My very first Tilda

After months of coveting all these cute Tilda stamps, I broke down & bought some from Simon Says Stamp. They were so quick with their shipping & the Tilda's are so undeniably cute, that I placed a second order too - I think I may need help! So today I proudly present to you my first Tilda card! My friend Trina just lost her favorite cat & I wanted to make something to let her know I was thinking about her & this is what I came up with.

Front:

Lollipop flowers:

A close-up at an odd angle:

I know the last picture is at a funny angle, but this one shows the true colors of the card much better. For some reason the other two kind of wash the colors out. You can also see the 3-D aspect of the kitty's head here.

This card fit the bill for a few challenges: first, I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday which had the added twist of a pet theme (quite fitting). The ABC challenge for this week was "E is for embossing" & the whole front of the card is embossed with birds & vines. I tried my hand at making lollipop flowers (I think that's what they're called anyway) which qualified it for Just Magnolia's challenge of handmade flowers. Magnolia Down Under challenge this week called for buttons which are there on my flowers. Crafty Cardmakers wants to see ribbons & fibers - don't know if they'll count my measly little white satin ribbon, but since it was there I figured why not? It's hard to tell from the pictures, but I've used a little foamie to make the kitty's head 3-D & Charisma Cardz theme for the week is decoupage - does that tiny kitty head count?

Usually, except for the sketch, I make the card & then see what challenges it may fit so it's fun to see how many I can squeeze in there. This week, though, the Just Magnolia challenge inspired me to try making these cute flowers. I've seen other people make them before &, although I definitely need more practice, I like the end result.

Supplies:
Paper: Lavender from my stash, DP from Basic Grey Wisteria
Stamps: Swing and Tilda with Kitten by Magnolia, sentiment from the $1 bin at Michael's
Ribbon & buttons from my stash
Other supplies: Marvy scallop circle punch, Cuttlebug and birds & vines embossing folder, colored pencils

Thanks for stopping by!

A card for my Grammy

My grandmother is one of the few people who regularly corresponds with me by snail mail & I "owe" her a letter. In fact, bad granddaughter that I am, I've owed her a letter for a while but wanted to send a handmade one rather than store-bought & it's taken me forever to get around to it. I know she'll appreciate the time spent on it so I'm pretty sure she'll forgive my flakiness! At least I hope so :)

The whole color scheme for this card started from the watering can/flower ribbon; it's not a color combo that I'd use all the time but I do like it. I wanted to make this card a little 3-D, so I popped the flower w/ some foamies. Now I'm wondering if I should've popped the whole image but it's glued down now - too late! Something to try next time I guess.

I've entered this card in a few challenges as well: I used the sketch from PaperPlay Challenges - by Mandy - for challenge #31. Cute Card Thursday had the theme 'Lazy Days' this week for a summer themed card. Nothing says summer like flowers & gardening! Stamptacular Sunday is a 3-D challenge; I know it's only a tiny bit of 3-D so I'm not sure if it qualifies, but I thought I'd try anyway. Finally, Crafty Cardmakers challenge for this week is Complimentary Colors - check out their color wheel lesson, it gave me some ideas for future combinations.

The orange cardstock is very lightly textured & I ran the 3 blue rectangles through my Cuttlebug in a flowered embossing folder. Image is stamped on white cardstock & colored with colored pencils. I cut out the flower & popped it with foamies for a 3-D effect. Haven't got up the nerve to try decorating the inside yet so it's completely blank.


Front


Trying to show the 3-D aspect




A close-up



Supplies used:

Papers from my stash
Stamp by Penny Black
Ribbon from the $1 bin at Michael's
Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest
...........................................................................................................
Some goodies!!!!!

Moni is celebrating the 1 yr anniversary of Everybody-Art-Challenge by giving away some stamped images, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Sassy Designs is giving away 100 stamped images to their followers - this is another challenge blog I just stumbled onto. Closes Sept. 27.

Carolyn has a massive assortment for her blog candy! Check out the inside of her cards - maybe she'll give me some ideas. Closes Sept. 22.

I just found Ingvild's blog the other day & had to become a follower right away - she has a romantic, victorian style that I just love. And her candy is fabulous! Closes Sept. 30.

Jo has new Basic Grey papers & more in her blog candy. Closes Sept. 5.

Maria's candy is a huge assortment of goodies including stamps, ribbons, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Emma's celebrating her blogoversary with a beautiful array of images, embellishments, & more. Closes Aug. 31.

Erika is giving away some goodies from her stash. Check out her CHA pictures too - I'm jealous! Closes Aug. 29.

Vivi is celebrating 100 posts by giving away 100 Tilda images! I want to win this one! She does quilling - something I want to try........ Closes Aug. 30.

Happy together...........6 years & 5 challenges

As promised I'm back with the anniversary card I made for my sister & her husband - happy 6 years Jenny & Paul! Since I'm not giving them the card until tomorrow, when they come over for dinner, I told my sister she's not allowed to look at my blog before then. Is it sad that you're seeing the card before she is? Normally I would have waited until later but I used the sketch from Friday Sketchers this week & I figured I may as well post it.

I really like the turquoise/red combination and, although this isn't quite what I envisioned, I'm very happy with the way the card turned out. Besides Friday Sketchers #65, I've also entered this card in Stampin' for the weekend "Days Gone By" challenge, Color Throwdown #56 - my colors are a tiny bit off but I think they may be close enough, Crafty Cardmakers #1 - Blossoms, and Papertake Weekly Challenge #100 which is your choice of any of the 99 previous challenges - I chose My Favorite Things as I absolutely love all things victorian! That makes 5 challenges - not bad considering I didn't really plan for any of them except for Friday Sketchers!


Front




A few detail shots





Inside




The couple is stamped in brown ink & embossed with clear embossing powder. I thought about coloring the image in but thought this was really a case of less is more. The papers have a glossy/glittery aspect to them & I was afraid adding anything else would be too overwhelming. Hopefully Jenny & Paul will like it too :)


Supplies used:

Patterned papers from Jen Wilson's Laundry Line by My Minds Eye; plain paper from my stash
Sticky pearls from Martha Stewart Crafts
Flowers cut & red strip embossed with my Cuttlebug
Blue Darice ribbon
Stamps: Victorian couple from Inkadinkado, "Happy Anniversary" & "together" from Fiskars Romance clear set


One more thing.......Rach is at it again - she has another adorable Rachelle Anne Miller stamp up for grabs on her blog!