Sweetheart with a heart-shaped window

Good afternoon! Yes, I did see the Less is More challenge this morning but it's taken me this long to get my head round it! Chrissie and Mandi are asking for cards with an aperture - and that's definitely out of my comfort zone. I like classic cards and don't often make shaped or novelty cards, but a challenge is a challenge! I'd also had the CAS-ual Fridays 'penguin awareness day' challenge going around in my mind which is why my card ended up in crisp black and white. Come and see:

I started with a black card base with a white front added before punching my heart shape through the two layers. The beautiful heart frill is from a lovely set called Sweetheart (which also contains one of my favourite leaf images as used here) and I positioned it over the aperture using my stamp-a-majig.

The amour sentiment was stamped into the aperture with versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder - I love how dramatic it looks against the black card stock! The card was finished with a loop of white grosgrain ribbon embellished with a small black heart and a pearl.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Sweetheart, Artistic Etchings

Ink: Basic Black, versamark

Card stock: Basic Black, Whisper White,

Other: Large and small heart punches, Basic pearl, white 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 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. 

We've all got colds again and my poor youngest son has conjunctivitis too. Nothing can keep his spirits down for long though and he's still up for a joke: "Mummy - vy didn't the viper vipe 'er nose? Because the adder 'ad 'er 'anky!" 

I hope you're feeling much better than we are and having a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday with a male card, and on Tuesday when all the fun of Sale-a-bration starts. Hope you can join me!

Hugs,

Button Buddies sweetheart birthday

It's a lovely bright sunny morning here in Buckingham and I've been enjoying making a card for today's polka dot challenge over at Less is More. I've used Button Buddies, a new stamp set that I've become a bit obsessed with over the last day or so - come and have a look:

You can see the Button Buddies flower which I paper-pieced and combined with the fabulous polka dot leaves from Sweetheart.

The flower image is actually a stylised chrysanthemum which looks nothing like this, but I think it looks fab layered up on dotty paper! I chose a Pretty In Pink paper from the Patterns designer stack in Subtles. These Patterns stacks contain four tone-on-tone designs in all the colours from each collection and I find them SO useful for backgrounds and mats as well as for focal pieces like this flower.

The Scallop Circle punch fits the flower perfectly so I only had to cut out the two smaller layers. Using dimensionals makes the flower pop and I sponged the edges of the petals to add to the 3D effect.

The sentiment running along the flower stem is one of my favourite bits of this card!

I used my favourite Naturals Ivory card stock to make my card base and the camera has picked up the flecks in it and made them look very obvious - must be something to do with the light. In real life you can hardly see the flecks and the card stock looks and feels very soft and suede-like.

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Button Buddies, Sweetheart, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Old Olive, Regal Rose

Card stock: Naturals Ivory

Punches: 1/2" circle punch, Scallop Circle punch

Other: Patterns designer paper stack in Subtles, Old Olive marker, black brad, stamp-a-majig

I'd love to order any of these supplies for you and I 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. 

I was going to take the children to the cinema to see the Three Musketeers yesterday to mark the end of term but I'd forgotten that I was heading out to a birthday party! (Honestly, these senior moments are getting ridiculous!) The children were all very understanding and sent me out to enjoy myself while they, I am quite sure, settled down for an evening's pleasure plugged into their favourite electronic devices, uninterrupted by their nagging mother! 

Thank you for coming to see my card - I can't wait to come and see what you've made. (But first I have an appointment with the fruit and veg man at the market!)

See you later,

Bird on the rocks!

It's holiday season and I've been making cards for the St Lukes Charity Card Challenge which is asking for cards with a seaside theme. If you love challenges - or even if you've never done one before - DO try this one as your cards are used to raise money for such a great cause.

Come and have a look at my seaside-inspired card:

Can you tell I've been on the rocky Antrim coast lately? I made a frame with the mat pack - it's so easy to pierce a straight line all the way round the card front with the guide in this pack. The edges of the card and the bottom have been inked with Marina Mist ink to create the seaside feel and then I went over the piercing gently with a sharp grey watercolour pencil to make a soft, stitched look.

I made a seagull by stamping the bird from Sweetheart onto the greyish paper from Blueberry Crisp and cutting it out with my trusty paper snips. The rocks are pieces of Crumb Cake card stock sponged with Basic Grey and Marina Mist inks while the legs of the bird are actually the stalks of a flower image in the Just Believe set! It's amazing what you can see in stamps!

Supplies needed for this card:

Stamps: Sweetheart, Basic Phrases

Ink: Marina Mist, Basic Grey, Riding Hood Red

Card stock: Confetti White, Crumb Cake

Other: Blueberry Crisp designer paper pack, mat pack, paper piercer, watercolour pencils

You can buy any of these supplies from me and I can have them delivered to your address in the UK. Just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593 and I'll be happy to help.

Call me a heathen but although those wonderful photos of sandy beaches look very appealing I actually prefer rocky beaches. There's so much more to look at and do, and rock hopping keeps you fit too! We were amazed by the amount of huge jelly fish washed up in the rock pools at Portstewart this year and another year we saw dolphins swimming and jumping off the coast between Portstewart and Portrush. Of course this coastline has some beautiful sandy beaches too...

I'll have more seaside fun here tomorrow if you have a minute to pop back.
Hope you're having a good week!