Oriental Theme, Bamboo, CAS

I really didn't think I was going to get this card finished in time...  but I did, so here's my second post for today  :)

It's very different to my other card, isn't it?

I chose to stamp the Brushed Bamboo (Impression Obsession) stamp onto Hammer card as I wanted to add some extra texture CAS style.  I HAD to use Memento Bamboo Leaves to ink it up.  How could I not?! 

There are two layers to the Blissful Butterfly Border (Memory Box) butterfly - a Centura card base with a vellum topper just glued at the centre to make it 3D.  I chose the Centura card as I wanted to use it for the shaped flowers (Elizabeth Crafts, Bunch of Flowers 2), adding centres from my Flower Mound die (Memory Box). 

The oriental looking pieces are chopped up portions from Lattice 2 (Dee's Distinctively Dies), the single leaf is a Meadow Leaf that's had some pruning (Poppystamps) and the tiny red butterflies are from Peaceful Butterfly Wings (Memory Box).

I tried to make this more CAS, but it just didn't look finished without the extra elements...

This card's being entered into three different challenges...

Poppystamps, House of Cards and AAA Cards...

I'm off to make a start on my next card.  It's unusual for me, but this time I know exactly what I'm planning to do.  That'll probably change!

'Bye for now...

Gatefold Card, Double Butterfly, Black + White

As some of you may know, my daughter has various Special Needs.  Her needs haven't changed, but my daughter's school has new people in key roles.  So...  let's just say it's been a tough week and we've got lots of school meetings ahead of us, trying to justify (yet again) why she's on a reduced timetable, needs 'energy conservation' strategies in place and gets ill so often...  I truly understand the words I read recently on someone's blog bio about card making being 'cheaper than therapy and better for you than drugs or alcohol'...  though not so sure it is cheaper...  guess it depends on the individual!

So...  it's taken me a little longer than I'd hoped to get my latest card finished, but here it is...

I know that I probably could have made it much simpler, but I'm afraid my brain gives me a 'wedgie' so once it's got an idea in it's head it doesn't leave me alone!  (That's a reference from the Big Bang Theory for those of you who may recognise it from somewhere).

I also normally run firmly in the opposite direction when it comes to black and white cards.  I've never made one before, but I saw this challenge on The Card Concept and decided to give it a go...

My inspiration's from the colour scheme and the spotty pattern, but I decided against uniform spots and went for haphazard instead.  I also softened the black and white with hints of Memento Gray Flannel Ink.

The dies I've used for this card include Tab with Text (Marianne Design/Collectables), Classic Squares (Spellbinders Nestabilities), Floral Square (Memory Box), flowers from Botanic Frame (Memory Box) and butterflies from Blissful Butterfly Border (Memory Box).

I designed the card so that the tabs don't fully meet when folded backwards for posting.

The reverse of this card also has a Tab with Text die added to it (with a Nestabilities Square at an angle), plus the two outer butterflies.  Except for the Tab with Text, these were also edged in Gray Flannel ink.

As always, if you can spare the time I would love to know what you think.

The Card Concept only accepts entries for six (seven if you count Mixed Media which is coming soon) distinct styles of card making.  I'm entering this into the "Shabby Chic and Vintage' category... 

Have a good weekend, everybody...  and thank you for taking the time to come 'visit' me :)  

Double Tag, Serendipity Bird Frame, Bird House

I had a lot of fun with the last tag I made for a Tag You're It and Poppystamps challenge.  So much so that I've been mulling over a second design that would suit both challenges.

Here's the design I came up with...

It's predominantly made from my 'left overs' stash.  Do you have one of those?  It's the place where all my extra pieces go...  Normally because I've cut a few extra or I've cut the same die piece in a few different colours as I couldn't settle on which one I wanted to use.

The front tag has been cut from Kraft card and sponged with several shades of green, blue and brown from my Tim Holtz distress ink collection.  There's even some Antique Linen in there!

The Serendipity Bird Frame (Poppystamps) has been backed onto Centura Card.  The tiny leaves were left from my McGill Dimensional Lever Punch (Tree Branch) and the flowers were sent to me with a craft order.  Any tiny daisy punch would do the trick, I think.

Once I added the Poppystamps Nestled Bird (cut from recycled packaging), the Delicate Chain (Poppystamps) and the birdhouse (Taylored Expressions, Birch Tree Accessories Set), it was simply a case of deciding on which flower embellishment centres I wanted to use.   Can you see from the picture that I pierced a hole into the birdhouse and attached the chain through that, then cut into the chain to thread it onto the frame?

Once the twine was added the tag was finished, but I still felt it lacked something.  I considered adding a butterfly, making a bigger tag and backing it onto this one as a frame...  and then I remembered a double tag I had seen online some time ago.  I figured writing on the back of a 3D tag might not be the easiest of options, so this seemed like the perfect solution.

So I untied the twine and cut the back tag from Centura card to mirror the front design a little.  As I wasn't sure if Centura card was practical to write on I cut a distressed rectangle (Spellbinders) from hammer card, edged it slightly with Walnut Stain Distress ink and added a few extra daisies.

If you take a look at the Tag You're It design (below) that's posted by their Featured Designer, you'll see that this time around I've focused solely on the bird and flowers as the focus of my project.

I'm also entering this into Country View Challenges / Use Kraft card.

Yes, it was a lot of work for such a small project.  But I had fun doing it.

Bye for now  :)