Coming soon...

Now here's a little bit of fun for you!
Its nearly time for the April Card Chain Challenge reveal over at Deborah's Blog and she has created this fun graphic (impressive, huh!). If you can correctly identify the sneak peek of the card I sent to my CCC recipient I'll enter you into a draw for a small but perfectly formed selection of card making goodies.
Please leave your comment before Midnight British Summer Time on Thursday 30th April. International entries are welcome.


Come back for my April Card Chain Challenge reveal post to find out the lucky winner!

Simon Says Make Your Own Background...

So I did!

I used my favourite The Crafter's Workshop stencil and Distress Inks to create my background. Then I stamped the sentiments from Mama Elephant's Make a Wish set (so useful!) and added the cat in the hat. This brilliantly funny cat image is a digi stamp from Janet Klein's Vera Lane Studio Etsy Shop. I think he's wonderful, don't you? Finally, I added some stars and swirls from the Make a Wish set and doodled a skinny border.

In addition to playing along with the Wednesday crew at Simon Says Stamp I'm also linking-up with those lovely ladies at Seize the Birthday: its way too long since I last joined them in their birthday-themed fun.

I have to say I had loads of fun making this card. Isn't it great when you create something that just makes you happy!

Happy crafting everyone.

Make a wish... Splatters take #2

The cue at CASology for this week is: Sweet!

And what could be sweeter than a pretty little LOTV ballerina?

Isn't she adorable? It turns out that you can also buy her as a cross stitch kit.

As you can see I've continued to experiment with the splatter technique and am liking the results more on this card than my previous attempt.

Have a happy day everyone!

Less is More - Splatters!

Now here's a technique I wouldn't have tried without a push from the lovely ladies over at Less is More!

For my simple, one layer card I stamped and coloured a LOTV image. Then I created a rough mask and covered the little girl before splattering matching Distress Inks across the whole card to create a 'background'. I used a small paint brush as I wanted to keep the splatters small and dainty to match the image.

I quite like the effect but will probably do less splattering or limit the effect to a specific area if I try it again. Mmmm, or perhaps I'll mask around the card to create a border... 

However, all-in-all a simple and fun technique!

Before I go I'll just remind you that the current Naughty Or Nice Challenge is still open. The theme is 'In Bloom' so any cards with flowers and floral designs are eligible to enter this month. Hope to see you there!

Monika's birthday linky party!

Happy Saturday, cardmakers!

Today I'm linking-up with the lovely Monika who celebrated her birthday yesterday. Monika is a long-term blogging friend who I may have originally 'met' through following the Hero Arts gang on their creative travels. I'm glad to know Monika, who is a real sweetheart (as well as a talented crafter) and I enjoy her blog posts and frequent, friendly emails very much.

To celebrate her birthday Monika has arranged a 'linky party' over at her blog Creative with Monika. She is inviting us to CASE one of her cards and then link-up with the chance to win a $25 gift voucher to the store of our choice! I know: how generous is that??!! Her party continues until 30th April when she will pick a lucky winner.

To give us a helping hand Monika has chosen some of her favourite creations to CASE. I chose this stunning card:

and used the sketch and some of the elements to create my own super-girly version.

I'd already decided to send Monika a card way before her 'party' was planned. I knew I wanted to use a shoe image as Monika is a girl who loves her shoe stamps! Monika rarely uses patterned papers for her backgrounds, preferring instead to create her own, so I did the same for my CASE. The central image was originally left in black and white, as per Monika's design, but it just looked unfinished so I inked up with Distress Ink and felt happier with the end result. The shoes and the sentiment are embossed and look really shiny. I've failed to take a good photograph of this card, which looks much prettier IRL, so thank goodness Monika now has the original!
The shoe image is an oldie from Dawn Houser at Inkadinkadoo. Its a gorgeous image but not one I've ever found easy to use... until now!

So happy birthday for yesterday sweet Monika, I hope you had a wonderful day and that your celebrations continue across the weekend!

A Passion for... Snark!

I'm back again and this time I've got my 'snark' on!

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers are having a laugh with 'J is for Just Kidding' as they are still in the mood for an April Fool or two.

I couldn't resist using this fun AI stamp, which I think is called 'Celeste' but I'm not sure. I wanted the wording to be appropriate for a 50th birthday and after much thought came up with this: