Mocha Morning with vellum butterflies

I was blown away by this sketch at Clean and Simple stamping on Friday and have been thinking about how to use it over the weekend.

When I was thinking about what image to use for my group of three embellishments I immediately thought of the challenge at Make My Monday: the theme there has been Nature throughout January and this week's particular challenge is to incorporate butterflies and dragonflies into our projects. Come and see what I've come up with:

The thing that really grabbed me about the sketch was the dotted line round the main panel and I immediately thought of piercing a border. It was easy to do this to my rich Early Espresso card base using my mat pack stencil and piercing tool and I love the way it turned out!

For the panel within the pierced border I chose this fabulous gold and Early Espresso designer paper from the Mocha Morning speciality range. As well as some papers with a gorgeous metallic finish like this one, the pack contains two wonderfully tactile flocked designs. I used my Beautiful Wings embosslits die to create these textured vellum butterflies and I like the way they contrast with the heavier background.

I tried embossing my sentiment in white but felt it was too defined compared to the vellum butterflies so, in the end, I stamped it in Whisper White craft ink which gave the right colour and finish.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Thank You Kindly

Ink: Whisper White craft ink

Card stock: Early Espresso

Other: Mocha Morning speciality designer paper, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, mat pack, paper piercer, paper snips

I'd be delighted to order any of these supplies for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I am committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to help and advise. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593.
Click here to see all the free Sale-a-bration sets and don't forget to let me know which free Sale-a-bration set or sets you'd like - remember, one item for EVERY £45 spent!

Today when I was in the supermarket I saw a mum shopping with her toddler. They were walking through the vegetable section and I heard the little boy saying "Look Mummy, there are the mushrooms! We don't like mushrooms do we?!" His mum looked down at him. "Well actually I quite like them," she said. The child just couldn't understand this at all. "WHY do you like them Mummy?" he asked. Later, at home, I passed the door of my eldest son's bedroom and noticed that he'd dropped his clothes on the floor instead of hanging them up (yes, I know it's a lost cause!) I called for him to come upstairs only to be greeted with the same word - WHY? Ah the development of the male of the species!

Thank you for dropping in today. I'll be back with more crafting fun tomorrow and it would be great if you could join me!

Hugs,

Masculine Monday - cookin' thank you

Good morning! It's Monday and time for some more male inspiration here. I don't know about you, but when we get invited to dinner it's quite often a talented man cooking up the deliciousness! Today's card is all about thanking those guys who make my taste buds very happy, and is based on the challenge at One Layer Wednesday - to make a card in white and grey with just a pop of colour. Come and have a look:

Oh dear... already I'm finding it hard not to use Fresh Vintage! I love this useful long decorative border from the set and it makes a perfect background for a masculine card. (In case you were wondering why you can't find it in any of the catalogues, Fresh Vintage isn't available to buy - it comes free when you spend £45 as part of the Sale-a-bration promotion.) But what's that gorgeous stamp on top of the background?

It's a single stamp called Now You're Cookin' from the spring mini catalogue and I LOVE this gorgeous image! It's part of a bigger image (check it out on page 23) but of course with my markers and my stamp-a-majig, I can use whichever bits of it I want. And I have all sorts of plans for it I can tell you! The challenge required a pop of colour and I've added it with my sentiment - part of a stamp in the Thank You Kindly set, inked up with an Island Indigo marker.

I made the card in a weird size by mistake (!) and had to make an envelope for it...

... but that was great because it gave me the chance to line it with some designer paper from the Timeless Portrait range. I love the look of a lined envelope but always forget to do it!

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Fresh Vintage, Now You're Cookin', Thank You Kindly

Ink: Sahara Sand ink pad, Basic Grey and Island Indigo markers

Card stock: Confetti White

Other: Stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these supplies for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I am committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to help and advise. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. Click here to see all the free Sale-a-bration sets and don't forget to let me know which free Sale-a-bration set or sets you'd like - remember, one item for EVERY £45 spent!

While I'm on the subject of males cooking, I should say a big thank you to my lovely husband. He is no Raymond Blanc but every Saturday evening he disappears into the kitchen, turns on the radio and does creative things to pizza bases while the children and I watch the kind of TV we like and he doesn't! I love that he does this!

I hope you've had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead. I have all sorts of things to show you this week so do come back soon won't you!

Hugs,