Happy Birthday for my man

Here's a birthday card I made for my partner last week. I made it pretty much the same way as my mothers day card, but with more masculine stamps and inks :-)

I'm entering this card into the Simon Says Stamp Challenge; Happy Birthday.

I started by using the Creative Expressions chevron stencil with broken china distress ink. the background was then distressed with broken china and old paper with a gradient. I used a die cut from the Lovely labels set from Clearly Besotted Stamps to use as a mask and then started stamping cogs (free stamps from a magazine) with different colours, adding second generation stamping to add dimension.

A sentiment from Clearly Besotted Stamps 'Say it in Style' was stamped in the middle with three colour co ordinated sequins to match the cogs.

Belated Mothers Day

Belated mothers day!

Its been busy around here lately so I haven't had much time for blogging or crafting. Although mothers day gave me the the 'excuse' to spend some quality time on some special cards for a couple of special ladies :-)

I was inspired by Virginia's post here (from her card blog called Yes Virginia) to make a silhouetted sentiment with colourful flowers as the main focal point. What's not to like for mother day, eh? I didn't want to copy Virginia's card completely so I started by choosing some suitable flower stamps and matching colours (memento dew drop ink pads). I used stamps from Indigo Blue Freebird and Kaisercraft Madame Boutique stamp sets. I added a light background using the Creative Expressions Ivy background mask with old paper Distress Ink. 

 The silhouette for the sentiment was made using a die cut from the Clearly Besotted Stamps Lovely Labels die which was stuck in place with a little washi tape (good ol' washi!). the sentiment was from the lovely labels stamps that match the dies. The card was finished off with some sequins (any excuse really!)

I have entered the above card into the Virginia's View Challenge: Stencils. I had actually made this card before I saw this challenge but thought it would fit nicely :-)

This second Mother days card (for the mother-in-law) I had a bit of fun with. I haven't tried the vintage chic look for a while so thought this would be the perfect chance. I had a few card toppers and papers piling up that came from some card magazines. The card toppers were made by Kaisercraft and the floral paper was from the Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  

I started by cutting the floral paper to size and distressing the edges with vintage photo. The lace piece was added and then the paper was attached tot he card blank with foam pads. 

The card toppers were added next and then I used the opposite side of the floral paper to stamp the sentiment 'mum' from the Dovercraft urban stamps collection. The paper was distressed and the opposite edges curled. the sentiment was then added onto the card and some pearls were added as subtle bling.

All round I think it turned out OK :-)