Preparing for spring...

When I received a Doodle Pantry image set after participating in the last challenge, I knew I had to use the image on a card. And I knew just the person to make it for. I know this person is a regular visitor of my blog, so ... watch your mailbox, LOL.

This week's sketch over at Catch the Bug was just what I needed to show off my pre-coloured birdie. 

Materials used:

Cardstock - Core'dinations

Patterned papers - First Edition (BirdSong collection)

Scalloped square - Nellie Snellen die

Image (pre-coloured) and sentiment - Doodle Pantry

Gems - from stash, coloured pink with Spectrum Noir pens

Glitter glue - from my stash

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Doodle Pantry - #20 Use a DP image

Crafter's Companion - #21 - Anything goes

ABC challenge - J for Jazz it up

LCI - Spring is in the air

Simply Create Too - #7 Add sunshine to your day

Crafts and Me - #72 Shades of spring

Simon Says Stamp - Use 3 different papers

Cute Card Thursday - #205 Winged things

MAWTT - #137 Lots of layers

Delightful Challenges - Use pattern paper

Allsorts - #142 Anthing goes

Catch the Bug - Sketch

One Stitch at a Time - #101 Digi or don't

The Crafty Pad - #158 Blue, red and green

Birthday card with bookmark

This week's prompt over at Tuesday Morning Sketches is a double sketch, originally intended for a square card plus a scrapling. Instead of cutting the small part of the A5 cardstock (to create an A6 card) off myself, I used the perforating blade of my manual paper cutter to create a perforation line. If the birthday girl so wishes, she can tear off the right section and use it as a bookmark.

I started with the perforation line and then scored the top fold of the card until the perforation line. I did not score the bookmark part until I had marked the top end of the bookmark/tag to be cut out. I folded the card after I had cut out the top of my tag/bookmark. See picture below for a rear view.

EDITED: The idea for a tear-off bookmark was not new. I saw it a few months ago in this post over at the Top Tip Tuesday blog. I simply took things one step further by combining the TMS sketch and the bookmark idea.

Materials used:

Patterned paper - First Edition (Birdsong collection)

Image - Penny Black

Colouring - Spectrum Noir pens

Sentiments and small flower stamp - Marianne Design stamp set

Ribbon - from stash

Button - from big bag of buttons

Scalloped circle - Spellbinders Nestability

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketches - Sketch #133 (+ 2 ribbons, 1 embellishment,4 layers)

Bunny Zoe - Celebrations

Crafter's Companion - #21 Anything goes

Simply Create Too - # Add sunshine to your day

Simon Says Stamp - Tag it!

Cute Card Thursday - #204 Flower power

Paperplay - #7 Critters

Totally Papercrafts - #104 Ribbons and/or bows

Allsorts - #142 Anything goes (#2)

Paper Sundaes - #108 Birthdays

Snowmen and eskimos...

I made another card incorporating buttons for this fortnight's Jingle Belles challenge. I started with a PP from a paper pad (Cart-us Christmas Collection) that I bought in the January sale and I thought it was perfect for creating a scene. So I added a decoupaged eskimo (Marianne Design) and added a few trees and a snow border from the same decoupage sheet. The sentiment is from an A4 sheet of sentiments by Tineke Visser (also Marianne Design). I added a few buttons (from my big bag of buttons) in the big snowflakes on the PP for added interest and texture.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Jingle Belles - Button up

Winter Wonderland - A Christmas card

CHNC - #60 Create a scene

CCC - #11 Sketch (optional, as long as you create a Christmas card)

Crafter's Companion - #21 Anything goes

Allsorts - #142 Anything goes

The Crafty Pad - #157 The letter "B" (buttons, blue, brown, brrr)

One Stitch at a Time - #100 Anything goes

Sticky note

I have been racking my brains on how to incorporate "stripes" into a one-layer CAS card for this week's challenge over at Less is More, until I realised that I had this cute Bugaboo note image.
So I set to work in Word, drew a few lines, added a text box with the text (font: Bradley Hand ITC), pasted the digital stamp on top and printed it onto a 13.5 x 27 cm sheet of yellowish cardstock. I actually meant to print it onto cream CS (looks that way in the picture), but I was testing it on a piece of somewhat crumpled yellow CS (first time I tried to print on this custom-sized format, never realised before I could do that on my old printer, lol) and it turned out brilliantly, since it's like the well-known sticky notes.
So I changed my mind and printed it on this yellow CS. I coloured the image with Spectrum Noir pens. Since the CS is not really suitable for colouring with alcohol markers, I kept the colouring very simple.

I love how it turned out. I start grinning whenever I see the card. Hope you like it, too!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Less is More - Stripes (one-layer card)

Sweet Stampin' - Clean and simple

Top Tip Tuesday - #70 Mystical, magical and fantasy

Crafter's Companion - #21 Anything goes

One Stitch At A Time - #100 Anything goes

Krafty Christmas

For this CAS card, I have combined a couple of challenge prompts. I created my own background by embossing some Bazzil Kraft CS with my new Sizzix embossing folder in the Cuttlebug and dabbing some red ink on the embossed image. The image is from a Woodware stamp set that I bought in the January sale. To add some texture to the card, I stamped it on some felt-like material with black Stazon ink and then coloured it with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. The ribbon is from my stash and the large button is from Bag-O-Buttons (foof-a-La).

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Christmas Card Challenges - #10 Create your own background

Crafter's Companion - #21 Anything goes

Paper Sundaes - #106 Clean and simple

Jingle Belles - Button up

Simply Create Too - #6 Red hot

Papertake Weekly - Anything goes

Crafts and Me - #68 Use a new image

Allsorts Challenge - #141 Free & easy February pt2

Sweet Stampin' - Clean and simple

Heart-shaped blossoms

Today's birthday card is based on this week's sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches. It's perfect for a clean and simple card.

I printed the sentiment (Create with TLC) on an sheet of very light purple A5 cardstock and folded it in half to create an A6 card. The heart image (Floral Heart from Crissy's Digi's for Whimsy Stamps) was printed on a sheet of darker purple and cut out with a small margin. I then highlighted the flower design with my Sakura pen and added some light pink pearls with a Viva pearl pen. I used another strip of the same CS for my background border, that I cut with my paper cutter, and attached some ribbon from my stash. The ribbon is actually a brownish colour, but takes on quite a different hue because of the purple CS. I finished the card off with a few rhinestones from my stash.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Bunny Zoe - #20 Picture inspiration

Sir Stampelot - In the garden

Tuesday Throwdown - #83 Use hearts

Allsorts - #140 Free & easy February

Paper Sundaes - #106 Clean and simple

TMS - Sketch #131

Sleighing fun

Today's card was inspired by an old Christmas issue of a card magazine (Creatief met Kaarten) featuring a lot of Marianne Design products. That's where I saw the layout for the top square with the embroidered stars (Doodles for Paper Flowers 4, MD) and the cute polar bear (Eline's snowfriends decoupage sheet, MD. I bought loads of these sheets, because the images are so cute, LOL). I applied some glitter glue to create the snowflakes and stamped the sentiment with one of my new Penny Black stamps that I bought in the January sale. I matted the white square on some red cardstock and then onto some PP in funky colours (Christmas Fancy 6x6 pad, Dovecraft) and finally on a red card.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

CHNC - #57 Just make it square

Marianne's Design Divas - In with the new

Alphabet Challenge Blog - Z for zoo animals

Sweet Stampin' - Let's see those animals

Simon Says Stamp - Animal antics

Crafts and Me - #69 Bright colours
Christmas Card Challenges - Favourite technique (optional)