking business so seeing the cards already made by the early birds I was in a bit of a dilema.



Then I found this gorgeous image I have had some time called Cefer and Domino by Little Musings. What better than stripey cats! After a bit of positioning trouble I finally printed this and coloured it using promarkers. Purr-fect - my second one layer card.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Seeing Spots...

I scoured the colouring pages websites for an image suitable for a 10 year old girl and came up with this. The Bratz characters are quite funky and a major plus for me is that they have full faces - images such as Magnolia's Tilda and Edwin creep me out!


I've coloured her using Promarkers in shades of lilac and pale lime and used patterned papers from Dovecraft's basics range. The flowers are digi images carefully cut and coloured. Looking at this card for too long makes your eyes go funny!

I've entered this into the following challenges...

Sew Many Cards - Birthday Card Challenge
If The Shoe Fits... - Anything Goes

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Rosie's Birthday..

Just a quick post today - a big number birthday card for a little girl who is about to be 2. The paper is one I printed from a crafting CD when my printer needed more ink and the colours didn't come out as they should have but it's still usable.



The lettering is done with die-cuts and I've finished off with a few random punched flowers.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Happy Birthday Less Is More

I can't believe the Less is More challenge blog is a year old - how time flies! The challenge there this week is to use the colour 'aqua'. I wanted to make a card that totally sums up the Less Is More ethos and ended up with the following effort...



The flowers are made from a simple digi image as seen before in the Kitty and Peppa cards. I've carefully cut around them and coloured with a pale aqua promarker. I've scored lines above and below the flowers to add a bit of texture (difficult to see) and finished off with a printed greeting.

Voila! Happy Birthday to the lovely ladies from LIM and may your blog continue and prosper xx